The following post is not money-related.  It is, however, Mom-related.  And since I’m first and foremost a Mom (and the recipient of the gift in question) and since almost all of my expenses are either directly or indirectly for my children’s benefit, I feel, with just small stretch of the imagination, justified in posting this info.

Mother’s Day was a chaotic day that centered around The Husband’s 73rd birthday — not celebrating my motherhood.  That was just fine with me since I’m not big on these Hallmark holidays anyway.  Every day is Mother’s Day, as far as I’m concerned.  But when the adult children and their children left and the dust settled just a bit, The Daughter presented me with an envelope and wished me a Happy Mother’s Day.

Inside was a $15 iTunes gift card which I was thrilled to receive.  But more important than even the largest of gift cards, also inside the envelope was a hand-written note.  A real keeper.  In fact, I intend to frame this letter.  Here’s what it said:

Mom –

You make my lunches.  You tuck me in at night.  You drive me (almost) everywhere.  You put up with my moods.  You tell me you love me.  You homeschooled me for 8 years.  You stuck to your values (whether I liked them or not).

You buy me everything I need, and almost all of the things I want.  You taught me to be a good person and always say “please” and “thank you.”  You showed me how to wash dishes, clean the bathroom, wash my clothes, drive a manual [transmission], and procrastinate.

You’re my mom.

And I love you.  Even when you say “dude.”  Even when you say I can’t do something.  Even when I do something naughty.  Even when you let me down.  Even, can you believe it, when you embarrass the hell out of me.

Happy Mother’s Day to the world’s best mother!

Love, The Daughter

And that, my friends, is why I love being a mom.  That one letter makes all of these years of work and frustration worth it — in spades.  Happy belated Mother’s Day to all of you moms out there.  Or, if you’re like me and aren’t that big on Hallmark holidays, then simply Happy Mother’s Day — today and every day.

I spend a lot of time on this blog enumerating the things I spend money on.  In fact, that’s its main intent and purpose of this blog — a daily accounting of my expenditures.

I think you can learn a lot about a person and a family simply by looking at how they spend their money.

In the same vein, I also think a lot can be learned about a person and a family by looking at what they don’t spend money on.  Of course, there’s no way to list everything we don’t buy but I thought it would be fun to list some of the normal, everyday things that the average family buys that our family doesn’t — or at least not very often.

