Goal Update for May | I'm a happy girl!
I know it's Wednesday today, but I don't have a baking post ready just yet. I hope to get something made today so that I can share with you tomorrow, but if I don't get a baking post ready for tomorrow, I promise I'll have one next Wednesday!
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At the beginning of the year, I make a list of finance-related goals that I want to meet over the next 12 months. At the beginning of each month, I report on my successes or failures. If you're new here, you might want to read my original goals post, my February update, March update and April update.
1) Save up for a new camera body by September.
This has been the last goal on the list all year, but I have such an exciting update on it this month, I decided to put it first! 🙂
I HAVE A NEW CAMERA BODY!!!!
Ahem.
It arrived here on Saturday, and I think it's totally awesome. I haven't figured out all the controls yet, so when I do, I'm sure I'll think it's even more awesome than I do right now! 😉
Because I'm not one to be shy when talking about money (I personally think the way we keep our money so private is a little bit silly!) and because I know some of you will wonder, I bought the Canon 7D, which normally sells for $1699. I found it for $1599, and by some stroke of providence, I managed to remember to sign into my Ebates account before I bought the camera, so I'm getting $50 back from Ebates. Yay! (Ebates is a cash-back shopping program...if you click through to stores from their site, you get a percentage of your purchase back in cash. I have a dreadful time remembering to do this, so I'm really grateful I remembered before making such a big purchase! *)
$1550 (which is my total layout after my $50 back from Ebates) is a lot of money, I know. Next to my house, my van, and my piano, it's the most money I've ever spent on a single item. I don't think I necessarily need to turn in my Frugal Girl title after this purchase though. As I mentioned yesterday, frugality, to me, isn't always about spending the minimum possible. It's about getting a lot of bang for my buck.
So, why do I feel ok about forking over so much money for a camera body?
I love, love, love to take pictures, so I feel like this purchase is worth it solely for the enjoyment it will bring me. If my usage of my entry-level SLR is any indication, my 7D will get a workout. So, I'd say that the odds of my camera body sitting in a corner collecting dust are about nil. I will, as they say, get my money's worth out of this purchase.
Another thing that makes this purchase less horrifying is the fact that I am earning money with my camera (s!). Because of this, I can deduct this purchase from my self-employment taxes, which will save me some moola come tax-time next year. And of course, earning money with a purchase softens the blow of the original purchase price. My $5000 piano has paid for itself over and over and over again, and I think my camera will do the same.
I anticipate being able to use this camera for many years without being desirous of an upgrade, so it's not as though I'll have to keep forking over piles of cash to support my photography habit. I contentedly used my entry-level body for several years, so I think I can easily manage to be happy with this one for a LOT of years.
I saved up and paid cash for it. This purchase hasn't come out of our regular income at all...I've been saving all of my extra money since last fall, so buying my camera has not put us into debt and it hasn't even slowed our regular savings goals down.
So, there you have it. The Frugal Girl has spent a lot of money, and she doesn't feel at all guilty about it. 😉
I'll try to be less verbose about the rest of my goals so that you don't have to spend all day reading this post!
2) Eat non-cereal breakfasts 4 days a week.
We're still doing well at avoiding cereal for the most part. However, the weather has gotten pretty warm here, and so I really need to do a little bit of advance preparation for some cool breakfasts (which are usually fruit, yogurt, granola, and muffins).
I always have yogurt around, so I'm good there and of course, I always have fruit here too, but I need to set aside some time to make granola and also to do some batch muffin baking. In the winter I don't mind baking a dozen muffins at a time because the heat from the oven is kind of welcome, but in warmer weather, I prefer not to turn the oven on all the time.
Hopefully at the beginning of June I'll be able to say that I actually made some granola instead of just talking about it. 😉
3) Save for a replacement van.
This is going fairly well...we crossed the $1000 mark this past month (and my husband, knowing how impatient I am to meet this goal said, "Oh, great, sweetie! Now we only have to do that 15-20 more times!")
Hee. Yeah, "only"!
I'm actually feeling kind of encouraged about the progress we should be able to make on this goal because now that I'm done saving for my camera body, most of the extra income I bring in should be able to go straight into the van fund.
So, look for some cheerful updates on this goal in the next few months!
4) Buy more local/organic/real food.
My first month of trying to achieve this goal went pretty well, I think. I've been regularly getting local eggs, I bought some local beef, I bought some Laura's Lean Beef at the grocery store, I found some extra grocery money to stock up on bulk nuts, and I've got a semi-local chicken in the freezer (it's from a natural farm in PA). And I managed to do this without going over $100/week, which is encouraging.
In the coming months this goal should be even easier to reach because farmer's markets and the like will be opening up. And my own garden plants should start producing some food shortly as well (my spinach is about ready to eat, actually.).
