Still on hiatus, but. . . .

Okay, okay. I knew I wouldn't be able to stay away from the blog ALL summer! I am still on hiatus, but I had to forward this blog post about a couple who recently had to sell their home to avoid foreclosure in Southern California. This particular post describes the estate sale that they held prior to moving, in which they attempted to sell just about EVERYTHING in their home.

Furniture, kitchen gadgets, piggy-banks, dishes, cutlery, fake Christmas tree. . . . it all had to go.

At first, this post (which is LONG! But worth it) made me uncomfortable. I mean, what would it be like to sell everything one owns, with the exception of some clothing? According to Steph, the author of this blog post, it feels fantastic!!!

As I continue to wrestle with Citimortgage and Wells Fargo, trying to get the loan refinance completed (I've just written to my elected officials, asking for help), I've been kind of obsessed with stories about people who are in dire straits. I know that I'll "make it" as long as I have my jobs and money coming in, but I can't help but feel a little stressed about "what if" scenarios, like the one described in Love in the time of Foreclosure.

Summer hiatus. . . .

Whoa! As you can see, it's been more than a week since I last posted! While summer is particularly difficult for me budget-wise (more fun, entertainment, and travel enters my life when the sun is shining), it's also been difficult to find the time to get to the blog. . . .

So with that in mind, I propose taking a summer hiatus from Finally Frugal---this doesn't mean I'm going to stop budgeting, tracking spending, and increasing savings; it just means that I'm going to try to spend every spare moment in my garden, at the park, and generally outdoors whenever possible!

That's not to say that I won't post from time to time when I come across interesting articles. . . . sometimes I just can't help myself!

Happy summer!

Home repair blues. . . .

I finally had my dryer repaired today, and found that some wires were faulty. I was actually glad to learn this, since I would have felt a little guilty if it had been the heating element (this might have been something I could have fixed myself, rather than paying someone to do it for me).

Although I'm all set up for line drying---whether indoors or out---I'm happy to have my dryer back online for rainy or cold days, and for items that really should have a tumble once in awhile (my duvet cover comes to mind. . .) for the purposes of pet hair removal, at the very least.

I'm looking forward to using my clothesline often this summer, and saving some additional money in electric bills by not using my dryer. Now the question is, how to pay for the roughly $170 bill to fix my dryer? Originally I thought I would just take it out of my emergency fund and pay down my credit card, but on second thought, I'm going to take it out of a separate savings account that is going to help fill the gap when my income decreases next year. That account is quite healthy---there's twice as much money in it as there is in the EF, and if my refinance ever goes through, I'll be able to "skip" a mortgage payment (I'm already a month ahead, even without it) and that money will go straight into that savings account as well.

So my home repair---while expensive---hasn't decimated my budget after all. I can't help thinking how that charge would have remained on my credit card for months or even years just a short time ago, because I wouldn't have had any savings to speak of. How times change!