by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

In this modern era, we are forced to spend money to live. We need money for rent, food, gas, etc. Every day we spend money on something even if it's just rent and electricity. So, what do we really need to live?

Rent or a Mortgage

We can't get out of this one unless we have a family member willing to let us stay for free. Since that doesn't happen very often, we're forced to either pay rent or a mortgage. This is a fixed expense. However, we can limit how much we spend on our housing.

I try not to spend more than one week's salary on housing. If the salary is too low to allow for that, I choose the cheapest apartment I can find in a safe area. Typically, that's no more than $550.

Electricity

We need it for running our computers, phones, lights, stoves, coffee makers and a whole host of other appliances. This is also a fixed expense, but the monthly amount often varies. To keep electricity costs at a minimum, open the windows, keep the lights off during the day.

If you work, turn the A/C or heat to a higher or lower setting while you are gone. Typically, I turn my A/C to 80 in the summer and my heat to 65 in the winter. It doesn't matter how cold or hot it is in my apartment if I'm not there.

Phone

We need a phone to take and receive calls and communicate with friends, family, coworkers, and potential employers. Most of us own cell phones that never leave our sides. In 2005, I moved into my first apartment. I had a cell phone. I never activated a land line. It was an expense I couldn't afford and couldn't justify. The only reason I'd ever need a land line is if I had to do a lot of faxes at home.

Internet

We need the internet for a lot of the same reasons we need the phone; to apply for jobs, to communicate with friends and family, to research, and to keep up on current events and happenings in the world. I also use mine to watch TV and movies. I purchased the minimum plan from my internet provider.

Car

The United States doesn't have a good mass transit system in place outside of most major metropolitan areas. This means that we need cars. Cars come with semi-hidden expenses such as gas, insurance and maintenance costs. I purchased a used car in 2001 for $1000.

For the past 10 years I haven't had a car payment and my maintenance and gas per month doesn't equal a car payment. I spend on average a thousand dollars a year in oil changes and car repairs. About every three years that increases to $2000, but it's still not a car payment. Over the last 10 years, I've saved a minimum of $20,000 by not having a car payment.

I try to keep my living expenses at a minimum. I try not to pay more than $550 for an apartment. I try to make sure that my electricity is no more than $100 a month. I don't have a car payment. I don't have a landline phone. I purchase minimum speed internet connections, and I don't change regardless of how much my job pays.

If I'm making more money than I need, I save more or I get more massages and facials, but if I'm at a low paying job, I'm not worried about where my next meal is coming from. The trick is to always be prepared for the worst and to always keep living expenses at an affordable minimum.

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories
  

by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

Work/Life Balance is not as cut as dry as one would think. Our gut instincts tell us that it should be an even mix between working and living. We should have enough time to go to work, come home, spend time with our families, go on vacation, pay bills, and relax.

Anyone who’s ever had a job knows that this is not always the case. Most times we’re scrambling between household duties, work and bills. There just never seems to be enough time.

Who’s responsible for Work/Life Balance? Most publications state that it is the individual’s responsibility to achieve a balance. Yet, we look to our workplaces to help us with that goal; flex-time, personal time, vacation and holiday pay. These are simply tools for us to use in order to achieve our work/life balance.

ASTD Press has a pamphlet entitled “Fundamentals of Work Life Balance” by Erica D. Chuck. On the first page she states how “recent decades have seen an increase dual income households.” This means that more of us are working, leaving us with less time for a home-life.

How do we achieve the balance? We should all start with a few basic questions before we ever apply for a job let alone walk into the interview.

How much money do I need to make?

This is by far the most important question. We need enough money to pay our bills and save a little bit for emergencies and retirement. For me, that’s between $15.00 and $16.00 an hour. I can live comfortably off that working fulltime. If I wanted to work part-time, it’d need to be more like $20.00 to $23.00 an hour. The latter probably isn’t feasible. So, remember, the hourly goal also has to be realistic.

Once that question is answered, we have an hourly wage objective and can pursue jobs in that wage range.

What do I want out of my career?

This question is also important. If you want to advance and achieve promotions, using a lot of flextime and work/life balancing options may not be a good idea. There can be a stigma to using such balancing options. If all of your coworkers work 40+ hours a week, and you work 35, there may be some resentment.

It’s always best to talk to your supervisor about options and a plan for your career. Learn directly what the impact will be if you use a lot of flex-time, opt to work at home, or take a lot of personal days. It may affect your advancement. Know what the consequences are beforehand.

What do I want out of the Company I work for?

Do you want a fun, friendly atmosphere? Do you want to make a difference? Do you want to feel useful and productive. Examine yourself before applying for that next job. Know exactly what you want out of the company before you even apply and especially before you walk into the interview.

