Savings

how about daylight savings time? [2008-12-01]
finding every clock you have night.

Savings??????????? [2008-05-13]
.

all to the savings pot - nm [2008-01-31]
nm

Coupon Code and Money Savings Thread [2007-10-04]
OK, I'm going to start the thread and everyone that's interested in coupon codes and money Savings tips, do a personal sticky!Here is my code:JC Penney - 30% off reg.-priced or 10% off sale-priced items (apparel, shoes, accessories, bedding, bath, window coverings, decorative accessories, and rugs)ordered from www.jcp.comor JC Penney CatalogueOffer ends Oct. 16promotional Code - FALLSHOP

Arizona does not participate in daylight savings time. NM [2007-05-13]
:

I Love Sally's! Good idea to get the savings card for $5.00 [2007-03-14]
also. You pretty much make it back and-then-some on just a couple of purchases. And they are not expensive to start, I donwon sell you, and charge you 15.00 or so for one application, because they want you to keep coming back for them! Cha-ching! Salons are truly such a rip off. At Sally)

Put your clock ahead for Daylight Savings Time if you didn't do it yet. nm [2007-03-11]
s

maybe they did not update their daylight savings--sm [2007-03-11]
date and it got everything screwed up. lol. just a thought.

401 k [2008-12-01]
Gambling with retirement Savings in a 401K.

Do any of you have a spouse [2008-11-20]
who can How do you work it out? Are you just stuck always being the bad guy? Unfortunately, the entire United States is having a difficult financial time. It is obviously not just our household. We have cut back everywhere we can, and I mean everywhere. Our families are having difficult problems as well. We also have an ex-spouse and have had unexpected increases in child support, etc. recently along with unexpected additional expenses where this is concerned. Basically, the child needs new glasses, etc. even though the child really doesn It just seems like it is one thing after another and I know it is for everyone, although the circumstances may be slightly different. My problem is that I have been telling my husband for months that this was coming, along with Christmas, birthday, etc. He hasn Although we have cut back on many things, on my initiative, it just has not sunk in for him until now...when everything finalized and we dont To top this off, he can Ibad guy because he is ok with all of it although he admits he has no idea where the money is going to come from. I have been upfront with my family and when people ask me but is it too much to ask that he do the same? I dont But of course he wants to constantly remind me (the cheap skate and tight-a$$) to cut back on groceries, etc. which I cannot possibly do any more than I have already. We have nothing left in Savings. We have no Christmas fund. I I donI told you so but I did tell him and he had no concerns until now...when we are seemingly headed towards financial trouble. I have been working OT but his OT has been cut indefinitely from his employer. I I must say he doesn't buy things for himself..its just the piddling away of $20 here and $20 there on top of our already mounting unexpected expenses.

How many of you have a backup plan [2008-11-13]
if your spouse were to lose their job? Assuming the MT rate of pay isn I don We have no backup plan. My in-laws already have their other son (and family of 4) living with them due to job loss. My family lives in another state altogether. I don I just don Should we have some sort of plan in place? Do most people? Our Savings has dwindled to nothing this past year with all the increased expenses and we have cut back all we can. There's nothing else to cut other than house/cars/utilities.

Yes. Took up a part-time job and having [2008-11-13]
100% of the income put into Savings. Paying off my debt. Not going to live in fear. Not going to live with anyone else, either. Maybe you could downsize on house and cars. ?

it can be done - [2008-11-13]
My husband lost his job 2-1/2 years ago due to an accident at work. He has been on WC ever since then and has brought home less than 200 weekly. I basically have been the sole support since then and yes, it has been VERY hard. We lost almost everything and have just managed to start getting things back right and now this mess hits... I am going to be down about $800 this pay period and was down $700 last pay period. Of course, we have no Savings to fall back on - used it up long ago. I found a part-time inhouse job that pays by the hour and am starting it as soon as the paperwork is all processed that should at least get the house payment paid, but don't know what we will do about everything else.

Thanks for all of the great suggestions! [2008-11-13]
I have done most of that already. We don't have a fancy house or cars. Have cut back on all our driving and I have always stocked up on food but that is becoming more and more difficult. Guess at this point we'll just have to go with the flow and see what happens. I'm pregnant so a holiday job really doesn't make much sense for me, besides we live in the boonies and there isn't much available without a 45 minute drive each way. Hubs seems to have a good job and they are reassuring their employees but its still hard. Seems like no one is out of the path of destruction any more. Thinking of holidays and extra expenses does not help either. Maybe should think of tax season right around the corner. Atleast that is a little back to the rainy day Savings.

