I did badly this month, even with being gone for a week. I spent 239.41 during the month of May. This averaged out to be $59.86 per week. Part the reason for this is we had to buy more perishables when we got back from our honeymoon and we also we found a great deal on sodas and stockpiled enough for the next three months.
I am now averaging $52.45/week. If I am to achieve my goal of $50/week, I will have to spend average less than $48.20/week for the rest of year. Given the increases in cost at grocery store and the decreasing of deal I am not sure I will be able to achieve my goal. I will still try for the rest of the year but plan to increase my goal next year to $55/week, unless something changes.
1 Million Dollars
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Citibank's credit cards were hacked
As I was reading some of my favorite blogs I came across an article about hackers hacking into citibanks and stealing credit card numbers, emails and names of cardholders. If you have a citibank credit card, like I do, please go read this article and check your credit card purchases online. If you get an email from "citibank" about your credit card do not follow the link.
Read more at
http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2011/06/10/citi-credit-cards-hacked-what-it-means-for-cardholders/
Read more at
http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2011/06/10/citi-credit-cards-hacked-what-it-means-for-cardholders/
Frugal Food
When I moved out on my own, I could not cook. Well, I could not cook most things. I remember one night trying to make dinner and getting so confused I called a friend's parent and had her walk me through how to cook whatever I was cooking though I do not remember what it was. I have gotten much better now and also have bought a crockpot which helps a lot. I have learned to watch sales and stockpile but it is just a fact of life that certain types foods will be cheaper than other types. For example ground beef is cheaper than steak but I can get a good deal on both. Since I am trying to say money on food I am going to start pricing out some of my favorite frugal recipes and posting it. Today's is crockpot chili.
Chili
ground beef or turkey-$1.99/lb using one pound
can of black beans .69/can
can of kidney beans .69/can
taco or chili powder depending on the size it would be at max .79/each
tomato soup .69/can use two
Brown the meat, then throw everything in the crockpot and leave on low for 8 hours.
You now have about 4-6 servings of chili for $5.54, about one dollar a serving. If you can afford or want to, you can add cheese and/or sour cream once it is in bowls. Adding that might increase the cost to $1.50 per serving.
Now I hate eating the same thing day after day so I understand if you are sitting there going but I am not eating 4 meals of chili in a row. I would not do it either. What I do is put half in the freezer for a later date and eat one bowl of chili and then the next meal we cut up a potato, fry it in vegetable oil and pour the chili over it and make chili fries. I may spend a little more on the vegetable oil and the potato but not much (maybe another .50) and it makes me willing to eat the leftovers.
Some people may say that these are not health meal because there are no fruits or vegetables in them. You could add in some frozen corn to the chili or stewed tomatoes but I found I did not like it that way. Some people might add some vegetables on the side but for me, I am ok with an occasional cheap meal that does not have everything in it. We can't always be good.
Anyone else who has a great frugal meal, let me know in the comments.
Chili
ground beef or turkey-$1.99/lb using one pound
can of black beans .69/can
can of kidney beans .69/can
taco or chili powder depending on the size it would be at max .79/each
tomato soup .69/can use two
Brown the meat, then throw everything in the crockpot and leave on low for 8 hours.
You now have about 4-6 servings of chili for $5.54, about one dollar a serving. If you can afford or want to, you can add cheese and/or sour cream once it is in bowls. Adding that might increase the cost to $1.50 per serving.
Now I hate eating the same thing day after day so I understand if you are sitting there going but I am not eating 4 meals of chili in a row. I would not do it either. What I do is put half in the freezer for a later date and eat one bowl of chili and then the next meal we cut up a potato, fry it in vegetable oil and pour the chili over it and make chili fries. I may spend a little more on the vegetable oil and the potato but not much (maybe another .50) and it makes me willing to eat the leftovers.
Some people may say that these are not health meal because there are no fruits or vegetables in them. You could add in some frozen corn to the chili or stewed tomatoes but I found I did not like it that way. Some people might add some vegetables on the side but for me, I am ok with an occasional cheap meal that does not have everything in it. We can't always be good.
Anyone else who has a great frugal meal, let me know in the comments.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
New Financial Website
I received from daily worth about a new FREE website https://www.gosimplifi.com. This site is similar to mint.com or quicken that you add your assets and liabilities but it does not ask for your passwords and you can update it as much or as little as you like. I just spent about thirty minutes adding all my information and it had pretty simple directions though a few confusing parts.
I think their budget part of their website is bad and will not use it but the net worth part was great. I ended up having a higher net worth than I thought and it forced me to write down and think clearly about my current goals. I normally write my budget and net worth in excel and it is fine but this site help remind you and gives you advice. Not all of the advice is useful and the site even admits this, but all of it is worth considering. I would very much recommend this site for almost anyone.
