Comments on: It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

By: Tirade

Tirade — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:33:14 +0000

While I’m a big of fan of generics, coupons have saved me a ton of money. For example:

– I recently got 40 cans of chicken broth and 20 bags of frozen vegetables for a combined total of $4. When my grocery store had good sales on the above products, I bought coupons for them off eBay for $4. The coupons arrived in the mail before the sale ended (I could have gotten a raincheck if they didn’t). The food was free after sale price and double coupons. I’m also more than stocked up on both products to last until the next sale, ensuring that I won’t need to pay full price again.

– Today I got four canisters of Quaker Oatmeal for free thanks to coupons I printed off the internet.

– I also recently got two large bottles of brand name lotion for free thanks to a sale + one coupon.

I could go on, but my point is that even a generic-loving, picky eater like me can still find a way to use coupons to save money. I highly recommend that you check out http://www.afullcup.com. Go to the forum there and look for your favorite grocery store. They usually have sales + coupon match ups to maximize your savings.

By: viemoira

viemoira — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:20:23 +0000

i am in the same situation with a house i have been renting for over a year. i am still trying to figure our best course of action but i can tell you from my experience i wish i would have just sold it. It is becoming more of a pain in the ass to rent then to have sold and paid off some debts (and reap benefits of being able to live better month to month NOW)... [rq=1842569,0,blog][/rq]TMI Tuesday 1/12/10

By: doubleknot

doubleknot — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:53:07 +0000

Yeah, Master listens to Dave Ramsey in the car when we go on his work trips. He is pretty smart about getting your finances straightened out. We are fans! [rq=1837476,0,blog][/rq]Challenges, shopping, cooking, and crosswords. Oh, and sex.

By: HouseWench

HouseWench — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:07:05 +0000

You could see about negotiating a rent-to-own deal with the people living there? Otherwise, though, I’d say to keep it. In this particular market(ha!), there aren’t many buyers, and you could spend a fortune just trying to sell it, while no one’s even thinking of buying a house right now.

By: tavia

tavia — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:56:51 +0000

I too think Dave Ramsey is great. His website,daveramsey.com, also has has some nice, free, software that might help you.

Please don’t sell yourself short. (No pun.) You are the glue that holds your family together and a great role model for your children. A stay at home mother and wife adds more than money can buy to the family.
I enjoy your blog very much. Thanks.
tavia

By: Anon

Anon — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:44:24 +0000

I don’t have time to leave a detailed response right now, but I just wanted to chime in and point out that selling the house will not in any way erase your perfect payment history.

By: illusion

illusion — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:19:46 +0000

I actually came to comment just to recommend mint.com as well, so I second girlandhercat’s post :D Mint creates a budget on its own at first, but you can tweak it however you’d like, change categories, or whatever you want. It also helps as an overview of all of your accounts.

By: simplyfem

simplyfem — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:08:46 +0000

here’s another emerging nation to hear from, while i don’t have the nitty gritty of your finances, gut instinct says keep it – why? it sounds like you have equity in it, you have probably lost some equity as well in the past 2 years.( I am assuming you have a “normal mortgage”, keep it.) With foreclosures increasing, for those that do not move back home with mom and dad that means the rental market is getting better, which means you can get more for your rental property, depending on the area. You may want to think about enlisting the aid of a real estate agent to act as an agent on your behalf for the rental, of course they take on a commission but to keep an eye on the property. I am sorta assuming that right now you have fairly good renters as I don’t recall reading anything to indicate otherwise. And finally, never say never. It is always good to know that you have a place to go back to. If you don’t have credit card debt you are WAY AHEAD of the curve and should pat yourself on the back for that one! Again, opinions are like assholes we all have one…and having limited info to work with that’s my opinion.
simplyfem
cfp/cfo/cpa

By: Sanna

Sanna — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:24:23 +0000

Heee. I stockpile incase of Shit Hits The Fan, for three adults (there’s only two of us, but if SHTF, I might end up preggers and, yanno, pregnant women EAT). It includes things like 180lbs of dry beans and legumes. O.o Though I’m not up to that much just yet..

On a side note, how’s Jes and her reconstructive surgery? And…. WTF did the doc DO?! I’m still pissed about that, for real. (Perhaps I needz life, yes, no?)

By: girlandhercat

girlandhercat — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:10:55 +0000

Hey Kaya – Sorry, I can’t help with the real estate question but something that I have really benefited from is using a website called http://www.mint.com. This website gives you a snapshot of all your accounts (bank accounts, investments, credit cards, etc.) in one spot. It has graphs to show different things like networth, debt to credit ratios, your spending habits compared to other people (different ciites), pie charts depicting your monthly/yearly spending, etc. It also has a budgeting tool. It is really cool. I love it! It really helps to keep our finances “in our face” and handy. Being aware of what you have and where you are spending is half of the battle to cutting back.