For those of you interested in knowing some of the so-called "food" products containing mercury, here is a list. I found this via The Ethicurean.
Darling is recovering from the flu having finally succumbed to chemical medication (sudafed) as well as expanding his home-remedy campaign to include gargling salt water. I'm hoping he can go back to work Monday without problem and at least complete his month of training. He's finally able to eat again, so I made him a big, healthy, totally local salad of spinach, carrot, onion, tomatoes, avacado, and sunflower sprouts.
While he napped I filled out my FAFSA for the 2009-2010 school year and registered a pin for Darling so he can do the same. We did so well before priority deadline and I'm certain we'll recieve plenty of financial aid when we go back to school this Summer. This is one of the many steps we will be taking this year to reduce our expenses.
We will be reducing our expenses in many other small ways this year. One plan is to lower our rent by either re-negotiating with our current landlord, moving to a smaller apartment, finding a room mate, or joining a housing co-op. I truly enjoy our current home, and hate the thought of moving, but too much of our income is spent on housing.
I intend to reign in our grocery budget a little by growing and preserving more of our own food, maintaining a packaging-free lifestyle, and spending less money with Greenling. I love our grocery delivery, but get a little click-happy when I see all the yummy produce available.
We will travel less in 2009. We're going to Virginia in March for a wedding and England in April, and that's that. We'll travel again when our dental needs are met. This might not seem like much of a reduction, but on average Darling and I cross state lines every three months. When we travel again in 2010 it'll probably be in search of a new home, which is another good reason to put a cap on our wandering.
Hopefully by keeping a closer eye on our major areas of spending (food, school, rent, and travel) we can save enough money to enter the world of serious investing.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Taxes 2008
I filed taxes today. Darling and I have an adjusted gross income of $16,422 for the year, and are receiving a $600 refund. We earned $10,000 less in 2008 than 2007! Ouch. Here's hoping for a slightly more profitable 2009.
Probably about $200 of that refund will be deposited to our Roth IRA, if I don't chicken out. I say that because my intention is for our general savings account to never exceed our investment account. I will almost definitely chicken out, of course, because we need about $2000 for our plane tickets and I can't see us slamming $1400 into a CD and saving $2000 and making our ridiculous debt payments. Darling and I are pretty awesome, but I'm good enough at math to notice that would require a quarter of last year's income to accomplish.
Okay, so I'm not that good at math. I used a calculator. But a girl can hope, right?
Probably about $200 of that refund will be deposited to our Roth IRA, if I don't chicken out. I say that because my intention is for our general savings account to never exceed our investment account. I will almost definitely chicken out, of course, because we need about $2000 for our plane tickets and I can't see us slamming $1400 into a CD and saving $2000 and making our ridiculous debt payments. Darling and I are pretty awesome, but I'm good enough at math to notice that would require a quarter of last year's income to accomplish.
Okay, so I'm not that good at math. I used a calculator. But a girl can hope, right?
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Debt and Repayment Plan
In the past four months we've managed to fall $3,400 deeper into debt. Without the help of a credit card or a financial institution. We are just that good.
In October I promised our lawyer $200 a month without really considering the impact on our budget. When I received a $1200 bill from my totally untrustworthy HR department at work, I canceled my benefits and offered to pay $100/week on the balance. At the start of this month I gave my brother about $300, convinced that if I really tried we could pay off the rest of our debt to him ($600) by February. In the meantime, I've totally failed at extending my deferment with my student loan company and need to keep up those $150 monthly payments.
All told, I've managed to promise $700 a month to creditors in minimum payments, which doesn't include any amount paid to my very patient brother.
The good news? If we can keep up with this payment plan we should have the layer and HR department repaid in in three months. When we come back from England in May we can expect to feel $600 richer every month, which will make paying my brother back easier. The bad news is that we need to put aside several hundred dollars for our trip to England.
...I'm really hoping Darling getting deliriously ill on his first week of training doesn't result in a dismissal.
In October I promised our lawyer $200 a month without really considering the impact on our budget. When I received a $1200 bill from my totally untrustworthy HR department at work, I canceled my benefits and offered to pay $100/week on the balance. At the start of this month I gave my brother about $300, convinced that if I really tried we could pay off the rest of our debt to him ($600) by February. In the meantime, I've totally failed at extending my deferment with my student loan company and need to keep up those $150 monthly payments.
All told, I've managed to promise $700 a month to creditors in minimum payments, which doesn't include any amount paid to my very patient brother.
The good news? If we can keep up with this payment plan we should have the layer and HR department repaid in in three months. When we come back from England in May we can expect to feel $600 richer every month, which will make paying my brother back easier. The bad news is that we need to put aside several hundred dollars for our trip to England.
