An Experiment in Green Cleaning

Homecoming weekend, the teen wanted to go through my jewelry to see if I had anything she could wear with her silver dress.  I actually have some silver jewelry....which I pulled out and discovered that it was long past cleaning time.  It was all black.  Oooops.

I had recently read a blog post at Down to Earth on Green Cleaners. One of the cleaners was for silver.  I have seen this in other books and such but had never tried it. Each time I had pulled out the silver cleaner and coated the jewelry, let it dry, and then rubbed the heck out of it to get the black tarnish off.  This green method promised a no rub, earth friendly version.

I decided it was time to give it a try since I am out of silver cleaner and don't want to go buy any with a possible move on the horizon (as the movers won't pack cleaners).  I do have to admit that I really didn't think it would work.

So, following the directions on Rhonda's site here's how it went.....

Line the sink with tin foil.  Hubs was cooking up a storm in the kitchen so I used the bathroom.

Put all the crazy black jewelry on the tin foil and just cover with boiling water.

Add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of baking soda (bicarb).

The reaction is almost immediate! Way cool.

Let sit for ten minutes then take jewelry out and dry.  She the water? After ten minutes it was a grey color.

And the finished product?

So tell me, why did we ever start buying silver cleaner???  Start to finish it took maybe 20 minutes.  Not a single harsh chemical.

So if you've got some silver jewelry stuck in the back of the jewelry box somewhere waiting for a cleaning, take 20 minutes and do this. So worth it.

When Paying More Is Better (Part 1)

I love a bargain. Wait, I love a bargain on something I'm already looking for. I don't really buy something that is a good bargain just because its a good bargain. I don't consider that frugal.

But frugal is different to everybody. And I support that. Because how we spend our money is personal. And we are all different. So what is frugal to me and my money, might be just the opposite to someone else.

And then there is the fine line between being frugal and being cheap.

And then there is how your being frugal affects others. Like when you never contribute to the office "pool" or office birthdays. Or you never join anyone for lunch because its cheaper to bring your lunch. You just might be missing out on deepening a friendship or lending a listening ear to someone who needs you.

For us, frugal is telling our money where to go. But that includes a fund for the little things that come up that aren't frugal but are good for relationship with others. Because to me, relationship is a higher priority than money.

Maybe you have a friend going through a rough time in their marriage. They want you to join them for lunch. Guess what? I stuff the lunch bag under my desk and join them.

Office birthdays are a hard one - especially in a large office setting. But sometimes its more about being a team than it is about paying that $10 extra toward the mortgage or the house buying fund.

Now that is not to say you have to do everything. For instance, one of our families does a name draw for Christmas. It is a LARGE family and we were relieved to see them put this into practice. But we had already dropped out of the gift giving. We let everyone know that we buy for the kids only. And after the new name drawing started, we still opted out. Because we only buy for the kids. And an adult that can't get past that? Whatever. It's not like they will get more gifts if we joined -- it really wouldn't change anything...except we'd have to buy another gift for people we don't live close to and don't have extremely close relationships with -- so the gifts would be a big hit-and-miss experience anyways. I'd rather they spend their money on my kids. Which 97% of them don't even do that. So the whole thing just makes me roll my eyes. LOL.

Lately we have had to spend money on several things that were all about relationship. And its really hurt. I was saving to go on a cruise with my fab sister-in-law for her 30th birthday. And I finally had to just give it up. Because other things that were about relationship kept happening. And it would have been so easy to just not spend that money. And trust me, I'd be happier going on a cruise since I've never been on one. But being happy and feeling peace are two different things. And I have peace over the decisions we have made.

So when is paying more better?

For me, its when its all about the relationships.

Autumn's Yearly School Supply Rant

I'm happy to say at least for 1st grade, the school supply list wasn't two sheets long. (Yes China Spring Tx Jr. High, I still think you were the most abusive school supply list EVER. EVER.)

Haven't seen the high school needs yet -- but have seen the bill I'm getting for the teen's classes.

$92

Not kidding.

Most of it is legit and I have to problem with. The money for choir is for the uniform. No problem. Chemistry has a lab fee. No problem. Spanish has a workbook fee. That's kind of iffy to me. But since its a consumable workbook and not the text book, I guess I get that.

