Monthly Archives: September 2008

5 ways that budget management and weight control are alike

I’m pretty proud of our financial success in the past few months. My husband and I have improved our financial health immensely since our wedding. Unfortunately, the same isn’t true for my physical health.

I’ve been avoiding the scale for the past month. I didn’t want to confirm what I already knew. Last night, I finally decided to face the inevitable. I’ve gained 8 pounds in the four months since my wedding. Yikes. I was 3 pounds below my regular weight on my wedding day, but I’m officially 5 pounds above my “happy weight” – the heaviest I’ve been in two years.

One of my first posts was about how I lost weight using basic budgeting skills. Now that the honeymoon’s over, and it’s time to get real and lose these pounds I’ve put on since the wedding, I wanted to revisit the topic. Only this time I’m talking about why constant monitoring and reassessment are crucial to staying physically and financially fit.

Here are some tips I’ve found helpful when managing my weight and my budget:

1. Be realistic.

Sometimes it’s necessary to go on a strict budget to pay down massive debt. You may have to cut all discretionary spending for a little while to overcome a major financial hurdle. However, if you try to maintain that level of restriction for too long, it’s harder to stay on track and meet your own high expectations.

Your best bet is to find a comfortable balance between necessary bills, discretionary spending, and saving. Maintaining a reasonable budget requires constant monitoring, but it shouldn’t be incredibly difficult or make you feel deprived.

The same is true for weight management. Find a comfortable weight within your healthy range that you’re able to maintain without going to extreme diet measures. Once you get there, maintaining that weight requires constant monitoring, but it shouldn’t be a terrible struggle as long as you’re eating well and exercising.

I’m able to stay at my healthy weight pretty easily just by avoiding overeating and staying active. When I try to venture below that weight, like I did for my wedding, every pound is an incredible struggle. My body just doesn’t want to be that thin. So I’m happy to compromise. I may not be thin enough to feel comfortable in a bikini, but at least I know I’m in a healthy weight range.

2. Frequently monitor your progress to catch yourself before you veer too far off track.

Once you find a comfortable budget, it’s crucial that you measure your progress regularly. Without careful planning and monitoring, you could easily throw your entire monthly budget off track with one weekend of bad decisions. Imagine how bad it could get if you just stopped monitoring your spending for months at a time.

Just as you check your budget frequently to make sure you’re not overspending, you must weigh yourself regularly. A slight increase in weight could alert you to a problem in your diet and activity before you veer off track to an unmanageable degree.

3. The longer you avoid the problem, the harder it is to resolve.

It’s much easier to pay off your credit card balance every month than it is to pay down several thousand dollars of debt that’s accrued over months or years. It’s also a lot harder to lose weight when the pounds have packed on over time. Overcoming a 1-pound weight gain usually just involves watching what you eat closely for a few days. I’ll have to work a lot harder to lose these 5 pounds. It would be even harder if I waited until I was 40 pounds overweight again to get back on track.

4. Constantly adjust according to your changing needs.

When it comes to budgeting, everybody knows that you can’t continue spending the same after a major pay cut. When your income decreases, your spending must decrease, too. Likewise, when you welcome a new baby, your discretionary spending is probably going to take a hit to accommodate for diapers and formula.

You must find the same balance between activity and calorie intake for weight management. I think part of the reason I’m struggling more to maintain my weight is because I changed my job. In retail, I was on my feet 8 hours a day running around the store, moving heavy objects, and constantly moving. I didn’t watch my diet as closely as I should have, but the constant activity made it easy to keep extra weight off. Now that I’m sitting at a desk all day instead of moving, I need to seek out more activity outside of my job and become mindful of what I eat to avoid weight gain.

5. Sticking to it and making the right choices are the hardest parts.

Everyone knows that the easiest way to stay ahead of the game financially is to spend less than you make. We also know that the best way to maintain a healthy weight is to burn more calories than you consume. It all sounds so easy when you break it down into those simple equations, doesn’t it? The truth it, it’s not that easy.

The part that’s left out of that equation is the constant struggle every day to make the right choices and stick to your commitment. After all, if it was as easy as it sounds, nobody would struggle with their weight or their finances.

The best thing that weight control and budget management have in common? They’re both totally worth the struggle.

