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To Grow Wealthy, Stay Where You Are

May 27, 2016 By MelissaB 1 Comment

When I was little, I devoured the Little House on the Prairie series. I felt bad then for Ma and Pa. I felt bad for the way they struggled financially, facing setback after setback. I felt bad that they always had to move just as soon as they were settled.

But then I read the books again as an adult. Then I read them one more time to my daughters. Now I realize, as much as Pa was a loving father, he was responsible for a lot of his family’s financial hardships.

Life in Wisconsin was good for them. But once Pa got the itch to go west, his family never had a stable environment. They never got more than a few years into getting settled and making a life for themselves before they moved again.

Does Moving Now Cause the Same Financial Difficulties?

Grow Wealthy
Grow Wealthy by Staying Put?

Most people would argue that life was different then, and moving around now doesn’t cause as much financial hardship, but as someone who recently completed a 2,000-mile move, I would disagree.

My husband and I had lived in Chicago for 14 years before we made the move last July to Tucson, Arizona. We went for my husband’s work and because the move would give us a lower cost of living and a pay raise for my husband. On paper, everything looked good.

We foolishly thought we’d stay for two to four years. Now, I’m not sure we should move so soon if we want to prosper financially.

Even though my husband’s employer paid for the move, we still had many expenses like setting up the utilities and paying deposits on them, buying a few new pieces of furniture, etc.

Breaking Even and Getting Ahead Takes Years

We bought a house when we moved here, knowing that we weren’t sure how long we’d stay. We’ve had our mortgage for 15 months now, and in that time, we’ve paid down $4,300 on principal. Our home has increased just $1,100 in value during that time. That gives us a cushion of about $5,400, but I’m guessing if we were to sell our house next year (which would be two years that we’ve lived here), we’d be losing money thanks to realtor fees.

We’ve also just reached the point where we’ve started to discover ways to save money in our new city. Now I know where the cheapest places are to buy groceries, secondhand clothes, etc. Our first few months here we spent much more than we normally do on groceries because I didn’t know which stores offered the best deals.

We also have finally found decent doctors and dentists. Our first few months here, we found out my daughter need 6(!) cavities filled. We had to go to four different dentists before we found one that we liked and could trust. All of those different visits cost us a little less than $200 out of pocket, and that was before her cavities were even filled.

Of course, I’m not saying never to move. In our case, the decrease in cost of living and my husband’s raise made it possible for us to own a house, which we couldn’t afford to do during our 14 years living in Chicago. However, the whole story isn’t just on paper.  When you move, there are many incidentals that add up. Moving repeatedly can cause you to struggle financially.

It’s no surprise to me that the only time in life when Pa and Ma flourished financially was after Ma put her foot down and refused to move from DeSmet, North Dakota. Without the constant moves, they could finally get established and become comfortable financially.

How often do you move? Do you agree that frequent moves are detrimental to your finances?

MelissaB
MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in Arizona where she dislikes the summer heat but loves the natural beauty of the area.

www.momsplans.com/

Filed Under: Frugality, Home, Married Money, Saving, ShareMe Tagged With: Frugality, Home, married money, moving, Saving, wealth

5 Reasons Why You Should Declutter Your Home Once a Year

March 2, 2016 By MelissaB 3 Comments

When we moved from Chicago to Tucson 18 months ago, packing was a nightmare.  We hadn’t had a good decluttering session in nearly 3.5 years, since our last move, which was local.  We spent weeks, yes, literally weeks, giving away and selling junk that we just didn’t use anymore before we could even start packing our possessions.

When we moved to Tucson, I vowed to keep on top of the clutter and the household messes.  However, when we prepared to go on vacation recently and knew that our tidy neighbors would be coming in and out of our house for two weeks to cat sit, we realized we had a problem.  The clutter, and the messes, had returned since the move.

I spent several weeks decluttering again.  Several bags of items went to the local kids’ resale shop; several boxes went in the garage earmarked for a garage sale later this year, and a lot of crap just got tossed in the garbage.

Now that we’re decluttered once again, I can’t believe how much better I feel.  From here on out, we’re decluttering once a year.  Here’s why:

Make Additional Money

I made nearly $100 at the kids’ resale shop.  I opted for store credit to get 30% more money.  I’ll use that over the next few months to get my kids clothes and birthday presents.  (Yep, the store sells NEW toys at a fraction of retail.)

I also made another $150 selling items on eBay.

We haven’t had our garage sale yet, but based on what we have to sell, I think we’ll easily make at least another $100.

Sure, these amounts aren’t going to even buy us a month’s worth of groceries, but we now have several hundred more dollars than we had a few short weeks ago, AND our house is much tidier.

5 reasons to declutter your house
Original IMG credit: Dafne Cholet on Flickr.