...I'm really hoping Darling getting deliriously ill on his first week of training doesn't result in a dismissal.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Grateful for Insurance
I was going to post today about my dubious feelings paying for health insurance. Darling and I are basically very healthy and eager to treat our occasional illness with herbal remedies. Paying a corporate giant almost $300/month "just in case" makes me feel anxious and resentful.
Then Darling came home early from work. He was shivering uncontrollably, coughing, and hot to the touch. Campaigning door to door introduced him to a virus that couldn't care less that Darling has eaten oranges every day for weeks, snacks on grapefruit, eats big dinners of leafy green vegetables, and drinks peppermint tea with added vitamin c at night.
I put my husband to bed, poured him a hot cup of throat tea with a spoon of vitamin c, fed him an orange, had him swallow a zinc supplement, and gave him a spoon of honey to ease his coughing. I am so worried, yet very grateful that we can see a doctor if he doesn't get better soon.
I still can't say whether this tenuous peace of mind is worth $3,000+/year, but I'm glad we have it for now.
Then Darling came home early from work. He was shivering uncontrollably, coughing, and hot to the touch. Campaigning door to door introduced him to a virus that couldn't care less that Darling has eaten oranges every day for weeks, snacks on grapefruit, eats big dinners of leafy green vegetables, and drinks peppermint tea with added vitamin c at night.
I put my husband to bed, poured him a hot cup of throat tea with a spoon of vitamin c, fed him an orange, had him swallow a zinc supplement, and gave him a spoon of honey to ease his coughing. I am so worried, yet very grateful that we can see a doctor if he doesn't get better soon.
I still can't say whether this tenuous peace of mind is worth $3,000+/year, but I'm glad we have it for now.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Day Stuff
We officially have personal insurance, which is very expensive but...well, it's hard to hope it's worth it...It's cheaper and less frustrating than dealing with the HR department at work, at least. I paid them another hundred dollars today, knocking my "work" debt to about a thousand dollars. Yuck.
Creating a new spreadsheet and tracking our money again has given me a real boost in confidence. For some reason seeing the numbers written out and analyzed puts our financial picture in much clearer perspective than looking at the pile of money in my wallet and our online bank statement. I can see that we're a little bit behind, but no more so than usual, and not so much that we couldn't shuffle some money into our neglected savings account.
I spent today running errands, including a trip to the DPS.To volunteer at Town Lake Animal Center I had to submit to a full background check and fingerprinting. Which is weird, but ultimately harmless. No doubt the government has more information than they'll ever want on me, via the homeland security marriage interviews, so one more invasion of privacy doesn't hurt if it means playing with puppies and kitties.
I stopped at the store for eggs on the way back from fingerprinting and suddenly remembered that we are almost our of coffee (wake-up medicine) and totally out of decaf tea (sleep medicine). I didn't have jars with me so I bought a couple to carry my bulk items home. It didn't even occur to me at the store to just use disposable bags, which makes our experiment a success by my standards.
I purchased five pounds of Texas organic grapefruit and spent about five years peeling them this evening. There are now four pints of canned grapefruit in our kitchen :) If it seems that four pints from five pounds doesn't quite add up, you get a gold star. I ate a lot of grapefruit in the process in the hopes that I wouldn't be tempted to crack open a jar as it cools.
Creating a new spreadsheet and tracking our money again has given me a real boost in confidence. For some reason seeing the numbers written out and analyzed puts our financial picture in much clearer perspective than looking at the pile of money in my wallet and our online bank statement. I can see that we're a little bit behind, but no more so than usual, and not so much that we couldn't shuffle some money into our neglected savings account.
I spent today running errands, including a trip to the DPS.To volunteer at Town Lake Animal Center I had to submit to a full background check and fingerprinting. Which is weird, but ultimately harmless. No doubt the government has more information than they'll ever want on me, via the homeland security marriage interviews, so one more invasion of privacy doesn't hurt if it means playing with puppies and kitties.
I stopped at the store for eggs on the way back from fingerprinting and suddenly remembered that we are almost our of coffee (wake-up medicine) and totally out of decaf tea (sleep medicine). I didn't have jars with me so I bought a couple to carry my bulk items home. It didn't even occur to me at the store to just use disposable bags, which makes our experiment a success by my standards.
I purchased five pounds of Texas organic grapefruit and spent about five years peeling them this evening. There are now four pints of canned grapefruit in our kitchen :) If it seems that four pints from five pounds doesn't quite add up, you get a gold star. I ate a lot of grapefruit in the process in the hopes that I wouldn't be tempted to crack open a jar as it cools.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
New Job and Money Tracking
Darling had a good training day and is officially employed with a water conservation campaign. To celebrate I made vegan fried "catfish" that turned out really well. I sliced Mori-Nu tofu to make 1/2 inch thick "fillets," then breaded them in flour, paprika, sage, salt, pepper, and kelp powder. Once fried, they were crusty and flavorful on the outside, juicy and flaky on the inside. I served these with black beans and coleslaw.
