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DIY Yourself to Financial Independence

1/26/2017

 
Doing for Yourself Never Goes Out of Style
When my husband and I bought our first home, we were utter novices at the whole home maintenance thing, even though we had both grown up with regular chores and were reasonably competent in handling basic tools. 

To give you an idea of how new it was to us, when my oldest child was about 6 weeks old, I accidentally flushed one of his cloth diapers down the toilet.

​I’ll never forget the sense of panic I felt, since that toilet was the only one in our apartment, it was a Sunday night, and neither one of us had any idea how to remove such a clog from our plumbing system.
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I will be eternally grateful and always hold in warmest regard the young plumber we found in the old yellow page listings in the phone book that night. 

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In Praise of the Humble Peanut Butter Sandwich

1/24/2017

 
Reasons to Include Peanut Butter in Your Family's Diet
Update - October 2017 - I've recently taken on a new classroom teaching assignment, and the workload and demands on my time have been way more than I bargained for. There are days where I would not be able to eat at all during the day if it weren't for the trusty peanut butter sandwich. This is my ode to the peanut butter sandwich. ​I find myself falling back daily on this old lunch standby and appreciating it more than ever.  

It’s no secret that peanut butter, along with ramen noodles and rice and beans, is a mainstay of many a budget meal plan and the butt of many a joke about monotonous and tasteless diets.

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Gardening to Save Money

1/8/2017

 
Gardening to Save Money
I know it’s only January, but this is the time when seed and garden catalogs hit the mailboxes of gardeners.

I am a proponent of growing as much of your own food as you realistically can within the constraints of your lifestyle and space considerations. Besides being enormously satisfying, it is the only way I know to economically eat organic produce.

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Tips for Getting Organized

1/4/2017

 
Lists and Why We Should Make Them
I met a while ago with a dear friend who was struggling with some hard times. In the course of our long conversation, she expressed feelings of inadequacy because she was not managing to get done each day what she felt she needed to in order to improve her situation.

She found she was more forgetful than usual, and her kids told her all the time that she was absent-minded and unfocused. 

I told her that stress has been shown to affect memory and organizational ability. 

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Pets and Your Budget

11/17/2016

 
Pet Ownership and the Household Budget
I have been in deep mourning these past several weeks because we recently had to make the very tough decision to euthanize our beloved little dog, Celia.

Since we rescued her, all skin and bones, 11 years ago, she had been my shadow and pretty much constant companion, offering me unconditional love and great comfort during some of the most difficult periods of my life. 

She loved everyone in our household, but reserved a special adoration for me.  Her death has left a huge hole in my heart, and I miss her terribly.  The house just seems empty and far less welcoming without her. 

I relate this to convey my heartfelt belief that pets are wonderful additions to our family who make our lives richer in every way. 
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 But they are also a big responsibility. And it’s not one to be taken lightly.

Undoubtedly, some of that responsibility involves money and making sure you’re in a position to cover the costs of pet ownership.
​
In fact, pets can actually be quite expensive.


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How to Save Your Way to Financial Freedom

10/13/2016

 
Creating a budget
The primary goal with any budget is to make sure you are on the right track when it comes to savings. Achieving and accumulating savings are the only way we have any hope of ever achieving financial health and independence.

I define financial independence as the point where you could live off your savings or investments, whether by choice or because you have to. It doesn’t mean you’re necessarily wealthy at all, but you could walk away from a job or survive a forced early retirement and do fine.

You don’t achieve this point in your life by living lavishly. 


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The Problem With the 50-30-20 Budget Rule

9/12/2016

 
Why the 50-30-20 Budget Rule Is a Bad Idea
​This often used budgetary rule of thumb states you should try to keep your necessary expenditures to 50% of your total income, your discretionary expenditures to 30%, and the remaining 20% of your income should go towards savings.

While this approach is definitely not a bad starting point for money management, it's far too broad and general, and even terrible advice for many financial situations.
​
Let me explain what I mean.

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Phone and E-Mail Scams That Can Cost You Dearly

9/7/2016

 
Protecting Yourself from Scams
We have been getting quite a few phone calls lately that are clearly scams.