1. Alcohol — This is an item you will not find among my purchases.  I don’t drink.  At all.  I think that makes me a teetotaler.  Whatever.  It’s simply a matter of choice and I don’t sit in judgement of those who do drink (socially).  The husband does drink, every once in a long while.  Every 3 or 4 years, I’ll buy him a bottle of his favorite “hooch”, Wild Turkey, as a birthday gift or for Valentine’s Day, etc.  And once or twice a year The Husband will pick up a 6-pack of designer beer (Sam Adams is a favorite) to serve to his adult kids during a family gathering — a birthday or Father’s Day, etc.  Other than those few exceptions, we’re a non-alcoholic family.
2. Tobacco — Like alcohol, tobacco is a habit I never picked up.  The Husband, on the other hand, was a heavy smoker for years and years.  In fact, The Husband used one form of tobacco or another for 50 years — when working as a wildcatter in the Texas oil fields as youth, he chewed tobacco because he couldn’t smoke.  Not only was he a long time smoker, he was a heavy smoker.  Two to three packs a day.  In the early days of our marriage when The Daughter was a baby and we were really struggling to make ends meet, I really resented how expensive his habit was.  Not the habit itself, because I understand the nature of addiction, but the expense.  Then he quit.  Cold turkey.  He had his last cigarette 12 years ago this March on the morning he went into surgery to remove his cancerous prostate gland.  He’s not had a single cigarette since then — though he does love standing in other people’s clouds of cigarette smoke 
3. Coffee — Just as with alcohol, I don’t drink coffee.  In fact, I’ve never, in my entire life, had a cup of coffee.  I hate the smell.  When I was pregnant, the smell of coffee would literally make me sick.  In my 20’s I drank black tea or Coke for caffeine.  Now, however, I’m allergic to caffeine.  It gives me migraine headaches.  The Husband does drink coffee but, pedestrian that he is, he prefers instant coffee.  You’ll never find my man in a Starbucks, that’s for sure!  :-)  If the “Latte Effect” numbers are to be believed, I believe this particular non-habit saves me at least $1,200/yr and probably $800/yr for The Husband.
4. Fabric Softener — I gave up fabric softener years ago when I realized how bad it was for the environment and how unnecessary it is.  I started by phasing it out — using softener every second or third load.  From there I quickly gave it up altogether.  No one in the family noticed a difference in their clothing so I never looked back.  Part of the key might be that I buy high-quality cotton garments which are naturally soft and pleasing to the touch.
5. Make-Up — Every single female member of my family has to “put on their face” before they can leave the house.  I have never understood this.  I believe that beauty products are a fallacy, a sham, and a stupid tax imposed by a society with perverted ideas of beauty, age, and sex (a word, by the way, that despite everyone’s wishes to the contrary, is not interchangable with gender).  I categorically reject the concept that I have to wear makeup to be considered feminine or attractive.  Besides, I despise the feeling of creams, lotions, powders, etc on my face — they make me feel like a circus clown.
6. Jewelry — Diamonds are not this girls’ best friend.  I have no need to be “adorned” by The Husband or showered with jewels.  Diamonds might be for forever but they can’t compete with the “forever” gift The Husband gave me — the gift of motherhood.  I do have several pieces of jewelry that hold special sentimental value for me.  I wear a $25 gold wedding band — no protruding rocks to get in the way or worry about — but it reminds me of the loving bond between myself and The Husband.  I have a beautiful strand of Mikimoto pearls handed down from my mother who received them as a gift from her father when she was a teenager.  I have a few pair of nice earrings but I haven’t worn earrings in a coon’s age.  And I have a beautiful gold ring my mother gave me when I was a teenager.  The wedding band I wear every day and never take off.  The pearls I wear several times a month — usually to church or to concerts, plays, etc.
7. Soda Pop, Junk Food, and Sweets — Due to my food allergies and sensitivities, I don’t imbibe in these foods myself.  But I don’t technically not buy them.  I do buy them, occassionally, for my family.  I’ve done my best to raise my children to treat their bodies with respect but I decided long ago that I didn’t want to make junk food and sweets a forbidden fruit.  In my younger years I liked sweets as much as the next person (though salty foods are the foods I did, and still do, crave).  I have nothing against sweets but I strongly prefer our sweets to have real sugar and other ingredients rather than artificial sweeteners and loads of unpronouncable chemicals.  The Daughter, for example, is 16 and has never eaten a Twinkie.  If you look over my grocery expenditures, I think you’ll agree that these products are purchased in extreme moderation.
8. Electronic Games — We do not own a game console.  We’ve never owned a game console.  I cannot imagine that we will ever own a game console.  No Wii, no GameBoy, no X-Box.  We also have never purchased a computer game.  The Son has found on-line games he enjoys.  I go through phases of playing Spider Solitare a little too much.  The Husband enjoys trouncing on-line chess opponents and playing against the computer but that’s the limit of our electronic game usage.

~ o o o O o o o ~

Since starting this blog I’ve seen any number of “meme’s” floating around the blogosphere but I don’t know how they get started or who starts them.  Not being an experienced blogger and not having a very large readership, I don’t imagine I have the power to start a new meme.  But I’d love to read the things other people, bloggers and non-bloggers alike, don’t buy.

So, if you’re a blogger, consider yourself tagged.  Be sure to link back to this post or leave a comment so I’ll know you participated.  If you’re a reader without your own blog, please don’t leave without sharing the 8 (or so) things you don’t buy.  I look forward to hearing from you.

The rules are simple: 

• List the 8 (or so) things you don’t buy
• Feel free to explain why you choose not to spend money on those items or just provide a list

I have a brand new credit card in my wallet — a Capital One Cash Rewards card.

The card offers 1% cash back on all purchases, the rewards don’t expire for the life of my account, there’s no limit on the amount of rewards I earn, and I can request my cash back whenever I want.  In other words, it offers all kinds of benefits that my old Citibank Dividend card didn’t offer.  Plus it has a $10,000 credit limit.

The most important feature, and the main reason I applied for the card, is that I am the primary account holder.  Now, along with my new Amex Blue Cash card, all of the credit cards I carry in my wallet are my own and will work toward building my own personal credit history/score.  My old cards were all on joint accounts with The Husband.

No, I’m not preparing for a divorce.  We’re being pragmatic; we’re “putting our house in order”, if you will.   I’m preparing for widowhood.