What are my long term goals both personal and professional?

Where do you want to be in five years? 10 years? Write it all down for both your personal and professional lives. Then, make a plan on how you want to achieve those goals.

What are my personal and professional short term goals?

Where do you want to be both professionally and personally in three months? Six months? 12 months? Write them all down as you did for your long term goals.

Do these personal and professional goals mesh?

For the professional goals, it would be wise to talk to your supervisor and get a plan and agenda from them. If your job is notorious for long hours, and you want to be at the gym every night at 6pm or your child has numerous extracurricular activities after school, find out if you can leave work early without dire consequences.

Then, take those professional suggestions and agendas and pit them against your personal goals. Figure out if they mesh or if they are in direct conflict with what you really want to do.

By answering these questions, and examining both your personal and professional lives, you will be well on your way to helping yourself create an acceptable work/life balance.

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories
  

by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

In lean times, it makes sense to reevaluate how we spend our money. The best rule of thumb is to spend no more than 60 percent of your net monthly income which creates a 40 percent buffer. A 40 percent buffer should cover all the unexpected expenses we typically incur during the month without having to dip into credit cards or savings accounts on a regular basis.

Base Income, Gross Income, and Net Income

First we start out with a base income. Let’s say we make $15 an hour and work 40 hours a week. This gives us a gross amount of $2400. We can’t do our calculations on gross income because we don’t physically see all that money. Taxes, medical insurance, and other deductions come out of our pay before we ever see it.

For simplicity's sake, let’s assume that the taxes are 25% and insurance is $70. every two weeks. We have to subtract this from $2400 which gives us a total of $2260. Now we need to multiply this by .75 to get our net monthly income of $1695. This is the figure that we will work our calculations on.

Rent and Mortgage Payments

The largest expense for most of us is our rent or mortgage payments. Typically, realtors allow you to spend up to 33% of your gross income or $733 in this scenario. That’s almost half of the net income we just calculated. A better way to do this is to spend no more than 25% to 28% of your net monthly income. This gives us a housing cost range of $423 to $474.60.

Now, we need to figure out how much 60% of $1695. $1695 * .60 = $1017. Next, subtract the estimated rent amount: $1017 - $474.60 = $542.40. That’s $542 for everything else, groceries, electric, cell phones, car payments, and entertainment.

Utilities and Other Expenses

Let’s take this a step further and assume no car payment, no cable TV, and no landline phone. This leaves a basic set of utilities: cell phone, cable internet, electricity, car insurance, gym membership. A basic cell phone plan runs about $40, gym membership $45, car insurance $60, electricity $100, and the cheapest cable internet about $32. Subtracting all these bills leaves us with $265 for groceries and miscellaneous expenses for the rest of the month.

When done successfully, this plan would leave just about $600 per month extra for unforeseen expenses and saving. By the end of the year, someone following this plan would have a max buffer of $7200.

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories

by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

When I was in my 20s, I was not concerned about saving for my retirement. I figured I had forty-five years to work and worry about retirement, and that’s if I even got there. In my family, most of us work until the day we die. The only person I knew who was saving for retirement was my dad. My mom was not saving for retirement.

I didn’t start thinking about retirement until I entered my 30’s, and still then it wasn’t a fully formed thought. It was a question. Do I really want to work every day for the rest of my life? The answer was a fast no. How to start saving for retirement was a more complex question.

IRA CD

The first thing I did was open an IRA CD. My reasoning was simple. The interest earned was more than my savings account, and I only needed $100 dollars to open the account. The catch was that I had to auto draft $50 dollars into the CD every month. It wouldn’t amount to a lot of money by the end of the CD’s term, but it was a start.

401k

The next thing I signed up for was my company’s 401k. I decided to put 10% of my income into the 401k. My company would match it dollar per dollar until I reached a certain level. I never hit that level, and I never missed the 10% coming out of my check.

The only hindrance was what to do with the 401k when I left the company. I knew if I took a withdraw, I would lose the company match, and I would be taxed as if it were income. I didn’t want to do that. Luckily, I had my IRA CD. When the time came, I made two phone calls; one to the company managing the 401k, and one to my bank. The transition was seamless. The company managing my 401k wrote a check and mailed it to my bank. The money went into the IRA CD. I kept the match, and I didn’t get taxed.

Stocks

I lucked out when it came to stocks. I bought near the end of the 2008 crash, but I had been waiting for it. History told me that there would be a stock market crash during my lifetime. I took about a thousand dollars, and bought as many stocks as that would buy. In the time that I’ve owned them, they’ve gone up and down significantly, but I’m still ahead. I’ve still earned more money on my stocks than I would have had I left the money in my savings account.