Now the $20 you have to pay for the privilege of attending school? It will get paid if they give me an itemized statement and show me what I'm being billed for. I pay my taxes buddy. And public school is a right and a requirement..which means I don't have to pay for my children to walk into the building. Oh..and that whole "if you don't pay, you don't get your child's report card"? Keep it. I could actually care less. I don't need a copy on file. It just makes that folder fatter. It serves no true purpose in my life. Any school my kid moves to won't accept the info from me anyways...they are going to request it from you and you are going to give it to them.

But here's this years elementary rant..

1. Community supplies. I'm sorry, I have no problem buying my child her supplies for school. I do have a problem supplying someone elses. And that is completely due to current finances. When we aren't strapped I don't have problem helping with a fund for those that have no money. But to tell me they are taking away everything I pay for? Because not everyone can pay?

What???? Sounds like old school communism to me.

Total disagree on that one.

And the multiples we are to provide? Its not because my child will use that much stuff. It's because of those that don't provide anything. Again....in theory its really nice, but in actuality I should not be carrying someone elses child without choice. I pay my taxes which means I'm ALREADY paying for those that don't/can't contribute.

2. Specific brands.

Not only will they take everything away from my daughter to give it to others -- they demand specific brands. And if its not that brand they will not accept it.

No problem.

Because here's how I handle that.

We are asked for a specific brand (and color array) of say...dry erase markers (tell me my child will be using those!!!!!) . Now I would not buy myself this brand they require as they are over priced, in my opinion, and there are several more economical choices for me to choose from. So, if I wouldn't buy it for myself -- I won't buy it for the school. And since they won't accept what I would buy for myself, they get NOTHING. Yep. They get no dry erase markers from me.

And no, I don't feel the least bad or guilty about this. They don't get to tell me how I spend my budget....I DO. I'm responsible for getting all the bills paid and budgeting our money to make it last until next paycheck. When they give me the money for school supplies, I will happily buy their favorite brand. Until then -accept what I would buy myself, do without or buy it yourself.

Now, if we are talking about a brand that is literally .02 more than what I normally buy...I'll spend and extra 2 cents. I'm not totally inflexible. But it has to be within reason. And my money means I decide what within reason is.

12 glue sticks???? Really? My child will use MORE THAN one a month in your class??? Not buying it (although I am providing it).

And the 20 pencils -- no problem. But that sharpened part????? Hahahahahahahah! I'm supplying your supplies so YOU supply the labor baby. No, I don't feel bad about you sharpening 400 pencils. You know you are asking for too many anyways - so deal.

3. The crazy list of non-traditional stuff!!!

Some of this I totally get. The boxes of Kleenex....we need to provide those for the teacher. Someone always has a runny nose.....and that equals spreading germs. I'd rather see it handled and contained than passed on. I'm even happy to send in more boxes half way through the year -- my brand choice. And the whole keep them home if they are sick thing -- get real. Most people are not in a position to actually do that. Their bosses will accept a call from the school -- but not a call in.

And if we get asked to send in toilet paper (not kidding this is happening in some schools), I'm sending my kids with little pocket Kleenex's they can carry on their person. I am not wiping someone else's butt. Nope. Not happening. I can't even seem to keep up with the supply just form my own family!! LOL!!

Various sizes of zip lock type bags? Seriously? I am very confident my child can get a full education without ever using a baggie. Very confident. And they aren't even good for the environment! This should not be on my list. They have backpacks. Put whatever it is you need to send home in the backpack.

Paper towels? Ummm....we MIGHT use 2 rolls a year in my household of 4. They are wasteful. And they are something that would be considered an office supply -- for the school system. This should not be on my list.

Wet Wipes????? Soap and water baby. Its worked for generations. Hand Sanitizer? That should be optional. Send it in if you want but it should not be required. Its even debatable whether these are actually safe for our kids.

And finally -

I buy about 99% of my supplies from 2 different stores. If you have a list of supplies that is so crazy I'd have to go to more than that....you are out of luck. I'm not burning my gas and adding mileage to my car to hunt down elusive supplies. Not happening.

And when they run out of the requested colors of folders and notebooks....you get what you get. I'm not running all over town to hunt down that yellow plastic pocket folder. I did that once and it will NEVER happen again. Get out one of those great markers I had to send in and color it to suit yourself.



So how about you guys? What is the craziest thing on your list? And what is the most expensive?

Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace .....A Year Later

It's been a year now that we have been using Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace budgeting.

An amazing year.

I cannot say enough good things about his system.