I let our money tracking system fall tho the wayside in last August. This is what was working for us most of 2008:
Charitable donations will still be made, but no longer to international organizations hiring lobbyists to play on the corporate bullys' playing field. Our charity will go towards strengthening our city and empowering our community, encouragine others to make sound and educated economic choices. If we become aware of someone in need, we will help. For example, a friend informed me of a woman selling soy candles to pay for her mother's cancer treatment. You can rest assured we will be investing in some candles this month. We are also going to start saving for a volunteer vacation. But we won't be putting aside a full 10% of our income. Instead, I have been squireling away a few dollars every work night in a hidden place, to let the money grow without analysis or temptation. I won't be tracking it with the rest of our funds or noting it in our Net Worth.
In it's place on our spreadsheet I will add the "petty cash" column, which has mostly gone to Darling to protect and spend as he sees fit. Some petty cash will be allocated on knitting needles and yarn, perhaps, but he is the current steward of that resource. This will not be a specific percentage, but, like charity, a few dollars set aside for convienence.
I can't wait to start keeping track and feeling in control of our income again!
I let our money tracking system fall tho the wayside in last August. This is what was working for us most of 2008:
On the first of every month, I make a physical spreadsheet with six columns: Earned, Spent, Saved, Debt, Charity, and Total. When I come home with my tips every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night, I fill out this spreadsheet. I keep it on paper beside my bed because otherwise I couldn't be bothered - I often get home from work after midnight. The "Earned" column is a tally of how much money I earned that month. "Spent" keeps track of exactly how much I spend and on what. "Debt," "Savings," and "Charity" each get 10% of how much I earned that night. Under "Total" I record the what is left after 30% and the amount spent has been subtracted from the amount earned. The"Total" column tells us how much money we have available, regardless of our bank statement.I'll be going back to that method with a small change. Darling and I have decided to start dedicating time rather than money to pay "social debt." I am in the application process to volunteer with the Town Lake Animal Center, where I will be socializing kittens and walking doggies. Darling will be spending 40+ hours a week urging others to care about water quality. Hopefully these actions will fulfill our social obligation while making our own lives more worthwhile and exciting.
Charitable donations will still be made, but no longer to international organizations hiring lobbyists to play on the corporate bullys' playing field. Our charity will go towards strengthening our city and empowering our community, encouragine others to make sound and educated economic choices. If we become aware of someone in need, we will help. For example, a friend informed me of a woman selling soy candles to pay for her mother's cancer treatment. You can rest assured we will be investing in some candles this month. We are also going to start saving for a volunteer vacation. But we won't be putting aside a full 10% of our income. Instead, I have been squireling away a few dollars every work night in a hidden place, to let the money grow without analysis or temptation. I won't be tracking it with the rest of our funds or noting it in our Net Worth.
In it's place on our spreadsheet I will add the "petty cash" column, which has mostly gone to Darling to protect and spend as he sees fit. Some petty cash will be allocated on knitting needles and yarn, perhaps, but he is the current steward of that resource. This will not be a specific percentage, but, like charity, a few dollars set aside for convienence.
I can't wait to start keeping track and feeling in control of our income again!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Bubble Wrap and Non-Profits
Thanks for all the encouragement on the shampoo front :)
I read that lining windows with bubble wrap can significantly reducing heating prices. I mentioned this to Darling, who informed me that as a young man he did this in England quite often. Through work I attained a large quantity of bubble wrap and have been gradually dressing our windows. All one has to do is cut the wrap to fit the glass, wet it, and press it smooth against the pane. I've done our front room and bedroom, only the office left to go.
Today Darling is campaigning door-to-door to raise awareness and funds for water conservation. Two weeks ago he trained several days for a non-profit telemarketing group, raised $45 for HRC, and was then fired for no appreciable reason. This will be his third attempt working for a non-profit since moving to Texas, his fourth since our marriage. It's really opened our eyes to how many of these organization work, and has certainly curbed our willingness to donate to just anyone. Canvasers for Texas Campaign For The Environment, for instance, keep 50% of their collected donations as their salary. Telefund didn't pay Darling at all for his 20 hours of "training." We can only expect exploitation from this water group, but keep our hopes up. Of course in the meantime my Darling is sending out resumes left and right, hoping for a real-life office job...