My goal for retirement is to not touch this money until I need it for retirement. I know at this point that it is no where near what I need to retire. But, it is a start, and it is more money than my mom ever saved for her retirement.

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories

by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

I got lucky in 2008. I was working a good job after years of struggling to make ends meet. I was able to save between $300 and $600 a month on a regular basis, and since the job included bonuses, I banked my bonuses. This left me with more money in my bank accounts than I had ever seen, and that includes my college years when I was getting two loan disbursements a year.

Once I realized I had extra money, I had some very serious choices to make. I could keep the money and ignore my delinquent debts, or I could get a copy of my credit report and start making phone calls.

The first thing I did was talk to my dad, who is a certified CPA, and a friend who had gone through the same debt issues I was dealing with. They both told me to make the phone calls and see if I could negotiate a settlement amount to pay off the debts. I owed about $6000 to various credit cards and financial institutions. I wanted to spend about $2000 to pay off that debt.

I was warned, however, not to give too much information. The only thing they needed was the payment information. They didn't need to know where I worked, how much I made, my bank account information, or where I lived. If they had that information, they might try to garnish my wages to spite my willingness to pay off the entire debt right now. My dad even told me a horror story from his past when he went to pay off a delinquent debt. They didn't want his money right then, they wanted his employer information so they could garnish his wages. Needless to say, he didn't give them the information and kept calling until he found someone willing to take the payment.

I started making phone calls. The first creditor I called related to an old phone bill from 2001 when I thought I needed a landline. They settled the $100 bill for $60 dollars. The next creditor I called held an account related to my cell phone from when I changed phone numbers and tried to help out a friend by letting her get a cell phone on my account. Cell phone companies are notorious for double billing when you change your phone number. The collection agency was willing to settle the $500 bill for a little over $200. In my first two phone calls, I had saved $340. I was ecstatic.

The next creditor I called held the account of a credit card I had gotten in college. The bill was significant at $3250. I offered $1000 to settle the bill. They countered with $2700. I increased to $1500 if they would settle the debt right now. They refused to settle. I ended the call and looked at my credit report for the next creditor. While I was deciding who to call next, a debt collection agency called me and wanted to settle. It was a $2300 bill. They were willing to settle for 60%. I had just saved another $920.

After some quick math, I realized I still had $320 left out of my $2000 debt paying budget. I found an eye doctor that I owed $160. He was willing to settle for $100.

With $220  left, I was a little leery about calling another collection agency, but I found another credit card with a balance of $800. They were willing to settle for $400. It was over my limit, but I agreed.

All in all for a day's worth of phone calls, I paid off almost $4000 worth of debt for a little over $2000. It was well worth the time and money spent, and the increase to my credit score was astounding. I was no longer a terrible credit risk.

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories
  

by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

I’m always careful when I rent an apartment. I don’t want anything too big. I want water, sewer, and at least trash included. If I can get gas or heat included, I do that, as well. I want central air conditioning and washer/dryer hookups. I don’t care if the complex has a pool, gym, Jacuzzi, tennis courts or any other frills. I won’t use them, and it means higher overall rent payments.


Rent

The first thing I do before I choose any apartment is figure out the rent I can afford. Typically, this is 25% of my net income, or roughly one week of net pay. I do net pay because I never see gross pay. I can’t base my rent off an amount I never see.

This means that if I am making $35,000 a year, I can expect to take home $26,250 a year. That’s $505 a week. That’s the rent amount I start with because it’s guaranteed that I will have no problems paying it.


Location

Next, I look at locations. I generally want an area that has been historically safe. In Indianapolis that means living outside of the beltline or in the Northern part of the city. Since I know I can’t afford the rents North, I looked South and West and East outside the beltline. I know that living outside the beltline is more expensive than inside the beltline. Inside the beltline I can find rent for $350 - $400 a month, but I also know that I’ll sacrifice safety and security if I do. With that in mind, I’d rather pay a little more and have peace of mind.


Water, Sewer, Trash, and Heat

When I look at apartments, I look to see what’s included in the rent. I had the misfortune of living in an a la cart complex once where water, sewer and trash were not included. The base rent was $574 a month, but after they added water, sewer and trash to the bill, it was closer to $630 a month. Those extra fees put the apartment well out of my price range, and I struggled with the payments for the entirety of the lease. Needless to say, I will never do that again. My rent has to include at a bare minimum water, sewer and trash. I don’t want any hidden fees, and I don’t want to guess what next month’s rent is going to be.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find an apartment of any size for $505/month. The apartment I did find included water, sewer and trash for $550 a month with a $10 discount for paying rent before the first of the month. Being that it was only $35 more than my budget, I decided to take it. If it had been $50 or $75 more than my budget, I would have kept looking until I found a better deal.

