Monthly Archives: January 2009

And I feel broke somedays …

Posted on January 31, 2009 by Michelle

Just when I feel bad about my paltry $5,000 of debt, I find something that makes me feel better. In this case, I just remind myself that I’m not Hillary Clinton who, according to CNN, is currently $6 million in debt. Sure, this is down from $25 million, but I’d love to hear what her cost-cutting strategies are. Does our country’s new Secretary of State clip coupons? Does she feel some pressure to “keep up with the Jones” (or the … Continue reading →

Posted in Debt Reduction, Good Reading, Inane articles | Tagged CNN, coupons, debt, Hillary Clinton | 4 Comments

Selling my schtuff

Posted on January 30, 2009 by Michelle

Rebekah, one of my fellow bloggers, recently posted an article entitled “A Time to Sell.” Rebekah is taking a Dave Ramsey class and one of his adages is to sell everything to get out of debt. I love Dave Ramsey’s concept that you should live like no one else so later you will live like no one else (i.e. – save your money now, get out of debt, etc., and you will reap the benefits of financial freedom later), but … Continue reading →

Posted in Debt Reduction, Everyday Living, Good Reading, Random! | Tagged Dave Ramsey, debt, eBay, fellow blogger, Fight Club, garage sale, selling, stuff | 5 Comments

Taking (grocery) inventory …

Posted on January 29, 2009 by Michelle

As an avid MSN reader (regular readers will know this is one of my weird Internet addictions …), one of my favorite columns is by Donna Friedman who wrote most of last year about living on $12,000 a year. Friedman has a great writing voice and she has some pretty sound advice. The other thing that I like about Friedman is that she regularly solicits her readers for input on how they live frugally. The column also has regular challenges … Continue reading →

Posted in Money Saving Strategies, Where My Money Goes | Tagged Donna Friedman, grocery, money saving, MSN, pantry, spreadsheet | 6 Comments

Thirsty? Get a free Diet Dr. Pepper

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Michelle

I have no clue if this has anything to do with their recent Dr. Pepper promotion, but today if you visit the Dr. Pepper website, you can click to get a coupon for a free Diet Dr. Pepper.

Posted in Everyday Living, Random! | Tagged freebies | 4 Comments

Spending cuts on the homefront

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Michelle

CNN.com had a fabulous article this week talking about “How couples should negotiate spending cuts.” I have to be honest – there are so many ways that Future Husband and I are beyond the honeymoon phase in so many parts of our relationship. But the future prospect of sharing finances scares the shit out of me. FH knows my downfalls about as well as the rest of you do – takeout food, overpriced coffee and unplanned spending. But whereas my … Continue reading →

Posted in Debt Reduction | 3 Comments

A good article

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Michelle

One of my fellow bloggers wrote an article entitled “I’m Not Ashamed to Shop at Thrift Stores.” What I really liked about this article is how the author was able to tally up her savings by various cost-saving measures. One of them was shopping at thrift stores. Another measure was having her husband bike to work in fair weather. Has anyone else been able to tally up how much they have saved over time using cost-trimming measures?

Posted in Debt Reduction, Everyday Living, Good Reading, Money Saving Strategies | Tagged bike, fellow blogger, thrift, weather | Leave a comment

Random sunshine-y goals

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Michelle

There’s something about cold weather and January that makes me reflect upon warmer times. And I swear, every winter I make the same goal – which is that I won’t squander good weather when it finally comes to Minnesota. But I typically do. I don’t grill out enough, I don’t go on enough hikes – I stay home when I should get out and visit old friends. So in no particular order, I’m making goals and resolutions for when the … Continue reading →

Posted in Everyday Living, Money Saving Strategies | Tagged farmers market, fish, gas money, goals, grilling, summer | 3 Comments

Taxes redux

Posted on January 26, 2009 by Michelle

Got an email from my tax guru Edie: “Hey there – just started on our taxes and geez. I am using (for now) TaxAct.com, like I told you about – and it SUCKS this year! I have used it for the last 3 years and it’s been great – a nice support database, info about deductions, comparasins with national averages, etc. THIS YEAR – they are charging for that same information. You have to upgrade to the DELUXE version for … Continue reading →

Posted in Debt Reduction | 2 Comments

How to store vegetables without growing science experiments in the refrigerator

Posted on January 26, 2009 by Michelle

Moonlight wondered how much $5 would buy in fresh vegetables. In the dead of winter … not much. This week I’m going to make a concerted effort to try and eat fresher foods try to lose some of my winter hibernation weight, so I found myself paying attention Saturday when I was at my local Hyvee. One of the recipes I’m going to make this week involves oven-roasted vegetables. Five bucks didn’t get me very far – a (rather smallish) … Continue reading →

Posted in Everyday Living, Money Saving Strategies | Tagged crisper drawer, fresh, frozen, grocery shopping, how much, vegetables | 2 Comments