So I'm glad I don't automatically throw away mail that looks like junk mail.
I open up an envelope today and there's a check in it from some class action lawsuit against the State of Washington. I didn't even know I was part of it ... but I did work for the state for 5+ years. Or maybe it was 4. I can't remember.
And it was for over $200!!!! Which is good since I've spent about that much in the two days. I just made a trip to Jewelweaver and dropped $100. I've been resisting for MONTHS but finally just did it. It helps that they're having a sale. :)
Like I need more beads right? That's the problem with being a bead addict. You can never have enough.
So having this check drop in my lap helps alleviate some of my spending guilt. I guess I should go make some more jewelry now. :)
Musings from a jewelry designer addicted to TV, politics, and the internet. A Mom. A Wife. A Daughter. A Sister. An Aflac Agent. Life is never dull.
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
My First Time
Get your minds out of the gutter!
I'm talking about my very first bank account.
I don't remember my exact age but it was definitely after I was 8 because we had already moved after my dad died. The bank was a small local town type of bank, not a big "Keybank" or anything. It was Puget Sound something and had blue register covers.
While I can't remember all the exact details, I do remember sitting at the bank desk with my mom and getting a brand new blank register with that blue cover and writing in the amount of money I deposited. It was very exciting to have my "own" money put away in the bank, but honestly I didn't truly come to appreciate it until my teens. I tended to want my money in front of me, not in some bank somewhere. But it was incredibly rewarding to watch the balance "grow" in that register.
My mom wasn't the *best* role model when it came to spending. She's fully admitted that she had a lot of guilt when it came to us kids because we didn't have a dad ... so she tried to compensate somehow with buying us a lot of "stuff" that we most likely did not need. I didn't *feel* spoiled because we didn't get everything in the world that we wanted but we surely didn't have any needs go unmet (aside from not having a father of course).
My father's insurance provided a large house (my brother and I each had our own room plus there was a guest room) and a new van. We each played sports. We had a Nintendo.
So my upbringing with money (at least from when I can really remember it) was one of more excess than of saving. My mom tells me that my dad was super tight with money and even made them live off of one paycheck and put the second one completely into savings. I wish I could do that now!
As I got older my bank account grew slowly ... I didn't really need to buy any of my own "stuff" because mom usually bought us whatever we needed and often what we wanted.
When I started working at KFC (my very first "real" job) I also got a checking account...oh boy! THAT was an exciting thing and even today I LOVE to write checks. I resisted using a debit card for a long time. I love duplicate checks because it helps me keep track of the checks I write (and yes, still today I pay extra for pretty checks with the duplicate option). I enjoy balancing my register to the bank record.
I didn't have a lot of bills but I must have inherited some of my dad's thriftiness because I did not end up blowing all of my earnings from KFC or my next jobs at the state (internship) on clothes or food or whatever else we were into at the time. I saved for college. It still boggles my mind that I was able to save over $4,000 for college. Not a lot but with my scholarships and beauty contestant winnings (no, I'm not joking) I was able to escape with a degree and very little loan debt.
Unfortunately, at 18 I also discovered credit cards. I would rack up several thousand dollars ... pay it off ... and start over again. By the time I got married my credit card was over $10,000 in debt. It was incredibly stressful for me and I hated it, but thankfully hubby was very understanding. Two home refinances later (don't worry we still have equity in our home) our credit card debts are paid off and we are working toward becoming debt free.
Sites like Gather Little by Little and now a new one I found The Passive Dad, are hugely influential in keeping that goal of a debt free life in sight. My car is nearly paid off and after that we work on hubby's truck. Then we tackle a stupid debt that hopefully won't take long to knock down and then we work on the house and saving for our dream land and home.
Having goals is great. And watching our savings grow - online now, not through a paper register - is just as rewarding today as it was to watch my piggy bank get fatter as a kid.
I'm talking about my very first bank account.
I don't remember my exact age but it was definitely after I was 8 because we had already moved after my dad died. The bank was a small local town type of bank, not a big "Keybank" or anything. It was Puget Sound something and had blue register covers.
While I can't remember all the exact details, I do remember sitting at the bank desk with my mom and getting a brand new blank register with that blue cover and writing in the amount of money I deposited. It was very exciting to have my "own" money put away in the bank, but honestly I didn't truly come to appreciate it until my teens. I tended to want my money in front of me, not in some bank somewhere. But it was incredibly rewarding to watch the balance "grow" in that register.
My mom wasn't the *best* role model when it came to spending. She's fully admitted that she had a lot of guilt when it came to us kids because we didn't have a dad ... so she tried to compensate somehow with buying us a lot of "stuff" that we most likely did not need. I didn't *feel* spoiled because we didn't get everything in the world that we wanted but we surely didn't have any needs go unmet (aside from not having a father of course).
