Now, let me tell you that my children are not the happiest of people that we are going through this as a family. They’d rather be playing on the computer, reading their books, or hanging out with their friends. They’re not very vocal about it but body language speaks volumes.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret, though. Things are getting VERY weird at my house. It’s like my family has been taken over a la Invasion of the Bodysnatchers. Let me give you a couple of examples:

Mark and I went grocery shopping a couple of weeks ago. Now, ya’all know that I shop at several different stores and only go for the deals. So, by the time we hit Wal-Mart’s check out line (the last stop) we were both really thirsty. I said “Will you grab one of those Diet Coke’s in the cooler and put it on the counter?” and Mark looked at me… then back at the cooler… then back at me and said “Uh, no. Those 20 oz. bottles are $1.59. We just bought 3 - 2 Liter bottles for less than that. We can wait until we get home.” Wait… wait… WHAT? How’d HE get to be the frugal one?

Then, the next day, I had to take two of the 3 girls shopping for bathing suits. At the cash register, my 11 year old Pollywog said “Mommy, can I use my money to buy some candy?” Well… it was her money… why not?
When she put her candy on the counter, her 13 year old sister, Moonbeam, also put candy up there that Pollywog agreed to lend her the money for. The conversation went like this:

Me: Moonbeam, did you bring money?
Pollywog: That’s ok, mommy, she’s going to pay me back for it as soon as we get home. She just forgot her wallet.
Me: Ok, but just know that you’re going into debt to buy candy because you didn’t plan ahead. Is it really worth it to go into debt to your sister for candy?
Moonbeam: Yes Ma’am. Don’t worry, I’ll pay it back as soon as we get home.
……..
On hour later at home:
Me: Moonbeam, did you pay your sister back for the candy she bought you?
Moonbeam: Yes Ma’am. Just as soon as we got home.
Turtle (the 16 year old) from the kitchen: MOONBEAM… YOU’RE DEEEEEEEBBBBTTTT FREEEEEEEE … AND THERE’S NO MORE CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!

Then they all collapsed into giggles.

Three days ago… Turtle is running through the house after finishing all of her laundry chores yelling: I’M LAUNDRY FREE!!!!!!!!!!

*scratching my head* I think that they may be paying attention after all. I have to say, though, it’s no fun being the money nerd if everyone else in the house is more frugal than you are.

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Since the summer is my company’s Busy Season, I’ve been very jealous of all of those folks who are going on vacation in the next few weeks. I’m not going on vacation, but I’m happy to share some of the bright and shiny images that I’ve been daydreaming about with you.

Photo by Tim Pearce

Of the articles submitted, these were my favorite:

• VH from Funny about Money shared my favorite article: Work Is a Place…. So many people who work from home struggle with this. I think I’d probably just start saying “Sorry, I’m at work” repeatedly until people STFU. But then, I’m sort of a cranky broad sometimes.
• The Happy Rock from The Happy Rock presents Friends Matter: Friends Accept Us The Way We Are, But…. I have to say, I absolutely agree with this assessment.
• PT Money from Prime Time Money walks you through Opening a Roth IRA for the First Time.
• Peter Anderson from Bible Money Matters lists 7 Things You Can’t Do If You Want To Stay Out Of Debt.

Photo by Neona

General Personal Finance:

• BSimple from Simplified Financial Lifestyle asks Have you pruned your finances lately??
• The Smarter Wallet shares how to Control Household Debt With 5 Smart Saving Strategies and Budgeting Ideas.
• J. Money from Budgets are Sexy asks Rate Chasing 101: Do you have the personality for it?.
• FMF from Free Money Finance askss Are You Tempted to Spend MORE When Money’s Tight?. Hmmm… food for thought…
• My Journey from My Journey to Millions presents Tax Mechanics of Intra Family Loans.

