Summer Plans-June

A new month has arrived.....the beginning of the three months of summer.  I've been on auto pilot for the last month or so with school and other things going on. I do enjoy all the season's and don't want to let the summer just "go by". To that end, I'm forcing myself to make some definite plans on all fronts-we'll see how it goes.

• I'm committing to taking at least one day trip (and one overnight if I can fit it in the budget), during June. I have some built in travel in July and a planned trip in August. Awhile back I purchased a couple "weekend escape" type books and intend to take full advantage of them this summer.
• Locally, I'm committing to doing something new, different and out of the house (apart from church dinners and quilting lunches) each week. A trip to the Fort Worth Stockyards, the arboretum-who knows?
• I have a list of movies (theater and home) that I need to watch. The same with books to read. I'll say here that I will be there at opening night for Prometheus and Batman rising. Other than that, my 22 year old has committed to watching every movie in the AFI top 100 list, as well as Kiss Of the Spider Woman. What better time than summer to catch a few.
• I've decided to drop my art course and take the summer off. I'll return to the classroom in the fall, but only for the fun classes from now on.
• I'm going to commit to one canning/preserving projectd, if not two. I've had the supplies for quite awhile, have seen some wonderful recipes, and am raring to go. I'm thinking homemade barbecue sauce and either blueberry walnut or cherry pecan conserve, but who knows?
• I need to swim at least five days a week. This has been a down week due to thunderstorms and sleeping late. I feel so much better when I go, I love the brief time sitting in the sun afterwards-its just a good start to my day.
• Turning to the business income front-I'm committing to one large project a week and at least five smaller ones (such as the custom mug rugs I'm making today).I need to be prepared for fall craft fairs and to use every opportunity to sell, as I build an emergency fund.
•  I'm also committing spending one full day on business marketing for my errand business-reaching out to companies and so on
• Also on the income front, I need to get everything on my dining room table listed. Fortunately I don't use the big table on a daily basis and I do try not to have it be a catchall. Right now I have piles of things to list and sell. there's a need to photograph pile, a photographed but not listed pile, and a listed but not put away pile. I've aquired a large pile of vintage cookbooks and sewing patterns and I need to get them sold.
• When it comes to the house, I need to figure out why one toilet is not refilling-out of my area of expertise. I also want to get those lovely chairs painted (and some before and after pictures), and try and get down some more mulch everywhere before the serious heat arrives.
• Finally, I need to plan for the rest of the summer. I have a wedding and a weekend trip in July, and a trip through route 66 to Santa Fe and Denver in August (a brief respite). Funds need to be found, routes need to be planned.........a little organization is in order.

Whew!! That's a lot of business....................guess I should think about getting to it...........eventually.

The Anti-Budget-Tracking Expenses First

Now that the new year is officially here, I've begun some budget planning in earnest for the coming year.  In the middle of this process, I realized that I really don't know what everything costs.  Without knowing that, it's difficult for me to budget-at least in any realistic since.

I've been very bad when it comes to tracking expenses this past year or so. In theory, I have Quicken, and I use it.  The reality is not quite so absolute. I've taken large ATM deposits and spent them without keeping specific track of where they went. I've had cash payments for quilting work done, as well as personal checks that i simply cashed and spent.  There was a period of time that Quicken seemingly lost after my upgrade from Quicken 2007 to Quicken 2010 (If you haven't upgraded-don't!).  All in all, my spending records for the past year or so do not tell the whole story.  Time to turn over a new leaf.

There are some good reasons for me to do some expense tracking:

• In the past I've seriously mis-estimated the amounts that I spent in the past in certain categories (especially transportation). While I can make a goal of spending less than in the past, I need to be realistic about what expenses will be
• I can see if I am "spending on what I do" rather than on what I think I may or should do.  Last year I spent quite a bit of money on gardening supplies, but did little to no gardening.  That's a wake up call to me that I need to start gardening, stop shopping, or in this case, do both.  This is just one example.
• I can see if I revert to emotional spending habits, and I can make sure that my spending is in agreement with my values.
• Because I will download the results quite often, as well as printing out written reports, I'll have an immediate reminder of my spending. That may or may not have a direct result on my spending, who knows.
• Finally, it will, hopefully, move me to keep track of any and all income.  Because I have a variety of small income streams, in the past I have not always documented these amounts.  Money from small craft fairs, rebates, income from online selling-these were never logged in as income. As a result not only do I know my true past expenses, I am unsure of my true past income.