Holidays - Bah humbug! [2008-11-11]
I have nice holiday memories. My mom was not the Martha Stewart type but they were filled with lots of food, friends, and family. Very happy times. This will be the first year that I cannot go home for the holidays. We will still spend it with my husband's family but it is not the same for me. I am also stressing about the holidays because his family is all about the presents and I grew up differently. His family says they are cutting back this year but I wonder what that means. To them, it is probably only $500 per person. I know its the thought that counts and you should only do what you can but I still feel bad and guilty if we cannot do for everyone else. I have suggested putting a limit or drawing names or making gifts to exchange but they look at me like I speak a foreign language. This is the first year my husband and I will not exchange gifts for each other and our son won't get much either. To top off the financial crisis facing the entire nation, we are also expecting a child in the very early spring so that has added to our expenses and dipping into our Savings. For me this winter came very quickly as well which does not help. I haven't had time to ease into my least favorite season. It's been so gloomy the last few weeks I am glad that I don't have to leave the house to work but know I should leave the house occasionally to feel better. I just want to be a scrooge right now. Soon enough I'll have to put on the happy thanksgiving face to spend the afternoon with my in-laws while missing my family.

Considering my circumstances I am looking - sm [2008-11-11]
forward to the holidays. I'm the one with the mega debt who confessed to her DH a month ago, etc. We will have his debts paid off in full in about 10 days. I still have quite a mess though. We sold back 2 weeks of his vacation time (lucky for us his work allows you to do this) and half of that is paying for Christmas, the rest is being banked in our Savings account which needs restoking (used to have $5K in it but only $200 now). We are taking a night and going to the beach to see the lights (free hotel stay due to his travel points) and a nice dinner-- all of this is his idea too--, and he suggested I go up (with the kids of course) and spend New Years with my friends/family up in PA so I am surprised about that. He is going to try to come too for a day or two to have a late Christmas with my family as well. Things are all roses, but considering everything I am looking forward to seeing my dad and one of my brothers, the other is in England and his family is going there to spend Christmas with him in Ireland with his wife's family there. But DH is trying really hard, he even bought me a dozen roses on my birthday a couple days ago and a really nice card, I couldn't have been more surprised....normally I get nada, not even a card. Granted my daughter told him to get me flowers, but still, he went over the top. But I digress as usual....everyone just needs to stay within what they can afford, we are cutting back some of course, but I have a bit more wiggle room now that I have that vacation money coming. Do it every year and it is a lifesaver.

remember they changed it? [2008-10-28]
It always happens before Halloween however someone in the government changed the daylight Savings time weeks... my calendar on sunday says daylight Savings time ends. does that mean saturday night, i guess someone said below!

I actually have one similar to this sm [2008-10-23]
I live on my own. My house is not too big, only about 1100 sq ft. Truth is, I live in my bedroom and my livingroom, where I work. I use the kitchen too, of course. I don't use all of it all the time. My house is well insulated and the furnace runs about 4 times a hour in the dead of winter. I am heating a whole house I don't use. The only place I need warm is around my desk so my hands don't freeze up. I can't stand really bulky clothing either, though I do dress warmly. I have a space heater by the desk. It keeps the whole livingroom warmer, as a fact, but not the whole house. I keep the thermostat on the furnace kinda low. Now, when I have company, or when it is my day off, I have a space heater with fake flame. It has a blower and blows heat into the room. It is pretty and really puts out heat. If I run that for the entire evening, the furnace doesn't run at all, even though the thermostat is 20 feet from the heater, because the room is toasty. It is electric heater versus gas furnace. The end result was that gas cost me an average of $75 a month versus $110 the year before. The electric bill went up, but not more than $20 a month. The net Savings are marginal at best. The comfort increased, however. Now, I am a little crazy sometimes, I admit it. I bought a CD with fireplace sounds. I play it as a loop (75 minutes long) when I run the *fireplace* and sound makes it feel warmer! I run the sound low enough that the TV or stereo is audible, but you'd be surprised what the sounds effects do for added warmth. I got laughed at, until I had company...