Image by Wili_Hybrid

Frugal Living:

• CPF from Christian Finance presents Free Franklin Planner templates. I thought twice about putting this in the carnival, because it’s not really a great money article. But, it IS a great resource and I think that a lot of people could make use of it. So, here it is.
• Charlie from PayLessForFood.com gives suggestions on How to Eat Healthy, Lose Weight and Save Money at the Same Time. Think I’m going to have to start reading this blog regularly now too!
• Angela Vierling-Claassen from Car Free with Kids presents Making Choices: Frugality, the Environment, or Social Justice.
• Kelly from Almost Frugal tells us how she Cools Her House Frugally. AAAh… if only we didn’t live in the energy sucking heat and humidity of Georgia.
• Miss Thrifty from Miss Thrifty shares her ideas on How to get better at finding eBay bargains.

Image by CD Harrison

Financial Planning:

• Madison from My Dollar Plan shares this great article for new or upcoming college graduates: 10 Financial Tips for New Grads
• DR from DoughRoller helps us understand more about health insurance in Weighing Health Insurance Costs: Co-Insurance vs. Co-Pay vs. Deductible.
• Jeff Rose from Good Financial Cents presents Beneficary Options- What’s your legacy plan?.

Image by Sophia Brightsea

Investing:

• Patrick from Cash Money Life tells us How to Evaluate Online Brokers.
• Jim from Bargaineering presents Best Online Brokers

We love the Renfest!

Credit:

• Looking to improve your credit score? Silicon Valley Blogger from The Digerati Life gives some suggestions! How To Improve Your Credit Score: A 6 Step Plan.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Carnival.  Next week’s Carnival of Pecuniary Delights will be hosted over at Taking Charge.   Please submit your favorite articles and participate!

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My favorite of the day, Top Money Resources. This was a basic list of Money Girl’s favorite Money Resources. I haven’t heard of some of these, and look forward to researching some more.

General Finance News:

• Wall Street Journal - Free Online Version
• BusinessWeek’s Behind the Cover Podcast
• Briefing.com
• MSN MoneyCentral
• Bloomberg.com

General Money Tips:

• Money Magazine - Free Online Version
• SmartMoney

Financial Education:

• Minyanville
• TheStreet.com
• Investopedia

Taxes:

• IRS.gov
• USA.gov

Economics:

• Dismal.com

Old Fashioned newspapers:

• Investors Business Daily
• Barron’s
• The Wall Street Journal

Feel free to leave YOUR favorite Top Money Sources in the comments. Thanks Money Girl!

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It’s got extensive information regarding credit, debt, employment, education, nutrition, government agencies, and about a thousand other things that the consumer probably has no idea is available for free for the asking.  So, get yours for free from the Consumer Action Website - Federal Citizens Information Center

Since our family just finished the Debt Snowball lesson of Financial Peace university, and Dave Ramsey talks a lot about illegal collections practices by collections companies, I wanted to share an exerpt from the Consumer Action Handbook outlining this act.

Dealing With Debt

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act applies to those who collect debts owed to creditors for personal, family, and household debts.  These include car loans, mortgages, charge accounts, and money owed for medical bills.  A debt collector is someone hired to collect money you owe.

Within five days after a debt collector first contacts you, the collector must send you a notice that tells you the name of the creditor, how much you owe, and what action to take if you believe you don’t owe the money.

If you owe the money or part of it, contact the creditor to arrange for payment.

If you believe you don’t owe the money, contact the creditor in writing and send a copy to the collection agency with a letter telling them not to contact you.  A debt collector may not:

• Contact you at unreasonable times, for example, before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., unless you agree
• Contact you at work if you tell the debt collector your employer disapproves
• Contact you after you write a letter telling them to stop, exept to notify you if the collector or creditor plans to take a specific action
• Contact your friends, relatives, employer or others, except to find out where you live and work
• Harass you through threats to harm you, profane language or repeated telephone calls
• Make any false statement, or claim that you will be arrested
• Threaten to have money deducted from your paycheck or sue you, unless the collection agency or creditor intends to do so and it is legal.

To file a complaint, contact your state or local consumer protection agency and the Federal Trade Commission.

Have creditors abused these laws when attempting to collect a debt from you?  Contact the FTC and the consumer protection agency in your area.

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Penelope Pince, the author of Pecuniarities, defines this carnival as “The Crème de la crème of the Personal Finance Blogosphere.” Now, how the heck I got lucky enough to be able to host this carnival, I will never know… but I’m thrilled to be able to participate!

