PLANNING

The future is very uncertain but planning is important. One regret I have is that my husband will not have a nice juicy pension when he finally stops working. There's not much we can do about that right now except figure out how to live with only Social Security. One thing we need to be certain is a cheap place to live. I tell my friends this all the time. Buy a house pay it off. We have that but I'm not sure we can afford the taxes on our house in the future, not to mention the heat and electric. And besides we'll need someplace warm. I'm thinking of Florida. I want something that will cost two to three hundred a month to run. This will leave enough money for good food and entertainment. So the project for this year is t buy a little something in Florida, fix it up and rent it. A two family would be ideal. That way we would have a place and a little income too. Opportunities in real estate are rare. Like most things they are subject to fad and fashion. Both are just noise when it comes to building a life. Look for what is really important. Florida may not be the fashionable place for retirement any more, but who cares. I will look for what I need. I was against Florida in the past because I am not a beach person. I get bored. But I do like museums and when I heard about a Peter Max Museum being built, I decided to take a second look and rethink my prejudices.

Less is More

I learned just how little I need on my cruise. We got the cheapest cabin because experience has taught us we never spend any time there. We just sleep in the cabin . We can only take what we can carry so things have to be practical. Even as a cheapo, I realize I have too many clothes. I could lose half of them and still be well dressed.
More stuff, just means more work. More organizing, more cleaning, more mending, etc. Less stuff would mean more time for other things. If only getting rid of clothes weren't so painful. I periodically purge my closet for charity but it always seems to hurt. One way, I like doing it, is to get rid of the high maintenance clothes. First I get rid of anything that must be dry cleaned. I don't need the added expense. Sweaters are easier to maintain than tailored jackets. Cashmere is easy to keep, washes well and stays looking good for a long time. Then I hit all the stuff that requires ironing.. No iron blouses were the most practical pieces on the cruise and in real life. A while back I caught a sale at Bolton's and picked up some crinkly blouses which travel very well stuffed in the corner of a suitcase. I want more of these clothes so I must systematically rid my closet of silk and cotton blouses. Ironing is too much work or too expensive. A less is more lifestyle also means that my wardrobe is finally going to fit in my closet. I can use the space for other things and liberate myself from stuff and the need to buy and spend more money on stuff. Stuff attracts more stuff. If I pick something up on sale or tagging, I have to know that it will work with at least two other pieces in my closet. Years ago when I first started building my wardrobe, I foolishly bought a pair of plum colored slacks only to get home and find I had nothing to wear with them. Now when I buy something it is usually in a neutral base color that goes with everything. I generally wear basic black and use color as an accessory, for example in a sweater, a scarf or a purse. Keep it simple. This classic approach allows for a lot of personal flair while at the same time keeping the closet grounded.

Best Vacation Ever

So I'm cheap and I'm okay with it. But the purpose of being cheap is to have money to really enjoy your life. I went on a cruise. Just got back. It's been a miserable winter here in the Northeast, but ten days down in the Virgin Islands has made it just a bit more bearable. Cruises are a great value. I live near a port city. For $1500 my husband and I spent ten days away. We had a room, nightly entertainment and three gourmet meals a day. The ship has a pool and several hot tubs, plus an exercise room, library and art gallery. It was clean and beautiful. I can't even get a room for ten days at that price. So the rest was just cream. I stick with what works and Norwegian NCL is just great for me. The food is excellent and the service is outstanding. I had a wonderful time but now it's back to cold and snow. I am already thinking of ways to save money for the next cruise. When you do cruise remember to avoid paying for extras. My husband and I are teetotalers, we don't drink more than half a glass of wine at dinner. Since we got a $100 room credit, the wine was free. Also although I love buying art, this time I restrained myself. But I got lucky and won two pieces by guessing the price of the Picasso. Also we only did one official excursion. I sent my husband snorkeling. He loves the fishes. In other ports we would just walk off the ship and wander making sure to be back early. We ate all our meals on board.