5)Keep Quicken updated once a week.
Major fail here this past month. Sigh. I cannot seem to stay on top of this to save my soul! I'm going to keep trying, though. I'm thinking of writing Quicken time into my weekly calendar or something...a date with my financial software, if you will.
*I keep meaning to do a post about Ebates, but I haven't gotten around to it. If you want to give Ebates a try, you can sign up and get a $5 bonus to start you off. I think I get a $5 bonus too after you make your first purchase of $20 or more, or something like that. But as always, please know that I am not recommending Ebates simply because I want a referral bonus...I've personally used the program since 2001, and I've been very happy with it. At least, when I remember to use it! 😉
I have a rebel XT and don't use it quite enough but still love it! Your pics are great (do you have a photography tips blog?).... Anyway looking forward to seeing the results with this awesome machine.
There is a photography category on this blog, so you can poke around in there for some tips. I want to do more posts on the topic, but haven't made the time for it!
The Rebel XT is the exact body I've been shooting with for the last few years...it's been a great learning camera for me.
Hi Kristin,
What happened to your KK Photography link? I can't seem to find it anywhere!
Have you ever participated in a CSA? I heard that is a great way to eat fresh during the growing season.
I tried to sign up this year, but the ones in my area were all full! Boo. So, I'm currently on a waiting list.
Congrats on getting your camera body - I know how exciting that is for you! 🙂
Nice bit of new gear! Are you planning on selling the old body? I'm planning on selling a few of mine to KEH.com one of these days.
Personally I'm still debating on getting a nice Voigtlander body with a Leica lens. For the time being I'm perfectly happy with my Yashica FX-3 that I restored. It's funny but I even gave up
Nope, I'm keeping my old one! I want to have it for stuff like shooting on the beach...so I can keep the 7D pristine and do messier stuff with the old body. I also wanted to have a backup for stuff like weddings, so yeah, I'm a two-camera girl now.
Joshua asked me if he could have my old SLR now. lol And I was like, "Uh, no." lol
When I have kids, I hope to teach them on a manual film SLR. If not that then I suppose I can find them a cheap digital with manual controls. Hopefully at that point I'll finally have a darkroom.
Joshua's got my old point and shoot, actually. I gave it to him when I got my first SLR, which is probably why he thought he was about to get another upgrade this go-round! lol
The idea of film for my kids is really unappealing to me because I don't want to pay (or have them pay) for developing a bazillion pictures of their stuffed animals and the like. lol Digital is perfect for them.
Joshua seems to have something of an eye for photography, so as he gets older, I'll definitely teach him how to use an SLR, but for now a point and shoot works fine.
Woohoo on meeting your goal! That is SO awesome!
And I'm a vote for Ebates too! I used it to buy my birthday mixer (from the kitchen-aid store - refurbished) and it made a frugal purchase even better as it covered the cost of shipping!
Congrats on the new camera body! It's good to see a frugal person who knows how to spend money - it's too easy to forget why spending less is a good idea.
I was going to twit you about earning money with it "till you want an ever newer, spiffier camera body" but you stole my thunder by deciding you won't want one for a long time.
I really do honestly think I will be happy with this camera body for a long, long time. The only step up from this is a full-frame camera, and I think that's more than I need. I'm not the sort of person who is constantly upgrading my technological stuff, so I feel fairly confident in predicting that I'll keep this for a long time.
I suppose that if my Rebel XT body dies, I'll want to get a new backup body, but I'm pretty sure that my Rebel will last for a while longer now that I'm not using it full time (the shutter on the Rebel line is not meant to last through millions of shots, so it's good I'm not going to be using it so much now).
And yes, I think stuff like this is the reward for being frugal. As an example, I could have easily frittered away $1500 by eating takeout and buying new clothes, but because I cook at home and buy clothes used/on clearance, I was able to save that money for something I value more than takeout and clothes (and I still had good food to eat and I still have nice clothes!).
congrats on you new camera! Enjoy it!!!
Kristen, your purchasing the camera body is an example of frugal SUCCESS as far as I'm concerned. You knew what you wanted, you planned and saved, you lived frugally to pull it off. It is the perfect example of what frugality should result in. This is the kind of stuff that has me returning here every day. For years, I lived off credit cards. Your examples - no matter how small, show me how to live otherwise. Bravo, Bravo, Bravo. Can't wait to see your wonderful pictures. I am so happy for you!!
Yay! I think it's wonderful that you prioritized and saved for something you clearly thought out and really wanted. I agree with Laurie - frugal success!
Its funny, but I actually do bake in the hot summer. When it is mild out, I'd rather not warm up the house, but we rarely if ever turn the air on ( we need desperately to replace the whole system, eeeeek) but I figure if it is 85 in the house already, whats another few degrees.
