I decided today that I was going to calculate my net worth because I had never done so. I was surprisingly astonished when I received a net worth of $37,337! This took into consideration myself and my husband’s information, but I was really expecting to be in the red!

To explain our financial situation a little deeper, I am still in my early 20s and my husband is in his early 30s. We both make a decent income for the area of the country we live in. In fact, we earn almost twice more than the median average household income for our state. We own our own house, have a first and second mortgage, both have Roth IRAs, I have a 401K, and we’ve got a nice chunk of savings kept in a high yield savings account at ING. We both work full time as managers in our respective fields, I work in finance, and he works in the food industry.

I was pretty shocked to see the number come up that was displayed. We’ve had a little bit of a financial crisis lately, with a tree falling on our house, tearing a hole in our roof, and totaling one of our vehicles. We’re going to have that extra expense of the deductible on our home owner’s insurance and we’re going to have to buy a new vehicle in a year or so. Luckily a family member sold us her car for something we could afford so we don’t have a car payment right now.

Throughout my life I have lived frugally. It all stemmed from the lessons my mother has taught me. I remember working my first job training horses, where my Grandpa would give me $50 or so when he sold the horse because I helped out. I always saved that money, and was glad I did. We don’t buy fancy cars or spend money on expensive clothes or electronics. We live well below our means, and to tell you the truth, I love it. I love being as close to debt free as I can. Hopefully in 10 years or so we will be completely debt free. I think one of the keys to long term wealth is not generating more debt than you can handle. For instance, don’t go out and buy a new plasma TV if yours works fine. You don’t have to have the nicest things to “keep up with the Joneses”.

I am going to try to “bank on myself”, where next time I need a loan, say for a car, I’ve got that money saved up so I don’t have to get a loan. I’m going to set up a pre authorized transfer of at least $350 a month (same as a car payment) so that I can pay cash for the vehicle of my choice when the time comes, or at least have a good amount to put down on a vehicle so my loan amount isn’t outrageous.

This was a really interesting exercise and I strongly encourage you to do it as well. You may be as surprised as me to find out your real net worth!

We have had to reformat our computer three times in the past six months or so due to getting a virus.  I am so tired of doing it because it’s such a pain!  While I would love to go out and buy an iMac, that isn’t exactly in the cards for me right now because I’m trying to save as much money as I can due to the possibility of losing my job. I can’t help but wonder where we keep getting viruses from, and if I’m not partly to blame. Sometimes free things can be bad.

We get our anti virus free from our internet provider.  I was assuming since it was provided through the internet provider it would be a good anti virus program.  It is CA Anti Virus, and from everything I’ve read online, it seems to be a good program.  So where does the problem lie: in the program, or is it something I’m doing?  I have no idea, but you betcha I’m going to be very careful of all the sites I visit from now on.

I don’t know if there’s something I’m not updating or if there’s some site I’m visiting that keeps giving me a virus, but mainly I’m on the computer checking my email or blogs.  That’s pretty much it.  I can’t help but feel like my frugality is not doing me a darn bit of good here, but all I can believe is that the program is working correctly and maybe I’m just not updating it when I should be.  Or I’m not updating my version of Windows when I should.  Those are the only things I can come up with.

Am I being too frugal? Should I go buy a better anti virus program?  What could I be doing wrong?

So. On Monday Mr. Money wanted to take my car to work because he needed to haul something for a catering.  I took his car to work, and a few miles away from the branch, the radio turns off.  Fine, I think, I can live without the radio.  I drive about a mile further and the gauges go out.  Well, I hope I don’t get pulled over, I think.  The car starts shaking back and forth and I think Ohhhh crap.

The car dies in the middle of the left hand turn lane.  I start freaking out because all these people are honking at me (despite my emergency flashers being on) so I call Mr. Money (with my almost dead cell phone) and tell him that THE CAR DIED AND I’M SCARED and he says he will come help.  I get out of the car and look at it, as if that will do anything to get it started again.

After two more lights and more honking, a nice gentleman yells out his window, asking me if I’m okay. I tell him the car died, and he offers to push me to the side of the road.  I take up his offer, he pushes me to the side of the road, and I wait in the scorching heat for my husband.  He shows up a little while later, tries to jump the car, and no dice.  We call our favorite mechanic to come tow us and fix the car.  The alternator was bad, got replaced, and the damage was $400.  Thankfully, the car was fixed the same day so I got a ride to the mechanic’s after work and picked up the car.

Yesterday I got home from work and went into the backyard to check on the garden.  I was looking at the green beans when I heard an airplane landing in our side yard.  I went to check it out and realized that it was our air conditioning unit.  Awesome.  I come inside, turn off the A/C, and then realize that I just may melt because the heat index is over 100.

