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September 22, 2011, at 6:00 am If you're new to BFS, please subscribe to my RSS feed. It shows me a vote of support and keeps me motivated to keep your attention. If you have any questions or comments for me, please contact me and I'll get back to you asap. Thanks for visiting! We still have years left in our house, cars, and appliances, but we are saving up for their inevitable death.
Our Home and Cars
My husband and I bought our house in 2007, but it was built in 2004. That means that in house years, it’s a brazen young thang. But in appliance years, I am just waiting to see what goes first. We also bought my brand new Chevy Aveo in 2005 and his 2007 Prius in 2008. My Aveo is barely at 55,000 miles since I hate driving and the Prius is already closing in on 60,000 miles. But I figure we both have at least 5 more years with our current vehicles. Then I want my Mazda Miata darn it…
Our Appliances
Our air conditioner and water heater are 7 years old and seem to be doing very well. I don’t know how long they usually last, but I was expecting at least 10 years or so. When they do go, it’ll be interesting to see how much electricity we save on a newer, more efficient models since our entire house is electric only, no gas. For now though, I am perfectly happy with our $100-$150 electricity bills and won’t mess with a good thing.
We bought the rest of our appliances in 2007, so the refrigerator, dishwasher, stove/oven, above-the-stove microwave, and the washer and dryer set are all 4 years old. How long do these things last? I’m expecting quite a while out of everything but the washer and dryer (we are pretty mean to those two). I think dog hair may end up doing in everything earlier than expected anyway.
There are other things to prepare for – the security of your home and family is always a good idea. One way of achieving this is by looking into obtaining one of the many home security camera systems attainable today. For additional details, check out this websites security cameras.
Home and Auto Account
So, in preparation for something dying on us, we have a Home and Auto Maintenance account at ING. Right now it is only receiving $500 a month from us, which is our car payments to ourselves now that both of our vehicles are paid off. I am seriously considering raising this amount so that we can hit $30,000 faster. That would be able to cover a new car (worst case scenario) and any appliances that poop out on us. Right now it is sitting at about $7000.
How do you prepare for the inevitable death of your stuff?
September 21, 2011, at 6:00 am
When we first joined Weight Watchers Online, we went nuts with only name brand expensive foods that were diet-friendly. I sort of overlooked the wide variety of regular foods that would work just fine and keep my grocery budget from exploding. We have now been on Weight Watchers for more than 6 months, and here are the diet friendly foods that we enjoy that also don’t break the bank:
Breakfast
- Honey Nut Cheerios – $6 for a double box from Sam’s Club
- Eggs – $1.50 on a bad day for a dozen
- Turkey bacon (12 slices) - $2 a package
Lunch
- Smart Ones frozen dinners (great for lunch and I like them a lot) – $1.50 – $2.25 each
- Progresso soups (2 servings) - $0.80 a can
- Leftovers – negligible
Dinner
- Lean Turkey (93% fat free) – $2.89 a pound on sale and we stock up
- Chicken breast – $2 – $3 a pound
- Tilapia – $3 a pound on a bad day
- Frozen green beans – $1 a pound
Snacks
- Sugar Free Jello – $0.50 for 8 servings
- Bananas – $0.45 a pound
- Green seedless grapes – $1 a pound right now
- Nectarines – $1.30 a pound
- Plums – $1 a pound
Since our diet assigns a certain number of points to each food, we actually eat a ton of different things, but the options above are great fall backs to conserve as many points as possible.
A normal week day for me would be:
- 1 cup of Honey Nut Cheerios
- 1/3 cup of whole milk
- Banana
- Smart Ones lunch
- Nectarine
- Grilled chicken breast
- 1 cup green beans
- 1 cup rice or chopped roasted potatoes
- Sugar free jello or 4 ounces of frozen yogurt
- Sweets to finish off any points I have left
Overall, my husband and I usually spend about $15 jointly on food a day as our average. Some days will be $10 and some will be $20. Overall, we try to keep ourselves fed on $500 a month but have strayed up to $650 before and down to $350 before. It all depends on what we want to eat on a given day, lol.
How do you eat healthy on a budget?
September 20, 2011, at 3:09 pm
I was taking a personal day from blogging, but then I was reminded of the Plutus Awards. Voting ends tomorrow! So here is my one last posted plea for votes. 
In case you hadn’t seen me mention it, I AM A PLUTUS AWARDS 2011 FINALIST!!!
For anybody who hasn’t heard of the Plutus Awards, they are a big deal in the personal finance community and I MADE IT INTO TWO CATEGORIES!!!
