Vacation on a Budget - Doesn't Mean What You Think

We are less than a week away from our big family vacation.  Hooray!  Most of our planning is done, although we still have a few items to take care of before we depart.

As we head towards our departure date, I need to do laundry and pack.  I also have one more Amazon Prime order to execute on.  But as for our travel plan, the airline tickets are paid for, the hotels are reserved and the rental car is booked.

We vacation on a budget, but we don't scrimp.  What does that mean you ask?  Well it means that we always have a short term savings account earmarked for travel/vacation.  We also have an automatic deposit set up, so $200 per pay period goes into our vacation/travel fund.  That normally means that we have more than enough in our travel/savings account to pay cash for airline tickets.  After our airline tickets are booked and our vacation is planned I often up extra savings into our travel/vacation fund to make sure we have more than enough cash on hand for our hotel, rental car and spending.  This time around we didn't need to since our savings account was well funded.

I don't scrimp when I go on vacation, so I normally budget at least $100 a day for food which seems like a lot, but if you are eating out or stopping at a local brewery for a couple of $10 beers it works out to the right amount for us.  I also think about and plan for other spending, we'll be stopping at two national parks, so I'm accounting for entry fees, gas, and misc. spending on a t-shirt here or there or a special souvenir.  Mr. Sam likes to pick up t-shirts on his travel and he wears them a lot.  I like a more upscale souvenir, a piece of art from a local or maybe a handcrafted piece of jewelry.  I am picky so that means I often come home with nothing and that is ok.  Baby Sam gets to pick out something fun for herself that is inexpensive and I will likely pick out something for her along the way.  I normally set aside another $100 in cash for misc. spending.

All of this preplanning means that when we get home from vacation we only bring memories, a rock or two for our collection and no debt.

Red Lobster and the Middle Class

Interesting article from cnn.com about the impending demise of Red Lobster and the continued squeeze of the middle class.

Reading the author's experience about going out to eat at Red Lobster as a kid, I thought back to my own experiences.  While I was raised by professionals, college professors, and we had a vacation home (cabin), we actually had very little free money growing up.  I think that was due to the fact that my parents income was somewhat sporadic in that Dad was paid only 9 months out of the year and Mom's income was based on then number of courses she taught.  We also probably spent more money on housing and recreation than a normal family in that we had a house on the water, the vacation cabin, and my parents prioritized experiences over things.  So, we did lots of camping, sailing, skiing, traveling and that all cost money.  They also were doing the right things with money, putting it away for college funds and their own retirement.  As a result, we didn't have free money for eating out.  Eating out was for super special occasions and mostly when Grandpa was in town for business.  I can remember Grandpa taking my brother and I out for dinner.  As a family, I remember just a few times going out to some kind of all you can eat buffet (I also remember getting sick b/c I ended up eating too much or the foods were too rich).  Mostly though if we ate out it was never at a chain restaurant.  As a result, I don't have the fondness or nostalgia for chain eating.

Today, we eat out quite a bit (an issue I am always working on) but we still hardly ever eat at a national chain.  I much prefer eating at mom and pop places.

Did you have a favorite chain restaurant when you were a kid?

What Would You Tell Your Younger Self?

Over at Get Rich Slowly April Dykman posed the question of what would you tell your younger self regarding personal finance.  Below is my post.

This is fun! 

To College Sam – walk away from the credit card offer, you don’t need that free t-shirt.
To post college Sam – good job on taking that personal finance course through the local extension system. You learned a lot and it will help you in the future. Good job on paying off that college credit card, now you really ought to cut it up. Also, congrats on opening your first IRA even though you are earning poverty wages in social services. And tell your parents thanks for paying your way through college, you probably didn’t even appreciate the fact that they saved each month your entire life to give you a great education. 

To post professional school Sam – good job on paying off that student loan debt and good job on keeping your student loan debt lowish during school. You rushed into your first house purchase, but it will turn out great. Now that you are making a good living you are making a lot of good choices, paying off the student loan debt, creating your first budget (2001), investing in your work 401k and paying off all credit cards in full each month. I sure wish I could tell you that even when you are paying off your credit cards in full each month you are still spending too much money. You should have listened to me when I told you to cut up those cards post college. 

