1 Piece at A Time

My American Dream. (Some assembly required.)

Friday, April 28, 2006

Pants Update

For everyone who's been waiting to find out if my pants fit, or if I'll have to run to the mall and buy new, I tried them on this morning and am happy to report loose fitting slacks. Yippee! I really hate shopping for clothes, especially those last minutes trips, because you never can find what it is you're looking for.

For anyone concerned about my health ;-) I broke down and ate some other healthful foods besides cereal and milk--mostly rice and vegetables and a banana everyday. I will say that I'm feeling pretty good, physically, which is probably the result of not having had any high fructose corn syrup for five days. (It really is hard to avoid that stuff. It's in everything.)

Now that I'm done obsessing about my pants, I can return to more important matters, like obsessing about my money.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Free Schick Quattro for Women

For your free Schick Quattro for Women razor, click on the link. Plus there's some funny stuff on the site. (e.g. Chastity Pelt, noun. What you have on your legs when you intentionally go without shaving before a date as a way of making yourself behave.)

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Shirley Says, "Feline Greenies Rock"

Shirley has turned up her nose at every treat I've ever tried to feed her—until now. I requested a free sample of Feline Greenies and she loves them, plus they're supposed to be good for her teeth. She's getting older, and I don't want her to lose her choppers like my friend Kerry's cat. (Although the thought of her wearing George Washington-like dentures does make me chuckle.)

You, too, can get some Feline Greenies for your pet by clicking on the link.

The Cereal Diet: Day 3

It seems to be working. I tried on my khakis this morning and they're feeling a bit looser. I'm happy that I won't have to buy new pants for the convention. This morning I did have a couple of hard boiled eggs because I was feeling like I needed some protein. Pancake said that this is turning into a dieting blog, but I beg to differ. It's all about the money and finding creative ways to keep more of it in our pockets. (And, in this case, having more room in my pockets for money!)

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

The Cereal Diet: Day 2

I ate three bowls of cereal with nonfat milk yesterday. And 1 cherry LifeSaver ;-)

Bowl 1: Brown Rice Puffs with a banana
Bowl 2: Kashi Strawberry Fields
Bowl 3: Barbara's Peanut Butter Puffins

By ten o'clock last night, I was a bit peckish, and then my husband (who, from this point forward, will be called Garth Pancake) came out with leftover pizza. Ugh! I went and tried on the snuggest pair of pants for the third time that day and found the strength to resist that pepperoni lovely.

Today I'm feeling pretty good. I don't know if I can do this all week. I might have a little rice and vegetables for dinner tonight.

A Little Less Debt, A Little More Savings

I completed our A&L totals a few days early because we're leaving for the convention on Saturday. Happily, I can report that our Net Worth increased by $4279.48. We've been working hard, chiseling away the debt, and we've also been putting a little aside in savings.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Keycode.com Is the Horse!

I should be able to get by without buying any clothes for the convention, but I don't think my black Converse sneakers will go over, and it's too cold for sandals, so tonight I'm making a trek to our closest city to buy a pair of shoes at Payless. I did an Excite search for "payless shoes coupon" and found keycode.com, which let me print a $2.00 coupon to use in-store. How cool is that!

Challenge For Me: Lose Weight, Save Money

Saturday, my husband and I are going to a convention, and I have been wracking my brain for what to wear. I don't want to spend any money, but I want to look nice. I found three pairs of slacks from last year and tried them on this morning. They fit, but are a bit snug. My solution: I'm going to eat nothing but cereal for the entire week. It's like the Special K diet, but I'm replacing dinner with cereal, too. I can do anything for one week, and not having to go out and blow $100 or more on a few new outfits is incentive enough for me!

P.S. This trip will be a good time to try out all the personal product samples (shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste) I've received during the last few weeks, too.

My Summer Vacation by Alex P. Keeton

Bankrate.com featured an article today about folks sending their kids to money camp:

More than 600 kids ages 10 to 18 will attend The Money Camp this summer in its original location in Santa Barbara, Calif., as well as at locations in Calgary, Alberta; Edmonton, Alberta; Mexico City and North Carolina.