- Best Blog Contributor or Freelance Writer - I am Crystal Stemberger
- Best Lifestyle Blog - Budgeting in the Fun Stuff
If you have a moment, please head over to http://www.plutusawards.com/vote/ to vote! You can vote whether you are a blogger or not. If multiple votes are recorded from the same location though, they all get tossed, so don’t go nuts or anything!
The best part is that the winners will be announced at the Financial Blogger Conference that I have been crazy excited about!!! It would be absolutely amazing to hear my name announced in front of all of the bloggers that I am so excited to meet!!!
Thank you to absolutely everyone who nominated me!!! Thank you to all of my readers and supporters for helping me create this little online world of mine!!!
September 19, 2011, at 6:00 am
As one of the few personal finance bloggers that doesn’t mind paying for cable, I will also let you know that we make really good use of it. We love DVR. I also really enjoy the beginning of new tv seasons like what’s happening right now. I use my self-imposed lunch hour to eat a Smart Ones frozen dinner and watch one full show. I then watch a couple of more with my husband in the evenings. We use the off periods like the summer to catch up on the hours and hours that we fall behind. I know that it is argued that tv is a complete waste of time, but it lets my brain turn off for a show at a time, which is worth a ton for my sanity.
Now that I’ve justified this post, onto what’s on my mind. Do you watch or plan to watch any of these shows?
Past Favorites (I’ve put a * next to my super favorites)
- American Pickers – I am addicted to watching them buy junk.
- Big Bang Theory* – OMG! Seriously funny and I think we’d be so happy to have friends like that. Sheldon is my husband’s hero, lol.
- Bones – More graphic than I like but the characters are great.
- Castle* – Just an awesome cop and sidekick show, lol. I love smart writers.
- Chuck – Seasons 1-2 were way better than now.
- Cougar Town – I know it’s dumn humor, but I can’t help laughing.
- Criminal Minds* – It intrigues me!
- Deadliest Catch – Just wow on a job so hard and dangerous. I cheer when they get big hauls.
- Dirty Jobs – Two words: Mike Rowe
- Glee – We like musicals, lol.
- Grey’s Anatomy – One of the few soap operas I enjoy.
- Harry’s Law* – I like feel good shows.
- Hawaii Five-O – Fun.
- House – It’s a car crash I can’t help but watch.
- How I Met Your Mother* – BARNEY ROCKS!
- In Plain Sight* – I don’t know why, but I love the characters of this show.
- Leverage* – Another great feel good show with geniuses involved.
- Lie to Me – Fascinating idea.
- Mike & Molly* – Feel good new romance, awww…
- Mythbusters – “I reject your reality and substitute my own.”
- NCIS* – Again, the past seasons were way better than the last two have been.
- Private Practice – Another soap opera.
- Rizzoli & Isles* – The only tv show based on a book series I like that is actually better than the books!
- Royal Pains* – Feel good with smart people again.
- Rules of Engagement – I can’t help but laugh.
- Suits – Lawyers I like.
- Supernatural – I love the paranormal. I don’t believe in it, but if I ever see a ghost, I wouldn’t go into denial.
- The Closer – We hate her accent but love the show.
- The Good Guys – This was just funny.
- The Good Wife* – WAY better than I thought it would be and I love the actress!
- The Mentalist* – I have to know what happens.
- The Vampire Diaries – Paranormal again.
- ‘Til Death – Another funny one.
- Til Debt Do Us Part – I can’t help but watch these car crashes…
- Top Chef Masters – One of the few “reality” shows I can watch and enjoy.
- Top Shot – My husband got me into this one.
- Two and a Half Men – I know, it was too stupid, but it was funny. I personall dislike Ashton Kutcher so I don’t have high expectations.
- Undercovers – I bet this was cancelled…
- Warehouse 13 – Paranormal and feel good.
- White Collar* – Think “Catch Me If You Can”, the series.
New Shows I’m Interested In
- 2 Broke Girls – We like the actress and hope this is funny.
- A Gifted Man – Paranormal and a cop show…
- Alphas – Paranormal.
- Haven – Paranormal.
- New Girl – This may be too goofy for me, but we’ll see.
- Person of Interest – Just trying it out.
- Prime Suspect – I like mysteries.
- Revenge – Good be fun action.
- Ringer – Paranormal.
- The Secret Circle – Paranormal.
- Whitney – Should be funny.
Okay, now that I’ve come clean, it’s your turn. Feel free to admit that you don’t watch tv at all. But also feel free to start dishing!
