5 Things I Can Do Without
We have all got things in our lives that we are paying good money for, but we don’t need. Things that we used at one time, but no longer get any real benefit from. These things have a way of taking over our lives, draining our bank accounts and creating stress.
So here is my list of 5 things that I can do without this year (or at least will try to do without):
- Gym Membership: My wife and I have belonged to a lifetime fitness for some time. The club is beautiful, state of the art, and a huge drain on our finances. While we do enjoy being able to go there and use their pool in the summer or all of the equipment in the winter, it just isn’t an expense that we need to have. We have a nice home gym with weights and a treadmill, and that is really all we need. So we’re cancelling all gym memberships.
- Expensive Gadgets: I am a self-confessed technophile - I love gadgets. It doesn’t matter if its the latest MP3 player, or a hot new DSLR Camera. I love ALL the new gadgets, and I want them all. Of course buying all the new gadgets can be a strain on the old budget. So this year, I’m going to be limiting my budget for new electronic gadgets - as painful as that may be. No new HDTVs or MP3 Players this year!
- Video Games (and accessories): Last year I bought my first new game system in 6 years - an Xbox 360. While I bought the system with money I got from selling other gadgets that I owned, (an old Sega Dreamcast gaming system and a DVD Recorder), I didn’t realize how expensive a video game habit could be! Not only do you need to buy the system, but then you need to buy games, controllers, memory cards, batteries, battery chargers, more games, headsets and more games! Did I mention games? Not only is the video gaming habit expensive, but it can be a drain on your personal life as well when you get sucked into that video game for 6 hours straight. So I am going to try and limit my video gaming time this year, as well as only buying one or two of the new games that I want.
- Fast Food: My wife and I are both afraid of a kitchen - or so it might seem to an outsider. We eat out probably 5-10 times a week, and those charges add up. It doesn’t seem like much - but 5 dollars for lunch here and $25 for dinner there adds up to hundreds/thousands of dollars over the year. This year I am going to be trying to bring my lunch to work more often, and learning to cook (shudder).
- DVDs: My wife and I love watching movies. One of our favorite things to do is to go and get a couple of movies and have movie night. Nothing wrong with that necessarily, except that we also tend to buy a lot of movies that we enjoy. We have probably over 200 movies stacked up next to our entertainment center, and I’ll bet we’ve only watched about 1/2 of them. So why do we buy them? I’m not sure. I think renting the DVDs is a much better use of our money. Not only is it cheaper, but since we discovered renting from the Redbox at Mcdonald’s - its free! Check out my post on the subject. Maybe we’ll take some of these DVDs we have laying around and get one of those free ipods!
So those are some of the things that I’ll be doing without this year. Its not an exhaustive list, but its a start. If we can do without those things I know we’ll save hundreds if not thousands of dollars this year.
So what are your five things that you can do without? Post below in the comments or leave a link to your own post!
LINKS:
Trade DVDs for an Ipod
Free Movie Rentals
Money Quotes
I just read these two quotes - and thought they fit well together. The subject? Having more is never enough:
“Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one.”
- Benjamin Franklin
Homer Simpson:
Wow, Mr. Burns, you’re the richest man in the world! You own everything!
Mr. Burns:
Ah, yes, but I’d give it all away to have just a little bit more.
- The Simpsons
Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Possessions
“Then [Jesus] said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’” Luke 12:15
Something to keep in mind - that we are not defined by how much we have, but by who we are in Christ. A good thing to think about when you are tempted to buy that new high definition TV, a new camera, or some other “possession”. It can be so easy to buy things to feel good, and to equate things or possessions with a happy life. In the end, the the “possessions” can actually end up possessing us, and won’t give us an enduring happiness or peace. Only God can do that.
Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Storms
Be strong and courageous! Do not fear or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who is going with you. He will not fail you or abandon you! Deuteronomy 31:6
I get today’s verse from another blogger who blogged today about some hard times that his family has gone through in the last couple of years. He tells a touching story of how sometimes when you are going through hard times, the hard times can be used by God for good, even when they seem so bad. He tells the story of a farmer who keeps having things go wrong, only to be blessed later on because of his misfortune.
