Sunday, November 29, 2009

Getting the most out of insurance...

I knew it would be a struggle to keep up with my blog. I'm sorry it's so boring. The desire of my heart it to one day be able to help others with their finances. It's not something I take lightly.

Recent money-saving adventures:

As the title would indicate, I'm currently trying to get the most out of my insurance. Due to an unexpected bout of appendicitis during the summer, Eric and I met our HUGE ($5,000!) deductible. While thankful that we had insurance and an emergency fund, we were quite disappointed to use up our entire Medical Savings Account.

True to my nature, while drugged and in a painful haze at the emergency room back in June, I remembered to ask the surgeon to fix a small hernia I had while he was in the vicinity of my appendix. He laughingly agreed and put a small stitch in it while he preformed my appendectomy.

Unfortunately, my hernia not only returned but came back larger than it had been. I'm not exactly sure how it happened but it began to bother me more and more. Although it was mostly cosmetic at present, the Dr. told me that it would need to be fixed eventually. Since we knew we wouldn't incur any further costs for the procedure, Eric and I began to plan on another hospitalization. Long story short, I had what I thought would be a simple procedure this past Monday. It is now Sunday and I'm still not feeling all that great. Thank God for Loritab! I had thought it would be a 23 hour (or less) stay in the hospital, but it ended up being about two days. It was much more painful than I thought it would have been and I wondered at my stupidity over the situation. Honestly, one of the things that bothers me the most is my vanity. After having spent years attempting to train my stomach to stay in, it is most decidedly poking out again. I just cannot bear to tighten all the muscles yet. I hope I can re-train it quickly.

I plan to have another round of surgery right after Christmas. This time I know it's a simple procedure and is out-patient. It'll be my second attempt - Google "septoplasty". It's not a nose job - honest. I have found breathing to be necessary to life and a septoplasty would accomplish this for me (I hope).

On a cheerier note, we did a lot of Christmas shopping this weekend. Not because of all the great deals, although that didn't hurt, but mostly on accident. Eric and I had found that Walmart would be selling boy's bicycles for $29 on Black Friday - not a bad deal. Since I was laid up from my surgery, and he'd always wanted to watch people fight over TVs and such, Eric decided to go at 5am when Walmart opened. He left at 4:30, at 4:45 he texted me to let me know his truck had broken down and he was walking to the office. I immediately was glad I had not taken my pain meds when I had kissed him goodbye...they make me a bit spacey. Hunched over b/c of all the "holes in my tummy" - as the babies call them - I woke the babies, dressed everyone and drove to pick up my nearly frozen husband. I handed him the keys, popped some pills and agreed that we should all go to Walmart. It was a madhouse. I was mortified as I had never been to Walmart without having brushed my hair or put on my makeup. I was really glad to know that MOST folks don't brush their hair or put on makeup before Black Friday. At least I was in like company. We got a few good deals, including a miracle bike for Seth - they had sold out but my sister, Ashah, found one abandoned in a buggy! Yeah for sisters! The bike was pretty much the last gift on our list for the babies. We only do three gifts for Christmas, and although we budget $100 apiece for the babies, didn't spend much more than half. Yardsales have come in handy this year!

Hopefully it won't take so long before I post again. I'm working on paring our living expenses, and finding ways to fund our retirement - again. I have a few more yardsale treasures to post but everyone is wanting some lunch, I'd better get to it.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Yardsale Treasures

Heh...I was afraid I'd get behind. The past few weeks have been quite the whirlwind.

For the last several years, I have helped host the annual fund-raising banquet for Crossroads Pregnancy Center in Milledgeville, Georgia. The 17th Annual Banquet was held just this past Thursday evening. With over 400 in attendance and a seriously small budget, we squeeze every dollar until it hollars. I'm generally in charge of the decor and set-up/tear-down.

I really enjoy having the opportunity to serve the center in this way because my current season of life does not allow for a weekly volunteer day like most folks involved. With the banquet, I can do most of the prep work from home, then work my butt off for a few days the week of.

I enjoy coming in for large projects because it gives my children a chance to see the benefit in serving others and of course, raising awareness for the Sanctity of Life. This year, part of the program was "Four Generations of Support". Granny, my dad, myself, and Seth each gave a short talk about what the center means to our family and how each of us serves. It wasn't to pat ourselves on the back by any means, but rather to help folks realize that you can be involved at any age.

Anyway, that's why I haven't posted in a few weeks. Here are my current yardsale treasures:

Tons of vintage jewelry - prices range from $.50 to $2. I plan to sell most of it on ebay but it keeps matching my outfits. Maybe I'll just keep it...

Brand new fancy serving dish with tray (My sister got one as wedding gift this summer and I was jealous) $3

A whole winter wardrobe for Seth (how rare to find his size - slims!- without holes in the knees!) $14

Two pair of name-brand shoes for Mikayla to grow into - $2

A men's Fossil watch (needs new battery) for $1

Kitchen sink to replace the ugly brown one in a house we're fixing up (more on that later). $10

My personal favorite (took the yardsale crown back from Eric!): A yellow gold 1/5 carat diamond solitaire necklace. $.25 Not bad. :) I did try to sell the necklace to a pawn shop but it wouldn't bring enough to make it worthwhile. Into the safe it goes and maybe one day I'll have it reset.