I read that lining windows with bubble wrap can significantly reducing heating prices. I mentioned this to Darling, who informed me that as a young man he did this in England quite often. Through work I attained a large quantity of bubble wrap and have been gradually dressing our windows. All one has to do is cut the wrap to fit the glass, wet it, and press it smooth against the pane. I've done our front room and bedroom, only the office left to go.
Today Darling is campaigning door-to-door to raise awareness and funds for water conservation. Two weeks ago he trained several days for a non-profit telemarketing group, raised $45 for HRC, and was then fired for no appreciable reason. This will be his third attempt working for a non-profit since moving to Texas, his fourth since our marriage. It's really opened our eyes to how many of these organization work, and has certainly curbed our willingness to donate to just anyone. Canvasers for Texas Campaign For The Environment, for instance, keep 50% of their collected donations as their salary. Telefund didn't pay Darling at all for his 20 hours of "training." We can only expect exploitation from this water group, but keep our hopes up. Of course in the meantime my Darling is sending out resumes left and right, hoping for a real-life office job...
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Homemade "poo"
Darling bought shampoo in bulk a few weeks ago. I'm not sure what brand he purchased, but it is not our usual and it has been reeking havoc on our heads. Not only does it have my hair drastically fluctuating between greasy and dry, but it's made the skin along my hairline break out like never before. The worse part is Darling purchased a huge bottle of the stuff we now need to use up or repurpose.
It seemed like the perfect excuse for me to experiment with another DIY frugal and green concept: the shampoo-free life. According to my (minimalist as ever) research, hair can be washed with baking soda and apple cider vinegar and end up healthy, clean, and build-up free. For the past two washes (over a four-day period) I dissolved a tablespoon of baking soda in a bear-shaped ex-honey jar filled with warm water, and a tablespoon of vinegar in another. I wet my hair in the shower, then massaged the baking-soda water into my scalp and hair. I rinsed out the baking soda with the vinegar, resulting in a little fizz but of course no lather. I rinsed my long hair very, very well, missing the squeaky clean feeling of traditional cleaners. However, my hair is feeling, smelling, and looking perfectly clean so far. Apparently in a week or two I can expect a period of unbearable stringy locks, as my hair folicles should be used to over-producing oil, but I think I can survive that.
Darling is so far refusing to dabble in this experiment, and also emphatically refusing my next proposed lifestyle change, homemade toothpaste. Never before has he determined my green wanderings out of bounds, distasteful, or otherwise inappropriate. I'm doing my best to accept that this is a perfectly acceptable stance for him to take, but it brings me to wonder just how further we can push our own boundaries, where my own green boundaries lie. Some people choose not to garden, others refuse to live car-free, many people are addicted to petroleum products. My husband apparently distrusts and detests baking soda. I can live with that.
It seemed like the perfect excuse for me to experiment with another DIY frugal and green concept: the shampoo-free life. According to my (minimalist as ever) research, hair can be washed with baking soda and apple cider vinegar and end up healthy, clean, and build-up free. For the past two washes (over a four-day period) I dissolved a tablespoon of baking soda in a bear-shaped ex-honey jar filled with warm water, and a tablespoon of vinegar in another. I wet my hair in the shower, then massaged the baking-soda water into my scalp and hair. I rinsed out the baking soda with the vinegar, resulting in a little fizz but of course no lather. I rinsed my long hair very, very well, missing the squeaky clean feeling of traditional cleaners. However, my hair is feeling, smelling, and looking perfectly clean so far. Apparently in a week or two I can expect a period of unbearable stringy locks, as my hair folicles should be used to over-producing oil, but I think I can survive that.
Darling is so far refusing to dabble in this experiment, and also emphatically refusing my next proposed lifestyle change, homemade toothpaste. Never before has he determined my green wanderings out of bounds, distasteful, or otherwise inappropriate. I'm doing my best to accept that this is a perfectly acceptable stance for him to take, but it brings me to wonder just how further we can push our own boundaries, where my own green boundaries lie. Some people choose not to garden, others refuse to live car-free, many people are addicted to petroleum products. My husband apparently distrusts and detests baking soda. I can live with that.
Monday, January 19, 2009
No Impact Shopping
Before Darling and I went to the store today we carefully discussed our pantry needs and wants and packed lots of jars in our canvas bags. We purchased the following:
3 pounds of basmati rice
1 1/2 pound of black beans
5 pounds of flour
1/2 pound fresh ground organic coffee
1/4 pound nutritional yeast flakes
1 pound pasta
1 1/2 pound oatmeal
3/4 pound black eyed peas
7 pounds pinto beans
3/4 pound textured vegetable protein
A dozen eggs
1/4 pound vitamin c powder
4 south Texas grapefruit
2 pounds potatoes
beet seeds
cucumber seeds
Except for the seeds, we purchased no packaging whatsoever :), and spent $65.
