Cheddarblog

The Swiss_Mouse has completely converted all his bulbs over to CFL lights.
Almost all.  All floods and regular lights.  Only dimmable lights and decorative bulbs are not converted.  Sure, it’s dimmer at first than it used to be, and no warning is on the package that you will stub your toes over and over again until […]

[Read more →]

The Swiss_Mouse has listened to Al Gore’s Nobel winning plea and is doing his part to save the planet.
No, not really.
The Swiss_Mouse’s electric bills are OUTRAGEOUS.  There are two bills that have hammered the mouse (The Mouse liked to be hammered, but not like this) since moving into his current abode.  Natural Gas and Electric.  […]

[Read more →]

The Emergency fund has been a constant theme on the Cheddarblog.
Though the Swiss_Mouse took a hit at the end of the year due to Mrs. Swiss_Mouse’s medical issues, his Emergency fund is still at a full 4 months of living expenses.  He will get it back up to 6 months.
But once you are at 6 […]

[Read more →]

The Swiss_Mouse has been taking his lunch almost every day for the better part of 10 years.
He eats out every once in a while, but it is rare.
His lunch is boring.  Luncheon meat, crackers, cheese (duh!), apple and either yogurt or pudding.
Sometimes something different is thrown in, but all in all, the menu remains the […]

[Read more →]

Along time ago, in a neighborhood far, far away….
The Swiss_Mouse and Mrs. Swiss_Mouse set up house and had a young mouse-ling.
Things were going well for the family and then one day, Mrs. Swiss_Mouse decided she wanted something “nice”.  She wanted a nice leather couch.  And she found just the one that she wanted too, for […]

[Read more →]

Buried deep in my previous post was a money saving idea.
Yes, while napping is nice, saving money on lunch is better.  Add it up over time and it is tasty indeed.
If you figure that lunch out will cost you anywhere from $6 to $10 (OR MORE!), then if you can fix a simple lunch for […]

[Read more →]

The Swiss_Mouse sleeps in his car almost every day.
Seriously.
What are the benefits?  Well, first off, if you read up on it, “power naps” are suppose to help you!  Maybe.  Swiss_Mouse ends up being mighty groggy though.  Not necessarily a bad thing.   Depending on the day, the Swiss_Mouse gets in a 10 minute to 50 […]

[Read more →]

The Swiss_Mouse family have multiple magazine subscriptions.  Some are coming due and this is a great place for the Swiss_Mouse to take a hard look at them and trim some fat from the budget.
Currently, the family subscribes to  16 magazines.  We love to read!  But this winds up costing at least $321 a year or […]

[Read more →]

The Swiss_Mouse uses Capital One’s No Hassle Miles credit card as his primary means of paying for any transaction. FIRST, let him say, he pays off the balance in full EVERY MONTH.
However the Swiss_Mouse uses this card because it does several things for him. It allows him to carry less cash on hand, […]

[Read more →]

The Swiss_Mouse gives, not until it hurts, but he gives….
The Swiss_Mouse currently uses a nifty program called Deduction Pro that came bundled with his H&R Block Tax software.  It makes tracking and “fair value” calculations pretty easy.  It handily exports into TaxCut.
But the Swiss_Mouse recently read that “starting this year you’ll need to save all […]

[Read more →]