The Savvy Life

For the last 90 days, Kevin and I have been spending as much time as possible writing our book Living the Savvy Life.  In the last few weeks, the pressure has increased as we work on the final edits in order to make our June 22nd deadline.  Although the book is finished, I asked our publisher for a one week extension so we can have seven more days of microscopic editing. 

The beauty of writing for the web is you can edit your material days, weeks even months after publication.  With our book, we won't have that flexibility.  As you can imagine, we are sweating the details!  At the same time, Kevin and I have both been writing long enough to know that no matter how much time we pour into it, the book will never be perfect and that is OK.  My favorite example of this is the first edition of the print version of Budget Savvy that I spent over a year putting together. On the very first page we somehow missed the fact that we forgot the "r" in the word "pantry".  The food section came to be known as the "panty" section.  Luckily, we both have a sense of humor.

And so, we will continue to sweat the small stuff as we approach our deadline and then do our best to let it all go when we submit the final manuscript on Tuesday.  Wish us luck!

Dante and I have both been on the losing side of a battle wtih colds this last six days.  After getting home from a long night at Fearless yesterday, I didn't have the energy to cook.  Luckily, the fridge was packed with leftovers.

I whipped up a Mickey Mouse pancake for Dante out of the leftover batter from Sunday morning's breakfast. 

For me, I opted for leftovers from Saturday night's BBQ.  My friend Steve (who is a professionally trained chef) brought an amazing dish of baked beans.  Sunday night I poured some of the leftovers in a container to enjoy during the week and froze the rest.  Last night I warmed a portion of the beans and ate them with a handful of corn chips.  It was exactly what I needed after a long day of work and fighting my cold.  Dante and I were both happy and satisfied with our dinners.

We had a few friends over to watch the fights at our house on Saturday night.  Our living room carpet was long over due for a deep cleaning.  On Friday, I made cleaning the carpets my biggest priority.   Since Dante and I have both been sick, I decided to use the upholstery hose to clean our couch as well.  From start to finish the carpets and the couch took me only 15 minutes to clean.

When everyone arrived for the party on Saturday night, I had that good feeling you get when you have a chance to give your house a little extra attention.

My carpet shampooer is one of the best investments I have made.  It has long paid for itself in both time and money.  Between a three year old, two active adults, a Newfoundland and a puppy, it really comes in handy!

In this week's Savvy Life Newsletter, I wrote: 

Father’s Day is in one week. Instead of buying your dad something, create a memory together.

* Take him to a baseball game

* Invite him over for a BBQ

* Go fishing together

* Take him to a museum

* Enjoy a hike together

* Watch a few of his favorite movies together

A Sunday spent enjoying each other’s company will trump the gift of any tie or gadget!

After sending the newsletter, I immediately received an email from my dad (and a post on Facebook) stating "I was so disappointed not to see TAKE A LONG HORSE BACK RIDE WITH DAD."

All kidding aside, dad has the right idea.  He would like nothing more from me on Father's Day than for the two of us to saddle the horses and go for a nice long ride. 

What would your dad prefer to do more than anything?  Whatever his hobby, ask if you can spend some time doing it with him.  If he likes model trains, maybe you can help him sort and organize his supplies. 

Is he into airplanes?  Maybe you can take him to an air show or an airplane museum.

We are all so busy that one of the greatest gifts we can give to others is our time and attention.

By the way dad, after we go for our ride, would you like me to clean the tack room?

You can listen to a rebroadcast of my interview on The Brian Adams Show.  We talk about how to take action toward your financial goals.  I also discuss some of my favorite easy-to-adopt money habits.

Listen to the interview at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/herewomentalk2/2010/06/09/the-brian-adams-show

I am being interviewed today at 1pm (PST) on The Brian Adams Show. I'll be talking about how to achieve the balance between overspending and extreme frugality. We will also be talking about focusing your spending on the things you truly want.

If you would like to listen in, the call in number is (914) 338-1186.

I had so much fun making Paul's birthday cake this weekend!  This is the second recipe I have made from the website: Cooking, Dunkin Style.  The author is incredibly imaginative and both recipes that I have made of hers have been straight forward and easy to do. 

I waited until the last minute to purchase the ingredients so I ended up spending about $13.  I will definitely make this cake again, but will stock up on the ingredients such as cake mix and peanut butter cups when I see them on sale.  I know I can make it for less than $8.00.

If you decide to try the recipe, I have two suggestions.  Because it is a whipped cream frosting, don't go nuts when frosting the middle of the cake.  I got a little gung-ho and the cake slid a bit when we cut into it.  Also, I would put it in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.  Give the whipped cream some time to set.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cup Cake