February Goals Recap

I'm glad it's warming up a little so I can wash my car myself now. Hegazelle and I just finished washing both cars, and we're about ready for a Saturday nap. Washing our cars ourselves will save a few bucks a week for something else.
I'll be getting back to you shortly with the abbreviated version (remember, we can't tell all) of our March Goals. But for now, here's the February Goals Recap:

1. Reduce debt by $900. Done. By the hair of our chiny chin chins. No matter, it feels good to have paid $917 on our debt this month.
2. Save enough money by President's Weekend for a bed. Done. Not only did we get to buy our bed, nightstands & a cheery orange throw, we got to spend some time visiting with family while we were out of town making the trip to IKEA. Thanks to my uncle for hauling it all in his van the following weekend when he came for my grandmother's birthday. It would have been a miserable trip home with all that crammed in our Volvo. And thanks to the cousin who hauled it from my grandmother's house to ours. Hegazelle put it all together and it looks so groovy. Not to mention we are sleeping very well.
3. Save and give $300 to church building fund. We fell a little short on this one, but not too bad at $230. Only $800 to go before July.
4. File taxes. Done as of last night. We went through everything 3 times to make certain we hadn't missed any deductions. We were sure we had missed something because our refund was so low (which is certainly better than owing.) Turns out, we made more money than we did last year so our tax rate was higher. Fine with me that we made more money; not fine that the government takes so stinkin' much.
   

Three out of four is better than nothing. If I set my goals low enough every month I could meet 'em every time! But that, of course, would be no fun.

Happy Leap Year

A lovely leap year, 5th Friday of the month to you! And would you take a look at that green piggy? It took a 5th paycheck to finally get that pig movin'!

Anyhow, not much time here to post, but I just wanted to say that if anyone sees or speaks to Musicman, please tell him that he owes me a guest post on here. And also tell him that if he stands me up I'm going to play an evil trick on him in his sleep next time he stays at my house!! >:-) **evil laugh**

Good Stuff

I scored big time on Tuesday night at the grocery store. Of course you know I eat ground turkey instead of ground beef, so I buzz over to pick up the 1 pound package I usually get for $2.06. I did a double take. The larger 1.2 pound packages were on sale for .98 cents each! That's like .81 cents a pound- an unbelievably good deal. I bought 30 of them and split them with my mom. Good deals like that don't come along often, but I am sure glad when they do.

I had someone ask me about Financial Peace University last night, and how they could find a class in our area. This is the second couple that has approached us and has shown interest in the class. They had heard about our "weirdness" from some friends of ours. How cool is that? So, Mr. Facilitator, if you can find it in your heart to do a class in 2008, be sure to let me know. I think there's a whole lot of people who want to get in on this great material.

Welcome Coworkers

Nice to see some of my coworkers actually are interested in my freakish money cult! :-) Yes I know you're reading...both of my stat counters even tell me which computer you're using! Spooky...
Krystal over at Give Me Back My Five Bucks recently wrote how her BF thought it was creepy that she knew so much information about her readers thru her stat counter. Really, it's not creepy, it's just a handy tool is all. It's often amazing to see how people entered my blog, where they live/work, and how long they hung around the blog. Word sure spreads fast, and links too.
Anyhow, the reason I posted this (aside from finally welcoming my coworkers here) is to tell you that I can't discuss pay raises or perks in any way, nor whom I hate at work, nor whom has bad BO. Shucks.
By the way guys, this was posted on my lunch hour- I'm not cheating the boss.

January/February Energy Bill

So, freezing in January paid off after all. My February 15th energy bill was down $52.51 from the previous month. Compared to February of 2007 the bill was down $48.87. Not bad...I can think of a few things I could do with 50 bucks. Namely, pumping gas in my car. If it's not one energy source, it's another. I tell you what, whether you believe in man-made global warming or not, just the cost of energy this days is enough to cause you to "green" out your lifestyle.
Anyway, not only did I save $50 on my energy bill, I'll qualify for a rebate on my March or April bill just for reducing my usage. Combine that with the mild weather in my area and I'm bound to have some really low energy bills in the next few months.

New Feature on Normal is Broke

Since food is such a big part of one's budget, I've been thinking about sharing on a daily basis what us Gazelles are having for dinner. Today I went ahead and added the feature on the sidebar and titled it "On The Gazelle's Dinner Plate." If the same thing shows up on my menu week after week, help me out with an easy to prepare, budget-friendly recipe! And since I work full time, there's often a day or two when I don't feel like cooking, so I'll tell you where we ate out and how much we spent.

Lunch Challenge

Any of you willing to join up on this challenge? If you join the fun, leave a comment!

