SMB's Saving Advice Journal

a little stressed out lately...

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 12:46:28 PST

...so much so, that I've started wearing my night guard (for my teeth) to bed because I've been clenching my jaw. I catch myself doing it while awake, so no doubt I'm doing it while I sleep, too. My jaw hurts.

So what's all the fuss? Well, we may be moving. The current Boston...

relatively cheap 3-day weekend ahead

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 09:17:31 PST

I’ve been kind of bad this week about not bringing my lunch. I just haven’t felt like cooking at all, and have been eating pb&j sandwiches and cereal for dinner. (I could live on pb&j.) Good thing we don’t have kids. I’ve only spent $15 this week, at...

whee--on with the new year

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Thu, 12 Jan 2006 09:25:40 PST

Well, it's finally feeling back to normal around here, so I thought I'd check in with an update. It's been a largely no-spend week except for lunch today and yesterday (around $10 total) because I just haven't felt like cooking the last couple of nights. Been a little under the weather;...

not a bad spending week

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 05:07:39 PST

I did pretty well this week--I brought my lunch every day, and spent money mainly on necessities--groceries, gas, $10 dog license fee...my only superfluous spending was a $3.03 latte at Dunkin Donuts, and that was because we'd run out of our favorite coffee at home and I was tired...

Goals, This and that

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 12:40:35 PST

I tried out The Grocery Game, but cancelled my membership before the trial ran out. We don't spend that much on groceries to begin with (at most, $50/week), so I don't think we'd get much use out of it, really--I'm only shopping for 2, and I don't buy a lot of convenience foods. ...

i-bond question for the i-bond queen, baselle!

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Thu, 05 Jan 2006 08:52:53 PST

Hi Baselle, and anyone else who might be reading this!

I bought an I-Bond in late October, for $400. The value hasn't changed--that is, I can't see that any interest has been added to it, though I thought it was supposed to be applied monthly. Can you explain why this might be...

Hoooome

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 11:04:18 PST

Oh, we are FINALLY home. It was a long 7 days. It was actually a better trip than I imagined it would be--I would even say it was nice--but nothing beats being in your own space again. Only the dog was happier to be home. We sprung him from the kennel last night. Our plane was...

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 15:20:11 PST

Well, I did something pretty stupid. Remember that Roth IRA I opened? Well, it turns out I'm ineligible for it. Depending on how you file and--if filing married/jointly--how much you and your spouse make combined, you may be ineligible for a Roth. I remember reading that a while...

Better money day, Money Magazine

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Sun, 18 Dec 2005 17:19:15 PST

I went to Brooks to pick up my beloved KASHI cereal, which was on sale for 2/$5. Good thing I was watching the register, because they rang up at the regular price of $3.49. I was buying some other items, and since I'm not terribly quick with adding things up in my head on the spot,...

spent a good deal of money today

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 17:23:01 PST

...at CVS, of all places. I bought:

*a ceramic straightening iron--sometimes I like to straighten my hair and my old one doesn't get very hot anymore
*little gloves to wear with moisturizer to bed--will probably creep J out
*eyebrow groomers--I have "substantial" eyebrows
*bitter-tasting...

good meals for hard times

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Thu, 15 Dec 2005 07:50:45 PST

I can't recall who was looking for this book online, but I'd been intrigued by their description and checked it out from the library. I really like it! The author has an amusing writing style, and the recipes are actually pretty creative (especially for the 70s). I made a bean and...

cheap weekend at home

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 08:08:35 PST

We were pretty much holed up at home from Friday on. Friday we got slammed with snow. I shoveled three times and my back still hurts. I try not to use my back but somehow it happens.

It was a spend-little weekend. Saturday I went grocery shopping. That evening I made a baked...

how to live well--well beyond your means, that is

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 12:38:31 PST

I found this "special edition" article by Forbes.com really disturbing:

http://biz.yahoo.com/special/live05.html

These fictional families drive expensive cars, have two homes, and send their children in private schools--but yet they're not portrayed as living beyond their means,...

not a bad start to the month

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 09:31:48 PST

J did bills before he left for NYC, and we had more money left over than we usually do. It was the same last month. We don't budget--I tend to agree with David Bach that budgets aren't the answer--I think we're just spending less on ourselves lately. It's a nice feeling.

It's...

just me and the dog

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 17:24:47 PST

J is on a business trip in NYC until Friday, so I'm living the bachelorette lifestyle. Not that it's terribly exciting, I was hardly a Sex and the City type in my single days. About the only thing I do that I don't do when he's here is eat lots of garlic and onions. Mmmmm...

Tonight...

opened a Roth IRA

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 07:06:23 PST

I finally got around to opening a Roth IRA, with $250.00. I went with ING Direct. I'm still not quite sure I know what I'm doing, but I've been in this place for some time now and decided it was now or never, though I'm waiting to set up automatic investing until I feel more comfortable....

Hey, thanks for the 5 stars!

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Sat, 26 Nov 2005 15:57:18 PST

Someone was kind to give my journal five stars. Thank you!

Black Friday was sort of a non-event for us. J never went out; I went out with the intention to go only to the framers and perhaps Starbucks. I can report that Starbucks' gingerbread latte is pretty tasty (though probably...

knitted ALL DAY yesterday

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 05:43:52 PST

We weren't doing anything for Thanksgiving, so I spent the day knitting. I'd stopped at the yarn store on Wednesday and bought some beautiful light teal alpaca yarn, and from it I made a hat and a pull-through scarf. The hat turned out well, the scarf looks like a goofy cravat. ...

well, so much for that

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 08:22:38 PST

Yesterday wasn't a no-spend day after all. (Thanks, btw, to DivaJen and Baselle for their comments--I agree with both of them!) I stopped by CVS on the way home from the library to look for a memo-sized 3-ring binder to make a grocery price book with. I didn't find that, but I did...

Thoughts about no-spend days

sharyl_morris@yahoo.com (SMB) — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 12:38:22 PST

I'm really trying to have a no-spend day, and I think I'll make it. Sometimes I wonder if striving for no-spend days really makes sense. On the one hand, does it really matter if I lump all my purchases into a few days rather than scatter them throughout the month? In a way it reminds...