I cannot give you a dollar amount on how much of our debt we have paid off in this time. But I can tell you that we went from about six credit cards down to 2. That's not how many we had, that's how many we were paying on. I think we cut up about 10 cards out of our wallets. And we still have a ways to go on paying off those last two cards, but we are making progress.

For a quick rundown on the principles:
1. $1000 in an emergency fund. FIRST!!! Without this you are going to fail. The washer and/or dryer will break down. Car repairs will pop up. Unexpected doctor or dental bills. You name it. So the first step is to have this money in an emergency fund.

We already had this. We've always had this. But I would never allow us to touch it. So it was like not having it. It was my safety net and you had better not touch it. Rather stupid in the end because we would then use a credit card for whatever emergency would pop up because I could not use that money. (I'm over it now.)

2. Pay off all credit card and other debt. Start with your smallest balance. This sounds backwards to many advisers, but there is a crazy logic in it. You start making progress quicker which keeps you motivated because you can SEE the bills being paid off. I had 4 bills paid off within 2 months by concentrating heaviest on the small bills. It rocked.

3. Invest after the bills are paid off.

You also work on a 0 balance written budget and use a cash envelope system. When the money is gone, you are done. End. Of. Story.

Making a budget is difficult at first. You have to give yourself a good three months to really even know everything that needs to be on it. And then you need another three to really dial it in and have it working.

One year into our zero dollar budget it runs smooth as silk. I do still have little things that pop up that I realize I missed. An example would be hubs satellite radio. I kept forgetting to budget for the service as it is only 2x a year and billed directly to a card. I just recently caught this and started budgeting for it.

I think the thing that is the hardest for people new to this system is the cash aspect of the budget. There are certain things you are supposed to start doing only in cash. Why? Because it is proven over and over that you spend less when you pay cash. I can testify that this is true. But getting started in a cash system is inconvenient. Its much easier to swipe a card at the grocery story or pump than to stay within your limit with the cash in your pocket. You have to pay much more attention to what you are doing. And GO IN at the gas station??? GASP??? How could I possibly do that? I have kids in the car!

Whatever. I've already said it all and proved its all crap. Give it a try for three months and see if you arent rolling your eyes at yourself. And there are prepaid gas cards that you can have. You put your allowance on it and then use it at the pump. But when the money is gone...its gone. This is why it takes a while to dial in the budget...because chances are you don't really know how much you are spending REALLY on gas or groceries or whatever. So you have to know that you are bound to fail the first few months, and accept that it is okay...its a transition period while you get it all together.

I do have to admit that we have tailored the system to our own lifestyle. We do not follow it 100%.

First, we do use our cards for our online purchases. But we already have the cash to pay it off immediately. I opened our new account here at the same bank the big card was from so I can just go over there and make cash payments (its our emergency account bank, not regular checking/savings bank) and pay it all off when the bill comes in. I love it.

On that note, I do highly recommend you have two banks. Some people think I'm nuts.

Have you ever seen what happens when your identity is stolen and they hit your bank account? The bank freezes everything. So if you have an automatic deposit on your paycheck, and your accounts are frozen...guess what? You aren't paying the bills. Or buying groceries. And it stays that way until the bank is done with their "investigation". It is not quick.

So we use our credit union as our major bank with checking and savings, the girls savings and my extra account for our some-day China trip. The emergency account is kept in a bank across the street. If we ever do have one of the banks get hit, we can operate out of the other bank while everything is under investigation and being worked on.

The other big difference we have (and that our instructors tried extra hard to get us to change our minds on) is investing. We had been investing for almost 10 years before we got into debt. We have our advisers and our funds and insurances etc all set up on automatic payment straight from the government. Its money we never see and pretty much never think about.

Dave Ramsey would have us stop all those investments and pay that money on the debt to get out of debt faster and then reinvest. But then we would have to pay all over again on our front load funds. That would be a huge waste of money. And the paperwork involved is a pain.

So yes, we are paying interest on debt that we could get out from under quicker if we would stop the investments. We are still not willing to do that. The investing is invisible in our lives and we choose to leave it that way. We got ourselves into the debt mess and the penalty we are paying is the interest. We asked for it. We are taking it in the pants like big boys and girls and moving on. (Do not get me started on all the commercials asking where the publics bail out is!!!! We were not duped into debt...we signed up for it. Be an adult and pay the bills.)

A big shout out of Thanks to Dave. Because of him, this is a good Christmas.

