Audacious Goals -- Percentage hacking my way to home ownership

I have wanted to be a homeowner for a long time, but to be totally honest, I've frequently placed my energy on other things with home ownership as a back of mind aspiration. Twice I've given it a lot of focus though . . . until I let other things take over my mental space.

I think part of my issue has come down to not having a plan. Or having a plan with steps that are too grandiose and too difficult to mentally comprehend and achieve. 

Today, I was thinking about my home ownership desires and, more broadly, about Dan Harris's book, 10% Happier. I started to wonder if I could approach becoming a home owner through a series of steps based on percentages. 

If you don't know, Dan Harris is a news reporter who had a panic attack giving a national broadcast and decided something in his life had to change -- ultimately, he wanted to feel happier, but that was too vague and too big of a goal. He decided that feeling only 10% happier was achievable and set out to do that which led to writing a book about his experience. While the book goes into a lot of detail about meditation, Buddhism, anxiety, and so on, I think his idea of trying to be 10% happier can be applied to many other things, including incremental steps towards home ownership.

It got me thinking, what can I do 10% more or less of this week to push me closer to my goal? 

Just a few of the many things that came to mind:

• Pay 10% more with every debt payment
• Replace 10% of my coffee and soda drinking with water, and better: replace ALL of my purchased beverages at work with water from the water station at work (thus, it would be no added water on my household water bill!)
• Put 10% more of my next paycheck into savings
• Spend 10% more time every day on my Etsy and Mercari shops (with the goal of selling more)
• Spend 10% more time every day working on finishing my networking e-book for shy, anxious, introverts
• Use 10% less of household and hygiene products (as long as doing so doesn't impact their effectiveness)
• Figure out how to use 10% less energy to lower my electric bill

I had many other ideas come to mind, but these are the ones that felt most readily and easily doable. 

Only 10% over the next week won't make a huge impact, but I believe it will compound over time as the weeks go by. Notice that I didn't say months or years -- frankly, right now, thinking about habit changes and goals over the course of months and years sounds too big and too hard. But, a few weeks? That's easy. 

My goal isn't a huge home, but the housing market fluctuates a lot, so I'm not getting too tied up on details other than knowing I want at least:

• Two bedrooms and two bathrooms
• A patio or yard that's about 100 square feet for a small sitting area and a small garden
• A lot of natural light
• Close to public transportation

I don't feel like that's asking too much of myself and I do think it is achievable, even as it feels like life is more and more expensive and it's harder and harder to get by. 

What incremental changes have you made towards achieving your goals?

30 Days of Financial Action -- Day Two: LEGIT Online Data Entry

Yesterday, I mentioned that I found a legitimate source for online data entry. There are a lot of scams out there, but there are a few real, legit options too.

Many legitimate online data entry gigs require you to work set hours and/or meet weekly or monthly productivity criteria (or even daily or hourly!). None of those options would work for me since I already have a full time job and lots of other responsibilities. Plus, I was looking specifically for options with flexibility.

I stumbled upon an organization that has since changed names a few times, but at present is called The Smart Crowd from a company called Lionbridge. 

Because of privacy issues, I can't really share much in the way of screenshots, but here is the current home page:

You are NOT going to get rich with this, and you are most likely NOT going to be able to even pay your regular monthly bills. It's very low paying data entry work, but for me, the flexibility to do it anytime from anywhere in the USA are great.

Typically, I earn enough money to pay for my monthly gas and a bit more, if I'm really on top of things.

When I first signed up with The Smart Crowd, I took a few typing and data entry tests and then had to sit back and wait. Several weeks later, I received an email stating my application had been approved and I could begin working.

When you are finally set up, you log in and see a list of jobs, each falling into a type of data entry category and each with their own rules for processing. You click on one and are taken to a screen with a box on top showing a clip to enter and a blank box for your data entry. Below that, there are two preview windows of the next two snippets to be typed or entered.

The main screen, after logging in, also shows you a break down of your productivity and earnings for the current month, current week, and current day.

At present, pay out occurs on the 15th and the 1st of every month if you earn a minimum of $30. This past month, I earned $48. My goal kept increasing as I moved past $30, and I had hoped to reach $60, but real life got in the way of those plans -- real life is one of the reasons I like the flexibility of this gig!

