Apr 29, 2011

Baking Day

When the weather heats up, my oven use is often determined by the temperature, and today happens to be the best day for at least a week for baking. So my kitchen is getting a workout!

I just pulled a batch of brownies out of the oven, and I've got some cereal bars in there right now. And I've got two loaves of sandwich bread going through their final rise.

I'm also planning on baking some blueberry muffins, banana bread, blueberry coffee cake, and chocolate snack cake, and freezing some cookie dough. Cereal deals have been a little scarce lately, so I'm trying to stock the freezer with breakfast alternatives so I don't have to pay $1+ per box of cereal. I'm also trying to stock some after-school snacks so the kids will stop pouting about their choices!

What's your favorite thing to bake and freeze?

Apr 26, 2011

Our Bathroom Remodel & Having An Emergency Fund

We've lived in our home for nearly ten years now, and we're about to embark on our first major remodel. We've had some work done, of course - you can't live in a thirty-year-old house and not have to make some repairs and changes. But overall, what we've done so far has been pretty minor: re-tiled the bathrooms, installed new toilets, removed the cottage cheese ceiling, etc.

This time, the work we're doing is apparently major enough to require inspection to make sure it meets construction codes. Although I hope I'm wrong about that since it'll cost more money.

And speaking of money, a project of this size obviously requires a good amount of it. I have to admit, I cringe every time I think about paying for the material we're buying and the work that's going to be done. I'm just not used to paying that kind of money for anything, and especially when it's not budgeted and planned for. It's one thing to pay the property tax bill twice a year, for example - it's big, but the money comes out of our Infrequent Bills Account, so mentally, it doesn't have the same impact that depleting our savings for this remodel will have.

But the remodel is necessary because there's some water damage in the bathroom and changes need to be made to prevent the same type of damage from happening again. We don't have the skills to do the remodel ourselves, nor do we have any confidence that we could acquire such skills. So we took some time finding a contractor through word of mouth, and we picked out new tile yesterday - and the prospect of having a bathroom that looks pretty is actually kind of exciting. :)

Every day, though, I'm thankful that we have enough savings to be able to pay for this remodel without destabilizing our financial position. We've worked really hard for financial peace of mind, and even though it pains me to pay for the remodel, the truth is that we can afford it. And that's because we live well below our means, and don't spend money unnecessarily.

I won't say it's easy, since there are definitely things I would like to have but don't think are the best use for our money. For example, rather than spend $300 on a new vacuum, I make do with what I have and keep trying to win one through blog giveaways. If only I could win a bathroom remodel instead!

Apr 25, 2011

Menu Plan Monday: Warming Up


Last week was nice and cool, but unfortunately with spring break, I never had a chance to bake. And this week, the weather is warming up - though it looks like today and Friday will be in the 70's, so I'll try to get some baking done today and at the end of the week. I really want to get some quick breads, muffins and pastries in the freezer for easy breakfasts and snacks. In the meantime, here's what's on tap for dinner:

Monday - Pasta bolognese, brioche artisan bread, salad

Tuesday - Ham & bean soup, biscuits

Wednesday - Steak, mashed potatoes, sauteed green beans

Thursday - Roasted Cauliflower and Sardine Pasta

Friday - Breakfast (pancakes or waffles, bacon, eggs, fruit)

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Dinner out

See more weekly menus at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Apr 21, 2011

Saving Money vs. Being Debt-Free

Our public school district is in serious dire straits, so I've been thinking about life five years from now. While I feel reasonably confident our current elementary school will be okay, in five years, our oldest will be heading into sixth grade and off to a middle school. The problem is that I'm finding it difficult to find a really desirable public middle school. I've had my eye on the Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies, which has a great academic reputation and goes from fourth through twelfth grade, but it's incredibly difficult to get into. Even if I did everything possible to maximize priority magnet points, our odds of getting in will still be slim because of the lottery system.

So we would really like to have private school on the table as an option in five years. But that will require money, and a lot of it.

At the beginning of the year, I said that I wouldn't have any financial resolutions for this year and that I just wanted to get used to living on one income. But we seem to have done that, and I couldn't help taking a closer look at our mortgage, which is our only remaining debt.

Ever since we became otherwise debt-free in 2009, I've toyed with the idea of paying off the mortgage. We pay a little extra every month, but only enough to accelerate the payoff by a couple of years. But. We could pay off the mortgage in five years if we save aggressively.

Unfortunately, it's hard to predict the future. Is it better to pay off the mortgage and free up the mortgage payment in our cash flow in five years? Or would we be better off saving the money and having a huge cash cushion that we can use to pay for tuition?

I don't think there's a right answer, at least not at the moment when there are so many unknowns, like how much tuition would be. My projected calculations show that if tuition at the top schools continues to rise at the same rate it has been, it's going to be in the neighborhood of $40,000 per year at the most expensive schools. I'm not sure we would opt for a school like that, even assuming we got in, because it's so expensive. But even a moderately priced school is going to be around $20,000 per year, and we'll have to pay twice that for two kids for five years (and then there's college).

So for now, we're going to play it safe. It'll be like last year, when we were aggressively saving so I could quit my job, only we'll be saving for five years instead of one now. I've got a spreadsheet set up to track our progress, just as I did last year. And just like last year, we'll have to be diligent about doing all of the things I recommend in the Ways to Make & Save Money series. My goal last year was ambitious but we did it - hopefully, we can do it again!