My father's insurance provided a large house (my brother and I each had our own room plus there was a guest room) and a new van. We each played sports. We had a Nintendo.
So my upbringing with money (at least from when I can really remember it) was one of more excess than of saving. My mom tells me that my dad was super tight with money and even made them live off of one paycheck and put the second one completely into savings. I wish I could do that now!
As I got older my bank account grew slowly ... I didn't really need to buy any of my own "stuff" because mom usually bought us whatever we needed and often what we wanted.
When I started working at KFC (my very first "real" job) I also got a checking account...oh boy! THAT was an exciting thing and even today I LOVE to write checks. I resisted using a debit card for a long time. I love duplicate checks because it helps me keep track of the checks I write (and yes, still today I pay extra for pretty checks with the duplicate option). I enjoy balancing my register to the bank record.
I didn't have a lot of bills but I must have inherited some of my dad's thriftiness because I did not end up blowing all of my earnings from KFC or my next jobs at the state (internship) on clothes or food or whatever else we were into at the time. I saved for college. It still boggles my mind that I was able to save over $4,000 for college. Not a lot but with my scholarships and beauty contestant winnings (no, I'm not joking) I was able to escape with a degree and very little loan debt.
Unfortunately, at 18 I also discovered credit cards. I would rack up several thousand dollars ... pay it off ... and start over again. By the time I got married my credit card was over $10,000 in debt. It was incredibly stressful for me and I hated it, but thankfully hubby was very understanding. Two home refinances later (don't worry we still have equity in our home) our credit card debts are paid off and we are working toward becoming debt free.
Sites like Gather Little by Little and now a new one I found The Passive Dad, are hugely influential in keeping that goal of a debt free life in sight. My car is nearly paid off and after that we work on hubby's truck. Then we tackle a stupid debt that hopefully won't take long to knock down and then we work on the house and saving for our dream land and home.
Having goals is great. And watching our savings grow - online now, not through a paper register - is just as rewarding today as it was to watch my piggy bank get fatter as a kid.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Successful Shopping - Saving 87%
I've been clipping and using coupons religiously now for a little over 2 months. I started back in the middle of May.
I debated whether or not to share my success for a couple of reasons. One, I don't want people thinking about saving money when I want them SPEND money on my jewelry. *grin* And two, if more people start couponing then it could decrease the number of deals out there. Granted, this second one is probably just psychological since there are so many people who will just never coupon. No matter how much they could save.
So because I'm having so much fun saving and getting free stuff I decided that I had to share. It's taken over the last couple of months - clipping coupons, finding coupons, trading coupons, and learning about corporate policies and where the deals can be found.
Yesterday, Walgreens had a Buy $20 get $5 off coupon that was only good for that day. These are a big deal because if you do it right you can end up with quite a bit of free stuff. I wasn't too interested in some of their rebate items so I ended up paying a little bit - but not $20. Not even $15.
I estimate (conservatively) that the products above are worth around $70 retail. I paid less than $9.
Well, actually, I plunked down $28 but after rebates and a register reward coupon worth $7 my total becomes $8.98. Using a raincheck, coupons, sales, and rebates I saved more than 87% of my bill.
[Caveat...I'm still unsure how to count that $7. It is off of a future purchase so I technically am not saving that $7 on this order. But it is like money and can be used on future items that I'll get for free or cheap. Most people double count the savings but I don't like doing that. My total before the RR then becomes $15.98 making my savings 77%. The RR will count as savings off my next order.]
Will I use 6 bottles of Herbal Essence shampoo/conditioner? Not today. Not tomorrow. But we will use it. I'm probably going to give away the Bio Infusion shampoo/conditioner - it was free and I'll earn about $1.20 on it. The chocolate is now at work and will get eaten very quickly. Who doesn't love expensive chocolate? It's even better when it's so cheap (regular price is more than $4 a bag). The Kleenexes we go through like water and I'll be buying more of those as they go on sale this month. I have about 30 coupons for them. :) The cat litter is for my mother in law and I paid $2.99 for 14 pounds (regular price is $7.99).
If you are looking to squeak more out of your budget I highly recommend joining Hot Coupon World. It can be intimidating at first and takes some getting used to (it almost feels like learning a new language - MIR, FAR, IVC, etc.) but is well worth it. I'm well on my way to building a significant stock of items that we will use - some of them bought for $0 and some of them I even got PAID to buy!!!