Kids need this kind of camp more than they need traditional camps, Donati says. "They already know how to swim, but they don't know anything about passive income, leverage, the real estate business or the stock market."

I'm all for educating kids about money. When I graduated from high school, I didn't know how to balance a checkbook. My sister worked for Girls' Inc. for a number of years and created a class called She's On The Money that taught girls the basics about savings, checking, and budgeting. Sadly though, the director cut my sister's sewing and cooking classes because she didn't feel that they were empowering to girls. I about blew my stack when my sister told me about it. Empowerment is being able to create your own meals and not have to rely on fast food and convenience foods. Empowerment is being able to mend your clothing rather than run out and buy new. I learned many skills from Girls' Inc. (or Girls' Club back in the day) that I use today and am saddened by the prospect of a generation of young women (and men) who will have to pay someone to do the things they never learned to do for themselves. I guess my point is that we should teach kids about finance but can't overlook the value of home economic skills.

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Keeping My Fingers Crossed

Friday afternoon we had our first call with a mortgage lender and everything went smoothly. I fully believed there would be some tsk-tsking over our credit, but the representative we spoke with actually said that my scores were descent. The next step involves an underwriter, who will give us a call on Monday, and we should have a pre-approval decision by the end of the week.

Saturday, April 22, 2006

The Power of Placemats

Eleven years ago, before my husband and I were married, his car broke down outside New Paltz and we spent a couple of hours in a diner waiting for a friend to pick us up. We drank coffee, ate lemon meringue pie, and planned our lives together on the back of a paper placemat—you know the kind, the ones with pictures of fancy cocktails you'd never get in a freeway diner. We wrote things like "get married; get health insurance; lose ten pounds; finish college (for me); make music (for him)."

My husband put the placemat in the cigar box where he keeps odd things: a roll of mercury-head dimes; bagpipe reeds; a small, square card from a dry cleaner that reads "Button Holda." Years later, after we'd moved to Wichita, he found the placemat, and we were surprised by how many of the goals we'd accomplished. Since then, every few years we find a restaurant with paper placemats and make a new list. Sometimes goals from previous placemats get carried over—almost every placemat has "lose ten pounds"—or else we find that our priorities have changed, and goals we didn't accomplish aren't something we're interested in doing anymore.

I can't explain the power in writing down things. My rational side tells me we internalize the goals we've created together and subconsciously work to achieve them. But that takes all the magic out of it. I like to think there's something bigger going on. When I was a kid, every year I'd make a list of what I wanted from Santa. I never got everything, but Santa always seemed to know which things were most important. And even though I had a sneaking suspicion that Santa was my mom and dad (my dad's distinctive handwriting on the gift tags was a clue), I let myself continue to believe. It's like that now, except my husband and I play Santa to ourselves, making our lists and figuring out what we really want and need, and then surprising ourselves when we get what we asked for.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Free Bottle of 7UP










To get your coupon for a free bottle of 7UP, click on the link. Enjoy!

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Mr. Rebate: Upromise Alternative

I don't have any children, but I signed up with Upromise years ago, thinking I could transfer the funds to my nieces when they're ready for college. Recently, Upromise announced that you could use your savings to payoff your own student loans, and I was thrilled. Then I found out that my student loan provider isn't a participant. Today, I happened upon Mr. Rebate and this appears to make more financial sense for me. Has anyone else used it, and have you received your rebates?

Mr. Rebates

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

The Best Things in Life Are Free

















This post has nothing to do with personal finance, except bald eagles are pictured on the backs of quarters. Yes, we have a bald eagle hanging around the lake in front of the camp. It was an amazing sight. My sister and her family were visiting, and my two nieces (ages 6 and 4) were very excited and can't wait to bring to show-and-tell the picture we shot. My husband and I have decided it is a good omen.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Happy Easter!