3 pounds of basmati rice
1 1/2 pound of black beans
5 pounds of flour
1/2 pound fresh ground organic coffee
1/4 pound nutritional yeast flakes
1 pound pasta
1 1/2 pound oatmeal
3/4 pound black eyed peas
7 pounds pinto beans
3/4 pound textured vegetable protein
A dozen eggs
1/4 pound vitamin c powder
4 south Texas grapefruit
2 pounds potatoes
beet seeds
cucumber seeds
Except for the seeds, we purchased no packaging whatsoever :), and spent $65.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Striking Harder
Darling and I have shopped this month.
Darling stocked up on food items on the first of the month, unwilling to launch a consumer strike without some staples. Then my Mom came to town and we let her take us to a restaurant. She was talking about going to a movie, but I suggested that we make cough drops instead. Which required another shopping trip for herbal supplies. Then our landlord took everyone in our unit out for our yearly dinner together. Then I bought new shoes online. And Dom bought some stuff online for a friend. And then a friend whom I haven't seen in ages and I went to a coffee shop...
Every time I stepped outside the boundaries of our strike, I felt guilty. But because every purchase was justifiable (especially the shoes, which I've needed for years), I didn't recognize the guilt was a result of my indiscretions. The guiltier I felt, the more I wanted to make myself feel better with store-bought treats.
This morning Darling and I agreed to re-dedicate ourselves to our strike. Tomorrow I will go to the store and purchase eggs, bulk tea, and jars of flour. Our Greenling order this Thursday will contain only local and organic produce (no more bananas). No more packaging in our home, no more international fruit, no more broken promises.
Darling stocked up on food items on the first of the month, unwilling to launch a consumer strike without some staples. Then my Mom came to town and we let her take us to a restaurant. She was talking about going to a movie, but I suggested that we make cough drops instead. Which required another shopping trip for herbal supplies. Then our landlord took everyone in our unit out for our yearly dinner together. Then I bought new shoes online. And Dom bought some stuff online for a friend. And then a friend whom I haven't seen in ages and I went to a coffee shop...
Every time I stepped outside the boundaries of our strike, I felt guilty. But because every purchase was justifiable (especially the shoes, which I've needed for years), I didn't recognize the guilt was a result of my indiscretions. The guiltier I felt, the more I wanted to make myself feel better with store-bought treats.
This morning Darling and I agreed to re-dedicate ourselves to our strike. Tomorrow I will go to the store and purchase eggs, bulk tea, and jars of flour. Our Greenling order this Thursday will contain only local and organic produce (no more bananas). No more packaging in our home, no more international fruit, no more broken promises.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Healthcare Debacle
Footnote at the bottom of yesterday's so-called "insurance bill:"
It was my clever Darling who pointed out that a reduction in hours might buy our way out of this debacle. If I claim part-time employment, even for a few months (or even weeks), I would no longer qualify for health insurance. At $400 a month, it can easily take over 40 hours for me to earn enough to pay my insurance every month. The money earned by working full-time does not cover the expense, so I'll be saving money by working less! And renewing my job hunt in the meantime.
Since HR did not confirm my $100/week payment plan, I'm going to consider that a $100/month payment plan until my brother and lawyer are paid off, and I'm not paying a cent until I get a full history of payments and charges.
*** The Full Balance is due on the 9th of February. Failure to submit the full balance will result in a written warning. Failure to submit it a second time will result in termination of your benefits.***I immediately e-mailed HR with the request that my benefits through them be canceled. I received a response this morning stating the following.
*** Should your benefits be terminated, you are still responsible for paying back the full balance in a reasonable time. Should your balance lapse more than the reasonable amount of time, we may terminate your employment.***
So management is claiming that they can terminate our benefits if we don't pay, but not informing us that our employment is dependent on our ability to keep up with health insurance payments. Management and HR have NEVER stipulated that termination of benefits resulted in termination of employment, the footnotes on the bill even suggest otherwise. And I have heard more than one coworker discussing their decision to drop their health insurance due to the unexpected cost; many of us cannot afford this situation.
"I am glad you found personal insurance, however, you cannot terminate your medical insurance with ___ unless you terminate employment with us or you wait for open enrollment, which is in Sept. of this year. You are obligated to your insurance, otherwise. Or if you have a qualifying event, then that would let you out of your insurance. A qualifying event would be marriage, death, birth, reduction in hours, etc...."
It was my clever Darling who pointed out that a reduction in hours might buy our way out of this debacle. If I claim part-time employment, even for a few months (or even weeks), I would no longer qualify for health insurance. At $400 a month, it can easily take over 40 hours for me to earn enough to pay my insurance every month. The money earned by working full-time does not cover the expense, so I'll be saving money by working less! And renewing my job hunt in the meantime.
