Survey Winner!

Random Number

 

Thank you everyone for taking my survey. The results will help me to create a blog enhancement plan and I could not be more grateful. As for the drawing… the winner is… Erika from Rejoice for the Day! Erika, as the 21st survey responder,  you won a very special prize pack from me! So, lookout for an email, so I can get your mailing address.

I hope everyone has a fantabulous weekend. I just started the seeds for my vegetable garden yesterday and I will be frolicking in Saturday’s nice weather.

Do you have any plans for this weekend? Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie

How to Create a Budget for a Road Trip

This isn't my actual budget, but it's a good start!

This isn’t my actual budget, but it’s a good start!

Yesterday I went over 20 ways to save on a road trip. And today I’m going to take you through the details of creating a road trip budget. Creating a budget for a road trip is a little nerdy (what?! nerdy? who? not me!) and maybe a little too Type A for some folks. But I’d highly recommend it. We don’t want to come back after a relaxing trip to a mound of debt. Am I right?!

To help you figure out costs, I recommend the following:

A Travel Budget Calculator
Travel budget calculators are quick and convenient. I like to use online travel calculators like this one and this one for the initial and estimated cost of my trip. Then, I get real nerdy and create a more official budget in Google Drive. With a spreadsheet in Google Drive, I can see the hard numbers, including money I spent before the trip. If I have wifi, I can also update the costs along the way! If you’ve never created a spreadsheet in Google drive here’s a video on how to do that.

A Fuel Cost Calculator
Paying to fuel up your car is no fun– especially if you drive a gas guzzler. With the app and website Gas Buddy, pump prices are no longer a surprise. Just put your route and vehicle information into the calculator and Gas Buddy will pinpoint the cheapest gas on the route, so you know exactly where to fill up and the exact cost!

Don’t forget to factor in costs for:

Tolls
Tolls can be one of those unexpected and bummer costs on a road trip. To avoid an unexpected toll, or even worse getting caught without the cash to pay the toll, put your trip into Google Maps before you leave. Google Maps will warn you if there is toll on your route. You might be able to go around the toll, but sometimes tolls are unavoidable. Most states with tolls will have some sort of prepaid quick pass. Florida has a “Sun Pass” that makes travelling through tolls cheaper and quicker. Just a little bit of Internet searching should bring up the costs of the tolls in the states you are planning to visit.

Food
To me, food costs are the most difficult thing to budget for on a trip. I don’t know what I’ll want to eat tomorrow, so how do I know what I want to eat three months from now?! Unfortunately food costs are more of an estimation. To even attempt a budgetary number, I look at the price range of the restaurants in the area on Yelp. I know that some days a mom & pop diner will do just fine, but other days I’ll want something a little more fancy. It’ll usually even out, but I always give myself a little more wiggle room in this department.

Experiences
Don’t ever forget to budget for experiences. Experiences, like parasailing in the keys or seeing Cirque du Soleil in Vegas can really make your trip. Just do your research before you go! You might be able to find online coupons or discounts for ordering in advance.

Lodging
Lodging will probably be the most expensive part of your trip. Remember, you can ask to stay with relatives or friends, couch surf or even camp. For this trip, we’re planning a combination of budget hotels, a couple days in the lap of luxury and a couple of days camping! That way we get the best of everything! Lodging costs are fairly easy to calculate if you book all your hotels in advance. Remember to always check for discounts and shop around for a hotel. Start your search early and you could save some major buckaroos. Experts recommend booking about 6 weeks out, but for some travel locales (like the beach during the summer) I’d recommend booking much farther in advance.  My favorite hotel deal site is Kayak since it searches all the travel deal sites at once!

Incidentals
It’s the law of the universe. Something is going to happen and you’re going to need a little more money than you thought you would need. It’s always better to over budget and come home with money in your pocket than come home with pockets full of sand and regret.

How do you create a budget for a road trip? Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie

 

20 Ways to Save Money on Your Next Road Trip

save money on road trip

Picture c/o http://web.archive.org/web/20121219045655/http://usamania.wikispaces.com:80/ released under CC licensing.

This summer George and I are taking a road trip to Florida. We’ve been talking about taking this trip for years and I am so pumped that we finally ponied up and planned the thing. I often visited the gulf coast of Florida on family vacations as a child. And I can.not.wait. to (annoyingly) sing entire Jimmy Buffett albums in the car and experience the first time George swims in the warm, clear water of the gulf.