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Menu Plan Monday & Grocery Round up: 9/20-9/26

This week was not as successful as last. Our grand total was $68! Bummer.

We’re entertaining some guests tonight, so a lot of the extra comes from a bigger, fancier than normal spinach lasagna that we’re making tonight. We also had to stock up on some staples like flour, peanut butter and jelly, soy sauce, tea bags and coffee filters.

I know – excuses, excuses. I’m consoling myself by reminding myself that grocery bills like this one have now become the exception instead of the rule. We’ve been within budget for the past three weeks, so I’m willing to cut myself some slack for going over.

Here’s our menu plan for the week:

Saturday: Spinach and four-cheese lasagna with salad and fresh garlic bread
Sunday: Roasted chicken with potatoes and green beans
Monday: Chicken quesadillas with refried beans
Tuesday: Leftovers/Sandwiches
Wednesday: French dip sandwiches
Thursday: Chinese style chicken and broccoli
Friday: Homemade pizza

As part of Menu Plan Monday’s Family Favorite edition, I’m also posting a recipe that’s been passed down from my mom. Her classic lasagna includes meat sauce, but we’ve adapted the recipe to be meat-free. It’s delicious. Hope you enjoy!

Spinach Lasagna

Classic Marinara Sauce:
1/2 of an onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can of diced tomatoes
1 (14.5-ounce) can of tomato sauce
1 (5- to 6-ounce) can of tomato paste
2 tablespoons of parsley
¼ teaspoon of sugar
¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
1 teaspoon of dried basil
½ cup of red wine

Cheese Filling:
3 cups of ricotta cheese
½ cup of Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon of parsley
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 package of frozen spinach, thawed and pressed to remove excess water

1lb. lasagna noodles
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Saute onions and garlic in 1 tbsp. olive oil. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, parsley, salt, and basil. Stir until tomato paste is blended into sauce. Bring to a slight boil. Add red wine. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and oregano.

Thaw spinach in a microwave or stove top. When it’s cool enough to handle, put it in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze to remove excess water. Incorporate into ricotta cheese mixture.

Boil lasagna noodles for 10-15 minutes according to instructions on packaging.

Build lasagna in an 8×8 pan beginning with a small layer of sauce to avoid sticking. Lay down noodles with no gaps followed by cheese filling, sauce, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Repeat twice for a total of three layers. Top with a layer of sauce, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 4-6 people.

If you’d like to make this recipe my mom’s way (with ground beef), just add beef to the onion and garlic and cook it completely before adding the tomato sauce. She also uses cottage cheese instead of ricotta. It’s saltier, and may be a bigger hit with the kiddies.

Keep in mind, this recipe is three in one. The marinara sauce is absolutely divine on spaghetti, and the cheese filling is perfect for stuffed manicotti. Mix it up to maximize your meals!

Check out OrgJunkie for more meal plan inspiration!

Luxury on Less Tip: Cut down your coffee consumption

(Photo by gwpriester.)
I love to start my morning with a hot cup of fresh ground coffee. Any more than one cup gives me the jitters for the rest of the morning, but one cup is just enough to wake me up.

Brewing coffee at home instead of stopping at Starbucks every morning is half the battle when it comes to saving money. But what about the high price of coffee beans?

For months, Tony and I were throwing our money down the drain with expensive coffee … literally. Not only were we paying $10 a pound for gourmet beans, but we were brewing a whole pot every morning and pouring half of it down the sink.

You don’t have to brew 12 cups just because your pot will hold it. We cut the beans and water in half, making only 6 cups. It’s the perfect amount for each of us to have a cup. Most importantly, nothing gets wasted.

We also buy our coffee beans at Costco where we pay $10 for two pounds. They’re high-quality organic beans at half the price we paid at the grocery store. Since we only brew half pots every day, we usually only have to buy coffee once a month.

Of course, the easiest way to save money on coffee is not to be so picky. Pre-ground beans are usually less expensive than whole beans, and brands like Folgers and Maxwell House are often on sale.

If you can’t get by on one cup a day, your best bet is to buy the cheaper, pre-ground coffees. Don’t like the flavor of Folgers? Try some different brands until you find the flavor and price that works best for you.

You can also try experimenting with the amount of grounds you use. You may be brewing your coffee stronger than it needs to be. Cut back a little every day until you notice a difference in flavor quality.

