Creditcardfree's Personal Finance Blog

An emergency fund is an important financial building block. It may be hard to know where to find the money when you are living paycheck to paycheck. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1) Stop a service, such as cable, caller id, lawn servicce and save the money you would have spent.

2) Save all your coins, or a specific type of bill. Several on this site save $1 bills.

3) Sell your used cds, books and cell phones online for cash.

4) Have a garage sale!

5) Save birthday or holiday cash gifts you recieve.

6) Get a part time job or make cash providing services to others, such as lawn mowing or babysitting.

7) Sell something 'big'! Your motorcycle, boat, camper, car or collectibles.

8) Simply pick a dollar amount to save each pay period and have it automatically deposited into your savings account.

9) Save your tax refund!

10) Change your tax withholding and save the increase in your paycheck.

There are many more ways to find extra cash to fund an emergency fund. Take a look at your own situation and see how much you can come up with these ideas as well as your own and get started today!

Remember my post from a couple days ago, where I didn't have any listings on ebay and didn't expect to make any sales during the month of April? I lied. Not on purpose of course!

I sold a book on half.com!! I have over 30 books and cds listed. Someone (a public library) bought one. Yipee!

Small sale, though. Net proceeds $4.74

2010 Ebay Challenge Total
January: $201.89
February: $46.40
March: $55.50
April: $4.74

This sale really pulls the average down. Or maybe its April the fourth month that pulls the average down. I'm now at $77.13 per month. I am going to rely on the garage sale to pull me back up!

Today our regular van payment posted with $435.92 going to pay down principal. Yep, we have a large payment, but we actually should get pretty close to paying the loan off this year!

It will be a couple more months before additional principal payments are made, so the progress will be a bit slow in the beginning. But this is where we are now!

New Balance: $17,701.55

I've paid the bills and have $345 to add to our emergency fund goal! It was a bit difficult to find the funds, but round them up I did.

The money comes from DH's travel reimbursement, an anniversary gift, extra funds in our general escrow account, a couple small rebates and survey checks.

There has been quite a bit of spending here primarily for my husband's deployment needs as well as a few small home projects we are finishing up. I'm looking forward to the finances getting back in order soon, so I can really get things moving forward!

Emergency Fund Goal Balance: $1,408

I took the financial literacy quiz that can be found in the Tools Tab of this website. A link can be found

here.

I scored $27 out of $30! That's a 90%. I honestly didn't know two out of the three and the third one I missed was just a misunderstanding of the question. The average score is just above 50%.

Take the quiz and at least learn what you don't know!

P.S. If you are still working on filing your taxes that are due tomorrow...get back to it. The quiz can wait.

This is a busy month at our house and I honestly don't have the time for ebay sales. I do have one item on craigslist, but after a week, no inquiries.

I will be back up and running in May. We have a garage sale scheduled mid month. I'm hoping the proceeds from that will help offset my lack of sales in April.

April is a great month to be selling jackets, shorts, spring and summer clothing and outdoor items. I have already gone through my girls closets and had them try on last years clothes. The outgrown items are in the garage sale pile!!

I've written several times recently about emergency funds and how critical one is to a financial plan. So, if you have decided to get one started you might wonder where to put it, right?

My biggest tip in this area: keep the money seperate. Do not comingle it with your regular checking account or with the paycheck funds you just cashed. Why? Because you will spend it, especially, if this is a new thing for you.

Keeping the money seperate makes dipping into the money a conscious choice and decision. You have to think about withdrawing it, or writing a check on the account. So often in our society we spend without thinking. The time it takes to locate your emergency fund stash, the checkbook for it or even the account's ATM card will provide a little space to decide if this is a purchase for you.

If you don't even have $1 for your emergency fund, I highly suggest accumlating your first several hundred in cash. Then keep the cash in a locked box, under the mattress, frozen in ice, or give it to a trusted friend to hold. This may be a little risky to keep it in cash, but I feel it is riskier not to have an emergency fund.

Once you get a good sum (at least $500) together, consider opening a simple savings account at your local bank. There are also banks online which you can link to your local checking account. Don't worry about the interest rate in the beginning. Rates are really low right now. Once you get used to holding an emergency fund you can shop around for better rates.

Don't forget! Keep your emergency funds seperate.