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories

Having someone come in and periodically do all the deep cleaning is awesome. They typically clean everything I haven’t touched in six months or longer like behind the toilet, the blinds, the cabinets, and the hood over the oven. They’re also going to have better cleaning chemicals that remove stains and hard water from sinks and bathtubs. It’s something I really appreciate, but it’s also something I have to budget for. Here’s how I save money on house cleaning services.

Hire Local

I typically hire local. I want to know who’s going to be cleaning my home, and I want to meet with them prior. A lot of time this isn’t possible with a large cleaning service. You’ll meet with the manager and discuss a price. Then, another person will come in and clean. They’re also bound by price limitations. They have to charge so much for each service. A local cleaning service will be more willing to negotiate services and prices.


Do The Light Cleaning

If you’re like me, you want the cleaning service to do the heavy cleaning not the light cleaning. This means that I typically pick up all my things and clear off the counters. The faster they’re able to move through the wipe down and stain removal of the counters and surfaces, the cheaper the price will be. This was a negotiating point with the lady I hired. She was willing to pick up all my dirty clothes, shoes, trash, and do my laundry, but the cost increased by $100 dollars. I told her I’d pick up my own stuff and do all my dishes.

This has a dual goal. By picking up and organizing your own stuff, you know what you’ve got and you can put away any sensitive documents. I found a tax statement and a W-2 while cleaning up a pile of papers. Those are things that I do not want the cleaning lady to have access to.


Ovens, Refrigerators, and Dishwashers

I opted out of having the lady clean the inside of the refrigerator, oven, and dishwasher. I can do those things myself, or I can have her come back at a later date and just do those things. Either way, they weren’t on my must do list for this cleaning session. Also, if you have a self cleaning oven, it’s pointless to pay someone to clean it. They’re just going to twist the knob to clean, let it run, and then wipe out the bottom.

It took me two days to pick up, organize, and take out the trash. My apartment is ready for the cleaning lady to come in and do the deep cleaning. The result was a $200 savings on my cleaning bill which is well worth the time spent cleaning and organizing my own stuff. Plus, she won’t be asking me where things go. It saved me time and effort, and it saves her time and effort.

by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

Cookouts are awesome. I loved grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, potato chips, dip, and everything else that goes along with a cookout. However, cookouts can become an expensive endeavor if you’re not careful. Here’s how I make sure to stay within budget and have my grilled hotdogs.


Have the guests pitch in

Having the guests pitch in doesn’t mean having them spend money. The last cookout I attended, I brought things I already had; including ketchup, an onion, a tomato, and a roll of paper towels. It didn’t cost me a thing, and it saved the hosts about $5.00.

With the advent of facebook and other social media, it’s even easier to announce the event and post the things needed to your potential guests. For the next cookout, we plan to invite all our family and have them each bring a dish. In addition to the social media invitation, we could include a list of things for them to bring such as foil, paper towels, plates, napkins, and plasticware. The guests that have those things on hand would be welcome to bring them, and able to update their offerings via a comment.


Only buy what you need

The biggest issue I see at cookouts involves bringing and having too much food. That’s wasted money and wasted food. If you’re inviting 20 guests, 40 hotdogs, 20 hamburgers, and two packs of bratwursts should do it for the meat. Add two bags of chips, some baked beans, and potato salad and your set. Anything else can be brought by the guests. I know I always bring my own drinks and a dessert. No one in my family drinks Diet Coke, and I’m a real grump if there’s no cake.


Shop the grocery store ads the week prior

Grocery stores generally have meat, coke, on sale during any given week. The trick is to shop all the ads for all the local grocery stores and figure out where you can get hotdogs, hamburgers, potato salad, Coke, and ice for the least amount of money. Doing this can save $10 to $20 dollars on cookout essentials.

In short, a tiny bit of preplanning for every cookout could save you a tremendous amount of cash. It’s fun to get together and eat grilled hotdogs and socialize with the family. But, if you’re like me, you don’t want to break the bank doing it.

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories

by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

I love vacations. I love them because I can get away and destress and detox from my busy work-life. However, I’m not in the habit of spending a lot of money during my vacations. I want to have fun, but I also want to get the best price possible.


Packages

I am a big fan of vacation packages. In 2008, I took a Halloween vacation to Kings Mill Resort. It was a three day vacation over Halloween weekend and included tickets to Busch Gardens for each day I was there. The weekend package was $400 dollars. I have since signed up for emails from Kings Mill Resort, and every holiday, they have an inexpensive weekend holiday package. They even price the packages according to how many people are visiting. Because I was the only one visiting, I received a $100 discount on the package price.