Unplug anything possible. [2008-10-21]
I heard that this can add up to about $1000 a year (I hope I remembered correctly) for the average household. Anything that is plugged in sucks power much like a leaky faucet. Microwaves, toasters, coffee pot, cell phone chargers just a few things that I noticed right away in my house. Also heard that lowering your heat by just 2 degrees adds up to about a 10% Savings on your bill...i.e. $30 on a $300 bill. We have a thermostat that lowers it during the day when I am the only one home and at night when everyone is snuggly in bed and I use a small space heater if an extra sweater isn't enough during the day.

When gas was over $4/gall I started riding the bus. sm [2008-10-21]
Still to..Hate it but it saves on gas and repairs. My DH is home all day but have finally convinced him to wear sweatshirts etc. We now keep our heat at 65. We turn it up on Saturday night when it is bath night. LOL. We have unplugged everything we can think of, but have not noticed much Savings yet as we have a pet turtle that needs heat and filtration. We also change our furnace filters religiously every month. Cuts down on wear and tear on the furnace. We stock up on canned goods etc. when the local store has it's store brand sales going. Our local dollar store is our new best friend. You can get the same brand name stuff, but much cheaper. And as far as bleach etc goes, sometimes the store brand works just as well. I use Angel Food Ministries. It is much easier spending $30 than $150+ for food. They are great and it is restaurant quality food. We also got on the budget plan with our gas company. I hate paying the outrageous prices in July, but it sure is worth it in January.

Replace the windows in your house. [2008-10-21]
If you have an old house, you probably have a ton of air escaping through your old windows. The initial cost will be a good chunk of cash, but it will be worth it from years of energy Savings to come.

I'm not very creative so [2008-09-16]
no suggestions on names here but I like the other ones that were mentioned below. Actually I posted a while back about wanting to find a way to make extra money maybe through farmer's marketsm craft shows, and such, focusing on jams and jellies and maybe a few single serving cakes, pies, scones, shortbread-type cookies to go with the other products. Anyway, the point of my post is to wish you good luck! I have been too scared to start this venture yet but hope to in the spring, giving myself the winter to prepare. Please keep us posted! I know nothing about starting a business, licensing, etc. and that is the scariest part for me. I don't even know where to start! I think this could really work for you if your prices are right. I'm trying to do more homemade/from scratch items for my family for the sake of cost so you could provide the convenience to those who can't do it themselves and still provide them with some cost-Savings not to mention all the controversy surrounding autism, ADHD, preservatives, etc. Seems like everything these days have something artificial in them and I like the idea of feeding my family without that.