A few years later Sam, just because everyone is investing in Florida real estate doesn’t make it a good investment, maybe you should do some more research before you buy that investment property in 2005, 8 years later it will be worth half of what you and soon to be Mr. Sam paid for it. Good thing its rented. 

To engaged Sam, good job on picking a spouse that is hard working, frugal and recognizes that even though he has the MBA he is terrible at budgeting and bill paying so he turns it over to you upon marriage. 

To married Sam, whoo-hoo, good job to you and Mr. Sam in paying off $55,000+ in just over a year during your first year of marriage. That first year of marriage in which you created your first annual spending plan (an update on the 2001 individual budget), finally cutting up the credit cards, creating an allowance system, prioritizing savings and making sure that you and Mr. Sam are on the same page when it comes to money, that will pay off big time. Seven years later and you guys have increased your net worth by $550,000. 

Now, stop eating out so much.  :)

Looking back at my own journey, I certainly have made some mistakes along the way.  It is hard not to, and many of those mistakes or detours have helped to make me a better person.

I think the most important ingredients to my financial success are as follows.  First, I invested in a good education which lead to a well paying, good, professional job.  I was able, both due to my parents and due to smart choices (savings/grants/working) in professional school, to avoid student loan debt until the very end of my education. Second, early on in my career I started utilizing a spending plan/budget and focused on paying off debt and having a plan for my money.  Third, I met and married a frugal man who, while horrible at paying bills and tracking spending, is fully on board with living a debt free life and prioritizing savings/investing rather than consuming.

How about you, what personal finance guidance would you give your younger self?

2013 Goals - May Update

(1) Max out 401k(s) -        $15,736 (45%)   (goal is $35,000)
(2) Max out IRA(s) -         $6,013 (55%)    (goal is $11,000)
(3) Add to e/r fund -          $3,600 (36%)   (goal is $10,000)
(4) Pay down mortgage -   $1,660 (25%)     (goal is $5,000)
(5) Trading account fund - $50  (1%)        (goal is $5,000)
(6) House projects -          $900 (30%)      (goal is $3,000)

Total:  $27,959 (41%)

We are about $1400 ahead of where we should be.

Otherwise, we continue to chug along.  I've got some unbudgeted car expenses coming up, new tires, new breaks, tune up, etc. which is likely to run more than a thousand.  My eating out/ordering in expenses continue to be high.  The busier I am at work, and I'm super busy right now, the more I spend on eating in because I don't have the time or energy to prepare food.  Last week I spent close to $100 on eating in (yikes!) which is way too much.

I was trying to get into networthiq today, and its not working.  Another yikes!  I love that site and I have a lot of data stored in it, so I'm trying not to freak out and hoping it will be back up and running shortly.

You know its spring in Florida when . . .

You know its spring in Florida when you are at the Super Wal-Mart at 6:00 a.m. buying rat traps.

Now I'm not in charge of rat wrangling, rather Mr. Sam is takes care of this landlording task (thank goodness).  So, he was at Super Wal-Mart early this morning buying traps.

Here in Florida we have problems with roof rats due in large part to our climate and the abundance of fruit trees.  And, at one of our rental properties, we have a beautiful, big mango tree that produces tons of fruit.  This tree produces so much fruit that its more than our tenants or ourselves could ever eat.

I've heard about some food pantries that run back yard fruit drives so I'm looking for an agency that is local to us where we can donate these mangos.  In the meant time Mr. Sam is over at the property setting up traps.

Happy St. Valentine's Day - Part I

Happy St. Valentine's Day to you!

What are you doing to celebrate heart day?  Are you sending flowers, going out to dinner, buying gifts for your spouse, your children or your dog?  Do you boycott Valentine's Day as nothing more than a Hallmark holiday?

The Atlantic has a great series of charts showing how much is being spent for today and on who.  Not surprising to this dog owner, a lot of people buy gifts for their pooches.

Besides a few heart shaped dog treats for Snarfle I "spent" the following for Valentine's Day.  First, one of the organizations that I support has run a Valentine's Day fundraising event for the last few years.  Donate $20 and they'll send a Valentine's Day card to someone in your honor.  I did three of those cards, so that was a total of $60.