​So I thought this would be a good time to write a blog post and highlight 4 types of phone and internet scams you need to be particularly aware of so that you don't become the victim of a con game that can cost you big bucks.

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Saving Money on Wire Transfers

8/27/2016

 
Wire Transfers
My husband and I own a couple of small businesses that we started to ensure that we have more than one revenue stream and are never reliant on one income source. One of these ventures involves shipping and ordering from overseas.

That, in turn, involves making often substantial payments in different currencies.

In the past we have made all these payments using the same banks where we have our business accounts here in the local area where we live.

​Through them we do a wire transfer of the money to the overseas banks used by the companies where we are buying the products, and our banks charge a fee of $45 for the service. 

That would be a very reasonable fee to pay, if that was all there was to it.

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Saving Money Is About Making Spending Choices

8/25/2016

 
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MAKING BUDGET CHOICES
When determining a budget, it’s important to know what’s essential and what’s not. That’s the first step in prioritizing and allocating our hard-earned dollars and trying to find areas to save money.

And that brings me to an important point I want to make about spending and expenses. And that is this: we often have far more discretion in how much we spend, even for essentials, than we realize.

In fact, the choices we make in these categories can have a major and lasting impact on our bottom line.

Here are some examples of what I mean.

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8 Tips for Travel on a Budget

8/23/2016

 
Traveling on a Budget - Kilkenny, Ireland
Note: I make no money off the businesses and websites I mention and/or link in this post. They are simply ones that I have used and liked, or I've heard about through research or word of mouth. 
​My husband and I just returned from a 3-week vacation to Europe that came about because my sons pooled their resources to buy me airline travel vouchers for my birthday.

I am so incredibly grateful to them because we had an absolutely wonderful trip, and I am fairly certain that we would never have taken the time without their push to do so. 

It was a much-needed break from our very busy schedules, and we got to spend it in some gorgeous locales with great historic sites, as well as fabulous hiking and cycling.

Over the course of my life I’ve had the privilege of doing quite a bit of traveling and enjoying some pretty terrific vacations. We’ve been able to do that even though we’ve never made huge incomes because we’ve made it a priority and saved for it by doing without in other areas of our life to make sure it happened.

And being the frugal person I am, I try to get the most bang for my buck in my travel experiences, as I do in everything else. 

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Why Everyone Should Try Frugality

8/14/2016

 
Don't Buy Stuff That You Don't Need
Being the saver I am, I am always surprised to meet people who do not believe it’s necessary to set spending guidelines and limits for ourselves and put money aside on a regular basis.

They figure that saving is either for boring people, or it will take care of itself.

Most often, these are affluent people who probably don’t have to worry too much right now in their lives about finances because they are making big salaries that definitely put them in the  top 5-10% of wage earners.

Cutting back or budgeting just seems so silly to them. They also make a point of providing their children with every possible indulgence, from expensive gourmet food, to their own expensive smart phones, to lavish vacation trips, etc., etc.

 But here’s my concern. 

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How A Frugal Lifestyle Saved Us From Ruin

8/7/2016

 
Practicing Thrift on the Little Things
YOLO. For anybody who doesn’t know, that’s the modern-day lingo for “you only live once”. And it’s typically uttered as a repudiation of a frugal or disciplined lifestyle choice of any kind. 

​And I get it. Thinking and talking about budgets can seem, oh, so boring and like such a downer when there’s so much life to be lived, so much fun to be bought.

But here’s the thing: being frugal can actually be incredibly freeing and empowering.

​It can buy you – over time – a level of choice and independence in your life that the YOLO attitude can never accomplish. And in more stark terms -- it can save you from debt and impoverishment. 

I know this because I’ve lived it. 

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6 Kitchen Gadgets That Are Worth Owning

5/31/2016

 
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I’m not a big believer in spending a lot of money on gadgets for the kitchen. In fact, I’m often amused by the fancy devices that I see present in some kitchens, particularly when I know that they are rarely used, but still cost quite a bit of money and take up a good amount of space on the counters or in the cupboards. 

It’s the same kind of mentality that demands granite countertops and $5K Viking stoves and Sub Zero refrigerators in household kitchens where the families never or rarely cook at all.

