so i know it has been way too long since i checked in..! well much has changed since last time.. i got engaged in september and got married in november.(yes quick i know..lol). Well since we were not spending most of our savings on a wedding, we just got it over with. Things are great.. I also started graduate school in september. I will be done with my program in May 2011. It has been a lot of hard work and dedication, but i know it will be worth it in the end. My husband and i have decided to hold out on buying a house so we can save enough money to either buy in cash or at least put down 50%.. I KNOW we can do it, because we are both disciplined and focused..My part-time business (personal training) is doing great.. I run a bootcamp this past summer and it was a success.. i am currently training clients one on one.. Since i am paying for graduate school from my pocket, i am taking better control of the money from my training since this my main source of income for paying tuition.. so far, after paying off $4000 for 6 credits this past fall, i have a balance of $1080 generated from the month of Decembers' training.. my goal is to have enough at the end of each semester to payoff the tuition in cash.. SO far so good.. i am grateful.. i will keep you all updated..! God bless

years ago i worked for bank as a teller.. one day, a customer came in to cash in her savings bond. Occasionally you get customers who cash in bonds for a few hundred dollars maybe a thousand dollars.. On this particular day, the lady standing before me had over $20,0000 (Purchased price) approx. $35,0000 with the interest in bonds to cash. (wow).....I was amazed!!! Now let me explain that it took approx. 10years for her bonds to gain that much interest.,, what fascinated me the most was her reasoning behind the her choice of savings. She said that when she was 21 and started her 1st job right out of college, her company was offering a direct deduction from their paychecks to purchase savings bonds, she signed up for a deduction of $100 per paycheck ($200 per month..

Over the 10 year period she completely put out of her mind the amounts that were deducted. she received the bonds in mail each month...
Ten years later when she left that job for another job, she decided to cash them in.
so on this day she was cashing in all her bonds plus interest, to buy her dream car ( a Mercedes Benz)

NO CAR NOTE!!(WOW)

How awesome is that? 10 years of forgotten savings, leads to One HOT RIDE!!!

so about 8 years ago i applied her technique,(i actually went to the banks to purchase my bonds up until recently, i now buy online.....treasurydirect.gov,,,, you can do automatic purchases directly from a bank account)

It is great!!! i continue to save money and since its automatic now, i really don't even get the chance to miss the money!!,,
Now i know that getting a Mercedes has no appeal to me.. (frugal... remember?) My hope is to one day use that money as down payment for a home or college tuition for my children (if/when i have some)

Just letting all my FruGal friend know one of my savings tips! Try is out!
You can never miss money you don't see!

Just had to vent on how much i hate making car payments.. i cannot wait till it's paid off.. I plan on keeping this car for a while after it's paid off!! Once paid off, i plan on still making the payments, but this time to a special online savings account @ least for 3 year.. I will then use the money to buy a new car (in cash) NO MORE CAR NOTES!!!
Balance as of today =$6350

Ok.. so about a year back i decided to really get serious about buying a townhouse or a condo... a the time, i had and still have a decent down payment for it... due to the high gas/oil cost, i knew that paying a mortgage plus the utilities will cost me a whole lot more than my $1000 a month rent with all utilities (except, light and cable).. By my calculations, i pay about $1200 month now .. and a townhouse or condo with utilities will cost me approx. $2200.
SO, here is what i did to just keep saving while still staying in my apt, I started Making my rent payments as a mortgage payment. Every month when its time to pay the rent, i would pay the rent as usual but also have approx to $1000(diff b/w mortgage and rent) transferred to an online savings account.. so for i have saved close $12000 that i can add to my dwnpymt when i decide to buy.. Simple concept really, but it takes a bit of discipline..Just pay yourself as if you were the mortgage company and you will rack up cash before you know it.. share some of your ideas with me!!!

so let me start off by saying that i am blessed to have been a part of history and to witness history today... Go OBAMA!!

so back to the task at hand, BEING CALLED FRUGAL.. i don't know about anyone else but the word does not offend me at all... especially in an economy as uncertain as our current one.
This past weekend, i took a trip to mall with a friend of mines to look for a wedding dress.. i was amazed at how much money she was willing to spend on the dress and everything else in the mall. I walked beside her in complete shock because the idea of buying a handbag for $500 or a pair of gucci sandals for $275 just did not and could not sit anywhere in my frugal(sane) mind. after about an hour of the madness, i finally said something about how crazy she was to for even considering such expensive product. Her response, " oh please, you only live once, just enjoy your money, and stop being so frugal." I have to agree with the first part of her response, yes, we only live once, and we should enjoy ourselves, but i am also aware that this "one" life of mines might be a long one and i plan on having some money for later so i can live a nice comfy live, especially at a time in life when i might not have the strength, health, or ability to do so..
People, think twice before you spend your hard earned money on things you can live without, and stop making all these designers rich, while you scrap to pay for your basic necessities... be blessed!!