I am officially a coupon addict. And I've brought my little cousin and my aunt over to the dark side as well...and I'm working on a coworker. It's so much fun! =)
Yes...I have issues.
I debated whether or not to share my success for a couple of reasons. One, I don't want people thinking about saving money when I want them SPEND money on my jewelry. *grin* And two, if more people start couponing then it could decrease the number of deals out there. Granted, this second one is probably just psychological since there are so many people who will just never coupon. No matter how much they could save.
So because I'm having so much fun saving and getting free stuff I decided that I had to share. It's taken over the last couple of months - clipping coupons, finding coupons, trading coupons, and learning about corporate policies and where the deals can be found.
Yesterday, Walgreens had a Buy $20 get $5 off coupon that was only good for that day. These are a big deal because if you do it right you can end up with quite a bit of free stuff. I wasn't too interested in some of their rebate items so I ended up paying a little bit - but not $20. Not even $15.
I estimate (conservatively) that the products above are worth around $70 retail. I paid less than $9.Well, actually, I plunked down $28 but after rebates and a register reward coupon worth $7 my total becomes $8.98. Using a raincheck, coupons, sales, and rebates I saved more than 87% of my bill.
[Caveat...I'm still unsure how to count that $7. It is off of a future purchase so I technically am not saving that $7 on this order. But it is like money and can be used on future items that I'll get for free or cheap. Most people double count the savings but I don't like doing that. My total before the RR then becomes $15.98 making my savings 77%. The RR will count as savings off my next order.]
Will I use 6 bottles of Herbal Essence shampoo/conditioner? Not today. Not tomorrow. But we will use it. I'm probably going to give away the Bio Infusion shampoo/conditioner - it was free and I'll earn about $1.20 on it. The chocolate is now at work and will get eaten very quickly. Who doesn't love expensive chocolate? It's even better when it's so cheap (regular price is more than $4 a bag). The Kleenexes we go through like water and I'll be buying more of those as they go on sale this month. I have about 30 coupons for them. :) The cat litter is for my mother in law and I paid $2.99 for 14 pounds (regular price is $7.99).
If you are looking to squeak more out of your budget I highly recommend joining Hot Coupon World. It can be intimidating at first and takes some getting used to (it almost feels like learning a new language - MIR, FAR, IVC, etc.) but is well worth it. I'm well on my way to building a significant stock of items that we will use - some of them bought for $0 and some of them I even got PAID to buy!!!
I am officially a coupon addict. And I've brought my little cousin and my aunt over to the dark side as well...and I'm working on a coworker. It's so much fun! =)
Yes...I have issues.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Grocery Savings - Week One
I don't know if I'll post about all my savings adventures but since this was my first time in years really trying to use coupons I thought it would be fun to share.
First I started out by printing coupons directly from Coupons.com and Mommy Gets Paid (there's a little overlap but I did find some different ones on MGP). It took less than 5 minutes to find the coupons and get them printed out. I really like that Coupons.com lets you print all the coupons on one page instead of one per page.
Then I started my grocery list and identified which items I had coupons for. I printed out some coupons that I knew I wasn't going to use on Sunday but will use them later. I don't know how often the coupon offerings change so I wanted to have them just in case. They don't expire until June.
On Sunday morning after agility training with Trooper I stopped at the corner store and bought a paper. I don't read the paper and think it's pretty much a rag but Sunday coupons are worth $1.50. Again I didn't find a ton that I would use for this trip but will use later.
And then I was off! I left around 1 p.m. and was home around 3 p.m. That's pretty much the same length it normally takes me to get our groceries. Plus I went to two stores.
At Top Foods their receipt tells me exactly how much I saved with coupons as well as the On Sale items. I saved a total of $24.88 with coupons and sales. The best deal was the Darigold butter. It is normally$3.99 and was on sale for 2/$5 and I had a coupon for 2/$4. I bought two even though we don't need them right now. They are in the freezer. :)
Tomatoes were on sale - regularly $2.99 a pound - for $1 a pound! I don't even eat tomatoes but hubby likes them.
Even organic milk was on sale...though some of you will cringe at the price. Ready? :) I normally get one full gallon but the half gallons were on sale for $2.99 each. I know. It's expensive but organic milk is something that I pretty much insist on nowadays. It's regularly $3.49 each half gallon.
Hubby's cereal was hugely on sale. It's normally more than $5 per box (Kashi Strawberry Fields) but Top had it on sale for 2/$7. That's a $3 savings for two right there. And I bought two because he goes through it fast.
One thing that for some reason totally slipped my mind is that I do NOT have to buy premade juice. Duh! Of course I did this time but next time I'm going to get the frozen and make it myself. As Tonni points out it will save me over $1,000 a year!!! Holy Crap!
