America's Cheapest Family

I found this book, America's Cheapest Family, at the library and read it in one day. I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone who thinks there is no way to cut costs and start getting out of debt. I found so much of this book to be helpful in getting my mind set to tackle more cost-cutting efforts. I've already gone through our 2006 spending to see what our pattern has been, and I've made a proposed budget for spending less the rest of this year!

$350 to credit card!!

I put $350 to the credit card, and it felt GREAT!! I start a new tutoring gig in June, and I'm looking forward to adding that amount to the debt snowball.

:-)

Being Honest with Yourself

Are you being honest with yourself about your financial situation? Money matters are like weight issues. We tell ourselves we don't know why we can't lose weight as we take a bite of a BigMac. We say we can't find a way to cut expenses to save money while driving a leased SUV that gets 12 mpg.

We can tell ourselves all the things we want to just to make ourselves feel better right now. But, the true question is this: If your family lost its primary source of income tomorrow, how secure would you be? Could you pay the mortgage? Phone bill? etc. Most of us are only one financial catastrophe away from real trouble. And, the only way to change that is to take control and do something to pay off and OWN our cars, home, etc.

Payment Plans

I was playing around on the internet recently, and I came across some online schools for getting trained in real estate. I'm a curious person, so I requested a free catalog (not that I'm going to dive into real estate school or anything, just curious).

I was contacted by someone who wanted to answer my questions and help me get started. (I figured I'd ask questions). She explained what I wanted to know, and she explained the course "packages" available. When I asked her if I could sign up for one course at a time (thinking I could pay for one course up front, then while working on it, save for the next course and so on) she asked me, "Why would you want to do that?" She explained that they had their own financing department that could allow me to pay around $50 per month until I paid off the debt.

I'm not saying this is a horrible idea, I'm just saying it says something about the status of the world we live in that paying up front for things one at a time would be considered the odd thing to do. We live in a time in which it is ingrained in our minds that we purchase things on a payment plan.

Something to think about.

:-)

$300 to CC

Yes, another $300 payment to the good old credit card!! I am so excited to be whittling away at that debt, then closing that account. I can feel the momentum building as I knock out bills one by one.

BTW, our electric bill went from $450 in March to $150 in April after I started checking the meter each day and determining just how much electricity we NEEDED to consume and what we didn't.

:-)

What it means to be a 'consumer'

I've been thinking about the word 'consumer'...as in, "The average American consumer spends $12 per year on toothpaste."
What does it mean to be a consumer? Let's look at the word 'consume'.

www.dictionary.com defines consume below:

1. to destroy or expend by use; use up.
2. to eat or drink up; devour.
3. to destroy, as by decomposition or burning: Fire consumed the forest.
4. to spend (money, time, etc.) wastefully.
5. to absorb; engross: consumed with curiosity.
–verb (used without object)

So, if consume means to destroy, devour, or spend wastefully...then a consumer is someone who destroys, devours, or spends wastefully. Think about where your money goes. Track a day in the life of YOU as a CONSUMER. What are you consuming? Vending machine sodas and snacks? Fast food? Magazines? Car payment? Cable? Cell phone? Starbucks? Commuting Gas? Why? So you can go back to work tomorrow, to earn more money, so you can consume more? When I started to see my spending in that context (that every time I make a purchase I should look at it in terms of how long my husband had to work to earn that $, I decide whether it truly is worth it.)

When you start to control your spending and pay attention to where that money is going, suddenly you don't feel such a need to CONSUME so much.

I challenge you to spend one week charting every single time you spend money. Write down what you purchased, how much you spent, and when you made the purchase. (include all bills you paid that week) At the end of the week, total that bill. Calculate how long you had to work to earn that money? Was it worth the work? Only you can answer that.

I'm to a point now where I am even tracking our electric usage and finding ways to cut back to lower that bill. I am consuming less electricity to save money. What could you consume less of for the sake of your financial security?