Letting the Deal Go

Over the weekend, there was a coupon code available for JC Penney for $10 off a $25 order, with free shipping to store on many items.  The code expired yesterday, and I was determined to find a way to use this code to get some start on my Christmas shopping.  Trouble was, I didn't know what to use it for.  Really, there wasn't anything that I was planning to buy right now.

I'm still waiting to get Christmas idea lists from some family members, and I already have plans for my girls' "big" present, which I am ordering from Amazon.  The kids really have all the clothes they need right now, as do I.  And my husband was too preoccupied at the moment to give me specifics on clothes he would like.

Sure, I was able to find a few items that we could use - some snow mittens for the girls, some leggings and tights for myself.  However, everything I added to my cart was either out of stock or did not ship to the store. I was frustrated.

It was at 11:00pm last night, and I was sitting at the computer trying to finagle a way to use this deal.  Stocking up on birthday presents?  Buying myself a new pair of boots?  That's when it finally became clear.

It was time to let the deal go.  It was a good deal, if I had a use for it.  It would have saved me $10.  But not using the deal . . . that was completely free.

And I was free to go to bed.

If You Save Just $5 . . .

I mentioned yesterday that I try to cook beans from scratch rather than buying canned beans, for a savings of maybe $1 per pound of beans. It got me thinking how couponing and many other frugal practices save us really only a few dollars at a time. Sometimes people use this as a reason not to adopt a frugal practice - "I don't want to spend time on that just to save $5."

Of course, the most obvious response to that is that many practices that save $1 or $5 at a time can in the end add to much more. However, I also decided to come up with a list of some of the things you could do with just $5. It's suprising how many my family and I could come up with. I hope they get you motivated to keep on pursuing all those little savings!


So . . . if you used 5 $1.00 coupons and saved $5 off your grocery budget, here's what that extra $5 could buy . . .

Five movie rentals from Redbox

A slice of iced lemon poundcake and a Tazo tea from Starbucks

One or two magazines

A bag of corn chips and a jar of salsa to share with friends

Five jars of baby food

A child's board book or a cheap paperback

Five $.99 greeting cards from Hallmark or ten $.50 greeting cards from the dollar store

A third of your way to a manicure at an inexpensive nail salon

Five song downloads from iTunes

A fast food meal

One or two quarts of motor oil

Half way to a decent bottle of wine

A small bouquet of flowers from the grocery store

A pair of earrings from Claire's

A box of Sushi from the grocery store

A quart of good ice cream

Two lbs. meat/3-4 dozen eggs/5 lbs beans

What else can you come up with?

Feeling the Pinch

I try to make this blog a place to celebrate the frugal life, because I truly believe that being frugal and responsible with money can lead to a more joyful and fulfilling life. In fact, many of my frugal practices are barely sacrifices to me, since I am so used to living my life a certain way.

However, for me, as I am sure for many of us, there does come a point where I really wish I could spend money on something but can't. That has happened several times lately. In particular, there was something that I really wanted to do for my daughter that I realized that we could not afford. Also, having one car has seemed a bit more of a drag lately, and I have been grumbling at some of the challenges of our one-vehicle lifestyle.

So lest you think I am some saint of frugality, let me tell you, I am very flawed. However, I did come up with two thoughts that help me when I am feeling stressed about the things that we can't afford or don't choose to spend our money on.

The first is gratitude. I mentioned earlier this week how grateful I have been feeling about all the wonderful grocery deals I have gotten lately. We have really such an abundance of food for a lot less money than I used to think was possible. Now, it's not filet mignon, but it's not all beans and rice either. I might not be able to get my daughter everything I could desire or even everything a lot of other people can afford, but I have never in the least worried about her going hungry. There are many, many people in the world who cannot say that.

The second is awareness of our goals. As I hope I have communicated before, I think it is so important to have goals for your frugality. Frugality should not mean just hanging onto your money, but rather not wasting it so that you can put it towards what is really important to you. So when I chafe at having only one car, it helps me to think, "Well, we could have two cars, but we would be living paycheck to paycheck and could be completely ruined by an unexpected bill." Instead, we are slowly but surely building up a decent-sized emergency fund so that we can live with peace of mind. (Read Alyssa's inspiring post about having an emergency fund.) And once we have that saved, we may be able to move on to saving for another car!

In the end, being frugal is all about making good choices with your money. We think we're making the best choices we can for our family right now, and that is comforting, even when the choices are hard.

Our "Mastercard Commercial"

My family's fun outing yesterday to get free pancakes at IHOP inspired me to reflect somewhat on the difference between cost and value -- not exactly in a specific intellectual distinction sort of way, but in the very practical way that we spend money.

