Squirrel Life

In my first post I mentioned being a "squirrel" and that I would post more on that. Well, today I am going to go into more depth on that. First, the term, squirrel, was first given to me by my husband, James, to describe my super saver and frugal mentality. There are many ways that my squirrelness manifests. First, because I am ever hiding or squirreling away any unexpected money that comes our way (ie: rebates, tax refunds, etc.). Second, because I am thrifty (we buy many things second hand at resale stores, auctions, garage sales, and on craig's list). Third, because when we make large purchases we do the research do buy the best item we can afford so that it lasts a long time. Lastly, because we are free of consumer debt and the only loans we have are our mortgage and one vehicle.

So, more on the squirreling. I believe that having a reserve fund for a rainy day and or making unexpected purchases--like when our lawn mower quit last summer and we had to get a new one. I use several methods of saving, first is a high yield savings account which pays between 4.5 - 5% interest. This way, we receive monthly interest on our investment. However, the money is readily available for when it is needed. The second way of saving is for the long term, I have a simple IRA account set up through my employer which I put in about $80 a month and which is matched dollar for dollar. So, automatically, I double my investment, the money that is invested reduces my taxable income and to tell you the truth, we never miss the money because it is gone before we get the paycheck. Next, I save for the kids. They both have their own jars which we put all extra change and cash into and then quarterly I take the money to the bank and round up the amount to the nearest hundred dollars and split it apart evenly into their respective investment accounts. This way, the kids learn the benefit of saving at home, but they get to have an account for the sum of their money to live and earn interest. I am always assessing the way we save to make sure that it is working the best for us. If I find an account which makes more interest, I switch accounts.

My second trait is a newer one. I have not always been thrifty, it has come about from necessity. In fact, I once was an avid mall shopper and would even think about buying second hand. I have been converted by the fact that we only have a certain about of income each month and I would like to stretch every dollar to make them count. After all, my kids still need to be clothed, we had to furnish our house coming out of our apartment and so fourth. I have found a wealth of treasure in places like once upon a child, good will, salvation army, antique shops, vintage clothing stores, auctions and garage sales. (I will post photos some of my favorite finds in this post!) Other ways I am thrifty is with DIY. I bring my lunch 99% of the time to work (saving $5-$10 a day!! = about $2000 a year!!) I have given up getting my car washed by others (saving $10 each visit) and wash at home, I have given up nail salons and either go natural or polish my own (saving $15-$45 each visit); I have given up the mall (except for very few purchases) which is overpriced and filled with anxiety when you have two kids. For clothing, I shop TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Kohls, Target, Walmart, vintage shops, and of course my favorite source is hand me downs from friends. I welcome getting cast offs from other's closets for both myself and my kids. They are generally in great shape and are good quality. I have become a regular at the tailor for alterations. (I don't throw a pair of pants out just because they rip (ha ha), or they are too long, too big, etc.) Also, I don't dry clean clothes very often. One because of the environmental hazards, two because I am usually too lazy to take them there and three because of the cost. I typically favor work clothes that can be washed on the gentle cycle and then hung dry. Basically, I haven't given up my love of certain brands or good quality items, but I have been enlightened that they may be found for much, much less in other places!

The third trait, is making strategic purchases. So, yes we have 42" LCD tv, but it was only purchased after our 20 year old tv went all plaid on us and started to make us nauseous to watch it. When it was time to make the purchased we started researching tvs online looking up what was the best at the time, comparing models online and reading consumer reviews. Then, we hit the streets and did some in store shopping and compared models in person. We then visited a few other stores with information in hand and made our final purchase. We borrowed a vehicle to pick up the tv and brought it home ourselves. Thank goodness I have a handy hubby, because he was able to get it all set up without a pro. And the unit it sits on is a interesting find! We bought it from our next door neighbor's moving sale. It is actually a kitchen hutch, but with some minor modifications (sanding, and paint and a few holes for wires) and it was good to go! What I like about it is that it was only $60, it is solid pine, it is quality made and it looks good. We looked at countless tv units and they were either cheaply made and poor quality or they were very expensive. So, we balanced out our big purchase with a thrifty purchase. I am all about that.