Since HR did not confirm my $100/week payment plan, I'm going to consider that a $100/month payment plan until my brother and lawyer are paid off, and I'm not paying a cent until I get a full history of payments and charges.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Healthy Setback
This year Darling and I agreed that our highest financial priority this year will be health. Last year our highest priority was savings, and it's arguable how that went. We only socked a little over $600 in a 401(K) in 2008. However, we were able to contend with an emergency or two. Too bad all our emergency money was spent on lawyers and paperwork fees before we hit our latest speed bump today!
Yet again the Human Resources Department at my workplace fumbled and, due to an intricate series of blunders involving group health insurance, I received a bill for $861.18 today, $447.08 of which is crudely labeled "past due" although I have paid in full every bill I've ever received. At the bottom of the bill is a note that the full balance is due February 9th, and failure to pay in full will result in a write up, and "failure to submit it a second time will result in a termination of your benefits." I'm not the only server who received such a shocking bill, but mine was the highest (second highest was for $600).
Upon my return home, I investigated personal health insurance, applied for a Unicare plan, and wrote an e-mail to my employer demanding immediate termination of my benefits. I am so frustrated and angry. Just the other day I handed my brother $350, excited that the next time I calculated my net worth it would be more than -$13,000. Now I will be lucky if it increases at all this month! I informed my employer of my intention to pay $100 a week until my balance is paid in full, but this will be a hardship. After all, that's about $400 a month! That and $200 a month to my lawyer, and $130 minimum payment to my student loan holder, and I'm paying more in debt servicing than in rent. And it's heart wrenching that we can sink into debt so suddenly, so involuntarily...one moment my husband gets a terrifying letter from homeland security, the next my employer reveals an accounting boo-boo (I can only hope they've done my tax information properly, last year several employees found out they owed the IRS money because their deductions weren't done properly!), It almost feels as though I'm stuck in some karmic financial cage, doomed to be about $14,000 in debt forever...
I know my lawyer will understand if I reduce my payments to her by 50% or more, I know I could even tell my employer I intend to pay them $100/month instead of /week, and I may very well. What is agonizing is this sense of defeat, of failure, at having been caught off guard. Not to mention betrayal. I need to trust my employers are doing their jobs properly.
Decent Unicare Health Insurance will cost Darling and myself about $224/month. Add to that $42/month for our dental insurance. This is pretty mind boggling, but a little cheaper than my group plan at work.
At this point I'd like to drop insurance altogether, but I know that's not the responsible thing to do.
The good news? Darling is going in for a test run at his potential new job Monday :) As of next week we may very well be a two-income household again!
Yet again the Human Resources Department at my workplace fumbled and, due to an intricate series of blunders involving group health insurance, I received a bill for $861.18 today, $447.08 of which is crudely labeled "past due" although I have paid in full every bill I've ever received. At the bottom of the bill is a note that the full balance is due February 9th, and failure to pay in full will result in a write up, and "failure to submit it a second time will result in a termination of your benefits." I'm not the only server who received such a shocking bill, but mine was the highest (second highest was for $600).
Upon my return home, I investigated personal health insurance, applied for a Unicare plan, and wrote an e-mail to my employer demanding immediate termination of my benefits. I am so frustrated and angry. Just the other day I handed my brother $350, excited that the next time I calculated my net worth it would be more than -$13,000. Now I will be lucky if it increases at all this month! I informed my employer of my intention to pay $100 a week until my balance is paid in full, but this will be a hardship. After all, that's about $400 a month! That and $200 a month to my lawyer, and $130 minimum payment to my student loan holder, and I'm paying more in debt servicing than in rent. And it's heart wrenching that we can sink into debt so suddenly, so involuntarily...one moment my husband gets a terrifying letter from homeland security, the next my employer reveals an accounting boo-boo (I can only hope they've done my tax information properly, last year several employees found out they owed the IRS money because their deductions weren't done properly!), It almost feels as though I'm stuck in some karmic financial cage, doomed to be about $14,000 in debt forever...
I know my lawyer will understand if I reduce my payments to her by 50% or more, I know I could even tell my employer I intend to pay them $100/month instead of /week, and I may very well. What is agonizing is this sense of defeat, of failure, at having been caught off guard. Not to mention betrayal. I need to trust my employers are doing their jobs properly.
Decent Unicare Health Insurance will cost Darling and myself about $224/month. Add to that $42/month for our dental insurance. This is pretty mind boggling, but a little cheaper than my group plan at work.
At this point I'd like to drop insurance altogether, but I know that's not the responsible thing to do.
