Home Salon Savings

I was supposed to get a haircut and color a couple of weeks ago but injured my back when I slipped on some ice and didn't reschedule my appointment. I was looking (and feeling) pretty ragged, but didn't want to spend $80 to $100 for a cut and color at this point and my daughter needed her hair done too. That would double the cost so we decided to do it at home this time around.

Both of us have long naturally mousy brown hair, mine is over 50% gray and my college aged daughter looks great as a redhead. Yesterday I did one of my couponing trips to the local Dominicks store and got nearly $200 worth of stuff for $106.77. Of course there were hair color coupons in there. I picked up Garnier for me because it was cheap and Feria for the girl because of the color (and coupon).

We broke out the old red towels, 2 timers and put on old t-shirts and got busy. This was actually the first time we did this together. Occasionally, I would dye her hair or she would do mine, but never both at the same day... with dinner cooking, too.

It actually worked out perfectly. We started with mine because of the gray it had to cook longer. While mine was "cooking" I started hers. Thank goodness for 2 timers. I don't know if I could stay on top without those. Talk about a bloodbath... when I finally rinsed her hair in the bathtub with the shower wand, it was like something out of a horror movie and looked like blood in the bathtub and she commented that maybe when she has her own place she'll do a psycho themed bath. That's my little spook!

After we were all rinsed and conditioned the haircuts began. Neither one of us are expert cutters and just cut an inch or two from the bottom and did a bangs trim. It worked out fine and we both have a basic long hair with bangs haircut. My hair was very stringy from the last kid at the salon who layered it all funky and I was happy to have some of that taken off. I still have some of the layering but its not all stringy like the step-child anymore. It really aggravates me that haircuts are so expensive, even at the so-called discount places like Haircuttery and everyone is so inexperienced. Ideally, I would want my hair done by someone over 35 and for about $50 for cut and color, but that ain't happening in the area where I live.

Now we look and feel so much better and saved about $200 ($300 if you count groceries savings that day). Just as we were finishing the stove timer went off. Dinnertime... and not a moment too soon.

The Tri-level Emergency Fund

Here's something I've been doing for some time and just saw an article on the Frugal Dad blog that showed me that a lot of others are doing it too. It is called the tri-level emergency fund and its a great idea.

Basically, you have three emergency funds. One within arms reach, the second fairly close by and the third one for the long-term.

The first would be a cash stash at home for when you need money on the spot and can't run to an ATM, power is out, etc. I've been doing this for years just for piece of mind. Frugal Dad suggests stashing about $500 or so. I generally like to keep $200-$500 in what I call my piggy bank account...my secret cash stash. And, no, I'm not telling you where it is!

The second is a local checking account where you can write checks for those things that happen that aren't always budgeted for such as busticated something or another or some kind of budget busting situation. This is the curve-ball or Murphy fund for when shit happens and things that pop up once or twice a year that would blow your normal monthly budget, such as car repairs, home repairs, speeding tickets... that type of thing. Dave Ramsey would probably call this the baby emergency fund so let's put about $1,000 there ($500 if your income is under $20K). The way I personally work this account is that I have a savings account at the same bank where I have my checking account. I transfer a set amount from my checking account every month to take it out of my normal spending allowance. Since they are both at the same bank, I can transfer money back and forth as needed online to take care of life's little emergencies. Ideally, I would like to see about $2-3k here as a more liquid account. Murphy seems to visit my house often, you see.

The third emergency fund is that real one people talk about where you have several thousand dollars socked away. That's my money market account over at the credit union which I will fund to 3-6 months of expenses after I dig myself out of debt. (I'm still only on baby step 2). Suze Orman says 8 months expenses is the correct amount. Personally, that is really a stretch goal for my situation and I'm sure many others feel that way. It's one of the reasons I can relate more to Dave than Suze. She's more for the yuppy crowd.

Many people put this main emergency fund (#3) into a higher paying online savings account at ING or Ally or a money market account or CD. This is the emergency fund for the big emergencies such as job loss or major illness when you are literally living off your savings so don't touch it for anything less. Life's little curveballs are paid from account #2. Unfortunately, right now I am nowhere near fully-funded in the main emergency fund, but I'm making direct deposits from my paycheck to get it going. I think that when I get it up to $8-10K I will be happy and start investing and working more on college and retirement goals.

I hope this idea of a tri-level emergency fund helps you also. I think it is the one thing that I am personally doing that will help me avoid credit card debt.

Helping pay down the National Debt

Hey, guess what I discovered today while working on my taxes. Turbo tax gave me an opportunity to get back part of my refund in savings bonds and gave a link to treasury direct. While surfing the site I noticed that one of the options is to make a payment to the treasury to help pay down the debt. I don't know if you've noticed, but there is a national debt counter on the site here and it is $14 gagillion and something and counting. I think I read somewhere recently that it adds up to over $40,000 per person in America. Now isn't that just dandy the way they spend our money?