I think their budget part of their website is bad and will not use it but the net worth part was great. I ended up having a higher net worth than I thought and it forced me to write down and think clearly about my current goals. I normally write my budget and net worth in excel and it is fine but this site help remind you and gives you advice. Not all of the advice is useful and the site even admits this, but all of it is worth considering. I would very much recommend this site for almost anyone.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Yakezie Challenge
I am joining the Yakezie challenge, thanks partly to a kick in the butt from the saved quarter at http://thesavedquarter.com/. I have been working on improving my blog for the last couple months and except for my wedding/honeymoon I have averaged at least two blogs per week which is one of Yakezie's requirements.
One of the main focuses on this blog is choices. The choices we chose between may both good, both bad or one of each but they are still choices and we need to choose what path we take. This point is especially important to young adults whose choices will influence the rest of their lives which hopefully will be a long time.
My path has taken me places I would never have expected, and I expect to have some more twists and turns along the way. Because of joining yakezie I will be highlighting some of my favorite blogs and authors that have make a difference in my financial, and sometimes personal life.
One of the main focuses on this blog is choices. The choices we chose between may both good, both bad or one of each but they are still choices and we need to choose what path we take. This point is especially important to young adults whose choices will influence the rest of their lives which hopefully will be a long time.
My path has taken me places I would never have expected, and I expect to have some more twists and turns along the way. Because of joining yakezie I will be highlighting some of my favorite blogs and authors that have make a difference in my financial, and sometimes personal life.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Prices are going up
And deals are going down. As I look for deals I my grocery stores I am finding many less stockupables and higher overall prices. I am trying to get my average weekly spending at the grocery store down to $50 yet the last two weeks have both been over $65. I have been finding less coupons for what I need or want and my stockpile is shrinking. There are even fewer extra buck deals at CVS than there used to be. It is frustrating and I almost feel like I have no choice but to just spend more money. But if I did that where would the money come from? I would have to take it from my savings and I do not like that plan.
My car insurance has already been increased and even with cutting some coverage I cannot find insurance for the price I used to pay. I could cut the coverage even lower but I am not comfortable with doing that. And of course, the difference is coming out of my savings. However, the choice to not increase coverage is mine, I could choose differently. Even when we only have two bad choices we still have to make the choice.
I may feel like I have cut all my expenses to the bone but when it gets tough, the tough relook at everything. I may have to make choices I dislike but those choices are still mine. Part of what I am doing is changing my main store from wegmans to price rite. I may prefer wegmans but pricerite on average is cheaper. This should save me some money though not the amount I need it to. What else can I do to get my budget where I need it? I am going to work on increasing my coupon usage and try to check the coupon sites more than I do now. Other than that all I can think of is to cut back some of the treats we get. However those treats make food fun and keep us from eating out more than we should. It is a balancing act and can be hard. I am going to continue looking for another solution for now but may soon have to make the hard choices.
My car insurance has already been increased and even with cutting some coverage I cannot find insurance for the price I used to pay. I could cut the coverage even lower but I am not comfortable with doing that. And of course, the difference is coming out of my savings. However, the choice to not increase coverage is mine, I could choose differently. Even when we only have two bad choices we still have to make the choice.
I may feel like I have cut all my expenses to the bone but when it gets tough, the tough relook at everything. I may have to make choices I dislike but those choices are still mine. Part of what I am doing is changing my main store from wegmans to price rite. I may prefer wegmans but pricerite on average is cheaper. This should save me some money though not the amount I need it to. What else can I do to get my budget where I need it? I am going to work on increasing my coupon usage and try to check the coupon sites more than I do now. Other than that all I can think of is to cut back some of the treats we get. However those treats make food fun and keep us from eating out more than we should. It is a balancing act and can be hard. I am going to continue looking for another solution for now but may soon have to make the hard choices.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Update on the millionaire goal- May
Well it looks like the market did not cooperate with us last month. As of May 1, 2011 we have $9894 in retirement savings. We ended up putting $298 into my DH's Roth IRA's because he is rolling over his Roth IRA from T Rowe Price to Fidelity and the rollover did not complete before the scheduled deposit to T Rowe Price.
We do have the cash to deposit the almost three hundred without removing money from emergency fund now that the wedding is over so that is not a problem but it is not fun putting in almost three hundred dollars yet the accounts only raising by one hundred and fourteen dollars over May because of a drop in the markets. I did feel like just adding the extra one hundred and six just so I could reach ten thousand but decided against it. I felt like that would be dishonest because the one hundred and fourteen would be a May contribution not April one. Well, that is life when you invest in the market, there are ups and down. Hopefully we will reach and surpass the $10,000 mark this month. Unless it drops more than one hundred and five we will reach our minigoal but as this month and the recession has shown, it can drop more than ten percent.
We do have the cash to deposit the almost three hundred without removing money from emergency fund now that the wedding is over so that is not a problem but it is not fun putting in almost three hundred dollars yet the accounts only raising by one hundred and fourteen dollars over May because of a drop in the markets. I did feel like just adding the extra one hundred and six just so I could reach ten thousand but decided against it. I felt like that would be dishonest because the one hundred and fourteen would be a May contribution not April one. Well, that is life when you invest in the market, there are ups and down. Hopefully we will reach and surpass the $10,000 mark this month. Unless it drops more than one hundred and five we will reach our minigoal but as this month and the recession has shown, it can drop more than ten percent.
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