Kevin's View

Friday, May 13, 2011

Saving Money in The Grocery Store

Guest post from Jim Wang

You Don't Need a Binder Full of Coupons

Extreme couponing has become terribly fascinating thanks to TLC's Extreme Couponing show. With women boasting basements full of goods that will last them a lifetime while only having to spend $100 or so, it starts to look appealing to any viewer. However, before you purchase a binder and steal your neighbor's Sunday paper, consider other ways that you can save money without having to spend 60 hours couponing.

Avoid Name Brands

Avoiding name brands is a basic money saving strategy in the grocery store. Most generic brands are cheaper by 50 cents or more, with some being up to $2-$3 cheaper, than name brands. "If you want to save a few extra dollars initially on your grocery bill, go for the generic brands," said Charles Bulger from Currencies.com. The quality and taste usually isn't different either. Simply test out the generic brands to make sure they meet your standards. If they don't, you can always go back to paying full price for the same product.

Make Your Own Freezer Meals

Buying in bulk can often save you quite a bit of money if spread over a few meals, but most families won't go through all their food items before it goes bad. To avoid wasting food while still saving money, consider making meals in advance and then storing them in the freezer. Shoppers can easy create and store personal meals in food storage containers before placing them in the freezer, and then pop them in the microwave whenever they're hungry saving you both time and money.

Buy In-Season Produce

Anymore, you can get just about any type of produce any time of the year. However, not every fruit and veggie grows year round which means you are paying high import prices on produce that is being shipped from overseas. To save money at the grocery store, only buy produce that it in season.

If using these quick tips to avoid high grocery bills doesn't seem like enough money saving advice for you, you can always get a job. The time that most of the women seen on Extreme Couponing spend on couponing is similar to the time most high power execs spend in their office. Spending 60 hours a week at a job will get you more than cheap groceries. It will give your household a second salary that will allow you to stop worrying about couponing while still increasing your checking account.

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Thursday, May 12, 2011

Savings and Emergency Fund Update

Like most of you, I am a huge fan of having sizable savings. Having at least six months (preferably a year) of expenses provides financial stability and helps you avoid debt. I haven't updated my balances for quite sometime and I thought now was a good time to do so.

Emergency Fund

My wife and I are still dipping into the emergency fund. I have to figure out a way to stop this overspending. Which in part is from the rise in gas prices over the last year or so. Currently this fund is setting at $30. Housing Savings The housing savings is the most successful I would say because of the non-retirement accounts it is the hardest to access. The balance there is currently $1,075.

Sharebuilder

The Sharebuilder account hasn't been added to for quite sometime but has continued to grow overtime....currently the balance there is: $596.44 which translates into a $231.08 (64.31%) increase over my original purchase prices.

Travel Savings

Another fund that tends to get dipped into more then we should. Today I bought medicine with these funds. In the morning I will probably have to use it for gas for the car. Currently there is about $92 in this account. We have a goal of seeing her family later this year in North Carolina. Who she hasn't seen a long time and I have never meet. It is estimated the trip would cost about $1,000, so we really need to start saving up here. Likewise we would like to go back to Kansas and see family again up there. (Perhaps the family reunion in November.) Again with hotels and everything we are estimating another $1,000 that need to be saved. So it is really important that we start building this savings and stop tapping it so that we can accomplish this goal.

Retirement

My personal retirement (401k rollover) is currently setting at $4,747 while the wife's personal retirement (401k rollover) $3,952. These figures were as of March 31, 2011. So there you have it the down right skinny of our wealth building. This blog is about my successes, stumbles and down right failures. Of course there is more successes as I apply what I have learned from the Bible and Dave Ramsey

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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Austin City Council Elections

On Saturday May 14 Austin will have it's City Council elections. I know, I know I thought was weird to. I mean elections are suppose to be on a Tuesday not a Saturday. They also have at large elections. That is the entire council is elected at large. Some of the candidates are apparently spending as much as $140,000 to obtain the seat, but where are they advertising because aside from yard signs along the highway I haven't really seen any advertising. Let's take a more in depth look or at least attempt to.

