When we moved to our current school district two years ago, we bought a house there, without selling the previous one. This meant we ended up with two mortgages – one humongous and the other on a 10-year track to payoff. This necessitated the serious need for a budget.

We’ve always considered ourselves pretty frugal – almost always eating at home and buying our school clothes at high-end garage sales. We never carry credit-card debt – unless it’s a short-term, zero-percent offer at Menards. We’re big on getting a great deal – and usually that means buying pre-owned. But over the years expenses got away from us. When when we had low monthly expenses and almost no mortgage, our budget could handle the kind of discretionary purchases and travel we’d become accustomed to. But that’s all different now.

MAKING THE PLAN
A year ago, I started taking a careful look at our budget. I set up an Excel document and added the real charges we paid throughout the prior 12 months. This gave me a realistic look at utilities, seasonal expenses, gas, groceries, travel costs, and our sneaky credit card bill. The Excel program allowed me to create columns that automatically add themselves, so as I replace budgeted amounts with “real” figures, it recalculates it for me to see if we’re still on track.

It feels strange to talk about our family’s finances, and many of our “numbers” I won’t share, but I think it’s important to explain the areas in our life we’ve identified as “belts that could tighten.” If you’re from a similar middle-class life, you might find that cutting down on these areas in the budget could help you as well. I will add the disclaimer that we’re fortunate in that beyond the two mortgages, we don’t have any debt.

BELIEVING IT
Before setting these budget changes, our family had no idea we could pay the second mortgage down quickly. The act of making the pay-down a priority is what made the difference. Now 12 months after implementing our new monthly money goals, the progress we’ve made shows we could possibly pay off our second mortgage a year from now. It would take continued focus, but I truly believe it is possible.

In this series of articles, I’ll address the ways we changed our budget – and with any luck, in one year we’ll be celebrating the payoff of our second mortgage. Please read on in the weeks to come – I hope our efforts help others as well!

MORTGAGE PAYOFF 101 SERIES:
Getting Started
Monthly Charges
The Credit Card
Sell Your Stuff
Lessons Learned

In part one of my Affordable Family Travel series, I addressed a key that has helped our family during a decade of travel – flexibility and creativity. I shared our past experience in getting free flights caused by overbooking.

This week, I focus on another tip: condos and timeshares.

(This shot is from our Fort Myers Beach condo – January 2007)

Two bedrooms, two baths, full kitchen with a balcony overlooking the ocean.

Sounds like paradise — not an affordable option for a family of four. But it can be.

Our family discovered early-on in our travels that renting condos or timeshares was a far more enjoyable — and affordable — vacation rental option than booking hotels. Just because it sounds like a splurge doesn’t necessarily mean it is. And our vacations have been far more relaxing because of the quality of our lodging.

How is it affordable? With travel, there are many expenses to consider, beyond lodging. Although it’s a large chunk of most vacation budgets, the others add up as well.

Food is the biggest budget-saver offered by condo or timeshare rental. Because you have the ability to purchase groceries for a week and cook them in the convenience of your own kitchen, there’s no need to make multiple trips per day to a restaurant or fast-food joint. Even items as simple as beverages are an expensive irritation when you need to work out of a cooler or plug coins into a vending machine. Vacation rentals with a full kitchen are truly your home away from home.

Entertainment is the other financial bonus offered by many condos. Because they are generally better equipped, more comfortable, and convenient than similar hotels, young families are more likely to stay put and enjoy the amenities already offered at the resort. Many condos provide books, magazines, boardgames, and have DVD players with numerous movies available for use. Consider the money your family would save if you cut out even one excursion per day during your next trip.

Miscellaneous savings add up as well. Parking fees, laundromats, gas to drive to entertainment spots, entry charges to paid events. If you pick the right vacation rental, you may not leave your condo for the whole week. When our kids were younger, our entire vacation consisted of trips back and forth between the balcony, pool and beach. The simplicity of this arrangement made it truly a vacation for everyone.

Where can I find condos and timeshares for rent?
With any online service, there’s a measure of risk for both owners and renters. It’s important to research the owners, and if there’s a way to check reputation, that’s ideal. Several sites provide tips and general information for vacationers new to vacation rental.

We’ve successfully used the following online portals to rent vacation homes:
Redweek.com
Timeshare Users Group
Vacation Rentals By Owner
Craigslist
eBay

Considerations:
• Condos or timeshares generally need to be rented for a full week, but a shorter stay could possibly be negotiated with owners on last-minute travel.

• The check in/check out dates are usually established on the weekend, so if your free dates are Wednesday-Wednesday, this option might not work for your family.

• You need to practice due diligence to determine the location and amenities. Don’t assume you have ocean view, just because the unit has ocean access. Sometimes units are located across a busy road from the beach, which can be a problem for families.

• Pay attention to cleaning fees and taxes. Often these charges are not indicated in the quote, but they’ll certainly show up on your bill.

• Make clear plans about how to access the unit, especially if you’ll arrive late. Some condos and timeshares have a 24-hour rental office, but others have a coded lockbox or other arrangements for keys.

