Cluttered?

On Unclutter.com I found this post about how disorganization may be affecting your job performance!

Discount Grocery Stores

Here's a list of discount grocery stores in Missouri, listed by city. If you're looking to save money on groceries with only slight defects in packaging then one of these might be the place to go.

There used to be what we called the "dented can" store on Hwy 100 between Gray Summit and Manchester but I don't think that place is still in business. You may want to call ahead to be sure that these places are still open.

I'm thinking of possibly hitting the one in Rolla with my Mom sometime just to see what they have and stock up on some canned items. Also with all of our trips to Columbia, I'm wondering if there are any on the way to or from there.


Ava
P G’s Salvage & Surplus Grocery, 300 North Jefferson, Ph 417-683-5654

Birch Tree
Beavers Salvage Grocery, Highway 60 West, Ph 573-292-3664

Cabool
Shetler’s Discount Grocery, 200 Industrial Park, 417-962-2251

Clark
Terry’s Country Store (and Bulk Foods), 4646 Audrain Road, Ph 573-819-2730

Fair Grove
K & M Grocery, 701 Red Top Road, Ph 417-759-9024

Grandin
Second Chance Market, RR 2 Box 142-En, Ph 573-593-4542

Hollister
Taney County Damaged Freight & Grocery Outlet, 184 Industrial Park Rd, Ph 417-335-4056

Houston
Stilley Discount, 1591D North Highway 63, Ph 417-967-0253

Humansville
Mill Street Market-Discount Grocery, 508 W. Mill, Ph 417-754-8787

Jackson
Lane’s Salvage Groceries, 1227 Old Cape Road, Ph 573-243-1805

Jamesport
Hutch Brothers Outlet, 208 West Auberry Grove, Ph 660-684-6324

Mountain Grove
The Discount Grocery, 6893 Outer Rd., Ph 417-746-4233

Oran
Dent N Save, 23146 US Highway 61, Ph573-262-2345

Piedmont
Janet’s Salvage Grocery, Junction 34 & 49, Ph 573-223-7420

Rolla
I-44 Surplus Discount Grocery, Exit 189, 11101 Old Highway 66, Ph 573-364-6006

Salem
Carolyn’s Discount Grocery, 300 South Main St., Ph 573-729-2946

Sedalia
65 Discount, Inc., 5150 S Limit Avenue, Ph 660-826-9242

St. James
J & J Distributors Salvage & Surplus, 138 West Washington Street, Ph 573-265-6084

St. Louis
Cherrick Distribution, 4215 Clayton Avenue Ph 314-652-3636
Friedman RR Salvage Warehouse, 5149 Mlk Drive, Ph 314-367-5464

Thayer
Lane Salvage Groceries, 105 Holmes Rd, Ph 417-264-7997
Martin Salvage Grocery, Nettleton Road (Route 3 Box 3030) Ph 417-264-7699

West Plains
Corner Salvage Grocery, 1026 Saint Louis St., Ph 417-255-9188

Winona
Ken’s Good Stuff Store, 303 Ash St, Ph 573-325-4437

Also, check out this post on Get Rich Slowly which talks about the concept of a grocery price book. Something I too just read about in The Complete Tightwad Gazette....thanks to the Lampe's for the book loan! I ll need to check the iphone app store and see if someone has come up with an "App For That"!

How long will you be in debt?

Check out this link on Lifehacker to the Federal Reserve Debt calculator which tells you how much time it will take you to pay off your credit card debt.

Credit Card Delinquencies at Record High!!!

So I just read this story on MSNBC which talks about how the delinquency rate on credit cards is the highest since it was first tracked in 1974...OMG!!!

Since our brush with over-in-debtedness, we've made great strides to eliminate all credit card debt. I have to say that this current economy made me even more determined to get ahead in that area as well as our other debt. We no longer want to be burdened with debt. It just seems that it prevents us from making decisions or taking advantage of opportunities. That's not to say that once we're free of debt we're going to quit working and live a life of leisure, but the ability to be flexible is certainly enhanced by reducing debt and increasing savings.

So how did we do it? We chipped away at it painfully slowly. We closed our business and went back to working full time. We cut expenses. We packed our lunch more often. We ate out less. We bought cheaper and less food. We traveled less. We conserved gas. We paid for the necessities and put whatever was left on the most expensive debt. We checked our bank balance every day. We tracked our net worth. We tracked/graphed our debt. We regularly maintained our vehicles so they would last longer. We took advantage of balance transfer offers. We stopped focusing on "things".