I recently emailed all the city council candidates (except the two with no email address). There are four positions, three of of which seems to even have enough candidates for an election. I did not identify myself as a blogger for KevinsView.com because I wanted to get the most accurate responses from each of them. I only heard from four of them. Below is the results.

Hello. My wife and I moved to Austin in August yet we haven't seen anyone at our door or a single campaign flyer in our mailbox. Why isn't the candidates like yourself campaigning for our votes? Do you and the other candidates consider the city residents who happen to be in Williamson County to be 2nd class citizens?

As a political activist I want to know the people I am voting for. I do not want to go to the polls and vote blindly. Should I vote for Donald Duck as a write in candidate? That would be a mockery of the election system. Please explain to me why we are being ignored? I want to vote for those who think similar to me. What are you campaigning for? Why are you running for Council?

Position 1

Roger Chan
info@rogerchanforaustin.com
http://www.rogerchanforaustin.com

No response - as a result a lost vote.
Josiah James Ingalls
josiah@josiahingalls.com
http://www.josiahingalls.com

No response - as a result a lost vote.

Norman Jacobson
normanjacobson4citycouncil@clear.net
http://funds.gofundme.com/35xes

No response - as a result a lost vote.

Chris Riley (incumbent)
info@chrisforaustin.com
http://www.chrisforaustin.com
his response is below:

Hey there Mr. Surbaugh: Welcome to Austin! I’ve been doing my best to campaign for your votes – I’ve done about 40 candidate forums all over the city, and been to dozens of meetings – but it’s a challenge to reach all 800,000 constituents. The reasons I’m running, and highlights of my work over the past two years, are set out on my website, http://www.chrisforaustin.com/ . Thanks for your interest in the race!

Since he was the only one in position 1 to respond, I guess he will be the one to get my vote.

Position 2
Kris Baily
kris@bailyforchange.com
http://www.bailyforchange.com

his response is below:

Welcome to Austin! I used to live up off Anderson Mill and 183 myself, now I'm down in South West Austin.

Honestly, I wish I could have been knocking on more doors but it is next to impossible to campaign to the entire city! I have been working on your area with yard signs and through the neighborhood associations forums and debates.

I have had to campaign mainly on facebook where I answer every single question asked on my wall personally.

I have had to run a fairly low budget campaign, you can see the finance reports at:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/election/ce_2011.htm

For my race, one of my primary issues has been the complete pointlessness of the war on drugs and how we allocate our public safety dollars. I have openly advocated for ending the policy of arresting people for possession of marijuana and instead using that money to pursue real crimes like burglary, rape, assault, etc.... See this article in the Statesman for information on why this is absolutely vital for our city.

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/austin-police-solving-fewer-burglaries-1348026.html

I have been campaigning about relaxing the sound ordinances on a lot of the bars downtown (currently they are getting tickets for exceeding 85 decibels after 10pm).

I have been advocating lowering taxes on homeowners by ending the policy of giving subsidies to private companies with our public funds. This is quite popular with the city council.

I'm not sure what issues are important to you, but my cell #512-351-1323 is available if you would like to talk to me.

I am the only candidate that has stood up in front of every single group at every meeting and stated that I will not increase funding for their projects. This has happened repeatedly. I have gotten votes for doing this.

Well, please call me, but more than anything post questions to my facebook page about whatever issues are important to you. I would rather respond publicly so that everyone can see how I feel on each issue. Also, by going through older posts you will find out a lot of information about me.

Thank you for taking the time to contact me. :)

I am grateful that he replied to me and I look a lot of what he had to say. I do, however; have concerns about his position on drugs when he says, "pointlessness of the war on drugs." As dangerous as drugs are to our youth I cannot support someone who takes that lightly.

Michael "Max" Nofziger
no email
http://www.maxformayor.org

a visit to his website appears to be more of a promotion of Spanish tourism then a candidates website. As a result a lost vote.

Randi Shade (incumbant)
info@randishade.com
http://www.randishade.com

No response - as a result a lost vote.

Kathie Tovo
info@kathieforaustin.com
http://www.kathieforaustin.com

No response - as a result a lost vote.

