Oh My Aching Debts

Quit Smoking on a Budget

Posted on July 1, 2009
Filed Under budget, savings | 10 Comments

The economics of smoking is becoming a major issue in my budget. Cigarette prices went up over a dollar a pack in the last 4 months due to various taxes. Needless to say, this has had an impact on my budget especially with Randy and I both being confirmed smokers and it is forcing me to give even more serious consideration to quitting.

For those non-smokers out there, let me remind you that nicotine is one of THE MOST ADDICTIVE substances. Quitting smoking is akin to quitting cocaine or heroin. There is nothing easy about it. It is not just as simple as not doing it. Withdrawal has serious physical and emotional effects that sometimes need to be handled medically. For me, those symptoms include crushing depression.

I would love to quit for both the health benefits and the financial benefits, however, it is not something that I approach lightly. I know what quitting has done to me in the past and frankly it scares me. I am going to attempt it simply because the cost of quit smoking aids has become less than the cost of smoking.

Right now, I am smoking a pack a day. A pack of cigarettes cost me $3.14 right now and I have to say that I smoke discount cigarettes. The average cost of a pack of cigarettes here is probably closer to $4. If I figure out how much I spend per week and per month, it comes out to $21.98 per week and $87.92 per month. It’s probably closer to $25 and $100 as there are days when I smoke slightly more than a pack. I am going to average up and say $25 per week.

I can buy Habitrol 21 MG patches online for $13.50 per week. Nicorette is $19.50 and Nicoderm CQ for $25.88. There are generic store brands available at Walmart and other drug stores. If I remember correctly our local Walmart has Equate Nicotine patches for $28 for 2 weeks worth. That works out to $14 per week.

I have also looked into trying Chantix and the cost of that is approximately $140 per month. If you can take it, I have heard wonderful things about it from other people who have tried it.

I will also need to take a anti depressant while I am reducing my nicotine intake. The quit smoking aid buproprion is also an anti depressant so I will need to get a prescription for that. It runs about $40 per month.

If I buy the cheapest nicotine patches plus the generic form of buproprion, my budget will look like this for a month:

Nicotine Patches $54
Buproprion $40

Quitting Total $94

Smoking $100

Budget gains from quitting $6

Now there are other indirect savings such as needing less allergy medicine, fewer trips to the doctor with sinus and other respiratory infections, etc but I can’t really say that I can budget that savings.

There are many, many benefits of quitting both health and cosmetic. It has been proven that people are healthier if they quit smoking. It can lengthen your life by as much as 15-20 years. It can reduce wrinkles, improve your dental health, and make your fingernails stronger.

Now I know these seem like trivial things but when you add them all up, the benefits of quitting begin to look more attractive. Big sigh! Yes, I am seriously thinking about quitting.

Does anyone have any tips? Have you quit? What helped you the most?

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Wrong Change: What Would You Do

Posted on June 27, 2009
Filed Under Finances, Personal | 9 Comments

Every day, R & I dump all of our change into a jar. It accumulates over a month or so and then we count it out and roll it. We have gotten into the habit of taking it to our local country store as they are always in need of change.

Yesterday, I took the rolls to the store and purchased some gas for the lawn mower. After I had paid for the gas with a roll of quarters and a roll of dimes. I got the girl to change a roll of quarters and a roll of nickels. She gave me the money and I left.

When I got home, I realized that she had given me a twenty dollar bill and two ones instead of a ten and two ones. I ended up with ten dollars more than I should have had. Now had I noticed it at the store, there would have been no question in my mind that I would tell her and give the ten back but now I was 5 miles away.

I am ashamed to say that we had to think about it for a couple minutes as not only was there the expense of driving 10 miles round trip but also the time involved. Happily, it didn’t take us long to decide that we would run the ten dollars back to the store. We did it for several reasons other than that it was the right thing to do.

There is no doubt in my mind that the $10 shortage would have caused the girl at the store problems and she probably would have had to pay the shortage. No matter how much we need the money, it isn’t fair to have someone else pay our way. Then there is the less obvious reason and maybe this is just superstition but we both believe that keeping the money would have cost us more at some point in time.

Have you ever noticed that when you do something good, someone, sometime, will do something good for you? And if you do something wrong, then that will also come back to you. My grandmother used to say that life was a circle and you got back what you gave, usually not from the same person that you gave to but in some other way.