"I Wish We Would Have Done Things Differently"

A couple who are friends of mine and Hegazelle lost their home this week after nearly a year long battle. It's a sad ending for such a young couple who had big dreams of owning a new home. When I talked to the wife about their situation yesterday, she mentioned that her husband had told her, "I wish we would have done things differently."
How many times have we all said those words? We have all made mistakes, big and small, and in hindsight we ponder how we could have done better for ourselves. A person could drive themselves crazy thinking about what they should, would and could have done. I know, I've done it myself. If ONLY someone had given me the book The Total Money Makeover for a wedding present! Think how much farther along I would be! Ugh. Those are thoughts I cannot allow myself to think.
I guess since my friend's struggle is on my mind, I figured I'd write a bit of encouragement to any readers who may be wishing they would have done things differently. Let's let bygones be bygones and start again today. Let the past teach us the lesson it needs to teach us so that we never pass that way again. Then let's leave it behind. The past may have made your future tougher to face, but we're all capable of facing those challenges one day at a time. Like I've heard said before, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."
Elephant isn't my favorite food, but as soon as I finish this plate I'm gonna do my best not to eat it again!

"Budgeting is 'top priority' for Brits"

I read a short article at Uk Mortgages about budgeting becoming a top priority for Brits. Apparently the "crunch" we hear about daily on the financial news is having an effect worldwide. Now it seems people are becoming more aware of their finances and actually watching what they spend.
Even before I began doing a zero-based budget every month, I always had a budget of some sort to help me keep track of our expenses. I don't understand how a household, or an individual for that matter, can function without a proper budget. Aimless spending with no thought for how the mortgage, utilities and other necessities will be paid can only last so long. I really do feel bad for the people who get themselves in a mess because they lack the skills and/or discipline to budget their money.

But of course, here at Normal Is Broke, budgeting is second nature, right? :-)

ZZZzzzzz??

It's been awful quiet around here lately. I know you're reading, my site meter tells me you're here everyday. Either you're just absorbing what I write here, or you're yawning. Hehehe...
Oh well. I suppose as long as my visitor numbers don't start decreasing I'm doing something right.

My Blog is Now Making Money

I've done it again. I'm always looking for good ways to make some extra money, and I do believe that I've found another new way to do so. I believe I first heard of PayPerPost on Give Me Back My Five Bucks. Krystal makes a decent amount of spare change writing sponsored posts on her blog for PayPerPost, and yet her blog remains as a good read- not one cluttered by ads and constant off-topic sponsored posts. I figured if I handled the sponsored posts like she has, I could make the extra money, avoid annoying my readers, and maybe actually tell you about some great stuff along the way.
Like me, you could all use some extra cash. I only know a couple of people who don't. If your blog is at least 30 days old, and you've got at least 10 posts on it, you can join PayPerPost too. If you're pretty regular about writing in your blog, this would be easy money for you. PJ, this could save you from your nerve wracking job of performing weddings on the weekends! Shane & Deanna, you guys each have a blog, so you could double your money. AL, you might even be able to make a few bucks to fund the "Snack Envelope" for those kiddos!
If you give it a try, let me know how it works out for you. And by the way, I just made $20 typing this very post!
Check out payperpost and see how you could be making money too.

Free Stuff at Walgreens

Want some free stuff? Who wouldn't? Well there's free stuff to be had at Walgreens this month (at least where I live, that is.) I certainly intend to get my hands on as much of it as I can. As a little PF blog community service, I'll share with you the list of freebies being offered this month.

• Garnier Fructis Shampoo, Conditioner, Leave-In Conditioner or Masque- FREE after mail in rebate, up to $4.29
• Clear Care Travel Pack or Convenience Pack, 4 Pack, FREE after mail in rebate, up to $5.99
• Gillette Venus Embrace Razor System, FREE after mail in rebate, up to $9.99
• Softsoap Spa Radiant Body Wash, 18 oz., FREE after mail in rebate, up to $4.49
• Mennen Speed Stick 24/7 Antiperspirant/Deodorant, FREE after mail in rebate, up to $3.99

All you have to do is grab their EasySaver Catalog at the front of the store, fill out one rebate form and mail your receipts with it. Your envelope must be postmarked by Saturday, March 1. Good deal, eh?

Sweat the Small Stuff

We keep our eyes open everyday. Hegazelle watches, and I watch. Some people chalk it up as an idiosyncrasy and think we should chill out a bit. But we have seen what a difference it can make when a person is mindful of it every single day.