But enough of that – back to the excitement of my new card.  The truly fun aspect of this credit account is that in another week or so I’ll get a newly minted personalized card that I created using their Card Lab.

I’ve only been a cardholder for about two weeks now but every time I use the card I’m reminded of how thoroughly ugly the design is.  Don’t get me wrong — I not a spendaholic with a sick attachment to my credit cards and I’m not vain about what my credit cards look like.  But there’s no escaping it, the card is butt ugly.

Capital One’s card lab has a selection of preloaded graphics and photos that card owners can choose from to customize their cards.  Or you can upload your own photo.  I thought it would kind of fun to have a picture of my kids on my card but I couldn’t find one that worked — one or the other’s face was always obstructed by the Visa logo.  The photo I choose, the daylily pictured above, is better anyway – it was taken by my then 12-yo son.

So in a week or two I’ll have my own personalized Visa card and every time I use it I’ll be reminded of the most important thing in my life — my family.  Even though I’m not unhappy with the amount of money I spend every month, there’s always room for improvement.  Seeing that card and being reminded of what’s really important in my life might just help me carve a little more fat off my monthly spending.

[photo credit:  The Son]

Kyle over at Rather Be Shopping is running his first contest.  The prize is a brand new Craftsman cordless drill.

I’ve always wanted a cordless drill (though, to be honest, I do have a very nice Black & Decker corded drill) and I love talking about my remodeling projects so I thought I’d throw my hat into the contest ring.

~ o o o O o o o ~

We’ve owned our home for 5 years now and, like most houses — especially aging ones – we’ve had to put quite a bit of time and money into improvements and upgrades.  I had a whole slew of projects to choose from for this post and each project comes with its own stories whether it’s the 6-week kitchen remodel that took 13 months or the installation of a simple window lock in which I probably broke a finger.

Because I simply couldn’t choose, I’ve decided to include two projects.

The first project qualifies as my most frugal home improvement project though, technically, maybe it’s more of a home decorating project.  That line can get a little blurry.

My Most Frugal Project: Family Command Center

All parents know that family life with pre-teens/teens can become a scheduling nightmare.  Our family is no exception.  To complicate an already complicated family life, three years ago I suffered a series of TIAs (mini strokes).  As a result, my short-term memory, never all that great to begin with, became, at best, a family joke and, at worst, an annoying liability.  There were months where the best I could hope for was to remember what month and year it was.  Remembering an event or appointment was completely out of the question.

I’d always loved the idea of a family information center.  I’ve been known to drool over catalogs from The Container Store and Pottery Barn.  But the idea of spending that kind of money on organization equipment makes me queasy.  Besides, that kind of stuff always looks much better in the catalog than it does in my house.  Still, a solution had to be found.

We have a little alcove/nook/corner off the kitchen next to the dining area.  It’s actually the landing for the stairs leading into the basement.  This is the area I chose for our Family Command Center because it was dead space anyway and because it’s right off the kitchen and we all know that the kitchen is the heart of a home, right?

On the right side is the refrigerator — every square inch of which is covered with fun magnets, notes, and lists.  Here I placed a simple large, generic desk calendar from the local office supply store (~$10).  The calendar attaches to the fridge through the use of two magnetic bulldog clips (free — I already owned them).

It took a few weeks of training but eventually everyone got the hang of using the calendar.  Every scheduled event, from school pickups to Dr. appointments, goes onto the calendar and if it isn’t on the calendar, it doesn’t happen.

We keep a set of colored felt-tip pens handy for recording events as they come up and we developed a basic color coding system of red for special one-time events, green for weekly or periodically recurring events, and blue for very regular events that any normal person would remember without help – but maybe not Mom.

The opposing (left) wall is the source of my frugal homemaker’s pride, though.  The series of three wooden bins is one of a set I purchased about 10 years ago from Costco (~$30.).  In earlier years, we used the bins to store the children’s music books, etc. Now they’re perfect for storing local rec center class catalogs, community center performance catalogs, school papers, etc.

To the left of the bins is my magnetic board — my frugal masterpiece.  One day as I was perusing the aisles in Home Depot (a favorite, but often expensive pastime activity), I wandered into the sheet metal aisle.  And there they were – glorious and inexpensive 2′ x 3′ pieces of sheet metal.

