Millionaire Mommy Next Door: Abundant Life Challenge

Millionaire Mommy Next Door has decided to stretch her mind and work on the laws of attraction by listing what she'd spend starting with $100 on the first day and then doubling it for 30 days (ultimately reaching close to $53 billion on Day 30). I'm going to join the challenge! What a great idea!

Day 1: $100 to Spend
Sushi dinner with husband ($65)
Bouncy house rental for the boys ($35)

Day 2: $200
Spa treatments (Facial, reflexology, manicure)

The Opportunity Cost of Rising Gasoline Prices

Let's say that now you're paying almost $30 more per gallon than you used to (based on filling up 15 gallons at $4.50/gallon whereas you used to fill it up for $2.50/gallon). Here are some items and services that you could have bought, used or otherwise engaged those $30:

Saving
Investing
Buying dinner for four at an inexpensive/fast food restaurant or dinner for two at a moderately priced restaurant
A haircut
7-8 coffee drinks at Starbucks or Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (although I hesitate to even list this since frugalistas like ourselves probably wouldn't be buying expensive coffee drinks, would we?)
Two CDs or DVDs
1.5 months of a Netflix subscription
Clothes--at a garage sale about 10-20 items; at Old Navy, maybe 4-5

The list could be endless. The point of this is that there is an opportunity cost to rising prices and I'm sure we'll be changing our behavior if we haven't already. Does it seem to you like there are fewer cars on the freeway?

Frugal Transgression

So, we had our family portrait done a week ago and we went back yesterday to choose the portraits and, in the end, spent three times as much as I budgeted for. That means we won't go on vacation for a long weekend like we'd planned this summer but I think the portraits will be worth it. The family portrait will be on canvas and looks so professional. I really didn't want to spend that kind of money but our kids are young (and I know that they grow up fast--at least that's what everyone says!) and the photos are, oh, about 100 times better than what we've gotten from Sears and J.C. Penney. So, I pride myself on being frugal but there are times where I think the value of what we're buying is worth the price. I guess this is my frugal transgression for the time being. What have your frugal transgressions been?

Suburban Gardening

My oldest son decided he wanted a garden this year and honestly, I probably wouldn't have done anything had he not insisted despite the fact that I designed our backyard to have a very small plot for the express purpose of a garden. When you have two young children and work almost full-time, planting a garden is lower on the list than say, getting some rest. But, I want my boys to appreciate Mother Earth and I also want some fresh produce and who knows, maybe I'll save some money but already my watering bill has gone up so I doubt it. I'm rambling. I've included a photo of said garden and you might be wondering where the vegetables are. If you can't see them, then that's perfect! I'm trying to keep it hidden from the rabbits who are proliferating like, yes, rabbits. The weeds currently perfectly obscure the vegetables. We're growing corn, beans, tomatoes, and, if I remember to get some, basil. It would perfect if I could grow a mozzarella bush! I can just taste the promise of Caprese salad this summer. Yum!

Life in the Fab Lane

So I was channel surfing and chanced upon Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane, the ex-model turned high-fashion billionairess, on the Style channel. She decided to see about reducing her carbon footprint by consulting with a Green Coach. It turns out that Kimora's carbon footprint is around 27 whereas the average is 7. So her house is so large she probably gets lost and she has a fleet of cars and planes. Perhaps this is why she's above the average??? Anyway, I had to laugh. All of us trying to do the frugal thing are so outweighed by her excess. And, I've been reading the story of Stoneyfield Yogurt and how they've made it their mission to be Carbon Neutral so that their carbon footprint is at least mitigated by alternative pro-earth choices. I'm impressed that their green ways have been profitable and beneficial. It seems that going green and being frugal go hand in hand.

I've been considering how to make our business more green. We can do a lot to help people reduce their expenses and carbon footprint but giving them the tools to work remotely and go paperless.

The Price of Taking Care of Our Children

So, how do you put a price on childcare? My friend (the one whom I've been trying to help) revealed that she's paying a woman who speaks barely any English and doesn't drive, $15/hr for watching her kids, cleaning the house and doing the laundry! She defended this amount by saying it's hard to find people who really care about her children and whom she trusts. I feel this is too high--hello! I'll do this for her! Anyway, she was adamant that this was standard pay for nannies/caregivers in her area. And, of course, this woman's not paying taxes on this money. She didn't buy my suggestion that she talk to her and say that because of the number of hours involved, she was going to lower her hourly rate for fear that she'd leave.

I send my 3 year old to a private daycare/pre-school and pay about $690/mo. which equates to about $4.70/hr. There are 3 teachers in his class of 20 children, and about 16-18 are there on any given day. So, this is what works for me. Thank goodness my oldest child is now in kindergarten because I was paying twice that monthly amount last year!

OK, enough of that. On to my visit to the children's consignment store which I felt was very unproductive. They didn't take many of the clothes so after waiting 3 months for my drop off appointment, I received $10 for about 6 items. Won't be doing that again!

Healing Your Financial Soul

I promised I'd be thinking of ways to help my friend who is frustrated by what she sees as an endless road of debt. And, in the past week, I've sent her an email mentioning a few blogs such as Get Rich Slowly, Finally Frugal, and Being Frugal . I also sent her the link to Twenty Ways to Spend Less and Earn More by Digerati Life. And, I also mentioned the Dave Ramsey method which The Simple Mom is reviewing in parts. I've heard nothing back from my friend as yet but she's not very good about checking email. I won't take it personally since I think she's in a place where she knows she has a problem but isn't quite sure how to proceed. And, if she acknowledges this issue, then she might also have to take some pro-active steps to change her spending behavior. (And, that's always hard!) For example, she was saying that a "dream house" that she's been eying for the past two years is in foreclosure and she'd love buy that house. But, in the next sentence she says she's thinking of downsizing. So, until she decides which path she takes, it's not going to be easy. She's read Rich Dad, Poor Dad and likes the premise but I can see her mind is not yet in tune with her actions. It's funny, too, that I think I know what she should do, that it's all so clear to me! But, in my own situations, I don't always have that clarity! Do you?