Hi everyone! I hope your post-Thanksgiving Day blues are wearing off quicker than mine. Thanks for stopping by the blog.

So, I'm looking at our closet right now. My wife, Teresa, has a bunch of nice maternity clothes hanging in there. It's like they magically appeared. I watch our bank account pretty close and I can't say I've seen any major purchases come through. What's up?

Thankfully she didn't go out and buy (or steal) all these clothes. The word is, they were lent to her from some of her good friends who recently had little ones of their own. Awesome!

I suspect had she purchased all these clothes herself it would be pretty expensive. At least $500, using my guestimator.

A big THANKS to friends for free maternity clothes.

I've since learned that there are also consignment stores that specialize in maternity and baby clothes. So, if you don't have any post-preggo friends, hunt down one of these stores and save some money.

Or, just stay home and wear sweats all day. Which, is what I would do. :)

-Phil

Thanks so much for reading, commenting, and voting! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!

I'm back from my long work trip. It's good to finally be home. It's tough being away for so long, but there are some definite savings benefits for being away. Here are just a few I could think of:

• Auto and Gas - I didn't have to use my own vehicle for the past three weeks. That's at least one tank of gas I saved. Plus, that's three weeks less wear and tear.
• Utilities - Although my wife was still at home, it's likely that we saved a bunch of money on our home utilities like electricity, gas, and water since only one person was using it instead of two.
• Food - This is the biggie. As I've shared in the past, our food expense can be one of our biggest budget busters. With me not incurring any food expenses for three weeks, we surely saved a good deal of money.

I'm looking forward to these savings showing up in our FNBO Direct Online Savings Account in the next few weeks.

I think everyone has a unique way they can find to save some extra money. My job helps me to save more. What's your unique way of saving? Let me hear from you in the comments below.

-Phil

Amazon.com and Camera Phones Save Me Money

ideas

Saving Wisely With Our Paychecks

Thanks for your excellent comments on my last post. Your answers were great and really helped me to get more comfortable with the decision.

Health Care Plan Choices

We decided to go with the premium plan. With it's lower deductible and higher percentage coverage, the premium plan will end up costing less in 2009 considering the medical charges we're likely to incur.

As for the flexible spending account, we decided to contribute $2,000. A conservative number we came up with after factoring in the estimated total cost of delivery, doctors visits, and our plan's coverage and deductible.

Once our baby is born we'll also get to make changes to our plan. So, at that time we'll do another quick analysis to ensure our selections still make sense.

Life on the Road

I'm currently wrapping up a long road trip for work. Likely the longest time I've ever been away from friends and family. Life on the road has it's challenges, but it actually is an opportunity for us to save more money.

In my next post I'll share some of the ways that being on the road for work so long has helped us to spend less back home. Stay tuned and keep up the voting.

-Phil

Ready for something really exciting? It's that time again at work: benefit re-enrollment. Stay with me here. Even though it's not that exciting of a topic, there's some money to be saved here...I've just got to take the time to figure it all out.

Over the next few days (3, to be precise) I need to study up on our options in these two main areas: health insurance plans and flexible spending accounts. Luckily, my company offers both. Both are excellent benefits. Here's how I'll approach my review of these two benefits:

Health Insurance Plan - We have two plans at my work that we're considering right now: a basic preferred provider organization (PPO) plan and a premium PPO plan. The main differences between the two: basic is cheaper on monthly contributions, but it has a higher deductible and lower coverage percentages; premium costs more every month, but has a lower deductible and will cover a bigger percentage of the actual expenses.

Basically, I need to sit down and estimate how much in medical expenses we'll incur in 2009. Then, using that number, apply it to both plans and see which one comes out ahead.

In the past we've always gone with the basic plan. In 2009, with the delivery and pediatrician visits we're sure to rack up the medical bills. I'm betting on the premium plan to win out, but we'll have to see. I'll let you know what I decide.

Flexible Spending Account - First, let me add for those that might not know: a flexible spending account is an account that lets you set a side pre-tax dollars and use them on qualifying health care costs.

So if I sign up, my company will pull money from my paycheck periodically, and place it in this account. I then go out and ring up a bunch of health care expenses. Finally, I send the plan administrator evidence of my expenses and they reimburse me through the account. Sounds complicated the way I explained it, but it's not that difficult.

One other thing to note, our plan is the "use it or lose it" type. I can't put too much money in the plan or I run the risk of not spending it all and losing that money. That wouldn't be good.

So, in all, there's a lot to analyze with our health benefits. And it starts with a good estimate of how much we'll be spending.

To go along with this post I've posted a blog question.

My question is:

How much do you contribute every year to your flexible health care spending account? And if you aren't using yours, why? If you don't have the option of one, what other tips might you have for saving money on health care expenses?

Okay, I'm off to complete my benefit re-enrollment process/analysis. Wish me luck, vote, and don't forget to answer my question in the comment section below.

-Phil

Excellently written article,

FSA amount

We don't have an FSA anymore

Don't have one, but have excellent health insurance.

I love our flexible spending account!!

Thanks!

FSA is so Money!

Money in the bank (AKA the company)....

Flexible Spending Account Question

Flex Spending Account

I put $400 into the flex

We don't use a flexible spending account

I use the basic plan

Several items to update you on this week:

On the Road Again

I'm in Sydney for a few days with work. While I'm sure to spend a little on weekend sightseeing expenses, our monthly food budget will shrink back home since the company picks up all my meals out here on the road. I'd love to hear your thoughts on places to visit, great restaurants, etc. Let me know in the comments below.

Registering for Baby Stuff

My wife and I registered for a few baby items this past weekend. I sort of feel weird about registering for gifts but I'm told some friends will be throwing us a baby shower, so the registering is required. Oh well, I got to hold the scan gun.

One key item to note from the registering was the inclusion of the Diaper Champ in lieu of the Diaper Genie. Here's the Consumer Report article on these Diaper Pails. In short, although the Champ under-performs in the smell category, it more than makes up for it in savings because you can use your own bags.

Kind of funny but as we were discussing pail options in the aisle a woman overheard us and jumped right in with her opinion, singing the praises of the Champ. She insisted that we register for it. We did. Who knew there was such passion out there for diaper pails. :)

Direct Deposit in Full Effect

I want to thank everyone for your continued votes. The direct deposit from my employer should start up soon, bolstering my savings percentage. Just wanted to point that out since I've heard once or twice now from some of my supporters that I'm not doing my part to win this thing (i.e. actually saving money). To you I say, "slow and steady wins the race". Remember the tortoise and the hare? Seriously though, look for the percentage to jump greatly soon.

Super Savers

Finally, kudos to Kristen and family for saving so much already. Very inspiring, guys. Not only with how much, but by how you're actually doing it. Very creative. Thanks for sharing the details.

-Phil

Tip on Shots

Shots

Great book for soon-to-be parents

Thanks!

Diaper Pails

Diaper Pails

Just a quick note to remind you to vote. Do I think either candidate will have an affect on my ability to reach our PYF Challenge savings goals? Not really. Still, some of their plans (taxes/retirement savings) may end up affecting me (and likely you) in the long run.

So get out there, know the issues, and vote it up!

Voting for the U.S. President is great and all. But isn't it kind of overrated compared to other voting opportunities? Not only do you get just one vote, but you only get to vote once every four years. Kind of lame?

Here at the Pay Yourself First Challenge you can come back everyday and cast another vote (for me, of course). How awesome is that?

Be sure and let me know if you've been following along on the blog and casting your vote everyday.

We're one day away from Halloween so I thought it might be a good idea to follow Tim's lead and confess one of the expenses that "scares" me every time I review our spending: dining out expenses.

Dining Out Expenses

We spend way too much on dining out each and every month. In fact, if I could only review one category of my budget it would be this one. It probably has the most bearing on whether or not we reach our maximum savings potential each month.

It's likely we could add two or three-hundred more to our savings account each month if we really reduced our dining out.

Anyway, there's really no excuse for how much we spend. We just do it. We like food! And we have so many good options close by. Busy work and school schedules are likely the main culprit. I suspect when the baby comes along we'll be staying home for more meals so that will help to reduce the expense a bit.

How We Spend Less When Dining Out

Okay, so while we do dine out a bunch, we try and minimize the damage by:

• Using Coupons - We review every half-off and freebie coupons that come in the mail and stash the good coupons in a kitchen drawer. Every time we're feeling up for a meal outside the house we check the deal drawer first. In the past we've also used www.restaurant.com, as well as a community coupon book purchased from the local little league team.
• Splitting the Meal - There are certain restaurants we go to that serve huge portions, so splitting the meal makes sense. Most places will even serve the split meal on two plates for you. Tacky? Maybe. But so is stuffing yourself with today's huge portion sizes, and/or wasting a bunch of food.
• Taking Half Home - If we don't feel like splitting the meal, we sometimes try to take half of our respective meals home and have it for a lunch the next day.
• Skipping the Soda - The cost of a coke, soda, or pop (whatever you call it) at a restaurant is kinda ridiculous. When we can, we try and go for water instead.

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If you've got a tip for spending less on dining out I'd love to hear it. Let me know.

Photo by: moriza

Phil's the big winner. That's who! ...and in more ways than one.

So I went to Las Vegas this past week for a work training. Lucky me, right? I had a great time and luck really was on my side.

Not only did I get to stay and eat for free, but I actually took home some gambling winnings. A whopping $6, which I won on one pull of the slot machine in the airport, just before boarding the plane home (yes, they have slot machines in the Las Vegas airport).

You see, I'm not much of a gambler. Mainly because I don't know enough about the odds of the games to trust myself with risking the money. So to take home just a little bit of Vegas cash feels good. The cash will go into my FNBO Direct savings account, which, unlike gambling, is a place that I trust with my money (no risk there!).

While this trip was basically free, when we travel on our dime, we like to look for ways to save money on the airfare, hotel, meals, and entertainment. A friend of mine, Ben from MilkYourMoney.com, recently put together a guide on The Best Way to Save Money While in Vegas. I encourage you to check it out before your next trip.

Photo by: Pocheco

I'm traveling this week for a work/training thing. While I'm on the road, work picks up the tab...but not until I hit the ground in the out-of-town location. So, unless I'm careful, I could end up spending a bunch of money at the airport on the way out of town.

I thought I'd share a few of the things I did today to avoid overspending at the airport:

• Eat Outside of the Airport - Today I picked up lunch on the way to the airport. Although it was fast food, it wasn't fast food in the airport, which is way more expensive. Your best bet is to actually eat at home.
• Bring a Few of My Own Snacks - Even if you eat a meal before you get to the airport, it's easy to find yourself in the convenience shop, prior to take off, making a impulse buy. Thanks to my wife, Teresa, for making my snack pack today. If you have a nice bag of snacks brought from home you're less temped to spend. Just make sure your snack pack doesn't include liquids or gels.
• Bring My Own Reading Material - Lastly, I brought a couple of books and a magazine for the flight. The books I got as a gift or from Half-Priced Books, and the magazine is through a subscription. Off the shelf magazines and books are temping at the airport, but way too expensive and not necessary. Consider visiting the library and picking up a few free books for your trip.

Every little bit of savings adds up, and airport prices are something frequent travelers should definitely try to avoid. I was able to do it successfully this time. If you've got any other savings tips while at the airport, please, let me know.

Have a nice week everyone! And thanks for your daily votes.

Phil