Saving

Well, this weekend the family ventured out into the wild world of tent camping at a state park in the foothills of the mountains.

It was a very cheap weekend, AND we had a blast!

Cost Breakdown

• Camp Site (2 nights): $45.10
• Food (no extra cost – we brought our regular groceries):  $0.00
• Stupid Tax (left our pan at home): $14.95

Total Cost:  $60.05

We had an AWESOME time.  Here are the highlights.

• We put up the tent.  Our tent attracts rain.  It POURED both nights.  BUT both days were nice and sunny.
• We saw a copperhead snake up close.  That always makes me feel comfortable.
• I ate three smores in one sitting and then proceeded to cook another dozen marshmallows.  INCREDIBLE!
• We saw a pileated woodpecker up close.  Beautiful.
• I got to spend time with my wife and daughter without the computer, internet access, or my cell phone.
• We all got our first sunburns of the season.
• There is nothing like breakfast cooked over a campfire.  Bacon sizzling.  Eggs frying.  100% purple grape juice.  Yum.
• Melea started the fire herself with matches.  I taught her how to responsibly use matches.  I hope she remembers all of the rules.
• I had to make an emergency run to a Dollar General store for a frying pan, clothesline, and clothes pins.  I need to go to Dollar General more often!  They really have good prices, and the store was really neat, organized nicely, and clean.
• I caught ZERO fish.  First time I have been skunked all year.  I don't like that.

I need to put camping on the calendar more often!

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I hope that The Saving Freak is proud of me for this one.

MSN has a great feature on their website called "Local Gas Prices".

It is very simple to use.  Just click HERE and type in your zip code.  It will pull up the gas stations in your area with the cheapest gas prices.

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You may have caught in yesterday's post that I absorbed a major expense like the transmission going on my GMC truck.  Well, that happened this month.

So here is the story.

I bought this truck from my brother nearly seven years ago.  He had purchased it new.  Early on, I noticed that the automatic transmission would shift hard whenever I drove the truck over long distances.  Once it had cooled, it would go back to shiftly nice and smooth.

So way back in 2002, I took it in to my trusted car repair guy, and he said that I should just drive it until it broke.

So I did.  It took nearly seven years for it to fail.  I won that gamble!

I took it in to my new trusted car repair guy, and he diagnosed it as "Dead On Arrival".  Upon opening the transmission, he could not believe that I was able to even put the car in reverse.

The cost?  $1,953.35.  That included replacing a broken door handle, an oil change, and some other small stuff.

Man, am I glad I have a savings account for just this sort of stuff!  In the old days, I would have been pulling out the credit card.

Maybe I should ask you the question.  Do you have money saved up for a car repair?

I am not a prophet, but I can guarantee you that your car WILL break down.  It may be today.  It may be ten years from now.  But something is going to break.  When it does, will it crush your finances or will it just be an annoyance that you have saved for? 

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My book, I Was Broke. Now I'm Not, is available via AMAZON.COM, BORDERS.COM, and PAYPAL.  You can read the Introduction HERE.

There was a day that I was completely broke and had an average bank balance of $4.13.  It was awful living with no margin.  Anytime an issue cropped up, we had a problem AND a money problem.

One of the best things that Jenn and I did was save money into an emergency fund.  What can the money be spent on?  I am not sure …  I have NEVER spent the money!  Seriously, in over five years of having an emergency fund, we have never spent the money.

Did I have an emergency?  Well, others might have called them emergencies, but the Sangl household did not.  Let me list just a few of the events that have occurred.

• Jenn had major surgery that blew up the $2,300 insurance deductible.
• Ten months later, Jenn had to have the surgery AGAIN.  AND it was in another deductible year.
• Power steering went out on the car.
• Transmission went out on the truck.
• The dryer died.
• Huge leaky roof problem.
• I had hernia surgery that blew up the $3,000 insurance deductible.

The Sangl household did not use the emergency fund for ANY of the above expenses.  Why?  Because they are not really emergencies!!!

Think about it this way.

• Is it a surprise that humans get sick and need surgery?  NOPE.
• Is it a surprise that cars break down?  NOPE.
• Is it a surprise that an appliance breaks?  NOPE.
• Is it a surprise that roofs will leak?  NOPE.

When I really think about it, I am not sure we will ever use the emergency fund but it is incredible knowing that it is there!

I wonder if HAVING an emergency fund in place scares off emergencies? 

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I love gardening.  I am a FREAK about gardening.  Seriously.

Every January, I start getting this glazed-over look in my eyes, and I have to really control the urge to pull out all of my seeds and start planting them.

Gardening can save you money on your grocery bill.  If you have no idea about gardening, then you want to keep it simple and small.  This will make it fun, educational, and keep things cheap.

If you are just starting out, I recommend the following plants for some sure-fire, tried and true producers.

• Zucchini – You will feel like an expert gardener with this plant.  It will EXPLODE with fruit and you can't really mess this up.
• Yellow Squash – Same as zucchini on ease of growing!
• Tomato – Home-grown is WAY different than store-bought.
• Bell Pepper – These plants love hot weather.
• Cucumber – Great snacks and very easy to grow.
• Green Beans – Yummy!
• Snow Peas – These things are prolific producers and twenty vines will produce handfuls of peas every two days or so.  Great for stir-fry!
• Sunflowers – Try the mammoth sunflowers that have flowers over 16" wide and stalks over eight feet tall.  The kids will have a blast watching these plants grow.
• Radishes – From seed to harvest in about forty days.

I love my garden.  The great veggies PLUS the awesome flowers that are grown in it make it a very cheap hobby and a way to supplement the groceries budget in the summer.

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