Monthly internet bills are one of those fixed expenses that we seemingly can’t live without these days…how else would you buy an Ecoist bag, watch the Story of Stuff, and give a micro-loan to a subsistence farmer from the comfort of your home? 


At our old house we were fortunate enough to have free internet for three years ( especially since I was working part-time as a grad student!) Comcast service cost around $50 at the time, and the same month we were moving there was a Willamette Week article about a group trying to provide free internet to Portlanders (through this new thing called wi-fi!). Serendipitously, one of the board members lived three houses away and provided free service the adjacent park from his rooftop. He graciously helped me set things up for the cost a $50 buck router, and we proceeded to get free internet for the next three years. I also gave them a $100 donation when I moved as a thank you for saving us over $1500! Check out the Personal Telco node map to see if you frequent any of their hot spots…there are plenty of parks in Portland with free wi-fi from them.


Alas, when we moved two years ago there weren’t any free hot spots in our neighborhood…still none. So we reluctantly set about buying monthly internet service. I wan’t to avoid Comcast if at all possible, mostly because they are focused on providing expensive cable packages, and that’s not really our thing.


Clear was just hitting the Portland market and had tons of advertising, so we decided to check them out. Thankfully have strong coverage in our neighborhood, and they’ll check with you right in the store to see if they cover your home. We opted for the mid-range speed at a cost of $34.99 a month. After two years of service, we’ve been really satisfied with Clear. The whole point is that you don’t want to think about where you’re getting internet service, because there are plenty of better things to do with your time online 😉


Notably…right now Clear has a deal for a free month and free set-up if you book service online!


On a side note…I think our kids will truly wonder why we couldn’t save the world quicker with the pace they’ll know by the time they are in charge 😉


Who provides your internet service? 
What’s your monthly cost?


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Sustainable Family Finances 
The story of a family creating an abundant and sustainable life.

It’s been another busy family month for us, but I’ve been trying to stay on top of our finances.  I’m three quarters through a really well written and engaging book:  The Energy of Money: A Spiritual Guide to Financial and Personal Fulfillment .


The author is a psychologist who was duped into a pyramid scam, and randomly contacted by the press to find out “why would someone invest in such a get-rich-quick scam?!” She outed herself publicly as one of the scam victims, saying “It was greed.” Suddenly everyone was coming to her with money related issues/baggage. She soon realized that the taboo subject of money pervades everyones’ lives, and people need help getting to the root of their own personal hang-ups. So, she started a course called You and Money, fast forward 15 years and thousands of participants, and that’s her hands on research for writing the book.


Nemeth goes in depth into 12 principles, and I’m on the part about identifying where you are leaking money. While I’ve been much better in the past year, I know I still have room for improvement. She’s also given me a new perspective on listening to my own internal justifications or rationalizations for spending money. So I’m looking forward to the insights I might gain from doing two of her challenges:

1. Physically write down every thing you spend money on and note the method (cash/debit/card/check)
2. Balance our “check book” to the penny (even though I’m keeping better tabs now, I still can’t claimed that our family finances are balanced to the penny!)

The Energy of Money is far more practical than new-agey.  But the book is right up my alley, because I would admittedly much rather a spiritual/self help than a personal finance book! (See Geography of Bliss and Infinite Possibilities) I’ll give you a full review when I’m done reading.


Have you read the book or taken the You and Money course?
I’d love to hear your experience!


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Sustainable Family Finances 
The story of a family creating an abundant and sustainable life.

I’ve read lots of online stories about Mamas who turned an eco-leaf with the new role of motherhood. It’s really a no brainer that you want your kids to have a healthy environment. While it should be just as intuitive to manage your finances as protect the environment, for whatever reasons, I first started caring about our finances once we became a family.


Initially, I didn’t have the capacity think beyond budgeting basics, and I still consider myself a financial novice. The point is that I’m trying. With patience, my best effort is getting better. Some day my investment of time and energy will pay off, hopefully before the kids hit college.

Do you use Mint to keep an online eye on your budget?


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Sustainable Family Finances
The story of a family creating an abundant and sustainable life.