I seem to be on emergency fund kick lately. Yes, we are working on adding to ours! I also want to keep the topic in the forefront for new readers as well since I strongly feel it is an important foundation.

Technically, we didn't have emergency funds before we were married. Our first one began from cash wedding gifts. My parents gave us $1000. Truth be told we didn't really need anything after all the other gifts. So we saved it. Initially, we didn't even call it an emergency fund.

It seems that we didn't have lots of wants starting out. We worked a lot. We paid off failed business debt and student loans. When we would get a cash gift, tax refund or other unexpected money, we saved it. I mean just because someone gives you $25 doesn't mean you have to buy something, right?

We also used to save all of our change. DH had lots of change. We would collect it in a cottage cheese container and take it to the bank for deposit in our savings account. Often the total was $25 to $30. This was nearly every month. Truth be told we use our debit card now and have an online bank, so coin collecting is in our past.

Our emergency fund did receive an inheritence windfall 5 years into our marriage after my father in law died. Yes, we did spend some of the money for a new furnace and carpet. The rest is still sitting in our emergency fund.

Actually, many of the emergency fund details are a bit fuzzy now. We have had one for 14 years and almost take it for granted. It has saved the day a few times: car repairs and deductible for a roof. Since I know several people without one, I know we are better financially for having saved that first $1000 gift.

Oh, by the way, it is our 14th Anniversary today!!

My friend called last night with good news. They sold their camper for $6500. This was $3500 more than what she was hoping. I don't think she knew what it was worth. That money will pay for the bats, the recent car repair and various other debts.

Her husband also traded in his two year old truck (don't need it anymore without the camper). They are now leasing a Honda Civic. I'm not a fan of leases, but this lowers their monthly payment and reduces the amount that will be spent on fuel. They now have an extra $200 in their pocket each month.

Overall, good news. Not perfect news, but good news. She had told her husband to sell the camper or get a part time job. So, I said, I guess he didn't want to get another job. Yep, he didn't want to work any extra, so he sold the items off. I think it is a good decision.

I did mention she should keep $1000 of the camper proceeds for an emergency fund. She says: 'Nope, it will just get spent. It needs to pay off debt.' While I'm not against paying off debt, I do think there is value in knowing how to maintain an emergency fun. One doesn't know this is true until they try. I just want her to try!!

My friend with the bats is charging the bat removal fees to a credit card. She doesn't know if she can make the payments. However, she mentioned she could pay it off NEXT year with her tax refund. I'm aware that they often get large tax refunds, so I suggested they increase their withholding to get some of that money in their pocket NOW to pay those credit card bills. I wrote her an email, and no response yet.

Most people in the US love their large tax refunds. It is like winning a small lottery. Unfortunately, that is your money that the government has their hand on all year long and they aren't even paying you interest! You can change this, so that the money is in your pocket now.

Last year, our refund was $399 from the federal government. I think if the Making Work Pay was not in place we would have nearly broke even on taxes. It has taken a few years for me to get it that close, but it nice to see the government doesn't have access to so much of our hard earned money.

First go to the IRS website, and use their

withholding calculator to determine their suggested number of withholding allowances for your income. Compare this to what you already withhold. It generally will be a higher number than what you are already claiming. Some people only claim allowances based on the number of people in their family. We have four members, but we claim 9 allowances.

If the witholding calculator on the IRS website is confusing, you might consider looking at an actual copy of a Form W-4. It has written instructions, that tell you based on your situation what number of allowances to claim. This is the same form you will fill out at your employer to change the number of allowances want to claim.

I bet now you are worried or curious about how those increased allowances will change your paycheck, right? I've used this website at paycheckcity.com for years, to calculate our net paycheck. (I noticed this website also has a W-4 assistant, or another calculator to determine your allowances.) Play with it a bit. Try the witholding the IRS suggested. Look at how much extra you will get added to your paycheck each pay period! Nice, huh? That's your money the government was going to hold on to for you until the next tax filing period. You want that money don't you?

If you still want a bit of a refund, consider lowering the suggested withholding by 1. Also remember to go back to the calculator at the very beginning of 2011. Your withholdings may need to change because this year you are adjusting mid year. The number may be higher to make up for claiming less allowances earlier in the year.

