So I've finally gotten around to one of the things on my "To Do" list that has been there for approximately forty bazillion years: I looked into Feedburner.

What is Feedburner? Well, it's basically a way to trick out your RSS feed and make it more useful. :) I originally wanted to use it to stick some ads in my RSS feed, but they are currently not accepting new applications (as I found out after 45 minutes of digging around their entire site.) I'm a bit annoyed to discover this but, ultimately, it's okay for the moment. My whole goal when I put ads on my site was to cover the costs of hosting my own blog. Since I was trying to reduce expenses and bring in more cash, I just couldn't justify the cost of hosting my own blog, so the ads I've got up now cover my blogging costs every month and assuage any guilt I might feel over the (small) amount I spend to host it.

So what does this switch to Feedburner mean for you, gentle reader? Well, a couple things:

First, and most importantly, if you subscribe to my RSS feed: you will most likely not need to do anything. After digging through Feedburner's (rather pathetic, actually) help section, pulling out several fistfuls of hair and then creating an indefinite loop of redirects (which rendered my blog's homepage inaccessible for a short time) I was able to set up the re-directs to the new feed. This means that the majority of you won't need to do anything: the feed you're currently using should be fine.

For those of you whose feedreaders don't seem to be picking up any updates, you'll need to update your RSS links and resubscribe to the blog. The new link is over there on the side bar under "subscribe," or you can click here. My apologies in advance to those of you that this is affecting: definitely not my intent but hopefully this will only need to happen once. (It's looking like this might be the case with Bloglines.) On the upside, resubscribing shouldn't take more than a minute!

And, for those of you not interested in RSS, my "switch" to FeedBurner has also allowed me to offer email subscriptions to my blog's content. That link is also on the sidebar under "subscribe!" or you can click here if you don't feel like scrolling all the way down. :) It, too, is a super-quick and painless process.

Continue reading "Burning Updates" »

Posted by Zee at 10:45 PM | Permalink

PaidTwice has a great post up today detailing the emotional aspect of her financial journey, which really resonated with my experience of climbing out of my own debt black hole. She writes that she now feels like she has many more options in her life and she can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm in a similar place now, where my monthly expenses and debt repayment don't consume every last penny of each paycheck I earn.

A couple weeks ago I mentioned I'd decided to try out the budgeting software from YNAB.com. I'd been using Dave Ramsey's online budget planning software and while I liked it and it worked well for me, I really wanted something I could install directly on my machine and, more importantly, only pay for once rather than monthly or yearly. I also really wanted to be able to more easily compare budgets from month to month and quickly switch between each month's plan: YNAB's software does that. It's also made it SUPER easy for me to track my spending and see where my money is actually going. I had a good idea of this before, but now I have concrete numbers.

Continue reading "Borrower is Slave to the Lender" »

Posted by Zee at 07:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I've been doing a lot of reading about financial matters over the last few months - definitely since hitting my "financial bottom" in September and starting on Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" plan, but especially recently - and one of the things I keep stumbling upon is this idea of living off the previous month's income. Or put another way, having a one-month "cushion" of money.

When I first started to get out of debt, my only focus was on getting the debts paid off, as quickly as possible. Dave Ramsey suggests this as well - once you have $1000 in the bank as a sort of "baby" emergency fund - and he calls it "getting Gazelle Intensity." I had this "intensity" for a little while - I sold all kinds of things on eBay and Amazon.com and figured out new ways (like putting ads on my blog) to help bring in more cash - but after looking over my debts, my expected income and other aspects of my financial situation, I realized it was still going to take me quite a while to dig myself out of debt.

That was okay then. I didn't have any wiggle room at the time for doing anything but meeting my basic expenses and paying off the bills. As I've paid off the small debts, my income has been freed up bit by bit and I've come to strike a balance between setting money aside for expenses I know are coming, adequate funding for day-to-day expenses and debt repayment. This feels really good: that I can meet all my expenses and even have a tiny bit left-over to "play" with. Not a ton, but enough to help me feel like I'm living - which in turn, keeps me from busting my budget. (I've written about this before: it's like a diet; if you're too restrictive eventually you start gorging...)