For the moment, I have a rough spending plan for the future year. That combined with some expense tracking should eventually give me a true road map for the next year or so.

Coming next-working on those so called "fixed expenses".

Retirement Income-Why Didn't I Think Of That

I"m still working on that 2012 budget.  A budget is a living thing in the best of times, and with the changes that have gone on and are still going on around me (financially and otherwise), I'm taking a couple days to let everything sit. Then I will go back and look things over with a fresh view-hopefully.  I've already looked at some places that can reasonably be cut, which I will share later. the other side of that double edged sword is that I will need to bring in liquid income.

I should probably say here that as with many things in life, my needing additional income is on some level a choice. I have chosen to stay in my current home, knowing that I will have a mortgage payment for quite some time. I could have downsized or I could trim expenses more. Eventually I will do both. For the moment however, I have chosen to remain in this 2300 square foot home. I love the yard, I love the covered patio. My children are both single and one is a not yet employed college graduate. Both still need a place to come home to, and I appreciate that. I figure I should share these things so that folks reading this don't automatically say to themselves "oh, no!!".  I've chosen regular travel and a home with a mortgage as part of my lifestyle.  Were I to downsize, travel less, or make other changes, life would certainly be different.

I've written about income streams, especially my quilting, before.  This income stream is perfect for me in that it allows me to mainly be at home (craft fairs aside).  Quilting and sewing were hobbies, yet I find that I don't particularly mind being "forced" to do them on a regular basis. Supplies are my only overhead, meaning I have no reason to add commuting costs or a studio to my end costs.

I was really having a problem getting customers and make any major sales.  Although I am a member of the Etsy online selling group, that market tends to be flooded with some kinds of fabric art. I tend to use it as a reference, a place to go so that people can see what I make.  I would really like to do craft fairs in the spring and summer, but because of school was unable to create in the large numbers needed for a fair or market.  Word of mouth can be nice advertising for a home business, but  I needed a bigger telephone chain (for lack of a better description).

Recently I created 25 sets of six quilted coasters each for my sister in law. The coasters were made for SIL to give to her coworkers and the folks working under her in the field.  When I delivered them, she put a bug in my ear, one which I took to the next level.  She casually mentioned that she, as well as my two nieces, had been speaking amongst themselves.  They thought it would be a wonderful idea if I went to a sorority at SMU, which is located not very far away.  The idea was that I would offer to make a sample T-shirt quilt out of sorority shirts, and embroider the Greek letters in the border.  I would do that for free. I would then use the quilt (through pictures and by borrowing said quilt) as a marketing tool during rush week and when girls join. It seems mothers are willing to get their daughters anything related to this particular social group during that time.

This is a great idea for me on many levels. Most of the cost in creating said marketing tool is labor (the shirts are the major portion of the quilt).  Completing the project gives me a small sample and a large quilt, as well as the recommendation of the happy recipient. Tto get the same amount of advertising free would be much more costly-and frankly, my advertising budget is...zero.  When I needed fabric, I am using what I already own.  This is not free, obviously, it is inventory.  But that's not the same as immediate out of pocket costs. I love this idea, and probably would not have thought of it myself-at least not for quite awhile. Next week, I'll be on vacation, visiting family.  Cutting up these shirts will be easy while watching TV, visiting family, or when we're playing Trivial Pursuit and it's not my turn.

Every so often I have what I call, "why didn't I think of that" moments.  This time, I'm every so glad the person who DID think of that is someone close to me, and that they told me first.

Budgeting for the New Year-A Work in Progress

 I don't know about you, but I hate the "B" word.  Yes, I know it has to be done. Yes, I know budget planning is the smart, adult thing to do. Yes, I understand that life will be more enjoyable if I figure out my means and find a way to live on less.  In this case though, I try and avoid both the process and a little bit of reality as long as possible.  We all have our weaknesses.