Next I ran to Fred Meyer because I had several really great coupons - $3 off a meat department purchase and $3 off a seafood purchase. I got a pound of Roast Beef for $2!!!!!! It was normally $7.99, on sale for $5.99 and then my coupon. We're having yummy French Dip Sandwiches this week (on whole wheat buns - never seen those before and I got the last bag).
I also got some fresh cod for about the same price - actually only $1.81 for a whole pound. It's in the freezer now and we'll have it this week or next.
One of my coupons was for $1 off three C&W frozen vegetables. They were not on sale at Top Foods but Fred Meyer had them 2/$4, regularly $2.59 each. So that's 3 for $5.
And since hubby was having his endoscopy thing today I got him a piece of cake - for FREE - with another coupon.
So at Fred Meyer I saved over $13 for a grand total of $38 savings on our groceries.
I'm so proud of myself. It really didn't take any extra time - maybe 15 total to really sit down and think about what we needed plus printing and cutting the coupons.
What's your favorite savings deal? And it can't be 30% off from your favorite jeweler. *giggle* =)
First I started out by printing coupons directly from Coupons.com and Mommy Gets Paid (there's a little overlap but I did find some different ones on MGP). It took less than 5 minutes to find the coupons and get them printed out. I really like that Coupons.com lets you print all the coupons on one page instead of one per page.
Then I started my grocery list and identified which items I had coupons for. I printed out some coupons that I knew I wasn't going to use on Sunday but will use them later. I don't know how often the coupon offerings change so I wanted to have them just in case. They don't expire until June.
On Sunday morning after agility training with Trooper I stopped at the corner store and bought a paper. I don't read the paper and think it's pretty much a rag but Sunday coupons are worth $1.50. Again I didn't find a ton that I would use for this trip but will use later.
And then I was off! I left around 1 p.m. and was home around 3 p.m. That's pretty much the same length it normally takes me to get our groceries. Plus I went to two stores.
At Top Foods their receipt tells me exactly how much I saved with coupons as well as the On Sale items. I saved a total of $24.88 with coupons and sales. The best deal was the Darigold butter. It is normally$3.99 and was on sale for 2/$5 and I had a coupon for 2/$4. I bought two even though we don't need them right now. They are in the freezer. :)
Tomatoes were on sale - regularly $2.99 a pound - for $1 a pound! I don't even eat tomatoes but hubby likes them.
Even organic milk was on sale...though some of you will cringe at the price. Ready? :) I normally get one full gallon but the half gallons were on sale for $2.99 each. I know. It's expensive but organic milk is something that I pretty much insist on nowadays. It's regularly $3.49 each half gallon.
Hubby's cereal was hugely on sale. It's normally more than $5 per box (Kashi Strawberry Fields) but Top had it on sale for 2/$7. That's a $3 savings for two right there. And I bought two because he goes through it fast.
One thing that for some reason totally slipped my mind is that I do NOT have to buy premade juice. Duh! Of course I did this time but next time I'm going to get the frozen and make it myself. As Tonni points out it will save me over $1,000 a year!!! Holy Crap!
Next I ran to Fred Meyer because I had several really great coupons - $3 off a meat department purchase and $3 off a seafood purchase. I got a pound of Roast Beef for $2!!!!!! It was normally $7.99, on sale for $5.99 and then my coupon. We're having yummy French Dip Sandwiches this week (on whole wheat buns - never seen those before and I got the last bag).
I also got some fresh cod for about the same price - actually only $1.81 for a whole pound. It's in the freezer now and we'll have it this week or next.
One of my coupons was for $1 off three C&W frozen vegetables. They were not on sale at Top Foods but Fred Meyer had them 2/$4, regularly $2.59 each. So that's 3 for $5.
And since hubby was having his endoscopy thing today I got him a piece of cake - for FREE - with another coupon.
So at Fred Meyer I saved over $13 for a grand total of $38 savings on our groceries.
I'm so proud of myself. It really didn't take any extra time - maybe 15 total to really sit down and think about what we needed plus printing and cutting the coupons.
What's your favorite savings deal? And it can't be 30% off from your favorite jeweler. *giggle* =)
Monday, May 5, 2008
Saving is Fun!
I debated with about whether or not I should write about saving money on my blog. After all, I want you to all go to my jewelry shop and spend, spend, spend. :)
But I would be remiss if I didn't share the thoughts in my mind, especially since this new endeavor of mine has really started to grow.