Place 4

Laura Morrison (incumbent)
info@lauraforaustin.com
http://www.lauraforaustin.com
No response - as a result a lost vote.

Toby Ryan
info@tobyforaustin.com
http://www.tobyforaustin.com
His response is below:

If you live in Williamson Co you cant vote in Austin City elections. I would love your support, but unfortunately you have to have an Austin address.

What? When I responded back and pointed out that Austin's city limits stretched into Williamson County, he responded with this email:

Well, thanks for all of the information. You did not explain to me exactly where u lived, you just said Williamson Co. In any event, you wouldnt recieve a flyer from me because my campaign cant afford it. You see, the system here is set up to benefit the incumbents. I am unable to raise the $140,000 my incumbant opponent raised. I am very limited in my resources. I dont have the call banks or money to hire the staff to run them. Just a few thousand dollars and a volunteer staff. I apologize if my camp hasnt reached out to you individually. Any information you need on me you can find at www.Tobyforaustin.com.

What? I didn't tell him? Rather he didn't read.
As everyone can see in the original email above (as I now have it in bold), I did in fact say "city residents who happen to be in Williamson County".
You Toby lost my vote when you didn't know where the city limits were and you sealed that decision when you responded the way you did. (Yes, those were real spelling errors he made, but he was on his Iphone when he responded).

Eric J. Rangel
info@voterangl.com
http://www.voterangel.com

His response is below:

hank you for your concern in local politics. The truth is that since there are no districts or precincts, it becomes very difficult to reach all of the Austin area. This is something that I am fighting for. I don’t have the financial capacity to fight against the incumbents. However, I am going out to meet the people as much as I can. But again, it being an at-large race, it becomes very daunting to reach everyone. I don’t want you to feel that I don’t care or that you’re irrelevant. Its just that since we are running an at-large system, it become very tough on a financial level to reach everyone.

I hope that if elected, I will push for single member-districts and in doing so can increase political involvement for the Austin area and I‘m also running for an improvement in economic development and fixing our transportation problems. I’m running cause I want to bring change to the seat of City Council and provide a positive influence to the community I serve.

I hope I have answered your questions. If you have any further questions, please feel free to e-mail me. Or below you will find some videos about who I am, where I stand on the issues, and what I see for the future of our great city.
http://www.kvue.com/news/local/Eric-Rangel-City-Council-Place-4-candidate-shares-his-views-and-platform-119560969.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rlka6svjqE
http://austin.ynn.com/content/austin_city_council/decision_2011/278053/your-decision-2011--place-4-candidates-face-off

He looks to be a candidate the I can strongly support. I will therefore be endorsing him. Thank you Mr. Rangel for taking the time to respond.

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My name is Kevin, and that's what I think. What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

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Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The Bible vs Debt

The Bible vs Debt

Before you can begin your journey to get out of debt, it is important to know what the Bible has to say about debt. Once you understand what God has to say about this issue, then you can boldly pray about and formulate a plan to attack your debt.
1. What does the Bible say about Debt?
- We are Slave To The Lender!
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. - Prov. 22:7 (NIV)
The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lenders slave. - Prov 22:7 (NASB)
The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the SLAVE of the lender. - Proverbs 22:7 ESV)
When you are in debt to another person/company or yes even government, you enter into a slave/master relationship with your creditor.
Pay Back What You Owe!
The wicked borrows and does not pay back; But the righteous is gracious and gives. - Psalms 37:21 (NASB)
The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously. - Psalms 37:21 (NIV)
When you make a vow a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fullfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. - Ecc 5:4-5 (NIV)
It is important to realize, that when we borrow or otherwise create debts for us, we MUST pay it back. Scripture is very clear on this matter.
Be a Lender
For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will will rule over you. - Duet 5:6 (NIV)
Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. - Matt. 5:42 (NIV)
- Don't overcharge for Lending
He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor. - Prov 28:8 (NIV)
who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken. - Psalms 15:5 (NIV)
2. What the Bible does NOT say about debt?

Now that we have looked at what the Bible says about debt, does that mean it is a sin? No! It is not God's best for us, but it is not a sin.
There is absolutely no instances where God provided for our needs with a loan.
3. What are the Biblical promises about debt?