Save Money

There were several items like my son’s arm shield for archery, our headphones for the computer, to name a few, that we were planning to replace because we couldn’t find them.  Surprise, surprise, once we decluttered and cleaned up, we found these and many more things.  We saved ourselves from buying duplicates.  These small savings add up!

Kids Outgrow Things

Kids grow. . .A LOT!  Pants that fit last winter may be two inches too short this winter.  Games that they loved to play with last summer may be too babyish this summer.  Why keep all these relics of previous phases of childhood?  Clear them out so you have more room.

More Satisfaction With Being At Home

My youngest two children and I had a particularly painful decluttering session when we tackled all the papers, toys, and little pieces that were littering the floor in front of their toy area.  But how much better we all felt when we could see clean, empty floor in front of the toy shelves.  In fact, my children started playing immediately in that space and had a great time.

I notice now that the master bedroom is cleaner, I feel lighter and happier when I walk into the suddenly much more open space.

It’s Easier To Maintain Your Home

We hope to stay in our home for many years, but the reality is that my husband may not have a job here in another year or two.  Until he secures a permanent position, we feel like our home is ours temporarily, so it’s important to keep up a maintenance and cleaning routine in case we have to put it on the market some time.  Having a clutter free home makes this much easier.

What benefits do you get from a less cluttered home?

 

MelissaB
MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in Arizona where she dislikes the summer heat but loves the natural beauty of the area.

www.momsplans.com/

Filed Under: Consumerism, Home, ShareMe Tagged With: declutter, Home

Even More Ways to Save on Groceries

January 4, 2016 By MelissaB 5 Comments

Besides your mortgage, your grocery bill may be your next largest expense.  Of course, you usually can’t alter your mortgage payment, but with some planning and strategizing, you can alter the amount you spend at the grocery store and save on groceries.

A few months ago, I wrote about the techniques we’re using to keep our grocery bill low for our family of 5 (spending approximately $500 to $600 per month even with food intolerances to gluten, dairy, and corn).  We’ve learned a few more strategies to lower our grocery bill that I thought I’d share with you, especially since it seems like the price of grocery is on the rise again.

save more on groceries


Stop by the grocery store whenever you’re driving by.
  I know the “experts” say to go in the grocery store as little as possible.  Many of them recommend shopping just every two weeks or once a month.  However, if you’re a disciplined shopper, I recommend stopping by the store every time you drive by.  Why?  I only buy eggs on clearance for .99 a dozen.  I also buy organic chicken when it is close to its sell by date and marked down by 50% or more.  If I stop by the store whenever I drive by (every couple of days, usually), I have a better chance of finding these deals.  If nothing is on clearance, I simply leave empty-handed.  I don’t buy eggs or meat if they’re not on sale, or ideally, on clearance.

Don’t just take sandwiches for lunch.  My husband packs his lunch every day.  However, he never packs a sandwich.  Instead, whenever I see clearance chicken fajita meat, sausage, or other meats, I buy those.  He cooks something up on Sunday, like three sausages I found on clearance, and then he brings some every day along with a grain, veggies, and a fruit or two.  His flexibility and willingness to move beyond sandwiches and my bargain shopping skills mean he saves a lot when packing his lunch.

Consider having a separate meat budget.  I just learned about this technique, and I plan to start utilizing it.  Say you have $500 a month for groceries.  The idea is that you set aside a certain amount, maybe $50 or $100 a month, solely for meat.  The rest you spend on your other groceries.  If you’re able to save up $500 or $600 in the meat fund, you might buy a ¼ side of beef, which you’ll likely get at a much cheaper price than at the grocery store.  Then, you eat that meat and start saving again for your next bulk purchase of meat.  Eventually, you’ll have a deep freezer full of healthy, lower cost meat direct from the farmer.

Slowly buy in bulk.  I have consciously started buying in bulk to lower our grocery costs.  I’ve had to do this slowly because we don’t have a lot of wiggle room in the budget.  Gluten free oats cost $2 a pound, and that’s when they’re on sale!  Instead, I bought a 50 pound bag of gluten free oats for $61.  That is $1.22 a pound, which is cheaper than I could ever buy them at the store.  Then, I bought a 25 pound bag of pinto beans for $12.50, or .50 a pound, which is again cheaper than the rock bottom price I can get at the store.  Just remember when buying in bulk not to buy items you really don’t want to use or won’t be able to finish before they get stale.

What are your favorite techniques to lower your grocery bill?

 

MelissaB
MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in Arizona where she dislikes the summer heat but loves the natural beauty of the area.

www.momsplans.com/

Filed Under: budget, Frugality, Married Money, Saving, ShareMe Tagged With: frugaler, Frugality, groceries, Home, Saving

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