The Carnival of Pecuniary Delights is a little different than other Blog Carnivals or Festivals because your submissions do not have to be within the last two weeks. We simply want to showcase the BEST money stories you have to share. They should be timely (or timeless) articles that will be as relevant next year as they are today.

Head on over to the Carnival of Pecuniarities submission page and fill out the short submission form. If your article is chosen for Thursday’s carnival, you’ll need to post a link back to the carnival within 10 days (before Sunday, July 5^th).

Please feel free to check out all of the past Carnivals of Pecuniary Delight. These are fabulous Personal Finance articles and I have enjoyed reading them. I hope that you will too. Go. Read. Comment. Share. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

1. The Inaugural Edition – Pecuniarities
2. Saving Money Edition - Wisebread
3. Money Box Edition – Miss Thrifty
4. Living Green Saving Green Edition – Living Well On Less
5. Definition Edition – Money Ning
6. Cashing in on Going Green Edition – Greener Pastures
7. Seventh Edition – I Pick Up Pennies
8. Eight Edition – Almost Frugal
9. Organic Gardening Edition – Passive Family Income
10. Summer Storm Edition – Counting My Pennies
11. Eleventh Edition – My Journey to Millions
12. Catch a Wave Edition - Pecuniarities

So, that brings us to now. Please head over to the Carnival of Pecuniarities submission page and share your favorite personal finance entries… ones you’ve written, or if you don’t blog, ones you’ve read and want to share with everyone. I am looking forward to reading every one of them.

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I pulled into the driveway after work to see that the front door was open and the screen door was closed. Judging from the loud whir, the attic fan was on, pulling the air through the house and out the attic. So far, so good. Except that it was 92 degrees outside in Atlanta yesterday and the attic fan was sucking all of that heat straight into the house and right past our thermostat. The air conditioner was on, running full blast, and I was afraid to even ask how long THAT had been going on.

My brain exploded and I asked (in the creepy calm voice that parents ask after their eye starts to twitch but before the screaming starts) “uh, WHY are the door open and the attic fan running, while the air conditioner is blowing full blast? Have you lost your mind?” My wonderful 13 year old daughter replied by staring at me blankly and shrugging. “It was hot”, she said.

More eye twitching.

After turning off the attic fan then closing the door… (Did you know that if you close off the airflow before you turn off the attic fan, it sucks the air from holes in the house, like say the water heater closet, and blows out the pilot light? Just sayin.)… I dropped the temperature 2 degrees on the thermostat and the house was comfortable in a matter of minutes. I gently… and with great restraint… explained to the 13 year old honor roll student that if you don’t pull all of the hot air in the house, it’s easier for the air conditioner to, ya know, cool the house down.

The entire exchange lasted a grand total of a few seconds. But it made me wonder how often I really do turn into my grandmother. Here are some of the things I remember saying recently… and I’m a little miffed that I didn’t get to make good on my promise not to be That Parent. Damned kids these days…..

• Does EVERY light in the house really need to be on?
• Is that pair of shorts (jacket, t-shirt, skirt) really dirty? You only wore it 30 minutes. Think you could maybe, call me crazy, hang it up and wear it again?
• Yes, you DO have to eat your salad. I’m not paying to throw away perfectly good food.
• No, you don’t need new shorts. Cut off the pants that you just grew too tall for and wear those ‘til time to buy school clothes!
• Is it necessary to stay in the shower until all of the hot water is gone?

Huh… turns out, my granny was a pretty frugal (and smart) chick. I guess I shouldn’t be too put out with the fact that I picked up some of her values over the years. I have to confess though, I’m really looking forward to hearing these things come out of my kids’ mouths when dealing with their own little ones. Let’s see how long granny keeps talking.

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I lost my voice for a while. I tried to keep posting things on a regular basis, but I’d rather say nothing at all than keep writing articles with no substance. So, now that I (think?) I have my voice back and have some things to share that need to be said, let’s get back to work.

Last year, I shared a guest post with Gather Little by Little’s readers titled Enabling the Perpetually Poor talking a little about my experience with making tough decisions regarding family and enabling them to continue to make detrimental financial decisions. I was so excited that my brother and his family seemed to be getting on the right track financially.