Continue reading "Changing Up the Plan a Bit..." »

Posted by Zee at 06:35 PM | Permalink

There's an interesting post floating around personal finance blogging circles today about the rising level of consumer spending on pets. Of course, the discussion has touched on the "pets as kids" debate and on how much is "too much" to spend on pets.

My take is that "too much" is relative, based on your levels of income and other expenses. And each person has to prioritize based on their particular situation. Seems kind of like a "duh" concept to me, but it's really surprising how worked up people get when this topic comes up.

I don't currently spend a lot on Rennie, because I'm trying to dig myself out of debt. But she is well-cared-for, has everything she needs and is, in general, a happy pooch. My costs for her right now run about $700/year:

• Annual exams, preventative medical stuff (like heartworm) and vaccinations, plus periodic county registration costs: ~$230/year
  
• Special "low-residue" food that keeps her tummy from getting upset (and thus, keeps her out of the vet's office!): $30 every three months (~$120/year)
  
• Rawhide, Dingo brand Bones: 1/2 bag a month, or so, at $19.99 (~$120/year)
  
• Treats and toys (~$30/year)
  
• Misc. care items like shampoo/conditioner, toothbrushes/toothpaste (yes, really) and other random things: ($25/year)
  
• Veterinary Pet Insurance, $14.82/month ($178/year)
  

You will notice that there are no "training" costs up there. Going with Rennie to classes is one thing we both really miss, but when I started to live on a budget (i.e. within my means) the cost of obedience classes was just too prohibitive. I simply had too much debt to justify it. This hasn't always been the case: when Rennie was a puppy I had to prioritize her training classes because I just didn't know enough to train her myself and, well, she was a puppy. You gotta train puppies. So I did it and I have no regrets. But she is now (mostly) well-behaved and so the need for training classes just isn't as urgent.

Continue reading "Pets and Money: Finding a Balance" »

Posted by Zee at 07:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Monday morning I went out and bought a Nintendo Wii, for the express purpose of being able to play the game Wii Fit. Of course, Wii Fit wasn't available until today, but I made a special gas-is-at-3.89-a-gallon trip up the road apiece because the lady I spoke with at Fred Meyer (when I called to ask if I could reserve a Wii Fit if I gave her a credit card number over the phone) said they had only one Wii system left.

So I got the system, set it up, and then played a few games here and there on Monday evening in addition to poking around the shopping channel to see which old games they had. This morning, not knowing whether there was going to be a crowd, I got up early and got myself to Fred Meyer just before the doors opened at 7 a.m. in order to be sure to get my game. (After all, not getting a Wii Fit after buying the game console with the express purpose of using it with the Wii Fit would just be ridiculous.)

Continue reading "Things I Love: Wii Fit (or Further Proof that I am a Nerd)" »

Posted by Zee at 08:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Last Friday, one of the things I did was fill up my car's tank with gas. This month, thanks to the ever-increasing costs of gasoline in the country, I budgeted an extra bit of cash towards my gas costs. When I filled up on Friday, I had about a quarter tank left, leaving a little extra cash left over from what I'd budgeted.

Now, I could have reallocated that extra $6.93 towards miscellaneous expenses or groceries or whatever, but I decided to put that money towards one of my debts, with the thinking that every little bit helps. So this morning I "snowflaked" for the first time: I transferred $6.93 from my checking account to the overdraft line of credit that I ran up a while back when I wasn't paying sufficient attention and being lazy (this is pre-money-breakdown in September...)

Other than my student loans, this line of credit is the only item I owe on for which I can pay online, so this debt is going to be the first recipient of my "snowflakes" as I gather them up. My goal for May is to carve out $25 extra by "snowflaking" and put it towards the LoC. I'll report back next month on how I did.

Wohoo! (And for more on Snowflaking, click here.)

Continue reading "Snowflake #1, Plus a Bonus Report: the Neurologist Visit!" »

Posted by Zee at 05:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

As often happens while I'm cleaning up the day's dishes, today while standing at the kitchen sink I had a bunch of phrases and blogworthyish thoughts pop into my head. What also often happens is that by the time I get back to my laptop I've forgotten said phrases or ideas. Today that's only half true. The thought I had while standing at the sink this evening was, "warm brownies with butter pecan ice cream on top is like a little piece of heaven right here on earth."

