Hello, everyone. I am starting to love payday. I used to hate it, because that's when I would see a mass amount of my money vanish from my bank account to debt and stuff I didn't really need. But things are looking up and that's good, very good. For example, the hubster and I have gradually migrating our entire house's light bulbs to LED. At first, they were a little expensive, so we would buy 1 bulb a month or something. But the price has come down to about $10.00 a bulb lately. And no, I do not want to discuss CFLS AT ALL. The mercury is bad for the environment, so I don't care how cheap they are. Anyway, on payday, I was paying the electric bill and wanted to see what impact this has had on the electric bill, because we had replaced 4 bulbs last month. From one month to the next, it went down 150 kilowatts! Wow. That's amazing! We just replaced 4 more on Friday, so I can't wait to see what happens next month.
My retirement account has increased quite a bit in the last few months. My house and emergency savings were somewhat depleted due to the need for tuckpointing on our house. Without it, we could have had serious structural issues down the road.
In the second week of April, I will be attending a professional conference in my state. It should only cost around $400 or so to attend, but I will only be reimbursed for $122. My professional savings account will be cleaned out for that. Ugh. Bummer. But I already have a plan for that reimbursement loot. I have agreed when I get my reimbursement that we will buy a ladder so that we can do some maintenance around our house a little easier. Changing light bulbs in some rooms and also outside is impossible without a ladder.
Well, I am still continuing my Food Challenge to be not only healthier but also financially free. Here are my meals for the week:
1) Spinach salad with cucumbers, onion, tuna, olive oil, apple cider vinegar. Side of walnuts and an orange. (3 meals)
2) Chicken salad with onion, salt, and pepper. Side of walnuts and an orange (2 meals)
3) Eggs with ham. Either omelets, scrambled, or fried over hard. Add seasonings and veggies. Smoothie with almond milk, flaxseed, oranage juice, and banana for a side. (3 meals)
4) Oatmeal with honey, raisins, almond milk, and cinnamon. (4 meals)
5) Stew made with ground bison meat, carrots, onions, black beans, and brown rice. (3 meals)
6) Spaghetti made with ground chicken, tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, mushrooms, and seasonings. (2 meals)
7) Chicken breasts and side of vegetables and rice. (2 meals)
Got Paid Again. Savings Up. Retirement Up. Debt is Down! Yeah!
March 17th, 2012 at 04:23 pm
March 17th, 2012 at 05:13 pm 1332004394
I've got a couple I'm planning to start with, like the hall lamp that gets left on all night because the youngest does not like coming out in the dark to use the bathroom, or the porch light, and of course my reading lamp. Then like you, I will replace a few a month until they are all done. I've used the CFLS for years, but never really liked the glow they give off.
March 17th, 2012 at 05:18 pm 1332004730
March 17th, 2012 at 06:14 pm 1332008077
Joan.of.the.Arch - I don't know anything about coal and what it releases when burned. Our local power plant is powered by coal and there is nothing I can do about that other than getting a renewable energy source, like solar or wind. (I do plan to do that, by the way, but cannot right now.) I think to compare LEDs with incandescents is futile at this point, because we won't be able to buy incandescents soon. I don't care anyway. I would still go with LEDs just for the energy savings.
March 17th, 2012 at 11:54 pm 1332028473
March 18th, 2012 at 04:17 pm 1332087444
March 18th, 2012 at 05:27 pm 1332091666
March 19th, 2012 at 06:12 am 1332137530