About MelissaB

Melissa works as a freelance writer and virtual assistant from home while raising and homeschooling her three children, ages 15, 10, and 9. She blogs at Mom's Plans and writes about money saving tips, family, homeschooling, and cooking.

This December Save Money with No Spend Days

November 11, 2019 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

While the holiday season often means seeing family and taking time off work, it is also typically a time of high expenses. In fact, you may spend more in December than you do any other month of the year. All of this spending can lead to a holiday hangover in January as you look at your empty bank account and credit card balance. But it doesn’t have to be this way. This December save money with no spend days. You’ll be so glad you did when January rolls around.

This December Save Money with No Spend Days

How to Implement No Spend Days

No spend days can be a great way to save money. December is a challenging financial month, so it’s best to start having one or two no spend days a week in November. By December, you’ll have accrued extra money to use in the most expensive month of the year.

What Is a No Spend Day

Save Money by Not Spending — Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

On a no spend day, you don’t buy anything. No morning coffee at the local shop; no online purchases, no matter how great the sale; no lunch out with coworkers; no stopping by the grocery store for a few items—you simply do not spend money on that day. If you want to stretch yourself, try it for two or three days in a row.

Why Have No Spend Days in December

There are several reasons to have a few no spend days in December.

Learn to Rein in Your Spending Impulses

Money gets away from us easily in December. We feel bad that we may not have spent as much on presents as we perceive others have spent, so we add on a few gifts. We may want to give the hostess of a party a nice bottle of wine. We may want to tip the hairdresser more generously. On and on throughout the month of December, there are little and not so little expenses that chip away at our money.

A no spend day or two allows you a chance to take a break from spending. When you take a break from spending, you reset your mind. After a no spend day or two, it’s a little bit easier to not spend as much money. It’s a little bit easier to ask yourself, “Do I really have to (or want to) buy this, or can I do without or wait?” You may find waiting leads to never buying it. When you check your buying impulse, it’s not so strong, and you can experience more self-control. If you do still want to buy the item, you may be more inclined to look for ways to buy it for less.

Start the New Year without A Holiday Debt Hangover

Wouldn’t it be great if, come January, you open your credit card bill and are not faced with charges you can’t pay off? Wouldn’t it be great if your bank account balance was still healthy come January? Wouldn’t it be great if you bought gifts in a disciplined, conscious way so when the holidays are over, you just feel good about the holiday season rather than suffering from a holiday hangover?

It is possible to have a controlled spending holiday season. One way to jump start this process is this December save money with no spend days. Try to have one or two per week this month.

How do you keep your budget in check during the holiday season? What strategies do you implement? Do you have no spend days throughout the month?

When Do You No Longer Need Life Insurance?

November 4, 2019 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

Life insurance is the most affordable peace of mind that I can think of. For usually less than $100 a month to cover both you and your spouse, you can rest easy knowing that if something happened to you or your significant other, your family would be taken care of. When you’re deeply grieving, you won’t need to worry about making a house payment or taking care of your kids. You and your family will be protected financially. But when do you no longer need life insurance?

Life insurance is meant to be a temporary measure. You shouldn’t need it forever, which is good because it gets significantly more expensive as you age. What gets a bit tricky is predicting how much life insurance you need and when you will no longer need it.

My husband and I bought life insurance 15 years ago, when our oldest child was just four months old. We got a 20 year policy, so our oldest will be nearly 20 when our policy expires. Our youngest will be just 14 then, so we are planning to buy another policy that will overlap our current one. We’re wrestling with the idea of just getting a 15 year policy or a 20 year policy.

If you’re like us, trying to decide how long you need life insurance coverage and how much you need, here are some variables you may want to consider:

How Long Do You Want to Cover Your Children?

You’ll definitely want to have insurance coverage until your youngest child turns 18. Many people decide to carry coverage until their youngest child is 22 or 23 because college can be so expensive. If you or your spouse dies, your child may need to rely on part of the life insurance money to help pay for the remainder of college.