And then, right that minute (because I have no self-control) I served myself up a brownie (left-over from my visit w/ a friend on Sunday), heated it ever-so-slightly in the microwave and scooped the last bit of Haagen-Dasz Butter Pecan on top. And now I'm eating it and writing to you all about it and.. well... YUM.

So I don't have a lot to say tonight; no words of fiscal wisdom, no schemes for World Domination a la Pinky & the Brain, not even much in the way of "life events." But there are a few things I've been meaning to share and a couple things that have sprung up this week that I thought I'd blog about for your entertainment. Or mine. I'm not sure.

Continue reading "Scrapings from the Bottom of the Barrel" »

Posted by Zee at 08:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I found out today that I got a "special recognition" bonus at work for the project I worked on in March (the one that damn near killed me!) and while this is a great thing it also presents a bit of a quandry for me. Namely, how do I spend it?

On the one hand, putting all the money towards the debt puts me another step closer to being debt free. That's my ultimate goal: to get out of debt, completely, and start saving aggressively. On the other hand I've been so disciplined over the last few months about sticking to a budget that I'm feeling a bit strung out: I have enough money to pay the bills and other expenses, buy food and have a bit left over to "play," but I have to watch it all very closely.

So the idea of loosening up a bit and buying something frivolous or fun is appealing. And knowing myself, I think I'll have to do a little bit of both in order to feel satisfied. Because I don't know about you all, but I can only tolerate a few months of fiscal uber-rigidity before I crack and go off and do something really stupid: like spend the grocery money on a DVD I don't need. So I know I need to strike a balance of some kind...

Continue reading "Money Stuff: Striking a Balance" »

Posted by Zee at 09:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I haven't written much lately about my "get out of debt" project, but I've continued to hack away at those goals and stick closely to a budget. I've read a lot of books about money management and getting out of debt over the years, but the plan Dave Ramsey promotes is the only one I've ever found that has given me the tools I need for living within my means. I don't know why this concept was so foreign to me before, but I've now been working this plan for 7 months, have attended his 13-week Financial Peace University program, and am much the better for it. My whole outlook and approach to handling my money is completely different now.

Surprisingly, the hardest part of this process was just getting started, but once I made the commitment to myself to never use debt again it's been surprisingly easy to incorporate these concepts and approaches into my life. Getting out of debt hasn't been easy, but I'm enjoying the process of budgeting (yes, I am a nerd), of watching the debts shrink and my savings accounts grow.

More than anything, living on a budget reminds me daily that I do, in fact, have everything I need. And what's more, I'm learning a lot more about what my priorities truly are by where I throw my money; having to wait to buy things until I save up for them creates a built-in self-check mechanism for making sure I really want something enough to spend my money on it.

Continue reading "Credit Card Nation" »

Posted by Zee at 08:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

So I'm very, very happy that the holidays are finally over. I know we've got New Year's eve coming up but given it's primarily a holiday of excessive drinking, my ringing in of the new year is likely going to involve hanging out with Miss Rennie and perhaps dropping by a work friend's little shindig.

(Actually, hanging out in a beach cabin watching the sun set over the ocean sounds like a lovely way to spend the night, but given that overnight vacations and trips really aren't going to be an option until I get my all my debts paid off, I think I'm pretty much done with my the holidays for the year. And, perhaps, for all time.)

I was chatting w/ a gal I work with today about the excesses of the holiday season and the rabid consumerism in our culture today and I realized how very, very tired it all makes me. Obviously, I'm not immune from stuff-itis, but as I've become more thoughtful about my finances I've found that giving and receiving random stuff just doesn't do anything for me anymore. Of course I love my family, and I enjoy the time that I spend with them. But this year Christmas felt rather empty to me, as if nearly everything I gave was given because of a feeling of obligation.

