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May 1, 2012, at 6:00 am The following is a guest post written by Jessica Streit, a broke, single mom who plans to use all of these tips herself this summer to keep her two active boys from uttering the phrase “I’m bored.” She is a blogger, a freelance writer and a staff writer for Free From Broke, a personal finance blog for regular folks.
Summer is fast approaching in my side of the world and that means many things to me. Time by the pool, grilling out, days spent in the sun, picnics in the park, exploring the state around us and vacations!
I can’t wait to experience all of these with my boys this summer but day trips and vacations are expensive. My budget doesn’t allow for much of anything major so I’ve been looking for ways to save on some summer fun.
Stick Close to Home
Some of our most enjoyable days are . . . → Read More: Saving Money in the Summer
April 30, 2012, at 6:00 am As I mentioned last week, Mr. BFS and I have been waiting to hear back about pricing on a bunch of options for our new house. They won’t break ground until all of these choices are wrapped up, but it takes forever to get information! You’d think they’d want to move faster to get our $260,000…
The First Week
We picked out our floor plan and signed over $2000 in earnest money to claim our lot on April 14. On April 16, we were handed a list of options that were in the other house with our floor plan that was just built. That’s when we asked a bunch of pricing questions on lots of stuff including the A/C system, sprinkler system, and bay window that I asked you about last week.
We took the options list home while we waited for our answers to figure out which main ones . . . → Read More: Build a Home Series: The Waiting Sucks
April 29, 2012, at 6:00 am The following is a guest post.
Credit card rewards can bring interesting possibilities to your budget. Save holidays, your birthday, and a work bonus, and it could be the few times when you get unexpected cash. Follow along as we approach how it can affect your budget.
Options, Options, Options
Depending on the type of credit card you have, you could have several options on how to redeem your rewards. Even the most basic rewards cards have more than a few choices. Take some of the following, for example:
Cash – Via check or applied to the next statement, normally Gift Card or Purchase – Many credit card companies align with businesses, where you can apply your rewards to a credit card or actual product to purchase. Note that you can often get a good deal with something like this; for instance, $40 for $100 of a two-night hotel . . . → Read More: What Do You Do with Credit Card Rewards?
April 28, 2012, at 6:00 am Weekly Updates Getting a home built is exciting, frustrating, and expensive. Other than that, Mr. BFS and I have been plugging along and are even making progress on cutting back a little on our food spending. I’ll do an update next week. As normal, sign up for my newsletter (in the right sidebar) —-> to be able to enter the separate $50 giveaway that I host for subscribers only every month! Plus, I promise my weekly newsletter is good – quick, fun, and not a link list. I also write a little about myself every week and answer reader questions! My Favorite Posts this Week Live Real Now with Thug-cenomics STILL LAUGHING! Confessions from a Working Mom with When It’s So Hard To Remember Awww! Money Reasons with Blogging While Sick I wrote a post while on the potty before…it sucks… First Gen American with The Difference between a Hoarder . . . → Read More: Weekly Favorites, Gratitude, and Giveaways #64
April 27, 2012, at 6:00 am The following is a new profile for the BFS Reader Profile series. Today we are getting to know Jen at Rabbit and Turtle. Thanks for participating!
Personal Background
My name is Jen and I go by Rabbit in the blogging world at rabbitandturtle.blogspot.com. I’ll be 32 in mid-March, and my husband is 35. We live with our three cats in CT, in a 10 year old colonial home that we purchased in 2009.
Here’s what I’d love people to remember about me:
1) I pay WAY too much for health insurance! No, really. I used to pay almost 50 of my take home pay in insurance! Now it’s closer to 28%, which is still steep.
2) I’m always trying to figure out where my money went! I feel like we make decent money, but it always feels like we can’t save for things or have been putting off starting . . . → Read More: BFS Reader Profile – Rabbit and Turtle
April 26, 2012, at 6:00 am A couple of you have asked me what Mr. BFS and I will do if our business isn’t quite as successful all of the time. We have savings, but that will take a beating with our 20% down in late August or sometime in September. Plus, this month has been tighter than most, so I have been thinking of ways to pad these slower months (thanks alot stupid Google!).
Getting the Idea
I have really missed what got me involved in 2009 to start with – other bloggers and their posts. And in early 2010, before I started our blog advertising business, I was a commenter for hire. Well, now I figure I can help our padding problems and the no-time-to-read-great-blogs thing at the same time by returning to those roots. And unlike early 2010, I now have 1300 plus Twitter followers and am known more (Thank You All!!! Really!!! You . . . → Read More: Shameless Promotion – New Commenting with Tweeting Service
April 25, 2012, at 6:00 am Hey everyone! Anyone have some experience with air conditioners, bay windows, or a sprinkler that can move? Mr. BFS and I have some decisions to make over the next week and we’d love to hear from you all!
Air Conditioner Upgrade
Okay, so our future home comes with a Carrier SEER 14 HVAC air conditioning system standard. It is apparently great in conjunction with all of the other energy efficient stuff like the radiant barrier. The one other person in the neighborhood with our floor plan only had a $95 electricity bill from March to April (ours was $90 in our current home which is half the size). Despite this info, we asked how much it would cost to upgrade to a Carrier SEER 16 system – it would be $1090. Do any of you know if a SEER 16 for the next 10 years would be worth the upgrade . . . → Read More: Build a Home Series: Advice on A/C, Bay Window, and Sprinkler Please!
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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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http://www.budgetinginthefunstuff.com/saving-money-in-the-summer/ http://www.budgetinginthefunstuff.com/saving-money-in-the-summer/trackback/
Shameless Promotion – New Commenting with Tweeting Service
A couple of you have asked me what Mr. BFS and I will do if our business isn’t quite as successful all of the time. We have savings, but that will take a beating with our 20% down in late August or sometime in September. Plus, this month has been tighter than most, so I have been thinking of ways to pad these slower months (thanks alot stupid Google!).
Getting the Idea
I have really missed what got me involved in 2009 to start with – other bloggers and their posts. And in early 2010, before I started our blog advertising business, I was a commenter for hire. Well, now I figure I can help our padding problems and the no-time-to-read-great-blogs thing at the same time by returning to those roots. And unlike early 2010, I now have 1300 plus Twitter followers and am known more (Thank You All!!! Really!!! You . . . → Read More: Shameless Promotion – New Commenting with Tweeting Service