Friday, April 14, 2006

Goodnight Boon

The May 2006 issue of Harper's arrived today, and the article "The New Road to Serfdom: An illustrated guide to the coming real estate collapse," by Michael Hudson, paints a frightening picture of what is to come for those who purchased homes at swollen prices and financed the whole nut with sticky mortgage products. The cover illustration of a man in work shirt and pants, a brick house strapped to his back, says it all. Falling Real Estate Values + High Mortgage Debt = Negative Equity.

Since my husband and I have started searching for a house, I've felt like a party pooper. I know absolutely nothing about real estate, but while everyone around was giddy with buying and selling, I was cringing, thinking, This can't be real.

Last August, when my father-in-law warned that if we didn't buy then, we'd never be able to afford a house the following summer, I was tempted. We found an agent and toured a half a dozen properties, but when it came down to making an offer, I couldn't do it. Everything we looked at seemed so damn expensive. Besides, we didn't have a down payment—not that that matters these days—and my gut told me that 100% financing would get us into hot water.

We've been living in my in-laws' camp for eight months now, and we have to find something soon, but I breathe a sigh of relief when I think about what could have been. I hope my fear doesn't come across as smugness. I have good friends who bought a house with nothing down and financed the closing costs, and I am worried for them.

What I am is angry—with lenders who play fast and loose and deemphasize the risks the average homeowner is taking.

I want my own house so badly I can taste it, but we've got to do this the right way, which, apparently, is also the hard way.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Hitting Your Target

The article in "Business 2.0" turned out to be an advertisement disguised as an article, but I think it is still useful. Here are the five tips for coming up with a rough estimate for what you'll need to retire:
1. Take a Financial Snapshot:
Add up everything—from the grocery bill to insurance premiums—to calculate your current cost of living.
2. Look Ahead:
Your travel costs may increase but housing and clothing costs may shrink. So be specific in estimating future costs, recognizing that inflation will take a big bite.
3. Go Long:
At age 65, your average life expectancy is 83, according to government statistics. Keep in mind you still have a good chance of beating the averages.
4. Do the Math:
Figure out what you've got now, estimate future savings, and calculate how that nest egg might grow using a conservative rate of return. Then add in other sources of income like pensions and social security.
5. Check the Numbers:
If you're well below your target, adjust the equation by boosting savings, delaying retirement, continuing part-time work, or trimming your lifestyle.
This should take me a while to calculate, but I will post each step as I complete it.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

2 Tasty Treats: Coupon & Free Sample

I love Tofutti Cuties (little dairy-free ice cream sammiches), and no one is paying me to say that! To get yourself a coupon for a free box of Tofutti Cutie, click on the link.

Do you feel like chicken tonight? Sample Tyson Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in a pouch. It's the new tuna!

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

They Say the First Home Is Always the Hardest

Sweet holy Moses. We just found out our credit score and let me just say that I did better on the SATs. Fortunately, according to eLoan, our score is not so low that we can't get a mortgage, but I don't know if we can find a house for 50 cents. I submitted a prequalification application and am waiting for someone to call me back.

Bad Moon Rising?

Everything I read and hear lately about our economy makes me nervous. The housing boom has officially gone bust, and many homeowners are now stuck with property that is worth considerably less than what they paid for it. People with ARM and interest-only mortgages will find themselves struggling to stay afloat. Gas prices are expected to spike this summer. I don't know how people are going to make ends meet, and this has me worried. I don't like to think about folks losing their homes.

I am not a doomsayer by nature, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Currently, my husband and I are shopping for a home and are having a difficult time finding something that I can live with financially. My husband is an optimistic person and, usually, I am too, but we've taken a number of business risks in the last two years, and I am afraid of getting in over our heads. Right now the business is chugging along nicely, but what happens if it dries up? While we're a b2b company, the industry we service is based on expendable income—folks who are strapped for cash are not going to spend money with our clients.

I keep telling myself to think positively. Would our livelihoods be any more secure if we were not self-employed? Not really. In 2000, my husband was laid off with almost no warning. These days, very few jobs offer true security. Are we working hard to pay off our debt? Yes, that is our number one priority, and while it's slow-going, we are making a dent.