I don't know how much this empty feeling has to do with the depression issues I had earlier in the month but I can't help but remember that old saying, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." And right now I feel like I'm more a part of the stuff-centric, overspending, buried-in-debt, excess problem than the solution. I complain about the sorry state of affairs in this country and around the world and yet I do so little to improve things. So at this point, I am planning to do the following during next year's gift-giving holidays:

1) Volunteering my time somewhere on Christmas day, helping serve food to the needy (or something similar),
2) Donating all the money I would spend on gifts to a charity that will help make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than myself, and
3) Directing people to my favorite charities when they ask what I'd like as a gift.

Who's with me?

Posted by Zee at 05:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

With whom can I be honest??

I gotta fess up:

Yesterday, against my better judgment and yet in full control of my capabilities, I chose to use my Discover Card. I don't know why - after all the reading and work I've done - I decided I needed to use this card. I even sat there for a while, before hitting the "confirm" button on the Gap's website, debating whether I should go through with it. And then I hit confirm and the order went through.

Bad, bad, naughty Zee!

Continue reading "If I can't be honest with the entire Internet..." »

Posted by Zee at 08:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, I've done it. I've gone and cancelled and then chopped up my trusty American Express card.

I have proof, too! See?:

Go me!!

Also, I was pleasantly surprised that, when I called them, the American Express people were more than happy to just cancel my account for me. The Customer Service Representative asked why, and then when I told her she just said, "OK, I can take care of that for you." No pushy offers, no histrionics, nothing! She just cancelled it.

So that's done. My day is starting out well, except for the cold I appear to be nursing despite sleeping - literally - all weekend. Ugh.

Next up: clipping coupons!

Posted by Zee at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I am exhausted. This getting up early thing? I don't like it so much and my body appears to be rebelling. The last couple days I've been able to work for about 4 or 5 hours before my brain shuts down and I start to feel that bone-crushing fatigue thing. It just feels like... well, I can't even explain it. It's like my entire body just wants to shut down completely, starting with my head. Those of you with MS (or other auto-immune-type disorders) know, I'm sure, of what I speak. Thank GOD I don't have to work this shift next week! As it is, I'm planning to sleep in Saturday morning and, if I'm lucky, for most of the day... I'm sure my crummy eating habits this week are not helping matters.

But anyway... when I get like this the hardest things become even more difficult and the easiest become a challenge. So it was not exactly surprising to me that the process of listing a couple items on eBay completely befuddled me. I tend to sell most things on Amazon.com and I love doing so because it's easy to list items, it's easy to track them and it's easy to get information when needed. It's also super-easy to get paid. For selling items that Amazon sells, it's great. But for items like jewelry or other collectibles, eBay seems the better choice.

Continue reading "Going, Going, Gone!?" »

Posted by Zee at 08:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Dave Ramsey, whom I have written about before and whose Total Money Makeover program I've been following, has a program that's conducted around the country called "Financial Peace University."

Last month, as part of my plan to get my finances in order, I made the decision to take this 13-week course. Knowing myself, I figured that I'd get frustrated and discouraged right around this time (two months or so into the program) - because that's often what happens to me, with money as well as other things - and that having somewhere to go once a week to talk about money, discuss frustrations and be accountable to others might be a good thing.

Well, turns out I know myself pretty well. I'm still working my TMMO program and I'm making some progress, but things have slowed down slightly...

Continue reading "Financial Peace" »

Posted by Zee at 09:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I've had another one of those weekends where I feel like I've been going non-stop. I even slept in this morning and that didn't seem to help the slightly-crazed feeling at all.

Last night's poker game was fun. The people there were all very nice and I managed to win a number of hands, despite my general lack of knowledge about all things poker. So that was fun. I won no money, because we were playing only for poker chips, but it was still fun. I spent, I think, a total of $3 last evening (not counting the - ACK! - $35 for gas I bought) for pizza, so all in all it was fairly cheap entertainment.

The downside was that, I think, my guacamole didn't go over so well. :-( I always find that disappointing: when I make something that I like and share it with others and they don't find it quite as yummy as I do... But I guess that's how things go sometimes. On a similar note, the so-good-it's-evil chili cheese dip was, in my opinion, just ok. Perhaps our tastes in food are just not compatible?

Continue reading "Busy Days!" »

Posted by Zee at 08:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Ever had one of those weekends where everything is leisurely? You get up each morning, laze about, have a cup of coffee while you eat breakfast and read the paper... Yeah?