At first I worried about piercing the corners so I could attach the sheet to my wall but quickly discovered that any regular drill bit will do the job.  One side happened to align with a wall stud.  For the other side, I simply used plastic sheetrock anchors.  Like the refrigerator, I accessorized the magnetic board with fun magnets from places like Michael’s and Old Navy.  I can’t remember where I picked up the five clear-topped tins but I do remember that I found them on sale for a fabulous price.  They’re so handy!  We keep stashes of paper clips, rubber bands, small alligator clips, and small yellow sticky pads in them.  On the board we keep the trash recycling schedule, business cards, and other odds ‘n ends stuff.

My Smartest, Dumbest, and Hardest Project:  The Master Bath remodel

First, let’s be clear here.  The Husband doesn’t know one end of the hammer from another.  And I was a handy person — in my pre-Fibro, pre-Stroke days.  In other words, we’ve come to the point in our lives where a home-remodeling projects always involves someone else doing the remodeling.

What experience has taught me, however, is that just because someone else is doing the labor doesn’t mean there’s no work left for the homeowner.

Our master bath remodel qualifies as my smartest, dumbest, and hardest project so far.

It was smartest because it’s a huge improvement over what we had before and because the quality-of-life return we’ve seen on this project far exceeds anything else we’ve done to the house.  The dumbest because I did make a few dumb mistakes and because, when it’s all said and done, I might have spent more than we’d ever see returned on the project were we to sell the house.  The hardest because, well, it was the hardest in terms of time, stress, labor, and inconvenience.

There were several smart steps I took that ended up making both of our bathroom remodels ultimately successful.  First, I spent an incredible amount of time doing research before even talking to contractors.  I looked at materials; I inspected every bathroom I could find — private and public; I read do-it-yourself books; I poured over magazines; and I talked to home improvement and bathroom remodeling employees.  Second, I took my time interviewing prospective contractors.  Third, I played the role of general contractor which means I took responsibility for designing the bathrooms and procuring the materials.  I hired the contractor simply for labor and and expertise.  And, fourth, I worked hard to find high-quality materials at bargain prices.

Because I’d done my research, I was able to eliminate many of the bidding contractors simply on the way they talked about the project.  One contractor, for instance, planned to use plywood as a subfloor under the tile (that’s a no-no).  Another contractor balked when I said I wanted cement board behind the shower area instead of green board.  An added benefit of taking bids from so many contractors was that I was able to get my first-choice contractor to come down on his bid to be more competitive with my second-choice contractor.

The biggest mistake I made with the master bathroom was in not realizing the extra expense that my non-standard sink/cabinet would incur.  The physical size of the room made it impossible to spec a standard-sized cabinet — I had to stick with the same size as the original cabinet.  But a smaller cabinet requires a smaller countertop.  It wasn’t until I was in too deep to change directions that I realized that I couldn’t purchase a pre-fab granite countertop and sink in this smaller non-standard size.  So I had to have a custom countertop made which ended up costing me over twice the price of a larger pre-fab unit.

Only time will tell, but my contractor and his employee both questioned the decisions I made in designing the master bath.  Their position was that it was too fancy for the type and location of the house — and for the size of the bathroom.  Ultimately, I designed the bathroom I wanted and spec’ed the materials I wanted (marble shower walls; porcelain tile floors; wood, not particle board cabinet; hand-hammered copper sink; Cherry wood trim; 3/8″ solid glass shower enclosure) and didn’t worry about the resale value of the bathroom.  I could have had a nice bathroom for less.  On the other hand, I paid a lot less for a first-class bathroom than you’d think.

Although playing the role of general contractor is a ton of work, responsibility, and stress, I’ll never embark on another home remodeling project in any other capacity.  Naturally, my experience with DIY home improvement projects helps as does my aptitude for mechanical and technical matters.  Being able to imagine the project step-by-step, foresee complications, and troubleshoot solutions proved an invaluable asset.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love the experience but it’s not something I’d want to do again real soon. 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

There, I gave you all the same thing I gave my family for Valentine’s Day – a greeting.

I don’t really have anything against Valentine’s Day.  Sure, it’s a silly little tradition that lets flower shops, craft stores, greeting card companies, and chocolatiers rake in the dough.  If people want to buy into that, go for it.

Over the years I’ve done my share of shopping for candy and kitsch.  Not so much any more though.  I’m just getting too old and cranky for that kind of stuff. 