the new new thing

The next time you're on your way to the mall to buy this season's must have item, stop in at the Goodwill or Salvation Army to visit the graveyard of the new new thing. You can see plainly what happened to last year's hot purse or scarf or blouse. All the cute pillows that everybody seemed to have on the sofa, all the accessories, candles, mirrors, frames, etc. end up discarded. On rare occasions you can spot the genuine good thing. A good thing has stood the test of time. It may be old but it still looks good. It's easy to spot the good thing ten or twenty years after the fact. The real problem is differentiating the good thing from the merely new thing. Whatever you think you must have, truth is you can probably do without. Save your money to buy a roof over your head. Save every nickel you have. Once you have a cheap place to live, wealth, real wealth is yours. Now I like to be as stylish as the next gal. This year I bought the September Vogue and noticed that leopard prints were this year's new, new thing. I promptly went out tag sailing and picked up a pretty nice bag for one dollar. I kept my money for savings. I have a house, but I want to buy a place for retirement. I have to save as much as I can.

Stay Healthy GIGO

Maintain a healthy lifestyle and stay off medication. Nothing can eat away at a budget faster than paying for prescription drugs. Right now I'm on an aspirin regimen and I had other inexpensive prescriptions which I stopped because they had side effects. I've seen people take a pill for one thing and then have to take another pill to counteract the side effects of the first pill and so on and so on. Till all of a sudden they have to take a handful of pills every day. Keep your money. Change your health the old fashioned way through diet and exercise. Good high quality food is better than drugs. There's a saying in the computer world: garbage in garbage out or GIGO, for short. Don't try to save money buying fast food. It may be cheap, but it will also make you sick in the long run. Why end up with diabetes and high cholesterol when a nice can of sardines at home is just as cheap and better for you than a burger full of salt and bad fats on a bun made with sugar. Eat as fresh as possible. Fast Food is a myth. Often it takes less time to prepare fresh as it does to run out and pick up something supposedly convenient. Keep your money at home where it belongs.

Get Skills

Even if you do the right thing and stay debt free, the truth is that there are predators out there waiting to take away your money. This is particularly true when it comes to cars and houses. They come into your house or look at your car and give a laundry list of expensive fixes to be made. Be wary, they may be lying if they say something is unsafe. The best way to deal with this is to have knowledge. Learn about cars, learn about houses and systems. The more you know the less frightening these people will be. Always get a second opinion and kick the predators out. When someone tries to use scare tactics or a hard sell, ie. today only discounts, that's red flag. If something is true today, it will be true tomorrow. Kick the bums out.
And learn how to do stuff. Learn how to check the fluids on the car. Learn how to rewire a lamp or change a faucet. You don't need a licensed plumber or electrician for either of those things. Be prepared to stand you ground. The predators always get angry when you say no. They see all your lovely money disappearing off the table. It's your money they had plans for. Keep your money in your pocket.

Christmas shopping

After the holidays is the best time to go shopping, whether it's for cards, calendars or gifts. Everything is on sale and despite conventional fashion wisdom, not much changes from year to year. Last season's leather gloves will be stylish next year. So why not buy them now. Have them paid for and make a great show next holiday. The same holds true for other gift items such as sweaters ans scarves. I do most of my shopping now and have very little to do come December. I have either a special closet or a box to keep my goodies. I also buy for myself. I get those cashmere sweaters on sale and put them away for a year. They make a great surprise. Stemware is also a good deal this time of year. How much does a goblet change from year to year. Then when the garage sale season starts, I keep my eyes peeled for small boxed gifts like jewelry or compacts or perfume sets or other such things that people got for Christmas but didn't really want. I buy them for a dollar to use as stocking stuffers. Another great resource this time of year is the Goodwill or Salvation Army. In order to qualify for a tax deduction, individuals and some times business just dump stuff off before December 31th. It's amazing what's available this time of year and much of it is brand new. Another tactic that works for stretching the Christmas budget is to take all unwanted gifts and sell them on ebay. Make few bucks and use the money for tagging in the summer.