This isn’t our first road trip. Oh no. One summer I lived in California and we drove all the way across the country. I learned quite a bit about road trippin’ and money from that excursion. This time we won’t be traveling quite as far but my budget is still tight. Here’s some of my best tricks and tips to save money on your (and my!) next road trip.

  1. Plan, plan, plan
    Planning is one of the most important aspects of saving money– especially on a road trip. First, create a list of the stops on the trip. Google Maps has a great multiple destinations feature. Using your ideal stops and mileage,  create a budget. I’ll have more tips about the details of creating a road trip budget tomorrow. Knowing where you are going and how much you think it will cost is one of the most essential ways to keep your road trip on the cheap. 
  2. Travel with friends
    By traveling with several people, you’ll be able to split more of the expenses like fuel and hotel rooms. If you like to do your own thing, just let your group know that you like your space too. There’s no shame in needing a little me time.
  3. Expect the unexpected
    So many unexpected things will happen during a road trip– good and bad. You might have car trouble, prepare for that. You might also see something  so kitschy that you just have to stop. The world’s biggest ball of twine, anyone?!
  4. Pack your own food
    Eating on the road will eat through your budget like pac-man eating dots. By packing your own snacks and some meals, you manage to fight the lure of the gas station pretzel and Slurpee. Some of my favorite road trip snacks are: peanut butter and apples, dehydrated fruits and instant coffee! I’ll, of course, have another post about road trip food closer to my trip.
  5. Eat out for lunch instead of dinner
    There comes a time on the road trip when jerky just isn’t going to cut it. Plus, the local cuisine is part of the experience. To cut down on the cost of eating out, try eating at restaurants for lunch instead of dinner. The prices will be lower at lunch time, but you still will be able to savor that local cuisine.
  6. Grocery stores
    Gas station food isn’t very healthy and it’s expensive to boot. Sometimes eating out isn’t much better. Find the local grocery store for healthy and inexpensive fare. George and I will go to the grocery store as one of the first stops when we get to our destination. We stock up on things we couldn’t pack on our road trip like yogurt or milk and store it in our hotel fridge– if we’re lucky enough to have one. This is great for those late night snacks or hotels where breakfast isn’t free.
  7. Stay with people you know
    Relatives and friends have an obligation to let you stay at their house for free. Kidding. But it never hurts to ask if you can stay with relatives or friends who live in cool locals. Offer to cook dinner for them or do other household chores while you are there. Be a good guest and offer the same in return. 
  8. Stay with people you don’t know
    If you don’t know anyone in your desired travel location, you could always try couch surfing. I’ve never tried it, but if I was going to couch surf, I’d be take precautions. I’d only couch surf  with a friend and through a verified organization like Couchsurfing.org.
  9. Collect experiences, not things
    Stay away from souvenirs. You don’t need them. Rely instead on pictures to remember your trip. If you must bring back something for your loved ones, look for something free and memorable. I brought my mom a rock from our trip to the Grand Canyon. Shells from the beach are another total classic.
  10. Take advantage of your smart phone
    What would I have done traveling without a smart phone? Probably eaten at a bunch of crappy restaurants and seen a lot less sights, that’s what. Yelp is one of my favorite tools for scoping out delicious (and cheap!) restaurants in a new city. I also just downloaded the Gas Buddy app for this trip. Gas Buddy helps you find the cheapest gas in your location.
  11. Make some money on the way
    If you are going to travel a long distance, you might as well make some money while you do it! There are a couple of different ways to make money on your road trip. Barnacle uses drivers to deliver packages all over the U.S. If you have a truck, you could also become a carrier for things like furniture and motor vehicles. Check out U Ship for more details.
  12. Camp along the way
    America is a beautiful country with lots of free or low cost camp sites. Even if you aren’t a happy camper (I’m not!) just knowing that I have a hotel booked for the next few nights would soften the blow of spending a night at a campground. It might soften the blow to my wallet too! Recreation.gov is a great place to start your camp ground search.
  13. Kayak.com
    Kayak is my favorite site for travel discounts because it searches all the major travel sites at once. No more going to Priceline to compare it with Orbitz. Kayak does all the work for you!
  14. Ask hotels for discount
    It never hurts to ask for a discount. I highly recommend AAA for roadside assistance. They’ve helped me when I’ve locked my keys in my car– more than once! With AAA, you’ll often get discounts on hotels too!
  15. Don’t forget stuff for the actual trip
    I never leave for a trip without sunscreen, cash and paper towels. Sunscreen is always more expensive at the beach or touristy locations. My bank’s ATM or a Cash Points may be no where in sight. (I hate ATM fees!) And paper towels are a must for quick clean up in the car. In general, all of these items are going to be cheaper for me to buy at home than to buy on the road.
  16. Pack light(er)
    I know, I know, I just said that you need to bring all kinds of stuff. And you need to bring stuff to a point. But packing light(er) will help you to save on gas. I’d consider things like shoes. Do I need 5 pairs of shoes for this trip? Probably not.
  17. Keep your car in tip top shape
    Before you leave on a road trip, get your car checked out by an expert. There is nothing worse than having to buy a big unexpected thing, like tires, on the road.
  18. Keep your tires properly inflated
    By keeping your tires properly inflated, you’ll save on gas. Properly-inflated tires also are more environmentally friendly and believe it or not, help prevent accidents!  Periodically check them at gas stops and you could save a cost of $300-500 per year!
  19. Maintain steady speed
    Keeping a steady speed is essential for achieving optimal fuel economy. Tests from The Energy Conservation Japan show that “varing your speed up and down between 75 km/h and 85 km/h every 18 seconds can increase your fuel use by 20 percent.” So, put on that cruise control and ease on down the road, baby!
  20. Make travel a priority
    Travel is a big priority in my life. I save for it just as I save for retirement. I don’t want to get to the end of my life and regret not taking George to see the clear, blue-green water of the gulf coast. That’s why each month I sock a little bit away just for travel.