I didn't used to be afraid all the time, and I don't want to be trapped in a scarcity mindset. There has to be a happy medium. We will always incur risk, but I also want a certain measure of security. I have a feeling that there are a number of folks out there who feel the same way these days.

Monday, April 10, 2006

You Learn Something New Every Day

Heard this tip for making milk last longer:
If you don't go through milk like a large family does, add 1/4 tsp of salt after you open it. Salt acts as a preservative and will make it last longer.

I'll give it a try and let you know if it works.

No-Go on the Houses

The two homes we looked at today were both huge disappointments. The first, an old rambling two-story that's going for $138,000, was so full of stuff that we couldn't really get a feel for the place. I'm happy and willing to overlook boxes and furniture and clothes, but there was just something sad and foreboding that made it impossible to see myself living there.

The second house, for which the owner is asking $129,000, has been rented to college students for the last year, and, boy, does it show. Besides being small, right on the edge of a busy street, and in immediate need of a new roof, the students have destroyed all of the woodwork and doors. I did find a nickel in the driveway, though! And I could probably go back and make a small fortune recycling their beer bottles and cans.

I understand that if I am able to look beyond the disrepair and visualize my own furnishings, I will be in a better bargaining position than if I try to buy a property that's in tip-top shape, but neither of these houses was appealing to me or my husband on any level.

The House Hunt Begins Anew

It's that time of year when folks start putting their homes on the market. My husband and I are going to check out two today. While we don't want to rush into anything, it's urgent that we get our own place soon; summer's coming and we're still living in my husband's family's camp. We managed to live and work here last August, but we're not looking forward to that again. Nothing says loser like listening to your mom pedal her squeaky exercise bike behind you while you're attempting to hold a conference call!

If there's anyone else out shopping for a home, I really like this mortgage caculator from LendingTree (click on the link).

How Do You Predict Future Income from SS?

I've decided to bite the bullet and calculate what we'll need to retire. An article in Business 2.0, "Hitting Your Target," offers five steps for coming up with a rough estimate. The fourth step, "Do the Math," asks you to figure out and add in your income from Social Security and pensions. Does anyone know how to do this?

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Sample Degree Deodorant for Women & Aquafresh

For your free samples of Degree Deodorant for Women & Aquafresh click on the links. Clean-smelling pits and whiter teeth, who could ask for more! Enjoy!

Friday, April 07, 2006

Politics and Purse Strings

A few years back, a singer/songwriter friend of mine wrote, "Failure to live up to a principle doesn't make it untrue. It's your failure to try that will be the undoing of you." I think about that line often, when, say, I'm tempted by the discounts at any of the big box stores that offer lower prices than the mom-and-pops in town, or I find myself debating internally over whether to spend more for a product made in the USA. These days I can't help but feel that every cent I spend has political consequences, and I am ever mindful of the power of my purse strings.

Take the shiny, new Price Chopper that just moved to the outskirts of our village, for instance. There is an independent grocer in town that is within walking distance of everyone who lives in the village. Granted, Domion's is old-fashioned; the linoleum floors are dull, the fluorescents harsh, and I have to check the dates on perishables, but their prices are fair and once we get a house in the village, I won't have to drive my car for a quart of milk. Don't think for one second that Price Chopper hasn't tempted me with the circulars I get every week advertising prices that undercut Domion's, but I've held out. I know it's a tactic to drive out the little guy, at which point those low, low prices will creep higher and higher. One thing that has helped me stay loyal to Domion's is that their workers are unionized and Price Chopper's are not. By patronizing Domion's, I not only support an independent grocer, I'm also supporting my neighbors who work for Domion's as butchers and cashiers, stockers and bookkeepers.

Our current financial circumstances sometimes make my choices seem downright ludicrous, but I've learned to live with less in order to stay within my budget. When I spend two dollars more for organic milk, I have to cut two dollars from some other expenditure. This means buying most of my clothes from consignment shops and shopping for used books on half.com. What distresses me, though, is when I think about how I could cut my overall budget by searching for the biggest bargains. If, say, I did not care if everything I bought was manufactured in China, and I didn't care if the eggs were local and the milk organic, and I didn't care if the dry goods store in town (yes, we still have a dry goods store) folded after a hundred years of business, I could probably pay down my debt faster. But I have to remind myself to think long. After the debts are paid and we own a house and we have a savings of which to be proud, would I still want to live in this place--a place that is extremely affordable--if all of the independent businesses dried up and blew away? Would I want to live here still if every time I needed something I had to get in my car and drive twenty miles? No.