Then I sent my nephew, niece, god-daughter and her sister Valentine's Day cards which enclosed checks.  $50 each for my nephew and niece, and $30 each for my god-daughter and her sister, so that is a total of $160.  Then I send a few regular cards out to a few folks, so I'll say $5 in additional cards and postage.  That gives me a grand total of $225.

You'll probably notice that Mr. Sam is not on this list . . .    Like Christmas, we don't gift to each other on Valentine's Day either.

How about you, how much did you spend on St. Valentine's Day?  

January 2013 Spending Fast

We spent a ton of money in December and we also saved a ton of money in December in order to stretch to try and meet some of our 2012 savings goals.

December included two trips for me, one was solo and less expensive, but the other was with my husband and another couple and was pricey.  The solo trip was unplanned so that means unaccounted travel expenses in December.

And of course, the holidays always fall in December.  Despite the fact that we save and plan ahead for the holidays there are still always extra costs that pop up.  A new outfit here, an extra dinner out, drinks with friends, etc.

Finally, we do much of our charitable giving at the end of the year.  This year, we stretched and gave more than we normally do.  I also paid off a charitable pledge to my university two years early, so that was an extra $420 in charitable giving dollars.

Put that all together and I feel like we've been keeping the economy going just with our family's spending.  Add in the fact that we doubled down on our December savings to try and meet our 2012 goals and I feel like we have no money because we either saved it or spent it.  So, it is time for another January spending fast.

If you've never heard of a spending fast, pick a time period (if 30 days is too long, do a 7 day, a 5 day [work week fast] or a weekend fast) and then simply don't spend money on anything unnecessary.  So that means for January, you have got to avoid all the after holiday sales.  No eating out, no ordering in, but of course you can still hit the grocery store.

What is your financial plan for January?

Cooking Baby Steps - Part IV

Tuesday night, before Thanksgiving, is NOT the time for grocery shopping especially for someone, like me, who hates grocery shopping.

Yesterday, I left work early to do some pre-Thanksgiving charitable work.  Nothing helps one be thankful for one's financial stability like helping to hand out groceries to working families in need.  Then, even though I didn't want to go, I made myself go to the grocery store.

Rather than head to my local Publix, which is smallish, I went to the extra big Publix one town over.  Even though I do my best to avoid grocery shopping I'm familiar enough with the big Publix to know my way around.

I arrived about 6:30 p.m. and went directly to the bakery section because I had a birthday cake to buy.  But, since I'm a novice grocery shopper I didn't realize I could put in an icing order.  So I snooped around the bakery for 5 minutes before deciding to come back at the end of my shopping.

I utilized my Publix shopping list which I created on the Publix web site.  I found the list helpful but, as I mentioned before, I'd like it better if I could designate brands.  I did

Overall I spent $189 so the list didn't help me save money.  The spendy items on my list were:  (1) 12 pack Corona Light at $12.99; (2) the birthday cake at $16.99; (3) Gruyere cheese at $12.50; (4) salmon at $15.96; (5) white wine at $9.59.   So, $68.03 in extra spendy items.  Corona light is actually a staple for us, we buy it regularly.  The other items were triggered by guests coming into town, the birthday cake, wine and the salmon (to be used on Friday for a birthday dinner).  The pricey cheese is for the Thanksgiving casserole I'm making for our group dinner.

But, I also recognize that I did save money by purchasing the birthday dinner supplies at the grocery store rather than footing the bill for dining out which would have reached at least $100.  The salmon was actually on special and I "saved" $8.

I'm thinking of noting the prices in my saved Publix shopping list so I can get better at figuring out what is or is not a good price.

Cooking Baby Steps - Part III

Since its Thanksgiving week and since I will be doing some cooking for Thanksgiving dinner I was checking out the Publix web site to figure out their hours this week.

In looking at the Publix web site, I discovered that they have some helpful recipe tools and, more importantly, a grocery list tool.  The grocery list tool can be personalized to your specific store and as you add items to the list it populates the location within the store so you don't have to wander around aimlessly.  And, you can also add items from the weekly sale list and/or populate your grocery list from their recipe tools.  You can also set up a standard grocery list of items that you buy regularly.