A few years later, his son was working in the hay loft of the barn. He slipped and fell to the ground floor, breaking his leg badly. When his neighbors heard, they came to see how his son was doing saying, “How will you harvest the crop this year without your son’s help? What will you do?” The farmer once again calmly replied, “Could be good, could be bad.”
The farmer worked hard that year to harvest the crop, harder then he ever had. He worked from early in the morning to late in the evening while his son lay mending. During that time, the civil war started. All of the older boys in the surrounding country side were called to duty to fight, his son however was not due to his broken leg. Many of those boys never returned home.
Go to his blog and read the whole story, it is very good.
Sometimes God knows our situations better than even we do, and he’ll sometimes allow a storm in our life to occur because it will strengthen our faith, or cause us to remember to keep our focus on him. As in the story above sometimes a storm will even keep us from other misfortunes down the road.
In college I was headed down the wrong path, drinking and partying my way to a life that wasn’t going to end well. God allowed some storms to come into my life at that time, specifically - allowing me to be in trouble with local law enforcement for underage drinking. Not once. Not twice. But three times. At the time I thought that getting caught for drinking was just about the worst thing that could happen. Now I realize that God allowing that storm in my life allowed me to get my life back on track, stop drinking excessively and move home and rededicate my life to Christ. Without that storm I doubt that things would be as good as they are today.
Jesus never promised that our lives as believers would be easy, in fact he said that we would often be persecuted for our faith. He did promise however, that if we call on him like I did, he will save us. In Matthew 14 the disciples are in the middle of a lake, a storm is upon them (troubles of life metaphor anyone?), and they are afraid for their lives. In the midst of the storm Jesus comes to them,
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!“31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
It is so important that we keep our focus on Him. Sometimes we WILL go through storms. Whether they be storms of correction because we’re headed down the wrong path (like mine), or whether they’re storms of perfection - helping us to perfect our faith in him, he will be with us if we place our faith in him. I’ll end this with a verse from a song by Scott Krippane
Sometimes He calms the storm
With a whispered peace be still
He can settle any sea
But it doesn’t mean He will
Sometimes He holds us close
And lets the wind and waves go wild
Sometimes He calms the storm
Have a blessed day!
LINKS:
gatherlittlebylittle.com
Matthew 14
$25 credit card refund for foreign travel
In past weeks official looking envelopes have been appearing in people’s mailboxes across the country, and some people aren’t quite sure whether or not to take them at face value. The envelopes claim to be coming from the “Settlement Administrator” and if you are a quaifying credit card customer, you could be receiving $25 in refunds for credit card fees paid during foreign travel between Feb. 1, 1996, and Nov. 8, 2006.
The envelopes that people are receiving are in fact legitimate, and if you qualify you could receive a refund as well. Refunds, if you had limited travel during the above dates are $25. If you had more travel more documentation is needed for larger refunds.
So how do you make sure you don’t get cheated or scammed by someone taking advantage of this class settlement? The article states that you can safeguard yourself by:
- Ignoring e-mails regarding the settlement. These will almost certainly be scams.
- Checking the return mailing address on your paper packet, which should be Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 290, Philadelphia, PA 19105-0290.
- Ensuring that if you file a claim online, your browser address window reads “https” (indicating the data will be encrypted) before you submit any form with your name, Social Security number or credit card information.
Millions of people are expected to respond to the mailings, so it’s important to take advantage of this while there are still funds available.
There are three ways to file a claim:
- The easiest is a $25 no-questions-asked refund, recommended for those with limited travel outside the U.S. between Feb. 1, 1996, and Nov. 8, 2006. If you have the ID number, you will not need to provide any personal information, either by mail or Internet.
- Others can seek larger refunds by estimating the number of days of foreign travel during the period; the settlement administrator will calculate the refund. If you have the ID number, you will not need to provide any personal information, either by mail or Internet.
- Lastly, those with extensive purchases can provide actual transaction estimates for each year that can be verified by the card issuers. This option requires the consumer to provide card numbers.
Berger & Montague, a Philadelphia law firm that handled the case, has created a Web site with details of who is eligible for a payment and how to file a claim. There also is a toll-free number, 1-800-945-9890, but he cautioned that it has been experiencing a large volume of calls.
If you traveled abroad during those years, jump on this now!
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