We have made a HUGE family decision that I am totally nervous about.

We decided to become a 1-car family.

I know, scary sounding isn’t it?

I hope I can do it.

Why are we doing this nutty thing? 

• Our oldest child is moving away and wants to buy her daddy’s car.
• We have talked about simplifying our lives even further than we already do.
• The Man’s schedule is pretty flexible next year.
• To save money.

Let me clarify the last reason…this car is completely paid off and has been for quite some time. Saving money will result from not having to gas up said vehicle, not paying insurance, or any maintenance costs which are sure to arise.

As best we can tell we will save $150 per month between gas and insurance. We don’t normally budget car repairs at this point in our lives because our savings has enough of a buffer to withstand a repair.

I am expecting a small increase in gas costs to our current vehicle given this situation so I factored that into the savings.

Other expected positive outcomes

We are hoping that this will force us to be more conscious of our daily plans and force us to use our time more wisely.

We are also hoping for even more family time since 1 car means we have to travel together. As it stands now, we will sometimes drive to the same location in separate cars if one of us doesn’t want to be inconvenienced with staying longer.

And I think it will be good for us physically.  Right now I drive one of the kids to speech class that is less than a mile away. We could bike or walk realistically, but I don’t because driving is more convenient. Let’s face it, I am inherently lazy unless pushed.

Plus, I will feel better knowing that our oldest has a decent car to drive when she moves 1200 miles away.

Anticipated challenges

• Scheduling conflicts
• Resentment
• Feeling trapped at home

I think the resentment will tie in with the scheduling conflicts. I am old enough to know that everything may sound good until push comes to shove so I am trying to anticipate how this will play out.  I am expecting the worst in feelings and will be thrilled if I feel differently.

How you can help

Prayers,  and lots of them.

Normally I am not happy receiving utility bills.  Who is, right?  Well, I don’t really mind them this time of the year because they are lower than in the summer or winter months.  I was downright giddy to see that our electric bill was only $140 this month as oppose to last month’s $220.  The water bill is always too high in my opinion.  It only dropped by $30.  I know there are a few of us taking showers, but I am not running the automatic sprinklers any longer so I was hoping for a significant drop.  All of this sent me on to two different trains of thought.

How do you pay your bills?

I discussed one train of thought with a girlfriend and started with these 2 questions.  I am curious to know what you do and why.

• Do you have your bills on auto-pay?
• Do you pay them online?

I don’t have all of my bills on auto-pay.  My cable and my cell phone are on auto pay because they are constants.  There aren’t usually variations in the amounts.  I pay the electric, water, and mortgage when they arrive.  I had a poor experience in the past with auto-pay for bills that are variable in nature.  Even if the amount is inaccurate the auto-pay will still deduct.  I would prefer not to have that stress. I go online and use my bank’s bill pay system.  I am even more old school when it comes to our mortgage…I mail a check.  I know, but I feel better this way.  Any extra to principal is clearly annotated on the stub.  Chalk that up to another poor past experience.

Getting help with your bills

The second train of thought I had was about the different programs available to people who can’t afford to pay their bills, let alone have  the luxury of the different payment options.

The 1st place I advise my girlfriends to go is their utility company.  Most utility companies are more than happy to put you on a “budget plan.”  The budget plan allows you to pay equal amounts every month without having to worry about the fluctuations.

And while discussing the budget option with the utility company it is always a good idea to schedule an energy audit.  The energy auditor will come out and go through your home checking for energy leaks.  It is sooooo worth the time.  We did this when we were brand new homeowners, many moons ago, and we found that there were many simple fixes we could do on our own to cut down on our energy bill.  If I am not mistaken, the energy audit is a free service.  Check with your utility company.

Lastly, if you beyond this type of help, there are programs at the state level to assists those in dire straits.  This website is a great resource:  http://www.benefits.gov/benefits/browse-by-category/category/ENA

I have a few passions in life….God, my family, trading, finances, and digging in the dirt.  Yes, I am that crazy neighbor who loves a green lawn and a beautiful landscape.  I have been known to turn down a perfectly good house for an ugly outside.  I can’t help it.  And I LOVE to garden and grow food for my family AND friends because the reality is a good garden gives you wwwaaayyyyyy too much.  And I hate to waste food.