I got my first credit card at the age of 18. For the first few months I was very careful and paid everything off. Then I got a Macy's (back then it was The Bon Marche) card, a Mervyn's card, a Target card, and a JC Pennies card. After a couple of years I'd wracked up some hefty bills, though nothing as bad as some horror stories I've read.
At the height of my credit card debt I think I was around $5,000 (this doesn't include car, student loans, and now home debt). When I got married we bought a house and both had several credit cards. We finally made the decision to refinance our (fairly newly purchased) house in order to pay off our credit card debt, install new windows, and install a new fireplace (to replace the horrible gas furnace sitting in the living room).
And we kept the debt off for awhile. We still used the credit cards and for some time kept them paid off in full. But of course it is easier and easier to pay with credit. So we refinanced again and paid them all off. Again. *sigh* And I started to notice that our balances are slowly creeping up again every month.
Needless to say we have not been supremely smart with our money in the past few years. Hubby has the mentality that we make it so we should spend it. He wants the latest and greatest toys and wants to "enjoy" life (as he puts it). I am more like my father. I like to save. But I also am my mother's daughter and when the urge strikes I can spend with the best of them. I decided that we really need to take a concerted effort to do more to save our money and build up our emergency fund.
Entrecard has led to new discoveries for me. And it may just lead to a new lifestyle. I have found some amazing blogs out there that focus on savings and reducing debt.
Some Favorites and Daily Reads:
Yesterday was my first real attempt at using coupons when grocery shopping. I'm not an expert at this but I was pretty proud of myself. I saved over $35 with coupons and sale items! And that $35 is going to go into my ING savings account. I'm paying myself. I'll write about the details later.
You also may have noticed some affiliate links to the right. I debated with myself (lots of internal dialog going on here) about those as well. I use all the services and enjoy them so it's not like I'm trying to pimp these businesses without any personal experience. I'm getting a kick out of eBates - hubby wanted to order a beanie from Under Armor and I wouldn't let him until I checked to see if they were an eBates store (they are!). So we'll get 3% back on a purchase that he would have made anyway. Woohoo!
What are you doing to save? And what will you do with the savings? Buy jewelry I hope! *grin* Or start an emergency fund? Everyone should have one. Ours is woefully small.
But I would be remiss if I didn't share the thoughts in my mind, especially since this new endeavor of mine has really started to grow.
I got my first credit card at the age of 18. For the first few months I was very careful and paid everything off. Then I got a Macy's (back then it was The Bon Marche) card, a Mervyn's card, a Target card, and a JC Pennies card. After a couple of years I'd wracked up some hefty bills, though nothing as bad as some horror stories I've read.
At the height of my credit card debt I think I was around $5,000 (this doesn't include car, student loans, and now home debt). When I got married we bought a house and both had several credit cards. We finally made the decision to refinance our (fairly newly purchased) house in order to pay off our credit card debt, install new windows, and install a new fireplace (to replace the horrible gas furnace sitting in the living room).
And we kept the debt off for awhile. We still used the credit cards and for some time kept them paid off in full. But of course it is easier and easier to pay with credit. So we refinanced again and paid them all off. Again. *sigh* And I started to notice that our balances are slowly creeping up again every month.
Needless to say we have not been supremely smart with our money in the past few years. Hubby has the mentality that we make it so we should spend it. He wants the latest and greatest toys and wants to "enjoy" life (as he puts it). I am more like my father. I like to save. But I also am my mother's daughter and when the urge strikes I can spend with the best of them. I decided that we really need to take a concerted effort to do more to save our money and build up our emergency fund.
Entrecard has led to new discoveries for me. And it may just lead to a new lifestyle. I have found some amazing blogs out there that focus on savings and reducing debt.
Some Favorites and Daily Reads:
- Sense to Save
- Frugal Dad
- Debt Free Revolution
- Gather Little by Little
- The Bag Lady
- My Investing Blog
- The Money Kings
- Frugal Shopping with Julie
Yesterday was my first real attempt at using coupons when grocery shopping. I'm not an expert at this but I was pretty proud of myself. I saved over $35 with coupons and sale items! And that $35 is going to go into my ING savings account. I'm paying myself. I'll write about the details later.
You also may have noticed some affiliate links to the right. I debated with myself (lots of internal dialog going on here) about those as well. I use all the services and enjoy them so it's not like I'm trying to pimp these businesses without any personal experience. I'm getting a kick out of eBates - hubby wanted to order a beanie from Under Armor and I wouldn't let him until I checked to see if they were an eBates store (they are!). So we'll get 3% back on a purchase that he would have made anyway. Woohoo!
What are you doing to save? And what will you do with the savings? Buy jewelry I hope! *grin* Or start an emergency fund? Everyone should have one. Ours is woefully small.
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