I had to run my wife to the doctor yesterday – she has an infection in her lungs. Yuck! Afterward, I stopped by our local grocery store to pick up something for the family to eat that would be easy and quick to make. I decided on soup. There,in the soup isle,  sitting on top of some cans of soup was a coupon for a dollar off! A “coupon angel” left it there for someone else to use – and I did!

That was a little pick me up in an otherwise down type of day. It was a reminder to me that little thoughtful things like that can make a big difference in someone’s day. Have you been a little “financial” angel to someone recently? If you have – thank you!

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Pharaoh of Egypt had a dream of the future. Joseph had the plan for the future. In Genesis chapter 41 we learn about Pharaoh having a dream – fat cows and ugly cows, plump ears of grain and thin grain, with the ugly and the thin eating up the fat and the plump. Joseph understood – there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. So Joseph had a plan to gather a fifth of all the food of the good years and store it for the lean years. Joseph in essence set up an emergency fund. In verse 37 of chapter 41 we hear Pharaoh’s reply to Joseph’s plan – “Now the proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.”

I think Joseph’s proposal is good for all of us. Although we cannot know the future, that does not mean that we should not have a plan for both good and lean years. Part of that plan should be to have an emergency fund for lean times, and some savings for retirement when working income may be little or nothing.

Maybe you won’t be a hero to Pharaoh and a nation like Joseph, but by saving some money for a “rainy day” you just might be a hero to your family!

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As we usually do at the beginning of each year, my wife and I have been discussing some goals for this year. In light of our recent emergency expenditures (replacing 2 leaky windows, new well pump, new hot water heater)  our goals have been greatly reduced! We have realized that our emergency fund is just not big enough. So our goals for 2010 are pretty simple:

1. Refund and build up emergency fund
2. Increase our home maintenance budget
3. Finish hallway and bathroom project (fix drywall, seal, skim coat, paint)

Pretty short list! But I want to be very focused and the #1 goal is going to take most of our financial effort. If we have too many goals we would probably not make any of them – better to succeed at a few than fail on a lot!

What are your financial goals for 2010?

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Our emergency fund took a big hit on Friday. I came home from work on Friday at lunch time and there was no water! We had to get a plumber (unfortunately we are on a first name basis with our local plumber!). He discovered that our well pump died!

After two plumbers spent most of the afternoon pulling out the old pump (our well is 450 feet deep), they got the new one installed. So we had water right? Wrong! When they started it up all this black gook (a technical term for disgusting black and slimy stuff) came out – and went through the house. We had to clean every bathroom toilet, sink, shower, etc. The gook was so thick that it clogged up our water filter system – so no water. I tried to back flush the system to clean it out but it didn’t work. By this time it was late Friday night so we couldn’t get the people who handle our water system out.

Saturday it snowed. All day. 20 inches worth. Nothing and no one was moving. So we had no drinking water this weekend and we were snowed in! We had water for a shower and the toilets at least. Monday the guys were able to come out and unclog our system – they took apart just about everything to clean it all out. Now everything appears to be working fine.

But this whole episode is going to cost us a pretty penny – the bills haven’t come yet, but I am guessing over $1000, probably closer to $1500. Yikes! I’m glad we had an emergency fund. I has taken a beating this month, first with having to get two new windows (that bill hasn’t come yet either), and now getting a new well pump.

I’ve had to change my financial goals for next year. Now the goal is to just build up the emergency fund as quickly as possible. Not exciting, but necessary. But at least we will not have to go into debt! And for that I am very thankful!

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According to an article at CNN Money, Nicolas Cage is in financial ruin. His former advisor Samuel Levin (who Cage is suing) states that Cage needed to earn 30 million dollars a year to support his lavish lifestyle!  At one point Cage owned over 14 buildings in five countries (Times Online).  According to Wikipedia, he owns an island! Other assets include 15 personal homes, four yachts, nine Rolls Royce’s, at least 22 other vehicles, plus millions of dollars in jewelry and art.

But with the housing market and commercial real estate collapsing, Mr. Cage found himself underwater in many of his holdings, with multiple homes facing foreclosure.  Plus there are unpaid tax leins being placed by the IRS – to the tune of over 6.2 million for the year 2007 alone.

According to Samuel Levin, he warned Nicolas Cage that “he was living beyond his means” and he told him to spend less. Even though Mr. Cage earned millions, he did not have an adequate emergency fund.

I have enjoyed some of the movies Nicolas Cage has been in (especially the movie Family Man). I don’t enjoy when anyone gets into financial trouble. But it almost baffles the mind how a multimillionaire can come to financial ruin. Whether it was directly his fault, or the mistakes of financial advisers, it just shows once again the bottom line is not what you make, but what you spend! Wealth is achieved by spending less than you make, whether you are making pennies a day or millions of dollars!