Just messing with the calculators will give you lots of information. Remember to actually fill out the new Form W-4 with your employer to make it happen.

I can just feel it. Spending is about to begin. And I don't want to do it. I prefer to save money. I'm not good at the buying. Oh sure, I can buy groceries, gas, and other normal stuff here and there. But I'm seeing signs of large purchases.

Want to know what I see in my future?

Family pictures
An airline ticket
Battery operated lawn trimmer
Tire rotation and alignment
House painting
New gutters

I'm sure that is a couple thousand dollars! We have the money but I wanted to save it. I guess I'm pouting about it today. This too shall pass.

I'm feeling pretty confident that we have a plan to pay for at least four out of eight years of college. I researched the new Post 911 GI Bill. It appears that my husband is eligible. I will have him call to confirm.

The Post 911 GI Bill provides 36 months (I'm guessing this is equal to 4 years at 9 months each) of tuition and fees at any college or university up to the in state maximum. It also provides $1000 annually for books. And housing in some cases. If my husband were to get his master's degree, the housing wouldn't apply since we already receive it.

The cool thing about the bill is that the service member can transfer any number of months to their spouse and dependent children up to the 36 months. In our case divide them evenly to our girls with 18 months each! Or one thought that pops into my mind, use the benefits for our older daughter and save only for our youngest daughter since we have more time. Or the opposite, pay for the first since tuition may be lower than for the second. Hmm.

I'm not clear if the housing would apply to the girls, but I think that it might. Wow! I'm blown away at how much easier this makes paying for college seem. Instead of trying to pay half of their college, we might luck out and be able to pay for most of it, with the help of this new bill of course.

It's nice to think the girls will see benefit from their dad's hard work and service in a very tangible way. A college education.

We are going to spend the next week getting some home improvement estimates. We need to have the exterior of our home painted. It is very faded. I think the previous owners painted quickly and cheaply.

We may need new gutters. Anyone had this done? How much did you pay for yours? I realized we may not be comparing the same size house. It seems these wouldn't be too expensive.

Before anything gets painted there are at least two fairly small pieces of siding that should be replaced, too. We'll be looking for an estimate on that repair also.

The house will most likely need to be sold in the next two years, so it would be nice to get these taken care of in plenty of time. Of course, we prevent further damage, too.

Yesterday was a day of refunds. I returned a Land's End shirt to Sears, it was bigger than the marked tagged. I received $10.18 back.

I had a refund, rebate really, from an item I purchased over the holidays. This resulted in $5.00!

And the smallest refund, I've ever received by check arrived yesterday from the lender of our home equity loan. A big whopping $0.35! A stamp costs more.

All of this money ($15.53) will be part of our next emergency fund deposit, since we all know little amounts add up.

Have you received a very small refund? What do you do with money like this?

fabric!



I'm going to make a valance for my kitchen window out of one fabric and some placemats out of at least one of the others. Reversible placemats maybe? I have yet to figure it all out. The fabrics only set me back about $8! This has got to be less expensive than buying new from the store and maybe even equal to a thrift store for used.

My sewing machine has been a great tool for us. Do you have a sewing machine you use or another great tool worth its investment?

Okay, I did go to bed by 11pm...but it felt very late to me. I was working on next years tax estimations! I know. I'm a nerd.

Three quarters of our income next year will non taxable! Love it. We have converted about 2/3rds of our Rollover IRA accounts to Roths to take advantage of a year when our income will be lower for tax purposes.

My calculations involved figuring out how much of the remaining 1/3 our our rollover accounts should be converted this year, if at all. It looks like I should convert half of the remaining balance to benefit us in both tax years. The main benefit of spliting this way is to qualify us for the earned income tax credit in both years.

Of course, everything is just estimated right now, but I have to make the decision based on something!

The saga of my best friend and her financial situation continues, unfortunately. I share to vent, use her as an example of what not to do, and for those us who have it together to find a some understanding and compassion.

This is the friend with bats in the attic...third time in three years. Technically, they do not have the funds to remove them. However, they have decided to open a credit card to pay for the $2,000 extensive repair. They cut up their cards a few months ago, when the took out a 401K loan to pay off their debt. Right now the friend doesn't know how she will make the payment. Yikes!!

