Note: This is a post from Joan Otto, Man Vs. Debt community manager. Read more about Joan.
Our home is fairly big and fairly old. It’s drafty in the winter, stuffy in the summer, thin on insulation, and full of wiring that makes my electrician wince every time he has to work on it.
You can guess that low electric bills really aren’t common for us. We do what we can to reduce costs…
- We use compact fluorescent lightbulbs instead of incandescents.
- We keep the thermostat set so that we’re not running heat or air-conditioning much (68 degrees in the winter, 75 in the summer).
- We have (not at our choice, sadly!) replaced most of the major appliances, including the water heater and the heat pump itself.
- We don’t leave lights on when we leave rooms.
- We don’t leave many things plugged in.
- We use our fireplace for as much of our heat as possible.
… but even so, with EVERYTHING electric, and three out of our four family members home all day most days, we’re routinely paying $300 or more in the coldest months of the year.
Knowing this, a little more than two years ago, as I was trying to get a handle on our finances and make sure bills weren’t late, I decided to use our electric company’s “budget” plan. In this setup, you pay the same amount every month, no matter your usage, with adjustments made periodically to “balance out” what you’ve paid in vs. what you owe.
[See the good, the bad and the ugly of this system...]
Note: This is a post from Courtney Baker, chief seller and long-time running wo-man of MvD.
I love having conversations with Milli about big ideas- money, elections, being pretty, God, even ‘where babies come from.’
But I found it difficult to talk about consumerism. I knew all the topics I’d like to talk about, but I couldn’t seem to get the conversation started.
I love kids’ movies – especially the new witty and clever era that Pixar initiated. Milli has finally hit an age where she can talk about the themes in movie. We happened to be watching Robots, and she commented on how ‘unfair’ it was that these robots were going to be replaced with ‘upgrades’. ”Why won’t anybody fix them with spare parts?”
And without me even noticing what was happening, we were talking about some basic concepts of consumerism. Organically.
Since then, I’ve come across a few other movies that have also led into incredible conversations.
[Check them out... and see some conversation-starters!]
Note: This is a post from Joan Otto, Man Vs. Debt community manager. Read more about Joan.
I didn’t hit any of my Very Next Step goals on our five remaining debts this month. I didn’t quite top the $30,000-in-debt-paid-off mark. (Though that’s coming next month!)
But I DID commit to something big. More on that in a minute, but first… if I’m still $60,451.85 in debt, why on earth do I think 2013 will be a great year?
[See why here!]
Note: This is a post from Courtney Baker, chief seller and long-time running wo-man of MvD.
Great photographs are the mojo of online selling. I never look at a listing without a photo. In fact, most search engines allow you to filter out all listings without a photo.
Clearly it’s the bare minimum to include a photo, but do I need professional photographs?
The simple answer is no.
You can make an inexpensive light box for about $6 which will give you a stock photo look, but it’s not necessary to successfully selling your items online.
In fact, there’s a fine line between having good photos and having too-good photos. The quality of your image indicates whether you are a legitimate person, a dealer, or even possibly a spammer. Most buyers prefer to work with individuals, so you have to produce ‘good’ or ‘slightly above good’ photos to snag those buyers.
[Check out these 16 tips to make your listings shine...]
Note: This is a post from Joan Otto, Man Vs. Debt community manager. Read more about Joan.
There are tons of great resources online about how to reduce any particular bill. The Simple Dollar has a great one on 40 Ways to Reduce Your Monthly Required Spending by doing things like insulating your doors and turning off lights when you’re not using them.
I’m a big fan of creating habits like those – especially now that Chris and I have some serious debt-busting momentum built up, these are the “little things” that help us stay on track.
But the fact is, unless you’re incredibly careless right now, turning off the lights and installing a low-flow showerhead aren’t going to save you $50 a month.
And if you’re currently paying only the minimums on your debt, like we were just a couple of years ago, you need to free up chunks of money to hit those balances with. Same goes if you’re trying to build up your savings – you want to hit it in sizeable chunks if possible, right?
That’s where reducing your costs at the source comes in. Here’s a four-step process that I used to knock off more than $125 a month from our bills – all of which now goes toward debt repayment!
[Get the exact process I use...]
Note: This is a post from Courtney Baker, chief seller and long-time running wo-man of MvD.
I love challenges, thinking strategically, and making game plans. I love transformation stories. So I relish in the setting-resolutions frenzy. I set a goal every year; some I accomplish and some I don’t. But each time, I have a plan. All you need is a plan, right?
Wrong.
Last year, I wrote this goal on a card plus a three-step plan to help me accomplish it.
Goal: Become a Photographer
- Study a new photography blog each month, read archives.
- Do 20 complimentary practice photo shoots.
- Blog about the information I’m learning.
I packed the card away with our Christmas ornaments, excited about kicking butt in 2012. I had one goal- and I already outlined the steps to accomplish it.
When I discovered the card this year, I quickly and shamefully tucked it away, knowing that I hadn’t accomplished my goal. But I had a plan – what happened? I rattled off a list of a million excuses – a new baby, producing a movie, and moving to Portland among the top.
[But I didn't address the real issue... See what I mean.]
Note: This is a post from Joan Otto, Man Vs. Debt community manager. Read more about Joan.
A blessing is love. It can be many things – faith, despair, or a kind greeting. A blessing is an act where you show another that you care. So put out your hand, because a blessing can give faith, love and support for those around you.
- Stephen Owen
This is not a post about your money, or about selling your crap, or about finding your passion.
And although the timing is certainly appropriate, it wasn’t originally intended as a response the gut-wrenching tragedy of the school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, on Friday, or as a reflection on the death of a close friend of mind, whose memorial service was Saturday.
Actually, the idea for this post came from something very simple – some angry emails I’d had to field as part of one of my jobs.
I was having a crummy day, and I wanted to write a post reminding people to be kind to those in the customer-service field, especially as the holidays draw near.
I shared the following on the Man Vs. Debt Facebook page:
What’s the most unexpectedly kind thing someone has done for you this week? I was having a miserable day yesterday and a friend who was working at a store I stopped at went and found me a snack. That seemingly small act turned everything around. I wonder how many of those little moments we miss – and how many chances we DON’T take to “be the kindness” to someone else. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
And you guys blew me away. I heard story after story of real kindnesses.
[Read on for just a few AMAZING examples of kindness.]