What are your best road trip money saving tips? Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie

 

Follow Me!

Screen shot of PinterestOne of the things that came out of the survey is the fact that I’ve never mentioned that you can follow me on social media. I guess it felt kind of weird and maybe a little narcissistic. But I need to get over it. Self-promotion is key in this business of life.

Speaking of life, some people like the more “life-ie” aspects of my blog and that’s totally cool. You can get yo’ fill of the life stuff by following me on social media. I have follow me buttons on the right sidebar on this page, but I know some of you read this blog in a RSS reader and may not see the buttons. So here are all the ways you can stalk follow muah!

Instagram
Twitter
Pinterest
Google+

I’m most active on Instagram and Pinterest. I’d also suggest following me in your favorite RSS reader. The one I personally use is Bloglovin’.

See you on the interwebz.

love,
melanie

Thank You!

Photo c/o John Ashcroft on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/theilluminated/

Photo c/o John Ashcroft on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/theilluminated/

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to fill out my survey. I’m incredibly grateful. You all are so positive and encouraging. After a doozy of a weekend, it was such a treat to read your lovely comments. I’ve got so many ideas swimming around in my noggin’ and ya’ll made some great suggestions for this little square of the blogosphere. I’ll keep the survey open until Friday (3/21) in case anyone out there still wants to take it.

Thanks again! I’d give everyone out there an ice-cream cone if I could.

love, love, love,
melanie

6 Ways to Keep a More Organized Purse

6 Ways to Keep a More Organized PurseI am a bag lady if there ever was a bag lady. And not in the cute, boho, Olsen twin way. In the I’m close to needing a shopping cart to push around all my junk way. I can keep a fairly minimal house and desk at work but I rarely go out with a bag smaller than a three-year-old child.

A perfect fit!

But for the last few weeks I’ve kept an organized and minimal (to me) bag, Here’s how I’ve been doing it.