I'm talking about the small stuff. I believe it can have a significant effect on one's finances. The small stuff eats up our cash flow. We may not remember today's "small stuff" tomorrow, yet it ate up a piece of our money. According to Thomas J. Stanley, author of The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind, most millionaires became such by being mindful of the small stuff.
One thing that many see as small that is now HUGE in my eyes is the expense of eating out daily for lunch vs. taking a lunch to work. Once a person complained to me that they had absolutely NO extra money in their budget, and therefore could not save for a small vacation with their spouse. I tried to explain nicely that this wasn't so. While I'm not familiar with their budget, I do know that this person eats lunch out every day of the week. And when this person casually mentioned their gardener later in the conversation, I quickly pointed out that the gardener was an extra too.
It's certainly a mindset that one has to acquire. Before, we couldn't see how cutting out such small things could make a difference in the long run. And maybe someday when I'm well on my way financially I will loosen up on some things. But for now it's working. Every little job we find on Craigslist, every time we pack a lunch, every time we cut a corner and save a buck. How else would we have been able to pay off well over half of our car in a little less than a year?
And trust me, some day someone besides me WILL be mowing my grass.

A year later...

This weekend marks one year since we listened to the audio book of the Total Money Makeover. And a year later we've paid off $10,000 on our car (not including interest.) We also took a month to get rolling on the 1st baby step, saving $1000. Not to mention how many times we had to stop debt reduction to replenish that $1000 emergency fund.
So as a bit of commemoration of that night we heard Dave's plan, we're hittin' the same road tonight and headin' to A.l.'s house. :-) Then IKEA tomorrow to buy things with cash we've saved. It's been fun. But it's not over yet. Here's to 2008, the year to be DEBT FREE!

Weekend Success and What about Valentine's Day?

The weekend was one of success. Hegazelle even became an impromptu plumber on Sunday and made some money. Weekend odd jobs total- $200. And the guy that Hegazelle rerouted his kitchen sink plumbing has more jobs for him including installation of a ceiling fan. I love it that people are too lazy to do this stuff and have money to pay us to do it!
That means we can make another trip to IKEA for the last of what we need for our bedroom. Maybe when I get everything put together I'll take a picture and share it. It's not likely that you will care for the set up and decor though. We'll see.

Hegazelle appears to have a palsy of sorts on the left side of his face. Naw, actually he had a few fillings done by the dentist today, and the numbness is hanging on. As you can tell we're making good use of our dental insurance these days. I'm just hoping that the fillings are covered 100% like the cleanings and x-rays were.

So...here comes Valentine's Day. Or if you're "unattached", it would be Single Awareness Day. For those who are attached, attached by marriage that is, let me recommend the book listed in the side bar that I recently read (a.k.a. listened to the audio book.) This mushy season of love would be a great time for you to read this seriously good book. Dave Ramsey is actually having a Valentine's Day special on his online store and The Five Love Languages is included. Or you can do like I did and borrow it from the library. Either way, it's a great book and a must read for you married people. Back to the subject of Valentine's Day specifically, I just thought I'd give my opinions. I don't see how it's romantic for two married people to take money from the same bank account to go buy things for each other. If you're dating, certainly the young man should spend his life savings on the girl he loves! But when you're married, it's the same money. Rather than exchange gifts, if we're gonna spend money, I'd rather spend it on something we can do together like dinner or something. We usually stay home and I cook something extremely unhealthy for Hegazelle while he does a small home improvement project around the house. That's my gift from him and dinner is his gift from me.
Do you do Valentine's Day? If so, do you participate in the commercial/traditional way with chocolates and flowers and a $5 card? Do you find more creative ways to celebrate Valentine's or do you boycott the holiday altogether?

Working on Saturday

Happy Friday all. This Friday, as well as the last, hasn't proven to be a breakthrough of any sort, just another plod along in this journey. I think because I have so many things to spread my money around to in my budget, it's spread thin and isn't moving anything very fast. So it goes. I should be more jolly come week 5 of this month- that's just free money for me!
Thankfully we have an "odd job" tomorrow to help things along. We have been "hired" to help family clean some hard to reach spots in their home. Light fixtures, stuff like that. So we'll load the ladder in the Volvo tomorrow along with some rags and various cleaners and get the job done. This is a nice reward since Wednesday night there was a $100 job on Craigslist that Hegazelle refrained from due to mid-week church service.

It's off to the bank to get the week's cash. Have a great weekend everyone!

The thing I love the most

I was thinking the other day- There are things that I do without, corners that I cut and so forth to make my financial goals. I haven't bought new clothes in a while, and gone a few weeks without blow money. But I have one thing that I don't like to cut back on in my budget, one thing that I like to spend on every week. I can't help myself. If I deny myself or cut this category too far, it won't be long before I begin blowing money on it again.
What is this thing I love so much? FOOD. Remember how last week we pulled in the reins so tight that we only spent $60 on food for the week? Well, we got paid on Friday and went grocery shopping that same day. The rest we could use for eating out for the week, right? By Sunday night we cleaned out the food envelope. Pathetic, I know, and I'm dutifully ashamed.

I'm sure you all have the same deal. There's some stuff you could do without for quite some time for the success of your budget. But surely you have that one category or item that you can't seem to restrain yourself from. What tends to pull money thru your fingers? What could you care less about?

February Goals

It's unfortunate, but I don't feel entirely comfortable divulging all my goals, numbers and such on here. The number of new readers that know me personally surprises me. Not that I distrust all of you (and by the way, welcome to you newbies!) it's just that there has to be a little privacy, right? But I think for the purpose that this blog serves, I give out quite a bit of personal info- more than many people would.

That said, here's some of what we're shooting for in February:

• Reduce our debt by $900. But of course. This should be easily done with a five paycheck month.
• Save enough money by President's Weekend for a bed. We've got the mattress, now all we need is the bed and the slatted bed base from IKEA. The bed is $229 and the slatted bed base is $50. We have a $50 IKEA gift card and about $60 in our fund for this. I guess if we can't pull the money together in the next two weeks, we don't go to IKEA until the end of the month or even next month.
• Save and give $300 to church building fund. That would make us half finished with our pledge. I wouldn't mind getting it out of the way early.
• File taxes. If the elderly couple who hold our mortgage would get us an interest statement, we could file them. I asked them to send me a statement by January 31, which has obviously come and gone. If I don't see it by mid February I'll write them another letter. Other than that, I feel quite organized with all our other tax docs in a large envelope ready to go.

I'm putting off reevaluation of our home owners insurance policy until next month. For now it just seems like I have a lot of other stuff to tend to first.

On another note: Hegazelle sold a full box of drywall nails for $5 on Craigslist tonight. I suppose we will nickel and dime away all the unnecessary stuff in our home and garage.

Imagine clowns in a car at the circus...kinda like that

Evening all. Just got home from a day trip to IKEA. I say day trip because from where I live it's about 3 hours away. Hegazelle, me and a friend hit the road this morning at 7am and arrived when the store opened. The place is a HUGE maze and they have it set up so you kind of have to go thru every department to get to the end of the maze. We shopped from 10am until we checked out at 2pm.
You're not going to believe this next part, but rest assured in the integrity of this blog. We loaded our Volvo down. The contents of the vehicle on our drive home was as follows: 1 King size mattress (obviously rolled and VERY vacuum packed,) a new 6 drawer dresser, a comforter and duvet (known at IKEA as a quilt and quilt cover,) 2 lamps, 2 pillows and 3 people. I PROMISE. My friend and I ended up in the front seats with our knees seemingly visible over the dashboard. Hegazelle, ever the world's greatest car packing guru, conceded one of the boxes containing parts of our dresser would not fit in the trunk. He insisted on sitting in the backseat with it across him and the mattress protruding from the trunk into the other seat. I tried to talk him into taking it back inside and we'd just get one on another trip, but he urged me to hurry and drive away before he changed his mind.
By now we've unfolded and the blood is circulating properly to all parts of our bodies, including our legs and toes.
I may share more later, but as you may well guess we are a bit fatigued. I go now to spend one of my last few nights on the "killer mattress."
Night night!

Beef. It's what's for dinner. Everywhere but my house.

Happy Happy Friday! We made it all week without a trip to the grocery store and food to spare. Which is quite a feat since I never keep a large overstock of food in the house.
Also, after a couple conversations with coworkers this week, I've discovered that we don't eat like average people. I never really thought about the fact that beef rarely enters our home- say once every 4-6 months. Ever since I discovered ground turkey was cheaper, leaner and tasted just as good as ground beef, I've essentially removed beef from our menus. "So what do you eat for steaks?" one coworker asked. Um, I guess we don't eat them. Unless we go to a steakhouse, we don't eat steak. We eat chicken and fish, which I thought was normal too. When I explained to one coworker that I hate to fire up our big outdoor grill for one 3x8 in. salmon fillet, another coworker looks up an says, "You BOTH eat that one piece?" Yes, with rice or potato and veggies. Is that not enough food? If not than why are we full when we eat it? I guess we didn't get the memo on what normal American families are supposed to eat.
Surprisingly enough, we haven't wasted away, and are no where near skin and bones yet. Hmm.