I've heard others who live on tight budgets say that choices like mine are a luxury. I can't argue. All choices are luxury. (Unless, of course, you have to choose between paying rent or paying utilities.) But maybe, just maybe, if we supported our economy and unions and small businesses, our budgets would be less tight. We'd all earn a little more, and while the quantity of goods in our homes might not increase, perhaps the overall quality of our lives would improve.

And then there's the business-owner side of me. One of the reasons why we're in financial dire straights is because we tried to live up to our principles. (See "Facing the Furture with Resolve, Not Regret.") We paid our employees a competitive wage and offered full health care coverage. Do I regret this? No. Would I make different choices if given another opportunity? Yes. I know that many of the personal choices I make are directly tied to my first-hand knowledge of how difficult it is to be a small-business owner in this country. That's why I buy local eggs. That's why I shop at Domion's. That's why I pay more and buy less. Maybe I'm naive or just plain foolish, but I honestly believe that my choices make a difference.

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Rollercoaster of Debt

I admire all of the PF Bloggers out there who have their finances under control and share with the rest of us their savings' goals and the methods by which they are achieving them. Starting this blog has helped me immeasurably to keep focused on our own financial morass and work to get us out of debt. (Oh, that will be a day to celebrate!)

Most days I feel hopeful and optimistic, but once in a while dread and doom creep up on me (usually when I am trying to go to sleep, or else at 4 a.m., when my eyes snap open and my heart starts racing). April 15th is fast approaching and we are not receiving a refund. I spent the morning trying to predict when our clients' payments will arrive, and if everyone pays on time, we will be fine. Still, everyday, I struggle to decide who to pay and who not to pay based on who slaps us with the largest late fees and who permits us a small grace-period window. Our problem is not only debt, but cash flow. If today we received every cent in our A/R, all of our A/P would be current. But that is not going to happen, so I have to play the shell game.

I have so many simultaneous goals that I am easily, and almost always nearly, overwhelmed. Do I focus solely on debt reduction or do I put a little something away in savings? (I chose the latter yesterday when I set up an automatic deposit of $49 a week to our HSBC Direct savings account.) Should we forget about buying a house and just rent a place for the next year? Why am I thinking about retirement planning when we're barely scraping by?

I know the answer: I have to think big and small at the same time. I have to account for and allocate every penny that we receive while keeping the big picture in mind, no matter how distant it may seem. We will get out of debt. We will own our own home. We will continue to grow this business and our savings. We will enjoy life.

Sample Kodak Inkjet Photo Paper


To get a free sample of Kodak Inkjet Photo Paper, click on the link. Enjoy!

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Workers of the World Unite and Save

Okay. I put my money where my mouth is and signed up for a weekly electronic transfer of $49 from my checking to my HSBC Direct savings account. (That's $7 a day, or one hour a day of my time.) I've been torn between putting everything toward debt and putting something, anything in savings, and decided that it would be unwise not to have something set aside. Join me! Set up an automatic transfer or find another way (an envelope or coin jar) to sock it away until you can get to the bank. Let me know how you are going to save and we can root for each other!

The Power of Compound Interest: A Scenario for Minimum-Wage Workers

When you work for minimum wage it is hard enough to get by on what you're making, let alone think about saving. But here's a scenario that provides an incentive to bank one hour of the money we make each day. Minimum wage in NYS is $6.75, so I've rounded up to $7. If I make a commitment to save $7 each day for the next 20 years, I will have saved and earned in interest the equivalent of SIX YEARS working at today's minimum wage.

Here's how it works:

$7 a day X 365 days/year = $2,555 per year X 20 years = $51,100

That's how much of my own money I've saved by banking one hour a day of my time.