I may have already suggested this, but have you looked into downloading you banking activity into Quicken? It's much faster than entering all the transactions by hand. Most banks offer the service now. You can probably call the bank and they'll help walk you through the process. I download all our activity into QuickBooks and it saves me so much time. I can do the entire month in about 10-15 minutes.
Yes, that's what I do. But I can't seem to make myself do even that! lol
I am pathetic.
One thing I do is I don't allow myself to pay the bills without downloading the activity first so I know my balance is correct. I always pay my bills on-time so my stuff is always downloaded too.
You could also use the day you get your bank statement as your download day, too.
I think, next to you, I might be the most excited about your new camara body : ) We have 50 something days to go..... yay.
Congratulations on your new camera body!
Photography question for you - Are the photos you post on your blogs exactly how you took them with your camera, or do you edit them first (with Picnik or something)?
That depends on the image! Sometimes I use them straight out of the camera (SOOC in photo speak), but often I crop them and adjust contrast in Picasa. And of course, the black and white/sepia ones are edited.
Do you have a separate "camera account" into which you put your camera savings or did you just save generically, having in mind that X dollars was for a camera? I know you and your husband have several savings goals in mind but how do you manage the details, Kristen?
Awesome to find a new earthly treasure that is so fun, useful, and practical for the frugal girl. I am happy for you. Enjoy!
Good for you!! Enjoy!
Mary
Way to Go! The camera was worth the investment...if I were buying for me, it would be a waste! We hardly ever take pictures unless we're on vacation 🙁
Congrats to you on the new camera!! We are saving up for my first DSLR and hope to get it later this month for my birthday! Out of curiosity, from which site did you make your purchase? I never thought of going through my ebates account. But I just checked ebates and all of the sites that I have been browsing aren't affiliated with ebates. It would be great to shop through them! Thanks!
I recently found your blog and have enjoyed reading about your life and thoughts!
I am ssssssssssssooooooooo excited for you! I did the same thing you did, saved for my new camera body 1 1/2 years ago and it has paid for itself over and over again! Being frugal has many meanings and one of them is about doing what you were able to do....save for it, then buy it, no credit card, not an impulse, pay with cash and it is for a true passion of yours with income earnings! Good for you! I'm excited for your camera also because it's photos sure help me bake good bread and cinnamon rolls (which my family loved!)
You may want to think about using another program besides Quicken. I am a bookkeeper & use QuickBooks for most of my clients but recently I have started to use Quicken for one person at their insistence. That is an annoying program!
Once the money has been spent on Quicken I find people resistant to change but that money is gone. If the program doesn't work for you maybe it is time to look around. I wouldn't suggest QuickBooks for most people's personal finances because it is overkill for what most people need, but with the businesses you have it might be worth it. Or check out Mint.com or one of the other free/low cost programs out there. I use a program called Splash Money for my own personal stuff & am crazy about it. It is designed for Palm Pilots but it has a desk top portion.
You do a lot of things in a day that other people would consider a drag (sometimes you might even consider them a drag!) but you do them, everyday. So why is this a stumbling block? You seem very interested in tracking you spending, saving, etc. So why are you opposed to sitting down to do this? These are just some questions you might want to think about. If you found a better program you might find more interest in this goal.
Hi Kristen,
I love your blog! Being frugal allows you to purchase things that are important to you - I agree 100%. I have a question for you about savings. I haven't noticed any mention of an emergency savings account or long term savings for retirement. Have you discussed them elsewhere? I'm just curious about your ideas on them.
Thanks,
Carrie
Congratulations on your camera! Its great to hear that steady saving can produces results.
I have been wondering for awhile the same thing as Carla, above. I have read about your different accounts - Christmas savings, camera find, car repairs fund, new car fund etc and I know you like the ING accounts - but do you just have one actual account for all these categories and mentally keep tabs on it? (how do you spolit the interest earnt each month??) Or do you actually have lots of little separate accounts for each category? (do you then close the account when the goal is reached, like today?).
I hope these questions aren't intrusive, but I have wondered for a little while now what you do. I have set up a similar system to this (but with one account only and a little spreadsheet of my own), so I would be interested to see if maybe it's better doing it with multiple accounts.
Thanks!
Congrads on your new camera!
Thanks for sharing your view on $$ and the value of it.
And this statement made me smile "The Frugal Girl has spent a lot of money, and she doesn't feel at all guilty about it. " Awesome!
From a loyal reader,
Zina
Try looking at http://www.mint.com, it is a site like Quicken but you can do it from anywhere. In my opinion where I failed with Quicken I have been more sucessful with Mint.com
Just a thought.
Also go and check out Daveramsey.com about buying a new car--he has a video called drive free and retire rich--I don't know about the retire rich part, but the drive free part is worth taking a look at!!
i have the 7D and love it!!