Months later, my brother got laid off and his wife wasn’t able to continue working at her job. With no steady income and 2 children to care for, they had to let go of their rental house and move with my parents a few months ago. There have been news articles all over the country about adult children moving in with parents again because of the economy and job market. We all know that times are turbulent (well… when aren’t they?) and that sometimes you have to make sacrifices and adjust. Sometimes, we even have to do something drastic like…move back home with Mom & Dad. In order for this to work, you have to have some seriously open communications, patience, and a plan to get the hell back out of there and on your own.

Having watched my family adjust to this whole ordeal, I feel like I should share some lessons learned. The most important step to the entire process is to have a long talk BEFORE you start packing. There are questions that really need to be answered before you take the leap.

1. Where will our stuff go? I don’t know about you, but I don’t know too many families that have empty space waiting to be filled up by another family of 4 to move into their house.
a. Are you sharing bedroom space?
b. Are you expected to bring the bare minimum so as not to displace other family members?
c. Will there be space cleared out for you?
d. Is there storage in the basement, attic, or garage for your stuff or do you need to get a storage unit?

2. What chores are we expected to help with? In a household, everyone has a job. When you add more people, there is more work. Don’t assume that if you clean up after yourself that you’ve done your share of the work.
a. What needs to be done on a daily/weekly/monthly basis that you can contribute to?
b. Are there things you shouldn’t clean/touch/adjust?
c. Is there a certain way things need to be done? - This one is for the anal retentive of us. I don’t like for people to fold the towels, put the groceries away, or put the dishes in the cabinets unless they do it RIGHT. Otherwise, the meltdown is way worse than if you just left it for me to do.
d. Are there odd jobs around the house that you can take care of to make your hosts (yes… hosts) lives easier?

3. Is there a kitchen schedule or rules?
a. Do you need to cook at a certain time?
b. Are the cooking and dishes duties shared or completely separate?
c. Are both families going to share meals and grocery expenses, or be separate entities?
d. If you’re sharing meals, do you have to consider dietary needs of your hosts? Likes? Dislikes? Allergies?
e. If you’re not sharing meals, is it ok for you to use their pantry items and them to use yours?

4. Is there a Laundry Day?
a. Are there certain days you shouldn’t plan to do laundry because that’s your hosts’ Laundry Day?
b. Should you include their laundry in a load of yours to make a full load?
c. Does anyone in either family have allergies to detergent/fabric softener?

5. Utilities, Grocery Shopping, Gas Money – Don’t expect a free ride. They may be family but they aren’t financially responsible for adult children or siblings.
a. Are you expected to pay for a percentage of the utilities?
b. Will there be joint grocery shopping?
c. Are you expected to pitch in gas money for shared errands?
d. Even if the answer was “no” to the above questions, have you offered anyway?

6. Sleeping and Awake
a. Are you a night owl and your hosts are early risers? The other way around?
b. Are you going to need ear plugs? (DO NOT expect your hosts to put up with your noise because those are your “normal hours”)
c. Do you need to make sure that the TV is off and your friends aren’t calling after 9 PM to keep the vein from throbbing in dad’s forehead?

7. How do House Guests work?
a. Are you allowed to have house guests? If so, what days and times are appropriate?
b. Do you need to leave when your hosts have house guests?
c. Are meal times off limits for guests?
d. Are overnight guests ok? (If space is cramped, don’t be rude.)

I had to move back in with my mother over a decade ago. While it wasn’t longer than a few months, it was plenty enough time for me to wish I’d had some of these conversations prior to going “home”.

To those of you who are long term guests in your parents or siblings homes, some things to remember:

• It is NOT your house.
• Yes, they said “you always have a home here” and that they “want you to feel like you can completely be yourself here” but seriously… they didn’t mean like you could live there and go back to being a kid.
• They really do not want to worry about coming home from work and finding a house full of people or piles of laundry in the floor.
• They don’t want to have to eat meals out every night or wait 3 hours for the kitchen, while you cook food they hate, so that they can make dinner.
• They don’t REALLY want to be your built in babysitter. Sure, they love the grandkids…and they used to want to spend more time with the grandkids… when the grandkids weren’t a full time responsibility that keeps them from watching Matlock reruns in peace.

