Monthly Archives: May 2009

Temptation comes in the form of green salad

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Michelle

This is the 12th day of the no-spend experiment and although I’ve not been perfect (ahem – garden gnomes bought with wedding money), I’m particularly challenged today. First and foremost – Hubby and I are having a friend over for supper tonight. She’s bringing the chips and ice cream, I’m going to go to the grocery store tonight to get some stuff to grill. So is my freezer darn near empty? Almost, but not quite. I have some leftover deer … Continue reading →

Posted in Debt Reduction | Tagged beans, beer, dinner, friends, over, pantry, salad, vegetables | 5 Comments

Mother’s Day, A-ha! moments, etc.

Posted on May 10, 2009 by Michelle

First and foremost, happy mother’s day to all the mothers out there. I have been privileged to have a wonderful mother, I have been lucky to acquire another mother (in-law) this year and some of my friends are incredible moms who continue to inspire me with their humor, their creativity and their patience. My folks came up yesterday – they garage sale’d their way all the way to Rochester and brought me a hoe and a bunch of cookbooks. (Also … Continue reading →

Posted in Debt Reduction, Everyday Living, Good Reading, Money Saving Strategies, Where My Money Goes, work | Tagged bullying, frugal, job, New York Times, Old Country Buffet, parents, stamps | 1 Comment

Does using cash count?

Posted on May 9, 2009 by Michelle

On April 30, the Husband and I went to a charity wine tasting and I fell in love with a bottle of cabernet that was especially tasty and priced extraordinarily well at $9. I had a 10 spot in my pocket and signed up for a bottle, which I assumed I could buy that night. Well, I was wrong and the Piper came calling this week for me to pick up my bottle of wine. But I still had that … Continue reading →

Posted in Debt Reduction, Everyday Living, Where My Money Goes | Tagged cheap, cooking, spending | Leave a comment

Day 7 … and holding

Posted on May 7, 2009 by Michelle

This was one of those mornings where I just wanted to say “to hell with not spending” and buy a soda. Or a pricy latte on my way to work. I was already having a bleh day by 8 a.m. (forgot French press coffee on the counter, went to the post office to retrieve wedding pictures to find out that the counter doesn’t open until 8:30 and left a burned mess of rice and lentils in the crockpot), and spending … Continue reading →

Posted in Debt Reduction, Money Saving Strategies, Where My Money Goes | Tagged coupon, emotional spending, free, French press, latte, no spend | 4 Comments

Using technology in an uncertain economy

Posted on May 6, 2009 by Michelle

My husband can’t really fathom the enjoyment that I get through Facebook and Twitter. He steadfastly refuses to join Facebook (“If I want to be in touch with someone, I’ll be in touch with them,” he claims.) and he doesn’t understand why I’m obsessed with having my own personal news feed. (Or why I really care what Neil Gaiman, Diablo Cody, JT Ellison or Meghan McCain are doing on an hourly basis.) But while I embrace this technology for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Debt Reduction, Where My Money Goes | Tagged Business Week, Facebook, job search, layoff, LinkedIn, newspaper, no spend, twitter, unemployment | 1 Comment

The power of DIY

Posted on May 5, 2009 by Michelle

OK – I’m going to be bragging a bit here. And truly, I don’t have a lot to brag about because I didn’t do much of this, but this has been my husband’s DIY landscaping project. When we moved into our house, it was very apparent to us that a lot of updates were made, oh – in the early 1980s, maybe late 1970s. That also went for the landscaping. This is what the backyard looked like at the beginning … Continue reading →

Posted in Debt Reduction | Tagged DIY, landscaping, resale value, retaining wall | 4 Comments

April’s gardening update

Posted on May 5, 2009 by Michelle

I am just getting around to posting about how April went for my ongoing gardening adventure. Apologies!! My Roma tomatoes are going like gangbusters and I’m really excited about the abundance of fruit I will have spread throughout the year. One of my problems that I had when I started gardening last year was that all of the seasoned and experienced gardeners I knew started harvesting their tomatoes way before mine were even turning from green to red. Part of … Continue reading →

Posted in Everyday Living, Money Saving Strategies, Where My Money Goes | Tagged gardening, peat, tomatoes | 1 Comment

Day Three: Thwarted by rosebushes

Posted on May 3, 2009 by Michelle

Even though this is a “no-spend” month for me, money is still being spent in my household. Let me explain – Husband and I still have the separate bank accounts and even though we’re very much married, I still consider my credit card debt to be my own and am curbing my spending because I have a problem with needless spending. God bless my husband’s frugal soul – he doesn’t have that problem. The only debt he has at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Everyday Living, Money Saving Strategies, Where My Money Goes | Tagged landscaping, Menards, no spend, rose bushes | 1 Comment

Around the blogosphere

Posted on May 2, 2009 by Michelle

I’m catching up on my email inbox this morning and am finding some nice little financial nuggets out there in the blogosphere: ** Update on May 3, 2009 ** My friend Sarah had sent me this article before the wedding. So of course, I’m finally reading this two weeks later. This is interesting, because it’s about a pair of researchers who are studying the effects of “the tragedy of impulse saving” as opposed to what I frequently kvetch about – … Continue reading →

Posted in Good Reading | Tagged dandelion, glasses, other blogs, shopping online, wine | 3 Comments

Day 2 – Chocolate chip cookies and a French press