Category: saving

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Ways We Saved Money in April

Ways we tried to save money in April (Dumpster Fire)

OK, April was a total buzz kill in terms of saving money this month. I would LOVE to be able to write that we were on FIRE, but in reality, it was a dumpster fire when it came to finances. As the old saying goes, it’s always something and we have found this to be unapologetically true, and the very reason those of us who are on a debt free journey start yelling from the roof tops, “You need an emergency fund!” and in no way shape or form is $1,000 enough, period!

There are all kinds of thoughts out there about how much you should have on hand before you begin to be gazelle intense with your debt payoff. For us, it is our belief that you need a minimum of $5,000 saved in an emergency fund because, $1,000 doesn’t cover squat!
This past month we were slammed with an unexpected $5,600, and $445 vehicle repairs AND hundreds in medical bills.. A measly $1,000 would not have put a very large dent into this situation.

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Best. Financial. Decision. Ever… ?

We just made one of the best financial decisions of our 25 years together, even though it involved signing up for new debt. For about $450 out of pocket now, we will be able save up to $450 per month for the next 15 years. Yes, we refinanced our mortgage. Based on the terms of the new loan, and a few other things we’ll talk about below, we will be able to save all this money without changing our anticipated payoff date. Of course, rather than taking the full 15 years and simply stashing the difference, we plan to put much of that potential savings into early principal payoff so we can really accelerate our path to being totally debt free.

How did we do it? As with most good things, it was not “luck”, but the intersection of preparation and opportunity, plus a fair amount of patience. While there are always many variables at play, anyone who takes the time and effort to be similarly prepared and watchful can have similar results. We’re sharing this account of our experience in the hope that it will help others.

Before continuing, we want to be very clear that we are not attorneys, mortgage brokers, financial advisors, or any other sort of financial professional. We are not giving legal or financial advice. We are not suggesting you refinance your mortgage. We are simply sharing our experience, as consumers, and our actions in our particular circumstances.

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Book Giveaway Time

As a HUGE thank you for blessing us with your visits, we are giving away your choice of one of the three financial books that I have done a review on for IG. Please know that these books were purchased used and then read again, so they are extra loved.

The winner’s book will be shipped via USPS media mail and we cannot guarantee that you will receive the book. Due to high shipping costs, we are so sorry, but this is only open to US residents. This giveaway is not associated with any author or Instagram.

All you need to do to be put into the drawing to win is:

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You Gonna Eat That?

We all want to save money. We are working hard at our jobs and taking care of our families, and most of us are stressed out with a whole lot of stuff on our plate. Many of us, especially those of us who read (and write) blogs like this one have turned to budgets to help us reign in spending and give our money a purpose. While most line items have little room for negotiation, we often have some flexibility in our grocery budget.

If you are reading this post, you are probably already doing lots of things to save money on your groceries: coupons, sales, bulk when able, and shopping multiple stores. We do all of that, but one easy thing to do that saves a lot of money is simply not letting what you buy go to waste.

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Happy Veterans Day

The FrugalSource would like to take a moment to thank our brave men and women in uniform for all they do for our country.  I, Mrs.FrugalSource spent several years working at VA Hospital and it was the best job I ever had. I was deeply touched by the many sacrifices and stories that I was honored to witness during my time there and it has forever changed the way I view the world and those that work tirelessly to protect our part of it. We are extremely grateful.

Below are a few links to sites listing numerous discounts and freebies that our offered for these brave men and women.  We hope all veterans will take advantage of as many as possible.

Veterans Day Freebies

Veterans Day Discounts

Veterans Day Sales, Deals, and Free Meals.

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Home Again, Home Again (and Again, and Again)

Home is where the heart (and most of the expense) is.

Of our many mistakes with money, one that is particularly ironic has to do with housing. The irony is due to the fact that our mortgages have been, by far, our largest debts in our lifetime. Yet, by having had so many of them — each with a break in between — we’ve been temporarily debt free several times.

By the time we had been married for 20 years, we had purchased our fourth house with our fourth 30 year mortgage. It’s not like we’ve ever had to move due to some compelling outside reason like a job transfer or being closer to an ailing loved one. In fact, none of our homes has ever been outside a ten-mile radius from our first. Each time, we had different reasons that prompted us to leave. They were generally the wrong reasons and, being honest with ourselves, they generally shared a common theme.

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It Never Looks the Same Twice

When you look at an intricate painting, you tend to notice different things, depending upon your present perspective and what element currently holds your focus. I’ve learned that hindsight is very similar; events look very different as the lens through which you view them evolves. When I started sharing my experience leaving a pension behind, I ended with the question “would I do it again?”. In that post, I was focused on the long-term financial impact. I do realize even pensions aren’t guaranteed; in fact, the one I left had already ended as a benefit for new hires, though it is still in force to this day for those who were already covered. This knowledge made gauging the financial impact of leaving pretty straightforward. Even though financial ramifications are certainly of great import and, likely of great interest to those reading this blog, they are just one piece of the puzzle.

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Unintended Consequences

While cashing in the 401k was probably the most blatantly stupid financial decision, another decision Mr. Frugal Source made for the wrong reasons is in competition for the greatest negative impact on our ability to retire “early”, and possibly eclipses it.

When I was a relative youngster (mid 20s), I found a secure job writing software for a bank. This was the same job I left just before cashing out the 401k. The cash-out notwithstanding, the decision to leave that employer, in it’s own right, hugely impacted our retirement timeline. Why is that? One word. Pension.

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That thing you should never do? Yeah, we did it.

We have made TONS of financial mistakes over the years; so many, in fact, that when we reflect upon our past, it is a miracle that we are free from consumer debt and continue to pay additional principal on our mortgage every month.

Over the next several months we will be sharing our biggest mistakes. We aren’t doing this because we want to beat ourselves up and relive the decisions we wish we could take back, but because we sincerely hope we can help someone else from making the same mistakes.

Neither of us was raised in a family where financial matters were discussed, let alone healthy financial attitudes and strategies encouraged. This is not to lay blame, but to set the stage that we have, for the most part, been figuring this out on our own. In most cases, we failed to seek — and when we did seek, we often did not find — wise counsel. We find ourselves reflecting on our past and say, what if?  It is not helpful, but when we think about retirement, which is creeping up much faster than we would like to admit, it sometimes can’t be avoided.

If you’ve not already “been there and done that” allow us to present our own experiences as cautionary tales.

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