Was it easy? NO WAY! Was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!

As I've said before, Trent from The Simple Dollar has been through this, conquered it, and now makes a living giving advice about it. He has created 10 postings about his progression from indebtedness to solvency. All are worth a read but #9 The Road to Recovery is the one that I find most relevant.

What is really boils down to, it taking PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY to change. Change what you're doing, talk to your family about your concerns so they can support you. Use the situation as a lesson for everyone. Dispose of the guilt about the situation (you can't change the past) and channel that into change. Brainstorm with your spouse about ways to make things better. MrLacubrious and I frequently discussed the state we were in. Blaming each other was not the answer. We decided on a plan and agreed that the goal was reasonable and made it happen. It was much easier being on the same page. Did we slip up from time to time? OF COURSE, but we didn't beat ourselves up, we just got right back on track.

The positive reinforcement from making progress on your debt is addicting. Post a chart on the fridge showing where you started and update it monthly for a visual reminder of the progress you've made. We kept our debt info in a spreadsheet that we could open up anytime we thought about the situation. #1 It would keep us from spending on "wants" and #2 It made us appreciate the progress we were making.

So, all you folks with credit card debt....What change will you make starting this week to put a few extra dollars toward that debt? It can be done!

Spend less than you make...DUH!

Okay, so keeping in the theme of interspersing this blog with financial tidbits here's another one. I found this link on Simple Dollar (again) but this time it is to another financial blog called Saving for Serenity. This article is called Spend Less than you Earn and at first I was thinking, well duh! Then I considered it a bit more and after reading the article it is not just about the simple act of not spending all of your money it is truly about being conscious to the fact that every thing you do IS A CHOICE. We choose to overspend or we choose to save. We choose to buy a new car or we choose to repair our old one. We (and by we I mean YOU) have the power to make better financial decisions. The big question is why don't we always do so?

I can relate...

I just read this post on The Simple Dollar blog.

I say I can relate due to many reasons:

#1 I've been under a ton of debt before and it sucks the life out of you.
#2 I've felt aimless and goal-less at times.
#3 I've thought about goals and not moved in any direction to obtain them.
#4 I've sought out joy in joyless tasks.

Lately though, I've realized that I am finally feeling more positive, more calm.

#1 We're making progress toward our (attainable) goal of eliminating debt.
#2 I feel that I'm closer to identifying my true goals and I'm taking steps (even small ones count) toward those goals; writing on the blog more, exercising, etc.
#3 I'm able to include happy tasks into my life; walking the dogs, cooking a meal, etc. and enjoy them instead of viewing them as chores.

I think the point of Trent's post is to show that if you aimlessly muddle through life then nothing you want will ever get done, nothing will be meaningful and you'll just wonder why. However, if you CHOSE to make a change then you can change your life. One small change may be all that it takes.

We had a class in college called Managerial Readings, and in that class we covered a book called The Success Principles by Jack Canfield. One of the most personally empowering things I learned from that book was to simply ASK for what you want. You can't assume that people will step up and give you what you need. How do they even know? Are they psychic? I can personally attest that this simple tool worked for me. I simply asked for something at work and it happened with minimal effort, cajoling, etc.

I CHOSE to ASK. That, quite simply, made all the difference. Just one small change in the way I approached the situation was all that it took.

What change can you make today?

Debt Free?

So, as I've mentioned before one of my favorite financial blog sites is Simple Dollar. I've been reading it for over a year now and through that site I've found a few other notable personal finance blogs. One of which is called No Credit Needed - Debt Reduction Rocks.

Since we've made it our goal to become less debt laden (dare we say debt free?) we've taken steps to pay off our auto debt early and just recently wiped out the last of our credit card debt. We've established an emergency fund and began saving in earnest for specific goals (new car for DH, etc.)

I know some of my blog readers may be wrestling with the same financial demons that we have had to deal with so here's a link to some basic steps to take if you're trying to get out of debt:

http://www.ncnblog.com/2009/05/05/a-10-step-outline-of-our-financial-plan/

We have a few more goals in mind as well like maxing out our retirement savings options as well as setting up a vacation fund. I think it's important to make saving for the fun stuff a part of your financial plan!