Now, let's look at the interest: Currently, my savings is in an HSBC Direct savings account earning 4.80%. Using a compound interest calculator, this is the result:

That's $35, 601 in interest! I cannot afford to not save $7 a day. Plus, these are conservative figures. I cannot predict what minimum wage will be in ten years, nor do I know how long I, or you, will leave the money in an account. Maybe you're only 25 years old and will save for 40 years. Use the calculator and plug in your numbers.

Here's a rule of thumb, no matter what you earn: Bank a minimum of one hour of your day every day.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Let That Be a Lesson to Me: How to Retrieve a Blog Template

Monday night, I decided to change my skyscraper from boring old blue to snazzy peach and in the process managed to blow away my blog template. (Yikes!) My husband told me that I should have saved my template somewhere on my computer. (Grrr!) How was I to know? Then my husband thought to search for a cached version of my site on Google and copied the code from "view source." (Yipee!)There it was, missing only a couple of links.

Have you saved a copy of your blog template recently? If not, please do so right now.

Monday, April 03, 2006

Run Faster! Jump Higher! Lighten Your Load with PocketMod!

PocketMod, a free, disposable personal organizer, lets you turn the paper in your recyclable bin into hip, little acoustic palm pilots. Choose from an array of templates to customize your PocketMod for grocery lists, day planners, food diaries, and much, much more. (Oragami-like folding instructions included.) Check it out with this link: PocketMod.

Tips for Selling on Half.com

Spring is here, the perfect time to cull your bookshelves and media center for books, CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes that you no longer want and set yourself up as a seller on Half.com. During a two-year period, I netted $510.19 from selling books and CDs that were sitting around, collecting dust. Here are a few tips for maximizing your profit and making your customers happy:

  • Always send packages using Media Mail. Media Mail is a discounted USPS rate for books and CDs. Shipments generally takes 5-7 days to arrive. In addition, it will probably cost you less than the shipment allowance Half.com provides, which means an extra 25- to 30-cent profit.
  • Reuse clean, padded envelopes and small boxes, or purchase padded envelopes in bulk to save money. I found that Viking Office Products offers decent prices and free shipping. (Update: Viking has merged with Office Depot. Free shipping applies to orders over $25.)
  • Always send your packages the day you receive the order, or by the next business day at the latest.
  • Take time to rate your buyers. Half.com will prompt you when it is time to leave feedback. Give your buyers good reviews and leave a comment thanking them for their purchases.
  • Be honest about product condition. I made a habit of listing every flaw—dog-eared pages, cover nicks, cracked spines, writing in or on books, cracked CD cases, etc—and found that it paid in good reviews. There's nothing more disappointing than buying a book that's been described as "like new" and have it arrive yellowed and worn. If the book does not look like you just brought it home from Barnes & Noble, do not list it as "like new." Most items I listed as "some shelf wear," just to be safe. Many of my customers wrote and thanked me for the condition of the items and were surprised that they looked better than expected.
  • Price accordingly. Half.com will suggest a price after you've entered the condition. I almost always went with their suggestion. You can always lower the price later if your item is not selling, but, generally, I did not go through and undercut every other seller, and my books and CDs still sold.
  • Show your appreciation. Adding a "thank you" in the package, whether it's a free book mark, or just a note on the invoice, is a nice touch that your customers will notice.
Selling on Half.com is fun and easy. It's the Kool-Aid stand you always wanted as a kid. I go to the post office almost daily, so shipping was not a hassle. Packaging the items takes less than ten minutes and is no trouble at all if you keep the items you've listed in one location and have all of your packing supplies handy—envelopes and boxes, return address labels, scissors, pen, and packing tape.

Currently, I don't have any books to sell—what was left I sold at our garage sale before we moved last summer. But as soon as I get in my new house, I'm going to start frequenting library book sales. It's a win-win situation: The library makes their money and I get to profit, too. Before you buy books to specifically sell on Half.com, familiarize yourself with what's hot and what's not. Some books, like trade paperback romances and sci-fi, sell for as little as a penny on Amazon's used marketplace and are not worth the effort.