My question is what would you have done? Have you ever had an experience like this?

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3 Reasons Why I Am Not Following You On Twitter

Posted on June 26, 2009
Filed Under Personal | 4 Comments

I have been on Twitter for a year or so now. It started out being fun and I enjoyed keeping up with what other PF bloggers were doing and thinking. It was a small group and we helped each other. When someone followed me, I returned the favor.

As with all good things, Twitter went downhill fast and I learned to be more selective about who I followed. I started only following people who had some connection to personal finance or self improvement. Now, I have started to look at how many updates people have when they follow me. So here is my list of 10 reasons why I am not following you on Twitter:

Too many updates. If you follow me and have more than 1,000 updates, I am probably not going to follow you. You can’t have that much to say that I want to read.
Every twit you make is for a coupon or affiliate link that is probably going to make you money and cost me. I’m just not into it. I guess some people are but not me.
Every twit you make is sending me to your blog. I use twitter to keep up with the more personal stuff. If I like your blog, I am probably subscribed. Post announcements are fine but if that’s the only thing you twit about I will probably end up not following.

So I guess this makes me a little cranky this morning but as I look at my Twitter feed, all I see is spam. Very few personal updates and very little that I am even interested in looking at. The ones who twit the most seem to have the least to say. I glanced through about 100 coupon/savings links before I got to anything interesting. I ended up dropping about 19 different people.

Is it just me? Do other people feel the same way? Is Twitter the new hotspot of Spam?

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Economics of Travel - Gas Prices

Posted on June 17, 2009
Filed Under economy | 3 Comments

Have you ever noticed when you travel up and down the interstate that gas prices vary wildly from exit to exit or from state to state? In traveling back and forth to my parents house 4 states away, I generally have to get gas at twice. And believe me, prices can vary by as much as a quarter per gallon between exits.

I had to clean out some sheds while I was there so I drove my truck. It has dual tanks and holds 30 gallons of gas. A 25 cent difference per gallon equals a $30 difference per trip. Virginia gas prices vary greatly depending on the station and the area. I know the cheapest prices locally so I always fill up on my way out.

I also know that North Carolina has a high gas tax and that drives their prices up considerably. Their gas prices are generally 25 - 30 cents higher than Virginia or South Carolina so I try my best to get gas in those states both coming and going. While $30 is not a huge amount, it is money that could be either spent on something else or money that could be saved.

I have not found any really good source online to check gas prices in different states and cities. Does anyone know of one? Do you shop for cheaper gas prices at home or while you are traveling?

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Reduce, Reuse and (if necessary) Recycle

Posted on June 16, 2009
Filed Under frugal living | 1 Comment

This is a guest post by Cindy of Journey to Simplicity. Cindy writes about her homesteading experience. I especially enjoyed her post on Soap Making. I had made soap years ago with limited success. I may have to give her recipe a try. Thank you, Cindy for filling in for me a bit while I am away at my father’s funeral.

Over the years I’ve had friends who found a way to reuse just about anything! Some would even make their own substitutes for items that typically are used once and thrown away. I never really understood why they took all that care and effort, when it’s so easy just to throw something away and buy new. Yes, I’ll admit that we have spent the better part of our lives being fairly consumer-driven (with the gadgets and debt to prove it), and we have a long way to go toward living a debt-free, self-sustaining lifestyle that is better for our family and the planet. I am excited to share the steps we are taking in hopes of encouraging others that little steps DO count. We’ve been on our journey to simplicity for several months now, and some of the steps we’ve taken involve looking into ways to reuse what we have, as well as, making items that are beautiful as well as functional.

I frequently bake my own bread from fresh-ground wheat, but have trouble finding the right size loaf bags. Buying from specialty stores doesn’t make sense when I’m trying to save money. I recently stumbled onto directions for making bread bags from cotton or muslin cloth. With a little needle work, these bags will not only be functional, they will be a joy to look at too!

I’ve also decided to take some scrap fabric I have around the house and make my own reusable shopping bags. I know these can be purchased relatively inexpensively, but I find a lot of satisfaction from using up stuff that is otherwise just cluttering up my home. Also, the more sewing practice I get, the better seamstress I will be.

