A Penny Saved » Spend Less

Swap Party

JD — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:40:43 +0000

I was reading Better Homes & Gardens because I was in a doctor’s waiting room (waiting for my wife – sinus infection). Anyway, I came across an article talking about hosting a “swap party”.

The basic idea is that you invite 5-8 friends to your house, and each person brings up to 10 items that they want to give away (the number of items should be predetermined). After arriving, tags are placed on each item, and then each individual is given tickets to “purchase” items. Ideally, each person could leave with up to the same number of items as they brought (but they don’t have to take that many). You will have to work out if more than one person wants the same item (bid with your tickets, etc.).Any items left unclaimed are then packed up together and given to a charitable organization like Goodwill.

This can be a win-win for everyone – you get rid of things that you no longer need and declutter your house. You may bring home some items that you want, and charity gets the rest. And everyone can have fun!

Hi there - could you help spread the word about A Penny Saved? We rely on word of mouth to get new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would truly appreciate it. Swap Party is a post from: A Penny Saved

Target Sales Training

JD — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:47:29 +0000

My family and I were in Target buying a birthday gift when all of a sudden there were like a dozen employees standing around with a trainer explaining to them how to “help” customers. Being naturally curious I listened in for awhile. What these new employees were really being trained to do was not help customers but to sell them more products.

If you ask a Target employee for help about diapers, they are supposed to also mention or ask if you need wipes. If you need help in electronics about a DVD player, the employee will ask you if you have cables. It was one big sales training event.

It was a reminder to me that salespeople are really there to help the company, not necessarily there to help you – unless, like I said, it helps the company. So the next time you are shopping at Target, or anywhere for that matter, remember that a sales person’s “help” comes at a price. Don’t let them sell you what you don’t need. Know what you want / what you need and stick to it.

The Snow Saved me Money!

JD — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:07:30 +0000

One snow cost me money, the last snow saved me money.

We live in a really windy area. The last snow storm, although only a few inches, came with high winds that caused drifting. I had left one vehicle in the garage – the garage door was drifted shut. I left the other vehicle at the top of the hill predicting that my garage doors would drift shut – unfortunately the way the wind came it drifted that vehicle in also. We were stuck.

We had been planning on going to a restaurant that was having a special. They have a smorgasbord and they were only charging $5 per person because of a “grand reopening.” So my family and I were going to take advantage of that special (more than 1/2 off per person) and we had invited my parents to come along. It would have cost us $35 (7 people), plus tip and taxes – probably about $50. Not bad for 7 people. However we had already spent our restaurant budget for the month of February.

Well, being snowed in canceled our plans. We were bummed. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was probably a good thing. We had gotten caught up in the promotion, and even though I didn’t have the money we were going to find a way. It’s not that $50 would have been the end of the world, but we are really trying not to overspend right now, and are trying to save our pennies as much as we can.

This was a good reminder to me how hard it is to save and resist temptation. That special was tempting. Yes it would have been fun, but it would have set us back. And right now we really can’t afford setbacks. And again, although it was only $50, sometimes temptation is bigger – that furniture store deal, or the car deal, or the vacation deal.

I’m glad we didn’t get to go – in fact my wife and I are both actually really happy that it didn’t work out. I guess a snow storm can be a blessing and a teacher!

The Great Toy Clean-out Has begun!

JD — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:42:44 +0000

It’s that time of year again (we do it twice a year, Fall and Spring) when we do a thorough cleaning of the girls rooms (ages 7, 8, and 9). We try to strike a balance between having them keep their rooms clean and not being clean room Nazi’s. It’s a hard balance to keep! But twice a year we do a thorough cleaning, and at the same time encourage them to give away toys they are too old for or are no longer playing with.

Well, my wife just called me at work. She was furious! She said she must have found over a dozen pairs of socks stuffed in various places. And we just bought socks because the girls were low on them! I’m glad I am at work, I know there are three girls in trouble right now. They were too lazy to put things away (common for children) and they hid it from us (also common) and we ended up spending money on clothing we wouldn’t have had to (probably also common).

So now my wife wants to come up with some system where we check their rooms more regularly. We ask them to clean up their rooms daily, but we only check thoroughly weekly – that is about to change!

After the Great Toy Clean-out is finished I will let you know the results!

Saving Money on Children’s Activities

JD — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:20:31 +0000

Children are expensive. And as my children are getting older (7, 8, and 9) and they start doing extracurricular activities, it can get very expensive. But so far my wife and I have been able to keep the costs down – some of that is through diligence, some of it is because of the kindness of others.

For instance, when our girls were a little younger they had an interest in ballet. Well, ballet can cost $25 or more per week per child. With three girls that would be $300 a month, which is pretty serious money. However, my wife was reading our local free paper and saw an advertisement for a ballet school not far from us, and the name of the instructor rang a bell. She called up, and here it was a classmate from college. They reconnected, and out of kindness she let our girls come for free!

Last Fall one of our girls wanted to try horseback riding. My wife found someone willing to trade services – horseback riding for homeschool evaluations. So we swapped and everyone was happy.

Our oldest girl wanted to try soccer. We looked and looked. Everything was multiple practices, games on Sunday (occupational hazard – we cannot do anything on Sunday since I am a Pastor). Finally, we saw in our local free paper that there was going to be a noncompetitive soccer “league” for boys and girls that only met once a week on Saturdays for about nine weeks – and it was only $35!. We were thrilled, my daughter was thrilled.