Last year I gave my family (The Husband and The Kids) a subscription to Netflix*.  It was a rather self-serving gift though.  I’d been wanting to move away from the Hollywood video scene of driving to the store, spending hours arguing with the kids about what to rent, losing track of when movies were due, and paying late fees for movies I hadn’t even enjoyed.  Ugh.  Since the desire to check out Netflix was sometime in early February, it occurred to me to justify the monthly subscription fee by calling it a Valentine’s Day gift.  I even signed up using the debit card linked to my own personal checking account (rather than use, as I usually do, a credit card that he husband pays).  Even more, I kept it on my debit card for almost the whole year.  Now if that ain’t love, I don’t know what is!

Tonight I made dinner — chicken breasts baked under a white sauce gravy with buttermilk biscuits (made from scratch, naturally), extra gravy, and asparagus spears.  It was quite delicious if I do say so myself.  And more “middle American” in it’s fare (all that gravy) than my typical meals.  Everyone loved it and The Husband assumed I’d planned it for Valentine’s Day.  I saw no point in bursting his bubble by telling him that The Son had chosen the meal back on Monday while making the shopping list and weekly menu.

I could say that I eschew the commercial trappings of Valentine’s Day as a demonstration of my disdain for the crass manner in which corporations have hijacked … yada yada.  Like I said, if they can get the public to fall for it and spend their hard-earned cash on baubles and chocolate, so be it.

In my life, every day is Valentine’s Day.  My husband and kids would certainly agree that I’m not stingy with my “I love you’s”.  Hugs and kisses are never in short supply either.  I demonstrate my love in a thousand little ways every day — in the way I pack a lunch for The Daughter on school days, in the way I search all corners of the earth for comfortable underwear for The Son, in the way The Husband’s underwear and sock drawer magically refills itself and never, ever gets completely empty.  It’s in the way I stay up past midnight plunging our toilet so he can use our bathroom in the morning.  Or the way I sit and watch them all eat dinner in a restaurant, patiently waiting until we get home so I can eat my own bland hypo-allergenic dinner.

The best part is that Valentine’s Day is a two-way — well, really, it’s a four-way — street in our house.  I’m certainly not the only one doling out daily doses of love.  Everyone in our family, even The 13-yo Son, is free with their “I love you’s” and hugs.  The Husband demonstrates his love and devotion in the way he gets up at 6:30 every morning for The Daughter’s commute to school; in the way he never, ever, ever complains or criticizes no matter what I do, don’t do, or forget to do; in the way he gets up every single day and goes to work to provide so generously for his family.  The Son and The Daughter show it in their moments of generosity toward each other, in their moments of solicitousness toward me, and in the way they laugh at their dad’s jokes no matter how lame.

All I can say is, sorry, Hallmark, but cupid lives with us full time.

sjean over at Stacking Pennies did a What’s In My Wallet? post earlier this week and I thought it looked like fun.  Actually, I’ve been meaning to do something similar to this since starting this blog.

Since I have nothing better to do today (ha!), I thought I’d give you all a snapshot of what I carry in my wallet.  And then, because my wallet is just one part of what I carry around with me on a daily basis, I decided to include a snapshot of what’s in my purse.

My Wallet

Because everything that’s important to me and my everyday Suburban Wife existence is the size of a credit card, I carry a credit card wallet.  My wallet is neat black leather Fossil® case that holds my driver’s license, has one external pocket, a main compartment, and a small separate internal pocket.  I bought the wallet maybe 13 or 14 years ago; I’d love to replace it but I’ve never seen anything quite like it again.

My stash of credit and debit cards are organized in order of frequency of use with my main Citibank Dividend card always in front and my Kroger 1-2-3 Rewards card second.  My kids have been around the block enough times to know that if they get into my wallet for any reason, they must always put that Citibank card back in it’s sacred place as the first credit card.  The sight of any other card in that honored spot can and will send me into instant panic mode!

My Amex card is usually third though I’ll probably retire that card altogether when my new American Express Blue Cash® card arrives.  After the Amex card comes my two Chase cards (rarely ever used but carried nonetheless).  Next is my gold Washington Mutual debit card.  It’s the only gold-colored card I have and I think it’s kind of flashy and cute but I rarely use it.  The card is tied to my personal checking account so I use this card when I’m making personal purchases like birthday or anniversary gifts for The Husband.  At the back of the pile I carry my Paypal debit card (business account) and my business debit card from a local bank.

