Much as we enjoy a glass of vino to end the day, the James Gang wine club (Tobin James Winery) is a twice yearly credit card charge we can live without. We do enjoy their wines, but right now we have enough wine in the house to last us for at least a few months. We'll focus on consuming the stash we already have and help out the credit card a little bit.
Each shipment was $155.51 and there are two scheduled per year, so...
Savings: $311.02
Total Saved to Date: $689.13
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Week # 3: The Lunch Adjustment
The long holiday weekend was busier than expected, so this post is late. Still shooting for Sundays.
One of the first things you hear about when thinking about saving a few dollars is how much is spent on lunch at work. True... Considering a $6 daily average, which is conservative at many eateries, lunch expenses can add up to more than $1,500 per year.
The first thought is usually to pack a lunch. The second thought is that usually means eating at the desk. Hmmmm... I do that when I need to, but much prefer to take some time in the middle of a busy day (which is basically EVERY day) to get away for a short time and reset the brain, or catch up with a friend or two. It would be tough to give that up.
My alternative plan is still a sacrifice. I'm giving up french fries and sodas during the weekday lunch hour. Over time, I will track the difference between the "meal" option and the solo sandwich, take water with me, and add up the couple bucks (and the calories) saved each day.
After one week, I am noticing the difference is usually a little over $2, so I will hit the $100 savings target sometime before my 50th lunch. I am tracking the daily difference and will update this post as I go. If I lose any weight I'll try to document that too. Perhaps I will be able to also capture $100 in reduced medical expenses as a result of eating better.
Saved so far: $11.47 in five lunches as of 1-19-11.
Total saved to date: $378.11 in three weeks.
One of the first things you hear about when thinking about saving a few dollars is how much is spent on lunch at work. True... Considering a $6 daily average, which is conservative at many eateries, lunch expenses can add up to more than $1,500 per year.
The first thought is usually to pack a lunch. The second thought is that usually means eating at the desk. Hmmmm... I do that when I need to, but much prefer to take some time in the middle of a busy day (which is basically EVERY day) to get away for a short time and reset the brain, or catch up with a friend or two. It would be tough to give that up.
My alternative plan is still a sacrifice. I'm giving up french fries and sodas during the weekday lunch hour. Over time, I will track the difference between the "meal" option and the solo sandwich, take water with me, and add up the couple bucks (and the calories) saved each day.
After one week, I am noticing the difference is usually a little over $2, so I will hit the $100 savings target sometime before my 50th lunch. I am tracking the daily difference and will update this post as I go. If I lose any weight I'll try to document that too. Perhaps I will be able to also capture $100 in reduced medical expenses as a result of eating better.
Saved so far: $11.47 in five lunches as of 1-19-11.
Total saved to date: $378.11 in three weeks.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Week # 2: Cancel Old Web Hosting Account
While we were involved with booster clubs for the kids' schools, our credit cards were frequently used to help out with various things, including website hosting. A glance at the bill revealed a monthly charge for hosting a website that had actually been moved to a different service provider two years ago. Oops.
It's a $19.95 monthly hit, and we probably wasted about $400 just because we weren't paying attention. Would like to have that money back, but at least the leak is plugged now. So far, good resolution.
For periodic charges like this, I'll calculate the savings based on a year of time, just to keep things consistent. So...
$19.95/month x 12 months = $239.40 in annual savings.
Total saved to date: $366.64.
It's a $19.95 monthly hit, and we probably wasted about $400 just because we weren't paying attention. Would like to have that money back, but at least the leak is plugged now. So far, good resolution.
For periodic charges like this, I'll calculate the savings based on a year of time, just to keep things consistent. So...
$19.95/month x 12 months = $239.40 in annual savings.
Total saved to date: $366.64.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Week # 1: Cancel the Newspaper
We're a little behind the times on this one I think, so it was obvious. We did enjoy the printed news while our kids and their schools occasionally were mentioned, but they're moving on to college and we get most of our information online now, as you probably do, since you're reading this. Hopefully a few trees will also be spared.
We can and do visit the OC Register's online site to read their still very interesting and helpful information. (The guy on the phone was very nice about it, but he almost sounded like I was personally eliminating his job, so I'm trying to eliminate a little of my guilt by giving them a plug.)
Anyway... this is an easy one. One down, 51 to go.
Savings: $127.24 for 2011, based on our payments in 2010.
Total saved to date: $127.24
Next post: Sunday, Jan. 9.
We can and do visit the OC Register's online site to read their still very interesting and helpful information. (The guy on the phone was very nice about it, but he almost sounded like I was personally eliminating his job, so I'm trying to eliminate a little of my guilt by giving them a plug.)
Anyway... this is an easy one. One down, 51 to go.
Savings: $127.24 for 2011, based on our payments in 2010.
Total saved to date: $127.24
Next post: Sunday, Jan. 9.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
What's This About?
So for 2011, I have two resolutions. One is a joint resolution with my wife, Trish, to improve our finances by finding and closing money leaks that have been ignored for too long. The other was to try blogging, so here you go.
Each week, Trish and I will try to make one change that will save at least $100. The change can be anything that creates $100 in new value that we would not have had if we had stuck with the status quo at the end of 2010. I expect this to be a fairly easy thing for at least the first several weeks - we are paying some bills and hanging onto some subscriptions only because we always have. Some things we just don't need and will be relatively easy to cancel.
What do we expect to happen? Starting out, this should be a fairly easy weekly goal. Sometime around April or May, I expect it to become more of a challenge to find new things to change or cut. When we get into the fall, I expect that we will be making some very real sacrifices in order to successfully complete 52 weeks of changes.
How are we going to do this? I'm not sure exactly, which is why this challenge is interesting. The only rule is to create at least $100 in new value or savings each and every week. This will involve canceling subscriptions, going without a few things, cleaning out the garage to put things on Ebay, and probably many things we haven't thought of yet.
The schedule: Every Sunday, starting tomorrow, a new entry will be posted. The idea is that going public with this blog will help us keep on track and make a resolution stick for an entire year, for a change.
I'll keep a running list of our choices and the resulting savings in a log for all to see. If you have ideas that will help us get to week 52, we're more than happy to hear them.
Because I'm brand new to this blogging thing, the look today is about as plain as you can get. I'll enhance the look, features, and information... as I learn about them!
Good luck to us, and Happy New Year!!
Each week, Trish and I will try to make one change that will save at least $100. The change can be anything that creates $100 in new value that we would not have had if we had stuck with the status quo at the end of 2010. I expect this to be a fairly easy thing for at least the first several weeks - we are paying some bills and hanging onto some subscriptions only because we always have. Some things we just don't need and will be relatively easy to cancel.
What do we expect to happen? Starting out, this should be a fairly easy weekly goal. Sometime around April or May, I expect it to become more of a challenge to find new things to change or cut. When we get into the fall, I expect that we will be making some very real sacrifices in order to successfully complete 52 weeks of changes.
How are we going to do this? I'm not sure exactly, which is why this challenge is interesting. The only rule is to create at least $100 in new value or savings each and every week. This will involve canceling subscriptions, going without a few things, cleaning out the garage to put things on Ebay, and probably many things we haven't thought of yet.
The schedule: Every Sunday, starting tomorrow, a new entry will be posted. The idea is that going public with this blog will help us keep on track and make a resolution stick for an entire year, for a change.
I'll keep a running list of our choices and the resulting savings in a log for all to see. If you have ideas that will help us get to week 52, we're more than happy to hear them.
Because I'm brand new to this blogging thing, the look today is about as plain as you can get. I'll enhance the look, features, and information... as I learn about them!
Good luck to us, and Happy New Year!!
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