To make matters worse, she called me last night to tell me that they did some van repairs to the tune of $1200. I assume also put on the credit card. There were many things in need of repair, but they only did the critical ones. She said she broke down, flipped out at work. She is beside herself with despair. She does not have the money.

As my title suggests, they have no emergency fund. They never have. They so need one for times like this. I know I have said this before, but I truly believe an emergency fund is the building block to financial freedom. It doesn't even have to be a big one to start with. Dave Ramsey suggests $1000 to start. I'm in agreement. It's a good start to changing the behavior from spending every last penny to saving a little for the unexpected. My friend and her husband need to change their behavior. Fast!

Luckily, I am seeing signs that she is willing to make some changes. She declined to send her daughter to an out of state camp, which would have cost $800. She has put a bug in her husband's ear to get a part time job (she already has one). She also wants them to consider selling their fifth wheel camper which they purchased three years ago for cheap. They actually could make a profit on it! (Side note: even though the camper was cheap, they had to trade in a one year old truck for a larger truck that could handle the load. Ugh!)

The new credit card statement changes have really opened her eyes to the amount of interest they are paying. I was actually a bit shocked that this was new information to her. I obviously take knowledge about compound interest for granted. Oops!

She is sharing her frustrations, but not exactly asking for help. I so would love to get my hands on their financial particulars and work out a plan for them. I really would. I'm sure I would learn quite a bit, too.

are here today to bring me my May flowers!! Unfortunately, some of the rain came with some severe weather, so I'm staying in today instead of shopping.

The cleaning tasks went very well this week. Here's my final update:

[x]clean inside kitchen cabinets
[ ]clean outside kitchen cabinets
[ ]touch up paint kitchen cabinets
[x]dust intake vents
[x]wash out large trash can
[x]wash van (I'll probably go to a car wash)
[x]vacuum van floor & scrub floor mats
[x]hose out the garage floor

My kitchen cabinets are painted white. We bought the house this way. Unfortunately, white cabinets do not stay clean and develop a residue that more grime sticks to. Ugh! I clean them at least twice a year, probably more. It is a chore that does pay off in beauty, but it very hard to get myself going on. Honestly, right now I can't say when I will get to them. I'm that unmotivated.

I earned another $3 from Pinecone Research! It seems since I signed up to have them direct deposit my payment into paypal that I get more surveys. Or maybe it is just coincidence and surveys are just picking up in general. Any thoughts on my theory?

I now have over $10 in my paypal account. Once we get our mid month paycheck, I will include this with our emergency fund contribution. Maybe I'll have another survey or two before then!

I took a quick look at my capris and shorts. I have sizes for current weight and my lower weight from a couple years ago. I kept just one of each of the old size, and tossed the rest in the garage sale pile. I'd much rather be the lighter weight...but it is what it is!

I'm adding in some extra funds today to the emergency fund. A majority is some left over from today's paycheck. I'm also adding in interest from our money market account.

Old Balance = $857
New Funds = $206
New Balance = $1063

We have exceeded our first milestone of $1000. Yipee!! I'm excited, but it does feel like the progress on this goal is going slow. Darn. But we will keep plugging away.

Only $5,937 to go.

One of my favorite cleaning tools is the microfiber cloth. They pick up dirt and grime with little effort and they are reusable. You can use them with your favorite cleaner, or water or just dry! Think about how many sponges, and paper towels you will save.

I just used mine the other day on my mini blinds. I did several of them by just dusting with a dry mircofiber cloth. A few of them needed more work, so I used a damp end of the cloth. When I was done, they were tossed in the washer.

To keep the microfiber cloths looking their best it is important to keep them out of your dryer. I honestly, have forgotten this step and they still work pretty well. It is important to avoid fabric softener too.

I have about six cloths in six different colors. While I don't personally do this, you could identify a color to be for a specific job. Orange for sink cleaning, blue for windows and green for dusting. I bought mine from a catalog company called Solutions. You can find them online. These seem to be heavier in weight then ones that you can find at discount stores.

The first time you use a microfiber cloth you will be amazed at how much dirt your other sponges and cloths have been missing. Everything will be extra sparkly!!

Even though I already have six, I'm ready to invest in some more. One cloth was used by my husband to clean his hands of caulk. And let's just say caulk doesn't come out of a microfiber cloth!! They do lose some of their kick over time, but I've been using them for years.