When Do You No Longer Need Life Insurance? — Photo by John-Mark Smith on Unsplash

How Many Years Are Left on Your Mortgage?

While this variable may not affect how many years you want coverage, it may impact how much coverage you should have. You want to make sure you have enough life insurance to pay off your mortgage, plus more to cover other expenses.

Does Your Spouse Have a Medical Issue?

If your spouse will have trouble working thanks to a medical issue, you’ll want to carefully consider both the length of time you’ll need insurance and the amount. You’ll want to keep your coverage until you’re financially secure enough that your spouse will have enough money to survive even without life insurance.

Does Your Spouse Have a Career?

If your spouse has stayed home with the kids, how easily will he or she be able to re-enter the workforce if you die? Don’t take this lightly. Entering the workforce after a long break can be very difficult.

Mary is a family friend who is a stay-at-home mom. Her husband was killed in a car accident when he was only 32. Thanks to his life insurance policy, she was able to stay home with her children until they graduated high school. Because she invested the policy wisely, she never did re-enter the workforce. Instead, she volunteered in her free time.

How Much Debt Do You Have?

Again, this is a question of how much coverage you will have. In addition to your mortgage, you want to make sure there is enough life insurance to cover your remaining debts such as car loans, student loans, and credit cards. In many states, even if your spouse dies, you may still be held liable for these debts.

Choosing how much life insurance to get and for how long requires careful consideration. These questions should help you make the right choice.

Are there any other variables you use to consider how much and how long you should have life insurance?

Costco Can’t Be Beat For Large Purchases

October 28, 2019 By MelissaB 1 Comment

I love Costco for so many reasons! My primary reason for getting a Costco membership is because they offer fabulous prices on organic fruits and vegetables and rice milk and so many other grocery staples in our household. But, now that I’ve been a member for over five years, I’ve discovered two new, perhaps even better reasons why Costco can’t be beat for large purchases: their concierge service and their return policy.

Costco Concierge Service

Three years ago I bought a computer at Costco. Within three months, I was having serious issues with it. I called Costco’s concierge service, and they arranged for the computer to go back to the manufacturer for repair at no cost to me. They sent me a box, and I shipped out the computer.

I’m a freelance writer, so not having my computer for two weeks was inconvenient. When we were reaching the promised repair time of two weeks and I didn’t have my computer back, I simply called the concierge service who kept me on the line while they contacted the manufacturer’s customer service. Thanks to some nudging by the Costco concierge service, I got my computer back within the promised two-week window.

The concierge service also helps you troubleshoot. We bought a TV about five years ago that could show YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, and other internet programs. Yet, when we moved across the country and set up the television, it no longer would sync with the internet. A quick call to Costco’s concierge service, and we had the programs on our tv again at no cost for the assistance.

Costco Can't Be Beat for Large Purchases — Photo by Henry & Co. on Unsplash

Costco’s Return Policy

I love, love, love Costco’s return policy. Forget holding on to receipts for proof of purchase. If you need to return something, Costco simply looks into their data base using your membership card and finds proof of purchase. I returned some new pajamas that my daughter didn’t like, no problem. I rarely use their return service because I like almost everything I buy, but when I do need to use it, I couldn’t ask for better customer service.

Last May, my husband and I bought a Shark vacuum at Costco. My daughters love to craft, and frequently, there are scraps of paper and yarn on the carpet, which we vacuum up. Apparently, this type of work was too much for the Shark vacuum that we bought because by December, the vacuum had stopped working efficiently; instead, it just spit out everything it sucked up.

Costco Return Policy — Photo by The Creative Exchange on Unsplash

I called the concierge service, hoping to have it repaired, but apparently they don’t repair vacuums. Instead, I was told to return the vacuum to Costco, which I did. To my amazement, Costco offered me a full refund, even though we had used the vacuum for seven months.

I took the store credit and turned right around to buy the heavy duty Shark vacuum that Costco sells. You can bet I will keep buying all of my electronics and small appliances at Costco. No other store rivals Costco with their concierge service and generous return policy.

Are you a member of Costco? Have you taken advantage of their concierge service and return policy?