Mr. Money came home from work, went out to look at the unit, and realized that the fan is missing a blade.  He calls to get someone to come take a look at it and they tell him that if it’s just the fan, it’s probably going to be around $300.  If it’s not that, it’s going to be more.  Plus the $80 service call fee.  Awesome.  Did I mention that our air conditioning unit is ancient?  I’m crossing my fingers that it is easily (and inexpensively) fixable.  We’ll find out tonight.

I was talking to my mom and she said that be prepared, because bad things happen in threes.  Gee, thanks mom.

At least we have an emergency fund? (Until it gets sucked dry)

Yesterday I went grocery shopping with Mr. Money. I am really, really bad about cooking and making meal plans so it’s hard for me to figure out what I need to buy when I go grocery shopping. Of course, I go shop with a list so I don’t go crazy purchasing a ton of items we don’t need. I know I need to work on meal planning but that’s another issue, so I won’t go there today.

photo credit: RLHyde

Mr. Money was in charge of the grocery list, and when he noticed that I had “garlic (in a jar)” on the list, he questioned me on why I would want to purchase a jar of chopped garlic when I could easily buy the fresh garlic cloves and chop them myself. I completely understand that not only is it cheaper to buy the fresh garlic and chop it myself, but it’s healthier too because it’s not processed.

Why would I buy a jar of garlic? There are a couple reasons. First of all, the last time we bought fresh garlic, we bought it in bulk at Costco and it ended up sprouting and grew green shoots. Every single time I went to use it, I had to peel it, remove the shoots from the inside of the garlic (which ended up with a smaller yield), and then I had to chop it to use it. Needless to say, a lot of the garlic is going to be planted in the garden, which doesn’t help now when I need garlic to use.

Secondly, I am lazy and prepping and chopping and mincing garlic. I don’t like to cook, and I’d eat a bowl of cereal every night if I wasn’t so conscious of nutrition. At least I’m honest, right? Buying a jar of garlic will save me time and encourage me to cook more, which will help me save money in the long run. Sometimes you actually do save money by buying convenience items!

What convenience items do you purchase that cost a little more but help you save money in the long run?

I don’t have texting on my cell phone. Neither does Mr. Money. It’s not something that we want to spend money on. I have come up with a solution to my problem.  I learned how to text from a computer to phone.  Of course, this only works when I have access to my email, but it saves me time and money and that makes me happy.

How to Text from Email

First off, you need to figure out which carrier the text recipient uses.  All wireless carriers use different addresses.  The cell phone companies basically assign an email address to each user’s account using their cell phone number.  As long as you know someone’s cell phone carrier and their phone number, you can text from email.

How to text Sprint from Email

Sprint’s text message email address is [phonenumber]@messaging.sprintpcs.com

How to text Verizon from Email

Verizon’s text message email address is [phonenumber]@vtext.com.  With Verizon, users can customize their text email address so they could be bob.smith@vtext.com if they so desire.

How to text AT &T from Email

AT&T’s text email address is [phonenumber]@txt.att.net.  Of course, many people on AT&T’s network utilize the Apple iPhone, so they may receive their email on their phone from their normal email address.

How to text T Mobile from Email

T Mobile’s text email address is [phonenumber]@tmomail.net.

Now you know how to text from a computer!  Not only can you save money this way, you can also waste time when you’re bored texting your friends from your own email address. 

Have you heard of texting from email?  Do you use text messaging on your cell phone?

Sometimes I sit and think about how much money I’m going to need for the future, and it freaks me out. I think about how much it’s going to cost to have kids, replace one of our vehicles, and even how much money we’ll need for retirement. I feel like I’ll never be able to save enough money!  I can save and save and save, but who knows how much is enough?  What if I don’t plan for ___?  I realized that I can’t prepare for everything, so I really need to calm down and think of constructive ways to ensure we are as financially fit as we can be.

photo credit: robmercier

6 Month Emergency Fund

I think it’s so important to have some type of emergency fund, even if it’s $100.  That’s still better than nothing.  I’d like to have a years’ worth of expenses saved up, in the event that we decided that we are actually going to move or one of us loses our job.

Be able to live on less

I think this is one of my greatest goals.  I think that by being able to live on less money each year, we’ll have more flexibility and be able to do more things we love.  If we can afford to live on a small amount of money, then we can pretty much live anywhere we choose and be happy.  We won’t have to worry about the economy; we’ll be set.

Keep saving for retirement

We’ll keep plugging along saving money for retirement.  Even though it may not seem like a lot of money now, in 25 years or so, hopefully it will be a lot!  Every little bit helps.

Does saving money ever get overwhelming?  What do you do when you feel overwhelmed?

This is my review of WTDirect. I’m trying to find the best online savings accounts, so I’m exploring my options and sharing the information I find here.

WTDirect Review

WTDirect is actually “Wilmington Trust”.  When I started looking into different banks, I wanted to make sure that I was choosing a bank that is safe.  For some reason, when I have my savings account online, I’m a little more leery of the bank than I am if I know the bank has a brick and mortar location.  WTDirect is FDIC insured, so that makes me feel good.