Our society has placed a great emphasis on recycling, but we have found that it is better to reuse or repurpose an item instead of sending it to the recycling center. A lot of energy is used to “recycle” plastic, glass, paper, etc., and turn it into something useable that then has to be shipped to warehouses around the country! It seems to make much more sense to do be like our grandparents - reuse items until they are worn out - THEN we can send any leftovers to the recycling center. What items do you have around the house that could be repurposed or used as the foundation for some useful item?

Guest Post by Cindy at JourneytoSimplicity.com

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Guest Posters Wanted

Posted on June 10, 2009
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

I am on my way back to my Parents this morning. We need to help my Mom get some things done around the house that she can’t do alone. I will be gone for a week or a little more. While I will have access to the internet,I can’t seem to focus on much of anything recently.

I would love to have some guest posts to fill in some of the time that I will be away. If you are interested, please email me at cindys at achingdebts.com or use the contact form. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers.

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Sad News

Posted on June 8, 2009
Filed Under Uncategorized | 12 Comments

My father passed away last week at his home. They were able to bring him home briefly with lots of help from Hospice. Hospice provides in home care for the terminally ill.

I was able to spend a little bit of time with him before he passed. He was a wonderful father and husband and he will be sorely missed.

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Money Hacks Carnival

Posted on May 15, 2009
Filed Under carnival | 3 Comments

Oh My Aching Debts was included in the Money Hacks Carnival at My Life ROI. It’s a HUGE carnival and I have not yet had time to read all the posts but here are a few that caught my eye.

Stretchy Dollar (don’t you love that name?) posted on Buying When You Don’t Need - A Money Saving Tip It’s a really good idea even though it sounds wrong.

True Adventures in Money Hacking lists 11 Ways You Can Have Big Fun for Little Money Since we all know that girls just want to have fun, I had to check this one out.

Condo Blues is giving us some alternative composting ideas with Can’t Compost? Use Coffee And Eggs Instead Both coffee and egg shells are mild enough to use straight, no composting needed. Check it out to see an example and find out why.

Restoring Your Finances And Your Faith gives us Even More Easy Savings Around the House. My favorite is number 5. What is your favorite?

Stop by and check out the carnival!

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Submit your gardening posts to Carnival of Homesteading

Posted on May 13, 2009
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

The Carnival of Homesteading is being hosted by Meadowwood Garden this week. It is going to be the Vegetable Garden edition. Submit your gardening posts here.

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Why I Have An Emergency Fund

Posted on May 13, 2009
Filed Under emergency fund | 4 Comments

Like most people, I started saving my emergency fund based on advice from every personal finance article I read. It was the first step in Dave Ramsey’s baby steps. Everyone thought it was a great idea so I should have one too right? It took me FOREVER to save it up. I struggled and would get a little saved and then an “emergency” would happen and suddenly I was starting over. It took me months and months.

I think the struggle to save that first $500 is a rite of passage. It’s hard! It hurts! You take one step forward and 2 steps backwards over and over until you finally start taking two steps forward and then one step back, and then three steps forward and one back until you finally have it! And by the time you have it, you have developed a saving habit.

What a feeling! It’s like graduation. I was proud! I wanted to celebrate! My little nest egg was there. What I didn’t realize until I had a real emergency and had to spend my little nest egg was how much stress it removed from my life. Suddenly I was back at step 1 and worried about how I would pay for any emergency. What if my car broke down? What if there was an unexpected medical bill? While I didn’t consciously think about these things apparently they were in the back of my mind because my stress level increased.

I was back to struggling to rebuild it but you know, this time it was easier. I had a firmly entrenched saving habit. Taking that 10% off the top of all income didn’t intimidate me anymore. I knew that I wouldn’t miss it much if at all and I knew the security that comes with it.

The financial benefit of having an emergency fund is simple. When you have money saved for emergencies, you don’t have to borrow money when they happen. The emotional benefit of an emergency fund is much more complicated and much more rewarding. It makes you feel secure. It gives you freedom. It empowers you.

When do you stop saving? You don’t! When your emergency fund is fully funded with 6 -12 months of expenses, you simply switch to saving for retirement if you haven’t already started one. And the funny thing about all of this is that when I know I have money in the bank, I am less likely to ‘need’ to purchase something.

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