  1. Inventory and Prune
    Dump everything out. It’s going to look scary at first. It’s ok. Prune out extras. You don’t need 15 pens and 5 tubes of lipgloss. Ditch the extra weight.
  2. Bags within bags
    Putting smaller bags within my large bag has been the key to my organization. No longer do I have loose pills and pieces of candy floating around in my bag. Oh no! Now I have a place for those things within the bag. Group like items together and keep them in a smaller bag. May I suggest making a bag? My OUCH! clutch is a lifesaver and cute– if I do say so myself.
  3. Clean out the clutter weekly
    Another excellent trick is to clean out that clutter weekly. Don’t let that random paint sample from 3 weeks ago take up space in your life. I’ve started to clean out my purse during the last 15 minutes of work on a Friday. It helps me clear my head and prepare for the upcoming week.
  4. Don’t be afraid to carry things you might not need today
    If I wasn’t carrying such a big bag, I’d invariably forget something or the law of physics would happen and I’d loose a contact lens or get a massive headache. Don’t be afraid to carry a few extra things, but be aware when things might be getting out of hand. Band-aids and Neosporin are ok, but you probably won’t need an entire first aid kit. By carrying just a few extra things in my bag, I’ve saved money and my sanity.
  5. Consider other convenient places to stash stuff
    Not everything is going to fit in your purse or will be convenient to carry around. I stash my tweezers in my car. I always manage to find a stray eyebrow hair when I’m waiting at a red light. My car tweezers have saved me from being a unibrowed bag lady more than once.
  6. There’s an app for that
    If your wallet is stuffed full of reward cards, consider going wireless. Many major retail stores have an app with your rewards cards built in!

What kind of organization tips do you have for your bag?

Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie

Knotted Bracelet

Knotted braceletSome days it seems silly in the middle of whatever else I have going on to stop and do some sort of small craft or make a slightly more difficult meal. But sometimes it’s just what I need. Sometimes that small craft is a small win for my sanity. This bracelet was just that. I was struggling with making the itty bitty ring I posted a while back. So, I put it aside and started working on this bracelet.

The supplies came in my January For the Makers box. It was originally supposed to be a necklace, but I don’t wear necklaces as much as other jewelry. Although this kit was purchased for me, the supplies could easily be purchased on their own.

Knotted Bracelet DIYTo make this piece, I watched this video on how to create a double figure 8 knot. Then I placed the cord connectors on both ends and placed a bead in the middle of each. I tightened the connectors with pliers to ensure the bead wouldn’t come loose. Finally I finished it off by placing  super glue in each end cap and pressing the rope into the cap. Let dry and you’re finished.

Knots can be so pretty, don’t you think?

Here’s to easy projects and easy wins. Sometimes we need ’em.

love,
melanie

Airstream Update: An Unfortunate Little Incident

The current state of the bathroom.

The current state of the bathroom.

When George went to turn on the hot water heater Friday morning, he discovered that the flooring underneath the heater was wet. Not good. I went on my merry way to work, hoping it was just a little leak. But during the course of the evening, I received more and more alarming text messages from him. This one pretty much said it all: “Found the source of the leak. Tell you about it when you get home.” He was preparing me for the worst.

And I came home to less than ideal news. George found the source of the leak. It was our hot water heater, as we had feared. The most expensive thing in the Airstream to replace. The heater runs on both electricity and gas so it isn’t as cheap as standard hot water heaters. He also had to tear up our bathroom floor because water had seeped under the floorboards and managed to warp the floor.

If something like this had happened two years ago, I would have flipped out. But living in the Airstream has some advantages. It’s allowed me to save enough for an emergency fund and replacing our floor won’t be nearly as expensive as replacing a floor in a home. Our bathroom is tiny. The hot water heater set us back about $600 bucks and I’m bummed about it, but it isn’t nearly as tragic as it could be. The hot water heater was original and we got almost a year of use out of it before it kicked the bucket.

We’ll have hot water again soon and we’ll make the money back. Living in the Airstream and having this adventure has taught me to be more resourceful and resilient than I’ve ever been. We’re lucky to have caught the leak fairly early and we’re lucky to have a home.

love and resilience,
melanie

 

Chewy Breakfast Cookies

gluten free oatmeal breakfast cookiesOne day I’ll have time for long, luxurious breakfasts where I can lounge in my matching PJs on my wrap-around porch and actually eat breakfast with a fork. But today is not that day. And tomorrow doesn’t look good either. That’s why I’ve been trying my hand at more portable breakfasts. As much as I love my crustless quiche, sometimes I barely have time to make coffee in the morning. And let’s be real, coffee takes precedence above pretty much everything. But the lure of cookies and coffee?! That’ll get me out of bed.

breakfast cookiesThese are admittedly healthier than your everyday cookies. You gotta start your day right. These cookies are sweet, but not overly so and packed with plenty of natural energy to power through even the Monday-iest of Mondays.