September 18, 2011, at 6:00 am
The Saved Quarter Challenge Update
I joined The Saved Quarter Challenge this year and was aiming to save at least $21,000 by the end of 2011, but we hit that goal in mid-June!!! My new goal is to save a cool $42,000 by the end of 2011 instead! That would be a tiny bit more than 50% of our GROSS pay from our two full time jobs (my husband’s and the one I had before I quit in mid-July)!!!
Here’s how I’ve done this week for the Saved Quarter Challenge:
- Emergency Fund/Savings – $1268.75
- Home and Auto Maintenance – $500
- Cash for Investments – $1406.25
I received my last regular paycheck on August 3rd, so my blogging income is not considered savings automatically anymore. I’ll know after the 14th of every month how much of it can be socked away like it was this week.
The new $42,000 goal is hopefully going to be reached solely through 100% true savings – 401(k), Roth IRA, emergency fund/savings, home and auto maintenance account, extra cash for investments, and blogging income up to August 6, 2011.
Total This Week: $3175
We can save what we do because we live off of a little more than my husband’s salary as a school librarian ($38,000 take home pay). That means we save most of what I make blogging from home and what my husband makes from his hobby job of reffing. Reffing usually brings in $2000-$3000 a year and blogging is bringing in $50,000 or more a year (we’ve already hit more than $35,000 for January-September 2011), and I get to keep about two-thirds after taxes.
Total to date: $39,188 guaranteed, $2,812 to go.
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Newsletter Update
You can also subscribe to my weekly newsletter with exclusive, subscriber-only giveaways by using the subscription form in the right sidebar! ———>
My current goal is to reach 150 subscribers by September 30th, so please spread the word as you see fit! I appreciate it.
Just for kicks, here are the current newsletter stats:
- Number of Subscribers: 84 (Thank you!!!)
- Open rate (how many subscribers ended up opening the third newsletter): 42 of 76 (55.3%), which is 39.1% higher than industry standard, woot!
- Clicks (how many people have clicked a link inside the last newsletter): 16 (21.1%), which is 18% higher than industry standard, woot again!
- Countries Reached: United States, Canada, and New Zealand
Thank you so much to my subscribers!!! I appreciate the vote of confidence and Jesse and I will make sure they don’t get boring!
Additonal Info
I will continue posting monthly and yearly blog statistics and income updates, so stay tuned at the beginning of every month!
In case you didn’t know, Alexa traffic rankings are determined by the numbers of hits a site gets by people with the Alexa toolbar. If you want to be part of this ranking community, you can download the Alexa toolbar here.
If you don’t already, you can follow me via RSS, Twitter, or like my Facebook page by following those links.
To learn more about the Yakezie, the blogging group that has helped me in SO many ways, check out my Yakezie page! Feel free to email me if you are a Yakezie member or challenger and don’t see yourself on the list!
If you are interested in seeing how I went from an 8 million plus Alexa rank and 3 readers to where I am today, you can see My Blogging Checklists, which breaks down everything I do related to blogging. If you want to see how I have started bringing in more than $6000 a month in less than 18 months, you can check out How I Make Money Blogging.
I have also started a new site, http://howimakemoneyblogging.com/, which will cover how I currently make money blogging and my transition to a work-from-home blogger!
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING THE BEST READERS EVER!!!
September 17, 2011, at 6:00 am
Weekly Updates
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My husband and I have made a deal for September – if I successfully bring in $10,000 or more after Paypal fees from the 1st to the 30th, we’ll kick it at Fogo de Chao, the best Brazilian meat buffet ever that costs about $100 for two people that don’t drink (well, we don’t drink when it’s expensive, lol). This is usually only something I splurge on when it’s my birthday, lol. I am currently around $8000.
- The Plutus Awards are still going on – please check out Vote for the 2011 Plutus Awards and vote for me if possible for “Best Blog Contributor or Freelance Writer” (Crystal Stemberger) and “Best Lifestyle Blog” (BFS).
- I made it into the Consumerist Roundup! Woot!
My Favorite Posts this Week
- Yes, I am Cheap with F*ck You Bank of America I am sorry you and your mother have been getting such an awful runaround.
- Retire by 40 with My Editor Wants a Raise If your spouse even helps you with blogging, I’d pay up, lol.
- Young and Thrifty with The Ultimate Peace, Adventure, and Hedonism on a Budget $8 a night sounds nice…
- Len Penzo with Are Two Household Incomes Really Better Than One? Not for everyone, but it works for us.
