I find it amazing that I can't just walk into a store and buy something "on sale" without having to complete a rebate form. The retailers know that most of the general public will simply forget to send in their rebate forms on time. Even more deceptive, is the way the retailers deliver the rebates to your home... in non-descript envelopes and post cards that appear to be junk mail.
I recently received a non-descript envelope with a message inside that said "Enclosed is your Staples Visa card"... without hesitation I started walking towards my shredder thinking "I didn't apply for a Visa card"... then with one hand removing the card to insert into shredder heaven I continued reading "This card represents your rebate of 100.00 for the purchase of blah, blah ,blah. I almost shredded 100.00!!!
Let's all be aware of the post cards and Visa cards and other chicanery that the retailers use to cheat us out of our money... Let's use the darn rebate money... I know I will.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Aerobic excercise for my fingers
Flick, click, flick, click, flick.... that is the sound of my fingers as they exercise... that is, turning off light switches, power buttons, and remotes. How is it, that in my household, the only fingers getting this workout are mine? I know why... it's because I pay the utility bills! I walk through my home turning off lights and radios and video games and televisions and and and. I just love walking into a room where the music is blasting and all the lights are on and no one is in the house... and they haven't been home for hours!
There are two issues here... one is wasting resources.. the other is wasting money.
While visiting Germany two years ago, I found that many hotels would not allow any lights on unless your key card was in a holder inside the room... therefore you could not be out of the room and leave the lights on. They also had motion sensor lights in the hallways. How effective is that in reducing the electric use for lighting?! But the greatest invention that I saw was a hotel room that had a governor on the a/c... the a/c would not go on unless the windows were closed and latched shut.... now that is ingenious!!! I vow to live more like the Germans live... I do.
There are two issues here... one is wasting resources.. the other is wasting money.
While visiting Germany two years ago, I found that many hotels would not allow any lights on unless your key card was in a holder inside the room... therefore you could not be out of the room and leave the lights on. They also had motion sensor lights in the hallways. How effective is that in reducing the electric use for lighting?! But the greatest invention that I saw was a hotel room that had a governor on the a/c... the a/c would not go on unless the windows were closed and latched shut.... now that is ingenious!!! I vow to live more like the Germans live... I do.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The Power of power washing
Power washing can be soooo EMPOWERING! Today I power washed our outdoor shower and saved about 75.00 doing it myself. Power washing (or pressure washing) rates in the NY Metropolitan area go for close to a dollar a square foot. Renting one can also be costly but not as much as having the pros do it.
Buying our own power washer about 7 years ago was one of the best investments that we ever made. It's a smaller Karcher with about 1300 PSI.. a great little machine for women to use.. and I have used it and used it... for outdoor furniture, the exterior of the house and the decks. Since the PSI is not so high, I can even use it for the composite decking on one of my decks. It takes a while getting used to, and establishing the proper technique... but then it's clear sailing.
Now all I have to do is repaint the outdoor shower white...where's Tom Sawyer when you need him!
Image via Wikipedia
Buying our own power washer about 7 years ago was one of the best investments that we ever made. It's a smaller Karcher with about 1300 PSI.. a great little machine for women to use.. and I have used it and used it... for outdoor furniture, the exterior of the house and the decks. Since the PSI is not so high, I can even use it for the composite decking on one of my decks. It takes a while getting used to, and establishing the proper technique... but then it's clear sailing.
Now all I have to do is repaint the outdoor shower white...where's Tom Sawyer when you need him!
Image via WikipediaTuesday, July 27, 2010
Confessions of a performing arts junkie
All my life I have enjoyed the performing arts.. concerts, theatre, Broadway productions, dance.. you name it, I supported it, and in more ways than one. I have been giving great portions of my disposable income to the Arts. I've had active memberships in every performing arts venue, along with public television donations etc. Well, sorry folks, today I'm out of cash. I still get calls from the NY Philharmonic, the NJ Symphony, NJPAC, NJN, and various other theater and arts groups. I feel very sad that I can no longer support their missions.
Buying a 350.00 ticket to a Broadway show was very doable for me a couple of years ago... however, today I have found ways to see great productions for only 30.00 or even for free. I recently saw a production of 42nd Street that was really off, off Broadway.. by about 100 miles! But, the actors were superb and I got that same warm and fuzzy feeling as if I had just spent 300 bucks to see a Broadway show. Also, there are so many free concerts by community bands and orchestras... many of which are excellent. Last week, I saw a concert by "The Kings Brass".. they were absolutely breathtaking and asked only for a small donation.. we gave them ten dollars for the three of us... can't find a better deal than that. So, despite my lack of money, I can still fuel my addiction to the Arts.. Hey, it's one of life's better additions!
Buying a 350.00 ticket to a Broadway show was very doable for me a couple of years ago... however, today I have found ways to see great productions for only 30.00 or even for free. I recently saw a production of 42nd Street that was really off, off Broadway.. by about 100 miles! But, the actors were superb and I got that same warm and fuzzy feeling as if I had just spent 300 bucks to see a Broadway show. Also, there are so many free concerts by community bands and orchestras... many of which are excellent. Last week, I saw a concert by "The Kings Brass".. they were absolutely breathtaking and asked only for a small donation.. we gave them ten dollars for the three of us... can't find a better deal than that. So, despite my lack of money, I can still fuel my addiction to the Arts.. Hey, it's one of life's better additions!
Paper towel enlightenment
Bounty! The one and only paper towel for me. Who cares that it is the most expensive paper towel on the market.. it is the best! Well, at least I wait for it to be on sale before I buy it. So I scoured the circulars this week because I was totally out of paper towels. After checking all the supermakets and wholesale stores I found that CVS was the winner with an 8 roll pack for 6.84. So I arrived at the store very happy with myself because I was getting a bargain, only to find that they were out of them. They, of course, offered me the rain check which I took, but on my way out I noticed a CVS brand paper towel on sale for 4.94 an 8 roll pack. I looked carefully and they looked suspiciously like Bounty. I said, what the heck, for that price I'll try them and guess what! They are like Bounty.. I can actually squeeze them out and reuse them as I can Bounty. Watch out Bounty... there's a new kid on the block!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Grooming and personal hygiene
OK.. As far as I'm concerned, we are way too clean. We often take two showers a day, wear clothing once before it is washed and toss a towel into the laundry with only one use. My washer and dryer ran almost 24/7 for just the 3 of us. Now that I have to live more frugally I am pushing the limits on my clothing.. I ACTUALLY wear the same article of clothing 2 or 3 times before washing it!! Can you imagine? And I don't even smell... I haven't yet figured out how to shower less than once per day, but I now re-use my bath towel for a few days. I've managed to reduce laundry loads down to 8 per week instead of 21 per week! I am also mindful of my time in the shower... less time means less hot water, less hot water means lower utility bills. Five minute showers are the norm.. and I'm just as clean as if I took a 20 minute shower. :)
Being clean and looking clean are not always one and the same... personal grooming products, and especially services can be very expensive.
Haircuts and manicures/pedicures used to gobble my money.. of course I willingly fed the salons and nail spas with my weekly visits. Today, because I simply can not afford those visits I cut my own hair, polish my own nails and cut my son's and husband's hair. This life style change has saved over 160.00 per month...and it's kinda fun.
Being clean and looking clean are not always one and the same... personal grooming products, and especially services can be very expensive.
Haircuts and manicures/pedicures used to gobble my money.. of course I willingly fed the salons and nail spas with my weekly visits. Today, because I simply can not afford those visits I cut my own hair, polish my own nails and cut my son's and husband's hair. This life style change has saved over 160.00 per month...and it's kinda fun.
Clothing..how much do we really need?
I can't remember exactly when it happened but I went from owning 4 pairs of jeans, 10 tops, and 5 pairs of shoes to having multiple closets and dressers burgeoning with clothing! It's not that I keep clothing forever... as a matter of fact in the pre recession days I gave regularly to clothing drives and local charities. It all had to do with excess disposable income burning a hole in my wallet. Many times I went shopping for clothes in such a hurry that I pulled things off the rack without even trying them on. My husband often joked that my charities got clothing with the tags still on. So now I ask..what is the purpose of all of this clothing?
As a child from a lower income family I did not own many articles of clothing. I had 7 outfits per season, one for each day of the week. My mother did laundry once a week and my outfits were ready to go. Needless to say, they were all very well worn. Today, I am certain, that based on the clothing that I own, I could wear a different outfit for each day of the year! Seriously, I counted my shoes the other day.. 78 pairs of shoes. I have 15 winter coats as well as 15 bathing suits... I am not buying another article of clothing for the rest of my life.
As a child from a lower income family I did not own many articles of clothing. I had 7 outfits per season, one for each day of the week. My mother did laundry once a week and my outfits were ready to go. Needless to say, they were all very well worn. Today, I am certain, that based on the clothing that I own, I could wear a different outfit for each day of the year! Seriously, I counted my shoes the other day.. 78 pairs of shoes. I have 15 winter coats as well as 15 bathing suits... I am not buying another article of clothing for the rest of my life.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Gourmet goodies without the gourmet price
My goodness, today I actually asked the price of something.. in my past life, I just bought without worry. Today I went to the local gourmet bakery and asked how much the apple cider cinnamon sugar doughnuts were.. they were 1.25... the plain apple cider were 1.00. I decided that I could just as well put my own cinnamon sugar on the plain ones and I did. I mixed sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, and heated it for 10 seconds in the microwave, put it in the bag with the doughnuts, gave it a shake and wallah.. I saved 4 bucks.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Vacationing at my vacation home
Most people would think that a vacation home would be used for just that.. a vacation. However, due to an abundance of discretionary income during the past decade my vacations were generally out of state or out of the country. My vacation home was used on week-ends during the summer while I worked 50-60 hour work weeks. When it came time to "vacation" it had to be a destination that was arrived at by air travel... otherwise it wasn't "really" a vacation.
Oddly enough, when my husband and I purchased our get-away home we told ourselves that it would be our vacation destination forever. This was how we rationalized strapping ourselves with yet another mortgage. We would forgo all other vacations in order to pay off the house... and then my business exploded and thoughts of vacationing in the same place every year evaporated.
This summer, I am happily vacationing at my vacation home for the first time in over 16 years, and how thankful I am that I can afford it.
Oddly enough, when my husband and I purchased our get-away home we told ourselves that it would be our vacation destination forever. This was how we rationalized strapping ourselves with yet another mortgage. We would forgo all other vacations in order to pay off the house... and then my business exploded and thoughts of vacationing in the same place every year evaporated.
This summer, I am happily vacationing at my vacation home for the first time in over 16 years, and how thankful I am that I can afford it.
Surprise Savings
Today I had some wonderful surprises that added money to my wallet. I had purchased a pair of Sketchers for my son at Kohl's two weeks ago. When I went back to the store I saw that they were 15.00 cheaper due to a sale. I went to customer service and they immediately put 15.00 back on my credit card. WOW!
They said if I had been one day later they could not have done it... what luck!
In my old pre recession life I would have said - oh well, I spent the money and I lost out... after all, I have tons to spend. In my new life, I take the money and put food on the table.
Now the main goal is to stay out of the stores completely.. this way I can not spend a dime. However, my intentions are to change the way I shop and be smarter in all ways concerning money... since I have one tenth the discretionary money that I had just a year ago.
The other surprise - I found a gift card in my wallet that had $9.15 still on it. Last year, I probably would have thrown the depleted 50.00 gift card in the trash, knowing that there was not much on it... how things have changed.
They said if I had been one day later they could not have done it... what luck!
In my old pre recession life I would have said - oh well, I spent the money and I lost out... after all, I have tons to spend. In my new life, I take the money and put food on the table.
Now the main goal is to stay out of the stores completely.. this way I can not spend a dime. However, my intentions are to change the way I shop and be smarter in all ways concerning money... since I have one tenth the discretionary money that I had just a year ago.
The other surprise - I found a gift card in my wallet that had $9.15 still on it. Last year, I probably would have thrown the depleted 50.00 gift card in the trash, knowing that there was not much on it... how things have changed.
Friday, July 23, 2010
The new age of living with less
Many of us have been hit beyond hard by the economic downturn. I, myself, am part of this new phase of learning to live with so much less. For the past 16 years.. my business had grown and grown to the point where I could buy just about anything that my heart desired without thought. That's not to say that I was a millionaire but when one makes close to 200K a year one can be "free" to spend a bit foolishly. I certainly enjoyed walking into a store and buying without thought or guilt. I enjoyed my cruises, my ski vacations, my Disney stays with concierge service, and a trip to Europe. I enjoyed sending my son to private school and driving a new luxury car every 5 years.. certainly what most of us would call.. the good life!
Let me just make one point... I paid off my credit card every month along with paying off two mortgages... why? Because I could! That has helped tremendously in dealing with a life that has been so drastically affected by our troubled economy. But, I am still going through the "culture shock" of adapting to a "rich less" life.
So now that my business has diminished ten fold, I now have to find new ways to live. Actually, they are not new ways, but ways that I was forced to live as a financially struggling newlywed.
Throughout this blog I will tell you how I saved money on each particular day and I welcome all input on how to save money and live with so so much less than before.
Let me just make one point... I paid off my credit card every month along with paying off two mortgages... why? Because I could! That has helped tremendously in dealing with a life that has been so drastically affected by our troubled economy. But, I am still going through the "culture shock" of adapting to a "rich less" life.
So now that my business has diminished ten fold, I now have to find new ways to live. Actually, they are not new ways, but ways that I was forced to live as a financially struggling newlywed.
Throughout this blog I will tell you how I saved money on each particular day and I welcome all input on how to save money and live with so so much less than before.
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