Month: July 2019

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Is Baby Step 1 Too Small?

Over the next seven weeks we are going to be delving into Dave Ramsey’s baby steps and how we tweaked them to work for us.  I realize this may ruffle a few feathers as there are many strict adherents to his financial peace protocol, and with good reason. Mr. Ramsey has designed a plan that works for many people, and it was a great starting point for us as we were completely clueless when it came to financial matters.

That said, there are many of us who do not fit into the “average American” bell curve; in fact, our circumstances place us on the fringe of the curve.  For our one-income family of six, with multiple chronic illnesses, $1,000 for a starter emergency fund is a complete joke.  It is certainly better than nothing, but $1,000 barely covers anything, even if you do have health insurance.
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Who Knew 0 Was Such a beautiful number?

Calculator with coins
Give every penny a job!

In a previous post, I ranted about how all the money ran through our hands with nothing to really show for it.  Our lives finally began to change when we ran across Dave Ramsey, read his book, took a financial peace class, listened to his radio show, and started working the modified baby steps.

What helped us most from all that we learned was the zero-based budget.  It is so simple.  You take what you bring home each month, assign a job to every cent and stick to your budget.  It is amazing how, when you take the time tell your money what to do, it doesn’t  just disappear.  Gaining control over your money gives you confidence and control; when you want to win with money, control is a very important piece of the puzzle.

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A Trip to the Discount Market

Yes, we stuffed all those cool things into that box!

On the same day that we ventured out to a bakery outlet we also made a stop at a discount market. Although it’s called a discount market, I think a better description for this place would be “salvage grocery store”. The store sells food that is past its “best by” date, or that has cosmetically damaged packaging. While many of you may be put off by the idea of buying food “seconds”, Mr. Frugal Source and I have been purchasing food in this manner for years from several different stores and we have never had any safety issues with any of the food we’ve purchased. We are careful what we buy, making sure the package is completely sealed, cans are not too dented and items are not too far out-of-date for our taste.

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