this wasn't in the plan |but life is still pretty good

Qwest is our internet and land line provider and sometimes they, uh, like to bill creatively.

One month they will bill us for just the phone, and then the next month we'll get billed for the phone plus two months of internet service.  The most recent time is the third time it has happened in a year, and really it isn't that horrible except for one little thing.

Each month we get a discount on our internet because once upon a time we signed up for their "price for life" guarantee.  However, each time we've been billed for two months worth of internet service, there's only been one discount.  In order to figure this out, I have to really examine the bill, and then I call and get it fixed (while they insist that this "never happens") and all is well.

This time I'm especially not looking forward to calling because last time the customer service rep acted as if he were doing me some huge favor by giving me the discount that I deserved.  The discount that I didn't get because of some error on their end.  It's an attitude I don't particularly want to deal with again.

The moral of the story is, be sure to check your bills each month to make sure all is well.  Especially any bills that are set to pay automatically, you know, the ones you usually just let take care of themselves.

Three weeks ago, The Tall One was invited to go to a training session at the school he attended for two years. I was excited to tag along with the kids and revisit the place we loved so much. Unfortunately, times and dates and prices just weren't working together in our favor. Since the actual dates were coming so soon, prices were rising accordingly. It was going to cost a lot of money to get the three of us there, so we decided against it. Looking strictly at the present, we could have done it, but looking at the future brought too many lingering and entirely probable "what ifs". The last thing we wanted was to spend the money and kick ourselves later for it. It was a hard decision, but ultimately the responsible one.

But that's not the end of the story.

The Tall One works with very nice people, nice people who have wives that work for Southwest Airlines. Nice people who offer us plane tickets so that we can enjoy this trip as a family. Words can't express my gratitude. I am so excited to go and show my son the place that he spent the first two years of his life. I can't wait to visit some of the places that he was just too young to appreciate at the time. There are so many memories there and I'm ready to make some more.
Though the question remains - how on earth do you thank such generous and thoughtful people?

Recently, The Tall One participated in a telephone survey regarding the saving that we are doing for our children's college education. He said he would consider himself a spender, yet admitted that many of his answers would put him into the other category. I told him he just likes to save his money so he can splurge with it later.

How do you really determine which category you fall into?

TTO and I like to try and save money in one area so we don't have to so much in another. But I think he's much closer to the spender end than I am. I often find myself being the bad guy to him and telling him "no, you can't buy that". Large purchases used to put a big pit in my stomach, but that's becoming less and less common. I think that's because our savings is much healthier than it's been in a long time, and not because I'm getting used to the spending. So ultimately, as our savings builds, I think I will end up closer to the spender end of the spectrum. But we'll get there by being a savers, I guess.

To me, it's not very cut and dry, but what do you think? Are you a saver or a spender?

The current issue of Bottom Line Personal features an article Jeff Yeager, also known as "The Ultimate Cheapskate". Mr Yeager give six ways to save money in the current economy. His first one, "Join the '$4-a-Gallon Savings Club'" is just too good not to share.

He points out that when gas was twice as much as it is now, we coped. We found the money to fill our tanks and cut down on driving when necessary. Now that gas prices are down, most people are spending a lot less than they were several months ago. Yeager suggests figuring out the difference between how much money you did spend and how much you would have spent had gas cost $4 a gallon and then physically saving the difference. Put the money somewhere specific, take some cash and put it in an envelope, or transfer the difference to your savings account. It's so easy to gradually go back to driving more, since gas is so inexpensive right now, or to just absorb the money into your budget. With this tactic you can actually "save" the money and it's good for the environment too!

I'm in. Anyone else?

When I was in college, a friend mentioned that she always thought of her spending in terms of how many hours she had to work in order to spend a certain amount of money. At the time, I totally hated the concept, since I was just making a bit over minimum wage, it was very frustrating how many hours I'd have to work to buy anything! I preferred to think of my spending in terms of what percentage it'd pull from my bank account, and how much would be left afterwards.