Eric's personal favorite: a set of hex weights like he'd been coveting for so long. We were able to aquire them for $100 but they sell for $600+. We've been looking on criagslist for months but the cheapest we'd found was about $350. Thanks to my brother, Levi, for helping us find them!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Staying Organized

One of the things I recommend most to folks when they're trying to save money - be it their debt snowball or piling up cash, is to stay organized. Fortunately, my mother was an awesome one to follow in this area and my filing system is based loosely on her model.

My office is customized to what I need it to be (I have more files than average) but most folks need two filing drawers. I prefer hanging files, but whatever floats your boat. That being said, I have four.

Drawer One:
Folders labeled A-Z. When I bought a telephone, I filed the paperwork and receipt (stapled together) under "T". When I bought a washing machine, I filed all the paperwork and receipt in my "W" folder. One-time purchases, and miscellaneous small items go into my lettered file...even the extra bolts for the wagon!

Drawer Two:
Anything that I have continual paperwork for, insurance, utilities, auto repairs, you name it. I tend to keep my utility and bill folders in the very front for easy access but file everything else behind it alphabetically.

Drawer Three:
My "Business" files (my small business, and for the local GOP).

Drawer Four:
This drawer is mostly empty so I use it for easy access to our medical and tax files. All papers/bills for medical expenses, get filed into a yearly folder. At the end of the year, I go back and reimburse us from our Health Savings Account in order to take advantage of the tax break it offers. After I've been reimbursed, I file each bill into the proper person's file. I keep one for each of us. Unfortunately, mine is the thickest. :(

In the same drawer, I keep an large, manilla envelope with Taxes 2009 on the front. I make a new envelope every January. I place all papers that we will need for tax preparation into this envelope throughout the year. If I take a donation by the Salvation Army and get a receipt, into the envelope it goes. By the end of the year, all that's left to gather is our W-2s and off to the CPA we go. Everything is together in one place. Once our taxes have been prepared, I place our copy into this envelope and file in yearly order with the rest of my tax envelopes in the attic. These should not be discarded for at least ten years.


This is the easiest system I have found to stay organized at home. When you need something repaired - especially under warranty, you'll have everything in one easy-to-find location. If you don't have room for a filing cabinet, expandable files or boxes could be used. It's easy to adapt it to fit your needs and your space.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

The Power of an Appeal

Lots of examples of this in my quest to save money, but here are just a few snippets:

This week:

1) Recently Eric and I took a trip through FunJet Vacations and Spirit Airlines. Spirit totally botched our return flight. When we finally got home, I wrote a letter to both Spirit and FunJet requesting reimbursement for the crap they had put us through. Spirit did refund part of our money (not as much as they needed to) but FunJet is actually giving us a $350 travel voucher as an apology for our trip being so messed up. I wasn't totally happy with the outcome but it was better than I expected given who we were dealing with (Extra tip: Never fly Spirit airlines unless you're feeling very spontaneous and have lots of extra time and cash to burn).

2) I purchased two new pairs of shoes for Mikayla over the summer (I had missed the consignment sales!). I purposely bought a brand that was well recognised for quality. Within three weeks, both pairs of shoes had messed up. I glued them back together and wrote a letter to the company detailing my problems with their product. Within two weeks, I had been contacted by the manufacturer who promptly replaced them. The glue was still holding Mikayla's shoes together so she sent winter boots and the next size up in tennis shoes.

3) Eric and I started doing P90X together three months ago. We realized right away that we needed exercise mats in order to do yoga, etc. I bought mats from one of the more reputable exercise companies expecting them to be exactly what was needed...they specifically said their mats were made for yoga and pilates. The padding was great; what wasn't so great was the fact that as you struggled to hold your "downward dog" position (or any other), the mat slowly stretched in both directions. It was hard enough for me to stand in the ridiculous poses, it did not help that the ground beneath me kept growing. Off went a letter. FedEx delivered their reply with the promise of two new mats that should be delivered soon.

4) About a year or so after we were married, Eric and I had finally saved enough money to purchase two leather couches for our living room. We loved them. They were comfortable and so easy to clean. I was rather dismayed to notice, after four years, that one of the couches developed a tear in the leather (obviously a flaw and not a user caused tear). The couches had come with a 5 year warranty but the manufacturer would not return my phone calls. I appealed to Sam's Club because we had purchased them through their store. They told me to bring both couches back and they gave me a complete refund. Granted, I had kept my receipt...this is very important for appeals and I'll probably blog about my filing system later this week.

5) Eric and I purchased (also at Sam's) a set of mattresses for our bed. After 4 years, our "Ten Years and No Sag" mattress had developed quite the dent. It had become unbearably uncomfortable. Another appeal. Another "Bring it back and we'll refund it". Again, I had saved my receipt. Who wants to guess where I bought the replacement mattress? With that kind of warranty, I'll keep buying from Sam's!

