On Debt

Credit is a necessity.  You have to have it.  Unfortunately, it's far too easy to let it get out of hand.  This is the position I find myself in now.  I am making my monthly payments on my 3 major credit cards, and in excess of the minimum, but I'm just not comfortable with the amount of debt I'm carrying.

This is not the result of negligence or irresponsibility by any means.  It's because, since 2008, I've had several very expensive unplanned for "emergencies," and they have had to go on credit.  I'm talking one year where I had so much dental work (root canals, extractions, crowns, bridges) that I exceeded my covered annual limit.  BAM.  $2000.  Then my roof had to be replaced due to storm damage.  Yes, it was covered by my homeowners insurance, but I upgraded the quality of the shingles to 30 year, and there was underlying damage to some wood that wasn't covered.  BAM.  $2500.  Last year I discovered black mold in a bathroom that desperately needed to be redone anyway.  I called in a contractor to give me an estimate and he discovered that the floor was also falling in.  They had to tear it out down to the crawl space and rebuild it.  BAM.  $5000 for the demo/construction plus an additional $1500 for new fixtures/paint, tile, etc.  In July this year Camille had breathing difficulties over the holiday weekend and had to go to the emergency vet clinic.  BAM.  $1600.  In a nutshell it has added up and added up faster than I can keep it paid off.

So I have a plan.  I think a plan is crucial.  It's one thing to accept that you're carrying too much debt but without a PLAN there's no way out.  I now know exactly how I will pay it off.  I know exactly how much I am going to pay on each card every month.  Barring any additional emergencies I know I will have the two highest interest rate cards paid off in 20 months.  This will leave one card to pay off (the lowest interest rate but highest balance) and once the others are paid off I think I can get that one under control in 18 months.

So where am I going to find the fundage to do this?  Stay tuned!

The Electric Bill

I live in Georgia. It gets really hot in the summer. The first two years I lived in this house there was no central air conditioning. It was terribly unpleasant. Luckily there are about 2 months in the spring and 2 months in the fall when neither heat nor air conditioning is necessary, at least not constantly. The other 8 months I'm paying either GA Power or GA Natural Gas far more than I would like.


My last electric bill was $191. I decided it was time to cut back, and I'll share some of what I'm doing.

1. Install a programmable thermostat. I just installed one of these about 2 years ago and I love it. I especially love it on cold winter mornings. I got a cheapo model, about $45. It has already paid for itself.


2. Turn down your water heater! Most folks have their water heater set far higher than is necessary.


3. Ceiling fans. I have ceiling fans in every room. Now, it might seem counterintuitive to install something that runs on electricity in order to lower an electric bill but they do. Hot air rises, cool air falls. Running ceiling fans in the winter keeps the heat distributed. Running them in the summer supplements the AC. Once a week turn them off and dust the blades! The blades pick up an extraordinary amount of dust and dirt. Regularly cleaning this off will keep them running at peak performance. Also, ceiling fans have a switch allowing you to change the direction of the rotation. This should be done seasonally. In the summer the direction should be counterclockwise. In winter change this so the fan runs clockwise.

4. Turn the thermostat up/down by 2 degrees. My personal rule of thumb is that between outdoor temps of 60 and 80 my windows are open. Kind of stupid that I'm OK with 80 when the windows are open and yet I need to have my AC set at 74, right? So little by little I've changed my thermostat. My daytime setting is now 80, and I have it set to go down to 77 at night for comfortable sleeping. I'll admit that will seem a bit extreme to some but I've honestly gotten used to it already. It isn't so bad. If I'm cleaning or if I get on the treadmill I'll do a temporary override and turn it down for an hour or so but 80 is just fine, and with the ceiling fans running it is mostly quite comfortable. I'll revisit my heat settings when the cool weather sets in but I think I can shave a couple of degrees off there as well. I like it a bit on the cold side anyway.


5. Use your curtains and blinds! Don't just open them in the morning and close them at night. I have one bedroom window where the sun just beats in for a couple of hours every afternoon and if I don't close the blinds during this time period it can get quite hot in there.


6. Lights. This is a hard one for me. I live in a very small house. I firmly believe in decorating with light. Especially in the winter I love keeping at least one lamp on in each of my 4 rooms. It makes it cozy and warm and welcoming. I've put a bit of a lid on that. I don't sit in the dark by any means but unless I'm in the room the lights are off. I've replaced the bulb on each of my outdoor lights with CFLs. I will gradually do the same inside as the incandescents burn out.


7. "Ghost" electricity pigs. Unplug your chargers unless you are actively charging something! If you have power strips turn them off at night and when you are away! I realized a few months ago that my TV has a switch. Even when the TV is off, unless the switch is also off it continues to use power. I haven't yet gotten in the habit of turning that switch off at night so I've put a post it note on my bathroom mirror to remind me.

So these are some of the things I'm doing to save in the utility department. I'll get my power bill in the next couple of weeks and I'll be interested to see if these efforts have made a difference. I'll let you know.

Why Frugal?

Well, duh. Unless you've been living under a rock since 2008 you know why. Unemployment hovers around the 10% mark, especially here in GA. Gas prices are out of control. Prices rise but salaries don't.