But recently, I've come around. I've decided that, for me, it is a great tool to decide how much I really want something. I work from home on a very part time basis, and my income is totally extra, in the sense that we don't rely on it to pay any bills. So it either goes to savings, or is used for things we want. Last year, I was planning a trip that initially included just me and the kids. I looked into airfare for The Tall One and decided that even though he'd only be there for a short time, having him spend that time with us would be worth the hours I'd need to work in order to pay for it.

I like to use this little mind game when I'm debating a small purchase or a lunch out. Sometimes it's worth it and sometimes not.

On Saturday, I stopped at Walgreens to pick up some pictures and found the place packed! I had seriously never before seen this many people at Walgreens. Most of them were making Valentine's Day purchases, though there was little to choose from because the Valentine section was so sparse. Move over Hallmark, Valentine's Day has a new sponsor.

I hope you were all able to share some time with loved ones this weekend, whether it be your spouse, children, or good friends. Here are some posts that I'd like to share with you:

Slowing Things Down from Small Notebook
Frugalizing Your Routine from Almost Frugal
Surviving an Economic Recession - Survival Tips from Gather Little By Little
Four Ways to Stop Being a Short Order Cook from Like Merchant Ships

The following post was originally published on May 23, 2008.  I thought it was a good one for Valentine's Day weekend.

Recently, The Tall One and I joined forces with two other families to start a baby-sitting co-op. We each take turns watching the other kids, so the other two couples can have a date night. This means we have two nights a month where we can go out without our boys! The first thing TTO said when I told him about or new arrangement was that we couldn't afford to go out two nights a month! But we don't need to have dinner and a movie to have a fun time together. Here are some ideas I've come up with for inexpensive date nights.

• Go for a walk - explore some new hiking trails or explore your neighborhood
• Play tennis or raquetball - check out your local high schools to see if there are courts you can use for free
• Make a nice dinner at home - be sure that it's something the kids wouldn't want to eat!
• Go to a concert - check out your local schools, colleges and universities often have student recitals for free or a small admission fee. High school concerts don't usually cost too much to attend.

What ideas do you have?

Several months ago, The Tall One came home with an assortment of random construction paper and copy paper that was given to him by a co-worker. The co-worker assumed that our boys would enjoy it.

It all started innocently enough, I put the large stack of paper into an empty under bed storage box thinking I'd just hand it out as needed. Instead, that box turned into the kids' craft box. Slowly, crayons, scissors, and glue found their way into the box. Then came the stickers, cotton balls, ribbon, random paper scraps and magazine scraps (Bug likes to practice his cutting skills using old magazines). Soon the box was overflowing and it was incredibly hard to find anything in there.

This past weekend, I cleaned out the box. Not so we could start again, but so I could put all the necessary supplies into a much smaller box! I picked up a plastic storage box that is about one fourth the size of the other one. Keeping things in the other box would just mean the same mess in a few weeks.

This concept - filling up space with unnecessary things simply because the space is there - can be applied to other situations as well. From buying new things to fill a new house to slowly growing into a new and larger income. Sometimes it doesn't have ill effects, but it's still important to watch out for.

People seem to either love or hate Valentine's Day.  I've always thought of it as a fun day to celebrate the special people in my life. With that in mind, here are ten lighthearted (and fairly inexpensive, if not free) ways to celebrate Valentine's Day.

1. Hide hearts around the house with things you love about your family members written on them.

2. Skip the restaurants, they'll be so crowded anyway!  Cook a nice meal at home, or if you really want to eat food that someone else prepared, try the mall food court, it'll probably be pretty empty.

3. Surprise your valentine with a coupon book filled with things such as "good for getting out of one chore", "you choose what's for dinner" or " you choose the date night".

4. "Heart Attack" a friend by covering their front door with a few construction paper hearts and a treat on the doorstep.

5. Make valentines with your kids to deliver to some unsuspecting people, perhaps your spouse's co-workers, the staff at your doctor's office, or go for a walk and hand them out to whoever you meet.

6. When making valentines with your kids, remember that simple is a-ok.  Cut out some construction paper hearts and just let your young ones color them.

7. Incorporate as much red and heart shaped things as you can into your Valentine's Day meals.  Use cookie cutters to shape sandwiches or try your hand at making a heart shaped pizza.