Before the post gets buried below regarding credit - very long message sm [2008-08-24]
I just wanted to share with the posters who were considering bankruptcy. Unless you are on the verge of losing your home, I would strongly encourage you to consider another option. Bankruptcy does not just go away after a few years. It Even if you rebuild your credit afterwards, it A friend and my in-laws also filed bankruptcy in the past. My in-laws filed over 20 years ago and have recovered financially but it My husband is a credit card spender. I would only spend when I had the cash and did not depend on credit. It didn Our spending habits combined nearly led to our financial demise a few years back too. This is what I did and I hope you give it a try and it works for you too. I started with a complete inventory of all of our bills, separating them into three categories. Home (mortgage and utilities) Credit cards - (lowest balance to highest balance regardless of the APR) Miscellaneous bills (entertainment, clothing, food, gas, fast food, etc.) Since the Home category is pretty consistent every month, I set up a budget for that first. I went back through our utility bill for the year prior and chose the highest month bill of the year and added that amount to our mortgage amount. Next, I reviewed our telephone, internet, and television (satellite) bills. On average, I was paying about 230.00 per month for them all combined. Way too much in my opinion. I started shopping around and found a bundle package with Verizon. Now I pay 153.00 per month for unlimited long distance telephone, satellite TV, and DSL service. Saved $77.00 per month, just doing that. Then I added this amount to the mortgage and utilities. This totalled amount is what I know I absolutely have to pay every month and I better make sure it's in the account. Next, I did the Miscellaneous. I I started going over what was spent where and learned that we spent a lot more than we really needed to. I set up a weekly grocery budget and a fun budget. If there was anything extra at the end of the week, it was divided evenly between the two and added to the next week. I do this every week until the end of the month. If there is anything left over, that amount is divided in half again and half is divided again and added to the following week's budget (grocery and fun), the other half is locked away in the Savings account. The money for monthly gas was a little trickier when the gas prices skyrocketed. I first had a set limit for gas each week but did have to adjust that. I did manage to adjust it a little bit upwards and still be able to pay the cards down (see below.) Also, every time I spend cash, no matter if the amount is $5.01 and all I need is a penny, I don Instead, I will give them $6.00 and get 0.99 change to put in my giant size espresso cup of change. When the cup gets full, the change is rolled and turned in to the bank as a deposit into the Savings account. My cup last gave me $281.00 change to put in the Savings account. That was in March. It Nobody touches the cup! They might lose a finger or even a hand! That being said, and having two set amounts for each budget, I then subtracted that amount, plus the Household amount from our combined monthly income. Lastly came the dreaded credit cards. To be honest, I was floored when I learned just how much credit card debt we had. My husband had wracked up over $40,000.00 in credit card debt alone. Since he paid his own credit card bills each month, I had no idea. Even worse than that, he is very inconsistent about paying his bills on time so he had late charges and the interest rates were way the heck up there. It was terrible. I took each of his cards most current statements and started from the lowest to highest balance. The lowest one was about 1200.00 but the interest rate on it by that time was 22%. This is where I started. I had him call the company and basically gave him a script to go by (my name wasn He requested a decrease in his APR on each and every card. Two of the five card companies agreed on the first call. The 22% card was reduced to 11% so they cut it in half. Not as low as I would like but it was a start. Another card was up to 31% and they reduced that to 20%. The other three didn't budge the first time. This is where I made two The first one was MS Money software. I highly recommend it. You can set up your checking, Savings accounts, print your checks, balance your checkbook in about 5 minutes, pretty much a no brainer software that really keeps you in line with your bills and spending as long as you remember to faithfully enter any debit card purchase in your check register provided with the software. It will also link to many banks to update your balances online. You can also set it up to remind you for upcoming bills. (Maybe if the husband had used this earlier, we would not have been in this situation?) The second purchase was about $8.00. An accordion file folder for the monthly statements. Husband always threw his away and I cana dumb idea that is. KEEP them. Organize the tabs for each bill and put your statement in when you pay each bill. I also write the date and the amount when I make a payment somewhere on the statement, then keep them in chronological order. The actual payments came next. The smallest balance card was paid off first. All of other cards only got the minimum payment PLUS $1 more. I started doing this just for my own peace of mind I guess but I learned later that this actually helped us a bit when negotiating the lower APRs on the three more stubborn cards. It may have only been $1 extra but it was EXTRA payment and, believe it or not, they do look at that. Excluding the card to be paid off first, I added up the minimum payments of the remaining four cards (plus the extra dollar to each of those) and decided on an amount to pay the lowest balance card to get that balance moving toward 0 as fast as I could. In this case, I decided on 200.00. This left me with a little over 200.00 extra (I call it mad money but it really goes into Savings anyway -planning ahead for birthdays, auto insurance, Christmas, and emergencies.) I had that card paid off relatively quickly in a few months. When it was paid off, the card was cancelled and that 200.00 was added to the minimum payment (plus $1) on the next lowest balance card. After the first month of this, once again, had the husband call his credit card company and ask for a reduction in his APR. This time it was granted. Should also mention that this card was one of the three that refused the request the first time. The first six months or so of this wasa mildly painful transition. He was used to whipping out a credit card, I was used to having cash on hand for whatever I wanted. It wasn't going to happen anymore. Finally, I wasdown to the last remaining card (754.00 per month payment by this time, having applied the payments for each card to the next as they were paid off.) When I got to this point, I started shopping around for cards with rewards programs and started comparing those cards. The last card I was paying on also had a rewards program but not quite what I wanted. I wanted to know if the terms were negotiable. It was! How about that! So, instead of losing a valuable customer the card company decided to keep me. Now I get 3% back on purchases of most things as long as I pay the balance in full every month (which I do). Any kind of air or rail travel purchased with the card is a 6% reward. I no longer use a debit card. The husband is not allowed to get a credit card again but instead, takes a certain amount of cash every week. Say what you want but he got us into this mess pretty much so he has to live with it now. It I find that I average about 400.00 per month AFTER the rewards bonuses kick in so essentially I am able to bank another $354.00 per month in Savings. It adds up quicker than you might think. Should also mention that we have two teens still at home and they can really be expensive. They were made a part of the plan and do their part to help out too. Their contribution is mostly the avoidance of fast food all the time. They can come home and have a meal or eat before they leave. Things like that. Sorry for the lengthy post but hopefully I can help anyone else get out of a potentially bad financial situation like we faced.