That said, there are a few gadgets I do recommend having because they can save you money in the long run. 

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The Costco (and Other Big Box Stores) Savings Myth

5/17/2016

 
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I think big box stores are examples of genius marketing. I mean, think about it – they ask you to PAY for the “privilege” of shopping there. And millions of people do exactly that. 

These stores very effectively sell the cachet of belonging to a special club and having access to something that non-members supposedly do not. Nobody seems to notice the irony and contradiction in “paying to save”.

Marketing doesn’t get much more effective or powerful than that.  

Mind you, I was taken in by the hype as much as anyone when Costco first came on the scene.

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Saving BIG on Toilet Paper

5/11/2016

 
Refrigerator Grocery List
​You’re probably wondering what the heck toilet paper has to do with anything in this blog.  And I’m betting that you probably don’t give a lot of thought to the topic yourself. 

But I’m going to explain here why you probably should pay a little more attention in this area because it can save you money.  Depending on the size of your household, even a lot of money.

After all, if you’re a family, you go through quite a bit of the stuff every week.


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Introducing the Pressure Cooker and Its Time- and Money-Saving Features

5/3/2016

 
Pressure Cooker Savings
As you may have heard, the latest must-have high-tech gadget in many households is the instant pot.

Well, I'm here to tell you that this "new" technology has actually been around for decades, as any kitchen veteran can tell you. The instant pot is just a fancier, electric, high tech version of a simple, low-tech, stovetop cooking device  -  the pressure cooker.

And yes, I've heard that the instant pot can also be a slow cooker and steamer all in one. But while I like multipurpose appliances, I am also skeptical about over-engineered, expensive ones that have lots of features  subject to failure.

I much prefer a low-tech approach to cooking. Which is why I use a steamer basket for steaming instead of a dedicated steamer machine. And which is why I'll probably never buy an instant pot, but will stick with my simple pressure cooker instead.


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Organic Food as a Necessity?

4/13/2016

 
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When People Think They Need Organic for a Healthy Life
The other day I found myself listening with a mother’s concern to a radio story about a young woman struggling to get by on a minimum wage income in the Pacific Northwest.

​She was living in her parents’ basement after graduating from college, and the only work she could find was low-paying. Meanwhile, she had student debt to pay off. My heart went out to her when she began to weep about how difficult it was to maintain a healthy diet on her budget. 

But then I heard her mention that her biggest problem was that she could no longer afford organic produce, and she felt this was ruining her health.

At that point, my sympathy for her evaporated, to be replaced by exasperation.

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How To Build a Nest Egg Towards Financial Independence

4/6/2016

 
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NOTE:  I receive no compensation for any of my recommendations here. They're just ones I've used and liked. 

So you've finally finished paying off all your debt. After celebrating that for a bit, you now need to figure out how you're going to start seriously saving for the future and not just for the here and now.

​Because, as we all know, it’s not just about living debt free, but achieving some level of financial independence for ourselves. And that involves more than just continuing to budget and live carefully.

​It involves some sort of investing to help our money grow.

Let me start by saying that I’m no investment expert, and I don't claim to be. But I do know what’s worked for us over the past couple of decades.

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12 Kitchen Hacks that Will Help Save Your Sanity

3/30/2016

 
Mealtime Sanity Savers
There’s no question that modern life is unbelievably hectic. Whether you are a young person just starting out in your work career, or a new parent adjusting to life with a baby, or a seasoned family with busy school and extracurricular calendars to manage, there often seems to be too much to do and too little time to do it.

Typically, one of the first things to go by the wayside is healthy cooking and eating habits. As soon as time gets short, we start relying heavily on more processed foods – or even worse – take-out or restaurant meals. Those are budget killers and the stuff of caloric nightmares and dubious nutritional value.

Of course, eating processed food every now and again won’t kill or harm you, or decimate your budget, but there are some very simple strategies you can employ to minimize your reliance on them, capitalize on the time you have to spend in the kitchen, and stretch your food dollars as far as possible.
​
Here are some methods I’ve used over the years that have really helped me save my sanity and keep mealtimes stress-free, maintain my food budget, and stick to a healthy diet.  