So, this week I've been making lists. I've listed all of my regular bills, made lists of those irregular expenses, as well as those occasional expenses such as  travel that are important to me.  The end result is that I need to make some budget adjustments.  I knew this would happen, the question remains as to where and how.  A second result is that I will probably need a little additional income in order to do some of the "good stuff'. I knew this would be true as well.

Because I'm a glutton for punishment, first I plugged in the basic, regular monthly bills.  Those include mortgage (insurance and taxes), my utilities, groceries, gas, prescriptions and the like.  My monthly income will cover those costs.

Then I figured out those irregular expenses such as medical copays, car maintenance, and home improvement expenses. I guesstimated those for a year (since they are not what they were in the past) and divided by twelve. I did include travel into this pot. My monthly income will cover some of those expenses but not all. They need to be cut, or some additional income needs to come in.

This is obviously a work in process.  So far, I know some things.  I know I need to look at where I can make reasonable cuts in expenses.  I know that I need to add a category that is savings, and treat it like a bill-I'm not doing living month to month as well as I would like.  Also, I need to increase the money coming in each month. That doesn't mean getting a "real job". It does mean spending a bit more on my sewing business and less time in school.

Now, it's time for me to sit down and set some priorities for spending, saving and yes, a little earning.  Someone online once suggested that you should spend on the things you do every day.  With the exception of travel, that's the guide I'm using on setting my priorities.  Life is always interesting.

Coming soon, a final update on my $500 Christmas and a look at where I can adjust the budget to make life richer in retirement.

Fixed Income Retirement-Keeping the Cable?

In another day or so, I'll be (mainly) finished with school. In the next few weeks I'll be hosting a church cookie exchange, doing various Christmas "fun" stuff, making Christmas gifts, going to craft fairs and planning a trip to Santa Fe and Denver. I'll be making some New Year's Goals (coming soon). . The other thing I'm doing is retooling my budget. 

Now that I've been on my Social Security and pension for two months, I have a better idea of what changes I need to make. I hope to share those categories soon. I'm definitely looking at cutting in a couple areas, as well as increasing some income.  These two changes will allow me to live at the current level as long as possible (to all the people who get nervous here about their monthly income, remember that unlike many of you, I have a full blown mortgage payment and will for awhile-many of you don't have that elephant in the room, or will not for long).  I've been looking at ways to cut expenses, and be more self sufficient. I've also been researching prices and costs. It's an ongoing process and we should all do this every so often no matter our income, I suppose.

After some research, I decided that for now, I will keep the cable. This is not a decision I made lightly, and I have done research and am negotiating a better rate with a different company. But for now at least the cable stays.  Since I did research both streaming (through something like a Roku box), and limiting myself to ten channels, I thought I would share my thought processes as to how I got here.  My reasons may not be your reasons, but here they are in no particular order:

• As a single person, sometimes it's a simple companionship issue, especially in the evenings in the winter. I don't like driving in the dark, which means with one exception most of my socializing is daytime and I am at home at night.  Sometimes I want the noise and the company.
• I adore sports. Neither streaming nor the network only option would be a real solution. At a minimum I also need TNT and ESPN in order to watch American football, football (soccer to you Americans), and college football and basketball.  This is a large concern. If I were younger I could spend my Sunday or Saturday in a sports bar-that's not working for me right now.
• There is, frankly, some damn good programming on television. Yes, there's junk.  There are also programs that are stunning.  Most of those (with the exception of Grimm, Person of Interest, and Prime Suspect) are not on network TV, again.  They are not necessarily on pay TV either-but rather on those upper tier cable channels that go beyond thirteen or so.  FX (Damages. Justified), AMC (the Killing, Breaking Bad) and other channels are where the superior programming is.  Newsweek even wrote an article about this the a month or so, and of the tendency of screen actors like Glenn Close to move to TV programming.  This is where I make a disclaimer:  I like good, hard hitting dramas that keep your attention. It's okay for me if they are violent or R rated.  I don't have young children and I prefer accuracy in programming.  Violence, like anything else, works for me when and if it's well done and fits the plot.
• I don't do a lot of "entertainment spending".  I see a few movies a year, generally those that are the type that need to be seen in a theater. I go to two real musicals or concerts a year and the rest is what I guess you would call repertory and community events-which I enjoy. TV is an entertainment alternative-I've watched whole concerts, plays, and classic movies recently.
• I'm not a slave to the TV.  Whoever that guy or gal was who invented TIVO, they need to get a prize of some kind. I partake of TV when I am in the mood and have the time. I also rarely watch television when I am not doing something else.
• I don't watch TV during the day. Ever. I suppose the last time I watched TV during the day was because my daughter who was visiting turned it on when Michael Jackson died.  Before that, I'm sure it was the Olympics or World Cup if I was watching television on a weekday.  Also, my body clock and my schedule (if you want to call it that) are such that most nights, I eat dinner at around seven and after that I am winding down.  A little mindless drivel can be good for the soul at this point.

