Carrying Cards

I like to keep my credit and shopper cards separate from my wallet. This is because I need to bring my wallet with me when I run. An overstuffed wallet doesn't fit in pockets very well. Teddy and I drive to the park (well, I drive, she prances around the back of the car). I need my license and it always helps to have a credit card in case of emergencies.

I've been carrying a purse that had a section for cards. But now that it's fall, I'm going to switch to a different purse. I like to "compartmentalize" the contents of my pocket book so I can switch around easily. The challenge is to try, on some level, to coordinate my wallet with each particular purse. Well, that's nearly impossible -- so I use bright colors as a sort of neutral. The yellow wallet was a TJ Maxx clearance find and it's a nice leather piece. It's a fun contrast to anything I carry. I picked up the credit card carrier yesterday at Tuesday Morning. It was $4.99 and it's also leather. The bright colors don't match the wallet -- which means both pieces are even more fitting. At least that's how I see it. They coordinate in a non-matchy way.

I keep shopper's cards, my credit card, a frequent flier card, business cards, and a reduced copy of the dog's vaccine records in that small case. I don't need to carry that when I'm out running, so my wallet remains thin.

I'll probably get one for coupons -- but I really don't do much couponing. In any event, I think compartmentalizing is the way to go. A fat wallet is only fun if it's filled with cash!

Splurge

A few weeks back, I got up early because I was hungry. It was 5:30AM on a Saturday and I knew hubby would be up in an hour or so to go to work. I decided to get the percolator going and then have some frozen waffles.

While I waited for the coffee to perk, I turned on the TV. Nothing but infomercials. I always figure that if I'm going to watch someone selling something, it might as well be one of my "friends" on QVC.

The bracelet pictured above is what happened....

Hey -- it was on clearance and replaces a bracelet I lost last year!

Don't Forget the Doggies!

Can't forget to make frugal real-food snacks for the pups now, can we? This is a mixture of butternut squash innards, carrot ends and an apple core. One quick whiz and we've got two night's worth of bed-time snackies.

This would be a nice topping for dry kibble too. Lots of beta-carotene and not a lot of calories.

50 For the Week

This week's grocery bill was exceptionally low -- and exceptional not for what was on the receipt, but more so for what was not. The tally was 50 bucks -- half the total of the recent average.

What was not in the cart this week: meat/poultry/fish, canned salmon, nuts, veggie juice. It's not as if those items alone would come to $50 -- but they are a large portion of it.

Eating down the freezer and our dry-good supply will save a little money for the next couple of weeks. But it's even more obvious to me that the core items I purchase can't be purchased with coupons. We eat so little prepared/processed food, that the only real way to cut corners would be to either starve or go back to a chicken-only diet. We could also cut costs by eliminating some of the healthier components of our diet (no salt veggie juice, canned salmon, whole/long grain rice, high fiber pasta etc.). But that's not something I'm currently willing to do -- and luckily we can afford to continue to buy those items.

But it's not likely we'll see too many more fifty-dollar supermarket trips!

Trailer Talk

This is a floor plan of the trailer we've found. It's not the official plan since I couldn't find that on-line. When you're buying a used model, it's often not possible to dig up the diagrams -- the manufacturer and dealerships are providing this information for the current model year. It's not worth it to display this info for items they won't have in stock. I hacked up this year's model to look like the 2006.

I wanted to post about financial matters since this blog is about how we make ends meet. I know there are a few folks who read that like to camp and might some day want to own a trailer. Maybe others can learn from our experience/mistakes.

The first trailer was purchased at 12% interest -- and that was the best rate for someone with an excellent credit score. At the time, there were no signs of the economy tanking and no reason to believe rates would go lower. The interest is written off each year on our taxes, so that was one reason we decided to go for it. Also, the interest could be whittled down by paying extra. And it was also less than what we'd be paying if we'd had to hand over property tax on a vacation home. The payment and space rental where we are is still much less than one typically pays for a week long rental in the community where we spend our free time. In fact, our totally yearly cost is less than most beach front owners pay on property taxes alone.

An RV depreciates immediately. One doesn't buy a trailer as an investment. It's a quality of life purchase. We have always owed more than what we had in principal. When we first wanted to move up to a larger trailer, it didn't make sense. The interest rates were still high and a new unit would cost more -- meaning higher payments. We had planned to haul the trailer, so we wanted a small light-weight model. Our needs and expectations changed when we realized leasing seasonally would be cheaper and more enjoyable.