• Be wary of independent owners or rental agents with no reputation you can research. Get as much information as possible from your contact, then do your own independent research to verify the unit they claim to own. It’s best to contact the resort by a phone number you’ve located online – separate from whatever information was provided by the owner.

Happy traveling!

Affordable Family Travel Series:

Creativity and Flexibility
Renting Condos and Timeshares

For more great tips, please visit Rocks in my Dryer.

I’m writing this on Monday, the first day I’ve had a moment’s peace in the past two weeks. Husband’s back at work and kids are at school, and my half-time job allows me a Monday alone before diving back into reality.

Our Christmas break is usually spent in Florida – a tradition we’ve kept just about every year for the past six years or so. Typically we fly out on Christmas day, and spend 7-10 days doing absolutely nothing on a 75-degree balcony, watching the kids dig holes in the sand.

But this year we went to Florida over Thanksgiving instead, opening up an opportunity to try some new traditions, while enjoying added time to continue with the old ones.

On the weekend before Christmas, we visited my sister’s house for the annual holiday feast and catch-up with family from near and far. Then the next day, after some holiday baking (translation: dipping pretzels in chocolate) we enjoyed a relaxed gathering for my husband’s family, thankfully NOT on Christmas Eve this year, which made for an easy and non-hectic day.

On Christmas Eve, we made our first holiday meal as a family unit, complete with a sevenhourstocook 21-pound turkey (thanks to Mr. Overkill), homemade cranberry salad (by Darla) and pecan pie (by Craig.) We loved putting together this holiday meal and will definitely continue to do so!

Wayne’s parents came up to see us at the cabin on Christmas Day, and we enjoyed feast leftovers (remember the 21-pound turkey?) and played “500″ where I’m proud to announce that the girls squarely beat the boys;)

A couple days after Christmas we visited my mom, relaxed by her pretty tree and opened gifts. The highlight this year was handmade “Darla and Craig” dolls (mascots?) She reads this blog and thinks it’s funny I’ve chosen pseudonyms for my kids. Both Darla and Craig loved her creations and have proudly displayed them in our living room.

We also managed to host two birthday parties, effectively crossing that considerable chore off our list. Craig’s party was first, and all the boys enjoyed their trip to Action City (indoor arcade and amusement park) despite the blizzard road conditions on the way home.

Darla invited her party-goers to a New Year’s Eve birthday bash at the cabin, which was loads of fun and a tradition I’m sure she’d like to continue.

And we logged a combined total of two-million hours on the kids’ new Wii — the only significant gift we gave them for Christmas.

As you can see, they weren’t excited about it at all.

Though not “traditions,” we also refinanced the house, bought a car, did urinalysis on the dog, prepared corporate tax paperwork for our accountant and helped my brother-in-law paint his new house.

The only thing we didn’t manage to accomplish during the holiday break, was downhill skiing, unless you count my husband’s kamikaze trip down the hill to the lake. The weather wasn’t cooperating – either too warm, with rain and crusty slopes, or too cold with below-zero windchills. I’m sure we’ll find another winter weekend to hit the slopes.

Despite the very busy schedule and multiple round trips to what seemed like, everywhere, it was a relaxing break that left us ready to get back to life. What we’ll do next year is anybody’s guess, but I’m happy with the new traditions we tried out.

What new traditions have you “tried on for size?”

If you’re looking for an awesome teacher gift, click no further! You’ve found it. We made chai tea mix last year for teachers, bus drivers, coaches, etc, and everyone LOVED IT! Since the kids have all new teachers this year, I figure if it ain’t broke…

Many of the spices are already in my pantry, and last year it cost a total of $22 for about a gallon of dry mix.

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup instant tea
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup dry milk
* ½ cup dry creamer

Spices:

* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon ground ginger

* ½ teaspoon salt
* ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne (careful, careful!)

Spoon a couple of heaping teaspoons into a mug of hot water, stir, and Voila! Steaming chai tea. Works for me!

What’s your favorite teacher gift?

Other dry mixes I’ve tried:
Nightmare before Christmas Cookies
Bean Soup

Visit Rocks in My Dryer for more great tips.

Every year, our family is invited to participate in holiday cookie exchanges and each year, I’m overwhelmed by the idea, since I never seem to have my holiday act together like anyone else. This time, we did join in at the last minute with our neighborhood exchange and I’m so glad we did. It was a fun and simple way to organize the exchange so it wasn’t very taxing on the bakers, and we had time to chit chat as well.

Here was the plan initiated by my very smart neighbors:

1. The husbands and kids went to one house, with snacks to share and beverages.
2. The wives went to a house directly across the street, with beverage and six dozen cookies, in half-dozen packages (so each woman arrived with 12 small bags containing six cookies each.)
3. We put our cookies on the table and opened one package as a sampler. This left 11 bags of half-dozen cookies to be exchanged.
4. We enjoyed conversation, wine and snacks and when the hostess rang the bell, we each chose three baggies from the table. About 10 minutes and lots of laughter later, she rang the bell again. We each chose three more baggies. And so it went until most the cookies were gone.

There were probably 15-20 women at the gathering and we stayed for about three hours. But the system would work no matter how many women attended. Thanks to my very smart neighbors for creating such a perfect and fun way to host a cookie exchange!

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