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Archive for September, 2006

Restrictions=Freedom??

September 13th, 2006 at 11:39 pm

I was reading through Mary Hunt's Everyday Cheapskate newsletter today and she mentioned something that hit me like a brick. She said "The more I am willing to be disciplined, the more numerous my options. The more carefully I plan, the bigger I dream, the better my life becomes and the more joy I experience."

I hadn't ever really thought about it this way, but it's true. When we discipline ourselves in our spending, we create a savings and this can lead to financial freedom. I need to remember this the next time I'm tempted to impulse buy.

Class in America

September 9th, 2006 at 04:27 pm

I was watching Oprah the other day and she was talking about how Americans are separated and judged by class. She compared two families-one middle class and the other low class. The mothers were giving details on how their lives were.

The low class mom's family lived in a rough neighborhood. Her oldest son started kindergarten and came home using gang signs. Her husband worked two jobs on average of 60 hours per week. She was a sahm.

The middle class mom had kids that went to a nice public school, her kids wore brand name clothes (if they didn't they would be singled out at school) and were involved in multiple extra-cirricular activities.

One difference I noticed that the low class family had the advantage is how their kids were disciplined. Their kids knew they didn't always get what they wanted and had to work hard for what they had. The middle class children expected to get everything they asked for because their parents had money.

I'm lucky to live an a community where most all of the people living here are of the same class. I don't think class separations affect us much here-thank goodness!

Dryer's Fixed!

September 7th, 2006 at 09:49 pm

Got my belt for my dryer yesterday. DH put it on last night and it's working -yeah! But, I'm still going to hang my colors and my jeans.

My daughter is doing better in school. I've been trying to get to the root of the problem (if there is one). I don't think it's a bully or her teacher or anything. And I don't pry too much-that starts putting ideas into their heads.

I've been doing pretty good on my grocery budget and hope to continue to do so.

My daughter isn't liking school

September 5th, 2006 at 06:33 pm

My youngest daughter who is seven and in the second grade has a hard time going to school. Last week was the first week and she missed two days because she was sick. The first day that she missed she called me about 10:00 in the morning crying saying she had a stomach ache. When I went to get her she seemed fine. I asked her if she was really sick or just sick of school (on the 3rd day?) She smiled and said sick of school. So I told her that is she was going to miss school, she was going to have to go home and work. I put her to work pulling weeds.

She came in after that, layed down and fell asleep. I was beginning to think she really was sick if she was sleeping and took her temp. Sure enough, she was running a fever.

Anyway, after missing two days last week and the long weekend, it was hard for her to go back today. She cried on the way to school which just breaks my heart, but I have to make her go. I've promised her if she goes 10 days in a row, she can miss the eleventh and we'll do something fun. She already has planned on doing tie-dye t-shirts. I was hoping she'd pick something that didn't cost money.

I'm Being Cheap Again!

September 2nd, 2006 at 04:06 pm

The school year started last week and already kids are out collecting money for fund raisers. The other day a high school student stopped by selling "coupon cards" that offer discounts at several local businessess. My husband bought one last year and I don't think we used it once-mostly because we forgot we had it (most times we remembered after we had made the purchase and were on our way home)

I told the boy that I didn't have any cash and he should stop by when my husband was home. This was true, however I guess I could have written a check.

I always remember the time a few years back when my husband was just starting out in his business and finances were a lot tighter. Having $10 cash on hand was great and usually meant we could go to the store and buy bread and milk to last us for a few days. Another fund-raising student knocked on my door and I said "Yes, I would buy their product" and went and got my last $10 bill out of my purse. I scolded myself under my breath for not having the courage to just say, "No, I can't afford that right now".

I have five kids who are in school. I try to allow them to only do fund raisers once per year each and they each have to do them at different times of the year. I discourage them from going door to door and try to encourage them to approach close friends and family who I know can afford it.

Broken Dryer-A Blessing In Disguise?

September 1st, 2006 at 04:37 pm

Well, on Monday the belt on my dryer broke and I have been without a dryer all week. My husband and I talked about going out and buying a brand new one since the one we're using is probably (we're guessing) about 30 years old. We got it for free out of an old rental house that we bought when we were first married. We've actually been through 2 washing machines since then, so I guess the old saying holds true "They don't make 'em like they used to".

When we discovered that the problem was just the belt and it would only cost $20 to fix, we opted for that solution. Maybe if we ever add on to our house and can build a bigger laundry room we'll splurge and buy a new dryer.

I'm probably saving money this week as I have been hanging most of my clothes on the clothes line. I usually only hang my jeans, but realize it's not so bad hanging the other colored items as well. Just don't ask me to hang our underwear! I've been using my MIL's dryer for that.

I ordered a new belt and it should be here by next Tues or Wed. When it comes, I'm going to try to continue hanging all the clothes that I can until it gets too cold.