In reality, to get our "free" breakfast yesterday, we spent $15! We ordered drinks and sides of sausage to go with our pancakes and of course left a tip as if we had paid for the pancakes. We also donated $5 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma society, which was the charity that our for which our restaurant was raising money.

However, I have no regrets. First of all, if we had gone to IHOP on a regular morning and all three ordered breakfast, we probably would have spent at least $25, and that would not have included a donation to a charity. So we did get a bargain.

But furthermore, what would have been the chances of our little family getting up to go to a restaurant at 7:30 on weekday morning before Michael left for work? Let's just say, that as my husband is not a morning person, the chances would be pretty small! But since it was "free" breakfast, we got up and went out and created a very fun memory. My two year old really enjoys outings like this and occasionally asks to go to a "restaurant," so it was so much fun to treat her.

There was no line for the free pancakes at that time of the morning, so we were quickly enjoying IHOP's really good buttermilk pancakes and sausage. My daughter got her chocolate milk; the baby cooed and was admired; and Michael teased me about making him get up so early.

Of course, if we had not had the money that we spent left in our restaurant/entertainment budget for the month, we would not have spent it. We did not have to order the sausage, and we could have drunk only water. But since we were able to spare the money, we treated ourselves a little.

Remember the Mastercard commercials that they used to run (perhaps still do?) -- the ones that went, "There are some things money can't buy; for everything else, there's Mastercard." I always liked that commercial, despite its real message of totally irresponsible credit card use! But it did point out an important truth about the value of money: that it is not the important thing, but that it can aid you in creating the kind of moments that by far transcend the value of the money you spent.

In college, I spent a wonderful semester in Rome. One long weekend, two friends and I decided to visit another friend who was in the seminary in Germany. Barely speaking any Italian and absolutely no German, we took an long overnight train ride to this tiny town in Germany, stayed barely 24 hours, and had to immediately head back. We created our own "Mastercard commerical" for that weekend, something like the following:

Ticket from Rome to Salzburg to Bayerisch Gmain - $150 Euros

Hotel in Bayerisch Gmain - $40 Euros

Reber chocolate - $20 Euros

Dinner in Salzburg - $30 Euros

Time spent with old friends: priceless

I am still close to these friends, but we all live far away from each other now. To this day it can't help but bring a smile to my face when I think of "our commerical," and I don't regret a Euro of it!

I think special days like these are one of the wondeful reasons for frugality. If you live most of your life simply, you hopefully will be able to spend money to create memories like these, whether they are crazy European trips or simple family outings.

I guess today my motto is: "There are some things money can't buy; for everything else you can get a bargain!"

Celebrating Frugality

"Broke Girl," over at Be Broke but Happy, recently posted her answer to a reader's question about whether she would still live a frugal lifestyle if she became "Quite-well-to-do Girl." I really liked Broke Girl's answer:

Thrift is a virtue, the quality of using resources carefully (a vital attribute in a world of limited resources).

It's not even a distant cousin to cheap, which is about miserliness and inferior quality. So should you become Quite-Well-To-Do Reader, I hope you would remain thrifty.

(Read the whole post here.)

She goes on to say that she would probably keep 85% of her frugal habits even if she didn't need to.

This post really reminded me of what I'm trying to do here at Frugally Blonde - not just share ideas for saving money (although that's part of it) - but to really celebrate living a certain way.

I realize that lately I have become much more open and less embarrassed about my thrifty habits. It has really become something I believe in, rather than merely something I do out of necessity. Plus, in today's economic climate, I think that most people who notice my gigantic coupon box are admiring rather than sneering.

I agree with Broke Girl that 85% is probably a good estimate of the percentage of frugal habits that I would keep even if I had plenty of money. After all, getting a good value for your money, avoiding waste, reusing things, not over-indulging yourself - these are all practices that have value far beyond the money saved.

But I admit, if I myself became "Quite-Well-To-Do Girl," I think I would buy that bagged, pre-washed salad!

PS - I have a big post coming up this afternoon, so stay tuned!

Enough

This holiday season my family took two 7 hour each way car trips to North Carolina to visit my parents. (Well, one trip actually took 12 hours, but that's another story.) My husband, myself, a toddler, a newborn, two large car seats, clothes, diapers, toiletries, Christmas presents, in one case my college-age sister -- we crammed all these into our tiny Toyota Corolla. In the front passenger seat, my knees were literally on the dashboard. I am not exagerating.

However, during one of these trips, after half turning around for fifteen minutes to hold the pacifier in the baby's mouth, I remarked to my husband, "You know, it would be a lot harder to reach the kids if we had a minivan."

This remark came to mind the other day when I read this article from Boundless, a Christian young adult e-zine. In it, the author talks about the unexpected downside to living in her dream house.

The article made me think -- no, we don't have a spacious and comfortable minivan -- but we were all able to fit in the car and made it safely to visit loved ones. It was an important reminder that we may not have everything we want, but, thanks be to God, we have enough.

Frugal Principle #5: Creativity

The last frugal principle that I want to discuss is creativity. This is really one of the most necessary and also the most fun and rewarding parts of being frugal. The frugal life involves a lot of figuring out ways to get or make what you need cheaply, or better yet, making do with what you have. I always find that I am amazed at what a little thinking outside of the box can do for me!

Over the past few years, I have definitely learned a lot of creative ways to get what I need for less. For instance, when my older daughter was four months old, I was convinced she needed an exersaucer, so we went to Target and spent $50 on one! Now that I am a (slightly!) more experienced mom, I know so many resources that I could have used to get one for less. These include online coupons, Craig's List, secondhand stores, children's consignment sales, freecycle, or even borrowing one from a friend.

Now, if I had gotten one from these alternative sources, the toy might have not been new or quite as nice, but within months my daughter was cruising anyway and didn't want to be confined in it! Plus, to me a large plastic toy is a good item to get used -- just rub with a little of my favorite Clorox Anywhere spray.

As regards making do with what I have, one of the areas in which I often need to be creative is meal preparation. We have only one car, which my husband usually takes to work, so I am not able to run to the store for a missing ingredient for dinner. Not surprisingly, I have become the queen of the substitution! If I can't think of anything to substitute, I often leave an ingredient out, usually with no ill effect to the recipe. (Just don't try this with baking powder or something!)

This Christmas I also tried to work with what I had to decorate for the holiday. It was our first Christmas in our house and I really wanted to make it special, but we didn't have the money to buy a lot of decorations. These pictures show our mantelpiece decorated almost exclusively with items I found around the house or got for free (the branches). The only items I bought were the mini wire Christmas trees and the balls in the jar, all of which I got at the dollar store. The finished display wasn't fancy, but I think it looked festive.

I think that using your money and possessions creatively is so empowering. Not to sound trite, but you really discover that the most important resources you have are within yourself!

Frugal Principle #4: Time

Related to the concept of planning is the concept of time. It always amazes me how much the old adage is true, "time is money"! I've often found that time can be substituted for money and vice versa in many different instances. Whether to use your money or your time is a personal choice based on what is more important to you in a specific instance.

For instance, for the past six months I have been trying to substantially reduce our grocery bill. One of the main strategies that I've using to save money is to make a lot more of our food from scratch: everything from sandwich bread to waffles to snack mixes. Sometimes I feel like I spend all my time cooking, but it is worth it to me at this point in my life. Since I am a SAHM, I have the time do this, and it is a good activity to do with my daughter. If I were a working mom, my time at home might be more important than the money spent, and I might have more money to spend on prepared products. It's all about trade-offs.

Other ways that we've chosen to use our time instead of our money include: cutting our own grass, having a small garden, cutting my husband's hair, taking the longer way instead of the toll road (usually), and performing simple car maintenance. In some of these instances I'd much rather spend the time; for example, I really enjoy gardening. In other instances, I really wouldn't mind spending the money instead, but I make the sacrifice since we're trying to save everything we can right now. (e.g. When we have more money, I am buying the pre-washed bagged salad. I hate washing lettuce!)

I don't have much time this morning, but I hope that I've gotten you thinking about where you'd like to save time and where you'd like to save money!

Photo from www.freefoto.com

Frugal Principle #3: Planning

Now we're getting down to the practical, nitty-gritty side of being frugal! I think that if there's one thing I've learned about saving money it is that there is no substitute for planning. Planning gives you control and knowledge of what you're going to spend. Without it, it is so easy to waste money!

The most fundamental element of planning a frugal lifestyle is making a budget. I may be slightly weird, but I love budgets! (Of course, I am the same person whose two-year-old daughter plays "organizing.") But seriously, there is something so satisfying about discovering where your money is going and then committing to whatever changes to those amounts you decide to make. So far from being limiting, I think a budget gives you freedom and control over an aspect of your life that may have felt out of control.

I am no expert at making a budget, but I know that there are many tools out there to help. There are various online subscription sites (and probably some free ones too). I've also heard good things about using money management software, such as Quicken or Microsoft Money. Personally, I just use a blank book and a computer spreadsheet.

Planning for a frugal lifestyle also goes way beyond just making a budget; it can save you money in many other areas. Meal planning is a big one that comes to mind. Just deciding ahead of time what your family is going to eat for the next week can save you tons of money, both at the grocery store and at restaurants that you might have patronized.

Planning and doing research before making a large purchase can also definitely save money. It is so easy now to do internet research on any product, from a vacuum to a TV, before buying it. I like to use comparison shopping sites such as http://www.nextag.com/ to compare prices.