Does Anybody Know Where My Clogs Went?

As I mentioned in my first post, my husband and I are living at his parents' camp in the Catskills until we can afford to buy our own house. This means that 99% of what I own is in boxes and bags in the garage out back. Tomorrow we have a business meeting, and Sunday night I was being proactive and trying to decide what to wear. Our client's office is casual, so I needn't go overboard with a suit and heels (not that I even own a suit!), but there was a certain pair of clogs I wanted to wear, and I can't find them. All winter, we've fared well without our belongings, but now it's spring and all of my springy clothes are in trash bags.

If you plan on being homeless in the near future, here's an offer you don't want to miss! Click on the link for your free sample of Glad ForceFlex trash bags.

Sunday, April 02, 2006

On Dust Mites, Frugality, and Keeping It Nice

Yesterday, at a library book sale, I picked up Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House, by Cheryl Mendelson, for fifty cents. Believe me when I say that that was the best fifty cents I've spent in years. I've long suspected that an orderly home and frugality go hand in hand. Ordinarily, I am a tidy person, but there have been periods in my life when work and school have hindered my ability to keep chaos at bay. During those times I spend freely, making purchases of convenience rather than need. How many times have I eaten in a restaurant, not because I wanted someone to cook for me, but because the fridge was empty or contained odds and ends (like frozen waffles and peas) that only my husband would consider combining into a meal? Similarly, when we moved last summer, I found enough picture-hanging kits to start my own museum of fine art. If our basement had been organized, I would have been able to find what I needed instead of running to the hardware store every time I wanted to hang something.

Home Comforts is not only an in-depth guide to cleaning (there's actually a schedule for what you need to clean daily, weekly, monthly, seasonally, semiannually and annually), it is also a resource for caring for your possessions—there's a entire chapter on how to mend books. "Keep it nice" is one of my father's frequent admonitions, and he's right. My parents do not have a lot, but what they do have, they treat gently. When I was in junior high, they bought an inexpensive living room set that has never been reupholstered and that they still use to this day. My father can get ten or more years out of a flannel shirt. A few months ago, he gave me a pair of hunting socks that he's had since the 70s. We live in a throw-away society, where everything from cars to furniture to appliances has a shorter and shorter life, but that doesn't mean we have to take part. My sister told me about a book she'd read by a monk who said that we should make everything we own last more than one lifetime. That seems like a good rule of thumb.

Another important lesson that I'll keep in mind when we get our house and furnish it: Mendelson insists that a homey home has little to do with interior decorating and everything to do with good housekeeping. In other words, filling your rooms with antique milk bottles and distressed furniture and baskets and wreaths will not make it comfortable. All you've created is a stage-set. A friend once said, "Distressed furniture looks like furniture that belongs to people who do not know how to treat their furniture." Mendelson suggests that, increasingly, Americans are "led into the error of playing house instead of keeping house." We long for a true home, but not knowing what that means anymore, let alone how to create it, we simply throw money away amassing more and more belongings that never really satisfy our deepest desires.

Home Comforts would make an excellent bridal shower, wedding, or house-warming gift.

Saturday, April 01, 2006

Taking Control

Yesterday, my husband and I took a giant step that will go a long way toward increasing our business revenue. When you own a service-industry business it is easy to lose track of your billable time, and, in this case, let clients use a service for free. Why would we allow clients to use our service for free in the first place? Originally, the service we provide allowed our largest clients' clients to use our service to increase revenue. In this chain, we receive a flat fee for every transaction. We thought this model would work for us, but what we found was that our service was being used for purposes we had not intended--more than sixty businesses were using our service as a marketing tool and not making any purchases, so we were not receiving any fees. Friday night, we sent an email, with a price list attached, to all of the clients that have been using the service and let them know that their "free trial" has ended. If they would like to keep receiving our service, they will have to start paying a monthly flat fee. The phones started ringing an hour later. Monday will probably be crazy.

A word of advice: Don't let yourself be blinded by your own model. There may be more than one way to realize revenue from the same service.