Those are nice kinds of weekends. That is exactly NOT the kind of weekend I had this weekend.

I've been moving non-stop since 7 am Saturday morning and am only now sitting down to think for the first time in the last 48 hours. Some of the things I've done in the last two days include:

1. Made baked beans from scratch - complete with bean soaking and 4 hours of baking and ... OOPS... thought I had molasses but I don't!
   
2. Went to two meetings (one each day)
   
3. Cleaned the oven
   
4. Made roast chicken, which was very tasty but nevertheless managed to fill the house with smoke from the gunk on the bottom of the oven, despite the vigorous cleaning it received.
   
5. Tested the smoke detector (see #3 above). It works!
   
6. Scared the living daylights out of the dog (see #3 above), who went running under the bed to escape the smoky living room.
   
7. Managed to save the gizzards, as well as the bones, from the chicken so I can make my own chicken stock. I'd originally planned to do that tonight after cooking the chicken, but the idea of doing one thing more is making me want to weep!
   
8. Two loads of laundry
   
9. Cleaned the bathroom
   
10. Clipped a bazillion coupons
    
11. Went to the grocery store and used said coupons.
    
12. Bought a book about creating an online store with osCommerce so I can finish up a website for a client.
    
13. Reviewed and re-balanced my budget
    

Things I wanted to do this weekend? In no particular order:

• Practice the piano
  
• Sit on my rump and read a book. Any book - I've got three I'm working on right now and I didn't make time for any of them!!
  
• Brush the dog. (This may still get done tonight if I can motivate myself...)
  
• Catch up on my blog reading and leave comments for people I've been neglecting!
  
• Finish writing up directions for updating a website I created a couple years back and have been updating. (I'm passing that "torch" on to someone else and keeping my fingers crossed that she doesn't muck it up TOO badly...)
  
• Paint my toenails.
  

So, despite not getting some things done that I wanted to get done, I still managed to be pretty productive. And I'm not sure about the rest of you all, but going back to work tomorrow morning is going to constitute a welcome break from busy-ness for me!! :-)

Continue reading "Shades of Black, White and Everything in Between" »

Posted by Zee at 09:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

So I've continued with my baking endeavors this week: I basically ruined my attempt at sourdough over the weekend and ended up throwing out the starter and starting over... we shall see how the new batch works. However, I did do so well with the basic French bread that I decided - upon craving something sweet and yummy this afternoon - to make some cinnamon rolls.

So I dug around in my recipe box and pulled out this little gem, which I'd cut out of Cooking Light about two years ago. It was given 5 stars on the website, and for good reason. These puppies are TASTY and - at only 232 calories and 5 grams of fat a pop - they're HARDLY bad for you! (Right? I mean, 232 calories? That's like 1/16th of a Cinnabon and not nearly so sickeningly sweet!)

(Quick aside: there's a whole lovely montage of bun-baking pictures on my flickr, for those who care to take a peek. And those who care to take a peek will also be treated to new, extra-cute photos of Miss Rennie, as well!)

I think I'm having the reverse of spring cleaning which, apparently, is "Fall Messing." Make Messes! Everywhere! All I have to say about that is, thank GOD for my dishwasher.

Continue reading "Apparently I'm Nesting" »

Posted by Zee at 09:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

So, yeah. I'm fine. Annoyed and a bit disappointed, but generally fine. Gilbert has, smartly, steared clear of me all day and though I anticipate that we will eventually re-establish our friendship I'm just not ready to do so yet.

However, the readers of my blog (I think I'm up to at least 10 now!) are lovely and pretty people who say sweet, thoughtful things. So, my deepest thanks to everyone who's left a comment or sent happy thoughts over the last 24 hours. It means more than I can say... er, write. And for the record: I've not sworn off dating for good at this point; I'm just not going to focus on it. (After all, who needs a boyfriend when you've got a YORKIE?)

Anyway. So. With all the time I now have on my hands - on account of the current dearth of boyfriends - I decided to do some BAKING! (Because nothing helps assuage a bruised ego like baked goods!)

