I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…

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This is a guest post from Emily at Remodeling This Life, who blogs about her family’s journey through frugality and investing to make their dream house a reality.  If you are interested in insightful and honest posts about one family’s journey, why don’t you subscribe to her feed?

I have been living a credit card free life for about 5 years now. That’s an estimate as I have decidedly blocked out the gory details of my days with a stash of plastic in my wallet. I think it was about 5 years ago that I finally got them all paid off, cut them up and closed my accounts.

I’ll start at the beginning. I was in college and I got myself an Associates Visa card. I didn’t *need* a credit card. I had worked for my parents’ business and the wages I earned for them were invested by them and that was a very nice amount of money that I took with me to school to pay for tuition, books, and living expenses and to live comfortably. I had money. I don’t know why I got the credit card and I didn’t even know how they worked. I remember the first time I used it. I bought a pair of Adidas Trail Response running shoes. My favorite. For $75. I was confused when I handed them the credit card and then didn’t have to like hand them $75 cash too. Yes, really.

I anxiously awaited that first Visa bill. I think I had charged maybe $50 more on the card and was waiting for my statement so I could pay it in full. And I did. I kept it tucked in my wallet and rarely used it. Then one day I guess it clicked in my brain that my $2500 credit limit meant I could spend all of that and didn’t have to pay for it right away. So…I did. Yes, really. I kept that card pretty much maxed out, throwing a couple hundred dollars at it each time a bill came but doing so knowing that meant I was freeing back up a couple hundred dollars to spend on it. And I did that too. And I added to it. I got myself an MBNA Mastercard. And a JCrew card. And a Victoria’s Secret card. Let’s be honest, hubby liked that one. And an Express card. I was way over my head. I had the money to liquidate and pay my debt but I didn’t. And then school was over and my school money was depleted and I was in debt $12K.

I knew I was in trouble but didn’t know what to do. I was working two jobs and trying to pay them off but I didn’t have a plan and I was still a spender at heart so I wasn’t really making any progress. Then, I got a call from Discover. They offered me a 0% interest on balance transfers card and I put all the store cards balances on the Discover. I was paying about 26% interest on those compared to 9 and 12% on the Visa and Mastercard so I figured I’d transfer to the 0% and pay those. And I did. *whew* But I didn’t close them and I used them again. Yes, really.

Somewhere in there, I finally eliminated all the store card debts. I had $4K left to pay between the Visa and Mastercard and was working fulltime for about $12/hr so not much wiggle room to pay down debt. Hubby was nice enough to take a well paying side job for about $4500 and he paid the rest of it off for me. This was only after he saw I was serious about getting out and staying out. He had always been the kind of credit card user that has a credit card for the rewards and very responsible with them. He’d go Christmas shopping and buy something at a store, sign up for their card to save 10% and then pay it off the next month. Voila! So he had very little patience for my irresponsible ways but he was very nice to help me out of it.

So it’s been 5 years and I still miss plastic. Yes, really. If I was handed a credit card today with even a $50 limit I can guarantee you that my purse would be smoldering and I’d have that $50 spent so fast. A credit card? Yay! Free money! *throwing confetti* I’m so lucky! Thank you, Visa! What did I do to deserve such an honor? I’m not sure where I learned such foolery. Certainly not my parents. They’ve always used credit cards and paid them in full each month and gained rewards like cash back and frequent flier miles. Right now, my mother is in the horrible pickle of having to decide if she should get her $1000 in rewards from her Visa as cash or gift cards. I dream someday that maybe I could get a credit card again and practice restraint and be responsible and earn rewards. Not yet. I know me and I’m not there yet.

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This is a guest post from glblguy at Gather Little By Little, a Christian personal finance blog focused on growing wealth using common sense biblical practices. If you like this post, subscribe to their RSS feed!

More than a million homes could potentially face foreclosure this year. This is 30% more than in 2006. People are panicking and looking for any way out they can. Scammers are making the situation worse and taking advantage of people.

Here’s a few tips to help you survive the chaos:

Know Your Rights

Read over your loan documents and papers. Look on your state’s website and learn about the foreclosure rights in your state. You can do this by easily by visiting your states website and searching for “Foreclosure rights”.

Prioritize your spending

Review your life basics and pay for them first. After food and clothing, your home should be your next priority. I would suggest building your budget by starting with life basics first, then adding in other expenses. Are other debt collectors calling? They can wait.

If you have student loans, place them on hardship deferral until you can get your foreclosure chaos taken care of.

If you have items you can sell to reduce your monthly payments or maybe even profit from, sell them. Don’t lose your house to keep your car, boat, RV or motorcycle.

