First: You feel the tax rebate is:
Most criminal use of taxpayer money ever!
You want me to stimulate what?
Hallelujah! Money! Money! Money!
Why didn’t we have another kid in 2007?
Second: The best way to spend it is:
Save it all, baby.
Blow it on 79 cute shoes.
Invest in a Mutual What?
Add to our buy-a-home nest egg.
Donate to a local food bank.
I guess my bigger question is whether anyone else feels like they’re financially frumpy? Because, honey, we are. Oh, we paid off our “consumer” debt with our tax refund last month. But we’re stuck with a student loan, car loan, and a itty bitty substantial loan to both Dads for the Florida-house fiasco. And whenever I remember the Zabaleen in Cairo, I know that we are blessed more than we could ever deserve or earn for ourselves.
So, even though I know most (all?) of you are probably better examples of fiscal responsibility than me, I’ve listed the principles of financial frump fighting that we have found to really work (especially when we actually follow them). Would be very grateful for any other ideas you may have.
Fight the Financial Frump
- Pay the Lord first.
- Save 10% (Especially if by contributing pre-tax you get an employer-matching contribution).
- Make a budget (Track fixed and discretionary expenses, set goals, blah blah).
- Factor in some Mad Money so you don’t feel too deprived (This one’s easy to follow!).
- If you’re really serious about sticking to a budget, use Dave Ramsey’s envelope system. This worked for us in Japan; helped that it was short-term, with a big goal in mind (saving enough to move to NYC for graduate school).
- Plan for “emergencies.” Everything always costs more than it should. Especially those doctor copays and birthday presents. Use your employer Flex account if available (not for the presents, unfortunately).
- Adjust your perspective. Really this is the biggest one. I am not as well-off as I think I should be. I’m not as good-looking or smart or creative as I feel like I should be either. And, worst of all, I’m not as grateful, patient, humble or NICE as I should be. But hey, at least I am self-aware, right?
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Why can’t there be a money tree in my backyard? We are getting ready to move and have been saving for this major expense- and I’m sure that when it is all said and done it will be even more major than we anticipated! Ugg!
Joy’s last blog post..Fight The Frump- What’s In Your Makeup Bag?
Will doing these things make me look skinny?
Sister Honey Bunch’s last blog post..Let’s Get Fit: It’s the Swimsuit Edition, Yo.
Shout out to another Dave fan!
It’s true – when you get your finances in order, the rest follows (you tend to care more about your appearance, your yard, your body, etc).
We’re fighting the frump HARD here! BS1-4 complete & BS#5 in the works!
Darla’s last blog post..Swimsuits….
Amen! The economic stimulus package is laughable. Of course, now that I’ve said that, I’m going to show how I’m a hypocrite. We’re using ours to take an RV trip to see some relatives.
Also – need to start teaching the kiddies at a young age the beauty of 10-10-80 and compounding interest. Ooo! An post idea!
Dawn’s last blog post..Fighting the Homeschool Frump
So totally agree. I have not taken the Dave Ramsey classes yet, but I want to the next time they offer them at church.
Valarie in AL’s last blog post..Beautiful Lengths
Amen, sister! I definitely feel a bit financially frumpy… There are so many things we could do to help remedy this though, and you gave me even more wonderful ides.
I’m working super hard to get a big ole chart done of where our money goes. It should help us be more responsible with our spending, and hopefully we’ll pay off our debt quicker.
We’re very fortunate in that we don’t have a TON of debt racked up – even with the house in that figure, it’s something that we really should be able to completely wipe out in just a few short years. All really great tips – thank you! And Happy Frump Fighting!
Oh, one more thing you might want to check out is Dave Ramsey – he has a couple of blogs that are very helpful, as well as his radio program.
Photochick (Amanda)’s last blog post..Todays Posts..
some ideas on not spending as much money:
1. for groceries shop at the cheapest grocery store that you can find, but not walmart. i know the food is cheap but so many extra things end up in the cart.
2. everytime you shop buy 4 gallons of milk. this will reduce your trips to the grocery store.
3. i know this is not for everyone, but i suggest that you make your own bread. if there is healthy bread and milk at home, there is food, so shopping becomes very low on the priority list.
4. make a trip to walmart only once per month. you can write the things you need but go there only once per month. it’s the beggining of the month and I’m going. if i forget something it will have to wait till next month or to be purchased at the grocery store, even if it is more expensive, because going to walmart is ultimately more expensive in the long run.
sylwia
some great tips !!
feener’s last blog post..Giveaway and confession
Awesome tips thanks!!
The Dave Ramsey envelope technique really does work – I’ve done that before. Thanks for the tips!
JoLynn from The Fit Shack’s last blog post..Fit Links and More at The Fit Shack
Thank you for these tips – I think we are all feeling the crunch more.
Ellen’s last blog post..Apricots & Chocolate (& Pecans?)
All good ideas; things will only get tighter as gas prices continue to rise and affect everything else.
Jane: I need to contact you about the sidebar button…must wrangle brain cells and search harder for your email…contact me if you can – using the WMWW logo from my site is a great idea.
Of course, I’m now going to need to think ahead on that carnival thing.
Joy — if you ever find that money tree, send me a seed, ok?
Sis HB — of course, although it always seems like the cheap food is also the unhealthy food, surely buying less = eating less at some point, right?
Darla — I think you’re so right about all the different aspects of our lives being more interrelated than sometimes we think. Have to get our whole houses in order.
Dawn — I think an RV trip to relatives is a great way to spend it! Lots of upsides there.
Valerie — Dave Ramsey’s also on the radio (which I’m sure you know), but here’s the link online, just in case: http://www.daveramsey.com/radio/home/
Amanda — Thanks for the commiseration, and the knowing WHERE on earth all the money goes is a great big step towards fixing the great money whirlpool.
Sylwia — Good points on Walmart versus a regular grocery store. My one argument would be that if I buy a shirt here or there at Walmart and that stops me from going to the mall for clothes, then that probably works out better in the long run. Probably best to make separate trips — “grocery” trips and “everything else” trips.
Great points on the good bread (esp. if whole wheat) and the milk. Totally agree — or if you can just get your husband to grab milk on his way home. Dick is so allergic to shopping that he will make it out with no other purchases.
Jolynn — your Fit Shack site is amazing!
Marianne — sent you an email, and isn’t the internet great? Glad to have met you!
Too funny. Good ideas. We are tightening our own purse strings as of three weeks ago. Turns out I’m a shopaholic. Huh. Only took three maxed credit cards and lots of crying sessions to finally admit it. Funny funny.
Christines last blog post..Four years…