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The Power Saver 1200 – maybe you have heard about it or visited their website (www.power-save.com).  I know that I had been interested in it since I first heard about the product several months ago. It is a device that you hook up to your electric panel (by a trained electrician) that is supposed to save you up to 25% on your electric bills.

I had tried finding info and reviews on the web, but didn’t find many. Well now a local TV station, WGAL, has tested and reviewed it for me! They placed one in a local house, and they placed one in a controlled test environment at a local technology school.

At the house test, there were no apparent differences from before or after installing the product. In the controlled test, there was a 2.5% reduction in kilowatts used. So, could this save you money? Possibly. But with a $299.95 price tag (plus shipping and handling), and paying an electrician to install, the payback period will be a very long time. For me, it is not worth it.

So, with our electric bill about to increase by about 30% because of electricity deregulation in our state, I will have to find other ways to reduce my electric bill!

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Yes, I am talking trash. Literally!

Some places, like where I lived in Michigan, you had no choice about trash hauling, the city had a contract and billed you monthly whether you used the service or not. My parents live in a development where the homeowners association negotiates the fee.

But where I live, you are on your own. You can choose to use whoever is willing to come and get it! Or you can choose to do it yourself! There are some people who take their own garbage to the dump for disposal and just pay the dumping fee themselves. Or I know of one person who has worked it out with his employer where he can dump his garbage in the company’s big bin. Also, there is another person I know who burns everything he can (legal in our area), then takes the rest to a recycling area.

Currently, my fee is $62 for 3 months of garbage hauling (1x a week), which works out to about $20 a month give or take. So, to save about $20 a month, would you take care of your own trash? For me, the convenience is worth the $20. The mess and hassle are not worth it. But if you are inclined, rethinking your trash pick up (if it is an option in your area) could lead to a penny saved.

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Since it is almost Christmas according to the retailers, I was curious where you do the most of your holiday shopping? This question came up the other day in our office staff meeting. Out of 4 of us, 2 did all their shopping online, 1 did most of it on line, and 1 did most of their shopping in local stores.

I found it interesting that it broke down exactly by age. The gentleman that was over 50 shopped in local stores, the guy in his 40’s (me!) did most of it on line but not all, and the two employees 30 and younger did it all online.

Although not statistical a valid sample by any means, I have the feeling that the general trend is going that way. We talked about the reasons for liking to shop on-line:

• no pushy sales people
• can check out items / prices at several stores quickly
• better selection
• “free shipping”
• no crowds
• no fighting traffic, searching for a parking spot
• better prices overall

I know I am planning once again to do most of my shopping online. The only exception is for what the girls buy my wife and I – we like to take them around and physically have them purchase something for us. Since they are young it is more tangible for them. Otherwise I think we would do everything online. So what about you? Mall or internet shopping?

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I know you readers know this, but I had a good reminder the other day why it pays to do some comparison shopping.

My wife and I are redoing one of our bathrooms, basic cosmetic stuff. One of the things we are doing is replacing the vinyl flooring which in my wife’s words is UGLY! We went to our local big box hardware store to see what they had. For such a big store their selection was pretty small. We did find one pattern that we liked, so we inquired about installation. Wow! Their prices were through the roof. It would have been about $7.05 a square foot for the material and the installation, plus another $175 for removing and reinstalling the toilet.

So we went on over to our local home flooring dealer. Besides getting personal attention, a much larger selection, and quicker delivery, their prices were better. We will probably save at least a $1 a square foot (including installation) on a higher grade flooring. Plus, the removing and reinstalling the toilet – $50.

This experience was just another reminder that bigger is not always better, and that it usually pays to comparison shop. But you knew that already!

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We are doing some things around the house to help improve “the looks” while at the same time save some money on our energy bill. We have had ceiling fans for a while, and although some designer decorating programs on TV HATE them, they really are a good investment. Fans are energy efficient, helping to keep us cooler in the summer and also warmer in the winter (by distributing the air and forcing the hot air that has risen to the ceiling downward). Even though we have central air, we really love our fans.

Something new we are doing is adding pleated blinds to our house. We are doing one room at a time, replacing the mini-blinds with the pleated blinds. In our opinion they look nicer, are easier to use, and require less cleaning; but more importantly (well to me–my wife things the looks and the less cleaning are more important!) they help the energy efficiency of the house. In the summer they reflect heat out, keeping the house cooler; in the winter they trap heat in, keeping the house warmer. The brand we bought was Hunter Douglas, but there are several manufacturers and multiple styles and types. Some open from the bottom up or the top down, some are opaque always leaving light in, some are completely room darkening, to name a few types.

Anyway, with a little time and money, you can spruce up a home to look more attractive and be more energy efficient.

What are you doing this summer to help your house be more energy efficient?

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