One of my favorite features of WTDirect is that it’s got no minimum balance and no inactivity fees.  I hate seeing savings accounts with an inactivity fee!  It also has a decent high yield, and in today’s rates, that’s saying something.

WTDirect‘s rates are on a tiered system. For the first two months the account is opened, the account holder receives the highest interest rate available. After that, the rate is adjusted depending on your balance. If there is a balance of $10,000 or more in the account, then the interest rate stays the highest available. If it is lower than that, the rate drops. This would be a good account to park your emergency fund in.  Of course, if you want to direct deposit part of your paycheck into the account, that’s fine too.  WTDirect’s routing number is 052173464.

One of the best features of WTDirect is that they boast high customer service levels.  I think it’s very important to do business with banks that pride themselves on customer service.  I like being treated like a valuable customer.

If you would like more information on WTDirect, or would like to open a WTDirect account, do so today!

I never want to have a car loan again.  Once my car is paid off, I hope that we can save up enough cash to replace either vehicle we currently own.  We bought my vehicle (a 2005 Ford Freestyle) about two years ago, so I’m hoping that it will last at least 10 more years.  That would be great.  We also own a 2002 Ford Mustang and I’m afraid that we will have to replace that sooner than 10 years from now.

photo credit: futureatlas.com

The thing is- I really don’t know when we should start saving for a replacement vehicle.  I’m content with having one really good reliable car that we can take on road trips (very important as our families both live out of state!) and then the other car can be one that we use to commute back and forth to work.  It doesn’t have to be anything expensive.  I’m thinking that we’ll keep driving both cars we have until we can’t drive them any more and then go from there.

I should budget for car maintenance so that we’re able to pay cash for any repairs that may pop up.  I’m thinking that once our current car is paid off that I’ll start putting money aside for a replacement car.  Hopefully we won’t need the money for quite awhile!

Do you think I should think about saving money for a new car once ours is paid off?

photo credit: Geoff Peters 604
On Friday night, Mr. Money and I went out to dinner at a local restaurant that we’ve been dying to try. I checked the menu out online, and was surprised to see the prices.  They were a little bit more than I like to spend on dinners. With Mr. Money being a chef, he is interested in sampling different restaurants, so I knew that I’d live to visit the restaurant one day. It just so happened that one day a Groupon offer came to my email inbox for $40 worth of food for just $20!  It was a deal I couldn’t pass up, so I purchased one.

The first time I had heard of Groupon, I was uninterested. I thought it would be too tempting, so I didn’t sign up.  After hearing about it a few times, I decided that since it was free, I’d sign up, and I’m glad I did. Before I signed up, I got answers to a few questions I had.

How does Groupon work?

Every day, a different company decides to offer a deal on their services.  I’ve seen restaurants offering $65 worth of food for $25, stores offering $20 worth of merchandise for $10, etc.  They are normally awesome deals! Groupon sends out an email, the interested parties express their interest, and if enough people join that day, the deal is done.  If enough people don’t sign up, no one gets the deal. 

Is Groupon free?

Groupon is totally free.

How do I redeem a Groupon?

When you agree to a deal, it’s confirmed, and you’ve paid, there is a link you can click to download your Groupon.  If you lose it, you can reprint it.  Trust me, I know.

I definitely recommend signing up for Groupon if you live in the US.  I had a great experience and I’m so happy with how it worked out!

Have you heard of Groupon?  Do you think it’s an interesting idea?

The links in the post are referral links for me to get credit if you sign up for Groupon.  It’s $10 if you refer a friend, so make sure you spread the word once you sign up!

photo credit: VirtualErn

When we bought our house three years ago, there was a wood burning stove in our living room. That thing is so ugly. I thought. I can’t wait to get rid of it and put a fireplace in! Fast forward to our first winter, and I’ve now fallen in love with the wood burning stove. Not to mention the time it pretty much saved our lives when our electricity went out for a week last winter!

To save money and also reduce our carbon emissions, we, like so many other frugal people, lower our thermostat during the winter. We keep it at a temperature that feels comfortable to us. I can’t help but wonder if it would be more cost effective to heat more with wood when we’re home versus using the furnace. Right now, we’re using wood from the huge tree that fell on our house a couple years ago, which I guess you could say cost us nothing, or cost us a ton of money from having to pay the deductible and the money it cost to do all the repairs to the house.

Either way, we didn’t pay any money out of pocket to purchase the actual wood.  The only problem is now that we’re running low on wood, so I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth it to pay for some more wood.  There’s nothing better than a roaring fire in winter.  We really enjoy it.  But on the other hand- is it going to cost me more to get the wood, keep the fire going etc, versus using the furnace?  I’m not sure.  Then I worry about the smoke causing pollution and being horrible for the environment (not that using the furnace isn’t).  So it’s hard for me to tell whether or not I should use the furnace or suck it up and buy some more wood.

What do you think will save us more money: heating with wood, or heating with the furnace?  Which one do you think is greener?