Since I am trying to do better on my cooking at home goal, I decided to sign up for a Publix profile.  I am not a fan of having corporations track me and mine my data, but in order to save my grocery list I needed a profile.  So I used my junk e-mail address (the one I use for shopping on-line) and when it asked for all my data I used my standard fake information which only includes my real zip code.

Once I had my Publix profile set up, I started adding items from my Thanksgiving recipe (I'm making one casserole dish for our group dinner) as well as regular items that I'll need to pick up since I'll have guests in town.  The grocery list doesn't have each and every brand which is a bummer as it would be great if I could specify in my list the particular brands that I use (it does have a notes section where you can add that information).

Since we will have guests to cook for on Friday, I also tried out Publix's Simple Meals Recipe tool which is divided among different categories like "main dish" and "celebrations", etc.  I clicked on main dish which has different categories like "beef", "vegetarian", "seafood (salmon)" and "seafood (shellfish)".  I was already planning on salmon, so I clicked on a recipe that sounded easy and good and then it is one easy step to populate your grocery list with all the necessary items (you can delete those items that are already in your pantry).  You can also save the recipes to your profile as well.

I plan to go shopping Tuesday evening, so I'll continue to work on my list between now and then and I'll report back on whether this tool is helpful or not.  What do you do to make grocery shopping less painful?

Cooking Baby Steps - Part II

I have started researching the best (but not super expensive) cooking tools and I found this helpful list from Consumer Reports.

I actually already have one of the tools on the list. The KitchanAid mixer.  KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer KSM150PS - Contour Silver - KitchenAid (Google Affiliate Ad)  And, while I don't use the mixer on a daily or even monthly basis, it does work very well.

My plan is to take this list and compare it against what I've already got and work on improving our stock of kitchen tools.  At present, our biggest issue is cookware and knives, although I could also use some better baking sheets.

Cooking Baby Steps

One of my general financial goals for 2012 was to reduce the amount of eating out and ordering in that I do.  Clearly eating out and ordering in is more expensive than eating at home or bringing my lunch.  Also, eating out during the work week cuts into my productive work time.  And finally, eating out and ordering in normally means that I am eating more calories than I would like.

Although we have reduced our eating out, overall I have not been particularly successful on this goal.  I have a variety of excuses.  First and most importantly, I really do not like to cook.  Second, I hate the grocery store.  Third, I work a lot and by the time I get home I want to relax not cook dinner and certainly not prep lunch for the next day.

But, recently I made an effort to improve my cooking skills by attending a healthy cooking class.  A few things that I figured out from this class.  First, we need to invest in a few better pots and pans and a few better quality knives.  We also probably need a new set of measuring spoons.  Second, I need to reorganize the kitchen.  Our kitchen is not particularly large and doesn't really have a whole lot of storage (not surprising since we live in a 1920s home).  But, taking a look at what I do have in my kitchen, I noticed that a lot of the space is dedicated to antique glassware, cocktail serving dishes, vases, large serving dishes, our fine china, etc.  While I don't like to cook, I do like to party so I have lots of fun party/serving/cocktail supplies.  I need to work on getting the special occasion things out of the way and organizing the kitchen so that more of the space is dedicated to cooking tools.

So, I'm going to work on getting our kitchen better organized and I'm going to do some cooking equipment shopping this holiday season.  I'll let you know how I do.

2012 Savings Goals - November Update

(1) Max out 401k(s) - $31,379 (92%)(goal is $34,000)
(2) Max out IRA(s) - $5,829 (58%)(goal is $10,000)
(3) Add to e/r fund - $8,400 (84%)(goal is $10,000)
(4) Pay down mortgage - $2490 (50%)(goal is $5,000)
(4)(a) Savings for goal (4) - $415
(5) House projects - $1,200 (24%)(goal is $5,000)
(6) Trading account fund - $50 (1%)(goal is $5,000)

Total - $49,763 (72%)

I've added a sub goal to our list, since at present, I'm allocating our mortgage paydown money to savings until I figure out how to prepay our new mortgage.

At present, we are approximately $9,900 behind on our 2012 goals and the gap is approaching $10,000.