Finally, our middle daughter wanted to try piano. Again, Piano can be expensive. So we asked around, and we continued to ask around, even asking friends of friends. We came across a lady who loves piano, who has been giving lessons for years, and she only charges $20 a month (yes that’s right – $20 a month!) for weekly lessons. This women loves piano and she wants others to learn to love the piano also and she doesn’t want cost to be a barrier. Our daughter had her first lesson last night and this lady was fantastic – definitely the right choice.

All of this to say that if you are willing to work hard, keep your eyes and ears open and really search, you can find activities for your children that do not cost an arm and a leg. And everyone will be the richer for it – your children for the experiences, and you in your pocketbook!

Coupon Angel

JD — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:14:42 +0000

I had to run my wife to the doctor yesterday – she has an infection in her lungs. Yuck! Afterward, I stopped by our local grocery store to pick up something for the family to eat that would be easy and quick to make. I decided on soup. There,in the soup isle, sitting on top of some cans of soup was a coupon for a dollar off! A “coupon angel” left it there for someone else to use – and I did!

That was a little pick me up in an otherwise down type of day. It was a reminder to me that little thoughtful things like that can make a big difference in someone’s day. Have you been a little “financial” angel to someone recently? If you have – thank you!

Being Organized can save you Money!

JD — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:56:35 +0000

I am a fairly organized person. But there are a few areas where I struggle to keep a handle on everything. And one of those areas is my workshop. Now I use the term workshop loosely – I am no handyman. But as a homeowner, I have some hand tools and power tools that are a necessity. But keeping things organized – especially all the odds and ends, is difficult for me. And because of that it cost me money on Saturday.

I was working on a project in the garage, putting up a simple shelf. And I needed a socket wrench. I have two (different sizes for different sockets). I only could find the one – the wrong size for the socket I needed to use. I looked everywhere, but couldn’t find it. I know I own it – because I have sockets to fit it! So I had to spend time and money running to the hardware store to purchase a new socket wrench. I just know I will find the old one, probably come spring!

I hate spending money when I don’t have to! Now I have the motivation that I have lacked to clean up that area (money is a good motivator!). So this spring (when it’s warmer in my garage!) I am determined to tear apart my work area and clean it up and organize it once and for all. Feel free to check up on me and keep me to it!

What area of your life could you organize and possibly save a few pennies? Join me this spring and let’s get a little more organized!

Financial Choices are Hard

JD — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:05:46 +0000

As part of my work at the church I do volunteer financial counseling. A while back I met with an individual who had concerns about their finances – they just couldn’t get all their bills paid, had some credit card debt, and wanted me to look over their finances. So I went over to their place and we took a look at what was going on in their financial life.

One of the first things that I did was try to get an understanding of their monthly income and expenses. This way I could see quickly where they were financially – did they have enough money to meet expenses or were they digging themselves into a financial hole? Basically it is just putting down on paper what their “budget” is.

When I finished calculating their monthly income and expenses, I had to tell them that before taking money out for groceries (they weren’t sure how much they spent on that) they were already spending more per month than they were earning per month!

So I went over their spending and found a few areas they could trim. One of them was their T.V. expenses. They were spending over $100 a month on satellite and accessories. So I suggested that they cut back. They just looked at me. So I repeated that they didn’t have any money in their budget for groceries so they had to choose between eating or watching T.V. Again, no response. I wrapped up the meeting as best as I could and thanked them for their time and willingness to have me come over.

This person was asking me for help. They knew that their finances were in trouble. But when it came down to choices, they were not willing to change their lifestyle, even if that meant no food! Financial choices are hard to make.

Budgeting is a simple concept, but it is very hard to do. We (and I include myself) do not like to deny ourselves. We want things, and we want it now, sometimes regardless of the price we will pay later. Living on a budget is not for sissy’s. It is hard. But the rewards are worth it.

P.S. The actual story above is true, but the events & situations have been modified to protect the identity of everyone involved.

Search for Online Discount Codes!

JD — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:58:02 +0000

I went to purchase some gardening plants online last week. After making my selections and starting the checkout process, there was a space for a discount code. But I didn’t have one. So I took a minute, opened up a search engine and typed in “_________(company name) discount code”. There are tons of sites that offer codes. Places like retailmenot.com, ultimatecoupons.com, keepcash.com, couponcraze.com, simplybestcoupons, befrugal.com, etc.

After choosing a code, I went back to the checkout process, entered the code, and yeah! – I saved 10% off my order. Not bad for a few minutes work. This is something that is easy, and although you may not always find a code, I have been pretty successful and have saved some hard earned pennies – all for just a quick search! Now that is easy money!

I am sick and tired!

JD — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:11:39 +0000

I am sick and tired of being sick and tired! Since last Wednesday I have been sick. First a head cold, then it moved into my chest. Now I have bronchitis. Ugh! I have been on antibiotics since Monday – so far not a lot of change.

One money saving thing that I forgot to do (probably because I was feeling so terrible) on Monday while at the doctor was to ask for samples. Some doctors will fill your prescription with the samples they get. I know that it has saved me a lot of money at times. Of course not all doctors will or can do that, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

In the meantime, I am saving money by sleeping all the time. Hope everyone else out there is doing well.