- Everyday Tips and Thoughts with Reflections On Our First Home- Things Done Right and Wrong It’s nice with the rights outnumber the wrongs.
- Money Reasons with Rich in the Past or Middle Class in the Present – I Choose the Middle Class Ummm…electricity and the internet…that is all I have to say…
- Wealth Informatics with 10 great household products It was like 10 great posts in one!
- First Gen American with Shroomin with Babci I don’t even like mushrooms, but I would drive around with Sandy and her mom…heck, I probably would have jumped the electric fence just because it would feel like a spy mission, but yay to Sandy for being way more mature than me!
- Money Talks with Stock Up For Next Year School supplies are on sale!
- Financially Consumed with Financial Change – Chiropracter Intervention LOL, that is one way to look at needed change…
Guest Posts at BFS
Thank you!
I Staff Write at…
Giveaways
Blog Carnivals
If you are hosting a carnival that includes Budgeting in the Fun Stuff, please email me so I can include it in my roundup. Thanks!
Top 5 Referring Sites to BFS from Last Week:
- Consumerist
- Yakezie
- Free Money Finance
- Get Rich Slowly
- Invest It Wisely
Feel free to contact me if you have any suggestions. I’d love to add a few more blogs to my regular reading list or at least give a shout-out for great posts or contests.
As always, thanks to all the bloggers that teach me something new every day. Thanks to all my commenters for making this blog the community I want it to be. Thanks to all my lurkers too. 
I hope everybody is enjoying this as much as me!
Please subscribe to my new newsletter to receive weekly updates and links to exclusive, subscriber-only monthly giveaways! There’s a $25 Amazon Gift Card up for grabs right now!
I am aiming for 150 subscribers by September 30th!!!
The newsletter subscription box is at the top of the right sidebar —————>
My Other Sites
I have started a new site, How I Make Money Blogging!
Let me know what you think!
September 17, 2011, at 5:00 am
This article provided by Construct a Quote.
Why do I need public liability insurance? If you are a business, there are various types of insurance you may need to operate legally and safely. These include public liability insurance, employers liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance. All of these insurances are designed to protect a business against potentially expensive legal costs, which can arise if legal claims are made against it. These can include claim situations from a range of stakeholders, including customers, employees and the general public.
In brief, employers liability insurance covers the risk of employee claims made against an employer for hurt, injury or illness sustained during the period of insurance. These claims may be made even after a business has liquidised or gone into receivership, which makes a roll on period essential for employers liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance, as both types of cover – and indeed most business covers – only apply for the period that they are in place for.
Similarly, professional indemnity insurance covers another aspect of work that may be claimed against – mistakes or bad advice given by a business person in the course of their trade. For some professions, professional indemnity insurance is an essential – for accountants, mortgage brokers, financial advisers, mortgage intermediaries, insurance brokers and more. However increasingly, management consultants, designers, advertising agencies and those in the creative and IP professions are taking out the insurance too, realising that the risks of a claim may do more than simply damage a business’s reputation.
When it comes to public liability insurance, businesses do well to seek out comprehensive policies from people such as constructaquote.com and understand their terms very carefully. Public liability insurance protects customers or members of the public who come onto your business premises, in the case of accident, injury, death, or damage to the property. It should also be taken out by business people who visit customer premises in the course of their work.
This PI insurance covers a range of costs in the event of a claim. These include costs, legal fees and expenses – which might be hospital treatment and ambulance costs, which the NHS can legally claim back from a business. For some businesses – particularly those where customers might potentially be exposed to risk due to the services they’re buying, such as horse riding stables, public liability insurance is a legal requirement. Many businesses will find too that even where their nature of service doesn’t require compulsory PI insurance, many customers want to see proof of adequate cover before they will engage with them.
Insurance premiums vary greatly, but will depend on the size and nature of the business, along with any prior claims history. Business activity is usually another key factor, measured by business turnover. As the insurance can be quite complex, with various exclusions, conditions and warranties, it’s worth speaking to a specialist insurance adviser to ensure you’re taking out the right policy for your business needs. You can find reputable, accredited brokers through the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) website. If you do choose to deal directly with the insurance provider, check that they are members of the ABI (Association of British Insurers).
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DISCLAIMER I am not a professional or a financial advisor. BFS posts are informational opinions only. Please make your own financial decisions based on personal research or see a financial advisor.
Also, there are paid links on this site. There is no obligation on your part to purchase any products advertised on this website.
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