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Your Home is Filled with $15.00 Treasures!
"Dear FlyCrew,
This isn't really a tip but a THANK YOU and a YAY FOR ME!!!
I am SOOO proud to tell you that last year during FACE month, I FINALLY, FINALLY went to CCCS.
Since that time I have paid off over $7000 in credit card debt (with my interest rates much lowered!) and, most importantly, have incurred NO new credit card debt. NADA baby! I have a long way to go, but at last I am going in the right direction!
This month I am going to write a separate, extra check for $15 to send to CCCS." - in TX
Buying, renting, maintaining, filling, cleaning, decorating, heating, lighting, and taking care of our homes is one of the most expensive parts of our lives. It can also be one of the most money-draining parts of our lives. But, when you FACE your finances and your home, you will begin to see $15.00 treasures just waiting to be found in each corner of your home. I am not talking about some long-lost antique that is now worth a fortune, I am talking about the opportunities to OUTSMART the purchases you make for you home. Dig out your ANTI-SHOPPING LIST. This is the BACK side of your regular shopping list. It contains the things you DO NOT need to buy. If you already have 5 different cleaners, you don't need another LOL (even if the perky gal on TV makes it look like fun to use LOL). Take a look at your utilities, a temperature degree here and there WILL make a difference on your heating/air conditioning bill. How about your phone bill? Our members found several quick ways to save several dollars EACH month. WOW! Open up your eyes, and let your imagination run FREE!
"Do you love it, do you need it, does it make you smile? If not, then take it out of your shopping cart and don't buy it!" - FlyLady
FACE: Financial Awareness Continuously Empowers.
From our members...
Because I finally gave myself a gift--an organized office--I won't be running to the store for glue, pens, notebooks, etc. (all of which I had plenty of but continuously bought because I could never find them when I needed them) I will probably save more then $15.00 by not buying duplicates of items I already have." - St. Louis FLYbaby
"FlyCrew- this month we will pay off our 15 year mortgage, about 3 years early and have saved around $162,000. We did this by paying an additional $100 per month against the principal, except for the last two years when we paid between $125 and $150 more per month." - a member
- Hi FlyCrew,
Some tips for saving money "in the home". I guess the amount anyone would save would depend on the actual price of water, power, natural gas, or fuel oil where they live, but here goes. (For the record, Dh and I have natural-gas powered forced-air downstairs, and electric baseboard heat in individual rooms upstairs, and we are not on a water meter, but we do pay for the gas that runs our water heater):
Buy a programmable thermostat for your furnace, if you can. Then program it to turn the heat on and off automatically as you get up, leave, come home, and go to bed, for each day of the week. Be sure to get the kind with an "off" switch for when you go on holidays, and in the summer. Ours has been a godsend - never have to think about the heat anymore!
But if you can't do that...
- Turn the heat down when you go to bed. You don't need to heat a house where everyone is tucked up in bed.
- Turn the heat down when you leave the house. You don't need to heat an empty house.
- If you have individual heaters on in separate rooms... turn off the ones in the rooms you aren't using. (If you have forced air in these rooms, close the register cover)
- And put a sweater on if you're cold.
- Get your furnace serviced regularly to ensure it's running at peak efficiency. At replacement time, buy the most efficient furnace you can afford.
And more:
- Fix dripping taps - you'd be amazed how much water people waste for want of a single washer!
- If possible, set your water heater to a lower maximum water temperature. You'll use less power heating it to a lower maximum temperature, and it's safer for everyone in the family, too. Nobody needs a scalding hot shower or bath.
- Run your dryer only when you have a "full load". Same for the washing machine. Same for the dishwasher.
Clean your dryer's lint filter with every load to make it run most efficiently.
- If your dryer exhaust hose has been in place for more than five years, check it for lint build up and either clean it or replace it.
- Use the clothesline instead of the dryer if you can.