Contact Your Lender

As soon as you have a problem paying your mortgage, contact your lender. Most lenders want to help you keep your house. They don’t want the hassle of having to foreclose and sell the home, it costs them money. They’ll often work out a plan with you. Remember, when you lose your home, they lose too.

Call HUD

HUD, the Department of Housing and Urban Development offers free and low-cost counselors in addition to providing information on avoiding foreclosures. HUD is available at http://www.fha.gov or by calling 1-800-569-4287.

Respond to all mail or calls from your lender

If you receive mail from your lender, make sure you read it. Early letters often provide options or opportunities to discuss options with your lender. Make sure you take advantage of them. Later letters are legal notices and by that time the lender isn’t going to be too open to discussing options.

Avoid Scams

Don’t be fooled, you don’t have to pay a fee for foreclosure help and assistance. If a company claims they can stop your foreclosure, don’t sign anything and don’t believe it. Work with your lender not “Foreclosures R Us”. Always remember, if it seems too good to be true, it is.

In a common scam called “equity skimming” a so called “buyer” offers to repay the mortgage if you sign over your deed and move out. All you get is the mortgage in still in your name and no house. Don’t look for the short or easy way out.

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This guest post is from Brip Blap, who wants everyone to read this on a nice full stomach. He writes about Relaxed Finance as well as productivity, personal growth, and more! If you like the post check out his RSS feed.

There may be a lot of ways to save money on food, but one of the simplest and best ways to save money is to have a good breakfast. This may sound like a simple thing, but it eludes many people, who rush off to work with a bagel and a coffee. A good breakfast accomplishes a number of important goals:

1. It gives you energy and keeps you alert. Most people realize that there’s a fine line between eating too much and too little. Both essentially have the same result - sluggishness. Failing to eat breakfast can cost you the energy that you need after your overnight “fast”. Even the name of the meal, “Break (Your) Fast” implies that you’re sitting down to a meal after fasting all night. You need those calories to reenergize your body and yourself.

2. Many of the tastiest breakfast choices are also healthy for you. As mentioned in #1, eating is important for energy’s sake. What types of food are best for you depend on your individual metabolism, but I think they fall into one of three basic categories:

a. The hearty breakfast: this breakfast is the most dangerous since the temptation to overload on food will be there. Bacon, eggs, toast, hash browns and other heavy foods fall in this category. My advice if you prefer this category is to stick to one type of food or the other, carbs or proteins. Carbs (toast, hash browns) will give you a quick burst of energy but may leave you hungry again later. Proteins (eggs, bacon) may not fill you up as much but will give you energy throughout the morning. Take it easy if you eat these. None of these foods are bad in moderation, but eating a rasher of bacon every day will eventually have some consequences.

b. The convenience breakfast: cereals, grits, oatmeal and other “bowl foods” are an easy way to start your day. Make sure you read serving sizes! A bowl of cereal does not mean a bowl poured up to the rim with flakes. Try measuring out a cup using a serving size measuring cup. It is not a lot of food. If you really love cereal, this breakfast is OK, but it usually won’t be enough for a full day. Try to eat a small amount of these bowl foods along with some fruit. The fruit will add some flavor, provide some vitamins and add to your sense of being full without adding massive amounts of calories.

c. A “non-standard” breakfast. A grapefruit, a bowl of rice, olives, mixed veggies and other “different” breakfasts fall in here. I remember eating cheese, butter and bread with a slice of kielbasa every morning while living in Germany. As an American I thought of it more as a sandwich, but it was a good solid breakfast. Once in a while at home I have what I jokingly refer to as my “Mediterannean Breakfast” - olives, cheese, maybe a slice of bread. There is no need to eat “breakfast food” for breakfast. Eat pasta if you like carbs! Eat some turkey and cottage cheese! Eat a salad! Try to think past eggs and toast.

3. It makes you happier. Let’s face it, if you start the day with a healthy, filling, pleasant breakfast your morning is going to seem more pleasant. I used to be a big fan of grabbing a bagel on the run so I could sleep an extra 15 minutes. Get up a little earlier and fix yourself a nice breakfast. Have it with some tea or coffee. Don’t read the morning news, but open a window or better yet sit on the porch or balcony if you have one. Make breakfast a smooth start to the day instead of a jarring mass of calories jammed down your throat. You’ll be surprised how much more relaxed you’ll feel all day.

4. It saves money. Eating breakfast is a big money-saver. Failing to eat breakfast means that you’re going to be tempted to grab a coffee and a bagel, a Pop-Tart or a power bar around 11 am. Having a filling breakfast means you’ll make it to lunch without being tempted by junk food. Plus, you’ll have more energy, get your work done quicker and leave work earlier. Right?