What can I say about our current savings deficit and the fact that it continues to grow?

I can tell you that (1) we've spent thousands on certifications for Mr. Sam this year (to improve career opportunities); (2) I can tell you we spent thousands on refinancing our primary dwelling and (3) thousands on fixing our our primary dwelling for the appraisal for the refi; and (4) recently a few thousands on some projects at Rental # 3.

But, I can also tell you that in the face of the above we have failed to change our lifestyle in any significant manner.  We continue to eat out more than we should.  I just booked a girls weekend in South Beach, Miami and, of course, I just bought some fabulous art. 

So, with two months to go, including the expensive holiday season, it seems doubtful that we will reach our $69,000 number.  Rather, at this point, while I'm not amending our goals, I'm hoping to meet and surpass last year's savings number which was $60,060.

I Hate Grocery Shopping

I have never ever enjoyed grocery shopping.  In fact, grocery shopping is my least favorite chore.  As a result, I generally refuse to grocery shop and that chore has become Mr. Sam's responsibility.  He has learned over the 6 years of marriage and the 8 years of cohabitation that if he wants to eat he has to do the shopping.  Similarly, I've learned that Mr. Sam hates to pay bills and if I want the bills paid I've got to pay them.  Marriage - divide and conquer.

Being that Mr. Sam has been deep into renovations and projects at Rental # 3, he has been slacking on his grocery responsibilities.  And, being that it is Halloween, I figured I needed to at least swing by the grocery store and pick up some candy for the kids.  And, if I was stopping by to pick up candy, I might as well pick up a few things.

Reason # 1 that I hate the grocery store, a few things turns into a $150 in groceries.  And really, I only picked up a few things, fruit, salad stuff, milk, juice, cereal, bread, bagels, cheese, sandwich meat, peanut butter, cream cheese, butter, a few frozen dinners (for my lunches), yogurt, beer and the aforementioned candy.  Honestly, I have no idea how a few things, plus Halloween candy, can turn into $150.

I'm sure if I were a regular shopper I would have a better handle on what things cost or should cost at the grocery store.  And, I further recognize that it is certainly cheaper to buy my lunches at the grocery store than order in at $10-$12 on a daily basis.

Reason # 2 that I hate the grocery store, it is close to impossible to be an informed shopper.  It is difficult and time consuming to compare prices among similar products.  The prices on products change from week to week.  The sizes for items are not standard, you have to study the little per ounce shelf tags to try and get a realistic sense of pricing.

Reason # 3 that I hate the grocery store, the pricing game.  There are special prices for people with savings cards and the like.  Ugh, I hate those cards and I don't use them.  If I shop at Publix, which I prefer, then I don't have to worry about the preferred shopper game.  But, I was at Winn Dixie which utilizes a customer reward card which just adds a whole extra level of pricing complications.  As I mentioned, I'm not a fan of customer cards, I don't use them but Mr. Sam has a Winn Dixie reward card and I figured I would take advantage of it.

Now, I don't go out of the way to buy certain products because they are on special, but if I was already buying a product I might opt for the one that is on special and that is what I did last night.  I am a fan of the  Chobani greek yogurt and I often eat the non-fat varieties for breakfast or afternoon snack.  I noticed Winn Dixie was running a special, buy 10 Chobani yogurts and they would be a $1 each.  I made sure to select 10 to get the deal.  I also opted for a buy one get one free on bagels and a three for something special on the sandwich meat.

And, therein lies the problem, by the time I get to checkout I can't recall or keep track of the various specials I'm trying to take advantage of.  The only specific special that I remembered at checkout was the yogurt and can you guess what happened at check out?  The cashier rings them each through and I'm watching and seeing that the ring up at $1.34 each.  I'm thinking that maybe the price will be adjusted when all 10 are rung up since the special required me to purchase 10.  And, drum roll, nope didn't work.  So then I'm that person telling the cashier that I'm not getting the special price and she has to call a supervisor over, she has to void all 10 and then just ring them through as a flat $10.

I find the whole process extraordinarily annoying, and I have no idea if I was charged the correct price on the bagels or the sandwich meat.