Lastly, the most sensitive topic for most, debt. My avoidance of debt comes from my parents and their strict spending control, and from watching others put themselves into big trouble due to irresponsible spending. My golden rule is to never buy anything (other than this house) if I can't pay cash for it. This is avoidance does not mean that I don't have or use credit cards, but at any one time I am able to pay the balance due, and I pay the full balance to avoid interest 95% of the time. Benefits of using credit cards responsibly are earning points or rebates, and building your credit rating. I am proud to say that our credit score is around 799. We use our debit cards for most purchases, especially groceries and gas. If we don't have the money, we don't buy it. This brings me back to my other squirrel traits, I often buy used items so that I can get the things we need or want without having to go without. So, I haven't given up my old ways completely about being about immediate gratification, but I have found smarter ways to go about things.

I am all about the future and being in a better position later than we are right now. I know that we won't always be living on a single salary and perhaps we can afford some luxury, but being cognizant of ways we can cut expense allows us to live better with less and to save for the future. I would like to one day be able to travel to Europe and do things like that, so my goals now are to save for things like that down the road.

Behind schedule, what else is new?

So, the schedule that I carefully outlined the other day has already been foiled! I had a very busy day yesterday and refused to start the ceiling last night, so that's on tonight's agenda. Just to give you an idea of how my day's go, I will use yesterday as an example:

6:00: Alarm clock goes off, hit sleep timer
6:10: Alarm clock goes off, hit sleep timer for second time
6:20: Alarm clock goes off, hit sleep timer for third time
6:30: Alarm clock goes off, turn off alarm clock, contemplate getting up, decide just two more minutes of shut eye are in order
6:43: Jump out of bed, trip on crap on floor, mutter to self as I head to shower
6:45-7:03: Shower, think of all the things I have to do for the day, make mental list
7:04: Try to rouse William out of bed, pull his clothes out, turn on turtle's light
7:05: Clean coffee pot, make coffee
7:08: Remind William to get out of bed!
7:10: Brush teeth, do hair, other routine stuff...
7:15: Wake Ben up, get him changed and dressed
7:20: Get irritated at William because he is still naked
7:21: Realize I am going to be late for work and start Frantic Mom Mode
7:24: Pour coffee, gather lunch, water, etc.
7:26: Get shoes and coats for kids and self
7:30: Get kids in car, strapped into car seats, and get in car
7:42: Realize clock in house is behind and that I am running even later than I thought
7:43-7:53: Drive to daycare, answer 100 questions including: "Mom, why do you have to pay attention to the road?"
7:54-7:59: Get kids signed in, de-coat, and get into classrooms for breakfast, kisses goodbye!
7:59: Back into car and head to work (thank goodness my commute is short!
8:05: Arrive to work, put away coat, lunch, purse, make oatmeal
8:10: Check emails, make replies, start a crazy day!
8:25-9:45: Drawing revisions for a project
9:45: Prepare showroom for client visit
10:00: Clients arrive on time, start tour, Q&A, etc.
11:45: Clients leave, rep arrives for lunch and learn, hustle to check emails and prepare for lunch
12:00-1:00: Lunch and learn with rep, great sandwich BTW!
1:00: Check emails again
1:15: Start working on bid (due tomorrow!!)
3:45: Wrap things up and get directions for IIDA event
4:00: Leave for event, approx. drive time 33 min. per google maps
4:45: Realize google is wrong, and that I am lost, figure out where I am going and arrive to destination
4:47: Hustle around with other committee members to prepare for event
5:15: Bend over to pick up business card off floor, split pants open at seam in rear!!!
5:16: Take moment to compose myself and quietly mention to colleague that I have had a wardrobe malfunction!!
5:17: Excuse myself to get coat to try to cover myself...
5:18: Realize coat is too short!! (NOW WHAT!?)
5:20: Go back inside to find help
5:25: Find someone with sewing kit!!! (HALLELUJAH!)
5:38-3:48: Sew up seam of pants in remote restroom while the event begins without me.
5:50: Rejoin event and use this event as ice breaker to greet friends
5:50-6:30: Showroom tour, cocktails, yummy snacks, mingling, etc.
6:30-7:15: Presentation, etc.
7:15-8:00: More yummies, and mingling
8:00: Leave with to go plate and try to navigate home
8:05: LOST
8:10: Not so lost
8:15: Call home to report I am on my way and finally figured out where I am
8:35: Arrive home! Unload stuff and say hello
9:00: Get William in bed
9:15: Decide to start newest Nexflix arrival (The Tudors, Season 1, disc 3) instead of priming ceiling (this is how I got behind schedule!)
10:00: Start episode two, fall asleep shortly thereafter on sofa
12:00: James wakes me up to make me go to bed,
12:05: Finally in bed for the night! Zzzzzzzzzz