P.S. [2008-08-24]
Forgot to add... I will increase my car paymentafter the last credit card is paid off too so... it will essentially triple what my car payment is now and I will have it completely paid off much sooner. If it You really do. Then, when you have it all paid, just think of the money you will be saving every single month and how fast your Savings will grow! After that, you can start checking into making that money make even MORE for you later. IRAs, CDs... lots of options out there but you need to investigate every available one.

My daughter and I bought our laptops during the tax-free, sm [2008-07-30]
holiday doing it online. We told them we were from TN and their accounting took care of it. No crowds, but well worth the Savings.

Agree with poster above. DO NOT take $ out of 401K...sm [2008-07-07]
>> My H wants to take 15k out of his 401k and be done with it. He says we are still young and we can still make it up. >> I was watching Suze Orman's show recently, and she had someone who wanted to do this. The woman was in her early 30s and wanted to take money out of her 401K to pay off $22,000 in cc debt, just to be rid of it. Suze said NO, and here's why - taking money out of a 401K now, instead of at retirement, means you'll have to pay penalties (state and federal) plus taxes which will equal about 35%. So in order to end up with $22,000 (to pay off her cc debt), she would actually need to take out about $35,000 from the 401K! So it would cost her $13,000 to pay off that $22,000. Not worth it. And if that isno) Suze said we need to stop looking at our 401Ks like their our piggy banks/Savings accounts. They're for us to live on in *retirement.*

Posters here are giving great advice [2008-07-05]
I would definitely stash the Savings before she got her hands on it. AND, I do believe she needs some help. Overspending can be a sign of a chemical imbalance. At the least, she needs budget counseling. You have to think past the moment, to the years ahead when you are both old and could possibly be broke. We live in a double-wide trailer, older, but it is nice, and we are fixing it up room by room. Our mortgage is smaller than what rent would be. This is a conscious choice for us, knowing that if you choose the big fancy house, the big fancy payment comes with it. If you are already struggling, please stay where you are. I think you knew your answer before you asked us, just wanted affirmation, and all of the posters are wise on their advice. Best of luck to you.

Stay put and remember why you downsized to start with. sm [2008-07-04]
The economy is only going to get worse and so many are facing foreclosures now. I would not give up the house you have for a new larger, more expensive one with only one income, no Savings, and the economy in the shape it is in. Learn to save and put some money back and when you can afford to put at least 10% down on the bigger, more expensive house, then start looking. Make it a goal to at least put 10% of every check into Savings off the top before the bills and before the wife sees it. No money there is no money spent. I have had to learn to do this recently as I was living like you all are and my kids were draining every penny I got. Now, I move it to Savings off the top and learned to say, I as technically I am but I am stock piling it into Savings because I may not even be employed tomorrow. No one knows what tomorrow will hold.

ACTUALLY, it is pay off the smaller ones first . . .sm [2008-07-03]
Dave Ramsey says put $1,000 dollars in Savings for emergencies and then start by paying off low balances first. THIS AVOIDS FRUSTRATION. You can actually see accounts disappear instead of working on the big accounts first. You THEN take the payment you were making from the card you just paid off and snowball it into the next lowest balance, paying off extra each month. This way you can actually see progress and avoid frustration.

need some advice [2008-07-03]
Okay, what would you do? I have a wife who is on disability and will not be going back to work. At the time she was seriously injured I had a very good job and we were living the good life. At the same time she got hurt, I lost my very good job and ended up taking a huge paycut when I finally found a job. I am now back at a decent salary but of course, she is not. Anyway, fast forward to the now - we filed bankruptcy, sold our home and bought a smaller house so that we could have a manageable debt load, start saving money for our future , and still enjoy life in the here and now. However, none of that has happened. If we have $10 left after paying the bills, then that $10 is going to be spent. No Savings yet, nothing paid off in advance because we (meaning she) are still blowing the money on unnecessary items. So here is my dilemma - we have the opportunity to take our smaller home and trade it in on a bigger home (along with the bigger mortgage, higher taxes, higher insurance premiums, etc.) and I cannot decide what to do. I really do not want to face that large house payment once again, but at the same time, I figure since we are not saving it anyway, it might as well go into something that might benefit us some day instead of all the unnecessary stuff we are spending it on now. Can I get some advice (and not get rid of her, that is not an option!)?