One of our general goals for 2012 was to reduce our eating out and ordering in costs by doing more grocery shopping.  I can't say that I have been particular successful this year, because I can't seem to improve my grocery store experience.

How about you, who does the shopping in your home, do you have a system for making it less painful, do you have a deals and savings system?  Please share, I need to learn your tricks.  

Rainy Day - Part II

Yesterday, I posted about a recent study regarding how many of us have savings set aside for an emergency.
CNN did a follow up story and posted a selection of responses to its query regarding where all the money goes.

• Lots of people posted that the average American claims no money to save, but that Americans still have lots of money for flat screen televisions, iPhones and expensive coffee.   Let's call these people "squanderers."
• Other people posted that they have no money to save because all of it goes to the cost of raising a family.  Let's call these people "family first."
• And others blamed the economy, meaning that they had a reduction in income or someone in the family lost a job and they can't save a penny because all money goes to the cost of living.  Let's call these people "broke."
• Finally, there was a category of people who are doing just fine, with a good stream of income, living the high life and therefore don't feel the need to save.  Let's call these people "pay checkers."

Over the next few days, I'm going to post my thoughts on each category of people and think of ways that they can start saving.

Chase-ing Reward Points

At present, we have one credit card, a Chase Freedom rewards credit card.  As you know, if you follow this blog, we don't use credit on a day to day basis.  Instead, we use credit for travel and business related expenses.  And by business, I mean primarily relating to our full time jobs and not our real estate investments.     Although, at present we do have some, rental property related, AC repair charges on the card.

The Chase Freedom card provides a 1% cash back rewards on all purchases, and then 5% cash back on certain category of goods and services changes on a quarter basis.  And for the quarter beginning on July 1, 2012 the 5% cash back rewards are for gas and restaurant charges.

I don't normally chase reward points because it goes against our philosophy of:  (1) avoiding debt; (2) no credit for day to day purchases; (3) the zen of our allowance system; and (4) the zen of sticking to present dollars in our present day to day life.  So, I never seek out the 1% cash back in day to day transactions, but we do put large purchases on this card, i.e. A/C repair, Mr. Sam's recent certification classes, etc. to get the rewards (thereby getting a discount).  We do pay off the credit card in full without incurring interest fees since to do otherwise would wipe out any rewards benefit.

But, I'm tempted on this one (which is, of course, Chase's goal) to at least put gas on my credit card for the next three months.  I figure that our gas expenses are not going to be influenced by the carrot of reward points.  Our gas costs are what they are and if I'm not increasing my spending in this category, it probably makes sense to get that cash back.

What say you?  Do you chase rewards regularly, on a case by case basis, or never?  

June is Wedding Month

Interesting to learn that money causes the most arguments between couples.  And since June is the most popular month for Weddings, it seems appropriate to revisit this issue.

• Only 43 percent of couples talked about money before marriage, according to a May 2010 survey conducted for American Express.

Have the money talk.  Mr. Sam and I had, what we call a financial summit, before we bought a house together (this was before we got married).  We sat down, with no distractions, and we each brought information regarding our current assets, current debts and a copy of our credit report, and a pay stub and talked through each of those categories.  No it wasn't romantic and there was some embarrassment on both sides of the table, but it was a very helpful step in our financial realtionship.  

• Be up front about your financial situation, have the "money talk" long before the big day, and tackle any challenges as a couple.

Yes, we had the money talk before our wedding.  But we continued to keep our finances separate until we married.  We did set up a joint house account, and we calculated, by income, what percentage each of us would put into the house account to cover the mortgage, insurance, utilities and joint expenses of living together.  I took over the task of paying joint expenses since Mr. Sam wasn't great about paying his bills on time.  

• It's helpful to have basic guidelines in place that will keep you on the same page. For instance, purchases under a certain dollar amount can be left to each spouse's discretion, while larger ones should to be cleared with your partner.

We work from an allowance system, each of us gets the same amount of money, X2 a month, for discretionary spending.  We also have a rules system.  Any purchase over $300, even if spend from allowance money, requires a discussion and agreement between the two of us.  We also use the $100 rule, any purchase over a $100 requires a day's cooling off period for each $100.  So, a $600 purchase, requires a discussion, agreement between the two of us and a six day waiting period.