Next come my membership cards — Costco, Safeway (both of which get used regularly, if not frequently), and my Borders Rewards card (which I almost never use and really should remove from my wallet).  Next are my REI co-op membership card and my Barnes & Noble educator’s discount card.  The B&N discount card isn’t used as often as it used to be because I’m only homeschooling one child these days instead of two and now that he’s older we tend to use the Internet and the library more and buy fewer books.  Still, I consider it to be among the upper echelon of wallet contents.

The final membership card is my AARP card.  I don’t believe I’ve ever used the actual card but I do take advantage of my membership every time I have to stay in a hotel.  Although I’m only 43 (and do, according to general consensus, look younger than my actual age), I’ve never had an employee question my AARP membership status.  Kind of disappointing, actually.  I’ve always wanted an excuse to pull my card out and prove the validity of my membership.  Why, if I’m 43, do I qualify for AARP?  Because my significant other (The Husband) is significantly older and, at 72, is a long-standing member 

The one “missing” membership card is my library card.  I use my library membership so often that it was easier to simply memorize my card number.  My actual card is tucked away safely — somewhere. 

Behind my credit and debit cards and my membership cards come my gift cards.  I rarely receive gift cards as gifts.  More often, they are grocery cards I buy from The Daughter’s school as fund-raisers or gift cards that my children receive as gifts but don’t want.  In the latter case, I buy the cards from the kids – or rather “trade” for them.  For example, this past Christmas The Son received a gift card for the Gap.  Well, The Son couldn’t care less about clothes and considers the act of clothes shopping to be one of the cruelest forms of torture imaginable.  What The Son does like, however, is books.  So I buy $25 worth of books for him and he gives me the $25 Gap gift card to apply to clothing purchases I make — usually for him but not always.

At the very back of all my cards in the wallet’s main compartment, just before the paper items (described next), I keep my medical and dental insurance subscriber cards.  I keep them at the very back so I can find them easily and don’t need to go rifling through my stack of credit cards to find them.

Next comes the “paper.”  It’s rather ironic but I happen to have a ton of cash in my wallet right now.  In late January I had to make a last-minute cash withdrawal from The First Bank of Husband because I had to fly out of town to help my mother and sister prepare for my mom’s impending move.  It’s actually quite rare for me to have more than $10 cash at any one time and quite common for me to have absolutely no cash at all.  I don’t like carrying cash because I tend to spend it more easily and with less thought than I spend money if I use a credit card.  But The Husband and I feel that carrying cash when traveling is imperative, so I usually stock up when I have to leave town.  Usually, I return all unspent cash to The Husband immediately upon returning from a trip but as I knew I’d be leaving again soon (this weekend, in fact), I just kept the cash.  So, in this picture, I’m flush with $69 in cash.  Funny thing is, I actually came home with more cash than when I left with because I purchased some groceries for my sister while I was out of town.  Naturally, I put the groceries on a credit card but my sister paid me back in cash.

Behind the cash I carry coupons.  In general, I’m not a big coupon-clipper mostly because the brands I buy rarely, if ever, offer coupons.  I’ve yet to come across a coupon for Horizon products, Coleman beef, or fresh veggies.  But I see know reason pass up the coupons I can use.  Usually my coupons are a mixture of Kroger store coupons, custom-printed coupons I receive in the mail as a result of my Kroger 1-2-3 Rewards credit card usage, plus the few token manufacturer’s coupons for items I do occasionally buy.

At the very back of the main compartment in my wallet, I carefully fold and store the day’s receipts.  I always request a receipt, no matter how small the purchase.  Every receipt goes into my wallet (never in the bag or my pocket) and each night I remove my receipts, record them in my YNAB budget*, and report them here in my Daily $$ entries.  I do find it much easier to keep my budget numbers accurate when I enter my expenses daily; it only takes a few minutes each night.

That’s it for the main compartment — which is the bulk of my wallet contents.  In the small internal pocket I keep frequent buyer punch cards.  We have an almost full Einstein’s Dozen Bucket punch card — it would have been full long ago if I remembered to have it punched more often.  I also have a half-full Einstein’s Sandwich punch card that gets used even less frequently — both because we buy fewer sandwiches and because I rarely remember to use it.  The third punch card currently in my wallet is a full Great Harvest bread card.  I’d forgotten I had that; I should go redeem it for a free loaf of bread soon.  We used to shop at Great Harvest much more often back in the days when I could eat bread but since discovering that I’m allergic to yeast, my bread consumption stopped completely.  The Husband never was a big fan of Great Harvest and it’s a lot easier to simply pick up a loaf of Rudi’s organic whole wheat bread in the grocery store or Costco.

