I don’t know about you, but I was not 100% prepared for what 2020 had in store for me. In fact, I was so wrapped up in some of my own challenges that I kept forgetting there were other worldwide problems related to the pandemic. Even though my trials were not necessarily the same as everybody else’s, I was certainly not the only one being tested. However, because I had previously taken some general steps in overall preparedness, I was in a place where I could better handle the changes coming at me, especially financially. I had some money saved, and that helped immensely. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed but that our power to do has increased.” Please keep chipping away at your financial plan. Implement an emergency plan with your family, as well. There are many state and community governments that are providing valuable information on putting together emergency plans for families and n...

Earlier this month, a branch of the US government clearly overstepped their bounds (in my humble opinion, anyway) by putting a moratorium on evictions for renters who cannot pay their rent. What business does the CDC have messing with housing issues? And you are probably asking, “What does a ‘moratorium’ mean, anyway?” Google says a moratorium is “a temporary prohibition of an activity.” In this case, if you don’t pay your rent, you cannot get kicked out of your rental until the end of the calendar year, at which time, all the rent you have NOT paid will be due, in full. But chances are you will already have spent it on other things, especially if you haven’t been following my blog. A friend of mine who owns a few properties shared her thoughts with me. She said the government is basically encouraging tenants to “use the next 4 months of rent to spend on things [they] don’t need and can’t afford for Christmas, and then end up evicted in the dead of winter. What is going to happen...

It’s technically still summer in the Northern Hemisphere, but it seems that the Rocky Mountain West (where I live) has already moved on to winter. No, not fall, winter–on Labor Day we had a record-breaking windstorm that downed scores of trees, tree limbs, fences, and walls on my friend’s house that was under construction. It damaged and/or displaced trampolines, garbage cans, outdoor furniture, and anything else that wasn’t tied down. It left lots of people without power for over 24 hours. I felt very fortunate that mine was only off for about 3 ½ hours. When I was out assessing local damage, I noticed a dusting of snow on the mountains near my home. This does not make me happy. But I digress because my blogpost this week is NOT about my dislike for the cold, it’s about being prepared. In the middle of the storm, it was too late to stock up on anything, including batteries, flashlights, and bottled water. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but when something like this happens, as...

A friend and I recently had a conversation about oatmeal–yes, oatmeal. I love oatmeal (and so do my cholesterol and my waistline). I eat it almost every day for breakfast. I don’t buy it at Starbucks ($3.49), McDonalds ($1.99), or even in the Quaker instant packets (25 cents). No, I buy generic oatmeal in the 50-pound bags (about 5 cents a serving). Some might call me cheap, but a very good friend called me frugal, and he meant it as a compliment. It made me smile. There are many things on which we choose to spend our money that might have extremely inexpensive alternatives. Determining what your trick is (mine is obviously hot breakfast cereal) will take a little research and effort. Don’t wait until you are on your way home from work and too tired to think before you figure out what your trick is…plan ahead a little.