Just in case you are looking to help reduce the national debt, here's the link You can pay online with credit card (that is, if you have not had your plasectomy yet) or you can mail them a check.

In a way I'm tempted to help because I love this country and am concerned about my kids future, but it is not a tax deductible donation, so I will continue giving my financial support to organizations that help people with autism or other charities. When our country can balance their budget and act halfway responsible with taxpayer money and make a good faith effort in getting America out of the hole, maybe I'll reconsider. Right now, I don't care to be an enabler.

Atlas Shrugged Trailer released today

Yes!  My favorite book is finally coming to the big screen on April 15, 2011.  The trailer just came out today so check it out.  I can't wait.  This one is going to be gooooooood!



Visit the Official Atlas Shrugged Movie Web Site!

Me and Dave Ramsey: a love/hate thang going on

I am re-reading The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.  I had loaned the book to a friend about a year ago and just got it back.  Unfortunately, the book was not read by the friend I loaned it to over all those months. That makes kat sad.

Over the last couple of years I've read and watched a lot about personal finance and Dave is the one that resonates with me.  Maybe its because of his distrust of government, maybe its just old-fashioned common sense, maybe its his sense of humor or his insights.  I just like the dude and try to tune into his radio program workday afternoons via the internet.

I have my differences with him though but they are not deal breakers.  I am not religious and this was a big hurdle for me, but I've gotten so the bible verses don't really bother me much anymore and sometimes even make sense. "The rich will rule over the poor and the borrower is slave to the lender" is from the bible, but it is so so true.  I just have to realize that most people are religious and his ministry speaks to them on a different level than they speak to atheists like me.

I am working my snowball in my own way and probably could give it more gazelle intensity.  Part of the purpose of writing this blog is to keep myself motivated to get out of debt.  I am over 45 so I am not giving up my 401k investments completely while I pay off the credit cards.  I pay myself before the credit cards and with my budget so tight, I don't have a lot going to my snowball.

The other thing I do that would have Dave screaming at me is having whole life insurance.  I am not in a position to self-insure and I have a special needs kid, so this small policy is my piece of mind and will fund a small special needs trust for him upon my passing.  I also have a term policy through work and an additional term policy that is good until I'm 80 years old.  Term life insurance always sounds hunky dory and is way less expensive than whole life, but I can't help but feel that I'm betting against myself and I don't like that.  My life expectancy is longer than the term policy and I will most likely outlive them.  I will most likely be financially responsible for my son in some way all his life and I need insurance past the age of retirement. So now I've got my small whole life policy, term life, and my long-term care policies in place, along with a will and special needs trust.  I resisted for a long time doing the will, but then got prepaid legal at work and just took care of my paperwork.  I'm glad I finally did. Even if you are like me and don't have a lot of assets, it is good to have your paperwork in order, just in case.

Grocery shopping today

Today we went to Sam's Club to buy groceries.  I am trying very hard to stick to a budget of about $150 a week for groceries.  Sam's is the place where you buy things in bulk, but for my piggy family, it goes too fast to feel like we're buying in bulk. Yes, food prices are rising and even our beloved 8 o'clock Colombian coffee that used to be one of the best bargains there went up in price from $11.22 to $11.96 per bag.  They say prices are not rising and we have to worry about deflation, but that's a crock.  What they don't normally tell you is that the consumer price index does not count food and energy prices in their calculations and that is where the consumers feel it most.  At least my family does.

Anyway, today was the first time in at least 10 years where I paid for more than $100 groceries with cash.  Let me tell you it was weird.  Talk about keeping it real.  You are way more aware of your spending when you are counting out that money at the checkout.  I am not quite doing the envelope system and I do find that debit card transactions are so much easier to keep track of with online banking.  Try paying for things with cash more and you find it more difficult to spend money.  And if you are like me and trying to spend less and save more, it will help you avoid some of the impulse spending.  Try it next time you go shopping.

Watch Ads for Money & Prizes

I'd like to introduce you to a new opportunity called Varolo. It is sort of like an advertising or marketing research program with a social networking element. You watch and rate ads for cash, credits and chances to win prizes and when you bring others into the program you win if they win... so basically its a win-win!

We're all tired of being bombarded by irrelevant ads; after all, many of us have replaced our radios with MP3 players, we use DVR's to fast-forward over commercials on our TVs, and our magazines and newspaper subscriptions are rapidly being replaced by online news, blogs, and virtual magazines. We've also adopted technologies like pop-up blockers and ad-block browser plugins, all because the ads we're seeing are neither timely nor relevant to our individual interests.