Sometimes TV just gets a bad rap, and sometimes cutting television is the smart thing to do.  For those who dismiss TV out of hand, let me say that I cook, I clean, I garden, I read an average of at least two books a week, I walk, I go to school,  and I do lots and lots of constructive things both with my mind and my body.  TV is a small part of my routine-but one that I will keep as long as I can.

Have you cut cable?  Kept it?  Thought about it?

Living Richly In Retirment: Budgeting a Month at a Time

Note:  why is it that some blogs will not allow me to sign in with my Google ID?  I know I'm signed in, but I'm unable to comment on Tamara's blog over at Early Retirement Journey (she has a great post on grocery shopping by the way). It's a conspiracy!

I consider myself to be extremely frugal and really good at getting the best deals. I've shared that here and elsewhere, and on occasion have been crowned the queen of frugal.  However, as always there are two sides to every coin.

The other side of mine is this:  I am not a great financial manager/budgeter.  In other words, I do the best with what I am given, but my nature is such that what I am given will all be spent in the end. I am a grasshopper at heart (and was married to a grasshopper with a little ant gene mixed in there somewhere). I am also, by nature, not an organized person. If it isn't written down it may not get done, if you get my drift.

I say all the above not to complain in any way. I enjoy living richly on the money I have, and have a full life. However, my primary concern in terms of money management lately has not been the amount, but the way the money comes in.  Most of it has been irregular (in terms of time and date, if you will)

For the first half of our marriage, we were paid monthly.  My husband was in the military and we actually chose once a month pay deliberately.  It only took me a couple months and I was "in the groove".  For the second half of our time together we were paid every two weeks. Then, I went to my monthly pension (and drew out money whenever I "needed to"), and some irregular income streams. NOW, I get a pension on the first, and social security on the second Wednesday. I really do not like having to do money management issues weekly. I prefer to take a day, sit down, pay the bills, give myself an allotment and save the rest.  Although this sounds like a small issue, it has been extremely frustrating, as well as distracting.

I'm working now to circumvent this issue.  I approached as many monthly bills as I could, and asked if they could change my due date to the 15th of the month. I'm still working on this, but both my mortgage and my electric bill seem to have been taken care of so far. Second, even though I get paid anywhere from seven to fourteen days apart, I plan to treating my finances like I have one payday. I'm letting that paycheck that will arrive on Monday sit in the bank (barring unknown circumstances) until the 9th, at which point I will sit down and pay everything from phone to utilities to car insurance. Hopefully now that I am finally in  a pemanent  financial "place" (social security, pension and quilting incomeatwo of which have regular dates), I will be able to get on an even keel.

Some folks (retirees and otherwise), don't like having to deal with being paid monthly. They end up having too much month and not enough cash, or being a afraid to spend it all at the beginning of the pay period.  Some folks also are unable to adjust bills and so end up having to pay things as they come through by dribs and drabs.  While I have no answer to the second problem, I have a little experience and sucess with the first.  Part of my sucess is by giving every single dollar a "name" (a technique which is probably worth it's own missive.  Another contributor to sucess in this area is that I pantry shop, or shop to replenish.  Rather than have amonthly food budget (for example), I shop to replenish my pantry and freezer with loss leaders (the exceptions are produce and milk).  Finally, in the early days, I simply took what was left and divided it into four envelopes and hid the others. I won't talk about those times when I forgot where I hid an envelope.