Ingredients
1/4 cup of salted butter
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of honey
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup of sunbutter (peanut or almond butter would work too)
3 cups of rolled oats
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
1/2 cup of chopped cashews
1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Sea salt for sprinkling

easy gluten free breakfast barsPreheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar, butter and honey in a bowl and beat until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat again. Add sunbutter and mix. Finally, stir in the oats, walnuts and cashews. To keep these cookies solid, I baked them in muffin tins. I greased the tin, then filled the tins half full and lightly pressed down the dough. These cookies can also be made into bars! To make into bars, press into a greased cake pan. Cookies bake for approximately 18-20 minutes. Bars bake for approximately 25 minutes. Oats will brown when cookies and bars are finished.  Let muffins cool on a rack, let the bars cool in the cake pan. Melt chocolate chips and drizzle (or spread!) over cookies (or bars!). Sprinkle with sea salt.

Let’s tackle tough mornings together!

love,
melanie

12 Ways to Save Money on Gardening Supplies

12 Ways to Save money on gardening suppliesThere’s some debate online about whether or not gardening actually saves money. It’s a risk. I get that. Some ravenous bug could eat your entire crop of heirloom tomatoes. A hurricane could blow through without leaving a single pea pod in it’s wake. (How rude!) But there’s also potential savings. One article I found claimed that the author and his family produced $2,149.15 worth of produce in their home garden!

I’m super lucky that I don’t have to rely on my own agricultural endeavors to survive. I don’t know how profitable my first garden will be, but I’m saving on supplies in order to increase my potential profits.

Here’s how I’m saving on supplies for my garden.

  1. Containers or raised beds – I’m using containers and raised beds to save on soil costs and conserve water.
  2. Supplies for raised beds – To save money on creating raised beds, my plan is to use old barn wood. The barn wood is untreated and my beds will be shabby chic for sure.
  3. Gardening tools – I will be borrowing most of my gardening tools. If there happens to be a time when I can’t borrow what I need, I’m going to purchase my tools via Craigslist or yard sales. No need to buy new gardening tools, they’re just going to get dirty anyway!
  4. Compost – I must admit, composting is going to be difficult for me. I didn’t come from a family that composts and I love the thrill of throwing something away. So weird, I know. It’s a habit and I’ll just have to get into the habit of composting.
  5. Plant pricer produce & produce you use often – I use more bell peppers and onions than the average gal, so I’m planning on planting those. I won’t be planting eggplant because George hates it. I’m also considering planting something like habanero peppers because those little suckers can be pricey and after they’re canned, they make a great gift.
  6. Grow plants that can produce all season – Tomatoes are a great example of a plant that can produce all season. Plants that produce all season (or most of the season) invariably produce more yield. Look at me, sounding all expertish.
  7. DIY insecticide – There’s so many natural home remedies for garden insecticides. Did you know you can control aphids with a few drops of dish soap diluted in water? I had no idea.
  8. Rainwater barrel – I’m still not 100% sold on a rainwater barrel. We actually have well water so water costs isn’t too much of an issue. And I’m hesitant to place anything that can be a breeding ground for mosquitos near my home. But I’ve been reading about organic mosquito prevention methods and I’m warming up to the idea. Maybe I can make a DIY rainwater barrel?!
  9. Plant seeds for a higher return on investment – Pre-sprouted plants are more expensive than seeds. Instead, I’m going to try to sprout my own plants in old egg containers!
  10. Plant produce in stages – This is one of the smartest tips I’ve found in my research. Plant seeds or starter plants in stages over the course of several weeks. This has several advantages– it allows you to harvest in stages and consume the produce over time. If there is a freak frost it also may save your produce that has not yet been planted.
  11. Try the farmers’ market for starter plants – Your local farmers’ market may sell newborn plants at a discounted rate. I know my farmers’ market does! If my sprout-it-yourself method doesn’t work out, this is my back up plan.
  12. Share seeds – To cut cost, I’m befriending some fellow gardeners to share seeds. I’m also trying to convince some of my black-thumb friends to garden with me. Saving money and making friends– this should be a special on Saturday morning PBS.

How have you saved money on gardening supplies? Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie