Nothing Much And Other February 2022 Expenses

February was a boring month from the angle of the previous expense report. Not a lot was bought apart from the unusual, which was a kindness to our financial savings account. Nobody’s bills are the identical month to month, and I relish a comparatively low cost month. I see it as a possibility to sock extra into financial savings for the inevitable costly month you simply know looms on the horizon. As I’m fond of claiming:

Nobody ever regrets saving cash.

So when you have that uncommon low cost month? Think about it a boon to your financial savings account, not an invite to overspend the subsequent month.

We skied a ton in February, which was a superb utilization of the season passes and gear we’d already paid for. We snowshoed by the woods loads–one other nice use of beforehand bought gear. We ice skated at our free group rink utilizing skates from the thrift retailer. We cooked good meals at residence. We frolicked with our mates a bunch and celebrated Littlewoods’ fourth birthday in true frugal type with a selfmade chocolate cake and presents bought final summer time from storage gross sales and the thrift retailer. A pleasant wintry month!

Come Hear Me Discuss on April eighth!

I’m thrilled to let you already know I’ll be talking on a panel on Friday, April eighth on the on-line Mamas Talk Money: The Legacy You Leave convention. I’m honored to be on this panel with:

• Sandy Smith, the famend founding father of the Elevate Community and YesIAmCheap.com (finest web site title ever). Sandy shaped the Elevate Group to, “elevate consciousness and shine higher gentle on the monetary points that individuals of shade face. The 400+ members of the Elevate Group group are monetary professionals, lecturers, writers, bloggers, and educators of shade who’re dedicated to bettering the monetary lives of individuals of shade.”
• Jamila Souffrant, the founding father of the extremely profitable JourneytoLaunch.com. I used to be really on Jamila’s Journey to Launch podcast back in 2018 and met her in individual once we have been each pregnant with our little women (who at the moment are FOUR!).

When you’re enthusiastic about attending this three-day on-line convention, it can save you $5 off the $49 ticket worth by utilizing the coupon code FRUGALWOODS. Go here to get your ticket and register to attend. I hope to see you there!

I Love the Free Expense Tracker from Private Capital

Ice skating at our free, out of doors group rink!

I take advantage of a free on-line service known as Personal Capital to maintain monitor of our cash: our spending, our internet value, our investments, our retirement–all the pieces.

Monitoring bills is among the finest–and best–methods to get a deal with in your funds. You completely, positively can’t make knowledgeable choices about your cash in the event you don’t know the way you’re spending it or how a lot you’ve gotten. When you’d wish to know extra about how Private Capital works, check out my full write-up.

And not using a holistic image of how a lot you spend each month, there’s no approach to set financial savings, debt reimbursement, or funding targets. It’s a should, of us. Private Capital (which is free to use) is a good way for me to systematize our monetary overviews because it hyperlinks all of our accounts collectively and offers a complete image of our internet value.

When you’re not monitoring your bills in an organized vogue, you would possibly think about trying Personal Capital. Right here’s a more detailed explanation of how I take advantage of Private Capital (be aware: the Private Capital hyperlinks are affiliate hyperlinks). 

Credit Playing cards: How We Purchase All the pieces

We purchase all the pieces we are able to with bank cards as a result of:

1. It’s simpler to trace bills. No guesswork over the place a random $20 invoice went; all of it reveals up in our month-to-month expense report from Personal Capital. I additionally suppose I spend much less cash as a result of I KNOW I’m going to see each expense listed on the finish of every month.

2. We get rewards. Bank card rewards are a easy approach to get one thing for nothing. By means of the playing cards we use, we get cash back in addition to hotel and airline points only for shopping for stuff we have been going to purchase anyway.
3. We construct our credit score. Since we don’t have any debt, having a number of bank cards open for a few years helps our credit score scores. It’s a grimy fable that carrying a stability in your bank card helps your credit score rating–IT DOES NOT. Paying your playing cards off IN FULL each month and conserving them open for a few years does assist your rating.

For extra on my bank card technique, try:

If you need a easy cash back credit card, listed below are some good choices that don’t have annual charges:

There was One Heat Day. The ladies–and the chickens–celebrated.

1) Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express provides a hierarchy of money again percentages:

• 3% Money Again at U.S. supermarkets (on as much as $6,000 per 12 months in purchases, then 1%)
• 2% Money Again at U.S. gasoline stations and choose U.S. shops
• 1% Money Again on different purchases
• Earn a $200 assertion credit score in the event you spend $2,000 throughout the first 6 months of card membership
• No annual payment. Charges and costs particulars here.
• Phrases apply

2) Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card provides a flat money again proportion:

• Limitless 1.5% money again on all purchases
• Earn $200 in the event you spend $500 or extra in purchases throughout the first three months of card membership

3) Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card:

• 3% money again on eating, leisure, fashionable streaming companies and grocery shops.
• 1% money again on all different purchases.
• Plus, earn 8% money again on tickets at Vivid Seats by January 2023.
• Get $200 in the event you spend $500 on purchases throughout the first three months from account opening.

