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Archive for the ‘spending’ Category

I’m in a tax write-off frenzy right now. My strong procrastination skills have resulted in a 6 month old neatly folded pile of clothing ready for donation to Goodwill. Leave it to me to give myself a measly 48 hour window to take care of everything.

Also included in the 48 hour countdown is our energy efficient spending. According to the Wall Street Journal, and the ever so helpful staff at Lowes, this is the last year of the 30% tax rebate for energy efficient insulation, water heaters, windows and doors. Bad news: Our house has zero insulation and we’ve been working on fixing that problem for two years. Despite all this work, we still need an additional $600 worth of insulation. Thanks to the removal of the tax credit, we’re forced to bite the bullet and buy the remaining insulation now. At least it’s on sale. Good news: I guess our water heater picked a good year to go kaput.

My husband is ripping apart our walls as we speak. Our thermometer is reading a crisp 56 degrees…in the living room. I’ve always fantasized about having a living room temperature above 65 during cold spells. I guess my wildest dreams are finally coming true.

It’s amazing what a 48 hour deadline will do.

Obviously, I’m not a tax person. Consult with a professional before investing or donating.

I burned 4 ½ hours at the mall this weekend. I wandered the stores with my budgeted cash in hand, searching for a reason to part with it. Signs marked ’40 – 50% Off’ gleamed in high gloss red paint, enticing me to spend, spend, spend.

I did spend…

$23.

Turns out, spending money on Christmas gifts for the first time in two years isn’t as easy as I thought it would be.

Given, it is hard to get into the Christmas spirit while shopping in a tank top and shorts.

Dear San Diego,

In case you missed it, we are in the month of DECEMBER, not July. Please adjust to more appropriate temperatures. Ninety degrees doesn’t exactly scream winter wonderland.

Oh well, there will always be next year.

My husband and I are attending Financial Peace University (Dave Ramsey’s course) again. We attended the series two years ago but I missed nearly half when I lost my day job and started working nights.

The first class was this week and the facilitator asked if anyone was a returning student. My husband and I raised our hands along with one other couple. After the video, we gathered into a small group and were immediately asked if the course had changed our lives. My husband and I said it had and that we lived below our means.

‘Are you debt free?’ a classmate asked.

‘Um. No. We have about 10 grand left.’ I said, ashamed two years has passed and I’m still carrying financial baggage.

‘At least you are working on it. And you’re here!’ she said smiling.

The rest of the group talked about their struggles and goals for about 20 minutes and then we all headed home. It was nice to hear others are fighting the same things as me.

It’s funny that I can openly and fearlessly share every little detail about my debt with you but I’m completely ashamed to share it with the small group – then again, I don’t have to shake your hand every Sunday morning.

If you haven’t been through FPU, you should consider it. The lessons are great but more than that, you have someone to look you in the eye every week who asks… how did you do this week?

Suddenly, spending feels different.

OK. Truth? We spent money we didn’t need to spend.

We are borrowing a nice still camera for the Italy trip but we don’t have a video camera.

I find it funny that, as a person with a bachelor’s degree in Motion Picture Production, I don’t own a video camera. I used to own one while in college but since I graduated college nearly a decade ago (scary to say), the nice video camera I owned at the time has long since died.

My husband has been working side jobs every night and weekend and agreed to set aside a small portion of the money for an inexpensive video camera. So, $129 later on Amazon, we purchased a flip camcorder for our trip…

Ordering it online felt like having a nice piece of cake after a long diet.