Tag Archives: money

January – It’s Just a Day Away

31 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Changes & Progress, Cheapskate, Health, Home

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January

  • Fitness – Hit my Fitbit goals for the month
  • Professional – Complete the ITIL 2011 Intermediate SOA qualification
  • Habit – Fitness and Food Journaling
  • Home – Guest bedroom
  • Financial – 401K and retirement accounts
  • Decluttering – File for 2013 taxes, set up 2014 files
  • Cost cutting – Insurance review

I just got my Fitbit Flex for Christmas and so far I’m liking it even without a direct phone sync app.  I’ll be doing a review of the device at the end of January after I’ve used it for a month – the first goal it set was 10K steps per day which is more than doable.  I’m buying the ITIL Intermediate SOA course today so I can start studying for the qualification exam.  The app I’ll be using for the health journaling is the Fitbit dashboard so I can include it in the review.

The guest bedroom project will start with a list and some pictures and hopefully include some decluttering.  Definitely a post of its own and I fully expect it to require time during the catch up month.  I need to sign up for the 401K at the new job and then get all the various accounts sorted and into a single dashboard.  Filing is always fun, not.  But it is nice to see all those fresh new 2014 folders ready to go.  And finally, I’m pretty sure I’m overinsured in some places and underinsured in others, so time to get some quotes, check my policies and coverage and such.  Fingers crossed that it leads to a good chunk of savings or a better sense of what is and isn’t covered adequately.

Right now I’m planning to do an update post every weekend to keep on track, denoting which goals have been completed and anything I learned during the week while working on them.  I’ve decided that 2014 is the year of learning new things and trying new things – hopefully without any major injuries as a result of it. 🙂

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2014: Let the Goals Begin!

27 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by in Changes & Progress, Health, Home, Minimalist, TEDTalk

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Last year frankly worked pretty well with smaller monthly goals, so we’re gonna continue with that method though we are going to fiddle with the categories a bit and add one for “Habit of the Month”.  This came out of an earlier post about a TEDTalk that suggested doing one new thing for 30 days.  Some things are going to be prescheduled since the big fitness goal for this year is the Vegas Rock and Roll Half Marathon in November 2014.

Happy-New-Year-2014-Celebration-Black-WallpaperDaily habits I’d like to develop or improve upon include writing/journaling, exercising, reading for pleasure, taking a picture and so on.  I don’t know if I can come up with 12 right off the bat, but I’m expecting more to grow out of the initial ones.  The big financial goal is 3 months of living expenses in the bank on top of the money the heir will need for college, so we’re going to continue with the cost cutting.  We did pretty well last year, but we had a few major expenses and we can do better I think.  We shall see.  And we will, of course, continue with the decluttering and the home improvement with the long term goal of being “ready to go” should we decide to sell the homestead at some point in the future.  Professional development will continue to be on the list, though I’m shifting focus from technical to process and management.  And, of course, at least one bucket list item marked off.

New for 2014 I’m going to try to think out for a quarter so that if I see an opportunity to complete/trade off a later goal, I can.  I’m also adding “clean up” months or “bye rounds” throughout the year to catch up on goals that were perhaps a bit more than they seemed and to manage the months that just fly by.  Plus, it seems more sane and realistic.

So, let’s take a look at January:

  • Fitness – Hit my Fitbit goals for the month (yep, Christmas present)
  • Professional – Complete the ITIL 2011 Intermediate SOA qualification
  • Habit – Fitness and Food Journaling
  • Home – Guest bedroom
  • Financial – 401K and retirement accounts
  • Decluttering – File for 2013 taxes, set up 2014 files
  • Cost cutting – Insurance review

And February:

  • Fitness – Sign up for the NC Half Marathon Twilight 5K in March
  • Professional – Complete the ITIL 2011 MALC (Expert) qualification
  • Habit – Take or draw a picture every day
  • Home – [month off to catch up if needed]
  • Financial – 2013 Taxes completed and filed
  • Decluttering – Scan/Shred old records
  • Cost cutting/saving – Cut dining out to one dinner and one lunch per week

Finally, March:

  • Fitness – Complete the NC Half Marathon Twilight 5K
  • Professional – [month off to catch up if needed]
  • Habit – [decluttering habit, see below]
  • Home – Front porch and walks (getting ready for spring!)
  • Financial – update wills
  • Decluttering – Declutter one thing per day (sell, trade, donate, recycle, repair)
  • Cost cutting/saving – Utilities review (gas, power, phone, internet, cellular, TV, etc.)

Looks doable.  Here’s to having some fun, simplifying my life, and rocking 2014!

2013: Reflections on a Year Gone By

26 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by in Changes & Progress, Health, Home, Minimalist, TEDTalk

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Perhaps a bit early for the 2013 post, but I’m feeling reflective, so… It’s been a really great year!  Just a few of the highlights:

  • New job with a terrific company.
  • New (old) car that I love.
  • The heir got accepted to his (only) college of choice.
  • The heir was named VIP of the rugby team (as a junior).