We have recovered from our $7300 loss on our home. We did not have to borrow anything to handle this and have put all the money we did use back where it came from.

We recently had a large,unexpected car repair bill. Due to our budget, I was funding a "car repair" virtual envelope that covered the whole bill. No credit card or emergency account needed.

Our Christmas envelope has been funded all year. This means I've been able to shop all year and have the money for Christmas in cash.

We paid off 4 cards and one vehicle.

We made a big move and didn't have to use credit or emergency funds for any of it. (Government handled the hotels and movers.)

My hubs needed a mess dress at the last minute and I as able to come up with the $400 it cost with very little shuffling. It did not hurt. A year ago it would have killed us.

To anyone out there that needs to get out of debt, or just needs to fine tune their budgeting skills, I highly recommend Dave Ramseys Financial Peace University. It can truly change your life. It's really not hard, even though there is a learning curve and a time frame that you have to get through while you dial it in. You CAN rule your money and tell it where to go...instead of letting it rule you.

And what could be better than that?

Autumn Asks: You know what FEELS GOOD??

Wow.

I guess that title can take us in about any direction. But this is a family blog. Well, I think it is. Family pretty much defines my life, so yep, its a family blog.

To the post.

You know what feels good?

Pulling into the gas station to fill up for a 170 mile trip....and paying $27 to fill the tank. Oh yeahhhhhhhhh! That felt good! Those $60 fill ups were real tear-jerkers. If this keeps up we can afford Christmas! LOL!

You know what else feels good?

Making a quick stop at Best Buy on the way out of town. DH has not said so, but he has a very fat wallet from hording his mad money, his trip money from being gone and closing a few odd accounts that we had strung all over the United States. His computer has been driving him nuts lately because it drops letters. Well, back up. HIS computer bit the dust. So mine (we are talking laptops here) was confiscated (since I have the big daddy computer of the house anyways) and became his school computer. After he took it the letter dropping started. It's looking like a bad CPU but it still works for what I use it for...a travel computer or movie player on the treadmill.

Wait - back to the subject. So we walk into BB and he looks at the computer he's been watching in the ads...all the discounts are immediate, not mail-in rebates, and he announces that he is buying his new laptop.

Being the good Dave Ramsey groupie that I currently am, I asked for the details on the money -- he explains and I am very happy for him. I'm also happy for myself as I get my laptop back. (Note to frugal friends - all old laptops, including Songbirds, were free due to being in the right place at the right time...otherwise there would not be all these laptops floating around our place -- and they were all used and salvages laptops, never brand new.)

So here is what feels good: We go up to the register and they bring the laptop and my husband proceeds to count out the wad of cash and lay it all down. Cool. And the cashier and manager are standing there smiling in a rather cute way. So the cashier marks on all the money with a special pen to make sure its real, and then looks at DH and says, "Look how small your wallet is now! I've got all your money!"

To which he replys, "Yeah, but you've got NONE of my interest!"

Of course DH and I look at each other, do a mental high five and start laughing.

And the cashier and manager look at us with rather puzzled smiles and you can tell they had no clue what he meant. And what was funny? And did they need to call security or what?

And it felt good.

AND THEN... one of my favorite people, Kylie over at Bus Driver, gave me an award.


You know what else feels good? Having a brand new will all signed, sealed and filed away in a fireproof box. My children are provided for without anyone being able to question. Executor and guardians named. Assets divided as we wish. Also, our living wills and medical power of attorneys are taken care of. Out of pocket cost: $0 (we were on orders so even the gas and lodging were paid for). Peace of mind: Priceless.

And now I will turn back to into the wild eyed and crazy mom trying to bake her contributions to Thanksgiving while getting the laundry done to repack to leave tomorrow to go to Arkansas. And did I mention Bones doesn't get out of class until 3:00pm, DH works and it is a 7 hour drive? Tomorrow will NOT feel good.

Maybe the lingering feel goods will carry me through!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Everyone travel safe - in town or out. And enjoy your family!!

Autumn asks: Are you actually working with a written budget?

Budget, budget, budget. Kinda sounds like the name for pimple on your rump. "Oh no, not another budget! Need to buy some more breathable cotton undies."