My personal story: I started with my company as a temp in December, 2002 after having been unemployed for 5 months. It was the worst 5 months of my life, especially coming on the heels of a divorce. My self-esteem was non-existant. I knew that I was nothing but trash. I borrowed $3000 from my parents to make it through and to make sure the divorce was final. In September, 2003 I was hired permanently and refinanced my house in accordance with the divorce agreement - a full 9 months before I had to. My ex was paid $21,500 for sitting in this house and smoking pot and watching me put sweat equity into it for 2 years while he watched TV. I still have no earthly idea how the court arrived at that figure. I hope he's choking on it and I fully believe in karma.





But I digress.





I've now worked for my company for 8 years. I started as an invoicing person and in 3 months was promoted to a buyer. Less than a year later I was asked to go to Tokyo and I thought this was an excellent investment in my future. While I was in Tokyo for a year my company was sold to a corporate conglomerate. I continued to do whatever was asked of me regardless of personal sacrifice. I traveled for months on end to countries where I did not speak the language and somehow managed to thrive, always knowing that eventually my efforts would be recognized in the form of a fair and equitable raise in salary.





It was not to be. After many phone calls and emails I had a salary review (started in April, 2010 and finalized in February 2011) and oddly enough I am exactly at "market value." Like a cut of fucking meat. How convenient. Also I've had 5 "titles" in the past 5 years. I've been A Project Administrator, Project Manager, Program Manager . . . all of which have searchable salaries on the internet, and all of which have salaries exceeding mine in my location. And now I'm a "Senior Project Analyst" which, oddly enough, is a title there is NO SALARY INFORMATION FOR WHATSOEVER. Hmmmm.





I love my job. Truly I love it. I love what I do and I love the people I work with and so "it is what it is." I've revamped my resume and I could start a job search but frankly I've worked a load of jobs and this is the only one I've ever loved. I know I'm worth more. Not a huge amount more, but I know I'm worth more. And yet, since I love my job, and since I've had 2 tiny salary increases in 8 years that haven't even covered the cost of living increase I've had to find it within myself to cut back so I can continue doing what I love.





With two tiny salary increases in the past 8 years my take home is far less than it was in 2004. Our "contribution" to our health insurance increases every year, even as the benefits are reduced. I've managed to increase my 401(k) contribution to 13% when by now it should be at least 17%, if not 20%. When I started, gas was $1.02/gallon. Now it's $3.50 (as of today in GA). My electricity, gas, home insurance, water . . . all have increased substantially. But not the salary.





That said, I am thankful I am employed. I am thankful that I support myself. I have a small list of "want" items. For instance, I "want" a new bed. My bed is 10 years old and it was the very cheapest thing I could afford when I divorced and my ex took the bed. It was better than sleeping on the floor. So, yes. I want a new bed. I "want" to replace the carpet in my "study." None of this is necessary right now. I am able to feed myself with nutritious, good food. I am able to pay my $659/month mortgage. I am able to provide for my feline family and make sure they have their annual vet visits. I am RICH compared to so many and I have nothing to complain about!





And so I have found ways to be frugal. And so these are things I will share in coming posts.

Time To Resurrect The Blog

It has been two years since I dropped my blog altogether, and I thought it was about time to resurrect it. So what have I been doing?

I've been working on my home (as usual). I've been working in my yard (as usual). I will catch up on posting about these projects and will make sure I post some photos.

My last work travel was in September/October 2009 when I spent a month in London. It was incredible.

I'm not sure where the blog is going. First and foremost on my mind these days is finding ways to be more frugal, and I'll be posting quite a bit about this topic since I think it's something on everyone's mind.

Last year I started formally indulging my love of cooking, and I am now a volunteer assistant at a local business that holds cooking classes. I started canning last year and I now count this among my favorite activities. I'll be blogging quite a lot about cooking and canning. I think it goes along with the frugal thing.

And, of course, there will be cats. My feline family is now up to 6. One is, I hope, a foster. I need to find her a permanent home where she can be an only cat.

So. Hi again, y'all! I'm looking forward to this! I'll admit that Facebook diverted my attention for a few years and while I still enjoy that it isn't the same kind of outlet that a true blog is.

Are any of you still out there? Please comment if you are.

Snail Mail

I am on a specific mission this year. Since the internet age the tradition of sending Christmas cards has gone in the can. It is so lovely to receive a Christmas card so I am trying - one woman at a time - to revive this.

Send me your snail mail address and you will receive a Christmas card from me. Nothing special, just a Christmas card.

Yes I suck. As sister Susannah pointed out this morning IN ALL CAPS on facebook - I have not been updating my blog. Keep in mind please - this was my first ever solo flight project that I was responsible for by myself (with huge support from so many people otherwise I would have died I am certain). Every free moment I had was spent working with the exception of 2 1/2 weekend days out of 6 that I did NOT work and actually went out and saw things and took pictures. Looking back on my expense report I see I did get out of the hotel a few times but mostly had dinner via room service while working. Also I like sleeping a lot - preferably 7-8 hours a night but even this was impossible and I was doing maybe 5 tops. So if it came down to updating the blog or sleeping I'm afraid sleep won out.

I've just loaded my photos onto the hard drive and I really WILL work out a post which hopefully will show and tell you about the wonderful things I saw during my month in London.

From London

I decided I wasn't going to start posting again until I really had something to say. Well get ready because I arrived in London today. I'll be here a month training staff here. I've already taken a few photos of my accommodations (before I collapsed) and will be posting and filling you all in within the next couple of days.

If there are any of you still out there. . .