If your fridge has exposed coils on the back, pull the fridge out and vacuum the dust bunnies off the coil at least once a year.
- Make sure your fridge and freezer doors still close properly, especially if you've had it for a while.
Turn off the lights when you leave a room you're not returning to within 15 minutes.
- Use the compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of regular incandescents - they use only one-tenth of the power of regular bulbs. They cost a bit more than regular bulbs, but last much longer. Ideal for use in those hard-to-reach fixtures, and in lamps in frequent use. Read the packaging carefully - different lamps need different types of CFL bulbs.
- If you're on a water meter, you can save money with a low-flow toilet (after the initial investment). Or, if they're available where you are, a dual-flush toilet, which has one level of flush for liquid deposits, and another level of flush for solid deposits. If special toilets aren't available and you are creative and handy, you may be able to reduce the volume of your toilet tank by installing a dam or other device.
Oh dear, I have rather babbled on, haven't I? - Richmond, BC Flybaby
- I'm saving $$ by NOT talking on my cell phone as much. I'm going to use it only for critical calls - not chatty cathy/gossipy calls which make me go over my "plan" minutes.
Coppell, TX
- I treat my $15 a month savings like a bill. It is automaticly taken out of my checking account every 15th of the month, and put into my savings account. We never touch the savings account, and so we have money when we really need it (like when we had a slab leak that cost $2500 to repair and our insurance didn't cover it). Our debt card does not have access to our savings account, either, so we never risk over spending into the savings account!
Paying extra towards bills. Well, when our house payment goes down every few years, we continue to pay the same amount, putting the difference into principle. It cuts our payment down lower and lower every year! But we pay the same amount. We have cut several years off the length of what was originally a 30 year loan!
Fluttering in Mesa
- I called my telephone company to see what plans they had available to reduce my expenses. After about 5 minutes
of talking with the customer rep, I was able to shift my plan around and dropped about $22 a month in expenses!
- I did away with call-waiting and caller-id. That will be a $17. savings a month. I really like having them, but it is time to do a 27 fling boogie and there are 2 things that I like, but don't really need.
- We refinanced our house and are saving over $400 per month.
We also used the extra money that would have been February's house payment to pay down a credit card. That along with some bonus money and money from Stocks cashed out paid off a credit card with a balance of over $500.
I now have a hefty saving/debt plan in order to be debt free on credit cards by June. It will be nice to have a soft cushion of savings in the savings account for big projects, rather than plastic.
- I just swapped life insurance companies for my husband and myself. The new policies are $16 cheaper a month AND we more than doubled the coverage on my husband. (still 20 yr. term). This tip would apply to life, health, car, etc. insurance. Shop around! :)
- Good morning FlyCrew,
It is very easy for me to find $15 to save. We have a club membership that shows up as $15 every month on our credit card. We are not using it and probably haven't been for a year. The only reason I have not cancelled it is that it is in my husband's name, so only he can cancel. So, I will get together and fill out everything necessary to stop this payment, mark where he should sign, get his signature, and mail it myself!
A Rio Rancho, NM FlyBaby
"I faced our financed in January when I realized I hadn't paid bills since October! Creditors were calling almost every day--it was so horribly embarrassing, especially since we're not destitute or anything. I just kept putting it off and putting it off... I finally got serious. In the middle of January we used an existing home equity loan to consolodate all our credit card debt--then cut up those cards and cancelled all accounts except for the American Express which must be paid in full each month. We sat down and worked out a budget--and were amazed to find that with a few rearrangements in our lifestyle that getting out of debt would be possible. My husband stopped buying lunch and snacks each day at work--saving us $50/week. I took your advice and made up weekly menus and now make only one trip to the grocery store. Before, I used to spend $160 to $225 and have barely enough to get our family of four through a week. I now spend an average of $150 and have enough to make all our lunches too--and there's usually leftovers! My husband has lost 15 pounds--and the other guys in his office are starting to follow his example! We also stopped eating out every Sunday afternoon--another $40 savings each week. I also stopped random and compulsive shopping for stuff we don't need but cluttered up our house and closets. I set up an automatic transaction with our online banking so we make a $250 payment on our equity loan *every week* when our paychecks are also automatically deposited. We don't see or miss the money and the debt is dropping. I get a kick out of logging in to the account and seeing how it is shrinking--it's more fun than shopping! In addition, I'm prepaying the principal on our mortgage each month by $100 or more. I'm paying our bills early. Guess what? There's money left in the bank at the end of the month!" - a member
- Dear Fly crew: I am a single mother of three, and I need all the financial help I can get...maybe this will help someone.
