5 Year Plan - Frugal Connections

I love everything about Saturdays.  Sleep-ins, extra cups of coffee, hot breakfast, snuggling with Stormy while she watches Strawberry Shortcake are just a few of the things that I love.  Saturdays are also the day that I work with our  on-line stores.  I leave feedback on eBay, post more music, shop for more inventory, and suffer through more SEO learning and marketing.  None of that will be happening today because my internet is acting very badly.  

Internet is a sore subject with me today and I think it is time to research some other options.  Right now we pay around $70/month for a sluggish connection and sporadic service like today.  In  5 years we are hoping to have our living expenses under $500.  It's not hard to see that something needs to change.  

Cell phones we have more of a handle on.  Currently we have 2 phones and pay $200 a year for them.   The phone I use is prepaid from one of our local providers.  I pay $100 each year for my plan.  It gets me 750 minutes and unlimited texting.  I text more than talk so I usually make it last a year.  The teenager has a Trac Phone.  We buy him a $100 card each year that gives him 1000 minutes of talk but charges for texting.  He has to pay for anything over that.  

The mechanic doesn't want a cell phone.  But  he does have a mobile phone.  For a couple of years now we have been using Skype for our long distance.  A great service but the mechanic always hated being tethered to the computer. His solution was to use his iPod Touch.  He downloaded Skype to it and now is free to wander about the property or find a wi-fi hotspot if he's not at home.  

Of course, neither of our phones are smart phones and I'm holding out because I don't want the monthly plan.  We are not lacking though.  We own a Xoom tablet with all the cool apps but more than anything else we have a Kindle.  A pretty old Kindle that I will hold on to for as long as I can.  It's not a tablet or even in color.  The reason I love it so much is because it came with 3G access all included with the purchase price.  It's what we travel with to look up maps, phone numbers, movie times, ferry schedules, etc.  When internet service is down in the house we use the Kindle to keep in touch with the eBay and AK Music Storm  stores.  It's slow and black and white but it gets the job done with no extra charges or minutes used on our cells.

Our connections: Xoom, Kindle, LG phone and iPod

 Here's hoping that I can publish this with the next internet burst.  I'll be calling Tuesday to put in yet another work order.  No doubt they will make me reset my router before they'll come reset the line.  Thanks to the Kindle I'll be in touch but I don't know how I'm going to take care my castle in Castleville.  Hopefully a neighbor will go feed my unicorns before they run away.  This weekend I'll be puddle splashing with Stormy instead.

Lovin' the connected life in Alaska, at least most of the time.

The 5 Year Plan - Frugal Transportation AK Style

By far our biggest expense is fuel.  Alaska fuel prices are typically one of the highest in the nation.  Unleaded gas at the pump almost reached $5/gallon this summer and is sitting at $4.67 right now.  Heating fuel is cheaper but still very considerable when the cold winter sets in.  Our goal is to cut those expenses by at least 80% in the next 5 years and this is how we are going to do it.

Meet Micky and MInnie.  

"Micky"

"Minnie"

 

 

 

 

 

The look pretty rough 'huh?  No worries, my husband it a brilliant mechanic and isn't afraid of body work.  Micky is an extended Ford Econoline Van.  We so named it Micky because it reminds me of an activity van I used to drive for my son's hockey team.  That van had two spot lights on it that looked like mouse ears so hence it was dubbed Micky Mouse.  Micky will be converted into a 4WD camper.  We will replace the engine to run off diesel and veggie fuel making our mpg pretty much free.  It will be the vehicle we use not only for camping trips but supply runs.  Because of the freezing weather we will not be plumbing in a water tank.  That's just asking for future problems and continued maintenance.  Instead we will come up with some alternate facilities.  We like the way our current camper is designed and will steal some ideas from it. 

current camper Dodge Xplorer

picture of our last trip,inside view

Although we like the Dodge, gas mileage is horrible and it does not have 4 wheel drive.

Minnie is a Datsun Z car.  (Sorry, I am a girl and don't remember the specs on either of these cars).  We are still debating about having a gas or diesel engine for her.  Diesel,of course, would yield the best mpg but has its challenges starting in the cold temperatures.  It will become our main commuter car and it would be nice knowing it will dependably start.  Even if we kept it as a gas engine, with some modifications, we think it could still get over 30 mpg.  As a diesel, maybe even close to 40 mpg.  

We will still have other cars that we will use with a more traditional set up.  The plow truck is a gas hog, but pays for itself.  Nick, the husband, has various work trucks but again they pay for themselves or give us a tax write off.  Still the bottom line is a huge savings that will fall into our retirement budget.

Lovin' life...even at the gas pump! 

Don't forget that if you want some road trip music or a camera for your next vacation, shop in our store for the best prices!