The good news? Darling is going in for a test run at his potential new job Monday :) As of next week we may very well be a two-income household again!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Making Cough Drops
Today we were meant to go to our landlord's farm and work most of the day, camp out for the night, and work more tomorrow. Even though Darling and I didn't get to sleep until past three in the morning, we were up five hours later, had tea, packed some snacks...and realized that it was freezing. Two days ago we were wearing sleeveless shirts and contemplating a trip to the river. Today the temperature was in the low thirties, and threatening rain. Our landlord called to bump the work to next week, and we went back to sleep.
Good thing too, because we needed the sleep. I didn't get out of bed until three in the afternoon. Then my Mom called announcing a surprise visit, just a few minutes away and planning to spend the night! Our consumer strike went out the window (because can I say no to my mother? No.) when she drove us to her favorite pizza shop, Conan's, and bought us dinner.
I decided that Mom and I could entertain ourselves this evening learning a useful new skill, and we decided to make cough drops. I loosely followed Crystal's instructions. The bulk section of Wheatsville did not have horehound, so I purchased familiar herbs that seemed good for the immune system and throat. I purchased lemon grass, valerian, and a ginseng root.
I went home and put these in a pot with mint and Mexican marigold from our garden as well as two peppermint tea bags and a herbal throat tea. I added a tangerine peel as an afterthought and boiled this concoction in about four cups of water - there were probably about two cups of herbs, all told. I had about 4 1/2 cups of tea after straining, to which I added about a quart of honey and boiled again until it reached 260* F. This took forever and a certain amount of effort. It kept wanting to boil over, and stirring made things worse, so at about 220* upwards it required constant attention. The smells were also a little scary, though constant taste tests revealed a pleasant flavor.
I didn't want our cough drops to end up with Crystal's peanut-brittle consistency, so we didn't wait until it reached 300* as per her instructions. Once the mixture reached hardball stage (250*, or when drops form into firm balls in a glass of cold water), I poured a small amount into seven oiled spoons, which seemed like the easiest way to get the size and shape I wanted. I poured the rest of the honey-herb goo into two well oiled pans.
At first it looked like I lost seven spoons, three pans, and a spatula to our experiment, but the hard candy cleans well after a short soak in warm soapy water and peeled easily off the oiled pans. In fact, the spoons produced perfect candies. Still concerned about jagged throat lozenges, my husband, Mom, and I ended up shaping the still warm candy by hand, rolling it into small flat balls and leaving them to dry on parchment paper. They are rather huge, but taste much better than conventional cough drops and are produced with local honey rather than high fructose corn syrup. We have about thirty, be we'd easily have at least fifty, maybe a hundred if we shaped them sensibly...
Not only will the herbs in these candies boost the immune system, but ease stress and tension and encourage sleep. For the next batch we might add the powdered vitamin c available in our bulk section. In the meantime everyone in my family will keep colds at bay with our latest success.
Another day, another skill, another step towards sustainability. Take that, Big Drug Industry.
Good thing too, because we needed the sleep. I didn't get out of bed until three in the afternoon. Then my Mom called announcing a surprise visit, just a few minutes away and planning to spend the night! Our consumer strike went out the window (because can I say no to my mother? No.) when she drove us to her favorite pizza shop, Conan's, and bought us dinner.
I decided that Mom and I could entertain ourselves this evening learning a useful new skill, and we decided to make cough drops. I loosely followed Crystal's instructions. The bulk section of Wheatsville did not have horehound, so I purchased familiar herbs that seemed good for the immune system and throat. I purchased lemon grass, valerian, and a ginseng root.
I went home and put these in a pot with mint and Mexican marigold from our garden as well as two peppermint tea bags and a herbal throat tea. I added a tangerine peel as an afterthought and boiled this concoction in about four cups of water - there were probably about two cups of herbs, all told. I had about 4 1/2 cups of tea after straining, to which I added about a quart of honey and boiled again until it reached 260* F. This took forever and a certain amount of effort. It kept wanting to boil over, and stirring made things worse, so at about 220* upwards it required constant attention. The smells were also a little scary, though constant taste tests revealed a pleasant flavor.
I didn't want our cough drops to end up with Crystal's peanut-brittle consistency, so we didn't wait until it reached 300* as per her instructions. Once the mixture reached hardball stage (250*, or when drops form into firm balls in a glass of cold water), I poured a small amount into seven oiled spoons, which seemed like the easiest way to get the size and shape I wanted. I poured the rest of the honey-herb goo into two well oiled pans.
At first it looked like I lost seven spoons, three pans, and a spatula to our experiment, but the hard candy cleans well after a short soak in warm soapy water and peeled easily off the oiled pans. In fact, the spoons produced perfect candies. Still concerned about jagged throat lozenges, my husband, Mom, and I ended up shaping the still warm candy by hand, rolling it into small flat balls and leaving them to dry on parchment paper. They are rather huge, but taste much better than conventional cough drops and are produced with local honey rather than high fructose corn syrup. We have about thirty, be we'd easily have at least fifty, maybe a hundred if we shaped them sensibly...