There are definitely more ways that planning makes a frugal life easier and saves money. I'd love to hear ideas on more!

Photo from www.freefoto.com

Frugal Principle #2: Sacrifice

The second principle of a frugal life on which I have been reflecting is sacrifice. There's no getting around it: to start saving money you are somehow, somewhere, going to have give something up. This is the difficult part of living a frugal lifestyle, depriving yourself and sticking with it. At first glance, sacrifice seems purely negative, but I can think of two important positive aspects to it.

One of Merriam-Webster's definitions of the word "sacrifice," is the following: "a destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else." So sacrifice is not pointlessly depriving yourself of something, but rather letting go of something less important in order to gain something more important (as I wrote about yesterday).

Another unexpected positive side to sacrifice is that I have often found that I actually don't miss the thing that I gave up nearly as much as I thought I would. Sometimes the alternative solution is actually better! For instance, a few months ago I started making homemade bread in a bread machine purely to save money. However, I found that it is super easy to make and my family loves it. Plus, the homemade bread is probably healthier, and I can control the ingredients that go into it. Now we wouldn't go back to store bought bread anyway!

In the end, as Henry Ward Beecher wrote, "It is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich."

Photo from freefoto.com.

Frugal Principle #1: Purpose

I believe that the first principle that has to be behind any attempt to live a more frugal lifestyle is a sense of purpose. The frugal person has to know why and for what he is saving money. Otherwise, he risks becoming like Ebeneezer Scrooge, a "tightfisted old hand at the grindstone," who nevertheless lived in a shabby apartment and ate gruel. One might say he was "frugal," yet he never used his savings for the good of himself or anyone else.

With a sense of purpose, however, the frugal person is not simply a miser hoarding money. Rather, he is someone who has knows what is truly important to him and is willing to sacrifice other less important goods toward achieving his goal. So I believe that the very first step for anyone who plans to start living more frugally is to ask himself, "Why do I want to
save money? What are my goals?"

These goals could be anything and will be different for everyone. They could be as small as saving up for a new coat or a night out or as large as saving for a house. They could include paying off debt, building a family emergency fund, saving for a vacation, amassing a college fund, or even giving more to charity. The important thing is that the goals be compelling enough that the person is willing to give up other things to achieve them. (I wrote a little more about spending your money on what satisfies here.)

It's important also to be able to clearly state and visualize one's goals, or else they will not have the ability to motivate one. For instance, right now my family's financial focus is on amassing an emergency fund. Our purchase of our first home last spring really drained our savings, and we're trying to build them back up. While this may not seem like the most exciting goal ever, when I think about the peace of mind it will afford when we have three months of living expenses in the bank, it does motivate me. Or when I reflect that the days of our ten year old car are probably numbered and dream of a minivan in our future, it's not so hard to drive past Starbucks.

As I said in my previous post, frugality is all about choices. With a true sense of purpose in your life, saving money becomes not so much a burden as a set of exciting steps toward realizing your dreams.

5 Principles of a Frugal Lifestyle

This week I plan to post a series on "5 Principles of a Frugal Lifestyle." Of course, these are just five principles according to me, but I hope that they might get you thinking and maybe coming up with some of your own. I guess it's my background in philosophy that won't let me get away with starting a frugal blog without delving into first causes! I hope you enjoy!

Great Article

I love this columnist in the Washington Post, Michelle Singletary. Her personal finance column always advocates self-discipline and common sense, and she is very anti-debt. I thought that this recent column was a particularly thought-provoking look at American buying habits. It really made me question myself as a "consumer."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/03/AR2009010300058.html

Why Spend Your Money on What Does Not Satisfy?

I heard this quotation from Isaiah at church on Sunday, and I have been pondering it since. I can think of two levels of meaning for this verse, both of which relate to the topic of this blog.

The first level, of course, is the truth that money can never truly satisfy us. It can give us temporary satisfaction, but it will always leave us wanting something else. It can never give us the true happiness that, for instance, relationships with loved ones or with God can.

I think that is actually a very freeing thought when you're trying to live a frugal lifestyle. If you have to give something up for the sake of saving money it is very comforting to realize, "you know, that really wouldn't have made me truly happy anyway."

The second sense of this verse relates to on what you choose to spend your money. While money can't truly fulfill us, some uses of money certainly satisfy us more than others. In this sense, I think it's worthwhile to think, "Why waste my money on something I don't really care about when I could save it for something I really want?" For instance, why spend your money on weeknight fast food because you didn't plan dinner when you'd get much more enjoyment out of a special night out with your spouse at a fancy restaurant? Or why spend your money on clothing impulse buys that don't match anything in your closet when you really need a new winter coat?

Frugality is all about choices. What is satisfying to you?