The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. - Duet. 28:12 (NIV)
God will provide for our needs (but only in the season we actually need them). He does not just give us everything we want, as this verse stated, he blesses our hard work. Again this verse tells us that we shouldn't borrow but rather we should be lenders.
It used to be that our grandparents scrimped and saved for everything they had, whether it was a new car, house or vacation. Then along came the 1950's and the very first credit card, and now people borrow without even thinking about it. We need to return to what our grandparents and the Bible said, if you don't have the money, you can't afford it.
Think about it this way, Jesus came to free us from the bondage of sin. Before he unshackled those bondage’s, we were slaves to sin, until He set us free. If He wanted to set us free in one area, why would He want us to be slaves in another?
I believe God would love to see His children living debt-free lives. But, as stewards of the money that He has entrusted to us we have a free will to do what we wish with it. We can choose to give it, save it, spend it, or even spend more than we have. You see we have a big part to play – to stop spending more than we have! It doesn’t matter how much God provides – as long as we are spending more money than we have, we will always be in debt.
Conclusion

As Christians we have the opportunity to use our finances to build God’s Kingdom. Every decision we make with our money may be much larger than we realize.
Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents of money and to another one talent (almost 16.44 years wages), each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and his his master's money. After a long time the master returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. Master, he said you entrusted me with five talents. See I have gained five more. His master replied., Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness! The man with the two talents also came. Master, he said, you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more. His master replied, well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things. Come and share your masters happiness! Then the man who received one talent came. Master, he said, I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you. His master replied, You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. - Matt. 25: 14-29 (NIV)
I love this scripture, because it has so many parallels to our Christian life. There is the parallel of discipleship, but there is also this parallel of money that we are discussing today. It is the perfect verse to conclude today's lesson with. Everything that we have is provided to use in one way or another by God. Our money, clothes, Bible. Absolutely everything! What we do with what God provides us is very important. We could use it to further God's kingdom and increase it, or we can hide it and lose it. It is the perfect verse to show that God doesn't want us to be in debt, because if we are in debt, we will have a harder time to do His will and increase His kingdom.

Note:

You may have ask, what

1 Talent is equivalent to in today’s money.

1 Talent is equal to 60 Minas

1 Minas is equal to 100 Drachma

1 Drachma was about 1 days wages

Translation, 1 Talent would be worth about

6000 days (16 years 5 months 10 days) wages

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Thank You Disneyland Discount Tickets

Another new sponsor we would like to thank is Disneyland Discount Tickets a great book that helped save me some money a few years back on a little trip I made to Disneyland.
Thanks for being a sponsor.

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Thank You

I would like to give a great big Thank You to unemployment applications. A website that is a great free resource for each states unemployment application process. It is very informative and amazing to just browse and see how the different states differ. However, if you really need to file for unemployment it is a really help to know what the rules are in your state.

Thank you for being a new sponsor.
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Monday, May 9, 2011

Frugal Tip #41 Turn Off Oven Early

Earlier this year, I started posting a more in depth look at each of the frugal tips. Over the next few weeks I will publish the frugal tips that I have collected. Please note that not every tip will work for everyone. Chose as many of the tips that will work with you and your family and start implementing them. Today we will proceed with Tip #41 Turn off the oven before the end of the cooking cycle, the residual heat might just do the trick without additional cost. Last week our tip was cooking with a full oven rather then a partially full one. Today, our suggestion is to turn the heat off early and let the residual heat finish cooking. This same trick can be used for stove-top cooking as well.

turning off your stove burners early and using the stored heat to finish the cooking process of the food is a good way to stop excess waste of energy. Also adding foil to the underside of the eye works to reflect the heat.
- Bright Ideas

Of course that isn't the only source either. Many experts recomend this idea to save energy.

Turn the oven off five or ten minutes early, and let dishes finish cooking in the residual heat.
- My Food Maps

In the same vain, My Food Maps also makes this suggestion.

Preheating is somewhat prehistoric since many newer ovens heat up very rapidly. Often, preheating is not necessary, although it does depend on the recipe – especially for most baked goods and soufflés.
- My Food Maps