Not only will the herbs in these candies boost the immune system, but ease stress and tension and encourage sleep. For the next batch we might add the powdered vitamin c available in our bulk section. In the meantime everyone in my family will keep colds at bay with our latest success.
Another day, another skill, another step towards sustainability. Take that, Big Drug Industry.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
January Net Worth and Goals
Our Net Worth for January 2009 is -13,840.65. That's an increase of $644.23 since last month :)
Between our bank accounts and wallets we have a total of $1,101.78, $321.87 more than the start of December, which is pretty impressive considering how much we spent last month.
We are $14,942.43 in debt, $272.36 less than last month. This is most likely because I finally sent our loan company a good sized payment. As soon as we get a check to my brother and sister-in-law and our lawyer gets her Pay Pal transfer, we will have $350 less on hand and be $350 less in debt, but the numbers are still factual.
I'm transferring $100 to our neglected Ing account to start our "travel fund."
Work has been overwhelmingly busy, I clocked out at the end of the week with 24 hours overtime, and things don't appear to be slowing down. I got very stressed out and very resentful of our consumer strike. I kept thinking "I deserve a dinner out after this fifteen hour day, I am not going home to cook or eat another lousy meal of greens!" then I had to remember than even a locally owned restaurant does not meet our spending requirements and it is important that we eat the huge piles of local greens in the fridge before they spoil. Thankfully the Greenling order was an impressive one, with tangerines and apples and turnips (and yes, greens). We got our last batch of bananas we'll be buying for the next couple of months, and I sliced two for the dehydrator. I also canned my first jar of apples last night. It is totally inefficient to can one jar of something, but we didn't have that many apples and I wanted to try out my Christmas present. And now I have a can of applesauce we will no doubt attack in a day or two. But the important thing is I have canned!!! Come Spring, and the end of our consumer strike, I will be buying up and harvesting huge piles of produce for some real preserving.
My goal for January is to completely pay off the loan we got from my brother. That's a total of $950, $150 of which we have put aside. If I keep working and my job stays as busy as it has been, this is theoretically possible. That would knock our net worth to the highest it's ever been, and free us up to throw money towards our trip. At our current rate of payment, our lawyer should be paid off by my 24th birthday, leaving us with less than $12,000 in debt to my student loan holders. At that point we should be able to throw an average of a thousand dollars a month at that Goliath and be debt free by my 25th!!! Of course this is a best case scenario, but a fully plausible one.
Between our bank accounts and wallets we have a total of $1,101.78, $321.87 more than the start of December, which is pretty impressive considering how much we spent last month.
We are $14,942.43 in debt, $272.36 less than last month. This is most likely because I finally sent our loan company a good sized payment. As soon as we get a check to my brother and sister-in-law and our lawyer gets her Pay Pal transfer, we will have $350 less on hand and be $350 less in debt, but the numbers are still factual.
I'm transferring $100 to our neglected Ing account to start our "travel fund."
Work has been overwhelmingly busy, I clocked out at the end of the week with 24 hours overtime, and things don't appear to be slowing down. I got very stressed out and very resentful of our consumer strike. I kept thinking "I deserve a dinner out after this fifteen hour day, I am not going home to cook or eat another lousy meal of greens!" then I had to remember than even a locally owned restaurant does not meet our spending requirements and it is important that we eat the huge piles of local greens in the fridge before they spoil. Thankfully the Greenling order was an impressive one, with tangerines and apples and turnips (and yes, greens). We got our last batch of bananas we'll be buying for the next couple of months, and I sliced two for the dehydrator. I also canned my first jar of apples last night. It is totally inefficient to can one jar of something, but we didn't have that many apples and I wanted to try out my Christmas present. And now I have a can of applesauce we will no doubt attack in a day or two. But the important thing is I have canned!!! Come Spring, and the end of our consumer strike, I will be buying up and harvesting huge piles of produce for some real preserving.
My goal for January is to completely pay off the loan we got from my brother. That's a total of $950, $150 of which we have put aside. If I keep working and my job stays as busy as it has been, this is theoretically possible. That would knock our net worth to the highest it's ever been, and free us up to throw money towards our trip. At our current rate of payment, our lawyer should be paid off by my 24th birthday, leaving us with less than $12,000 in debt to my student loan holders. At that point we should be able to throw an average of a thousand dollars a month at that Goliath and be debt free by my 25th!!! Of course this is a best case scenario, but a fully plausible one.
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