Walk With Money » Household

Eleven Effective Ways to Reduce Your Laundry Costs

admin — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 11:20:02 +0000

We currently have five people living at our home. Let’s say, hypothetically, we all change clothes twice a day (it’s often more than that due to the nonstop accidents, spills, and other things that go on in such a household). That’s ten outfits’ worth of clothes to wash each and every day. We also cloth diaper our youngest child, so that piles on an extra burden of laundry.

Needless to say, our washer seems to run all the time. Every time the washer runs, a little money goes straight down the tubes. Because it runs so often, it’s always useful to find little ways to reduce that cost per load. Here are eleven tactics we’ve found that work for us.

Make your own detergent. We often make our own laundry detergent (here’s how we do it with pictures and I also made a video of how I made a later batch). According to our calculations, it reduced the cost of detergent per load from $0.20 to about $0.02 – an $0.18 saving per load. Considering we average multiple loads daily, that savings adds up pretty quick. The best part is this detergent has no perfumes or other such allergens in it.

Use vinegar as your softener. We basically don’t buy fabric softener unless we literally find a sale that makes it virtually free (or at least less than a jumbo jug of vinegar). Yes, a cap full of vinegar in the softener spot does the trick. Not only that, it also helps greatly with any lingering odor that might be in the washing machine or in the clothes themselves.

Wash only (very) full loads. With the exception of the cloth diapers (which we wash separately and which we don’t have enough of to fill an entire load), we strive to have very full loads of laundry. Yes, we mix together colored and whites from all family members, washing a little boy’s t-shirt together with my jeans, for example. A very full load means less water used and less energy used per item of clothing.

Dry your clothes by hanging them. If you can, hang your clothes to dry instead of sucking down energy in the …

What to Do When You Can’t Possibly Prepare Enough

admin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:20:02 +0000

Ellen writes in with a very difficult story:

I am a huge fan of yours and have used much of your advice to simplify the money matters in my family, but my family is currently in a crisis that I have never seen discussed on your site.

In early April, my family was in a severe car accident. We were driving my mother’s van at the time and we were t-boned by a hit & run driver. My children’s car seats protected them from any damage and I walked away with only some muscle strain, but my husband was not so lucky. He had to be transported to a local hospital via ambulance due to a severe flexion neck injury.

Let me take a minute to review our household’s current standings: My husband works 40-hours a week in a fairly physical job. I work 32-hours a week. We work alternating schedules so that we do not need daycare for our two children. All of our benefits come out of his pay check because he gets a better benefit rate as a full-time employee. We had 6 months worth of savings for living expenses.

My husband has been out on FMLA ever since and will be until at least early July, when the doctor will decide whether he can return to work or needs to find a new line of work. Our FMLA expires at that point and the hospital that he works for will probably help him find another position, but we are currently unsure what that might be or if he will be able to continue working the convenient hours he is working now.

In the meantime, because we were the victims of a hit & run, the vehicle insurance is going to pay out to the uninsured motorist limits. And that’s the part that’s difficult. See, since uninsured motorist is a “final pay” settlement, we can’t get any help financially until Aaron is back to work. Normally, under the rights of subrogation, your health care will pay out, then place a lien against the settlement.

Unfortunately, though we work for a health care provider, our insurance will not pay out. At the 30-day mark of his accident, I had to pay the hospital bill, which wiped out a good bit of savings. Since this bill was to our employer, we could not afford to let it languish. The same is true of the ambulance bill. Also, his doctor bills. I have to pay enough to keep them out of collections (I’ve worked too hard on our credit to let that happen) and enough to keep the office letting him see the doctor.

We’ve been scraping by, but it’s a close thing. My husband has now exhausted his sick leave, but the lion’s share of the bills are paid. We figured that with his short term disability (which we pay for with our benefits), we would get by. Unfortunately, his short term disability claim has been denied. Since there is no subrogation clause in our short term disability policy, they won’t pay out in the case of 3rd party causation of the time off work. This was not something that even our HR Benefits people were aware of. (Obviously, this is an employer subsidized plan with an outside company, unlike our health insurance.)

Now, we are a month away from my husband returning to work, and my income is not enough. The catastrophic string of events that are unfolding just keep rolling in at us. I have applied for a credit card (we currently don’t have any, except one very small emergency card) to start putting some living expenses on and I will unashamedly run it up and pay it off when the settlement comes. The only things we have to pay now are rent, gas, food, and our vehicle insurance.

So, the obvious question is, knowing that I had stocked a huge …

5 Tips for Raising a Financially Savvy Family

admin — Sat, 01 May 2010 01:20:02 +0000

There are hundreds of questions that pop up on a parent’s or soon-to-be parent’s mind. How should we raise our children? What lessons should we instill in our children’s minds at an early age? Financial literacy — like any other fundamental life lesson — must begin at home.