Some advice -- been there myself, [2008-07-02]
First of all, congrats on almost paying off that mortgage! I would love to have a $350/month mortgage payment. I watch a lot of financial shows on TV, so I hope some of the stuff I learned can help you. 1. Pay yourself first. I know this sounds hard to do, but if you put a little back each paycheck to a Savings account, you can avoid getting caught in the credit card circle again. It doesn We do $40 a paycheckinto2 club accounts, $20 into a Christmas Club and $20 into a vacation club. This really helps out when those times of year come around. 2. Pay your highest interest rate credit cards first and/or lowest balance first. You say you have a credit card in the 20% range for interest with a balance of $200. Try to pay that one off ASAP, while still maintaining minimum payments on the others. Once that one is paid down, I would start on the next lowest balance (since 3 of your credit card interest rates are in the similar 20% range). You should put the money you were paying on the $200 card (after it 3. Try to make your payments as soon as you get your bill for that statement; don Interest is figured on a daily basis, so the sooner you pay it for that month, the less interest you'll end up paying. 4. The $5000 that you are planning on getting would probably be best used by paying off the credit cards for 2 reasons: 1) The interest on your house is probably a lot better rate than those on the credit cards. 2) The interest you are paying on your house can be tax deductible. If I were in your situation, I would start out with the first 3 suggestions. After you get the $5000, I would follow through with number 4. Finally, any remaining balances left, I would try to obtain a home equity loan. Home equity loans are not second mortgages. The closing costs are much less, usually not more than $100, if any. The interest on a home equity loan would be better than any of your credit card interest rates, and again, the interest paid on a home equity loan can be tax deductible. When shopping for a home equity loan, try to find one with a fixed interest rate rather than adjustable (the market You should be able to find one with a rate somewhere around 7%. Good luck to you!

recession [2008-06-19]
I agree with you. We live the same way, no CC and no car payments. My husband is disabled and he helps me and we have a 25 daughter still at home who buys the food. We can honestly say that God does provide for us. We We do give regular our tithes to the church, 10% as was in the O.T. and God blesses us. If more people followed these Bible principles, they would do better.

I have economized and it has paid off sm [2008-05-13]
I live in a mobile home I bought excessively used. It is fully paid for. My car is 1996 and while it has 123K for mileage, it is still running just fine and I am told will go to 200K. It is paid for. I own a lovely piano, paid for. Clothing I either make or buy on the sale tables from Walmart. I especially like that most of my tops only cost me $3 or $5. I take good care of my clothing and much of it I have had for several years. Since I have chosen carefully I like what I have. Same for shoes. Same for what little costume jewelry I have. Same for my budget bedding. I buy household stuff second hand because I like certain tacky nick nacks from the 1950s. I even shop for the lowest prices at second hand shops. Now, I have not had a vacation in 13 years, it is true. I am just now getting used to having to take 2 full days off every week and managing those 2 days without sitting down to work is hard. I do, however, have a lovely home and no debt. I only work one job and I do pretty well ($40K a year). I am able to have enough taxes withheld not to worry about it. I have insurance too. After that, I can pay my bills and I manage to put back about $500 to $700 a month, depending on my line counts. I have no idea what I am saving for right now, but it feels good to watch the numbers climb. I literally put every fourth paycheck in the Savings account. I DO eat what I want when I want. I have also stock piled canned foods because of food prices. I buy lost leaders at the grocery store for the most part. If it has a store special tag on it, I am going to choose it over something else. I am at a point where I don There is no place close I I am an avid sale and clearance shopper, and while I am not longer at the point in my life where this is a necessity, it is so ingrained (did I spell that right?) that I can Some people may get off on buying an expensive item, but I get my thrills out of seeing how little I can spend to get what I want. Example is a flat pack entertainment center I wanted. Original price was $120 and I got it for $32. Nothing wrong with it and it was easy to put together, just clearing out for new styles. I had wanted one for a year before I bought this one, but found that price and jumped on it with great joy. Since I know perfectly well that working harder and longer is not really an option, I chose to cut my spending and now I am really happy.