As I mentioned, you aren't likely to be able to pay your bills off of this data entry option, but you will earn enough for a tank of gas and a few other things if you really buckle down and stick with it. However, if life interferes, it's not a big deal to drop it for a day, a week, or even several months and then pick right back up again.

If you are interested in trying it out, click HERE to learn more about The Smart Crowd data entry.

What little side gigs do you have going on? 

Are you following a cash envelope system to get your finances straight? Check out this download-and-print cash envelope on Etsy. It's fun, inexpensive, and you can print as many copies as you need! It doubles as a coloring page too:

Check out Day One of my 30 Days of Financial Action:

30 Days of Financial Action: Day 1 -- Getting Started

I haven't blogged at Paying it Off One Penny at a Time in a really long time! I've just had so much going on, as well as a bit of (a lot of) anxiety and depression. 

But, I recently got my mojo back and am here to embark on renewing my journey to financial freedom!

Today, I am committing to blogging for 30 days about my DAILY financial freedom actions.

So, what have I done today towards my financial goals?

• Some online data entry--my goal is to cross the $30 earnings mark today (I'm at just under $28) which is the minimum required to be paid. {{Edited: I crossed the $30 mark!}}
• I added a few items to several craft supply destash bags that I have listed on local Facebook buy/sell/trade groups.
• I made coffee AT HOME instead of going and buying a drink.
• I did my own yard work until it warmed up enough for some bees to come out and start hovering.

My goals for the rest of today, financially are:

• Bump up my Facebook buy/sell/trade listings.
• Add my Facebook listings to NextDoor App and Let Go.
• Keep on the data entry throughout the day, even if I cross the $30 mark.
• See if a job I want has posted, and if it has, apply!
• Get in touch with my accountant about some things he was supposed to send me.
• Get in touch with my lawyer about my uncle's estate and probate issues.
• Work on listings for one of my Etsy shops -- The Crafty Hermitress.

How about you? What are you working on in your financial freedom journey?

Come back tomorrow when I blog about online data entry--I found a LEGITIMATE online data entry company!

30 Days of Financial Action -- Day 3: Resisting temptation

The hat was so cute!

I LOVE a good hat and I only have two...what's one more?

It was sooooo cute!

I clicked on "add to bag" and put the hat in my virtual shopping cart. I browsed some more and added a meal planner to my cart. I added a sticker sheet. I browsed some more.

Then, I clicked on my shopping cart and saw the total.

NOPE! Not going to buy anything!

Does that happen to you too? You see a great shopping haul video on YouTube or a cute pic on Instagram and next thing you know, you're mindlessly adding things to virtual shopping carts and making purchases without really thinking about it!

Ugh!

Thankfully, I had a sudden flash of cash flying out of my bank account to make this purchase and I stopped myself. I had almost $100 of products in my shopping cart, and it would have been so, so easy to enter my billing details and check out!

Instead, I tried to remember my desire to be debt free, to own my own home, and go on amazing adventures around the globe. I can't do any of that if I'm mindlessly spending money.

Does this moment of resisting temptation mean I've been perfect lately? Nope. I did spend more than I planned at the grocery store two days ago -- largely because I took my son with me and that almost always means going off-list. And, I did buy take away coffee last night and the night before on my way to work.

Overall though, I've been doing pretty well with minimizing my spending the past two weeks. And, since that blip a few days ago, I've been even more conscious of my spending habits. Last night, I almost went to Subway on my way to work for a sandwich, but instead, I remembered all those off-list items I'd purchased at the grocery store and found something in my freezer to take to work. And, instead of getting a snack from a convenience store on my break at work, I packed the second half of a smoothie which I'd stashed in my freezer two days ago.

My spending habits aren't perfect, but I'm trying and I'm doing better at curbing mindless spending and avoiding temptations.

How about you? How often do you cave in to temptation?

Other posts in this series:

Grocery Haul: July 1st, 2016 and the grocery savings and rebate apps I love

I happen to LOVE grocery haul videos on YouTube! I don't know why, but they get me kind of excited. I really like seeing how other people eat and what groceries in different areas of the country and at different stores cost compared to my own.