To those of you who are hosting adult children or siblings in your home, some things to remember:

• It took a lot of pride and a lot of need for your house guests to ask you for help. Don’t treat them like a nuisance.
• Do not call your other family members & friends to bitch about what is being done, not being done, what isn’t right, what REALLY isn’t right, and how aggravated you are. We don’t want to hear it. We love you all and don’t want to be in the middle.
• Do not treat your adult children like teenagers with curfews and arbitrary rules. They are still adults and shouldn’t have to ask permission to stay out after 10 PM (Unless you’ve been roped into childcare. If that’s the case, point them to the points above.)
• If a boundary is crossed or your guests aren’t holding up their end of the deal, speak up for yourself. Yes, times are tough, but that doesn’t absolve your guests from behaving like responsible adults.
• DO NOT EXPECT YOUR GUESTS TO READ YOUR MIND THEN BE ANGRY WHEN THEY DON’T. IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM, BRING IT INTO THE OPEN.

Has anyone else been dealing with this challenge in their lives? Do you have other tips? Think I’m wrong? Think I’m right? Think I’m insane? Leave a comment and let me know.

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I signed up a few weeks ago to review the book 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget by The Writers of Wise Bread. The book arrived on my doorstep not even 2 full days later. Since then, I’ve been enjoying bite sized pieces of Wise Bread writings. (Look honey, your bad puns have finally rubbed off on me!)

Anyone who has known me for longer than 5 minutes knows that I love red wine. It’s one of those staple items in our house. I knew this was going to be the book for me when I opened it to Part 1, Chapter 1, and the first section is titled “6 Simple Tips for Buying Great Affordable Wine”. SCORE!!!

This is not a book you read cover to cover. It’s broken down into quick and dirty tips. Some of my favorites so far have been:
• 6 Simple Tips for Buying Great Affordable Wine
• 4 Small Kitchen Gadgets that Equal Big Savings
• 9 Great Ways to See the World for Free
• 5 Cheap and Simple Sunburn Remedies that Really Work (It’s summer break and we have children… this will come in handy.)
• 9 Tips from Depression-Era Kids
• How to Find Savings in Every Room

As with any compilation of tips and tricks, there are some I already knew and some that don’t apply to me. There are even a few that I disagree with. But, on the whole, this is an amazingly helpful book full of ways that we can Live Large on a Small Budget!

If the money saving ideas provided in this book aren’t enough to tickle your fancy, you can even check out the Resources section of the book: 142 Resources that will Save You Cash

• Tools From Wisebread
• Money Management Tools
• Rate Comparison and Search Tools
• Borrowing, Lending, and Investiments
• Great for Students
• Deals, Coupons & Freebies
• Job & Career Resources
• Personal Finance Authors
• Best Personal Finance Blogs (I read most of these!)
• More Great Resources

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Make sure you check out the Kroger Coupon Policy, if you haven’t already. Remember, Kroger makes each item 50% off on a BOGO sale and they double all coupons up to $.50.

Have you found great deals at Kroger for the coming week? Share them with us!

• Weekly Shopping Update - I'm a SUPER Couponer I had a great week for shopping! I spent more than normal, but I really got a lot of value for what I spent. YL15...
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• Last Day for These Publix Deals I'm going to try something a little different today. I'm going to share the grocery shopping deals I plan to get BEFORE I go to...

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• Breast cancer awareness jewelry Did you know that only 5% of the raised funds from breast cancer awareness jewelry goes to cancer prevention? As a wise person, don't you...

Just a note: My Publix cuts the price to 50% on BOGO items, so it’s probable that you will only have to buy one item with one coupon to get the price below. Otherwise, use 2 coupons (get the double Sunday paper edition) and buy 2.  Make sure you take a look at the Publix Coupon Policy if you haven’t already! Coupons $.50 and less automatically double

Care to share your Publix Deals this week? Please leave us a note in comments.

• Southeast Kroger Deals 3/9/09 - 03/14/09 Atlanta, GA Kroger Deals 3/9/09 through 3/14/09 There are SO many Kroger deals with the $5 off 10 items deal, I could be listing these...
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• Weekly Grocery Shopping Results I just got home from my weekly excursion with the grocery shopping. I have to admit that I had to work a little harder at...
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