Bonus tip: Always make sure your coffee pot is clean! Running a vinegar solution through the pot once a month will make a world of difference in the flavor of your coffee, even if you’re brewing cheaper brands.

TGIF Link Round Up: Getting out of the house edition

Tony and I are homebodies for the most part. The good news is staying home doesn’t cost much. The bad news? It can make things pretty ho-hum. We’ve been spending too many weekends working around the house and running errands.

It’s absolutely beautiful outside tonight, so we’re heading downtown for a stroll.

But first, a round up!

My favorite posts from the personal finance blogosphere this week:

  • Tiffanie at We Like Money wrote about how she’s saving money on college textbooks. It’s rarely necessary to pay the full sticker price for these expensive books. Luckily, my husband is studying creative writing, so most of his books are novels and short story collections. He’s only had to buy a handful of books so far … he checks most of them out from the library.

And now I’m off to start my weekend by enjoying this beautiful weather. You should, too! Happy Friday! :)

My personal (student) loan experience

As part of the Extended Group Writing Project at the Personal Finance Bloggers Network, I’m sharing the story of my biggest financial mistake: my student loan debt.

I was in the same position as many high school graduates. I knew I needed to go to college if I ever wanted a chance at a successful career. Unfortunately, two of my sisters were also in college at the time. I didn’t qualify for grants or financial aid, but my parents simply didn’t have enough money to cover the high cost of tuition for three children simultaneously. My grades were good, but I didn’t think they were good enough to earn me scholarships, so I didn’t apply. I know, stupid.

I didn’t choose an expensive Ivy League or out-of-state school. I was happy to attend a state school. State schools are still expensive, though.

I often hear people say that living in an off-campus apartment is a luxury that students on a budget can’t afford. I completely disagree. For the first year I lived in the dorms. In addition to tuition, my food and boarding costs alone were $800 a month. It was much cheaper for me to live off campus in an apartment with roommates.

My parents generously contributed by covering my rent. I worked part-time all the way through college, but most of my time was devoted to classes, homework, and extensive work for the campus paper. I didn’t have time to work the hours I needed to cover my tuition and living expenses.

Each year, I took out federal Stafford loans to cover my tuition. Then I took out additional private loans to cover my living expenses.

The truth is, I didn’t really know what I was getting into. I was very young, and I thought, “I’ll be making so much after I graduate, paying these loans won’t be a big deal!” That might be true for low-interest federal loans. Not the case when it comes to $20,000 in private loans at 8-12% interest. Ouch.

I had no understanding of interest rates. I didn’t know the difference between a 4% and a 12% interest rate. I’d never paid down debt, so I didn’t know that the difference between those percentage points was thousands and thousands of dollars.

That money paid for me to eat and live, but I certainly could have lived more frugally. I didn’t really shop for groceries. I ate out constantly. I bought stuff I didn’t need. I had a lot of fun.

Was it worth it? Yes and no. If I could go back and do it all over again, I would still go away to school. Those four years were essential to my personal growth. I became the person that I am today because of those four years of independence and learning. If I hadn’t gone away to school, I never would have met my husband. I’ll take some debt in exchange for my husband and an invaluable education.

I would have stopped at the federal loans, though. I would have taken out as much as I could at 4% interest and worked my butt off in my part-time job, lived as frugally as possible, and earned my education without that extra $20,000 at an average of 10% interest.

I’m paying the price now. My private loans have a minimum monthly payment of $250. If I paid the minimum payment, it would take 30 years to pay them off.

They’ve been in forbearance steadily accruing interest for the past 2 years. I simply don’t have the money to pay the minimum payment and pay off my credit card debt. Paying down this debt is my only way out of it. Like federal student loans, private student loans cannot be discharged even in bankruptcy.

My federal loans are $75 a month, and my husband’s small amount of federal student loan debt is deferred until he graduates. When we finish paying our credit card debt in November, those private student loans will become our focus.

My credit score is very high, so I should be able to consolidate them for a lower interest rate. That will cut the minimum payment almost in half. Then my goal is to pay off the high-interest student loan debt in 3 to 5 years. I don’t want to be paying my own student loans when it’s time to send our kids to college.

My biggest mistake was that I signed up for a loan that I didn’t understand. I will never again do anything with my money that I don’t understand.