The Second Day

So, here we are on day two. We have spent two consecutive nights meticulously applying drywall compound to our ceiling. Since we had no previous experience doing this, it was an exercise in patience and trial and error. To prepare for this phase, I googled "how to texture ceilings" and "how to use drywall compound." I found a wealth of information which gave me the tools of the trade that we would need for the job and I watched a youtube video on how to texture. The overall look I was going for is a semi textured, random plaster look. I don't really know how else to describe the look other than that. Along the way, here are the things I have learned: I don't like step ladders, I have muscles in my arms and shoulders that I never knew about, there is a perfect time frame in which the finished product will look good or really crappy, don't let the mud dry too much before you work with it, always listen to ipod while working (thank goodness for genius playlists!!). So, I still have some sanding and a little bit of touch up work to do, but overall we are well on our way! I think tonight I will try to get ready to prime the ceiling and walls. I will seriously need to clean up before I get much further because the bathroom is covered in dust and oops marks from the mud.

Here's the next week's schedule: (we'll see how this works out!)

Today (Wednesday): Sand, touch up, prep for primer, remove toilet
Thursday: Receive vanity, install wainscot, prime ceiling and walls?
Friday: Paint ceiling, install new overhead light, remove ugly old strip light
Saturday: Paint walls, return wrong mirrors and hunt for new mirror
Sunday: Install new vanity light & REST! (depending if I am on schedule)
Monday: Prep trim (sand and prime)
Tuesday: Receive flooring for acclimation
Wednesday: Final clean up prior to flooring install
Thursday: Flooring install! (Halleluah!)
Friday: Watch Netflix movie
Saturday: Install toilet and install vanity, and connect plumbing (probably run to Home Depot for emergency supplies too)
Sunday: Install bath hardware, and misc items, move back in! ENJOY new bathroom!

I will post updates to the schedule as it evolves! Enough for now, I have to get dinner going!

For process photos see my facebook album: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31007144&l=3c1faeebb9&id=1029736150

The first day

So, I have become inspired to start this blog, partially by the movie, Julia and Julia and by another blog, The Frugal Girl. I am not sure how long it will last, but I am willing to give it a try!

My blog title: Our Life Without Instructions.
My theme: Not a "how to" so much as a "how to get by" in life
Who Am I? I am a mother of two, a wife, an interior designer (full time), a homeowner and home improvement junky, bargain hunter and money squirrel (as much loving husband calls me), a novice gardener, a recycling diva and many other things that I can't think of right now.

Current events: Our bathroom remodel.

We are currently remodeling our master bathroom which has turned into quite an adventure. It all started with a pact between me and my husband to replace the awful light fixtures in our bathroom once the light bulbs burned out, as I refused to buy any more! Well, we got down to 25 watts in the fixture and decided it was time! Needless to say, I am the perpetual "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" type. What starts a simple replacement turns into a entire remodel!

So, we found a bathroom vanity at Costco and my husband had to have it. I was not as convinced because of the cost (remember, squirrel, more to follow on that), but a week later I decided I was in and we made the purchase. So, now that the vanity was getting replaced we needed to buy new faucets, and while we were at it we decided to: get a new toilet, a new mirror, and then a new floor and also remove popcorn and re-texture the ceiling, not to mention adding wainscot around the base of the tub and of course paint.

So, we are a week into this process which I have been cataloging with photographs. Other than the fact that the ceiling looked terrible after removing the popcorn, it is coming along! We did have to take a jig saw to the old vanity to get it out due to the plumbing coming through the floor, but it is still salvageable.

Oh, that brings up what we are going to do with all the old fixtures! There is a Habitat for Humanity Restore nearby and we will be donating all the usable old fixtures. So far, the only waste on the project has been the popcorn scrapings and the wallpaper border. Other than that, I am trying to have as little as possible get sent to the landfill (another topic, which I have more to say about!).

Anyhow, as of today, we have removed all items which are to be replaced and have begun the arduous task of re-texturing the ceiling! I will write more on this later!