Specifically, I'm baking bread. Though there may have been some chocolate chip cookie baking last week too. I'm not sure. I may have blocked it out.

Anyway, the point is: a couple weeks ago, while in the midst of the first part of my Total Money Makeover I was hungry for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich but had only two of the three ingredients: peanut butter and jelly. No bread. (And yeah, I know this is especially weird given my general distaste for peanut butter, but go with it. I was hungry.) So rather than run to the store and spend cash I decided to use what I had on hand (flour, water, yeast and salt) to make some bread.

Seemed like a good idea at the time; and the bread even turned out pretty well! What I didn't expect was the complete alteration of my bread-eating needs.

"Why, this baking thing is so easy," I said to myself, "I could just do this and save myself a LOT of money and get better bread too!" This resolve only strengthened upon my visit to WinCo Foods on Saturday, where they charge only $.23 per pound for flour. So I stocked up. I mean, Gold Medal flour is roughly $.50 a pound, so we're talking serious savings here!

Continue reading "Yeast Makes Everything Better... Right?" »

Posted by Zee at 08:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Well, I don't have anything nearly as tantalizing as my boobs to write about tonight but since I am really working hard to hone my procrastination skills I figured I'd do some blogging.

Honestly, the only Big Thing right now that I can blog about (as opposed to the one Big Thing I can't yet blog about!) is that tomorrow I will turn in the link to my final Portfolio for school and, except for some presentation on Monday afternoon, I will be DONE! Finito! Over!! No more Art Institute Online!

Although I don't feel quite as burned out as I did when I finished college the first time around - which is not necessarily surprising given I've only been taking classes for 24 months this time - I am nevertheless thrilled to have completed this program and to be heading towards a 3.5 month break! This will be the longest break I have had since last summer's 2.5 month hiatus, which turned into a health nightmare, what with the MS diagnosis and so forth. (Literally, school ended and then I was diagnosed w/ MS a week later. Happy Summer!!)

Anyhoo... so my plan for the next three and a half months, you ask?

I'm going to indulge in reading books. (Perhaps I'll actually finish a couple of the books from Jen's summer reading list! Better late than never, right?) And blogging. And maybe, if I get really motivated, I'll clean the house on a regular basis! And I'm going to get back to knitting. And, lastly, I'm going to get back into shape - hopefully by running a couple times a week and walking the dog the other days. (Unless it's rainy and cold. Then I'm sitting in my house with a cup of hot cocoa.)

That actually seems like a lot of stuff to do, now that I look at it! However, I like to keep my options open. :)

Continue reading "Nearly Done" »

Posted by Zee at 06:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

So I got up quite early this morning (thanks to Rennie's strange need to eat at 5 ay em!) and as I was feeling quite chipper and awake I decided to log on to my school classroom (to check my grade) and do a bit of blog reading before work. I logged on and - lo and behold! - my website was back up on my own Internet connection! I'm not even going to pretend I understand what was going on there. I just don't get it, but perhaps one of you smart people out there will weigh in with your technical expertise?! (I mean, aside from teh obvious explanation that Comcast is... well... difficult.)

There are few things that irritate me more than technological things that do not work as they should. This drives me BATTY, particularly when there is no discernable way for me to fix them. And it is apparently not my week for technology: aside from the the whole "not seeing my own website" fiasco, I've also been treated to the Blue Screen of Death on my work computer (causing me to miss a deadline for a report I was putting together) and just this morning I encountered more problems with my Adobe Acrobat installation. Now, my Acrobat 7.0 Pro install has always been somewhat testy but this morning it just wouldn't work. I'd choose the files I wanted to combine and then wait. And wait. And wait some more.

Eventually I just gave up in frustration and sent the files I wanted to combine as individual files to my intended recipient. Because really, after futzing with the darned thing for more than 20 minutes I would sooner have jabbed a fork in my eye than tried again to get it to work.

I do not know what the trouble is but I imagine the solution will involve searching on the Internet and Adobe's Support site looking for random articles that might clue me in. All I have to say about that is: Boo. BOO HISS BOOOO.

So in other, less-technical news: changes are afoot here at Chez Zee.

Continue reading "Wonders Never Cease" »

Posted by Zee at 07:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)