Do you have a favorite cleaning tool? Is is eco friendly? Is it inexpensive?

Yesterday was a no spend day. I like those. This is good news too, because I have quite a few things I'd like to buy right now. I will get some of them eventually, but they can wait. At least until payday!

I've made pretty good progress on the cleaning. I have only two more window blinds and windows to clean. I did get all the intake vents dusted. I even pulled down the vents from the bathroom ceiling fans. My bathroom was the worst. I think I might not have cleaned it after we moved in three years ago. Yuck! They are shiny and dust free now.

While I was cleaning, I watched (okay more like listened) an episode of Hoarder's online. That is motivation! Today, I might tune into Suze Orman or Dave Ramsey online. It helps to keep my mind entertained while I do some of the mundane cleaning tasks.

My daughter raked the front yard last night. I agreed to give her a dollar. It only took her 10 minutes. The grass had really become matted down from the 65 inches of snow that sat on it all winter!!

Today, I must finish those blinds. I will also clean the insides of the kitchen cupboards. Luckily about half of them don't need to be done.

I think my reward for all this cleaning will be to buy fabric for a kitchen window valance. I have the rod and I think I will only need about half a yard or less. Do you reward yourself for big tasks completed, financial or otherwise? Or is the completion enough?

I am so happy for my sister and her husband. They are really on the right track financially. The emergency fund is established. They are paying more than the minimums on their debt. In fact, I received an email stating they have 20 months until they are debt free except the mortgage! Just a little over a year and a half.

I have given advice here and there over the years. It is nice to see some of it is finally paying off. My sister is very bright, so I'm not saying that I'm the only one to help them on their journey. It is just nice to see things work out for people, especially your own sister!

I'm also proud of each of you and the progress you have made in your financial journey. It seems that is what we should call it: a journey. A journey because it is not just one stop, or one destination but a series of them. Many of us are at different stops on the journey and the scenery is different too. Take time to make sure the path you are on is the journey you want to take!!

It feels like spring more and more each day. Yipee!!

Today, I've made our grocery run and done a little picking up around the house. I started a cleaning cycle on our washer, that includes hot water and bleach. I added an additional 5 gallons of water to get the water to the top of the washer. Unfortunately, I put a little too much in and it overflowed from the tub onto the floor underneath! Opps. I have to let it sit for half an hour to clean out the lint/soap buildup and then run it through the cycle. I tried vinegar last week and it didn't go as well as the bleach method.

I'm going to dust some blinds later and wash the insides of the windows. That will take some time, so it probably is my last project for the day.

I will tackle some other spring cleaning projects this week primarily because they need to be done and to keep myself from going shopping. I seem to have a big desire to add a few things to my wardrobe, buy a purse, a new wallet, get a better haircut, as well as invest in some home accessories. I'm sure eventually I will break down on some of those, but for now I need to stay out of the stores.

Here's what I need to accomplish:
clean inside kitchen cabinets
clean outside kitchen cabinets
touch up paint kitchen cabinets
dust intake vents
wash out large trash can
wash van (I'll probably go to a car wash)
vacuum van floor & scrub floor mats
hose out the garage floor

Whoa! That is a lot. So, if you don't see me around here much that's what I'm doing! Tell me about your spring cleaning projects. It just might get me motivated to know others are doing the same.

Wow! I was quite surprised to see the blog changes this morning when I logged on. What does everyone else think about them? I already miss the long list of all the recent blog entries.

The truth is change is good. It can be uncomfortable at first, but we adapt. We come to a new normal. As a family, we are going through change right now as we get used my husband/the girls dad not being at home as much. We miss him greatly, but we learn to look forward to his phone calls by skype and cell phone. (He's still in the states, but is out training)And skype is pretty fun!

Change applies to finances, too. Sometimes we have big goals we desire to attain, that require change and sacrifice. I remember a time when we didn't have cell phones, caller id, or newspaper delivery because we need that money to pay bills and debt. It was a minor change for us, but it was worth it! Other times, the financial change is a loss of a job. That can feel devastating and overwhelming, but after you grieve you move on, looking for work, and/or adapting your lifestyle to fit into the income available.