Driving

The question of how to get somewhere is always controversial: fly or drive. I will almost always choose to drive. It’s almost always cheaper to drive, especially on short notice. I have found that it doesn’t take that much more time to drive than fly when I add in the layovers, arriving two hours early, delays, and car rental. Plus, I can bring as much luggage as I want if I drive my car. There’s no shopping for throw-away clothes once I get to my destination. Driving instead of flying typically saves me $200.


Travel Sites

If I have to fly, I always visit one of the many travel sites. My favorite is Priceline. I have also gone with Expedia and Travelocity. Right now, I could fly round trip from Indianapolis to Houston for $250 if I book the flight on Priceline. If I go to the airline’s website, I’m going to pay $350 or more which is a savings of at least $100, and if I book a flight and hotel package, I save even more money.


Lodging

It’s always cheaper to stay with family or friends than it is to stay in a hotel, so if I’m traveling to a city where I have family and friends, I try to make plans to stay with them. It saves me between $50 and $100 dollars a night. If I can’t stay with a family member or a friend, then I book a flight and hotel package.


Food

Instead of eating out, once I get to my destination, I check into the hotel room and assess what it has to offer. If it only offers a microwave and a coffee maker, than I take that into consideration. If it has a full kitchen, then I take that into consideration. Either way, one of my first stops is a grocery store. Eating out can cost $10 or more per meal, and I can cook my own food for less than $10 dollars a day.

I regularly save between $500 and $1000 per vacation by using these tips. The saved money means I can buy more souvenirs or save the money for my next vacation.

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories
  

by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

I drive an eight cylinder 1991 Caprice Classic. It’s the type of car that the government had in mind when they started “cash for clunkers.” That is, except my car was rated at 19 miles per gallon, which made it ineligible for the deal. That didn’t bother me. I didn’t want to get rid of my car back then, and I don’t want to get rid of it now. What I want to do is be smart about my gas usage.


Gas Price Websites

Places like gasbuddy.com and gaspricewatch.com are good places to start. GasBuddy even has a phone app. Both websites tell me that gas is currently $2.65 a gallon everywhere in Plainfield, Indiana. From that information, I know that I need to go to the Murphy gas station and buy a Walmart gift card to save 10 cents a gallon.


Filling The Tank

Once I find the cheapest gas in the area, I fill my tank. Gas prices have been extremely volatile for the last several years and most of the time, the price of gas goes up not down. Filling my tank assures me that I am getting the best price at the time, and I am not subject to the daily price fluctuations. A tank of gas typically lasts me between seven and nine days.


Fifty Five MPH Saves Gas And Lives

The only places I see speed limit signs for 55mph are on the highways in rural areas. I have one such highway near me, and the 55mph speed limit is only good for about two miles. Accelerating my car from zero to 55 eats up the gas I might be saving for those two miles.

What I do instead, is pay attention to old yellow and new red lights. If the light is an old yellow or red, I let off the accelerator 300 to 400 feet out. Chances are I was already going three to five miles over the speed limit so no one behind me is going to care if I go from 48mph to 43mph in 400 feet. They’re slowing down, too. The difference is that I don’t apply my brakes to slow down. I simply let off the accelerator and let my car coast for 200 feet. Then, I apply the brakes. It means less gas usage and less wear and tear on my brakes.


Multiple Stops During One Trip

I go to the gym almost every day of the week. Near my gym there is a Walmart, an Aldi's, Minshu’s threaded eyebrows, and numerous places to eat. Just because I’m going to the gym and getting all stinky and sweaty doesn’t mean I go home to shower before doing my shopping. I do it all in one trip and save myself 18 miles in extra and unneeded travel. This adds up to a save five gallons a week.

The bottom line on saving on gas: Plan ahead. Pay attention to the areas you drive through and look at the gas station pricing signs, keep an eye on the gas price websites, and fill your tank. These simple steps can save you between five and ten gallons of gas a week.

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories

by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

In my 20s, I was the poster child for how to not handle credit cards responsibly. I had heard all the vast wisdom about not charging more on your credit cards in a month than you can pay off before the end of the billing cycle. I was even given an example. My grandmother paid off all her credit cards at the end of every month. I should strive to be like her.


The Taboo of Finances

Well, finances and income was a taboo subject with my grandmother and in my own household. It was the equivalent of talking about sex or doctor’s visits. It wasn’t done, so it wasn’t like I could ask her how she managed to pay off her credit cards every month.

Inevitably, the credit card people showed up with a folding table and credit card applications at my college campus. They were offering student credit cards and gifts for applying. I forget what the gifts were, but I wanted them so I filled out an application. Free was always in my price-range.