• Some couples might be comfortable pooling all of their money, and others may not; neither is the "right" choice, but that should be decided explicitly.

We use a his, hers, ours system.  We each maintain our own account for our allowance money and then we have an ours account for our joint spending, saving and bill paying.  

If you are in a co-habitation or marital relationship, what systems do you use, what works and what doesn't work for you and your significant other?

Ouch!

Got gas this morning on my way to work.  $4 a gallon for regular and $60+ to fill up my tank.  Ouch!

Check out this handy county by county map of average gas prices.  According to the map, my county, Palm Beach, has the highest average gas prices in Florida, along with Collier County on the Southwest coast.  If you zoom in, you can get the actual prices of gas from station to station and I determined that I'm actually paying more at my local station than other stations in the vicinity.  But, my local gas station has the best cafe con leche so on an early morning fill up, like today, its worth it to pay more for my gas to get my hands on that yummy cuban coffee.

A Few of My Favorite Blogs (not about money or personal finances)

I am a reader.  I read books, articles, blogs, etc.  I've gathered up a few of my favorite non-money blogs and sites for your enjoyment.

First off, marriage.  I'm married and I believe that marriage, like any friendship or relationship takes effort and work.  So when I feel like my marriage needs work or a boost or I just need a reminder as to why I got married in the first place I turn to:  Engaged Marriage and Assume Love.

Second, work.  When I'm struggling with getting my work done or focusing at work, I really enjoy Dumb Little Man.

Third, home life.  I like Lime in the Coconut for Florida decorating and home ideas.  I read Real Simple, both in magazine form and online, for decorating, organizing, meal planning, holiday, and for fashion.  I also read Fly Lady for cleaning and organizing tips.

And last, but certainly not least, I read the Happiness Project blog for tips on how to get the most joy out of life.  I also read the book and I highly recommend it.

Please let me know if you have any favorite blogs that I need to read.

Adventures at Costco

As part of our efforts to save more money in 2012, we have committed  to reducing our eating out and ordering in expenses.

Accordingly, I found myself at Costco this Saturday afternoon with Mr. Sam.  I really do not care to grocery shop and Costco on a Saturday, during season, was horrible.  The place was jam packed and, I swear, half the people in there were just hanging out eating samples.  The other half of the people were running into me with their carts.  Also, I didn't know where anything was so I found myself walking around in circles wondering why I agreed to go to Costco in the first place.

Not surprisingly, I have decided that Costco is not the place for me.  I assumed that I could buy the many Morning Star Farms products that I enjoy - wrong!  The only fake meat product that Costco seems to carry is Boca Burgers.  While I did pick up a box of the burgers, a gal can't live on fake burgers alone.  I also assumed I could stock up on Lean Cuisine products, which I eat for lunch, but again - wrong!  Costco only carried one flavor of Lean Cuisine and it was chicken which is not something I eat.  When it came to things that I do eat that Costco carries, cheese, yogurt, pasta, the portions were just too large and I had no idea if the prices were a deal or not.

Mr. Sam, on the other hand, happily bought chicken breasts, turkey burgers and turkey bacon.  We also loaded up on paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning supplies and personal care items like soap and razors.  Additionally, we stopped by the liquor store section and got a bottle of rum and a bottle of vodka.  The Costco liquor store was my favorite part of this trip.

We spent more than $500 on our trip to Costco.  Yikes, how is this saving us money I ask.  But, Mr. Sam assures me that he is set for the next two months for food.  I, on the other hand, need to hit Publix this week.

Quick & Easy (& Yummy) Breakfast At Home

In my ongoing effort to eat more meals at home, Mr. Sam bought me these Morningstar veggie sausage, egg and cheese biscuits .  I am delighted to report they are a super yummy and quick (50 seconds in the microwave) breakfast.

Calorie wise these biscuits are reasonable as well - 270 calories.  Compare to similar products like Jimmy Dean at 490 calories and McDonalds at 570 calories.

If you've never tried veggie sausage, Mr. Sam, who is a huge meat eater, reports that he very much enjoyed these Morningstar breakfast biscuits.  He also likes the Boca brand Italian "sausages."