What Is Gas Like In Your Home Town?

Gas prices have gotten unbelievable recently! We're paying about $4.55 per gallon and some of the pumps have a $75 limit for credit/debit card transactions at the pump. That's not even enough to fill up my gas tank if I let it get too low. Others have limits set at $99 and if I'm really bad and let my tank get really low, THAT doesn't even fill up my tank. Yes, I'm driving a full size SUV. It's the only thing we can all fit into since my husband refuses to drive a mini van. *sigh*

I really do need to try to fill up when my tank is around the half full point, but it's tough when your schedule is tight. Anyway - I'm just curious as to what you're paying for gas.

Also, have you heard about some of the strategies for saving on gas like filling up at certain times of the day or running your car on water?????

This report of Gas Saving Tips shares some information on when to fill up, which cars are the most efficient in each car category, plus your standard tips on how to use less gas. If you're in the market for a new car, you'll definitely want to check out which cars are the most fuel efficient.

When I told my oldest daughter how much I think it would cost to fill up a tank of gas by the time she's an adult and has some kids, she said that she was going to be buying her kids bikes. LOL - not a bad idea...

Yikes, Cost of Living Predictions Coming True

When I was younger I always remember my parents talking about how cheap things used to be. How they could get a handful of candy for a dime...how they could go to the movies for wayyyyy less than the $4.50-$5.00 I was paying when I was in high school. Based on what they told me, when my oldest daughter was born, I remember telling my husband that by the time our daughter old enough to drive and go on dates to the movies she'd have to pay $100 to fill up her tank of gas and $20 would NOT be enough for 2 people to go to the movies anymore.

When we were in high school, my husband used to tell me that it cost $20 to fill up the tank in his El Camino. So I multiplied that by 5 and that's where I came up with the $100 prediction for a tank. Now back in 1996-1997 that sounded quite ridiculous. But here we are in 2007. My daughter is just 10 years old and the other day I went to fill up my tank and the PUMP stopped when it hit $75. It didn't stop because my tank was completely filled, but just because the pumps at that particular gas station won't go over $75 for any one transaction. My tank was just about full, but probably could have taken a few more dollars. So....by the time my daughter is driving in 6-7 years, I'm thinking it will cost about $100 to fill up our gas tank.

Then there are the movies. My husband and I used to be able to withdraw $20 from the ATM and that would be enough for us to eat and go to the movies. I think the cost of movies here is currently about $8-$9 per ticket, so I'm quite sure my other prediction will come true too. When my oldest daughter is old enough to go on dates to the movies, $20 will NOT be enough for her and her date to gain entrance to a movie theater much less ea dinner too. Like I said, 10 years ago when I told my husband these things, they seemed kind of far-fetched. It's kind of strange to see it actually happening.

A Mom and Her Money - Can you be a Dynamic Diva?

I feel that this particular subject is really important for women and especially Moms. Did you know that:

• Having a child (statistically) lowers our lifetime earning power by over a Million dollars?
• 75% of the retired living in poverty are women?
• That we still only earn .70 on a man's dollar?
• By age 50, most of us will be responsible for ourselves financially?
• And don't we women have so much emotional baggage around money too? "Nice girls don't get rich" etc...

This week on www.NaturalMomsTalkRadio.com Elon Bomani, author of Dynamic Diva and several other books on financial matters for Moms, spoke with me.

Elon went from being a homeless single Mom to house rich millionaire status in 18 months and her books teach women how they can do the same thing... investing on a shoestring budget.

Elon is sharing the 3 things women can do today to get right with their money. It's high time we women got our money right... whether you're a stay at home Mom, work at home Mom, working outside the home... whatever your current situation.

It's Tax Time

Do you do your own taxes? Or do you go somewhere and have them done for you? We usually go somewhere and I really need to make us an appointment. But I believe there is one more piece of information we're waiting for.

Plus - I also need to do the last 3 months of business paperwork to figure so that I can do that part of my taxes.

Do you usually get a return or do you normally have to pay? If we were disciplined enough with our money, I would set it up so that we have to pay every year and use the governments money for free all year long, but that's pretty tough I think. So, we have it set up so we get a return each year. This year, we're planning on buying plane tickets to Disney World. We've already got the hotel set. If we're lucky, we'll also have enough for spending money and the car rental.

Are you ready for tax time?

I Don't Want a Job

Only after I went to a job interview did I realize how much I don't want to go back to work. I only went because the position sounded interesting, there was a chance that they'd pay me want I'd ask for, and it was very close to home. So I figured I'd at least go in and learn a little more and see if it's something that may work out. After the interview, I was all worried that they'd call me back. Don't get me wrong, in another time in my life, I'd probably take the position and accept the pay they were offering. But right now, with young kids and coaching softball, it doesn't really fit in. If they offered me the position, I would have had a tough decision to make. Do I handle the extra stress (finding good child care, arranging for drop off and pick up of the kids at day care, school, softball, etc) in exchange for the extra money it would provide each month? It was either that or tell them that I'm declining their generous offer (what I asked for was a bit higher than what they'd normally pay). That would be kind of awkward too.

I was actually quite relieved that they didn't call me back to offer me the position. I think they did like me, but were concerned about scheduling (I told them I'd have to leave early sometimes for softball) and I think maybe they didn't really want to pay more than what they budgeted (their loss IMHO - LOL). I really don't want to go back to work. Financially it may be a bit challenging right now, but we're working on debt (getting rid of that would help significantly) AND I'm getting back on track with my business.

Anyway - the COOLEST thing was that when I was talking to DH about it the other night he told me, "I don't want you to go back to work anyway." I've always been the one telling him that it's better for me to be home, but at this point, with 4 kids, 2 cars, a bunch of dogs, and a mortgage, I thought maybe he wanted more help bringing in the bacon. But he clearly understands the added stress on me and on the kids and on the family in general with scheduling, housework, and everything else if I go back to work. He said that unless I'm 100% sure that I want to work again, don't go back. Until that time comes (if it ever comes) he said to stay home. I am so very thankful for support from my husband in this area because I know there are a lot of women who don't quite get that backing.

Holiday Spending Leave You Broke?

Wow, this year I managed to make a lot of my gifts, but still spent quite a bit. Not so much that I would need second or third mortgages (if I owned my home that is) to pay for it all or anything like that.

Unfortunately many people feel obligated to buy gifts for everyone at Christmas time and put themselves in debt with credit cards


I can certainly understand the feeling of needing to give, but that’s not the giving that should be going on during the holidays. I don’t think anyone would ever want us to put ourselves in debt or not pay a home insurance bill or anything just to give them a physical gift that costs a fortune.

I honestly think most would rather receive something personal that comes from your heart and maybe took a bit of time and planning to put together anyway. I know I would.

For those who aren’t the creative type, there are other ways that you can accomplish buying gifts for everyone on your list without putting a strain on or totally depleting your finances. There are special savings accounts at many banks and credit unions, known as Christmas Club Accounts that you can put money into all year long and aren’t allowed access to that money without a penalty until usually October or November, making it perfect for holiday purchases.

You can pretty much have control of how much you want to spend the following year, by figuring out what you can afford to stock away each month. The interest rates vary on these types of accounts, but receiving interest is always better than paying it, especially when the interest rate you have to pay back on secured loans is always higher.

A lot of employers are doing this now too. Employees can have a set amount taken out of each paycheck and set aside in a savings account and then they receive a check usually in the fall for the amount they put in along with a bit of interest.

Anyone ever used one of these Christmas savings accounts? Have any tips to share on how to keep from breaking the bank next Christmas?