Well, the last couple of years have been a challenge for me to garden.  We moved from northern New York to central Alabama in the summer of 2010.  No garden.  The following year we moved across the street…that’s a long story and requires bottle of wine to go with it.  No garden.  But this year I was pretty excited because we were staying put and I could garden.  I had summer travel plans but I figured my oldest was in town and she could water.  Plus, we have a sprinkler system so I wasn’t anticipating any problems.

Yeah, that was my first mistake.  The assumption that she would know what a healthy plant looked like.  Not so much.  I came home from a 2 week jaunt to utter devastation of my plants.  I was so upset.  There was a lot of money and time invested in my garden and it was all gone.

Most people are familiar with traditional gardening.  We dig in the ground or we plant in pots.  The husband and I have been intrigued by hydroponics for years.  One of my dreams is to have a hoop house filled with my hydroponic garden.  The systems I have looked at have been long horizontally, and rather expensive.  Then I had a friend tell me about The Tower Garden from Juice Plus.  I was immediately intrigued.

I now have my winter garden planted.  I am hoping for an abundance of kale, broccoli, romaine and red leaf lettuces.

I know the health benefits of fresh vegetables, but sometimes I wonder about the cost…is it worth it?  We move often so each place I plant a garden I usually have to build up the area and fertilize.  I have only ever lived in one home with a well established garden area.  The rest of the homes have required lots of work and money.  Even my Tower Garden isn’t cheap.  It cost me $500 to purchase the system.  Like I said I have looked at them for years so when this one came along I knew it was a good price.  So I paid for The Tower Garden, then I filled the basin with 20 gallons of water.  After that I purchased plants because I didn’t start in time to grow from seedlings.  I probably spent a total of $550. I had nothing to show for it though because my oldest let the basin run dry.  I have recently replanted and that cost was about $12.

We definitely eat more than $12 of kale, broccoli, and lettuce so that investment is worth it already.  As long as I continue to use the tower throughout the years the cost will go down, but initially it hurts.

Do you garden?  Is it expensive?  What about the cost of watering in your area…have you factored that in?

I read a couple of articles recently about the Romneys’ charitable contributions.  According to The Washington Times and The Wall Street Journal, the Romneys’ donated approximately 29% of their income to charity.  That came to roughly $4 million.  Yep, you read that correctly.  $4 million!

Now I am not endorsing one party over the other on this blog because this is about money not politics, but what did intrigue me was the tithing level.  Yes, I know they make an incredible amount of money which in turn gives them the opportunity to give so much.  And yes, I know that he gives to the Mormon church, but they are an incredible charitable organization unto themselves.  And no, I am not Mormon.

I try hard to live by the adage that “to whom much is given much is expected” which got me thinking about how much we tithe and wondering if we can do better.  I strive hard to tithe 10% of our gross salary.  Yes, I know that “strive hard”  sounds lame.  There is no middle ground here, either you do it or you don’t.   Here is what I notice about my own tithing….the charity has to resonate with me first and foremost, their fees have to be small (most of the money HAS to go to the intended recipients not the staff’s pocketbooks, and it helps if the organization is of the Christian faith.  They don’t need to be Catholic, which is a preference.

Another thing I noticed is that I am more generous when my investing/trading is going well.  Last year I did a horrible job tithing.  I hoarded our money because I was losing money in the stock market.  That is not the right thing to do in my book, but alas, I am not perfect and that is what happened.  I am back on track this year.

I notice at the church I attend how very little people tithe.  Here is an example, there were 256 people in attendance one week and the collection was only $1756.  That equates to $6.86 per person.  That is horrible in my humble opinion.  We attend services on a military installation that active duty and retirees attend.  Every family has a paycheck, maybe even more than one paycheck if the retiree is working  a job in addition to collecting their retirement pay.  So what is the deal with such a small amount being donated?  Are we that strapped for cash?   I am hoping that most people are donating to some organization and not NOT giving back.  As I mentioned there is a paycheck in every family.

What about you?  Are you tithing?   Can you do better?  And if you can do better, will you?  That is the key….will you do better?

One of the important lessons we teach our littles is that tithing is non-negotiable.  They receive their allowance and before they leave my presence they are handing over 10% or more.  The money goes into an envelope until we have at least $25 then we choose where to put the money.  They had been purchasing 20 chicks through Food for the Poor, but this last time they purchased pajamas and socks for an orphanage in Afghanistan.

We choose not to just let them put the money in the collection plate at church.  We want them to be active participants in giving.  How do you teach your children about “giving?”