Comments on: Fab Five: Quick Turnaround Edition

By: Beef Up Your Piggy

Beef Up Your Piggy — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:21:38 +0000

Love the collection of article, especially the work from home with small children. My full-time job allows me to telecommute two days a week and I have 2 little ones at home myself. My mother-in-law is our nanny but we still had to set up guidelines.

PS. I hope your mom gets better. Rest up.

Julie

By: Vincent Scordo

Vincent Scordo — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 03:16:38 +0000

Hope your mother is feeling better today.

My grandmother passed away last year from stomach cancer (she fought it for 6 months) and we were able to get through it as a family because everyone lived in close proximity to each other.

Best of luck.

Vince

By: DavidK

DavidK — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 03:15:54 +0000

Wonderful solution there Frugal Bachelor. I’ll pass that along to the families that I know. I’ll let them know that they should just get rid of the living room furniture. Get rid of the dining table where they enjoy family meals. Get rid of those beds that they sleep on every night and those closets of clothes they’ve spent years buying from Goodwill, etc. The silverware, dishes and used washer/dryer can go too. Far too excessive. Not to mention the cell phones (they have no land lines) and the computer they use to communicate with the rest of the family go out the door. Oh and I’m sure there’s probably more than $100 worth of food items in the pantry and cabinets, so they should chuck that out too.

I shudder to think that if more people subscribe to your “live with almost nothing” mentality, we’ll be in this financial crisis for a long time to come. As distasteful as it may seem, the only way to get out of it is for people to spend money that they can afford. Not to sock it all away waiting for things to turn around and getting by with very little.

By: Frugal Bachelor

Frugal Bachelor — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 01:54:35 +0000

Renter’s insurance costs about $200/year. I’m not sure if I even own $200 worth of stuff. Just buy less stuff, and you won’t have to buy insurance. You save money on not buying the stuff, not having to pay for space, and finally not having to insure it.

By: Lynnae

Lynnae — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:31:26 +0000

I’m glad to hear your mom is making progress. I’m still praying for her.

Thanks for including me in the Fab 5!

By: 15 Minutes to Riches!

15 Minutes to Riches! — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:49:21 +0000

Excellent article on escaping the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle. Thanks for the link!

By: Frugal Dad

Frugal Dad — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:58:36 +0000

@Vincent: Yes, we actually live in the same town, but my mom is currently hospitalized two hours away.

By: Vincent Scordo

Vincent Scordo — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:41:08 +0000

Good stuff and hope your mother is feeling better!
I’m assuming you live near your parents? If so, I think that’s great! I’m always trying to convey to people how important it is to live near your family. Being near family actually helps you be frugal!

Vince Scordo

http://www.scordo.com/blog/blog – a practical living blog

By: Amy

Amy — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:24:17 +0000

That first article is just what I needed- thank you!

By: DavidK

DavidK — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:51:24 +0000

If you work at home, you still have to manage your time very wisely as the kids don’t stay in school for as long as a full work day. It still helps to ease the pressure though until summer-time.

On the 10 Steps for Escaping, I already did this without having to consult Dave Ramsey or read about it on a website. I realized one day that I was actually losing money because I never balanced my checkbook properly. I might as well have flushed it down the toilet as I gained absolutely nothing from the money leaving my wallet for the overdraft fees. I bought Microsoft Money 2004 (at the time, now I run version 2008) and religiously entered receipts into it when I got them. Since then I’ve gone through all the steps as they seemed like the logical thing to do. It still surprises me that so many others must be led to water and have to have someone stand on their head to get them to drink it.

A definite must on the renter’s insurance. Even if you cannot afford a house, I’m sure you still have stuff that you’ve invested money into and would like to have replaced if it were stolen. I know several people personally that rent and had things stolen from where they live. Two of them had insurance the other didn’t. I think he learned his lesson, but it was a little too late unfortunately. If you think it may be expensive, just get a quote. I’m sure it will surprise you as to how inexpensive it can be.