Lots of bits and pieces.

I was able to send in another 200 bucks to ING. That makes my new total of 6300. Yes! You can check out my new chart over at the NCN Network.

As for the podcast, I have recorded Episode 11, but the server at Ourmedia is being a bit sloooow today. Hopefully it will be up sometime later this afternoon.

Clearly I am enjoying putting money into our savings account. March has been a very strange month, and we seemed to have fewer expenses than normal. Some of it has to do with the fact that we are back on the “envelope” system, and we are not writing any checks and are barely using our debit cards. (Next month, we go CASH ONLY, baby!)

I read this book, The Number , and while it is a decent read, I was less than impressed. The author talks and talks and talks about specifics and how each of us is different, and then fails to tell you EXACTLY how to find “your number.” You might want to check it out anyway…

A much BETTER read? The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. Great book, great author, great advice!

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Our electricity bill runs from 125-200 dollars a month. I think I am going to plan for a super-cutback month in April, and try to get my electricity bill below 75 dollars. We live in South Georgia in a 30 year old, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, brick home. The home is not “ours” and therefore I cannot make any “structural” changes.

Here are 10 “easy” things that I am going to be sure to do:

Turn off unnecessary lights
Turn down hot water heater
Limit amount of time for showers/baths
Turn air conditioner up
Turn heater down
Turn off TV when we are not viewing
Turn off Computer at night when not in use
Turn temp in fridge up a tad
Limit use of stove
Change AC/Heater filter

Here are a few “radical” things that I might do:

Actually turn OFF the hot-water heater when we leave the house
Unplug any appliances that “stay” on all the time: TV, Satellite, Stove, Microwave, Etc. I wonder just how much these energy these appliance use when they are in “sleep” mode?
Capture rain water and allow sun to heat it up for a quick outside “bath”. (Ummm.. Probably won’t actually do this one, but it sounds neat.)
Cut-back or eliminate dish washer use and dryer use. (If you remember, I just bought a TON of dryer sheets… hmmm… Dilemmas, dilemmas!)

I’ll research for a bit, and hope to come up with other ways to save. Remember, I cannot do anything “structural” to the house: windows, doors, etc.

Any comments or suggestions are welcome…

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I know that a lot of people buy items at discount prices and turn around and sell them on eBay, so I thought that I might try this to make a little extra cash. Here’s the breakdown. I purchased 3 items at 38.65 each. I am listing them at 49.99 opening bids, with a Buy It Now price of 65.00. I have ordered the items and have already listed them. They should arrive at my house by Tuesday or Wednesday, and I can ship them the same day they arrive, if need be. Here’s the entire deal.

So, as long as they do sell, I will make 21.99 in 7 days. I’ll keep you up-to-date. Hopefully they will sell for more than the minimum. Still, at 7.33 per item, that’s a 18 percent return in just 7 days. Not bad.

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I did not like the look of that uneven amount in my savings account, so I added another 153 dollars for an even 6100 dollars. I have saved over 30 percent of my goal. Yes!

Check out the NCN Network page for my chart. Scroll down the right-hand side for more updates and table/chart combos.

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I received both my federal and state tax refunds this week, and I promptly deposited them in my ING direct savings account. I now have 5947 in savings. To put this in perspective, at this time last year we owed over 11.5k in debt, with NO savings or money in our checking accounts. We were flat broke. Now, we have well over 8k in our checking and savings accounts, with no debts. If you will create a plan, stick to it, and get back on plan after you fall off, you can make great progress. Trust me, this stuff works. Click this link to see my latest chart over at the No Credit Needed Network.

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