I haven’t been hiding our expenses, but the truth isn’t we haven’t really been paying attention. Since we’ve gotten rid our debt except for the mortgage and established a fully funded emergency fund, we have earned the right not to budget. Pants in a Can and DD post their expenses and take flak for it, so I figured I am not above that type of scrutiny. I don’t want to be throwing money away when there are many other good causes and uses for that cash. Let’s get right into it. The Happy Rock’s expenses from 4/1/2008 to 4/1/2009: Notes [...]
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We probably were the last people in the world to see it, but Mrs. DD and I finally got a round to watching “An Inconvenient Truth” this past weekend. It was a very inspiring film (hard to believe a power point by Al Gore would be described that way) and it’s important message will no doubt have an influence on how we live. But earlier today I saw another film which told an equally disturbing story about our national debt: IOUSA Actually it’s the 30-minute version of what must have been a feature length film(that I missed). It does a [...]
Read MoreA few months ago I shared some tips on how shave a little off your grocery bill. Today I will share some tips on how to totally mess up your grocery budget: Visit friends who are great cooks. Become motivated by friends to be more adventurous with your cooking. Find some tasty looking recipes. Buy a $10 block of cheese. Before you now it, your grocery budget is gone! Ok, so maybe it’s not a great idea to follow these steps exactly, but if you’re lucky the results can be quite scrumptious. Allow me to explain… Mrs. DD has a good [...]
Read MoreGrandparents are great aren’t they? I don’t know about you, but I have very fond memories of my grandparents. There’s the trips to the zoo, baseball games, & museums. I remember having lots of sleepovers with great food and a never ending supply of cookies. But above all I remember lots and lots of treats and toys. I see that same pattern repeating itself for my children and their grandparents. And that is wonderful, but… Our house is full of the crap that the grandparents give their “precious little angles”. For example, at the end of January my son turned [...]
Read MoreWho’s To Blame For Your Spending? You or you? @ Pecuniarities Use Google Calander To Pay Your Bills On Time @ Free From Broke 6 Steps To Reducing Your Credit Card Interest Rate @ Christian PF 3 Steps To Smarter Shipping Charges @ Gather Little By Little Making A Budget That Works @ My Findependence Day FDIC Might Be Underfunded. Should You Withdraw Your Money From Banks? @ Consumerism Commentary
Read MoreShould I Rent? @ Gather Little By Little – We have been tossing this one around as we are in almost the same exact boat. We are leaning towards renting too…more to come on that topic. Online Bargain Shopping Pitfalls: Top 5 Signs You’re Being Conned @ The Digerati Life 6 Words That Make Your Resume Suck @ Squawkfox What To Do When You Pay Off Your Car @ PTMoney – Great list. I remember when we fully owned our first car. Great feeling. 4% Mortgages On The Way @ FiveCentNickel
Read MoreFrugal People Focus Too Much On Outgo @ Frugal Dad – Both are important, but income is often overlooked since it usually takes more energy. A Good Way To Fund Mortgage Lending @ Wisebread – Very nice accountability in this system, something the US system was severely lacking with the onset of mortgage backed securities where investors carried all of the risk that lenders need to carry. Do You Ever Plan To Really Retire? @ Bible Money Matters – I don’t! How To Become A Location Independent Family @ BripBlap How To Show Love Without Buying Stuff @ Almost Frugal [...]
Read MoreAnother page has been added to our selling the van story. You long time readers can skip ahead, but if you want to catch up here is the first part, and here is the second part. Now for the third installment of “Will They or Won’t They?” I was having dinner at my parents house a couple of weeks ago and my Mom asked how we were doing financially. I gave her my pat answer that I always give her, “Just fine.” But then I made the mistake of offering a little more. “But we’ll be in much better shape [...]
Read MoreHere is the latest installment of my monthly expenses. Below are the results from September: $830.00 - Mortgage $643.00 - Daycare $464.09 - Groceries $330.00 – Van Payment $194.16 – Gas $136.62 – Electricity $135.79 – Medical Bills $125.00 – Student Loan $115.75 – Phone & Internet $113.59 – Misc Household $77.15 - Eating Out $55.00 - Tennis $42.00 - Haircuts $35.00 - Babysitting $30.63 – Oil Change $26.40 - Kid’s stuff $15.00 – Donations $1.50 – Video rental For a total of $3,370.68 Considering that our last two months totaled $3875.84 and $4170.34, I’d say we’re finally seeing some improvement. Some of you will remember [...]
Read MoreI know this is a personal finance site and my role is mainly to describe my journey out of debt, but I can’t let the passing of a certain Hollywood legend happen without commenting. I can’t think of a cooler guy than Paul Newman. Jack Nicholson might be closer to the standard definition of cool, but when you delve a little deeper Paul Newman has him beat by a mile. Handsome Hollywood Superstar, Race Car Driver, & Philanthropist. It’s possible I’m a little biased because “Cool Hand Luke” & “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” are two of my all-time [...]
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