The First Credit Card

A few weeks later, my first credit card arrived with a $1000 dollar limit. I was ecstatic. I called the number and activated the card. I was positive I was moving up in the adult world. I had a credit card. I also had no income. I was a student living off student loans and work study and trying to pay for flight time out at the local airport.


The First Purchase

The first thing I charged on that credit card was lunch. I rarely had cash on me. Then I bought new clothes. Then I charged a flight to North Carolina for a vacation. It wasn’t long before I had spent through the limit on the credit card, so I applied for another credit card. This one had a limit of $2500 dollars. I charged flight time, gas, clothing, and more vacations. I even charged car repairs. I still had no income. I was using student loans to pay the minimum balances every month. It never occurred to me that it’d take 20 years to pay off the balances with the minimum payments. I’d worry about it later, like after college.


Free Money or Not

I think I looked at those credit cards like extra student loan money except I had to pay a little bit every month instead of waiting until six months after I graduated.

Six months after I graduated, I had six credit cards with a combined limit of $6000, and I had lent one of those six cards to my mother who was supposedly charging and paying the balance on it. She wasn’t, but I didn’t know because all the statements went to my childhood home.

I found out years later when a collection company called me to collect. I immediately called her. She’d take care of it. She never did, and in the meantime I couldn’t find work. All the credit cards in my possession went into default. I had $6000 in credit card debt and six times that in student loans. I was drowning in debt, and it was my own fault. The student loans I could put in forbearance. The credit cards punched large holes in my credit rating.

Collection agency calls became the norm, and I wondered why I didn’t follow the advice I had been given in the very beginning: Don’t charge more on your credit cards than you can pay off at the end of the month. Well, the answer was simple. I never had any income to pay off those credit cards. I was living well outside my means, and I had been living that way for years. I was the poster child for bad credit card management. I never should have applied for one in the first place, much less as a student.

Eventually, I got my act together and paid off those balances, but it took me eight years. To this day, I don’t have a credit card, and I don’t want one. I don’t even want the temptation of charging more than I can pay.

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories

by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

My first job out of college was working as an overnight stocker at Walmart. Even with a college degree, I only made $8.10 an hour. After taxes, my checks were $498.96 every two weeks. That didn’t leave me much wiggle room in the budget and my rent was $474 dollars. That left with me $523.92 for the rest of the month.

Being single and female with no kids also meant that I wasn’t eligible for food stamps or rent assistance. I would have had to have been earning less than $800 dollars a month to qualify for government assistance. So, I made due with what I earned.

Student Loans

I immediately put my student loans into forbearance. At $210 a month, there was no way I could pay them and eat or pay my electric bill. It wasn’t something I wanted to do. I had planned to pay off my student loans as fast as possible, but with the barely over minimum wage job, I couldn’t afford to do that.

Car Insurance

I scaled back my car insurance from full coverage to limited liability. It cut the bill from $80 a month to $50 a month. It was a car insurance risk I didn’t want to take. If I got into a car accident and it was deemed my fault, I wouldn’t be able to repair my car. Thankfully, I didn’t get into any car wrecks while I was making $8.10 an hour, but I was extra careful when driving. I knew a wreck could mean a financial catastrophe.

Car Repairs

I found a mechanic shop that listened to me, and I explained to them that I was poor. I also made sure that they were the only car repair shop I patroned. This meant that they didn’t try to sell me anything extra. When the heater core went out, they were willing to bypass it. I spent an entire winter with no heat in my car because I couldn’t afford a $600 heater core, but that was better than having no car.

Holiday Pay / Triple Paycheck Months

We received Holiday pay for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorial Day, and Labor Day. During those weeks, I made sure to work my 40 hours to spite my employer's insistence that I take an extra day off. The extra eight hours on my check meant a lot more to me than the extra time off. It meant I could eat and save a little back for emergencies.

I did the same thing on triple paycheck months. Typically, those months were in December and June, and I would save most of the money on those extra checks to help with expenses during the next six months. It typically worked out very well. I’d use part of the Christmas money to buy new plates for my car.

Rent

Rent wasn’t due until the fifth of every month. Sometimes I could stall and pay rent on the second or third with my first check for the next month instead of trying to pay it on the 26th or 27th of the prior month. It depended on how the pay weeks fell, but it was always better for me to pay using the first check of the month rather than the last. My electric and cell phone bills were also due at the end of the month.

I survived on $8.10 an hour, but it wasn’t easy. I spent a lot of weeks eating .88 cent frozen meals, kielbasa, and pork and beans, but I made it. The only extra debt I incurred was from the interest on my student loans.

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories

by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

When we think about working, we think about the paycheck associated with it, not the expenses we incur as a result of working. I once figured out that on an average 40 hour week, I spent 1.5 days working to pay taxes. I spent another half day working to buy food for lunch, and another half day to put gas in the car. When all was said and done, I was only working 2.5 days out of every week for me and that was before all the other miscellaneous expenses associated with the job.


