Jill Russo Foster

Taking Stock & Cleaning Out

This summer we have spent time cleaning out – lots was tossed and donated. We even had a tag sale! We also went through our bills and eliminated, reduced and replaced. Here is some of what we did.

We came to the realization we have too much stuff, much of it usable but too much for the two of us. So on one of those 90+ hot humid weekends, we had a tag sale. We cleaned out the basement, garage, and everything in between. Earlier in the year, I didn’t believe that we had enough stuff, but you can see we did.

We cut the cable to basic and slashed our bill in half. With one simple call and by the end of the call, the TV channels disappeared and the bill was cut in half. So now we have broadcast basic channels. We set up other options for streaming live TV channels as well as access on demand shows and movies. If you have followed me, you know we use the library for many services and Hoopla is one. We can watch movies for free from the comforts of our home.

We reassessed our car insurance and made some changes, reducing our bill. We switched electric companies to reduce our bill even more. Another thing in life that you need to stay on top of to save the most.

Yes, we had a lot more time this summer with Dave being home for 4 months and this helped us to achieve all of this. He put his time at home to good use. For us, less stuff means less stuff to clean, a more relaxing home as you enter each room, etc., and more CASH in our pocket. Our goal is to have a calm, peaceful retreat from the outside world in our home.

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Vacation Insurance

With vacation season underway, are you covered if something happens?

According to Wallet Hub, 1 in 6 Americans have an illness or natural disaster happen to them. Are you covered so that you don’t lose you hard earned money? Of these 1 in 6, only 22% have insurance to cover their travel costs / expenses.

While some credit cards offer you coverage for lost or delayed luggage, missed connections, trip cancellations and even death sometimes. All credit cards are different and you need to check your individual card for what your offers you. If you are covered, they offer you reimbursements – that means that you pay upfront. Do you have that money? And they come with restrictions. Remember my Microsoft Surface Pro experience from last fall?

We have one credit card that we always use to rent a car. It gives us coverage so that we can decline the optional rental car company insurances and feel comfortable. We have another credit card that gives us the travel protection of lost or delayed luggage, missed connections, etc. We have done the research for us and you should too.

You should think about what you may need and find out if you are covered with the credit card you already have. Typically, if you don’t charge the trip to that specific credit card, you don’t have the coverage. Then check with your personal insurance (think auto insurance for rental car coverage, home owners / renter for loss of property, etc.). Then look into travel insurance, if you need or want more or additional coverage.

You should do this process for your health insurance as well. Most insurance policies don’t cover you when you travel outside the US. All this pre-planning could offer you the needed assistance in your time of need. So do your research and make the choices that are right for you.

Happy Travels!

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Low Or No Cost Summer Fun!

As you know, Dave has been home for three months unpaid, with his shoulder replacement and my position ended with Norwalk Community College. It’s summer time, there is so much we wanted to do and we need to do this on the frugal side.

Summer is perfect here in CT. We have access to great beaches, parks and entertainment. So this is the place we want to be.

So this is what we have done so far.

We have gone to the Stamford Museum for free, the Connecticut Beardsley Zoo for $5 each (66% discount over the regular pricing) and walked at the Audubon Center (free). All this thanks to our local library which offers free or discounted admission to many local attractions. That’s a great budget saver for us and could be for you too.

One thing we crossed off our bucket list was the Essex Steam Train and Riverboat. On one of those hot days, we took the train ride from the shoreline into CT, then took the Riverboat from Deep River, CT and back on the train to were we began. It was a great day trip and a surprisingly cool way to spend a half day.

We have gone to our local beaches. One of our beaches (an island) requires a 20 minute ferry ride and we brought a picnic to the island. It was a beautiful day so we rode the ferry an extra trip – love the sunshine and the salt water! This is a minimal cost as a resident.

One of my favorite things to do in the summer months, is to watch a movie in the park. Our town, as well as other towns in the area, do this. We bring a picnic dinner or take out, sometimes the dog and watch a movie under the stars.

We have dinners outside at home with the vegetables from our garden. There is nothing better than growing your own, picking it and having it right away – just delicious. Salad is always from the garden. Our tomatoes are starting to turn red and the string beans are there for the picking. All for the minimum cost of a packet of organic seeds.

We are exploring our area and doing some of the stay-cation things in town and across the state. With more nice weather weekends ahead, there is so much more on our list of places to explore so stay tuned. What are you doing this summer?