I’m overwhelmed by the debt, but we have the tools now to pay it down. It took four years to acquire it. My hope is that it won’t take 30 years to pay it down.

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Budget weddings: If you can do it yourself, you’ll save a lot of money

The do-it-yourself philosophy of wedding planning has been around as long as the budget wedding (forever). As I said in the last post about wedding flowers, many people even choose to do their own floral arrangements.

We were very conventional in the aspects that we chose to do ourselves. Even taking on only the simple tasks will save you a ton of money, though, and you’ll be surprised how easy it can be.

Here are the things we chose to do ourselves:

Wedding Invitations

This is the old standby for do-it-yourself brides. Modern printers and online stationery sites have made it so easy to print your own invitations that I can’t imagine why anyone would pay hundreds for someone else to print them.

If there was a theme to my wedding, it was roses. They were the only flower at my wedding, and I chose red and cream as my colors. So I had a very particular idea about how I wanted my invitations to look. I wanted a plain invitation with a single embossed rose.

I searched all over the Internet for blank invitations with this look. Finally, I found the perfect paper at LCI Paper Company. They have many other options, and some of them are sold in invitation kits that include matching envelopes and RSVP cards. Lucky for me, the exact paper I wanted came in a complete invitation kit for $50 for a set of 50.

I only needed to send out 35 invitations for my 50 guests, so one 50-pack was perfect for me. I designed the invitation in Microsoft Word with the fonts and wording I wanted. My mom offered to print them and put them together for me. They turned out beautifully:

I ordered an extra set of RSVP cards and envelopes, printed the words “Thank You” on the front, and used them as matching thank you cards!

Centerpieces

I don’t know that you could call what we put on the tables “centerpieces.” I wasn’t into the idea of something big crowding the table, especially since space in our reception venue was already limited. So I bought some little votive candle holders with roses on them (10 at 50 cents each) and put rose-scented candles into them (I think I paid about $1 per candle). They made the entire reception smell like roses, took 5 minutes to put together, and cost under $25.

Favors

My husband is an M&M fanatic. He loved the idea of personalized M&Ms. Sure, they’re pricey and a little cliche, but he loved them. We ordered cream and red (our wedding colors) and had our names and wedding date printed on them. I ordered organza bags from an online party favor site, and we made the favors ourselves.

All together, the favors cost under $100. A little more than I wanted to spend, and in hindsight we probably could have skipped them. But it’s nice to send your guests away with a little gift to thank them for coming.

Keep one thing in mind when you’re planning do-it-yourself projects: don’t take on too much. Saving money is important, but it’s not worth stressing yourself out by taking on a project that’s beyond your scope. If you want something elaborate, it’s probably best to leave it to an expert.

Be realistic, keep it simple, and you’ll have fun and save money!

Life without a microwave

Yesterday, Kelly at Almost Frugal Food wrote a post about heating and reheating food without a microwave. Like Kelly, I don’t have a microwave, and I don’t want one. So I thought I’d throw in my two cents and tips on the topic.

Cutting the microwave out of your life is a great way to improve your diet. My husband used to live predominantly on microwaveable food in college. Generally, the stuff is pretty bad for you.

Cooking without a microwave is also better for your budget. Convenience foods, which come complete with high-tech packaging designed to make them taste less like microwaved food, are also a drain on the budget. Cooking with whole foods from scratch is much more economical than packaged convenience foods designed for microwave cooking.

I’ve also just never been completely comfortable with the idea of microwaves, to be honest. The idea of toxins and carcinogens being released by heating plastic in the microwave is more than a little disconcerting. Am I being paranoid? Probably. But I can live with that.

The bigger issue is that I hate the way food tastes when it’s heated or reheated in a microwave. It always comes out with a chewy, dry consistency. For the longest time I thought I hated leftover pizza. Turns out I just hated the way it tasted when it was reheated in a microwave.

Many people react with shock and horror when I tell them I don’t have a microwave. “How do you reheat anything?!” It’s like the entire fabric of their universe is crashing down on them.

I’ve never understood why people are so horrified by the idea of life without a microwave. The truth is, there’s nothing a microwave can do that a stove top or conventional oven can’t do better. It takes a little more time, but the tastier results are worthwhile.