So think about sitting down for a slow breakfast tomorrow and starting your day off better. In the same way that compound interest just builds and builds, putting a little effort into the beginning of your day can have a big payoff for your afternoon and evening!

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Today’s guest post is from Lynnae at Being Frugal. She blogs about making frugal choices and getting out of debt facing an uncertain financial future. If you like her post, subscribe to her RSS feed!

It’s October and temperatures are falling, the leaves are changing color, and autumn is definitely in the air. This is my favorite season. I just love all the fall colors. Here are some fun, yet frugal, ways to celebrate fall.

Take a brisk walk. There’s nothing like going out in nature for some exercise. Find a path, a park, or even a tree lined street and just walk. Take in the fall colors. Talk with your spouse. Chase your kids while they ride their bikes. Just enjoy being outside.

Play with your kids in the leaves. This is one of my favorite fall activities. My family makes a day out of raking up the leaves into big piles. Then we all take turns jumping in the leaves. We have some great pictures and some great memories.

Visit a pumpkin patch. This is an annual tradition for us. Every year we head off to one of our local pumpkin patches to enjoy the activities. For a minimal fee, we go on wagon rides, run through corn mazes, climb haystacks, and pick pumpkins straight from the patch. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s also a great way to support your local farmers. Usually there is fresh locally grown produce for sale as well, so you can pick up some inexpensive locally grown vegetables while you’re there.

Bake a Pumpkin Pie with fresh pumpkin. Sure, it’s much easier to bake a pie with the canned stuff, but there is nothing like pumpkin pie made with fresh pumpkin. Let your kids help, and make a day of it. If you don’t know how to cook a pumpkin, here are some great instructions. I used this method last year, and it worked really well. Enjoy the aroma of the pie as it bakes. Then enjoy eating it together as a family.

Roast pumpkin seeds. Use the seeds from your pie pumpkin for roasting. First clean off all the pumpkin by rinsing the seeds under cold water. I just throw the seeds in a colander in the sink and rub the seeds between my hands as the water runs over them. Let the seeds dry. Then coat them in melted butter and add salt or any other herbs you like, spread them on a cookie sheet, and bake them at 325 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. I usually stir the seeds once or twice during baking. Now you have a healthy, frugal, and very fall-ish snack!

Make apple cider. There’s nothing that says fall like hot apple cider! It smells wonderful, too! There are several recipes for apple cider at Allrecipes, or you can just heat up bottled apple cider if you want something easy.

Go to a high school football game. I’m not a huge football fan, but there’s just something about sitting in the stands, cheering for the home team. Maybe it’s high school nostalgia, but I just love the cool crisp air, the crowds, and listening to the band playing the fight song. And most high school football games aren’t that expensive. So grab your family and some friends, and head out to watch the big game on a Friday night! It will be like you’re back in high school again!

Whatever you like to do, make sure you get out and celebrate the fall season! Slow down for a while and enjoy family, friends, and autumn’s beautiful colors. It needn’t be expensive, and the memories will last forever.

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This is a guest post from JvW at The Good Life on a Budget, a blog about her journey maintaining her quality of life while meeting her financial goals including eliminating debt. If you enjoy the post, consider subscribing to their RSS feed!

I am unabashedly frugal. I do a lot of things that other people scoff at, including, but not limited to: packing my lunch daily, having only basic cable, and keeping my thermostat at 62 degrees (in the winter). I’m sure most people reading this have similar practices. However, my peers and coworkers have different states of mind.

Sometimes this leads to conflict, or an offhand remark. I do talk more than the average person about saving money, frugality, and paying off debt. But for some reason, I get teased about the ways I go about it. For example, last week our whole office was sitting in a meeting. I pulled an English muffin, out of my baggie to eat for breakfast. I then put the baggie back on the table, intending to use it for the next day’s muffin. Coworker J asked if he could put his apple core in the baggie to throw away (it was an eaaaaarly meeting, everyone had breakfast). I replied, no, sorry, I’m keeping the baggie. Everybody at the table was shocked. Coworker M even offered to buy me a box of baggies, as it was apparent that I couldn’t afford to throw one away.

In the real world, I feel like people just don’t understand my frame of mind. Of course I can afford to buy another baggie. That wasn’t my last baggie, with no future baggies to come. Just like I can afford to get cable TV and I can afford to turn the heat up a little. I choose not to spend my money that way. I don’t know why, but that makes people uncomfortable. Maybe they think that they spend too much money, and it’s easier to believe I can’t afford their lifestyle than to think that they might not be able to afford it, either. Maybe they think I am a penny pincher and, in social situations, won’t chip in my fair share. I don’t know. All I can do is keep on trucking and offering my opinion when we talk about personal finance.

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