    No, no - it's not New Year's Eve yet. I'm just behind on posts and ahead on reflection. :)

    No, no – it’s not New Year’s Eve yet. I’m just behind on posts and ahead on reflection. 🙂

  • Repainted the house.
  • Zero debt other than the mortgage.
  • The consort got a new job.
  • Spent a weekend on the lake outside Toronto with old friends.
  • Spent a week in Vegas with my best friend.
  • Completed 2 more intermediate ITIL certifications.
  • Added a new dog to the herd.
  • Finished the guest bathroom.
  • Both the Braves and the Panthers made the playoffs!

There were some downs (though not many) – my old workplace had gotten pretty chaotic and stressful, we had a few unfortunate appliance and car meltdowns, I didn’t complete some of my 2014 goals (though others stepped up to the plate) and so on, but overall 2013 was a wonderful year!  Bring on 2014, we’re ready!

Household Management With Outlook

28 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by in Geeky, Home, Paperless, Stuff that Works

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It doesn’t really matter which version of Outlook you have, you can use it for more than email (indeed, this applies to just about every email/calendar/to-do application out there) and keep stuff clean, paid and current.  Years ago I used to keep up with annual stuff (like physicals, vet appointments, car registrations), seasonal stuff (air filter changes, fire alarm batteries) and even weekly and monthly things using either a paper calendar or index cards.  I quit doing that several years ago and switched to using Outlook so I wouldn’t have to think about things until they came due.

I use two features – the calendar for things that occur on specific dates or in certain months and the task list for recurring and one time “just do it” items.  Starting with the task list, just open up the list and start entering things.  Don’t worry about setting them up perfectly yet – you are going to do that as you get to them.  Some example things to add are:

  • Pay bills & deposit checks (I do this twice per month though most of my bills are autopay, I also take a look at the bills just so nothing sneaks by me)
  • Car, people and pet maintenance – oil changes, physicals, vaccinations, registrations and so on
  • Cleaning – daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal.  I do them individually by room or section of the yard so the actual task is smaller and I get to check off more things.
  • Goals and resolutions – a few years back I quit making a huge list of big annual resolutions and make 12 per year, 1 per month.
  • Errands – I have a weekly task for grocery shopping in the body of which I add that week’s list.  When it’s time to go, print the task and you’re off!
  • Monthly bill/investment reviews – this is different from looking at individual items.  Every month I have a different bill type I look at (insurance, phone, cable and so on) and research whether it’s still competitive, useful, new features, features to drop and so on.

Once you have your tasks listed, as you do them the first time, open them up and set how often you want to do them.  There is a “Recurrence” option that lets you set daily, weekly, monthly and annually as well as whether it resets for after you do it or whether it turns red (overdue).  You can also set a time span for that particular task – I use that for things like vacation packing and planning which obviously ends after you finish the trip.  Use help in the options to understand exactly how you are setting things up and don’t get all stressed about it, change and modify as you go until you hit the right balance.

Blog Task

For calendars it’s even easier – if there is a regular date for it, especially things you tend to forget like that dentist appointment in 6 months or which pet is due for which shot when.  There are also recurrence options and alert/alarm options that let you know something is coming up.  Of course, also include those things like Aunt Effie’s birthday and the family reunion (and set the reminder enough in advance to get that gift ordered).

If you are using an online email/calendar/to-do application, you also have the ability to view and take all of this with you on your phone or tablet so you don’t even need to print out that grocery list or try and remember what that other errand was that needed to be done on Tuesday.  It’s right there, you can check it off and bask in the accomplishment!  This also lets you add things on the fly as you are thinking of them.

Finally, a word of warning – don’t become a slave to this.  It’s supposed to help you, not turn you into Polly Perfect.  If you don’t feel like cleaning the den this week (or if it just doesn’t really need it) mark it off and move on.  If you think something needs to be done every day but you never actually get it done every day, move it to every other day or even (gasp) once a week – perhaps you simply don’t have the time or it’s really not that important.  Never be afraid to look at your list and just skip an instance or change the frequency – going outside and enjoying the day with friends or family is always going to be more important and better for you than cleaning the grout.  No, really.  I promise. 🙂

 

Do The Math: Lightbulbs (Indoor Floods/Tracklights)

22 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by in Cheapskate, Do The Math, Geeky, Home

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Starting a new type of post here called “Do the Math”.  Everyone likes to save money and everyone likes to make good decisions, but that often involves math and most people don’t have the time or patience to do the math at the time the decision needs to be made.  On top of that, retailers know that even math nerds don’t haul around all the formulas and when they helpfully calculate for you, it’s never in equivalent amounts – one shampoo will be in cents per ounce, the next in cents per quart, another in liters (just in case you are down with imperial but don’t have a handy conversion to metric tool).  Makes me nuts.  So, I’m gonna pick something and do the math ahead of time so that I (and you) can make that call and feel GOOD about it.