1. Because of my income level I am eligible for help from the state(PA) for daycare expenses--they look at your income and expenses, and you pay a co-pay rather than the full charges...I save over $200/week with 2 children--check with the local United Way for information.
2. Our local electric company provides a service where they come to your home, check your electrical use, and they will replace your light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs. They are giving me a new hot water heater, and fixing my dryer vent.
Do not be afraid to ask state agencies for help--the services are there if you need them, and when you are on a tight budget, worrying about whether you can pay the electric bill, it is a great relief to know that they really do want to offer assistance to their customers.
- Flybaby from PA
Surprise
One of the first steps in FACE-ing your finances is to gather all your bills and put them into one place. Quick take a couple of minutes and ensure you have one spot for your bills, and all those bills are in that spot. Some of you may be using your FlyLady Office in a Bag for this. We use one slot in our mail sorter for incoming bills. It doesn't matter, so long as you always use it and make it a habit.
Let me know how it goes. Send an email to FlyCrew@flylady.net and put FACEHOME in the subject line.
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- Dear FlyCrew,
It is such a wonderful thing that we are FACE-ing our finances this month as
I have decided that my family needs a bigger house (three bedrooms for 6
people). In order to do this, I have come up with several ways to cut costs so
that we can pay down the bills and save money for the house of our dreams... 1)
Since we do not own a car, I take a taxi to the grocery and back every Friday
night. If I wait until Saturday morning, I can walk up the street to the
grocery and save about $20 on cab fare. 2) I have canceled some of the cable
channels that are never watched and that saves us about $13 per month. 3) I bought
Leanne's book, Saving Dinner and have not ordered a weeknight dinner in 2
weeks. That alone saved us $55. 4) Instead of buying the "for entertainment
only" books at the bookstore, I borrow them from the library. Savings...$40. 5) I
recently switched phone companies to one that includes all the extras in the
basic charge and am saving $15 with every bill. I hope these ideas help
someone as much as they have helped me. Within the 2 weeks that I have been trying
to save, I have managed to pay off a bill that was over $100 which we've had
hanging over us for 6 weeks, and never felt we had the $$ to pay. I felt like I
was flying for the first time when I placed the check in the mail!!
Thank you, Ladies and Fly Crew for all you do. You can't know how much you
have changed my life and the lives of my family.
Finally Flying and FACE-ing, Flybaby from OH
- I'm going to come up with $15 (plus more) this month by rolling all the coins collecting in the piggy bank in my bedroom. These come from my husband's pockets, the washing machine, the car ashtray and the bottom of my purse. And since I FACED my finances last year and got out of debt except for my house, I'm going to add the money to next month's house payment!
Debt Free (except for the house) in Georgia
- FlyCrew-
We consolidated our credit card debt to one balance at 0% interest for 12
months. We've budgeted to nearly pay this balance off in full by the time
the promotional rate goes back up (including using part of our tax return).
We also have started to regularly save each payday (it's not much but it's a
start) so we don't have to charge or take a cash advance on our credit cards
when an unexpected expense happens - like we did when we had to get the
furnace fixed when the weather turned cold last year. Finally, we also
evaluated our cell phone plans and found a better plan for us saving about
$40 a month.