Soups and pastas can be reheated simply by throwing them into a pot or skillet over medium-low heat on the stove top. Pizza, casseroles, and lasagna can be reheated for 10-20 minutes in a 300-350 degree oven.

Need to defrost meat? Refer to your menu plan before you go to bed, and place the meat you’ll need for tomorrow’s dinner into the refrigerator to thaw for 24 hours. Forgot to take your chicken breast out of the freezer last night? It happens. Just put it in a bowl in the sink with slow, steady stream of cool water trickling into the bowl. It’ll thaw in about 20 minutes.

The only thing we can’t make is microwave popcorn. No big deal. We buy stove top Jiffy Pop. It’s more fun anyway. :)

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Free (and I mean really free, no strings attached) credit score

This morning, Wise Bread shared a link to Credit Karma, a new site that offers free credit scores as often as you want. Unlike other services like FreeCreditReport.com, you don’t need to enroll in a service that later requires you to spend 20 minutes on the phone repeatedly telling an operator, “No, thank you. I’m quite aware of the benefits of your service, and I’d still like to cancel.” It’s really free, no strings attached, no credit card required.

It only takes a minute to sign up. You will need to enter your social security number for them to access your score, but I did some exhaustive research, and it’s about as secure as the Internet gets.

So if you’re curious about your score, head over and check it out!

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Be familiar with what your insurance covers, and make sure your doctor is, too

About a month ago, my husband and I both went to the dentist for routine exams and cleanings. Because we’d been uninsured for a year, it was our first visit in about that long. It was also our first visit to a new dentist, so they did a full round of x-rays in addition to the cleaning and exam.

No cavities or problems for either of us (woo hoo!), and routine preventative care is fully covered by my insurance, so we left that day with no bill. Or so we thought.

Two weeks later, I received a statement of benefits that said we’d been denied coverage for $14 of each of our claims.

When I called to ask about it, I was informed that my dentist took three of a certain type of x-ray. My insurance only covers two within a 12-month period. My dentist hadn’t checked to see what was covered, and I didn’t know, so I let them take the x-ray that may or may not have been necessary. Because x-rays are considered “preventative care,” extra ones are not even covered by the 80/20 part of my policy. For preventative care, it’s all or nothing. We’re responsible for 100% of any preventative care that isn’t covered.

Luckily, it was only a $14 x-ray. So our total out of pocket for both of us will be $28. Without insurance, we would have paid over $500 for our exams, cleanings, and x-rays. If you ask me, $28 for healthy smiles is a bargain.

This experience made me think, though: what if the uncovered procedure had been something more expensive? I had no idea what my insurance actually covered as “preventative care.”

I assumed that my entire visit would be considered “preventative care,” but I didn’t know enough about my policy to ask my dentist questions. I certainly didn’t know enough to say, “My insurance only covers two x-rays, so if the third isn’t absolutely necessary, I’d really rather skip it.” I don’t know if dentists take kindly to this kind of request, but I’d be comfortable asking if I had known it was necessary.

We already made appointments for our second cleanings and exams of the year six months from now, so I decided to check with my insurance company to make sure it will be covered. I didn’t want to be stuck with 100% of the cost of our second cleanings/exams if my insurance only covers one cleaning for each of us per year. Turns out we’re each allowed two cleanings and exams per year, so we’re fine.

What did I learn from this? Though I’ve always checked my insurance policies for general information (i.e. do they cover 100% for preventative care? What percentage of other procedures and prescriptions will they cover?), it’s also important to look at the minute details that I might otherwise ignore, such as exactly how many x-rays they cover and what’s considered “preventative care.”

Not only did I not know that my insurance only covered two of that particular type of x-ray, I had no idea that they were taking three of them. In the future, I’ll be prepared when I show up for doctor or dentist appointments. I’m going to become familiar with the little details of my policy, and I’ll begin the appointment by politely requesting to be informed of each procedure they’re going to perform. If I’m educated about what they’re doing, what’s covered by my insurance and what’s not, I’ll be able to make educated decisions about whether I want to go through with the procedures or not.

Obviously, if the doctor deems the procedure medically necessary or if it’s an emergency, then I won’t be crunching numbers in my head. Our health comes before money. But if it’s just an extra x-ray and the doctor says there’s no harm in skipping it, I might want to pass.

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