First up – incandescent vs. CFL (compact fluorescent) vs. LED light bulbs.  Now, these guys have a lot of math associated with them and they also have some preference decisions (direction, time to warm up, general aesthetics, heat produced).  I’m sticking with the money numbers here.  So what you need to do the math is:

  • Cost of the bulb (I’m going to use a 65W incandescent equivalent)
  • Lifespan of the bulb (going with 24 hours per day – most aren’t on that long, but hey, it’s the number of hours in a day)
  • Cost of a Kilowatt hour (I’m using $0.11 – you may need to check your power bill if you really want to do your cost instead of a general comparison)
  • Hours in a year – 8760

I’m interested in my recessed lighting bulbs since they seem to be burned the most and stay on the longest   Plus, I’ve got a snotload of them – including four that burn constantly.  I’ll take on the “regular bulbs” and “ceiling fan bulbs” in later articles just to see if the numbers are different based on the cost of the bulbs themselves.CFL Bulb

For this post I’m using Home Depot online prices simply because they are easy to find.  Not using dimmable bulbs and I’m going to include the lumens (brightness) since well, light is what light bulbs are all about.

First the standard old school lightbulb (630 lumens).

  • Cost – $4.49/bulb (Philips DuraMax)
  • Lifespan of the bulb (2500 hours or 3.5 bulbs per year)
  • Annual energy cost – $62.64
  • Total cost/year (3.5 bulbs + energy) = 78.35

Yikes!

Now the CFL bulb (what I currently have) (695 lumens)

  • Cost – $3.83/bulb (Feit Electric EcoBulb)
  • Lifespan of the bulb (7665 hours or about 1.15 bulbs per year)
  • Annual energy cost – $14.48
  • Total cost/year (1.15 bulbs + energy) = $18.88

OK, that’s a bit better, but dang – those fixtures are running me nearly $80 per year! (Time to look at timers since the switches are hard to reach, LOL!)

How about the new LED bulbs? (650 lumens)

  • Cost – $15.88/bulb (eeek!) (EcoSmart)
  • Lifespan of the bulb (24966 hours or about .35 bulbs per year)
  • Annual energy cost – $9.04
  • Total cost/year (.35 bulbs + energy) = $14.59

Looks like I’d save another $16 per year per bulb (though I wouldn’t see a savings for about 15 months based on the cost of the bulbs) to go to the LED bulbs though my big gain was dumping the incandescent bulbs.  So how about a “big number”?  Let’s say you have 4 bulbs per room in a 6 room house (obviously adjust – this is just a comparison) that are on 3 hours per day.  (Total cost x 3)

  • Incandescent = $235.05
  • CFL = $151.04
  • LED = $43.77

Looks like it will be worthwhile to start investing in those LED bulbs with the only problem being the 22 year lifespan at 3 hours per day given the *much* higher cost of the bulbs themselves.  Unless you are going to be in your house for 22 years or plan to yank all those bulbs and carry them with you when you move (I may well be cheap enough to do that, LOL!), it’s gonna take a while to realize the full benefit of the cost and “the next great thing” will probably come along.  LED bulbs have dropped in price dramatically since their introduction as have CFLs.  LEDs don’t have the disposal hazards of CFLs, however.

LED BulbLooks like my strategy will be to start slowly replacing those “always on” and “hard to get to” bulbs with LEDs the same way I did with CFLs, hoping that by the time I get to replacing all the bulbs, the price of LEDs will have dropped another tier or two.  It’s also time to start talking to folks about turning out the lights (again).

Summary – if you are still using incandescent bulbs, you are pretty well tossing money away.  CFL bulbs are hazardous waste (bad) but a lot cheaper and last much longer (good).  LED bulbs are not hazardous waste (good), last waaay longer at lower cost but cost substantially more to buy (meaning that it may take a long time to realize the return on mass replacement).

Update:  Today I purchased 7 LED bulbs (4 40W recessed track lights for the 2 display cabinets, 2 flames for the back hall sconces and 1 standard for my bedside table light since I regularly fall asleep with it on and forget to turn it off in the morning) for “always on” lights at a total cost of $101.79.  This changes the numbers just a little as the total was $10 less than the sample bulbs I used in my calculations.  The “always on” cost for the bulbs plus the electric for a year is $165.07 (hence the next purchase of timers) or $13.75/mo.  To run CFLs in those for a year, the cost would be $132.16 (bulb plus energy cost) or 11.03/mo.  The LED bulbs will be paid for in savings at 14 months, leaving me with 31 months of bulb life.   The monthly pure energy savings for 7 bulbs for 31 months will be $3.17/month for a total of $98.27 in savings over the life of the bulbs.  Not too shabby for replacing 7 light bulbs.