The final compartment in my wallet is the small external pocket.  This is where I stash business cards — for our doctors, hairdressers, therapists, handyman services.  I sort through my business card stash every now and again and cull down the cards to essentials.  I guess I should put most of those people in my cell phone directory and get rid of the cards but so far it’s a project I haven’t gotten around to.  And it’s a good bet that if I ever do get it done, I’ll need to replace my phone shortly afterward. 

My Purse

My wallet is just one item in the pile of things I carry around in my purse — albeit the most important one.  My current purse is a beautiful black Coach bag I bought a year or so ago at the outlet.

[Note:  I always buy Coach; I always buy at the outlet; I don’t think I’ve ever paid over $110 for a purse; I usually carry a purse for 5 or 6 years before deciding it’s time for another; I have all of my old Coach bags tucked away in my closet; once I get a new purse, I rarely switch back to an old one unless the size and style is better suited to a specific event — for example, I recently dug out my old big brown hobo bag when I flew to my mom’s because it holds everything pictured plus my digital camera and my meds all in one bag.]

In addition to my wallet, my purse holds (at the time of this photo, at least) my iPod Nano (1st generation — a birthday gift from The Husband 1-1/2 years ago), my asthma inhaler, a small bottle of Advil, a lipstick I haven’t used in probably 2 years, my cell phone (a 5-yo Motorola work-horse that I hope never dies), a pocket appointment calendar with a photo of my children, my checkbook (rarely used but always carried nonetheless), two scrips from my doctor — one for an inhaler aero chamber I need to remember to fill and the other for a hearing test and a recommended doctor, and my four fold-up nylon shopping bags (3 are Chico bags).

If you decide to join the “What’s in my wallet?” fun, be sure to email me or leave a comment so I can come check it out.

Tuesday night, after getting in from the airport just in time to grab a bite to eat, grab the kids, and dash to our local precinct in time to vote for Barack Obama, The Husband gave me an American Express application he’d received in the mail.  Actually, I’d received it but he had opened it and looked at it.  Normally that type of thing goes straight into the trash.  But this time he handed it to me and said he thought I should give them a call and get a card.

The application was for an American Express Blue Cash® card and it had an RSVP number printed on it and invited me to simply call their 800 number, give them the RSVP number, and quickly be done with the application process.  I put it in my “to do” pile.  Last night, while waiting for The Husband to be ready to watch our movie together, I gave American Express a call.

The application process was not quite as quick as I’d hoped.  I already have an AMEX card through our business but since I was applying for a personal card in my name, I had to go through a few hoops.  Nothing too strenuous or bothersome, though, and after about 10 minutes I was very politely informed that my application had been approved.  In a few weeks I’ll receive my new American Express Blue Cash® card — with an $18,500 limit.  When the customer service rep informed me of the credit limit, I joked that I could go out and buy myself a new car.  She thought it was very funny.  The Husband, who at this point was sitting and waiting for me to finish, smiled at my joke too.

I sure am glad that there isn’t any part of me, not even the most remote part of my being lurking in the shadows of my subconsciousness, that takes my little joke seriously.

This will not be my first credit card.  It isn’t even my fourth or fifth or sixth credit card.  It isn’t my highest credit limit card either — though it’s probably in the top three.  The Husband’s rationale for encouraging me to apply for the card was:  one, it would be good to have a personal AMEX card for purchases at places like Costco that only accept AMEX; two, it’s always a good idea to have a card for emergencies like airline tickets; and three, it’s a good idea for me to have a couple of cards in my name only just in case something happens to him.  This card will help build up my personal credit score (my credit is squeaky clean but I don’t have a great deal of credit that isn’t tied to his credit — which, naturally, is as clean as can be) and will likely prove to be very important in the event of his demise (since he’s got terminal cancer, his demise isn’t quite as theoretical as I’d like it to be).