As is my mantra these days, we all have to do what works for us. Some of you may not have "monthly income". Some may have an annual amount and divide it into weekly or monthly increments. Some may still get paid weeky (throught non government sources). However often (or infrequently) your money comes in, consolidated is the key to easy money management.  At least in my experience.  Do you love or hate the way you get "paid"?

Living Richly On A Fixed Income-Looking After The Little Things

As I'm fairly sure anyone who has ever read this blog knows, I am not one to bemoan living on a fixed income (most of the time).  I haven't retreated to the house, given up friends and entertaining, or forgotten about traveling.  I try and live my early retirement life by doing things I enjoy and that are challenging, spontaneous even.

One of the ways I manage to do that is by remembering to mind the little things.  If you're like me, you have more than one or two of those small expenses.  These are expenses that we make simply out of habit.  Mainly I'm talking about day to day expenses here.  These tend to be the kind of expenses that one blogger calls "But it's only....." costs. Often this kind of spending is mindless-we hardly notice it at the time. That, or else we decide that it's only a small luxury, sometime to make us feel good-at least temporarily. However, savings is savings, no matter the amount.  While some may say that it makes no sense to watch the lattes (or colas), many lattes make a movie ticket.  On some level, savings is always offset by something else-be it the $60.00 cable bill or the $6.00 lunch. In my case, I would prefer that money to go towards the "something else".

Different folks have different money drains.  Mine tend to be food and books. I'm not talking dining here, rather fast food out and food waste at home.  Or my habit of grabbing magazines or books when there are perfectly good books at the library. Lately, I've been trying to make a more concerted effort to tighten the proverbial faucet. I have some improvements I want to make to my house (some small, but they do add up). Christmas is looming, along with attendant travel, celebrations and concerts.

When it comes to "food out" , two days a week I attend school from late morning to early evening. Often on a third day I am out and about for a large part of the day-it may be shopping and doing errands, sightseeing, spending the day at the zoo, or some other event. Left to my own devices the water, snacks and lunches on these days could add up to more than just pennies. I've taught myself to take a page out of my frugal travel book (the picnic lunch page).  Since I've always had a well stocked pantry, I have a small lunch bag and I pack a lunch, some extra drinks a snack and napkin and silverware (I always keep hand wipes and some crackers in my care). Simply doing this has saved me between ten and fifteen dollars on days I attend college alone.

As for "food in". This is a work in progress.  I'm an expert at shopping and eating healthily and well on a budget-the extreme coupon shopper at work.  However, I'm still not at the level I would like to be when it comes to food waste.  Even though I cook in bulk and freeze, and use many "for two" recipes, waste is still a problem.  And, with the cost of food these days, that adds up.  Some of this is because I'm still adjusting amounts. Sometimes this happens because my son or I think we have a plan instead of freezing. Sometimes things still get lost in the fridge.  So I've been much more careful-if I don't think something will be used right away I freeze it, and I encourage both son and myself to eat leftovers for lunches and snacks.  Another small savings that will add up.

Lastly, in order to keep my budget under control, I've put my kindle aside except for travel and a few other occasions. Yes, I know, many will sing praises of the kindle. In some places you can download books from the library, there are free books, and so on. However, a great majority of my reading is current mystery or non fiction (John Sanford, Michael Connelly, current craft books).  Often these things can be upwards of ten dollars even on a Kindle. Not bad perhaps, but at my library they are free. I can reserve them well in advance of publication and read them almost as soon as they come out.  I do reserve my kindle for somethings-if I can get a textbook at a reasonable price I do so even if I cannot resell it, for example (just because of the weight factor). But other than for study and travel, I've removed the buy it now option and put my kindle aside for day to day reading.

What about you-do you have small leaks that can be plugged here and there go get you better financial results?  If not, you may be able to  make substitutions-something I'll talk about soon.