We have purchased a trailer that offers twice as much space. We are financing about 2K for the buy-out. But what we spend on that, is the equivalent of what we save with the new lower interest rate (8%). Trailer loans can't be re-financed. The only way to lower our interest rate was to buy again. But we decided to buy sensibly -- meaning get more space but are not spending much above what we were paying all along. It comes up to an extra 8 bucks per week.

The dealer is now shopping for the best loan. He shopped one bank and the kid he was dealing with told him we needed to go with a shorter loan and higher payments -- because we didn't already have enough debt and should be able to take on more. That wasn't his call, and we declined. Years ago, we'd qualified for a mortgage that would be twice the amount of the home we bought. We didn't take that as a suggestion for what to spend -- and can afford life and to save because of it. That's why we want a 12 year loan rather than 10. We still plan to pay extra -- but will have breathing room if things get tight.

Financing is an important consideration when purchasing an RV. The cost of using it also needs to be taken into account. Buying/trading up can make sense -- but it pays to factor in the depreciation/buy out and what will be gained when moving to a more desirable unit. Keeping in mind an affordable monthly payment (along with the cost of how the unit will be used) is a must. And it's important to stick to it! Tax-write offs of interest and perks such as this year's stimulus deal that allows us to write off the sales tax are worth considering too. We just figured now was the time. Our current trailer would continue to depreciate and we didn't think interest would be going down much further. We could afford an upgrade now. I think it will be worth it.

After all, how can you enjoy your time off if you're forever worrying how to pay for it?

Surplus Cans

One of the blogs I always try to read, is 4 Hats and Frugal -- Amiyrah is a very successful frugalite... and a good cook too! Anyway, she posted a few days back about making a dinner with a bunch of ingredients she found at a time when there was "nothing to eat" at a her mom's house. Well, I could use Amiyrah at our house these days!

Note the picture of the over-stuffed cabinet where we store our canned/dry goods. After closing camp for the summer, an infusion of non-perishables had to be crammed in to the small storage area in our home kitchen. While I try to keep the stores at camp to a minimum, I always end up with a little something extra at the end of the weekend. Most of the time, it's a can of tuna -- and the next week it's forgotten and another can is brought along.

So, I have vowed that I will not buy anything in a box or can for weeks, at the least. Dairy and produce, yes. But I'm resolving that we will eat down the frozen supply of meat in the freezer, and won't by another non-perishable item until half that cabinet is emptied.

As for the side that's closed, it's baking goods on the top half and storage items, foil, clear wrap, etc. below. The supply of baking products is pretty embarrassing too.

I guess we'll be pulling together a lot of can/box-based meals for the next month or so.

Cheap, Easy and Healthy Dinner

I’m posting an economical healthy dinner idea today. It’s what we ate last night. Here are the three major ingredients:

The actual pot of food was a long-grain whole wheat rice to which was added 1/3 of a butternut squash, half an apple, a handful of golden raisins, seasoned with Indian spices. The rice was boiled in water with two veggie bullion cubes for flavor. It needed to cook for 45 minutes, so I set the timer for 35. At the end I put in two Tilapia filets, drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice and seasoned with kosher salt and dill. The rice needed a bit more liquid, so I added a couple of ounces of cranberry and white grape juice.

I made up one cup of rice, which cost about $1.25 (the jar of rice was $4.99). The two fish filets were small and came to about $2.50. I only used about 1/3 of the squash, so that was approximately .30 cents. The half apple was leftover on the counter, I am guessing it was about .25 cents of the meal, and the raisins were about .10 cents. Puppy got the apple core.

This low-fat, high-fiber meal fed two of us with a batch of rice left for tonight. It cost about four and a half dollars to make.

While the meal isn’t quite as cheap as some of the chicken dishes I used to make, it’s much lower in fat. I’ve continued to drop a few pounds here and there and have managed this by eating lower-fat meals, lots of whole grains, and cutting out cheese. We’re still eating cheese (this morning I had a neufatchel cheese and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread), just not as much.

If you work with a pot of rice and a thin filet of fish, you can cook and steam all in one. With only a little bit of olive oil used, you end up with a very low fat but heart healthy meal. It’s easy to clean up, easy on the wallet, and easy on the waistline.