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That Take-Out Meal Probably Costs Far More Than You Think

3/23/2016

 
Recognizing the Real Cost of What We Spend Money on
So, the other night I happened to have a conversation with one of my young adult sons that I think warrants a blog post.

It revolved around pizza.

First some background:

​For many years now, we have ordered pizza from our local grocery store pizza shop almost every Friday night. It is a nice way to end the week, and the Friday night special price is a very good one - $12 for a huge party pizza that can feed a family of 6 -  including 4 with teenage appetites - or $7 for a NY style pizza that feeds the 3 of us still at home, with leftovers for 1 person to have lunch the next day.

That’s without toppings, of course. The price goes up quite a bit for every topping you add. And at this stage of our lives, we often do indulge ourselves. But even with the extra cost, this pizza is certainly among the most economical take-out meals we can have in our neck of the woods.

And I also like the fact that the grocery store uses part-skim mozzarella for their pizza, so it is not swimming in grease the way a lot of pizza does.
​
But back to the conversation with my son. 

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Starbucks Hacks and the Toxic Entitlement Trap

3/18/2016

 
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I am convinced that we are often our own worst enemies when it comes to financial matters. Self-defeating attitudes and habits all too frequently undermine any attempts to get onto sound financial footing.

I have the perfect illustration of that fact.

A while back,  Business Insider published a video showing a “hack” to save $2 on an iced latte at Starbucks.

I found out about it when a young friend posted it on her Facebook feed, along with the outraged comment,

​“This is stealing!”

That intrigued me enough to watch the video, which you’ll find below. 

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How to Be a Savvy Consumer at the Grocery Store

3/12/2016

 
Shrinking Food Packages
Lately, I’ve been encountering more small cans of tomato product that are 14.5 ounces.  And I’ve even seen one that was 13.5 ounces. That’s down from what has become the “normal” 15-ounce size.  Which is down from the norm of 16 ounces that existed for decades.

The bigger cans of tomato product used to be 32 ounces, and are now down to 29 or 28 ounces.

Tuna fish used to be a full 8 ounces, and then went down to 7 ounces typically, but is now often 5-6 ounces.

A box of pasta used to always be 16 ounces, but now it’s often 13 to 14 ounces. And even 12 ounces.

There are similar examples all over the grocery store. It's obvious that food companies are hoping that less aware consumers won’t notice that they’re getting less for the price they're paying.   

But a savvy consumer is far less likely to be taken in by these attempts by manufacturers to hide their price increases.

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How I Stay Within My Food Budget

3/6/2016

 
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​Last week, I spent only $83 on food to feed the 3 of us who were home for the 7 days.

​That amount included $12 for one dinner of fresh, take-out grocery store pizza. The meals and snacks I planned provided even my 23-year old son with plenty of healthy food to eat, and I actually ended up freezing some leftovers. 


I’m mentioning this because just recently someone questioned my budget and some of the prices I quote for my recipes.

​That feedback from a reader made me realize that I need to do a better job of explaining my approach to grocery and food shopping so that people understand how I do what I do.

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Some Ideas to Help You Break Your Budget Busting Bottled Water Habit.

2/21/2016

 
Bottled Water Is A Waste of Money
Whenever people ask me how I manage to keep my grocery bill so low (typically around $30 per person for a week’s worth of groceries), I usually mention two things right off the bat that have saved me thousands of wasted dollars over the years:

I don’t shop without making a menu plan and a list, and I don’t buy bottled drinks at all, including water.

For beverages, we drink almost exclusively water from the tap in my house.

In fact, I can think of few worse rip-offs in the grocery store than the commercial water products.


The fact of the matter is that the bottled water industry has carried out one of the most brilliant marketing campaigns in modern consumer history --  a campaign that has very effectively led U.S families to needlessly spend their hard-earned dollars on an unnecessary and  exorbitantly overpriced product. 

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    Hi, I'm Nancy Maje Gillis, and I hope to help you find ways to live more cheaply and mindfully to  help you get through this uncertain COVID-19 time  so that you have less stress and more money in your pocket.

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