Comments on: Inertia or One Duck Stuck in the Muck

By: chloe

chloe — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:52:16 +0000

1. Today I will stop using my credit card for anything except travel (built in travel/medical insurance).

2. By the end of this week, I will have sent off all of the annoying/hard-to-understand prescription rebate forms that have been piling up at home.

3. By the end of next week, I will have gotten a better cell phone plan.

4. By the end of this month, I will have figured out how much we actually spend each month, and how much we can save, without scrimping.

wow, putting it down makes it real.

By: Melaniesd

Melaniesd — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:46:26 +0000

I want to see if I can cut my grocery spending by seriously meal planning. Just because something is a good buy doesn’t mean we need to have it. I want to use the meat I already have in the freezer and the food already in the fridge & cupboard. Currently we are spending $600- $650 each month for a family of 3. We don’t buy our meals at work though. That cost also included diapers, cleaning products & dog food. I’m looking forward to my son being potty trained.

I am going to take my credit cards out of my wallet unless I have a planned purchase (used for the card rewards) and then I’ll come home and transfer the money to the credit card.

I am going to collect items in my house that I know I am not going to use again and try to sell them online. Then I’ll use that cash to reduce my debt.

I am doing small renovations to my house but only as I can save the money for them. It makes it so much more worth it!

I am going to resist buying a Blackberry phone because I know I really don’t need it at this point. I don’t need the extra bill each month either.

By: Betty

Betty — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:56:55 +0000

Excellent post Gail. It made me sit up and take notice that even though we are debt free except for our mortgage we could be doing MUCH better with our savings. We are going to sit down this weekend and rework the budget and stop the frittering away of a $ here and a $ there and increase the monthly automatic transfer into savings starting next week.
I also want to be more aware of whats happening in our retirement savings funds rather than just meeting with our financial advisor a few times a year. We need to take the time to do more research and be more involved.
Personally, I need to be more active and watch what I eat. The munchies have a way of taking over!
Thanks for the wakeup call Gail.

By: Annie

Annie — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:56:41 +0000

~I’m going to ensure that my house is clean and tidy; so I can find things and so that it’s a healthier place to spend time.
~I’m going to continue to save to my chosen limits in my accounts (vet, travel, car, etc) and make a more concerted effort on my 3 month emergency fund.
~I am really going to start using my jars for what they’re designed for (hopefully with some slight downward budget readjustments)!!!
~I am going to read the book that Jessie recommended and see if I can’t cut my clutter even more
~I will put more of my second job paycheque towards saving; keep my main paycheque for rent, bills, etc.
~I will continue to read Gail’s blog daily for inspiration, ideas, motivation and the chance to follow and share stories with other people.

By: Janet

Janet — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:14:14 +0000

Since we are debt free except for our mortgage I have two goals. The first is to have one month’s expense saved in cash (we have an emergency fund of 6 mths saved in a mutual fund). Everytime I make headway life happens and the money disappears. DH and I will reach the goal this time by snowballing any extra’s toward the liquid ef. Secondly, I will spend 15 min a day removing stuff from our house. I have a tendency to see the mountain of stuff to be dealt with and give up. If I spend 15 min a day at the end of the month I will have 7.5 hrs left of stuff and the mountian will be smaller.

By: Zoe

Zoe — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:50:56 +0000

Emma ~ your goals are similar to what I am thinking for myself!

My husband & I just had to replace both of our cars, so our debt is larger than we thought it would be when we worked on our budget just a few months ago. I am now going from 4 days/week in my job to 5 days/week, so the extra money will definitely help. I want us to be happy with what we have instead of always wanting more. I dispise clutter, and am still working on one room in the basement since we moved almost three years ago. I want to stop using credit cards and buy only what we can afford, and like Emma said, budget more for entertainment so we can be satisfied and not feel that we can’t enjoy doing anything. I’d really like to try the jars, so I’ll make that a goal to try within the next month. I’m not a very disciplined person, nor is my husband, so this may be a struggle, but an adventure non-the-less.

By: Nola

Nola — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:55:52 +0000

Emma

Residents of B.C. rec’d a $100 cheque (each). The B.C. carbon tax on gas (like we need for gasoline tax) takes effect July 1 but is supposed to be revenue neutral

By: Emma

Emma — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:59:11 +0000

Nola:
What is this Climate Action dividend you speak of? I thought that wasn’t going to be in place until at least 2009

~ Instead of using my GST rebates (that get automatically placed in my bank account), I will immediately send that to my savings. It’s not money I count on having, so my emergency fund can grow a bit more at a time.

~ I decided that at the end of the month, any amount remaining on my spreadsheet will be transferred into my emergency fund (it’s time to see it grow!) I am almost at 2 months of living expenses, and I only started the emergency fund 5 months ago.

~ I have decided that although paying off my loan *is* a priority, a social life and spending time with friends is *also* a priority. My budget now has an increased “entertainment” amount to give me wiggle room for any events or invites that pop up throughout the month.

Other goals/changes:
~ I need to be more active.
~ I need to enjoy more of this weather, instead of going home from work and going online
~ I will continue to not let junk/stuff accumulate in my living space - if I didn’t need (or even want) something up until I saw it or heard about it, then I certainly don’t need it at that moment!
~ I will continue to do my part to live in an environmentally friendly lifestyle
~ I will increase my fruit intake with local rather than shipped produce - it tastes better too!

By: Char

Char — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:22:48 +0000

My fiancee and I have started the jars and we absolutely love it. We are finally living within our means and extra money from doing extra work is a great reward. We have automated payments (NOTE: payments… because you have to pay yourself too) to each of our own savings accounts (one for the wedding, one for an emergency fund) and an RRSP. It’s encouraging to see our money grow with very little effort. We are paying off our consumer debt and have crossed one credit card off the list and this one we are crossing off number two. In less then a year, we will be almost debt free (only school and car debt less) due to the financial inertia. The feeling is amazing to see your payments grow as you pay off one card and then another!! I dare people to try it!!

Thanks Gail for the incentive you provide on your shows and on your website to get people like me moving toward financial control and independence.

By: Jessie

Jessie — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:45:17 +0000

To Tracy J

Before I say this I will recommend if you do not already have one, get a library card, that will help you cut down on the number of books you buy. Second, once you have your library card put on hold the book “It’s all too much : an easy plan for living a richer life with less stuff” by Peter Walsh. I really, sincerely, think this book might help you with your goals of decluttering and streamlining your life - if you feel you need some motivation. I read that book and when I finished I spring cleaned my house and got rid of 5 moving boxes worth of STUFF and 3 garbage bags full of clothes!!! It was a huge weight lifted!

I wish you all the best with the re-organization of your home! YOU CAN DO IT!!