Cell Phones

It used to be that employers provided cell phones to their employees if they needed to get a hold of them during the workday and after the work day. Since almost everyone now carries a personal cell phone, many companies no longer offer this option. It reduces expenses on the part of the employer and adds convenience for the employee. They only have to carry one cell phone.

If you’re like me and only tend to use 100 minutes a month out of a 450 minute a month plan, you can easily absorb the work calls. However, I know a lot of people that use most of their minutes and text messages every month. This means that in order to absorb the work calls, those people have to increase their text messaging plans and their cell minute plans. That is an added expense associated with the job. If you have an unlimited talk and text plan, you're good, but plenty of people still have minute phones.


Working Off The Clock

It is illegal for an hourly employee to work off the clock. Of course, that doesn’t mean that companies don’t have unwritten rules that require working off the clock if all the work is not complete. I have had jobs that required research or online test taking while at home. I wasn’t paid for it, but it was required for the job.

In the case of a salaried position, every hour after 40 hours is a decrease in hourly pay. I had a job that paid $40,000 a year or roughly $19.23 an hour, but I rarely worked 40 hours a week. Most weeks I worked 50 hours a week. I’d get on the road at 6:00am and arrive back home at 4:00pm. Then I’d have to take calls from customers on my personal cell phone. If the customer’s need couldn’t wait until the following day, I had to drive out again. The added hours decreased my hourly rate to $15.38 or less, and since the job was salary I never saw any overtime. I figured out that over the course of a month, I was losing almost a thousand dollars in overtime pay.


Tip Jobs

Certain positions such as waitressing and pizza delivery pay less than minimum wage. The employee works mostly for tips. The hourly pay for waitresses has not increased in 20 years. They still make $2.15 an hour. Employees are now required by law to report their tips for the day and pay taxes on them. Companies are also required to make sure that the hourly wage plus tips equals at least minimum wage. If it doesn’t, the company is required to make up the difference. Companies do not want to make up the difference.

If the waitress only makes four dollars in tips for an hour, the company is required to pay her an extra $1.10 for that hour in order to bring her hourly wage up to minimum wage. Chances are the company isn’t going to do that. What they are going to do is plug in the minimum amount of tips to ensure that she made minimum wage whether she made that much or not. This is a two-fold gotcha. The waitress didn’t earn that extra $1.15 and she has to pay taxes on that $1.15 per Uncle Sam.

Companies have come up with some creative ways to cut costs, and almost all of them are touted as being more convenient for the employee. While it might be more convenient, it is also an added cost for the employee. I make sure I know all the extra expenses before I start a job. Then I subtract them from the hourly wage. If I can live off of it, I take the job, if I can’t, I negotiate with the employer for a higher hourly wage. Just because it’s an employer's market doesn’t mean you need to let them nickel and dime you. Know the extra expenses associated with the job, and know the hourly wage you need to survive.

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories
  

My biggest issue with grocery shopping and eating at home is spoiled food. I don’t like leftovers, and I can’t eat a pound of meat by myself. The same goes for vegetables. Carrots, celery, onions, and green peppers all go bad in my fridge. I can’t eat them fast enough. Of course, if I buy one or two onions or the smallest batch of carrots I run out long before the week is over. Both issues leave me irritated at the loss of food and the wasted money. However, I have found some solutions.


Portion and freeze

This takes a lot of plastic baggies so I make sure to always have a box or two on hand after I go shopping. I cut up pounds of hamburger into four squares. Then I shape those squares into patties and freeze each one in its own baggie. For bacon, I buy thick sliced and place four slices into a baggie. For chicken, I place each breast into its own baggie and freeze it. Basically, I make sure that each baggie is one meal. This way I can just dump the contents of the baggie into the skillet and cook it. There are no leftovers and no waste.

I do the same thing for onions and green peppers. Except, since I chop the vegetables, I can fill the bags and then break off the amount I want when I want it. This assures me that my green peppers and onions stay fresh for as long as I have them.


Pre-cook meals

Precooking and freezing meals takes a little more planning. I have to make sure that I have enough plastic storage containers with dividers for individual items before I start cooking. Once I have all my containers gathered, I can cook large meals such as roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and carrots, and then portion out the food into the containers as meals. Once the food is no longer steaming, I put the containers in the freezer. In this way, I can simply take out my pre-cooked and frozen meal, microwave it and eat.

Breakfasts can also be done this way. Eggs and fried potatoes taste just the same frozen and reheated as they did the day they were made. Just remember that in order to freeze potatoes, you have to cook them first. Otherwise, they turn brown just like they would sitting cut up on your counter.

