being frugal

It’s been a long time since I’ve truly tried to be frugal, but I think it’s definitely something I need to do right now. We have a lot of things to pay for right now. I think the TiVo (and the various accessories I spent money on) was my big purchase for the year, so I’m not going to buy anything else for entertainment that costs anything near that this year.

Now that I have Netflix, I don’t spend any money on DVDs. I have been thinking about getting a library card instead of buying so many books all the time. I probably spend $50-80 every time I go to the book store. I will go this weekend to sign up for a card. The other thing that I should do is make a book donation while I’m there. I have tons of books that the library could use. I don’t know if I’ll have time to get a box together before I go, but I definitely should do hat. I also have clothes I need to sort through and donate.

Cooking dinner at home more often will help save money, as well as help us eat better, so that’s definitely something we’ve been trying to do more. I think that we have more than enough good kitchen tools now, so we have to aggressively halt any cookware-envy in its tracks.

Other than these things, I’m not sure where the hole in my pocket comes from. Well, there is the money I periodically send to my mom, my dad, and to my sister. But pretty soon, hopefully, I can stop sending money to my sister and my dad, for different reasons. And my mom now has two boarders living at the house, so she is generating a steady, albeit small, income, which is great news.

I think after plugging up those holes, I should be able to throw a lot more into my second mortgage (which is a variable rate), expecially if I lower my 401(k) contribution. I’m pretty certain that my 401(k) portfolio is not going to outperform the interest deficit created by my second mortgage and the one credit card I have a balance on, so I am going to lower my contribution and throw that money into those problem areas instead.

Seppo and I have chosen a date, but it’s not fit for public broadcast yet, until we are rock-solid on the date. It’s more of an internal deadline right now. Heh. All I can say is, I’m sorry, Joe. 😀