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The Envelope System

My mother is a very visual and kinesthetic learner. She needs to be able to see things and touch things in order to understand them. A long line of numbers in a checkbook ledger does nothing for her, and she insists that calculators are evil creatures with minds of their own. When she and my dad divorced years ago, she asked that her alimony be given to her in cash, and she placed the proper amount of money into envelopes marked “rent,” “food,” “utilities,” “gas,” and so forth. This was the only way in which she was able to see … Continue reading →

Envelopes Budgets

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A friend of mine came up with this simple budgeting scheme and I just had to share. It is a perfectly easy way to plan your expenditures each month and ensure you stick to them. I call it an Envelopes Budget. The process is simple. Start by tracking your expenses each month to get an idea of where your money is going (this is good to do anyway!) Once you have a basic plan, put a budget into place. Start by creating large categories for each expense and an appropriate budget amount, examples would be: *Groceries *Entertainment *Utilities *Gas *Rent … Continue reading →

How to Be Prepared for Black Friday 2013

Shopping for the best 2013 Black Friday Deals? This year, things may be a little different. Be prepared with the following tips, and you’ll get the best prices without being overwhelmed. It is solid advice to get you through the most important shopping day of the year. By making the following preparations now, you’ll be sure not to lose out on those bargains and at the same time, have everything be a positive and fun experience. Prepare for the Changes Swallow that turkey and be out the door by early evening if you want to start your Black Friday shopping. … Continue reading →

Why Credit Card Spending Doesn’t Feel Real

It is true. Spending cash is painful to us, while using a credit card doesn’t quite feel real. Oh sure, logically we know that we are spending the money on that new television, iPad or boots, but there is a well-documented disconnect in our brains that makes it much easier to spend when we do it with a credit card. Think I might be wrong? The average household credit card debt through the end of 2012 was $15,422. The average cash debt? That is $0, of course. With cash, you don’t want spend what you don’t have. So why does … Continue reading →

We’ve Been Compromised

For the second time in just a few months, one of our cards has been compromised. This time, it was my husband’s American Express card. Apparently, a thief had made a duplicate card and tried to charge hundreds of dollars in Columbia–the country not the school. When my husband used the card the next day to buy lunch in Pennsylvania, an automatic alert went out, and the card company contacted him to verify that there was fraud happening. Fortunately, we were not liable for the charges, the account was swiftly closed and a new card issued. One of the interesting … Continue reading →

Organizing Your Non-Perishables

How is your pantry looking? I don’t have one but no matter where you store your cans and boxes, you might be looking at nothing more than a hot mess. The other day I blogged about organizing your spices so they are easily accessible. I mentioned how I had duplicates and sometimes several containers of the same spice. Well the same thing can happen with your non-perishables if you don’t have a good organizational system in place. You may be wasting money on items that you already have. Let’s start with your cans. It’s best to organize them by category. … Continue reading →

Why You’ll Spend Less with Cash

There have been many different studies that show that consumers spend more money when they use credit card. There are a number different reasons for this. If you can’t avoid using credit cards, or even debit cards (which also seem to make people spend more) then it is best to understand why you are likely to spend more so you can make good choices and avoid being another statistic. Of course, if you can get away with only using cash, then you’ll be in great shape! Tax States Some states charge sales tax and some do not. It used to … Continue reading →

Health Insurance Approval Letters Should Include Cost of Premium

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I have noticed that, most of the time, health insurance companies neglect to put a key piece of information into the approval letters that they send to customers. They fail to put in what the cost of the premium will be. I think that insurers should be legally required to put that into approval letters. Here are the reasons why I think so. When an insurer sends an approval letter to a customer, it means that the insurance company has taken all the information from the person’s application, and calculated how expensive it would be to cover the medical care … Continue reading →

Create a Sun Catcher

The sun is coming! The sun is coming! We’re halfway through winter time already, and even though it may seem dim out there, it’s really, truly going to get brighter soon. Celebrate the return of the sunshine by creating a sun catcher! Sun is the power that fuels life on earth. It’s the source of energy for plants, who use sunshine, water, and carbon dioxide to create sugars through a process called photosynthesis. This is amazing! People and animals eat the plants and get energy from them as well. Other animals eat those animals, and an ecosystem is born. In … Continue reading →

Air, Fire, Water: Understanding the Elements on Your Property

It’s the season of the elements. Winter is a time when the weather looms large in our consciousness, making us worry about the perennials and plan for the annuals that will soon come. Here, a mild winter fades into spring, another season of blustery wind and weather. You can fight against the weather, but in the long run, the weather tends to win. That’s why it’s best to work with the weather and create a garden that works well with your local weather conditions. That way, you’ll have fewer winter worries and more time to enjoy the delights of the … Continue reading →