-Flapping in Fredericksburg, VA
- FlyLady taught me the easiest way to save money. I no longer buy expensive bathroom cleaners. I scrub the shower tile and tub with a nylon scrubbee and a little cheap shampoo when I'm showering. I don't buy lime removers either, the daily shower routine and a little vinegar remove all crusty deposits. I don't even buy window cleaner, I use one part water, one part ammonia and one part rubbing alcohol and make my own. The inside of the toilet gets a swish and the outside gets glass cleaner and a paper towel wipe. This has saved me at least $20 a month and I have the shiniest bathroom of anyone I know!
- I keep track of my spending by treating our home finances like a business. I run my own business as well so I have become pretty good at keeping track, and remembering to keep receipts. I worked one year for Statistics Canada as a surveyor on the Survey of Household Spending and that got me started on being a little more detailed. I installed MS Money on my computer and set up categories of spending similar to what was on that survey. I keep all my receipts and punch them into the computer every few days. At the end of the month it gives me a report on what I spend my money on, whether there were any remarkable changes from the previous month, also it has a budgeter in the program and lets me know whether I am sticking to it. I like one function it has where I can set spending limits on a category and it pops up a warning when I have exceeded it, also it flashes a warning when I get close to the limit on a credit account. It's made me much more financially aware, and works really well for the hyper-organized parts of my brain. The biggest trick is to ask for receipts for EVERYTHING - even a cup of hot chocolate from Tim Horton's - because it's the few dollars you spend here and there that disappear into the void, unaccounted for, but adding up to a small fortune.
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Yarmouth, NS
- Dear Flylady,
we had the money in the bank but I still couldn't bring myself to phone up our bank and talk to them about ttransferring money from one account to pay off the credit card. So, when I was doing a 2 minute hot spot on my desk I found a letter from them telling me how to go online. I did it..I paid it off, about $700 just like that. Don't ask me how much unnecessary interest I paid. Whilst I was at it, I sent them an email asking the bank to close the credit card account because we don't need it anymore. I've been watching our finances and we are finally OK.
Perhaps now the weight will go from me.
love to all of you
- (France)
- Keep your lights off or down in the evening, eat by candlelight. Air dry most of your laundry, air dry your dishes, quicker showers, watch less TV, turn down your thermostat, drink only water, cancel the paper, use half the detergent in my laundry. FLYGIRL in Lincoln Park MI
- One way we've started to save money is by using the Internet more to pay
bills and check the status of used minutes on our cell phone accounts. We
save money since we rarely have to buy stamps and we haven't "went over" our
minutes in almost a year. Just a simple click of a mouse and a little
organization is keeping us from getting into more debt by keeping track of
our bills, not having late payments, and not going over on our cell phone
minutes. Flutterbug in Los Alamitos, California
- We refinananced our mortgage Saturday, lower rate, negative points (paid for fees), we're paying $80 a month less BUT we knocked 10 years off by switching from a 30 to 20 year mortgage!
Saving approx 100K in interest! Whoohooo!
- I recently called my Waste Management company and asked if there was any discount available if I signed an annual contract. I was offered the special they are currently making available to new customers saving me $12.00 every two months. I then called my wireless phone company and asked for a better rate and they were able to save me $10.00 a month with no change in service by signing a contract for one year.
Minnesota Fly Baby
- We have discovered that our home mortgage interest rate can be lowered by 0.5% if we have the payment automatically deducted from an account. We are setting up a free checking account to be used for this sole purpose and will save almost $25 per month. Also, since this account will have the $ for the house payment automatically deposited from payroll, we will never have to stress over having enough in our checking account to make the mortgage payment. Another plus is that we never have to stress out over it getting there on time!
- The very first page in my control journal is my "Upcoming Bills" page. On
this page I have listed all my monthly and other regular bills in the order
they come due each month (with quarterly paid bills at the bottom). All my
pages in the journal are in those protective sleeves. I write at the top of
the page the month with a wipe-off marker. Then as I pay a bill I check it
off. This way I dont miss a bill and I know what I have and have not paid
yet (very useful for planning expenses).
