Author Archives: Michelle Vandepas

Frequent Flier Miles Without a Credit Card?

Hubby and I used to put everything on a credit card that gave us frequent flier miles. We’re travelers, and my family lives all over the place, so we’re taking a lot of trips every year. Air miles are a valuable resource in our family and all of us hoard and spend them and watch our statements each month to make sure we have enough to get together at Christmastime. Now that our daughter is three and no longer qualifies as a free lap child we’ve had to earn enough extra miles for her travel tickets as well! Each month … Continue reading →

Number Crunching: A College Fund

My daughter is three. We are going to open her a 529 savings college plan with a $1,000 initial deposit into it. We plan on putting $500.00 per year in to the plan for the next fifteen years. That is only $42.00 per month. (ok, it is really $41.66 per month). We can handle that. We’ll plan and budget for $500.00 per year, probably for a summer deposit, so it doesn’t come over the expensive December month. Since this is a 529 plan, the money will not be taxed. So, how much will she have for college? Can you figure … Continue reading →

I Blew It. $75.00 That Is.

I blew it today. I got Christmas Decoration envy and went to the store and spent money. Budgeted money. It’s not my fault. Well, ok, it is my fault but I have a good reason. Over the last weekend Hubby and I went to a wonderful party in a new custom home that had been professionally decorated. The lady of the house had 106 Christmas trees. Yep. 106. Most of them were little miniature ones with white lights and the trees were stacked together in corners and on the mantle and all around the home in a very pretty elegant … Continue reading →

Twenty Somethings Drowning in Debt

There was an article a while back about debt being a main concern between parents and their children. Seems like parents don’t like the kids getting in over their heads – because they never did it themselves. It’s true. I don’t remember my parents being in a lot of debt when I was growing up, and my grandmother – never. It would have been unheard of for her to take on debt of any sort,except maybe her house. I’m sure my parents and grandparents didn’t buy their first house in their twenties, – they worked and saved and bought one … Continue reading →

It’s My Budget and I’ll Cry if I Want To.

About a month ago we got an unexpected bill in the mail. Yes, we did purchase the new refrigerator, and yes we did take delivery of it, but really, we thought we’d already paid for it a couple of months ago. Really. I know this sounds incredibly irresponsible and very unlike anything you’d ever do, but we really just sort of forgot to …budget for it. We needed a new fridge – the other one was really old and didn’t go with our new kitchen cabinets, so we had to have a new one. (Do I sound a bit like … Continue reading →

My Secret Stash of Fun Money

There’s a small secret I want to share with you. I’ve found a way to come up with extra spending money for just me and my daughter without taking it from the budget. Sprinkled around the house I’ve left out small plastic cups seeded with a few coins. I have one in every closet, and on several counters throughout the house. Within a day after I did this, Hubby started dropping all his spare change in the cups. He saw my seed change, and viola! In went his change. Like most men, he empties his pockets at the end of … Continue reading →

What We Are Saving For!

In a previous post I shared how Hubby and I have a long term emergency fund and a short term emergency fund, so far, using the same account. Our account are separate on paper, so we can keep track of the cash and were we want it to go. We’ve also got a written list of items that aren’t part of our monthly expenses, but we need to save for each month: Presents: Christmas, Birthdays etc. These type of items come up almost every month. My toddler gets invited to a birthday party – a grandchild has a birthday – … Continue reading →

My Loves and Hates Around Budgeting

I’ve only been budgeting a short time, so Hubby and I are still feeling our way around. So far, this is what budgeting to me means: Pre- spending your money on paper, before you actually get the cash in hand. Taking a set amount of cash, needed for the week in envelopes. Watching prices at the grocery store. Writing everything down on a daily (hubby) or weekly (hubby and I together) basis to evaluate our financial situation. Sounds easy enough …. NOT! I’m forced to think about things like: What do we want to eat for dinner this week? And … Continue reading →

Teaching Toddlers About Money.

I don’t think it is ever too soon to discuss money with children. My parents rarely did – it’s a generational thing I’m sure. My sisters and I didn’t learn about balancing checkbooks or what our parents did on a day to day basis with their money. I sort of knew that sometimes we had cash, and sometimes we didn’t, but I know my mom never wanted us children to have to worry about their financial status. Oh sure, my parents encouraged saving and having summer jobs, but I want to go further with my child. I’m starting now. My … Continue reading →