Mission Impossible

Lately I have been completing my own Mission Impossible (cue theme music).  My dear mother in law went outside about 9 months ago.  When an Alaskan says the phrase "went outside" it is our way of saying that we are going to visit the "lower 48" or to keep it simple, she went to visit her sister in New Mexico.  Due to a family emergency, her 3 month vacation has turned into 9 months.  Our mission, during her absence, whether or not we choose it, is to eat  all the food she stored up.  Imagine 2 large freezers full of unmarked tupperware.  Everyday we crack a lid and take turns identifying the contents.  We are now on an accelerated schedule because we believe she will be back up here in a few weeks and there is a lot of tupperware cubes still to investigate.  Yesterday we had squash-taste-like-pumpkin-pie for dinner.  What else can you do with 2 quarts of frozen squash puree I ask you?  Tonight - I really have no idea what it was, but we pretended it was some sort of spicy soup, but it could have been enchilada sauce.  This all equates to a lot of time in the kitchen and that equals a lot of music time.  Here's some of the CDs I checked out, and are offered to you from our store.

Mission Impossible 2

Couldn't resist posting this one.  It really has a great track list if you like rock/metal.  Limp Bizkit, Rob Zombie, Godsmack, Metallica are just a few that you will find on the CD.

Billy Boy on Poison

Another hard rock - metal choice.  This EP is pretty hard to find, so if you are a fan, might want to snatch it up.  I liked it but don't know a lot about the band.

The Prince of Egypt

My daughter is fan of this movie and I have to admit the music is very good.  It's fun to listen to and carries a message.  It will spin me into a spiritual journey while it is playing.

I'm not sure what culinary experiences that tomorrow holds but I am sure it will be tasty and there will be music playing and I will take the time to dance with a cute little girl in a tutu.  

Lovin' life in Alaska!

Inventory and Pink Tutus

One of my goals in this blog is to write about the experience of opening a home-based business, newbie to newbie.  One of the biggest challenges to date is posting our products for sale.  Our monthly subscription for our store allows us to have 500 products listed.  I think I have about 165, not at all taking advantage of what we are paying for and here's why...

 Meet Stormy, our 2 year old.  She's a very sweet, lovable girl who has declared war with my computer.  I do most of my work on my laptop, in our living room.  I work a 50 hour week, so when I'm home I love to spend it with Stormy and her play area is the living room.  Here's a sample of my typical day.

6:00 - Wake up - think briefly about getting out for a walk or a run on the elliptical.  Turn over and fall asleep.
6:45 - Like synchronized swimmers, hubby and I exit the bed, to minimize the squeaks our floor gives off.  Having given up coffee for espresso we patiently wait our turn at the machine.  Meanwhile I check what orders we have to ship out and pull the stock from the shelves.  
7:30 - The Storm awakens.  She "helps" me get ready for work.  I fight for mirror space while she practices ballet moves and gives herself kisses.
8:15-6:15 - Work.  I work as an office manager for the local dentist.  
6:25 - Home, eat the delicious dinner that the hubby has made and settle in for a night of working on the store.  I choose what CDs I want to post, check on Stormy who is playing nicely with her toys and grab the laptop. 
6:26 - Stormy hears the whir of the machine and immediately wants me to read her a story.  After the story I settle her down with her toys and grab the laptop.  She comes to sit beside me and starts snuggling.  She snuggles her way into my lap giving the computer a hip check.  Next, she sits next to me and tries to teach herself to type with her toes.
6:30 -  In desperation I turn on a DVD, Barbie, for the zillionith time.  It works for about 30 minutes as long as I take the time to help her dance.
7:00 - Hubby comes in and settles in for the evening, I am exhausted from the dancing and topple over on the couch for a power nap.
7:02  Having immediately drifted off to sleep I wake up because something is tickling my nose.  I open my eyes just in time to see a tutu coming in for a landing.  Apparently, through much trial and error, Stormy has learned the fastest way to wake me up is to sit on my head.  Giving up on the nap, I make an espresso.
7:05 - Fueled up, I settle in again.  I give Stormy one of the earbuds and she listens to music with me while I post a CD.  YES!  For the next 40 minutes she's an angel.  
7:45 - I'm getting snuggled up again and resignedly close the computer to spend time with my little girl.  Stormy senses the victory and promptly ignores me.  I won't have any of that and bug her until she's ready for bed.  Can you say tickle torture?
9:00 - Stormy goes to bed.  Ahhhhh, time to settle in again.  But first I wander into Facebook, which means I wander into Castleville...
10:00 Having used up all my energy in Castleville, I hurriedly post another CD and if I'm feeling creative, write out a blog post.
10:45 - Time for bed because I really need to get up at 6:00 and exercise.  The residual coffee in my system keeps me tossing and turning.  So much for the 6:00 exercise program.

Lovin' life right here in Alaska!


(psst.  message me if you want to be my Castleville neighbor) 


Here's what Stormy picked for you today:

Sleepless in Seattle

Dr Hook