Also, since it is in a sleeve, I slip in a plain envelope that I wrote
"Deposits" on. So any checks that come in I put in there and have ready to
go to the bank instead of getting lost in a shuffle of other "important"
papers. Since the list of my bills only takes up one side of the paper, the
envelope slips in on the other side without covering up any bills.
Flying in Texas
Surprise
Another important thing to have to ensure those bills are paid on time is ONE spot for your check book, stamps, envelopes, pens, etc. Then you need a place to put those bills after they have been paid. I mark my paid bills with the date I paid them and the check number. That way my DH knows the bill has been paid, and he doesn't pay it again LOL. Then put those bills in ONE spot. At tax time, toss any you don't need, keep the ones you do need. Simple.
So, before you read any further, do you have one spot dedicated to bill paying supplies. Even if you pay online, you still need ONE spot to keep incoming bills and another for paid bills.
Let me know how it goes. Send an email to FlyCrew@flylady.net and put FACEHOME in the subject line.
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- It's a rather small thing, but by simply using half of what you're used to using (half as much toothpaste still cleans your teeth, half the shampoo is sufficient most of the time, half the dishsoap still cuts the grease, a little less laundry soap, a little less on my plate--and it's actually closer to a serving size that way too.) It begins to add up when the whole household cuts back too.
a fly baby (living on a very tight budget) in Ogden Utah
"In January, I finally sat down and looked at my many page phone bill to see what was actually on it...
$5 service charge for giving me one bill combining my long distance service and local service (different carriers)
$8 "guardian service" just in case the wires inside the house break - I could have had a lot of work done for what I've paid not knowing that was there all these years...
$20 to my long distance carrier - who needs that with a cell phone these days.
Total savings when I dropped all 3 of these - $33, pain free!
After facing finances last year, I paid off over $12,000 in credit card debt! This year, I'm concentrating on my morgage. $15 here and $15 there DOES make a difference!
STOP SPENDING VIRTUAL MONEY ON CREDIT CARDS!!!!!
Hoooray for FACE-ing finances!" - Flying (and wordy!) in MD
- FlyCrew---
I did this as part of Anti-Procrastination last month...
but I FLUNG my junk storage unit at $52 per month, $624 per year...
And with my first paycheck this month, instead of writing of check for $52
for storage, that money is going to be deposited in an account for property
taxes ON MY BRAND NEW TOWNHOUSE!!! By FACING my finances last year and
getting things under control I found that I really could afford a new home!!
We close probably sometime the end of this month, and the Super Fling
Boogies and 27 Fling Boogies have ensured that NO CLUTTER will invade my new
digs :)
Thanks so much to you guys and all your encouragement!!
Fluttering anew in Utah
"Spend 15 minutes a day doing something financial! I have never "taken"
to math-related tasks in almost 40 years of living ... Never budgeted,
never knew how much (little?) was in my checking account, never knew how
a credit record works ... You know the drill. Last fall, I devoted
myself to spending 5 to 15 minutes a day on something - ANYTHING -
financial in my life. Without goals or direction, just doing a little
bit. With that time, I wound up figuring out how to check my checking
and credit card balance online or by phone every day (takes 2-3 minutes
to update a checkbook! Never knew that!) I've reduce our credit cards
from NINE to TWO - one for family, one for business. I created a
standard, streamlined grocery list. And I started itemizing-for-my-taxes
all the 27-fling stuff before I boogie them to the thrift store. Who
knew, time really IS money." - Financially flying near Dallas, Texas.
"I just mailed a $722 check to pay off a VISA card that hasn't been used
in 10 years (but I've been paying it that long! ugh!) and I said
GOODBYE to VISA! Another refund put to good use!
Thanks Flylady!" - a member
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