I'm not quite at the taking video stage yet, but I plan to get there. In the meantime, here is my grocery haul (well, part of it) from July 1st, 2016. I made a few additional stops over the last few days for more produce and staples that were cheaper elsewhere, but this gives you a basic idea of some of what we eat.

Please note, we are a family of two--a mom and a teenage boy. We also buy most of our produce separately at different stores so not a lot of produce is pictured here.

The apps I mention below are (please note, some are affiliate links):

• Ibotta
• Saving Star
• Checkout 51

and the website I print my coupons from is:

• Swagbucks -- Go to the Shopping tab in the menu and then find the link for grocery coupons. With Saving Star, you get points for redeeming coupons. These points, along with points accrued from other activities via Swagbucks, can be redeemed for giftcards. Over the last several years, I have paid for my son's birthday and Christmas presents almost entirely with giftcards earned in this manner. Most months, I am able to earn an average of $20 in Amazon gift cards via Swagbucks. Sometimes I earn a bit more and sometimes I cash out for Starbucks gift cards instead. You can earn a lot more on Swagbucks, but it can be time intensive if you aren't picky. It can also generate a lot of unnecessary junk email if you aren't careful.  

Most of these apps and the website are only available to users in the USA, although I believe Checkout 51 is also available in Canada.

Since that haul, I did temporarily misplace my receipts so I am not totally sure of how much I spent or what my savings were overall, but I recall being pleased other than a hiccup with three coupons that I mention below. On average, I save 30 to 50% per grocery trip BEFORE applying rebate app savings. On occasion I get up to 75% savings. My dream, of course, is a 100% savings trip!

On to the haul...

We eat a lot of sandwiches so I picked up two packages of Oscar Mayer lunch meat--both on sale AND I had a coupon. I also picked up a package of dry salami (on sale) and two packages of pre-cooked sausages. And, for my son I picked up a package of pre-sliced Tillamook cheese. For cooking and baking, I picked up a package of Imperial margarine since I am allergic to dairy and thus can't use regular butter. The cheese was on sale AND a rebate was available via the savings app Ibotta. I printed the coupon for the lunchmeat via the website Swagbucks.

Sugary cereals aren't my ideal, but sometimes we need a super easy sweet treat. Cereal was on sale AND I had coupons printed from Swagbucks AND a rebate from Saving Star. We use rice milk in place of regular cow's milk and were running low so I picked up two containers. Our favorite bread was not in stock so I bought our second favorite as well as some bagels. The hamburger buns were on sale AND I had a rebate available from Ibotta resulting in the buns costing next to nothing. We just use them for regular sandwiches. 

We had run out of laundry detergent so I picked up a new bottle. My hair also has been unusually tangled and coarse lately, I think due to the water quality where we live now, so I also picked up some apple cider vinegar. Dilute it with water (I do about 20% vinegar to 80% water most of the time but increase the vinegar after swimming) and pour it over your hair after shampooing and rinsing. Then, rinse it out. The tangles come out so easily! It's like magic!

I also bought some bulk oatmeal, unbleached flour, and sugar to make blueberry muffins--I guessed on how much of each I would need and my guess was spot-on! I also bought my favorite jelly (with a coupon) and muffin tin liners for the blueberry muffins. The jelly jar also will eventually become a bulk spices container once the jelly is all gone and I've washed out the jar. 

Lighbulbs...I bought a reading lamp after our move due to not enough natural light in our space, and the only bulbs I had available were much to high in wattage.

PRODUCE! You can see the blueberries in the back, then two bell peppers, one bunch of radishes, a pound or so of green beans, zucchini, and tomatoes. I had rebates for the peppers and zucchini via Ibotta. I also had a rebate for tomatoes through the app Checkout 51.

Snackies... The Wheat Thin crackers were on sale and I had a rebate available through Checkout 51. I had coupons for the Justin's nutbutter packets that should have made them free, but they resulted in an error message each time the cashier tried to use them. I ended up paying full price for each nutbutter packet and plan to write to the company for a refund due to the coupon problem. I also received a rebate on the Luna bar from both Ibotta and SavingStar and a coupon and a sale price resulting in my $1 Lunabar costing me only 25-cents! The pretzel bites and soda...no comment! My son actually bought the chips himself but gave me the cash and tossed them into our cart.

My work schedule makes it hard for me to prepare three meals per day every day for both of us, so my son gets more frozen foods than I care to admit. The Morning Star patties are for me though.

These next three pictures show my shopping and savings method. I write out a list of what's on sale from each store I frequent with the sale prices, item names, item sizes, and any limitations. Then I also mark (SC) if I have a store coupon, (C) if I have any other coupon, and then abbreviations for any apps that have rebates or offers on the items on my list. 

So, I might write:

• $1 Luna Bar (C) (Ib) (S*) to indicate that Luna bars are on sale for $1 but I have a coupon plus rebates available from both Ibotta and Saving Star.

I also note the rebates I have selected from Ibotta, Saving Star, and Checkout 51. At the top of the page, I make a list of anything else on my shopping list. After I get home or get back to my car, depending on how many rebates I need to take care of or how many stops I've made, I process the rebates. For Ibotta, Saving Star, and Checkout 51 and my local stores, this involves scanning the barcodes on most items (the apps include the scanning mechanism) and taking pictures of the receipts. Ibotta pays out the fastests after scanning your items, but Ibotta and Checkout 51 both require that you accrue $20 before you can actually get the rebates sent to you. Saving Star has a threshold of $5 before you can request your rebates. 

I also recently started using Shopkick. I'm so new to it that I have yet to decide how useful it will be. It appears that you can get deals and savings through Shopkick, but I am far more interested in the fact that you can accumulate points (called "kicks") just by walking into certain stores or by scanning the bar codes on selected products. Right now I have 275 kicks. 

You can trade the points in for gift cards ranging from Starbucks to TJ Maxx/Homegoods/Marshalls to clothing stores to Wal-Mart. Some are available for as little as 500 kicks, but that is only for a $2 gift card. My current goal is 1250 kicks for a TJ Maxx/Homegoods/Marshalls gift card as we moved at the start of June and have lots of things to replace! Our move was far enough that we got rid of almost everything we owned before moving (sold, donated, or trashed everything!).

If you use Shopkick or Swagbucks and redeem your points or kicks for Starbuck's gift cards, be sure that you register one card and transfer all of your balances to it via Starbuck's! That way, every time you make a purchase using your Starbuck's gift card you can earn Star Rewards--points towards free drinks, food, and merchandise. Most of the time you earn 2 stars for every dollar spent, but there are monthly double reward days and other deals and specials that can greatly increase your stars and your potential for freebies. 

What other apps or saving programs do you utilize? I have downloaded a few others but either they don't have items available that I would use or they aren't as easy to navigate. 

June 2016 update--it's been a while!

I can't believe I last blogged here in March and that I had only ONE post that month! If nothing else, that's a sign of how stressed I have been over the last several months.

I had a job I loved (and now greatly miss) and great coworkers, a close friend in town, and my son and our dogs. But, beyond that my son and I both weren't feeling too satisfied with our lives. We were on the tightest budget we'd been on in a long time--made worse by the negative impact of benefits and a raise (more in a minute), and we just didn't really like where we were living.

Money was tight.
Moods were low.
We needed a change.

Despite working hard earlier in the year and late last year to stick to a spending fast, it didn't help our budgets this winter and spring as I got hit with the flu for the second year in a row, followed by severe asthma, then severe seasonal allergies. Add to the mix a second virus that was quite flu-like.

I was a mess. And when you feel like a mess, a lot of your promises to yourself go out the window.

I dumped my spending fast in place of convenience.

I didn't calculate the financial cost of taking a raise and more hours compared to the cost of the benefits that would come with those hours compared to getting a second part time job instead. I didn't calculate the cost of no longer qualifying for a reduced cost energy program or an employer sponsored health plan versus a state sponsored plan.

I didn't calculate a lot of things.

As a result, we became even more broke than we were before.

I could say I just give up and let the world roll me over, but instead, I decided, along with my son, to make some huge changes in our lives.

First of which was that we moved...not only did we move many, many miles away, but we moved in with a relative. This alone will save us several hundred dollars in expenses. We are paying him rent, but it's significantly less than what we would pay if we stayed in our old town, even if we had moved into something smaller or into a less well to do neighborhood.

Second, I did get a new job that pays more and has the opportunity for bonuses, on average an extra $500 per month. I started last week and while it's been slow to start and a steep learning curve, I think I'm going to enjoy the job. Unfortunately, it will require a lot more driving so we'll see how that impacts my budget due to gas consumption.

Third, I started a new business with a friend. Our immediate goals are to build our audience, but by the end of August, we hope to be turning a profit, even if it's small. Long-range, however, we believe we can earn a tidy sum while helping others. You can check it out HERE.

Fourth, I had an article published on the blog And Then We Saved! I didn't get paid for the article, but it's still a great accomplishment considering how widely read that blog is! Of course, the article was about how I planned to make my spending fast work! As noted above, my plans didn't exactly go as expected, but for the period of time that I was on track, I managed to pay off a tiny bit of debt, pay my expenses, and feel like I was on the right track.

Fifth, I have recommitted to my spending fast! I already did well last week by not going to the nearby coffee shop when doing training at my new job's headquarters and I didn't stop at Starbucks on my way to or from training either. And, I've been looking ahead to this coming week. I know I will need to get gas and buy some groceries, but otherwise I plan to make do without.

This coming week, instead of spending money I plan to:

• Catch up on reading (check out my reading blog HERE)
• Work on my new business with my business partner (check it out HERE)
• Walk my dogs more often, bringing my son along 
• Study for my new job
• Plan for the following week

Overall, I feel like we are back on track and living with my relative is a critical part of the process of not only getting back on track, but staying there. My goal is to set aside as much money as possible over these next few months, building up my emergency savings fund, and to pay off some small, lingering debts. My hope is that I can pay off enough small debts to eliminate them AND to see my credit score rise.

I even have a plan for when I feel like I need a reward or a treat for doing well--I have Starbucks gift card credit thanks to Swagbucks and also a free drink from taking part in Starbucks's rewards program (using built up gift card credit!). At the moment, I am just shy of enough credit for two grande Americanos, but by Wednesday I should have two drinks covered. I'll save them up for a time when I'm really feeling that urge to splurge!

Dave Ramsey suggests $1,000 in an emergency fund, but my goal will be to have $2,000 in an emergency fund by September 1st. It will be tight, but I think I can do it!

Stop hunger now -- donate to your local food bank

What would you do if you were so broke that you literally could not afford to eat? Would you turn to a food bank?

For many, a food bank is their only option, no matter how tight their budget is, no matter how careful they are with their money, no matter how hard they work. Although my son and I have never been truly at risk of going hungry, thanks to generous family members, there were times where help from family was the only reason we didn't end up at a food bank.

Many years later, I still vividly remember those dark days, and as a result I have committed to donating to my local food bank (or food closet or food pantry--whichever term you prefer) as often as I can.

I recently donated the following, in addition to many items not pictured--our local food bank takes both perishable and non-perishable food, as well as hygiene and personal care items--

My donation, in the end, filled two large paper grocery bags and included:

• Several cans of soup
• Several cans of beans
• Several cans of vegetabls
• Two full size tubes of toothpaste
• Two razors
• One box of tampons
• Three boxes of breakfast cereal
• Several bars of soap
• Several sample size lotions and soaps
• Dental floss

If you think you can't afford to donate to a food bank because your own budget is tight, consider looking more carefully at sales flyers and coupons. I've been able to get many items for pennies or even free and often those are items I pass on to the food bank. One of our local stores also has a huge sale two or three times per year where they have many canned goods marked down to a mere quarter per item! I use whatever change is in my wallet or purse to buy a few items for the food bank during these sales.

If you have fruit trees or a garden that produces more than you can possibly consume, consider calling your food bank and asking if they take produce. In Arizona, not only do food banks accept produce, but if you have fruit trees, there are organizations that will come and glean (or harvest) them for you and deliver the excess to the food bank all for FREE!

If YOU are in need of help or feeling despearately broke, please don't bear your burden alone! Check out THESE blog posts for ideas on how to make ends meet, where to turn for help, and more.