Our society feels that advertisements are a nuisance because they waste our time, aren't usually topical or relevant, and usually disrupt our other activities. As a result, advertisers are frustrated. Varolo was designed to solve the problems and waste associated with advertising. Varolo incents us to watch relevant ads that match our interests in exchange for chances to win huge weekly jackpots and through direct pay, leveraging the social networks they build. Through Varolo, users can also receive exclusive promotions and coupons directly from advertisers. Varolo also offers users a method to donate their time that translates directly into monetary donations to their favorite charities. By making ads relevant for users, and also giving them direct benefits--all while creating real value for consumers and advertisers, we create a true win-win scenario!
How it works

* Varolo is completely, 100% free!
* Fill out your free profile so advertisers can send you ads based on you and your interests.
* Advertisers are paying you to watch ads rather than television networks and other advertising mediums
* Each ad you watch gives you a chance to win a huge weekly jackpot.
* You can build a village of friends you have invited to Varolo and earn money on each ad they watch. Your village consists of your friends, their friends, their friends, and even their friends!

C'mon, take the tour and see how you can watch and rate ads for money and fabulous prizes.  Click the banner above.

Snowballing into the New Year

“You can’t spend more than you make, you’re not in Congress!” - Dave Ramsey

At the beginning of every year many of us make “New Year’s Resolutions.” We set personal goals and promise ourselves we will take the necessary steps to improve our life and our situation, for example:
• Lose weight
• Stop smoking
• Get out of debt

I’ve made these resolutions myself. Sometimes they stick and sometimes they don’t. I’m going to talk to you today about trying to get out of debt, why it didn’t work for me before and the debt snowball method that I am using now.

Back in 2009, I decided that I needed to get out of debt. I started reading and watching financial gurus like Suze Orman, David Bach, and Dave Ramsey, and learning all about personal finance. I paid off my credit cards, leaving only my student loan and mortgage. It felt good to be making progress. Unfortunately, it didn’t really stick.

You see, I cheated by refinancing my townhouse and pulling out some extra money to pay down that credit card debt. Hindsight being 20/20 says that it was a horrible idea. My house payment is now nearly half of my monthly take-home pay, and I consider myself lucky at this point not to be underwater or in foreclosure. I guess I learned the hard way that moving money around is not the same as paying off debt.

Sadly, I only stayed out of debt for a few months and then life happened. Car and home repairs, trips, busted computers, etc., etc. and out came the credit card. This is what happens when you don’t have an emergency fund or the discipline to really stop charging (or saying no).

Coin Collecting - The Hobby of Kings

Coin collecting is often called the hobby of kings.  For centuries people have collected coins for fun and profit.  It is also a way of saving money.  There are several types of coins to collect... new mint sets, foreign coins, circulating coins such as state quarters or presidential dollars, numismatic or rare coins, commemorative/rounds, barter medallions, and bullion coins such as American Eagles which are valued for their gold or silver content.

All of these are great ways to collect coins and over time you will generally gravitate towards a certain type of coin collecting.  I'm just starting out and so I'm focusing on coins in circulation, the dollars and quarters and trying to find pre-1964 US coins with a 90% silver content... sometimes referred to as "junk silver."  At the bank the other day, I got some shiny new Abe Lincoln dollar coins for a buck each.  See your local bank teller and ask to see what they have. I also went through all my moms change jars and got a bunch of state quarters and paid a quarter each. I picked up some coin collecting folders at Half Price Books that I'm filling up.  Let me tell you, getting the coins into those darn holes is not an easy task!

For those interested in collecting numismatic coins, a good place to start on a budget is with the Morgan Silver Dollars or peace dollars. Gold bugs go for the Double Eagles and St. Gaudens.  Find a reputable dealer for gold and rare coins to be safe.  APMEX Gold and Silver is good and Shayne McGuire, author of Hard Money also recommends Austin Rare Coins, a reputable dealer in Austin, Texas.  Also, you should become familiar with coin grades which can range from AG-3 to MS-70 (MS = mint state).  Check your local Borders bargain section for what is commonly known as the red book for $3.99 for last years book.  It will give you the basics and is updated yearly so if you want the current edition it is about $15.

Bullion coins are very popular and you can buy coins in different weights from different countries.  The US American Eagles are very popular as are Canadian Maple Leafs, Chinese Pandas and coins from countries such as Australia, South Africa, and others.  The Eagles come in weights of 1/10, 1/2 and 1 oz and the larger the coin, the less markup you pay so save up for that one ouncer. I am also just dying to get my paws on some Austrian Philharmonic Coins... but alas, things are really tight now and working my debt snowball so those beautiful gold coins will have to wait.