DISCLAIMER:: I do not try to cheat companies by abusing their return policy. In each of the above circumstances, I had a legitimate claim and made sure the companies knew the circumstance surrounding my letter. :)

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

A penny saved is worth more...

Ever wonder if it's worth it to save $.10 on a can of vegetables, shop the sales, coupon?

Yesterday I mentioned saving is done best by thinking in percentages instead of pennies and dimes. Let me break it down even further...

Say you want a $10 item. You look around on ebay, craigslist, and the yardsales in your area...you find and purchase it for $2. How much did you save?

The simple answer is $8. But, that's not correct. In order to spend the additional $8 (if you're in, for example, the 20% tax bracket), you would have to earn $10. On top of that, you have to pay additional sales tax. You didn't just save $8, you saved $10.56.

How many of us would be happy if our money could earn that type of interest in the bank?

Furthermore, the time you would have spent earning the $10.56 could have been spent looking for more sales. :)

Monday, September 14, 2009

Everyday Savings...

No great deals to post about today...I thought I would try to post a few of my everyday savings tips in the mean-time.

Breakfast. I hate breakfast. Breakfast means dishes and I had doing dishes, especially first thing in the morning. BUT, it can be an awesome opportunity to save money.

Several mornings per week, the babies ask for cereal. I figured that cereal costs $2 per box and Milk costs $2 per gallon. At this rate, one cereal costs $.22 per serving and the milk $.13. Total Cost: $.35 per person. This of course, is based on 1 serving per person and we all know how many servings growing boys can and will eat.

To save money, I often opt for oatmeal (yes, the instant kind!). Oatmeal costs $.98 for 13 servings ($.08 per) . I use 1.5 cups of milk when I make my oatmeal so add so add $.06 for milk. One serving of oatmeal costs: $.14! I'll add a teaspoon of brown sugar and occasionally a sprinkle of cinnamon. Add another $.02. That's still a savings of 50%!

Can you imagine saving 50% on your grocery bill every month? Yes, at breakfast we're talking pennies, but it's important to think in measures of percentage when saving money. Pennies add up very quickly.

Remember a penny saved is MORE than a penny earned.

Curious as to how? Stay tuned. I'll try to explain tomorrow. It's one of my all-time favorite money tips.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Yardsales

One of our family's favorite "dates" is to go to yard-sales on Saturday mornings. Being the cheapie that I am, I've always loved it but it took a while to convince my husband. He was won over on a random outing where we found a solid oak roll-top desk for $50 (still sold online for $1,600)...his dad had always wanted a roll-top desk. We gave him his "Christmas gift" early that year and scored extra points with the in-laws.

The babies get more and more excited every weekend. Once they discovered that the toys they had wanted and worked and saved for were much, much cheaper if someone else owned them first, they were convinced. How many folks kids wake up at 6:30 am on Saturday and say "Yay!"?

Today's finds include:

30 gig ipod classic: $1 (ERIC IS THE YARD SALE KING TODAY!)
Baby Blue Top-Sider Sperry's: $3
Dooney and Bourke Key Fob: $.50
Brighton Watch: $1
Baby Stroller (for the pregnancy center!): $1
Brand new tennis shoes for Seth to grow into to: $1
Philips, Craig and Dean CD (for Mama, it's my favorite): $1
Seth bought a car machine/garage thingie: $2
Seth bought a pair of binoculars: $.50 - he talked them down from $3!
Mikayla bought a pink VW Beetle replica: $.25 - she asked for a discount when they wanted $.50!

Total Spent: $11.25

Total Value: approx. $350

Not too bad!

Friday, September 11, 2009

What is a Silver Talent?

I've been thinking about blogging for a while...we'll see how it goes. If I can keep up with it, I think it might be fun. A friend has been encouraging me to write things down as they happen because our family's life is pretty full...

Why the name SilverTalents?

I guess I should go ahead and let everyone know, if they don't already, that for most of my life, I've been keenly interested money. Making money, saving money, investing money and, of course, spending money. Before someone tells me that "money is the root of all evil" I will defend myself and say that in the New Testament, Jesus talks more about money than any other subject. He left very clear instructions on how Christians should handle money.

In Matthew 25, he talks about a man who left silver talents with his servants while he went on a long journey. One servant was given 5, one 4, and so on and so forth. The last servant was given 1 talent.

The first servant took the money invested and doubled it. The fourth did the same (and so on and so forth). The last servant came and admitted that he had merely buried his money because he was afraid his master would be upset if he lost his investment. The Master was angry and admonished him that he should have at least put the money into a bank where it could have earned interest.

In my mind, the parable works this way. God is my master, I am His servant. Yes, I work hard, but what money I have ultimately belongs to Him. I'm not to stand idly by and squander its blessing. There are many other teachings in the New Testament that relate specifically to money...we should work hard, we should make wise decisions, we should give generously. I believe that debt is a curse, and yes, I listen to Dave Ramsey.

All that to say, my blog will mostly be about the Silver Talents I'm trusted with. How I make them, how I save them, how I invest them, and probably how I spend them as well.