8. Write a special note to your grandparents and/or parents telling them how much you appreciate and love them.

9. Take your kids on a red scavenger hunt (outside or just in your own home) to see how many red things you can find.

10. Make a list of everything you love.  From your significant other to your favorite food.  Keep it in a special place and read it next Valentine's Day.

How do you celebrate Valentine's Day?

I've taken quite a break from doing my link love posts, it wasn't really intentional, I was just not keeping up with all the blogs I like to read and as a result just skipped over many things.  It's sad to think of all the cool stuff I may have missed out on, but at the same time, I'm sure it allowed me to spend quality time on other things... or something like that.

I am hoping to make this a weekly occurrence again because I enjoy sharing things I find, and I hope you enjoy reading one or two of them!

10 Ways to Stop Comparing Your Life to Someone Else's - Simple. Organized. Life
How Much is A Trillion - The Wisdom Journal (a quick, easy read that's definitely worth clicking through)
7 Money Lessons Learned During 7 Years of Marriage - Mighty Bargain Hunter
Are You Earning More or Spending Less? - The Digerati Life
Cutie-Cute Valentine Freebies to Share - Kiddio
25 Uses for Dryer Sheets - Gather Little By Little
Free Paper Toys from the Toymaker - Ohdeedoh

Or perhaps I should title it, "I'm a Slave to my Credit Card"?

We pay for nearly everything with our credit card because we like getting the cashback bonus awards.  We always pay it off in full, and it doesn't seem to cause us to spend more than we otherwise would.  That said, with a monthly closing date of the ninth and a traditional month-by-month budget, most expenses really aren't paid for in the month they are accounted in.

Is this a big deal?  Not so much, but the fact that a third of the expenses will actually be paid the next month and the remaining two thirds will get paid two months later is starting to bug me.  It seems to mean that when we are able to save a large chunk of money in any given month, it doesn't really "show up" for a while, especially if a previous month didn't have a big surplus. 

So, we're switching things up.  Instead of starting the budget month on the first, I'll start it on the tenth and run it through the ninth of the next month.  It might be even more annoying, I don't know. 

I also upped the grocery budget.  I realized I was consistently going over, so I decided to make it official.  It didn't change the bottom line a whole lot, because I lowered the gas numbers (which were still high to reflect gas that cost nearly $4 a gallon).

Our February fiscal month doesn't start for a few days and then we'll see what happens!

We used to be loyal newspaper subscribers, but the abruptly canceled our subscription due to delivery issues.  They'd call every now and then and try to win back our business, but we'd politely decline.  Now, though, they seem to be calling constantly.  Part of me just wants to subscribe so they'll leave us alone!  They do have a really good special going on right now.  But we know how that trick goes.  They suck you in with a nearly free paper for three months and then, bam, triple the cost of your subscription.  But you're hooked at this point and don't want to give it up, so you gladly sign on for a few more months.  Been there, done that.

We love reading the newspaper (especially Sunday's - yay coupons!), but for us, it's money we can better spend elsewhere.

So, although I've been very tempted to say yes each time I get a call, next time I think I'll give a firm no and ask them not to call back.

Two bloggers that I know of, Amanda at Kiddio and Amy at MomAdvice are declaring February a no-spend month.  Both ladies have set aside a certain amount for necessary expenses, such as groceries, gas, and utilities, but that's it.

I've often wondered if this is something that would benefit my family.  Our spending isn't out of control, but holding back a bit just to remember and appreciate how much we really have can't be a bad thing.  My hesitation essentially revolves around one thing - what if something great goes on sale?  But in all honesty, if I were serious about such a challenge, I wouldn't go browsing the clearance racks at  Target, I'd temporarily stop reading a few blogs that basically just serve as a way to notify me of neat things and great sales.  I would remove all the temptation that I could and, as a result, I'd probably never know what I was missing out on.

So will we do it?  Well, not this month.  And if we do do it in the future, I may do a week long test run first.

Do you have any experiences with purposely not spending money for any length of time?  Would you consider participating in such a challenge?