For the first 15+ years of our marriage, we were golden. If we had $700 in debt I would need a paper bag to help me breath. People were begging us to take their credit cards or loans or whatever. We had to fight off the bank when we went to get a loan to buy our first house (and second even) -- they wanted to give us a stupid amount of money...which we knew was more than we could pay on a monthly basis. (It was no surprise to us when the mortage market crashed.)

I grew up the daughter of a career military father. And my mother did the same. We can stretch a dollar. We can cut a corner. You have to be able to in order to survive on a military income. (I do believe military is paid better now than it ever has been in the past...but that still isn't saying much). And the best thing about this is that there are systems in place to keep you in check. The creditors can go to the government and get your pay. You can be put in mandatory budget counceling, etc. You have to answer to THE COMMANDER if you mess up...not a good thing.

Anyways. When we adopted we began using the credit cards. It would be for things like the plane tickets (which I would then turn around and pay off) and such. We did this for many things. And then, the waiting between submitting paperwork and actually getting your child went from 10-12 months to less than 6 and we didn't have the money we needed to finish in cash. Ouch.

And that was the beginning of the end. You get over the despair of swiping that plastic and you are had. Add a move to an area with no military housing and a 2 month stay in a hotel (of which only 10 days is reimbursed) and you've got a problem. Or at least we do.

So one day we wake up to the fact that we have over 10K in dept (not house and car related). WHAT??? I also haven't worked in 4 years so this makes it worse.

All that to say that we decided to go to the Financial Peace class at church. I thought I knew all about budgets -- but I was soooo wrong. Take this class! It is fantastic!

Now, its going to take a little time to get the wrinkles ironed out, but by putting down that budget on paper for this month I was really encouraged. We can do this. And there is something about writing it all down that makes it easier. Yes, I said easier.

So we are working on a zero balance budget. This means every dollar is put down on that paper and told where to go. (And there is a "blow" category also so its not like you have no mad money.)

But, we do have some growing pains.

Songbird needed fall/winter shirts and the clothing allowance isn't built up yet so we blew that and ended up hitting the plastic for the extra. But, it is less than what we will put toward the clothing allowance next paycheck so I will put that money straight onto the card. Not too bad.

And I ran out of entertainment money so I wasn't able to attend a trip to the corn maze with friends that I was really looking forward to. But I sucked it up and was good. And for coffee night with some friends this week I will have to rob the grocery money...but DH is out of town so we aren't spending what we usually would so I can afford the $5 for a Chai.

And I now know I need to increase my blow money to closer to the amount DH gets. And I found 3 categories I need to fund...school fund raisers being a big one, and office supplies (think printer ink) being another.

But I feel better than I have in months and months. And we will pay off our first bill the 1st of next month..a whole month earlier than I have planned because I can SEE where everything is going to go and work it that way without shorting ourselves in another area.

And right now, I have very little faith that things will get better in our country so I NEED to get this paid off and handled. And hey, it might happen quick if the government is really going to go after our IRA's or 401k's -- we'll cash those puppies out and pay the debt if the government makes a move to touch them. NOT. I didn't work so hard to get that money there to entrust it to the government.

The funniest thing about this has been figuring out what you can get rid of and what you will not. The newspaper is gone. Another monthly household bill is gone in March when our contract runs out. Songbird can mow the lawn if DH is not home (I have serious grass allergies that prevent me from doing it).

The things that I will not get rid of:

1. The internet. And I won't even get cheap internet. DH is taking some college classes on line so it is not optional. He wants to have his degree finished before he retires from the military so it is very important. Plus, I couldn't breath without it. Hello, my name is Autumn, and I an internet addict.

2. Cell phone. I want to be able to reach out and touch my kids anytime, anywhere. Now, that being said, Songbird has a pay-as-you-go phone that we top up with $20 every 3 months. That is cheaper than the $10 extra a month we would pay if she was on my plan. Plus, it keeps her OFF the cell phone. At .25 a minute, there is no talking to the buds. There is no texting. It's a "call mom/dad" phone only. Rather embarrassing for her to explain to all of her friends, but I'm building character here!!!

3. My Netflix. This is because we decided to get rid of cable. Really. We did. But I couldn't do it...so I turned it over to my husband. And I see that he still hasn't done it(for 2 months). So, in the end this might be one of the things that he just can't give up and I might let the Netflix go instead.

What about you? Are you working on an actually budget? And if you are, are you just doing what you are told or are you actually involved in the budget planning? And what are the top 3 things you wouldn't give up?

I'd love to hear any tips or pitfalls you want to share.