Money Monday

Over the last month or so we have done a brief overview of the church's All Is Safely Gathered In pamphlet. As we have done so, I hope that some of you have implemented or improved your money management practices.

I finally worked up the courage to do a budget. Not just my bills this time. I budgeted for everything I thought I would need to. I also set my budget under what we really bring home. I wanted to be able to set some aside in savings.

I have yet to get the courage up to add up all the numbers and see how well (BAD) we did. Thursday is the big day for me to get that done. So I am a little afraid. LOL!! I am going to do it though. One day we will get it figured out. As long as I am actively working on it I will make progress.

As you work on your budget remember that they do evolve. Debt go away (hopefully) and other expenses rear their ugly heads. So we need to review and revamp often.

Money Monday

Getting Those Bills Down

Let's take a look at those monthly bills. You know those ones we can't do anything about? Housing, Water, Electric/gas, Cable/Dish, Phone/Cell phone, Internet, Garbage, Car/house insurance, and those pesky evil Credit cards.

I am not going to go into all of those in this post (keep your eyes out for them though). I thought we could look at our water and electric bills today.

In my area our water provider is Firgrove Mutual Water. I pay around $30 to $40 every two months depending on the season (summer is higher). Not a biggy I know, but hey a penny saved is a penny earned! Here is a list of money saving tips. Also get your free water conservation kit. For budgeting I make a half payment ($15-$20) each month. It is automatically set up through my bank.

My electrical company is Puget Sound Energy. I pay around $141 a month for a 1300 sq. ft. home. I know what my payment will be each month because I am on a set payment plan. This plan gets reviewed every June. It is a great way to budget. No more dreading the winter months high bills. Every month is the same weather it is really $35 or $210. Here are 6 ways to slash your electric bill. Here are a few I have learned:

• unplug it. Phone chargers, microwaves, toaster ovens, and electronics. If they are not being used unplug them.
• turn the lights off. Open the curtains and let the sunshine in.
• turn it off. The TV and the computer. They do not need to be on if you are not using them.