tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6379327498578817385.post8490203851079336708..comments2023-09-16T06:53:14.999-05:00Comments on Looking forward to becoming more frugal: Inspired by SluggyFranceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01817017829323955078noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6379327498578817385.post-68577757719551980902011-01-10T16:39:27.414-06:002011-01-10T16:39:27.414-06:00Hi, Valerie! Glad I could inspire you. Good luck w...Hi, Valerie! Glad I could inspire you. Good luck with the downstairs.Franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01817017829323955078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6379327498578817385.post-23617868377853013622011-01-10T16:27:49.590-06:002011-01-10T16:27:49.590-06:00Sounds like you made some real progress! We're...Sounds like you made some real progress! We're working on de-cluttering around here too. So far upstairs is under control... now to tackle the downstairs! You've inspired me to get it done. :-)Valerie @ Inner Child Funhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01066972931053719521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6379327498578817385.post-32781286059015770922011-01-10T09:54:24.229-06:002011-01-10T09:54:24.229-06:00Thanks for stopping by, Audrey! Hubby loves the pi...Thanks for stopping by, Audrey! Hubby loves the pizza buffet. Well, I like it, too, but he can eat an amazing quantity of pizza and salad. <br /><br />And he never gains a pound. <br /><br />I hate him. <br /><br />Not really.Franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01817017829323955078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6379327498578817385.post-63062829769830385832011-01-09T12:45:03.961-06:002011-01-09T12:45:03.961-06:00I smiled reading your post. We have a pizza buffet...I smiled reading your post. We have a pizza buffet place about 45 minutes away. If and when we have a day off during the week, we love to drive down there. You get an all you can eat salad bar and all you can eat pizza for a fairly low price.AudreyOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13674641559102984186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6379327498578817385.post-85452146703443348192011-01-06T14:17:27.654-06:002011-01-06T14:17:27.654-06:00McVal, I didn't trash Christmas deco. I just d...McVal, I didn't trash Christmas deco. I just deployed some of it to the thrift store so that those less fortunate could buy and enjoy in there homes.<br /><br />I like the idea of keeping it all up. Unfortunately, my birthday is next November. LOL!Franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01817017829323955078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6379327498578817385.post-53501661270166885542011-01-06T13:56:48.251-06:002011-01-06T13:56:48.251-06:00Getting rid of Christmas decor??? That's sacr...Getting rid of Christmas decor??? That's sacrilege!!!<br />I'll be taking down our tree and decorations on Sunday night. My daughter insists on keeping it up until after her birthday parties are over with.<br />And that's ok by me...McValhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00285808958951068897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6379327498578817385.post-38802080662918233892011-01-06T08:10:37.010-06:002011-01-06T08:10:37.010-06:00Thanks for coming to see me Diane!Thanks for coming to see me Diane!Franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01817017829323955078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6379327498578817385.post-35754703076654787372011-01-05T17:51:19.993-06:002011-01-05T17:51:19.993-06:00Thanks for all your encouraging words and comments...Thanks for all your encouraging words and comments.<br />Blessings<br />DianeAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10214322750183022876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6379327498578817385.post-23314259507329715522011-01-05T13:19:38.410-06:002011-01-05T13:19:38.410-06:00Hi, Sluggy. Thanks for coming to see me. I think e...Hi, Sluggy. Thanks for coming to see me. I think everyone who can should claim deductions for charitable contributions if they itemize. I actually prepare our taxes both ways, itemized and not and we never come out ahead by itemizing. I agree with you, get all the money back you can. It is yours, after all.Franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01817017829323955078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6379327498578817385.post-40858412571110427762011-01-05T13:15:46.834-06:002011-01-05T13:15:46.834-06:00Awww, I feel so special that I have inspired you.....Awww, I feel so special that I have inspired you....thanks Frances!<br /><br />And yah, a round of watching Hoarding shows WILL make you want to declutter....that's why I watch them, for motivation!lolol<br /><br />We do declare charitable donations, for now.<br />Since we have no mortgage deduction(like you Frances)plus no work related deductions or excessive medical payments OOP, the ONLY items we can deduct are the charitable(cash & stuff)and the property taxes/state taxes type OOP costs. The standard federal deduction for a married filing jointly for 2010 is $11,400. It is a struggle with just those few categories to itemize and have MORE than the standard deduct.<br /><br />I figure if you can legally deduct stuff and keep more of your cash, why not do it?lol<br /><br />It's a win/win really when we itemize deductions.....we keep more of our earnings AND the charities we support see more donations since we have a financial interest in giving to them beyond a certain level. <br />We do see the intrinsic value as well, don't get me wrong, and we donated before we could itemize and we will continue to donate when we fall below the itemizing threshold.<br /><br />We also donate food/hba to relatives and supply "Christmas" every year for families through a local non-registered charitable group...there is no financial incentive for us to do so, no tax write-off there. It's just the right thing to do for us.<br /><br />Personally, I don't have a problem with anyone's motivation to give to charity....be it making yourself feel good, getting a tax break, assuaging your guilt over having money, etc. As long as people give. 8-)slugmamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12728856166374248591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6379327498578817385.post-89752771446313124222011-01-05T12:46:07.705-06:002011-01-05T12:46:07.705-06:00We don't have enough to itemize and that is ok...We don't have enough to itemize and that is okay with me. LOL!<br /><br />We have a LOT of thrift stores in the area, so dropping off donations is easy. If we have something big we don't want to carry downstairs, we list it on Freecycle. We have given away several items that way.<br /><br />The funny thing is that you can't even tell we got rid of anything unless you go in the closet. LOL! But I guess our apartment isn't that cluttered looking. I think maybe I have watched too many episodes of Hoarders and it makes me want to get rid of stuff.Franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01817017829323955078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6379327498578817385.post-4976570501027466812011-01-05T12:41:20.182-06:002011-01-05T12:41:20.182-06:00Since we itemize our taxes anyway (because of mort...Since we itemize our taxes anyway (because of mortgage interest and Shane's work-related expenses) we do collect receipts for the donations we make to thrift. But there's only a certain dollar amount you can claim w/o filling out special forms, and we usually exceed that, so toward the end of the year, we don't bother so much about the receipts. We also sometimes just list stuff on craigslist and set it out at the curb for free to whomever wants/needs it.<br /><br />I'm just beginning my next round of decluttering here, too.Annie Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123644833186800503noreply@blogger.com