The concept of money to children can be difficult to understand, but with the right strategies it is possible. Because most schools lack a curriculum that teaches daily life lessons and financial strategy, it is crucial to approach this topic as a family.

Photo by Evil Erin via Flickr

Here are the top tips for raising a financially savvy family:

1. Follow the Leader

First, and foremost, the best way to teach anything is by example. This transcends to money lessons as well. Parents should lead by example by controlling your own personal expenses and budget — and in turn you will teach your child how to properly handle money. Educate yourself on the basic principles of personal finance and implement those lessons in your household. This will not only improve your own situation will also set a foundation for how your family unit views money.

2. Game On

What better way to teach fiscal responsibility than to simulate it through video games. Though many interactive games are mind numbing, there are virtual games available to aid in teaching money matters. Developed for middle school and high school students by the National Council on Economic Education, Gen Revolution teaches children important personal finance skills as they play and compete against each other.

Other great virtual games can be found on the National Council on Economic Education’s Financial Fitness for Life, a new multi-faceted, comprehensive economic and financial literacy program for grades K-12.

3. Allow Allowances

It is important for children to see and understand the difference between “getting” things and “paying” for things. Through age-appropriate discussions, financial experts suggest not shying away from explaining the relationship between working and earning money.

By giving children a weekly allowance, parents can eliminate the chance of your children nagging about wanting money for clothes or entertainment. When children earn their own money by doing simple household chores, they will learn the value of hard work and understand the concept of earning as opposed to getting money out of nowhere. All in all, getting an allowance

An allowance will give children the chance to figure out how to budget their money — even if it is on a small scale.

Another positive aspect of allowances is that they are a starting point for developing money-management skills because …

Buy Your Groceries European-Style

admin — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:20:29 +0000

By Philip Brewer

Make a grocery list and stick to it? That’s a piece of advice that’ll cost you a lot of money. The theory, I guess, is that you’re so terribly prone to impulse buying that you can’t be trusted to wander free in a grocery store. The reality, though, is that you can save a lot of money if you can make yourself trustworthy.

I was actually taught to make a shopping list in school. I think it was part of the health curriculum — the same unit where we learned the four food groups. It came as part of a whole scheme that involved checking the grocery store ads, basing a menu around what was cheap, and then creating a shopping list for the week. It’s an adequate shopping strategy, not so unreasonable for someone who works full time and can barely fit in a once-a-week trip to the grocery store. But it means that you’re both paying more and missing out on the freshest, best-looking food.

I think of the alternative as "European-style" shopping, although it was perfectly ordinary in the United States as well, back in the days when people shopped at grocery stores, back before the invention of the supermarket. It still works fine, though, even in a supermarket.

When I’m buying groceries for the household, I shop almost every day. Instead of planning a menu in advance, I go to the store and look around to see what looks good. That way, I can get whatever’s fresh and cheap.

Meat in particular gets marked down as it approaches its sell-by date. You can’t do much with that sort of deal if you only shop once a week, because you won’t want to be cooking meat a week after its sell-by date. However, since I’m going to cook it that same day, I’m perfectly happy buying something on its sell-by date — at which point it’s often been marked down to a fraction of its regular price.

I rarely find such great deals in produce, but whatever’s local and in-season is usually cheap, and there’s no substitute for browsing in person for finding what looks best.

So, …

How to Have a No-Spend Weekend

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:20:11 +0000

Sometimes you just need to stop spending money for a few days. Maybe you are already over budget, or close to it, and the month isn’t over. Maybe you have savings goals with attached deadlines, and need to kick a little extra towards one of those goals before the deadline comes and goes. Or maybe you just hate to see your hard-earned dollars fly out of your wallet on trivial things. If any of these things describe you, I suggest a no-spend weekend.

What is a no-spend weekend

A no-spend weekend is pretty much just what it sounds like — a weekend where no money leaves your wallet or bank account, no checks are written, and no spending is done on a credit card. You are allowed to use things you have already paid for, or will pay for in the future, like groceries, cable, and gas for your car. If you take public transportation and have a pre-funded fare card you can use that too.

No-spend weekend musts

In order for a no-spend weekend to truly have an impact on your bottom line, you have to follow some ground rules:

Do it spontaneously: If you plan a no-spend weekend too far in advance, it is likely that you will end up spending money in advance in order to prepare for the weekend — as in “oh I can’t buy groceries next weekend, so I’ll do it this weekend. I can’t eat out, so I’ll do it Thursday.” The best thing is to decide Thursday, or even Friday — and challenge yourself to make do with the food and entertainment you already have.
Get the rest of your household to do it too: If you spend no money, but your spouse does, it kind of defeats the purpose. Ditto if you split costs with a significant other in the form of “you pay this time, I’ll pay next time” — you’ll just end up making up for you lack of spending at a later date. If you live with or spend significant time with someone, and have commingled your finances formally or informally, you’ve got to both do this together to reap the benefits.
Keep spending normally once the weekend is over: One of the reasons that I advocate doing this for just a weekend, rather than days or weeks at a time, is that you shouldn’t really feel deprived after just 2-3 days without spending. Therefore, once your weekend is over you shouldn’t feel the need to spend feverishly to make up for lost time. If you normally do a big grocery shopping on Monday, that’s fine — do it. But if spending isn’t normal, don’t spend just because.
Shift the timing to where you actually spend money: When I have a no-spend weekend, I usually define it as the time I get home from work on Friday to the time I leave for work on Monday. I spend at least 80% of my money on the weekend, so that is when going spend-free has the most impact on my bottom line. If you know you don’t usually spend money on the weekend anyway, but can identify other days or times of the month that are hard on your wallet, try going spend-free on those days instead.

Things to do

If your weekend normally revolves around going out for meals/drinks/entertainment, …

A Real Story about Priorities

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:20:23 +0000

Jill writes in:

I don’t earn much and am consequently unable to save much and what little I save is often wiped out by breakdowns (e.g. household stuff), minor illnesses and other emergencies. I am actually quite a frugal person, it’s just that my income is not much and tends to be irregular.

I am very troubled because I wish to save for a big purchase (about USD $3500) that would serve as a basis for a career change but I’m not sure if I have the ability/willpower to do it. I’ll calculated that I’ll take at least a year to do it and in the meantime I would have to be very,very careful with my money and not sink any $$ into my usual hobbies so life will be very dull. My hobbies all cost money e.g. ballet class

How do I deal with this tough waiting period of deprivation and no enjoyment? I do have some weaknessness eg kitchen equipment.I cook most of my meals and I can’t help think how life would be easier if I had a pressure cooker and so on so that I can cook things quickly after work.

Right now, I am considering putting my money in fixed deposits regularly with shorter and shorter maturation periods as I save to prevent myself from touching the money. Do you have any advice?

The problem right now isn’t that Jill doesn’t have enough money to achieve a goal. The problem is that Jill is chasing a lot of goals at once simultaneously and stretching herself too thin in the process.

In this email alone, Jill directly references three different significant life objectives: ballet class, upgrading kitchen equipment, and a career change. Jill also alludes that there are more beyond this in a couple of different places, and notes that each of these goals costs money.

The real issue is priorities. In Jill’s day to day life, she’s telling herself that she has a certain thing as a priority (saving for the career change item, which I’m guessing is a musical instrument), but in her actions, other things are priorities (ballet class, kitchen equipment upgrades, and so on).

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about life over the last three years, it’s this: the more things you try to set as a major priority in your life, the less successful you’ll be at any of these priorities.

For me, my only major priority is my family. Everything …

Your Most Important Financial Decision: Choosing a Spouse

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:20:09 +0000

I disagree with the common assumption that buying a house will be your biggest financial decision. I believe your choice of a marriage partner will be your single biggest financial decision. Besides, who do you think is going to help you make the house decision? Therefore, make your spouse decision carefully. The reasons go far, far beyond money, but since this is a financial blog, let’s focus on the financial implications for a moment.

Studies have shown that savers tend to be attracted to spenders. Experience confirms that savers get annoyed with spenders and spenders get frustrated with savers. Ahh. The beauty of the male-female relationship.

Photo by Pixel Drip via Flickr.

When couples are dating they believe love will cover a multitude of spending differences. Alas, time will likely tell a different story. Since money is one of the leading causes of divorce you might do well to at least consider if you and your future spouse are financially compatible.

How to know if you and your spouse are financially compatible

Prepare a fictional budget. Decide on an appropriate estimated take home pay for your household. Each of you need to hide in a corner and spend your money on paper (some people call this making a budget — here’s how to create a budget). Then sit down together and share your result. Highlight and discuss any huge differences in your budget categories. For a guide you can compare your results to these recommended budget percentages by category. From there you’ll need to discuss some of the nitty gritty elements of financial management — will you combine your finances?
Participate in premarital counseling. Call your local church or community center and ask if someone on staff does premarital counseling. If they say ‘no’ shake the dust from your feet and call someone else. Keep making calls until you find someone who will help with premarital counseling.
Don’t get a prenuptial agreement (unless you have adult children you wish to financially protect). Yes, I know this is an unpopular thing to say, but hey — it’s what I think. Here’s why — the last thing marriages need is a bright red “Emergency Exit” light. Prenuptials keep divorce on the table. My wife and I have completely removed divorce as a solution to our differences. It forces us to resolve our issues …

15-Minute Resolution #1: Save More For Retirement

admin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:20:05 +0000

Do you feel you aren’t saving enough for retirement? Worse, do you feel like what you should be saving for retirement is some huge number you’ll never reach? I think such daunting numbers are what kept a lot of my younger co-workers out of the 401k plan completely.

How about 1% then? Let’s see how much 1% is for a household with a single earner making $50,000 gross per year. For simplicity, let’s say they live in a state without income tax like Texas. If you are paid bi-weekly, putting away $500 pre-tax annually (1%) into a Traditional 401k amounts to an additional $19 reduction per paycheck. If you do live in a state with income tax, the actual paycheck difference will be even smaller.

I know that even this may be hard for some families, but keep in mind this money is still yours and you’re just using the 401k or IRA container to save you taxes. Now, if you’re convinced that you can handle this (and I hope you are), then go right now and either fill out the proper form from Human Resources or go online and submit for a change. As for the investment choice, if you are undecided consider …

Teach Your Kids about Money Management

admin — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 21:20:21 +0000

It is never too early to teach your children the basics when it comes to good money management. Teaching your children good habits is always wise, and money management is definitely a set of good habits that is better taught sooner instead of later. If you teach your children how to value and manage their money very young, then it will be helpful for them in the future. In order to make kids learn the value of their money and money management, parents and guardians can practice a few very simple activities, including the following:

- Parents can involve their children whenever they are talking about activities relating to money. They can include their children when they sit down to discuss family budgets and other similar money related subjects, so that they can teach their children what activities involve money and what elements of the household require money in order to run smoothly. When children understand why money is important, they can better understand its value.

- Today a lot of our money is being used in the form of credit cards and checkbooks. When you make use of these alternative payment forms, you should explain to your children what you are doing and how it works. Tell them about the ease that bank accounts and credit cards can offer, and detail the role that they play in the money management process. You should also make an effort to teach them the difference between credit cards and debit cards so that they can make good use of all the money mediums available to them in the future.

- As early as possible, it would be advantageous to allow your children to manage, organize and save their own pocket change. They can be taught over time to count their money, use bank accounts, open a savings account, draw cash out through checks, and maintain their own unique personal budget and so on. When you first begin to teach your children about money management, they will probably be more likely to mess things up than to get everything right.

-In order to help them in this regard, you can introduce your children to online money management software and other options like a checkbook register as soon as possible. This will show them how to keep track of their savings and their spending. This will also help them set up alerts and reminders so that they can keep track of spending, earning and saving. As kids, people are simply not very adept when it comes to money management. Teaching them early and impressing them with the concepts of money management often will help them overcome their issues with money management, allowing them to get better control of their finances from day one.

When it comes to money management, the earlier you teach your children about taking care of their money, the better off they will be as they begin to have their own savings, incomes and expenditures.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-12-22 05:25:49. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Tips On Buying A New Computer

admin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:20:12 +0000

A computer these days is almost a necessity for everyone, and an expensive necessity at that. Whether for fun or for work, it is not uncommon to see multiple computers in a household. More and more people are even purchasing laptops for their size and convenience. Purchasing a computer can be tricky and intimidating with all the jargon salesmen might throw out at you when in the store. With such an expensive purchase, you want to be precise and happy with your buying experience.

I had a Gateway laptop going into college and used it all the time for school, work, music, and games. After 5 years though, the computer had it, and was so outdated that it became almost unusable. As a result, I decided it was time to buy a new one.

Four Computer Buying Tips

Here are 4 tips when buying a new computer and the process I used when buying mine.

1. Decide What Kind

This may be the biggest decision and can also affect the costs, depending on if you want a desktop or laptop. If it is going to sit in a permanent location at home and be used by multiple people, a desktop may be your best bet for price and performance. If you want something smaller or something you can travel with, a laptop may be for you. I decided I was done with PC’s and still wanted a laptop so I went for the MacBook Pro. Even though more expensive then a PC, it is more efficient and less virus prone.

2. Save Money

Buying a computer is very expensive and an item you probably will need to save up for in order to purchase. Creating an online savings goal may be the best way for you to keep organized and on track with your savings progress. You can contribute money over time until you reach you goal. BudgetPulse has a new savings goal function that is perfect for this (Disclosure: I am the Marketing Director of the BudgetPulse). You also have the ability to make the goal public and then can contact family and friends who could directly contribute money helping you out through Paypal or Amazon.

I bought …