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Financial Independence Part 3

We’ve all heard the saying “Don’t keep up with the Jones”. What does it really mean? You are fine with your sofa and all is well with your family. Then your friends gets this really nice brand new sofa that is gorgeous. Then you start to think, my sofa is older, starting to look its age, maybe had a stain in the corner, you start to rationalize that you need a new sofa too.

Just because someone else gets something new, you don’t necessarily need that too. That’s keeping up with the Jones’. All of these steps are hard to do. You have friends and family showing you their new things, marketing showing you the bright shiny items that you love to own, but do you need it?

Needs and wants are a hard subject to learn. You have to come to some balance of what you want and what you can afford. So in my example above, you can do some thinking – there are choices in etween the current sofa and the new sofa:

Current sofa
Clean the sofa
Buy a slip cover
Reupholster the sofa
Buy a second hand sofa
Buy a new sofa

See how many choices that I just wrote out between the current sofa and the cost of a new sofa. Some of these in between steps may work better with your budget. You don’t always need to have the latest, greatest new item.

If financial independence is something that you aspire to, then you need to work on all three of these steps, to get your finances in order once and for all.

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Financial Independence Part 2

This is part 2 of 3 of obtaining financial independence.

Spending less than you earn, sounds easy – but is it? The basic principle is if you earn $100 then you need to spend less than $100. That’s the general rule. But there are times in our lives that this isn’t possible. When you are just out of school and your rent, utilities and student loans are almost your whole paycheck, you may experience times when you are not working – in between jobs, can’t work for medical issues etc., these make spending less than you earn a challenge.

If you have been reading this newsletter, you know that my husband had been home from work after shoulder surgery and is not getting paid while he is recovering. So what is our household supposed to do to spend less than we earn? The answer for us is to reduce our expenses and to fund the shortfall with our savings. Luckily this was a planned surgery, so we had time to plan ahead to save. But this may not be possible for everyone. First, you have to have a savings to fall back on to get through whatever life throws at you.

Spending less than you earn is critical to financial independence, as you have to save on a regular basis, putting a regular amount from each and every paycheck into savings first – pay yourself first.

Here’s how to start:

Take a calendar out and mark your paydays.
Determine the amount that you want to save. It’s okay to start small ($10 a week) and then increase often.
Set up automatic system. There are two ways to do this – with direct deposit have your paycheck split by your employers so that the amount you want to save is directly taken from paycheck and deposited to your saving.The other way is to set it up with online banking and have a transfer from your checking to your savings.

There are some suggestions to making this work. Make sure not to link your savings account to your ATM card. You may want to have this savings account in another bank or credit union – not where your checking is located. You want to have access if you need the money but not have easy access to use if when you just want something. It’s too easy to transfer money without thinking.

So for that $100 you earn, you will want to save money first – pay yourself first, then live off the rest. The rest is what you pay your bills with, shop for your necessities and the money to have fun with. Yes, that’s a lot, but I know you can make it work. You want to be conscious of what and where you spend your money, so that you can make choices. Do you want to purchase that now or have that money saved for later? The choice is yours.

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Financial Independence Part 1

In honor of Independent Day/Fourth of July, I want to talk about many people’s ultimate goal of financial independence. According to Wikipedia, financial independence is described as “generally used to describe the state of having sufficient personal wealth to live, without having to work actively for basic necessities. For financially independent people, their assets generate income that is greater than their expenses”.

Yes, we all probably want this and therein lies the problem. How do we attain this?

There are some generally agreed upon principles that are good practices that we all should attain to:

Avoid consumer debt
Spend less than you earn/Pay yourself first (save)
Don’t keep up with the Jones’

These are all great suggestions and work really well, but what if you need to work on some of these steps. In my opinion it all goes back to budgeting. Budgeting is the road map of your finances. You can see where your money is going and then make the necessary steps to eliminate consumer debt, reduce your spending, save by paying yourself first and break your habit of keeping up with the Jones’. It may sound simple but it isn’t. So with this issue and the next three I will tackle these issues.

Today, let’s look at avoiding consumer debt. This can be difficult to attain. But on the other hand, this is so important – too important not to strive for.

There have been times in my life that I have had more debt than I would like to admit. Yes, this happens to me too. In my opinion, there are two steps to start on the path to being debt free. First, you have to stop creating debt. Yes, you heard me. You need to do whatever it takes to avoid adding more to the debt. With that said, you can’t put every extra penny towards your debt and not have an emergency fund. Otherwise, the next time an emergency happens and you don’t have a fund to fall back on, you will create more debt.

In May and June, my husband had surgery and was home from work for a month without pay. We only had about 6 weeks’ notice to plan for this. We got through this period with the help of the emergency fund and savings to cover the shortfall. This was the key to us being able to live and pay the bills. Without the savings to fall back on, we would have had to use credit cards and create debt. So you can see how having an emergency savings plays a big part in getting rid of debt.

Back to the debt. Second, there are many ways to tackle this. Start by taking an honest look at your all your debt. Make a list including how much you owe, the minimum payment, interest rate, etc. I understand this is hard, but it’s necessary.

Now make the plan. You can payoff the smallest debt first to eliminate one debt (gives you momentum). You can payoff the debt with the highest interest rate (saves you money). You can plan to get more money (bringing in more income) with many options to add to your payment. Take some time to brainstorm what will work best for you and then put that plan into action.

You’ll need to stop creating additional debt and to create or increase your emergency fund. Next issue, I will discuss spending less than you earn/pay yourself first.

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Party Planning On A Budget

May and June were were challenging months for Dave as he was recovering from shoulder replacement surgery. This year instead of dinner out for Dave’s birthday, we had a party to celebrate. Many family and friends joined us to celebrate at our house.

How do you throw a party without breaking the bank? First, you have to decide how much you want to do versus buying. I personally like to do the food, that way I know what we are eating and there are healthy choices. I also don’t want to be in the kitchen all the time of the party, so for me, there has to be a compromise. The menu has to include lots of things I can make ahead.

For last week’s party, I wanted to make food ahead so that I wouldn’t be in the kitchen when everybody else is having fun. First, we decided on a simple, healthy menu with many make a heads. Here is the plan we used:

Ahead:
Plan the menu – from appetizers, the meal, to the dessert and beverages.
Order all food that needs to be ordered ahead of time.
Do the shopping, so all items are on hand.

The Day Before:
Clean the house, decorate, and mow the lawn.
Since it’s an outdoor party, clean the outdoor furniture, put up the umbrellas and connect the heaters (just in case the weather is cool).
Pre-make as much as possible the night before and chill the drinks.

The Morning of the Party:
Buy the ice to chill the drinks and move the drinks to the outdoor coolers.
Set up the tables for the food. Since this is a summer party, I still use the chaffing dish but with ice in the bottom to keep the food cold in the heat.
Do the remaining food prep and get it all ready.
I always prepare extra, so that refilling platters are easy.
Put out the food as the guests begin arriving.

Then I can be a guest at my own party and not be standing over the stove or grill.

This works for us both. We can be guests at our own party and the plan makes it easy to stay within our budget. This is our recipe for success and for staying on budget.

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Our Travel Favorites

According to US News & World Report Travel here are their top 25 places to travel to. We’ve been to 11 of the places. Also, we were recently asked what our favorite place was and it got us thinking that we couldn’t just name one. So here is the list that we compiled. We like specific things about many places. So here’s our favorite list (so far) and this will change as we see more places around the world:

Favorite Pool – You know one of our favorite things are sun, beaches and pools, here are two pools we love – Aruba Marriott Surf Club’s Lazy River Pool and the Bahama’s Atlantis water slides.

Favorite Beach – Sometimes we just want to go somewhere and lie on the beach to relax without technology and here are our favorites. Horseshoe Bay Beach – the gentle surf for being in the Atlantic Ocean. This is a must do anytime we are in Bermuda. On the other side of the country, you can’t beat Ka’anapali Beach, in Maui, Hawaii – just a relaxing experience with a tropical breeze (although a long flight for us).

Favorite European City – There is still much more to explore but our two favorites are London – lots of music history to be explored and easy to get around, a very walkable big city. Barcelona, a great walking city with lots of history and on the Mediterranean. We still remember from almost 7 years ago, arriving at our hotel and seeing the Red Bull planes flying their obstacle course out our window. What an unexpected thrill for Dave.

Favorite Public Transportation – St. Petersburg, Russia subway is so clean and it’s like traveling through and art gallery all underground – way underground (it’s the longest escalator we’ve ever been on). According to Wikipedia, the deepest station is over 280’. We also love the Hop On Hop Off Buses throughout Europe. It makes getting around cities really easy to go from one place to another even if there is a language barrier. We used them in Oslo, London, Tallin, Barcelona, and more.

Favorite Hotel – Hotel Arts in Barcelona – great ocean front hotel with excellent service and within walking distance from town and Las Ramblas (Main Street). Hyatt Regency Maui – terrific beachfront hotel that we spent our first anniversary at when it opened and my favorite penguins (Oreo and George) in the lobby.

Favorite Cruise Line – Royal Caribbean has itineraries all over the world with ships of all sizes and a great loyalty program that is easy to understand and you can move up the levels pretty easily. You know that we love those perks and benefits that comes with the reward programs.

Favorite Airline – American Airlines – hands down the best airline for us. They have excellent service and it’s easy to travel on award miles (we never had a time we couldn’t use our miles for where and when we wanted to go). The online shopping and dining rewards are so easy to use to earn miles and keep your accounts active. Our recent flight was delayed and they provided food and drinks to all for the inconvenience.

Favorite Restaurant – Flying Fishbone, Aruba (See Top Picture), you actual hang your shoes on a shoe tree as your table is actually in the ocean. Sonz Maui at Swan Court, a tranquil restaurant by the ocean. Another great restaurant experience, was the restaurant in Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark. We had a great traditional Danish meal with our friends.

There are so many places we have been and it’s hard to just pick one, but this is partial list. It will change and be updated as we travel more, so keep reading my newsletter for updates.

Save Money By Packing Light

Saving money is all about packing right and light. First, I have several packing lists – one for clothing, one for a vacation that includes cooking and one for cruises. Then I select a color theme, so that all can be mixed and matched to create multiple outfits.

First you want to know your airlines regulations – do you have to pay for checked luggage, what are the dimensions and weight limit that you are allowed? Not knowing this can cost you money. So packing within the rules always helps my wallet and it’s the way clothing can be mixed and matched to make more outfits out of less. For example, the red sweater can go over an outfit and/or be a top. The black pants can be casual with a golf shirt and can be dressed up with a blouse for an evening. Everything in my suitcase does double duty and that way I can carry less.

If I buy souvenirs / gifts, I have two different ways to do this. If we are in the US, I stop at a post office and use a flat rate mailing box and ship the items home, so that I don’t have to do a lot added carrying. We did this while in Alaska and shipped items home before we boarded the cruise ship. If I know I am going to be buying gifts, I pack a small collapsible suitcase inside my suitcase and then I have an additional suitcase to carry those new items home.

My actual clothing packing involves the color theme. I select pieces with these colors so that all can go together to make multiple outfits. Those black pants can be paired with a t-shirt by day for exploring and at night with a dressier top for dinner. A beach cover up can get from the pool in the day to an evening with the right accessories. That’s how I can pack in one suitcase even for two week trips.

All this starts with planning what you will be doing and buying before you leave for vacation.

Ways To Save While Traveling

You know that one of our passions is to travel, and we do this as much as we can. I wanted to share with you ways that we are able to save money while traveling. This is in addition to using discounts, points, miles and other known ways.

Here are some things that we do:

Food / Drinks – at hotels, we always stay in a room with a fridge and coffee maker. This saves lots, we can buy our own healthy beverage and food choices at a grocery store vs. the hotel gift shop. If we are driving, then we bring everything from home. If we are flying, it’s a little research before you go to find a store near where we are going to be. While at the store, we pick up fruit and snacks for the trip. On some cruise lines, you are able to bring small quantities of non-alcoholic beverages – yes we do this too.

Exploring / Tours – do your research ahead of time. When we travel, I do a lot of research before we leave. When going to a new city, I check out guide books with suggested itineraries, search the internet for free tours, some libraries offer passes to attractions. If you have to pay for something, do a search for cost too – look for coupons and discount codes. Yes, this takes time but it can benefit your wallet. If we are cruising, we use a website that connects us with other travelers on the same cruise. Many times we have shared rides and tours with people we met online. We shared car service from Southampton, England to the airport with two other couples, we’ve split the cost of a cab in Bruges, Belgium with two other couples – all prearranged online ahead of time.

Dining Out – think about mixing things up – have your big meal at lunch instead of dinner (prices are usually less expensive on the lunch menu compared to the dinner one and the portions can be smaller). Check for discounts and coupons to reduce your cost. Also, think about smaller meals such as stopping at a bakery for breakfast or street or farmers market for snacks. Think outside the box and it may save your wallet.

These are some of the ways we save when we travel. Let me know what you do to save money while you are away.