These two options have saved me hundreds of dollars on wasted food and several hours in cook time during the week. It is very easy to pull out a pre-cooked meal and microwave or toss the contents of a baggie in the skillet and cook. Spices can also be added to the meats and foods so that they are pre-spiced and ready to go. It’s no hassle and no waste cooking.

by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

It took me years to figure out my livable wage or the lowest wage by which I could pay all my bills and live comfortably. My mental guess at that wage was between $9 and $10 dollars an hour. I figured if I made $12 to $14 an hour I would be living very well. I was wrong.

It wasn’t until I hit $15 dollars an hour that I was able to pay all my bills comfortably and have money left over for entertainment. Instead of guessing and slowly increasing my hourly wage through promotions and job changes, I could have calculated my livable wage long before I took my first out-of-college job for $8.10 an hour. In fact, I would have known right away that $8.10 an hour wouldn’t pay my bills.

Bills fall into three categories: Housing, Miscellaneous and Emergency.


Housing

Housing includes every bill related to living somewhere. For my housing bills I include my rent, cell phone, electricity and internet. The only bill in that list that isn’t a fixed amount is my electricity. I budget $100 for my electric bill or about $20 more than my average electric bill. That ensures that I have a buffer just in case I use more electricity than anticipated. I budget $750 for these expenses.


Miscellaneous

For my miscellaneous bills, I include food, gas, car insurance, medical insurance, my gym membership, and any other regular bill that isn’t directly associated with my housing. During times of low income, I know I can cut some of these expenses. I can buy less food, cancel the gym membership, and downgrade my car insurance. For me, these expenses are $400 to $600 a month.


Emergency

These are bills that simply can’t be budgeted for easily. They include car repairs, taxes, unforeseen medical expenses, and anything else that comes up suddenly and without warning. I try to budget $200 a month for emergencies. If I don’t use that money, it stays in the savings account, if I do; it’s not a hard knock against my regular finances.

These three categories cost me an average of $1600 dollars a month or roughly $10 dollars an hour for a 40 hour work week, but that’s before taxes. When I figure out my lowest livable wage, I have to include 23% more than I need so that my net income is $1600 dollars a month. That means that I need a minimum of $12.30 an hour to pay all my bills or $15 dollars an hour to have money leftover for entertainment.

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories

by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

In this day and age, I am always looking for the best deal, the product that meets my needs yet costs the least. This morning I made a list of what I needed and pre-planned whether or not I could get it cheaper and Walmart or Dollar Tree. These are some of my findings.


Items that can be gotten cheaper at Walmart


1. Walmart generic (Great Value) tissues 110 count: 86 cents

I honestly like these better than the brand names. They hold up better. They don’t tear and they double as decent napkins. They are also 14 cents cheaper than the Dollar Tree version.


2. Shampoo and Conditioner: 84 cents

I buy Sauve in 15 ounce bottles. The dollar store version can range from 15 ounces to 32 ounces, but I find Sauve works better than the super generic brands. The savings is 16 cents compared to the dollar store.


3. Diet Dr. Thunder 2 liter: 68 to 78 cents depending on the season


For the Dr. Pepper fan, this is a close comparison. I can’t taste a difference, and 2 liter bottles are always cheaper per ounce than any other package size. By comparison, the dollar store sells a 3 liter generic, but to me it isn’t worth it. Two liters go flat within a couple days. A 3 liter is even bigger and thus there is more risk is wasting the product. Savings as compared to the dollar store is between 22 and 32 cents.


Items that can be gotten cheaper at the Dollar Store

1. Toothbrushes: $1.00

The same fancy designs with colored, extra, and tilted bristles can be found at the dollar store. The packs range from one toothbrush to five depending on which style and brand you like. By comparison, toothbrushes at Walmart can range from 97 cents to several dollars. I like the consistency in price and choice better at Dollar Tree.


2. Cotton Swabs: $1.00

The cheapest pack of cotton swabs is 500 count and $1.98 at Walmart. The Dollar Tree brand has 400 cotton swabs which is almost half the cost of the Walmart generic.


3. Vegetable oil 17 ounces: $1.00

If you're like me and go through a bottle of oil in six months, this is more economical. It’s less oil, but it’s also less unused money sitting on the counter.


4. Hunt's tomato ketchup 24 ounces: $1.00

Hunt's is my favorite brand of ketchup. It tastes great and it has no high fructose corn syrup. Walmart sells it between $1.58 and $1.64 for the same size. It’s a savings of between 58 and 64 cents per bottle.


It takes a little pre-planning and making a shopping list, but between the two retailers, it is possible to get the best deal and not waste a single penny.

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories