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A chance to meet a reader.

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During the no- or low-spend February challenge, a reader named A. Marie mentioned she had been interviewed for the “Meet a reader” feature at a site called The Frugal Girl.

(That interview can be found here, if you’d like to go learn more about the awesome A. Marie. Go ahead. I’ll wait.)

Now: Who else is interested in being interviewed?

Yep, I’m appropriating The Frugal Girl’s idea. In part that’s because it sounds like great fun. After all, one of my favorite things about being a writer is getting to talk with people, and I’d love to chat with some of you in real life. (Well, over the phone.)

In fact, I have chatted with some of you in real life, during my travels, and it’s always stimulating.

The other reason I think “Meet A Reader” will fit here is that you folks tend to start conversations in the comments. Seems you’re already meeting readers, in a sense, and bringing us into the conversation. So why not make it official? 

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A retirement trial run.

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I almost didn’t write this post. Not because I was too busy, but rather because I was too busy not being busy. This is my seventh day in Phoenix, and I’ve accomplished relatively little since arriving.

Last week’s overnight flight (Friday night/Saturday morning) provided little sleep due to twin meltdowns: An adult a few rows ahead of me and a toddler a few rows behind me. The adult sobbed aloud (“I can’t do this, I just can’t doooooo this….”) every time we hit turbulence. And there was a lot of turbulence.

The toddler screamed for a big chunk of the six-hour flight. They’d get her calmed down and she’d start up again. The mom in me wondered if an ear infection was involved, since she stopped crying once the plane landed.

Either way, I got relatively little sleep. That first day (Saturday) is kind of a blur and did, in fact, involve a nice long nap. But every day since, I’ve found ways to skirt most work in favor of reading, sleeping, eating and watching a ton of TV* with my daughter.

A couple days ago I realized, “This is a trial run at retirement.” 

You know, doing whatever you want. Getting up when it damn well suits you. Moving at the pace that seems relevant to the day. Eating when you feel hungry, vs. during a “lunch break.” Reading until your eyes blur. Hanging out with loved ones and talking about everything, or talking about nothing at all if you’d rather be absorbed in an excellent drama. Going to bed when it damn well suits you.

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Goodbye, medical collections debt.

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Got medical debt? So do a lot of people: About one in five U.S. households have medical-related debt, according to a new study from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And medical collections debt can do a number on your credit score (as in, a lower number).

But change is coming, in three ways:

As of July 1, 2022, paid-off medical collections debt will no longer appear on your credit report.

The time frame for unpaid medical collections debt’s appearance on your credit report will double. Consumers will have one year, rather than six months, to deal with insurance companies and/or negotiate with healthcare agencies before the debt is officially reported.

Finally, in the first half of 2023, the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) will not list medical collection debt that’s $500 or less.

This is huge for those who’ve fallen victim to what the CFPB calls “opaque pricing” and “complicated insurance or charity care coverage and pricing rules.” (Rohit Chopra, director of the CFPB, refers to it as “a doom loop.”) Those who are experiencing medical emergencies, as well as those who have chronic illnesses, may feel they have no choice to shoulder the costs associated with getting care. 

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Support the reader economy: Giveaway #2.

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My new “Support the Reader Economy” giveaway series is back! For an explanation of why I’m doing this, and why I think it’s important, see the original post.

This time – and probably every time – the support the reader economy giveaway will be a $15 gift card of the winner’s choice. Given how startlingly fast the price of gasoline has jumped, I’m wondering how many of you would choose a gas gift card. Just think: It would probably cover at least two gallons!

You could also request a gift card for something else you need (food, drugstore stuff, whatever) and divert the $15 you saved to the fill-’er-up fund. Again: It’s not much, and I’m not suggesting that $15 will solve anyone’s problems, but it can’t hurt.

And as a reminder, that $15 could be for:

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Vernal equinox: The (cold) shoulder season.

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Happy first day of spring, also known as the vernal equinox! Doesn’t our yard look…equinoctical?

At left is a view of our snow-covered garden, shot through the living-room window. The cage at the back surrounds our two apple trees, which look spindly now but will produce a startling amount of fruit once summer arrives.

Summer will arrive again, right? At this time of year it’s easy to second-guess the seasons. Yesterday it sure felt like spring, hitting 47 degrees – and on a day when the sun didn’t set until 8:14 p.m., it was easy to imagine that the best season had somehow sneaked up on us. That is, until I had to tippy-toe down our partially glaciated driveway to check the mailbox.

We mostly refer to spring as “breakup,” as in ice breaking up on a river or lake. Indeed there are huge puddles during the day as winter’s accumulation starts to disappear. But there’s still a lot of snow left, and we are ready for it to be gone.

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Extreme frugality: Be a frugalvore.

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(Happy Throwback Thursday! Given how expensive food has gotten lately, I thought a little shopping reminder would be in order. This piece, which originally ran on Feb. 7, 2021, is one  in an occasional series of articles focusing on saving serious dough. A little background can be read here.)

The “locavore” movement is based on the idea of eating only foods grown within a 100-mile radius of where you live. I’ve got my own version, which I call being a “frugalvore.” It’s pretty simple: You shop mostly (or completely) based on what’s on sale that week.

This isn’t exactly a new idea. Plenty of people shop that way their whole lives. But it might be new to you if you grew up in a home where no one read the supermarket ads, created menus and then worked to get the most bang for each grocery buck.

Frugalvorism both simplifies and complicates your approach to eating. On the one hand, it’s easier to shop because you plan menus around that week’s most affordable foodstuffs.

However, if you’re the kind of person who always shopped by grabbing whatever looked good, then you’ll need to rethink your supermarket habits.

Fortunately, it’s fairly simple. Not always easy, but simple. 

 

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No- or low-spend February: How did it work for you?

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Week 4 of the no- or low-spend February has come and gone – long gone, sorry about that – and what I suspected was true: Most of the readers of this site are already frugal. But just about all of us need a reminder now and then to spend intentionally. Even diehard frugalists can backslide.

During the no- or low-spend February, I was:

Not tempted to buy clothes, because I dislike shopping.

Not needing to buy books; instead, I went to the library (or to our own bookshelves) for reading material. I also chipped away at a backlog built up courtesy of the Amazon First Reads program, in which Amazon Prime members get a free e-book (sometimes two) each month. (As an Amazon affiliate, I may receive a small fee for items bought through my links.)

Able to hit the movies without paying cash, thanks to discounted gift cards I bought last December. I stretched those cards further by going on pay-one-price Tuesday and using my Cinemark Movie Club membership to get 25% off refreshments; it also brings the ticket cost down to $5.

Staying home due to lousy weather. We had snow, then a chinook brought in warm temps and rain, then cold temps that froze all the melt into peaks and valleys, then lots more snow, and just blech blech blech. Although I have wonderful Icebug shoes and the car has studded tires, I just did not feel like setting out across the frozen wastes. If I’m home, I have no opportunity to spend.

Focusing on  no- or low-spend February. Although I technically could have spent money, I had a specific reason not to do so. Taking a sharper look at how (and why) we’re spending is good for us, and good for our financial goals.

Here are a few takeaways, based on your actions over the past month.

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Monday miscellany: Bob wants to take your stuff.

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The Dollar Stretcher recently posted a piece that should help you take a closer look at your home security, or lack thereof. “A burglar reveals 15 trade secrets” is written from the point of view of Bob, your friendly neighborhood burglar. Some of it might surprise you.

For example, Bob says he sometimes dresses up as the cable, electric or phone guy. This reminds me of the Kinsey Millhone mystery series. Kinsey wears a coverall-ish getup when she’s breaking into a suspect’s home to look for clues. No one notices the cable guy or the meter reader, right?

At other times, Bob might be carrying a rake and posting fliers between the hours of 8 and 11 a.m. “I want to avoid any kind of confrontation,” he says. While posting the flier, he’ll take a peek inside your home. And if anyone answers his knock at the door? He’ll make up some excuse.

(A couple years back I was home by myself and there weren’t any cars in the driveway. Someone knocked, and when I answered the guy looked startled. He mumbled something about offering driveway paving; however, he didn’t have a flier, a business card or even a truck. Although I don’t know for sure that he was casing the joint, I certainly couldn’t rule it out.)

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The Saver’s Credit: An overlooked tax boost.

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Need help saving for retirement? The Saver’s Credit can be a big help. Millions of taxpayers are eligible for this tax credit. Far too few of them know it.

According to a new survey from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, just 48 percent of us know about the Saver’s Credit, also known as the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit.

“The Saver’s Credit may help make it easier for people to save because it lowers their federal income tax,” says Catherine Collison, the CEO and president of the Transamerica Institute.

It’s a non-refundable tax credit that could be applied up to the first $2,000 of contributions made to a traditional or Roth IRA, an ABLE account (for people with disabilities), or a 401(k), 403(b) or similar employer-sponsored plan.

“Non-refundable” means that the credit can’t be more than a filer’s federal income tax that year.  The maximum is $1,000 for individual filers and $2,000 for married couples if they file jointly. 

Eligibility is based on age, dependency status and income. More people might be eligible for the Saver’s Credit this year due to pandemic-related employment issues. Here’s how to find out if you’re eligible. 

 

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Support the reader economy: A giveaway series.

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For some time now, my giveaway scheme has been “support the local economy.” As in, giving away stuff made in Alaska or produced by Alaskans.

While one or two books, pieces of jewelry, soaps or chocolates won’t exactly enrich the local company, it helps publicize what we do up here. Someone who wins (or doesn’t win) might say, “I want more of that” or “I want to buy that as a gift for someone.” (And it’s been confirmed that this has happened.)

Lately, I’ve been very concerned about the effect inflation is having on people living on tight margins. It doesn’t take much to send the whole house of cards tumbling. I learned this from painful personal experience.

Inflation also injures those who were middle-class stable until prices went sky-high. They’ll probably be all right, but will have to retool their budgets and make some tough decisions (especially as regards what they can no longer afford to do for their children).

Thus I’ve decided to do a “support the reader economy” giveaway series. This week it’ll be a $15 Walmart gift card, because that’s what I have on hand; if Walmart isn’t their brand, I would be willing to switch out a different kind of card. In subsequent weeks, the card will be whatever the winner wants.

I’m not foolish enough to think these modest prizes will fix someone’s money woes all better. Instead, I’m thinking of it more as a small boost or a special treat.

Then again, even a “small” boost might have a big impact.

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