Green and Debt Free - Day 42

Wishing.......

That splashing sound you hear is me crying in my beer. We just received the highest electricity bill in the history of living in this house. We have done all the things we did in the past and then some to keep this bill as low as possible, but we and most of the east coast have enjoyed one hot summer.

I know you should not wish your life away....but right now winter doesn't look that bad (I did say right now). I am ready for hot tea instead of iced tea, knitting without needing a fan blowing on me, and quilts on the bed. I did see an advertisement for a craft store with Halloween items so I know there is hope. To everything there is a season, I am just ready for this season to cool off.

goal #1 - going green - I am trying

goal #2 - debt reduction - I am trying

goal #3 - enjoying the good life - I am trying

At least I get something for effort...right?

Green and Debt Free in 2 Years - One month down, twenty-three to go!

If you do something for a month, it becomes a habit. We have all heard that when it comes to adding something good to our lifestyles. Well maybe. I have been on my green brick road for a month and somethings are second nature and somethings are well....still being worked on.

The trash thing has become a habit. Nothing is put into the trash bag without failing these three tests-is it reusable?-is it compost able?-is it recyclable? Then and only thing is it thrown away. These three questions have reduced our trash by 80%. (yeah team, we actually have a composting bowl)

Combining trips has definitely become a habit. I still have a half tank of gas from last month.

We have plugged our TVs and cable boxes into a power strip to turn off all the power when we are not watching TV. Sadly this is still a work in progress. (you would think flipping a couple of switches at night wouldn't trip us, but..)

Money has been saved by reducing purchases, electricity use and gasoline. We have not dropped below the $100,000.00 mark, but we are closing in.

goal #1 - going green - a lot of success, but room to improve

goal #2 - reducing debt - $4,000.00 improvement

goal #3 - enjoying the good life - every step along this path feels like a step in the right direction

When you hear a loud HURRAY, you will know we have broken the $100,000.00 mark!

Going Green and Debt Free in 2 Years - Day 26

Drum Roll Please!!!

Stage one of going solar has been completed!! We have four solar panels installed and generating ! We have stage two planned for spring 2011 when more panels will be installed. We started with what our budget could handle and will be using our tax credits from the federal and state returns to purchase at least six more panels. Watching the monitor which tells us how many watts our panels are generating has become our new favorite past time.

Who knows how far we will carry this project. For now we are happy with our first step into grid freedom. We may just be the family the community talks about, as in , "Have you heard what they are doing now??".

goal #1 - going green - captain there be solar panels here.

goal #2 - reducing debt - one small step at a time

goal #3 - enjoying the good life - solar panels!!!

Bring it on!!

Going Green and Debt Free In 2 Years - Day 24

An Apple A Day

The "Bobby" in this picture with our grandchildren has type 2 diabetes. We have been told it is genetic because he is not over weight, eats healthily and excercises. He is adopted so we really have no family tree to trace. Our main means of defense is to be very careful with our diet. He does not use insulin at this time and we really don't want insulin to have to be used.

In our quest of going green we have begun using organic foods. The cost upfront may be more, but we feel the long term cost is a bargain. The current cost of doctor appointments, medications, and the horrible cost of poor health far outweigh what little extra you pay for good food. Thankfully our local grocery store is carrying many organic options from fresh produce to dairy products.

Today Bob had his annual eye exam and received a great report - No Change Since Last Year. This is something every diabetic wants to hear because vision damage is a very real fear for them. We want to continue hearing this so pass that apple please.

goal #1 - going green - eating organic foods

goal #2 - reducing debt - our health really is priceless

goal #3 - enjoying the good life - good food and good health, goal reached

Who doesn't love an apple??

Going Green and Debt Free in 2 Years - Day 22





Everyone gets the same 24

Yes it is 10:10 am at my house. I have already laundered two loads of clothes, ran the dishwasher, polished the furniture in the den and vacuumed the house. My goal in this is to beat the heat. The temperature here has been averaging 95 degrees for days. To keep the air conditioner from fighting the heat generated by the appliances I am getting up earlier than usual and trying to finish using them before the temperature reaches so high. For the record I am NOT a morning person and finishing everything this early is a big deal at our house. The good part of this is I now have 12 hours left to do other things, like read, quilt or knit. (there could be a nap in my future)

I am amazed at the extra time I now have. I didn't realize how much time was wasted running errands that could be combined, washing clothes when the machine wasn't full, or not using the dish washer for everything. I now have the time to do other things that help us go green. What I thought might be a waste of time actually seems to be a time making machine.

goal #1 - going green - who knew going green was a time generator

goal #2 - becoming debt free - waiting for the next payday to figure the exact amount (think accrued interest)

goal #3 - enjoying the good life - time is on my side

Could our wasteful society being wasting not just our planet but our lives?

Going Green and Getting Debt Free in 2 Years - Day 19



Photo Op






Just so we know the rules: posing three dogs for a photo op and herding cats are scored using the same level of difficulty. Sometimes that same scoring criteria is used when dealing with our families. If I am to reach my debt free goal I am going to being saying no to some of the things I have been willing to do in the past. This is not easy, nor does it earn me any friends. My sister already lives in my office rent free and now whines because she doesn't have any money for groceries. I am standing firm on "we can't help with that, Bob is retiring in 2 years and we have a goal". For someone who always came to the rescue before this is not easy, but it has to be done. She needs to take care of herself and I need to let her.


Payday was last week and we are making some headway on the debt. As far as going green the success has been remarkable. Trash day this past week went from being a small event to a none event. With just thinking about packaging options, reusing, recycling and composting there was almost no trash to put out. I got gas in my car yesterday for the first time this month. I think the most remarkable thing about going green is it has made my life easier. By washing only full loads of laundry, cooking once and eating twice to reduce oven use, washing all the dishes in the dishwasher, and combining errands I have an extra couple of hours per day to do things I really enjoy.


goal #1 - going green - amazing


goal #2 - debt free - last tally $104,000.00 (a reduction of $1000.00 in 3 weeks!!!)


goal #3 - enjoying the good life - totally


Now if someone will share how not to feel guilty for taking care of myself.

Green and Debt Free in 2 Years - Day 14

I Know How, but....

I am afraid I am very guilty of choosing convience over effort. I do know how to make pie crusts from "scratch", but I have been purchasing them in the dairy aisle. My logic has been my time is worth the extra money. Since I have been thinking "green" about everything I touch I really can't justify the purchase of something I can do in just a few minutes. Not only do I have complete control over what is in my food, I am not creating cardboard and plastic. Everything I make is not wonderful, but I do feel we can put up with my cooking knowing we are saving money and the environment.

By making just a few changes I have reduced our trash by 75% and our grocery bill by 25%. We now buy things with the least amount of packaging. (think box of grits over box of individual envelopes of grits, yes it is the south and we do eat grits.) The extra payoff of this is the items with the least amount of packages are usually the less expensive items.

I am also trying to do away with the purchase of anything in plastic and especially Styrofoam. If the eggs don't come in a cardboard carton I don't buy them. With just a little thought and a little bit of my time we have seen big benefits.

goal #1 - going green - waste reduction

goal #2 - reducing debt - an extra $100.00 by reducing grocery costs - $104,680.00 - $100.00 = 104,580.00.

goal #3 - enjoying the good life - okay so cooking isn't one of my favorite things to do, but I do feel better knowing what is in our food and the extra money doesn't hurt my feelings either.

People are impressed with home cooking, even if it isn't perfect!