Placing Kidwoods to work. She’s wonderful at shoveling the entrance steps!

4) Chase Freedom Unlimited:

• Earn 6.5% money again on journey bought by Chase Final Rewards®
• 4.5% money again on drugstore purchases and eating at eating places, together with takeout and eligible supply service
• 3% on all different purchases (on as much as $20,000 spent within the first 12 months)
• Earn a further 1.5% money again on all the pieces you purchase (on as much as $20,000 spent within the first 12 months) – value as much as $300 money again!
• After your first 12 months or $20,000 spent, take pleasure in 5% money again on Chase journey bought by Final Rewards®, 3% money again on drugstore purchases and eating at eating places, together with takeout and eligible supply service, and limitless 1.5% money again on all different purchases

When you’re enthusiastic about travel rewards, folks love the Chase Sapphire Preferred. You’ll be able to earn 60,000 bonus factors after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening, which is $750 if you redeem by Chase Final Rewards.

The easiest way to discover a bank card that’ll give you the results you want is to seek for it your self; I’ve a information that can assist you just do that: The Best Credit Cards (and Credit Card Rewards)!

Large caveat to bank card utilization: you MUST pay your bank card payments in full each single month, with no exceptions. When you’re involved about your capability to do that, or suppose utilizing bank cards would possibly immediate you to spend extra, stick to a debit card or money. However when you have no drawback paying that invoice in full each month? I like to recommend you bank card away, my pal! (be aware: the bank card hyperlinks are affiliate links).

Money Again Earned This Month: $38.39

The silver lining to our spending is our cash back credit card. We earn 2% money again on each buy made with our Constancy Rewards Visa and this month, we spent $1,919.57 on that card, which netted us $38.39.

Not some huge cash, nevertheless it’s cash we earned for getting stuff we have been going to purchase anyway! For this reason I like money again bank card rewards–they’re the only approach to earn one thing for nothing.

To see how this provides up over the course of a 12 months, try this submit: The Easiest $486 I’ve Ever Made: How To Use Cash Back Credit Cards To Your Advantage.

The place’s Your Cash?

Attractive winter dawn in our yard

One other straightforward approach to optimize your cash is to make use of a high-interest financial savings account. With these accounts, curiosity works in your favor versus the rates of interest on debt, which work towards you.

Having cash in a no or low curiosity financial savings account is a waste of sources–your cash is simply sitting there doing nothing. Don’t let your cash be lazy! Make it give you the results you want! And now, take pleasure in some explanatory math:

Let’s say you’ve gotten $5,000 in a financial savings account that earns 0% curiosity. In a 12 months’s time, your $5,000 will nonetheless be… $5,000.

Let’s say you as an alternative put that $5,000 into an American Express Personal Savings account, which–as of this writing–earns 0.50% in curiosity. In a single 12 months, your $5,000 could have elevated to $5,025. Which means you earned $25 simply by having your cash in a high-interest account.

And also you didn’t must do something! I’m an enormous fan of incomes cash whereas doing nothing. I imply, is anyone not a fan of that? Apparently so, as a result of anybody who makes use of a low or no curiosity financial savings account is NOT being profitable whereas doing nothing. Don’t be that individual.

Be the one who earns cash whereas sleeping. Extra about high-interest financial savings accounts, in addition to those I like to recommend, right here: The Best High Interest Rate Online Savings Accounts.

Sure, We Solely Paid $28.09 for Cell Telephone Service (for 2 telephones)

Sisters Sled

Our cellphone service line merchandise will not be a typ0 (though that actually is). We actually and actually solely paid $28.09 for each of our telephones (that’s $14.05 per individual for these of you into division). How is such trickery doable?!? We use an MVNO!

What’s an MVNO?

Glad you requested as a result of I used to be going to let you know anyway: It’s a cellphone service re-seller.

MVNOs are the TJ Maxx of the cellphone service world–it’s the identical service, A LOT cheaper. When you’re not utilizing an MVNO, switching to 1 is a straightforward, slam-dunk, do-it-right-away method to save cash each single month of each single 12 months eternally and ever amen.

Listed here are a number of nice MVNOs to think about:

For extra, I’ve a full chart of suppliers and their costs right here: How to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill with an MVNO: I Pay $12 a Month*

*the quantity we pay fluctuates each month as a result of it’s calibrated to what we use. Think about that! We solely pay for what we use! Will wonders ever stop.

Observe: these MVNO hyperlinks are affiliate hyperlinks.

Expense Report FAQs

However Mrs. Frugalwoods, Don’t You Pay For X, Y, Or Even Z???

Questioning about frequent bills you don’t see listed under?

When you’re questioning about anything, be at liberty to ask within the feedback part!

Alright you frugal cash voyeurs, feast your eyes on each greenback we spent in February:

How was your February?