Change actually is a constant. If you look back on your life, you can point to numerous thngs that have changed. For example, I no longer live with my parents! I've married and had two children. Those are big changes. And more will continue to come as my children grow and move on with their lives. It makes for an interesting journey at the very least!

How do you respond to change?

I'm now the mother of a teenager. Who bought an ipod. That won't stay charged! Ugh. Of course, she's big time disappointed and frustrated. Target says I can exchange for the same thing. I hope that is the case when I show up at the store.

My sister was in town for a couple days. Spending was minimal. I bought her a coffee and a snack. Otherwise we ate the food on hand, watched a netflix video that arrived, used my gym without a guest fee. She bought fabric, with a 40% off coupon I had, and we made a curtain for her bathroom. She only spent $13. It will look great!

We have $165 left in the checking account to last through the end of the month. I will need to buy groceries on Sunday. One daughter wants to her hair cut shorter again. I was just a month ago she had five inches cut off!! I think we can make it.

Netflix is sending a disk that should allow us to stream instant watch movies directly through our Wii system. That will open up easier viewing of movies for us. I'm looking forward to that.

I randomly log in and track our retirement accounts. I especially like to log in on a day when the markets are up!

With market appreciation and three months of regular investments our accounts are up nearly $8500 since the end of 2009! And come to think of it less than half of that is contributions. It seems once you hit 6 figures the money is amplified. Fun to watch.

My husband is 40 and has been contributing to retirement accounts since he was 21. I have always contributed when I worked outside the home. We also now are able to fund a Roth IRA in my name and have for several years. Regular investing does add up, markets do bounce back, income generally increases over time leading to increased contributions. It has definitely been worth it to watch those accounts rise...and fall and rise again!

If you aren't contributing to retirement in anyway, I would highly encourage you to start doing so on a regular basis. Find an amount you can set aside and in time increase it. The habit of doing it regularly is hard to beat!!

I have $37 to add to the emergency fund. The money is a combination of a store return, survey payment and ebay proceeds. The little amounts add up!

Old Balance: $820
Add Funds: $37
New Balance: $857

The next paycheck will be smaller because we were overpaid last time. However, I think I can find some money to add to the emergency fund. Enough to get us to $1000? I hope so!

Today, I turned in our cans and bottles to get our deposits refunded. That cleared some space in my garage and put $5.30 back in my wallet.

I also returned a pair of snowpants I bought on clearance. I wanted an extra pair on hand in case one was lost or outgrown. The winter was so long! I believe spring is finally here. I could have saved them for next winter, but they were an odd design and won't match next years coat...so back they go! That returned $12.59 to us.

I just sold an item on ebay for $12.50!

2010 Ebay Challenge Total
January: $201.89
February: $46.40
March: $68.00

My monthly average is now: $105.43

The girls and I finally got back to doing a little sorting in their rooms and a basement storage area. We found quite a few things to toss, recycle and sell! In fact some of the toys they chose to get rid of surprised me a bit. But I'm okay with it since it feels so freeing to move this stuff on.

Several months ago, my friend and her husband took out a loan from his 401K. She called to ask my opinion on how to make ends meet. It was getting difficult to manage the minimum payments on several debts.

The 401K loan was their idea. Mine was to look at expenses they could cut back on or sell something. Both would give them some wiggle room. They already have a home equity loan. I highly advised against the 401K loan, obviously.

They are living beyond their means and have for quite some time. It is catching up with them. I never heard how the 401k loan was working out for them financially. Until a few days ago.

They have bats in their attic! Not the first time either. This time there seems to be more bats. The minimum to have someone remove them is $150. Which may or may not work since they are attacted to bat droppings. Most likely they will be back. Just find a new crevice and their back in. To really get rid of them, they need to remove the attic isulation, have the attic cleaned and all the crevices sealed and add additional insulation. Only $2000!

They are going to check with their homeowner's insurance. I hope that works. She said she can't afford either amount. She can't afford $150. So, I guess the 401k loan didn't bring the financial peace she was looking for. I wonder where the deductible will come from if the insurance pays.

I really hate to say I told you so. And I won't because she is a good friend. But it is getting frustrating to watch a friend make so many mistakes with money. One of the first being a lack of an emergency fund. It would be easy to find $150 or $2000 if they had an emergency fund.

Ugh!