Facie’s Ramblings

This past Monday, I officially became (one of the things) I had wanted to for my last two car purchases: a Subaru Forester owner. :-) I wish I could recall what made me want to own one, way back in 1999, just before I had bought my (used) Ford Explorer. At that time, I was down to a Honda CRV and a Subaru Forester, but the latter was going to be more expensive to insure, so I nixed it. Plus the Forester was boxy, so I don't know what the appeal was. In any event, the dealership I was dealing with did not have any CRVs in, and my lease was running out; then the Explorer presented itself. It was a good (large) car that served me well for many years. But then repairs started to pile up, and I started searching again. This time, I was down to, once again, a Subaru Forester, which was slightly less boxy, but still not "pretty," and a Hyundai Santa Fe and a Tucson. When Saturn offered 0% financing for 5 years for a Vue, I moved that car up from #5 to #1. It too served me well...

I wonder how many others obsess about money the way I do. And by do , I mean do, did, and do again. When hubby and I were both working for however-many years the last time around, I often worried that we did not have enough money, even though we were able to put a nice chunk of change in the banks every month. I cannot explain this somewhat irrational fear, though I am guessing it is mostly related to our making less than many others I knew. And then when I was first laid off, I worried even more, because all of a sudden our income was drastically reduced. So if I was worried before, it made sense that I would have a world of worry at that point. But eventually my worrying lessened, even though I went several years without a steady income. Being frugal and boring to begin with meant that we did not have to give up too much (oh, we definitely gave up stuff). And caring very little about material things helped tremendously. If we had been spenders who had debt on our credit cards and...

Did you follow that? If you did, and if you have a will, then you are my hero. Even though I am married, and more importantly, I have a kid, I cannot bring myself to do a will. Why? Well, one reason is one that is shared by many: I am too freaked out that once I do it, then something will happen. Is this irrational? Of course it is. I can hear Dave Ramsey saying it is silly (maybe he said stupid) not to do a will out of fear of dying because you are going to die eventually anyway. Does not matter; still a thought in my head. Another reason I am will-less is because I am frugal. I am happy to say that I have somewhat counteracted this reason (not the frugality) by purchasing a will kit online via Dave Ramsey for something like $25 at the end of last year. I assume it will be official, although I am guessing it may have to be notarized. The last thing keeping me from doing my will is sheer laziness mixed with indecisiveness. This will kit came with about a half dozen documents th...

It is not often I pose a question in a blog post (well, at least not in a post title), but today I am doing exactly that. Can any one of us really, truly change in a fundamental way, or are we pretty much destined to be who we are (meant to be)? I know a recovering drug addict. Said person is clean again, as far as I know, for at least the second time (not counting "forced" bits of sobriety). Do I think this person will stay that way until the sun sets, so to speak? I want to believe that this time is really it, but history and statistics tell me that the odds are not good. I also know people with drinking problems who I think even if they got help will struggle with alcohol for the rest of their lives. But I am also pretty sure in both cases, no one is ever really "cured"; every day is a challenge. I know people with bad tempers. Some have damaged physical things. Even worse, a few have hurt others physically and mentally. I realize that some people want to c...

I am not talking about the TV show "Community," which I particularly like. Rather I am talking about an interacting population of various kinds of individuals in a common location. The key words being interacting and common. Last month, in between school drop off and semi-monthly school mass, I starting visiting a small coffee shop a few blocks from Jordan's school. The first time I went to this place, I instantly liked it. The friendly owner chatted with me; and as others walked in, it was clear the owner knew pretty much everyone and what they typically ordered. There were four people who were there during my 45-minute stay, and I felt comfortable enough to join in on part of a conversation. I discovered the two women walk around town before coming in for their morning joe, and one was married to a guy who arrived later. This past Monday, I decided to walk to the place. It was a beautiful crisp morning, and I figured if I was going to down a few hundred calories, the...

After months of yapping about a flat-screen TV, we finally broke down and bought one. A lovely, well-reviewed, 42", high-definition, plasma Panasonic model. When Brian, Jordan, and I picked it out at Sears last night, I said something like, "Meet your new little brother, Jordan." Sure, we are pretty much in a recession, but I figured I should do my part in stimulating the economy and spreading my own wealth. Because we paid for it with gift cards purchased at Giant Eagle, our next two plus fill-ups will be free. And apparently buying Sears gift cards qualified us for $5 off our next order. How can you argue with that, the $200-off sale price, and three free months of an HD DVR receiver from Verizon FiOS?! As I have been explaining to friends over the past few weeks, watching our 19" TV in bed has put a strain on my eyes. Most people's vision improves as they get older. Me? Not so much. I have really noticed my squinting when I try to read the guide on TV. And wh...

So I am probably about 2/3 of the way through Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover, (thanks to my friends Ashley and Heather sending me a copy). The good news is I have already achieved baby step 1, which is to have a $1,000 emergency fund. For someone like me, who obsesses about money and cares very little about material things, this was not difficult to do. I think having an emergency fund is very important, and I do agree with Dave that you should get one started even if you have debt, something I disagreed with probably six months ago until I read an article he wrote in Readers Digest. Emergencies can and do come up, so get to it if you are not doing it now. Alas, step 2, snowball all your debt but your mortgage as fast as you can, is where I start to run into trouble (yes, I did not get very far before hitting a roadblock). I have accumulated more than an emergency fund, but according to Dave, I should use some of my extra money to pay off my non-mortgage debt. The thought o...