Apr 18, 2011

Drugstore Disappointments & Strategies for Avoiding Them

I took a couple of hours to go shopping today, and I struck out at all of the drugstores! That's pretty rare, but it does happen sometimes.

The CVS I stopped at had no Aquafresh kid's toothbrushes. They are supposed to be on sale for $1, and there were $1/1 coupons in yesterday's RP insert as well as $1/1 printables at Red Plum, so they're free after coupon (the printables may have hit the print limit already). There didn't seem to be a space on the shelf for the toothbrushes, so I don't think that store even carries them. It turns out that the Aquafresh kid's toothpaste is also on sale for $1, so they'll be free after the $1/1 coupon that was also in yesterday's RP insert. Unfortunately, I didn't have those coupons with me, so I left the store empty-handed.

I'm running very low on tissue, so I planned to buy some as part of the household items deal at Rite Aid - you get at $10 +UP reward when you buy $30 worth of participating products. But when I got to the store, there was all of one box of Puffs on the shelf. I could have bought it, and the other items on my list, because the deal is reported to be tracking, meaning you can buy the $30 worth of items in multiple transactions and the $10 +UP will be triggered when you hit the $30 mark. But if I can't find more Puffs at other stores I won't be able to hit the $30 mark so I decided to wait until I can get to another store tomorrow.

Finally at Walgreens, they didn't have many Reach Total Care floss with whitening, so I only bought two instead of four. Those are on sale for $2.99 and giving a $2 Register Rewards, so they're a small moneymaker after the $2/1 coupon from the 10/10 RP and tax. This store also didn't have any of the single serve peeps that are $0.50 after the in-ad coupon.

Low stock and hit and miss deals are, unfortunately, always a part of playing The Drugstore Game. There are a few ways to minimize the disappointments, however:
  • You have a better chance of finding items in stock at the beginning of the sales cycle. But remember to be considerate and not clear the store's stock without permission.

  • Ask the store management if they will order extra quantities of an upcoming sale item. If you know you want a large number of something that's going to be on sale, you can see if the store manager will order some especially for you. If I'd planned ahead, I could have done this with the Puffs!

  • Know which stores in your area tend to have good stock. My favorite Walgreens is, unfortunately, one of the smaller stores, so while I have a great relationship with their manager, they simply don't carry some of the items that I'm looking for. There is a Walgreens that's a couple more miles away that's bigger and has better stock. And I'm optimistic that the CVS I'm planning to visit tomorrow will have the Aquafresh toothbrushes, since it's a large store that's usually quite good about managing its stock.

  • Find out when the store gets new stock. Most stores get one or two trucks per week, on the same day(s). You'll need to give them time to unload it and find out what they got, but you might be able to get the hot sale items mid-week if you can get to the store right after the stock has been replenished.

  • Call the store to check on their stock before you head out. This is my least favorite strategy, partly because it entails a lot of waiting on the phone, partly because I think it just annoys the store's staff, and partly because I find it unreliable since there's always the chance the employee didn't quite understand which item you were calling about. Also, it seems rude to ask if they have three or four items in stock, so I'd rather go in person or just skip the store that week if I don't have time to stop by.

  • Ask if there's stock in the back. Most of the time the answer is no, but sometimes you get lucky.
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Menu Plan Monday: Spring Break


It's Spring Break this week, so I'm not expecting to get a lot done around the house, and there won't be time to get much prep work done during early in the day. So I'm going to go for simple meals that come together quickly, and maybe even take some short cuts!

Monday - Chicken Milanese, Biscuits, Steamed Broccoli

Tuesday - Pork Scaloppine Perugina, Sauteed Spinach

Wednesday - Pizza using artisan bread dough, Salad

Thursday - Baked Fish, Shredded Cabbage, Artisan Bread

Friday - Shrimp Scampi, Roasted Cauliflower

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Dinner Out

See more weekly menus at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Apr 4, 2011

Re-committing to Frugality

I'm finally feeling mostly back to normal, as this bout with the flu really knocked me off my game. I only left the house three times in four days, and for short periods of time at that. My inability to shop, cook, clean or do any of the things I normally do meant that we spent a decent chunk of change, especially on eating out.

The truth?

It was nice not worrying about spending money and just buying things without really thinking too hard about it. Even with the steep reduction in income resulting from my career change, we still have a fair amount of discretionary income.

But what we don't have is financial independence and total financial security - we would love to be able to have an expensive private school as an option, as things with LAUSD are going downhill fast and the public middle and high schools in particular are looking more and more unattractive.

So I posted my menu plan for this week earlier today, I've restocked the fridge, and I'm planning my drugstore shopping for the rest of the week. I'm re-committing to the frugal lifestyle that we've chosen, and to banking more money than we spend.

Committing to a responsible financial lifestyle is important - life is less stressful when you live below your means and have money in the bank. But it's equally important to re-commit, so you stay on the path you want to be on - the path that leads to financial success.

Menu Plan Monday: Back to planning


I'm feeling mostly normal, so it's time to get back to planning my meals for the week. It definitely saves time, stress and money, and my family is happier for it.

Monday - Fish tacos with shredded cabbage & avocado

Tuesday - Pizza using artisan bread dough, salad

Wednesday - Roasted Cauliflower & Sardine Pasta

Thursday - Chicken Pot Pie, steamed broccoli

Friday - Shrimp scampi with angel hair pasta, some kind of veggie

Saturday - Breakfast (bacon, eggs, rice or pancakes)

Sunday - Dinner out

See more weekly menus at I'm an Organizing Junkie.