The card has no annual fee and offers 1.5% cash back on “virtually” every purchase I make and up to 5% cash back on purchases at grocery stores and gas stations.  The fine print excludes purchases at “departments of superstores or warehouse clubs” which means that none of my Costco purchases (warehouse or gas) will qualify for the cash back rewards.  I anticipate switching to this new card for all of my Costco purchases (warehouse and gas) as well as using it for all of my non-Costco gas station purchases.  Other than that, I expect the card will sit in my wallet quietly building my credit and sitting at the ready should an emergency arise that I want to spread out a little and not lump together with my monthly household expenses.  The one thing I can guarantee it will not buy?  A car.

A while ago Pinyo at Moolanomy was busy educating his readers about the Pareto Principle and a concept called Quick Wins.  I love learning new things, especially when I can relate them in some way to my own life and experiences.  When I read about Quick Wins and then backtracked to learn about the Pareto Principle, I had one of those ever-wonderful “ah ha!” moments.

My husband was not familiar with the term Pareto Principle but it’s a concept that is second nature to him.  Here’s a man whose entire life’s philosophy is, “don’t sweat the small stuff.”  He never thinks about how to save an extra dollar or two.  And he has no interest in pursuing an extra buck or two of income.  He goes straight for the gold — how can he save hundreds, if not thousands; how can he earn hundreds and thousands more.

Now, you might expect me to go on to describe The Husband as a big-picture kind of guy.  He’s not.  He’s a down-to-earth, feet-flat-on-the-ground plugger.  He’s a one-detail-at-a-time kind of guy.  I guess that’s no surprise since his background is applied mathematics.

The Husband doesn’t have an entrepreneurial bone in his body.  He knows exactly how much his time is worth and knows, therefore, that he can earn a lot more in an hour of work than he is likely to save in an hour no matter how good the deal.

I, on the other hand, am a Quick Wins woman.  My lifestyle and personality are better suited to finding the quick and easy ways of saving money or, as equally important, maximizing value on money spent.   I’m the one who sweats all the small stuff.

I love researching products; I love evaluating pros and cons; and, as I rarely get more than 1/2 hour of uninterrupted time, I love finding quick and easy “wins.”   

I’m the big-picture part of the team.  I’m the one who likes to look at all 5,328 ways to approach a problem and evaluate which solution will provide the most desirable results. I take pleasure in knowing price points and sale cycles, ie. when it’s worthwhile to delay a purchase or go across town for it or if we’re better off paying just a higher price right here and now.

Our strengths complement each other; we don’t duplicate efforts and we don’t step on each other’s toes.  Together, as Pareto Principle Man and Quick Wins Woman, we make a great team

weathly_1 over at collectingmycash.com tagged me for a fun meme.  The game is to list 7 random or strange things about myself.  This should be fun but how in the world am I going to narrow it down to just 7 things?  ;-)

1. Until I was about 8, I thought there was classical music and The Beatles.  The first rock group I heard other than The Beatles were The Eagles and I thought they were just doing a bad imitation of The Beatles.  I hated it.  I’ve been exposed to a whole lot more music and musical styles since then but to this day I am not a fan of The Eagles.
2. I have never had a cup of coffee.  I’ve never smoked.  I have never tried any form of illicit drugs.  I have tasted alcohol but didn’t like it and have never since imbibed.
3. Ever since I was a little girl I’ve known I wanted to be a mom and that I would stay at home and raise my own children.
4. I can sing the Dutch version of Happy Birthday — in Dutch.
5. When I was just over one year old, a bomb exploded blowing me off my feet and singeing off my eyebrows, eyelashes, and much of my hair.  I survived only because a man was in front of me and protected me from the blast.  He died.
6. I once donated almost 2 feet of hair to Locks of Love.  My second donation was almost 18 inches.
7. I was once quite proficient at Gregg shorthand (a skill I have, regretfully, not maintained).

I think I’m supposed to tag a few people but with the holidays imminent, I don’t want to give anyone unwelcome work.  If you enjoyed my list and feel like creating your own list of seven random or strange things about you, please consider yourself tagged.  Be sure to leave a comment to let me know that you’ve joined the meme.

I knew I was leaving out an important mention in this week’s Carnivals and Round-Up post.  But for the life of me, I just could not come up with it.  Then, just a minute ago, it popped into my head — I won a prize this week!

My poor post-stroke mind — it leaks like a sieve.

In November I participated in NaBloPoMo ‘07(National Blog Posting Month - 2007).  Because I succeeded in posting at least one entry every single day of the month, I was entered to win a prize.  And I won!  I was one of two winners for some bath salts from Cobwebs at Shadow Manor.  I can’t wait to get them.