My Frugal Year

Another fairly uneventful day. There was $3.50 in parking, but no shopping, so no savings. Ok…maybe there was a small spending event. But honest, it was an accident!! Don’t you just hate it when you accidentally go through the drive-through at Krispy Kreme? We haven’t had a treat like that in quite some time. Excuses, excuses. But the kids enjoyed it and so did my husband. Well, I did too.

I think part of staying on track with being frugal is to allow yourself a treat from time to time. Not necessarily a ridiculous extravagance, but if you can’t blow a few bucks every now and then, what are you being frugal for?

Knowing why you’re being frugal and saving helps to meet the goals you have. When you have clarity on why you are doing something, your success rate goes up. I’ve certainly found this to be true in my life.

Tomorrow will be a better day…no off-track spending. I’m going to do some meal planning to see just how far I can stretch that grocery budget while still enjoying mealtime.

[ad#blog-post]

I decided not to fill the tank today. I realized I already had half a tank and I’m not doing all that much driving this week, so I’m holding off.

No real spending for the day. My husband had to spend $3.50 on parking for work. No real way to save on that. It’s the cheapest one can find close enough to where he works. This problem will be fixed when we can get him that scooter because he’ll be able to park for free 99% of the places he works.

I was thinking about “stuff” today. The new year is always a good time to get rid of stuff you don’t need anymore. I have a lot of that. There is some stuff I will put up on eBay (though I’m not thrilled with eBay like I used to be…things have changed there!) Most of it, though, I think will end up being donated. There is a lot of clothing my children have grown out of. Some of it I will take to a local consignment store, but the bulk of it I will donate.

Having a house full of useless “stuff” stresses me out. I’m weary of clutter. Even so, from time to time I still get that urge to go get more stuff. This baffles me. What is it with that human urge to buy things? I am really going to make an effort this year to only buy what we absolutely need. “Need,” of course, is subjective. I have felt many times that I needed something that truly was just a want. I like to have a lot of books around. Do I really need to buy them, though? The library is a great, free option. Read all the books you want, and when you find one you absolutely have to have to keep forever, go buy it. I won’t be buying any books this year that I haven’t first read for free to make sure it’s something I really want to keep and potentially have to store and/or haul around when we move.

Now is a really good time to really consider what things in your home are just laying around, getting in the way, not providing any particular use or pleasure. If it’s pure junk, just throw it away. If it can be of use to someone else, give it away or sell it. It’s amazing how much more peaceful a home can be when there is less “stuff” in it.

I wonder how many boxes of stuff I can unload in the next week. Stay tuned for more on de-cluttering.

Another no spending day. I like these days. No savings, but nothing going out either. That’s a good thing! I will have to put gas in the car tomorrow. I’ll have to see where I can get it cheapest without driving too far. Doesn’t make sense to drive too far to save a few cents.

Does anyone have special plans for your savings this year? I want to have a good size emergency fund, but I also want to be able to get a scooter for my husband. With his job and parking situation, it would save us a couple hundred bucks a month in gas and parking. Have you considered a scooter or do you use one currently? I’d love to hear from you!

Nothing too exciting to report today. Just a tiny run to the store for a couple things I forgot yesterday.

Total Spent: $8.10
Total Saved: $1.80
Transferred to Savings: $1.80

Year to Date Savings: $68.29

I dutifully did my coupon clipping, made my list and went to the store. We were low on several staples, so I did a little stocking up. There were some good deals. It’s great when you can combine store sales with coupons. I got a huge thing of my favorite Tide liquid detergent for $8.49. It says it does 64 loads. I usually use less detergent than it says and the clothes always come out nice and clean, so I probably get 80 loads out of one. At that price, that’s about .10 a load. Not bad!

Here’s the damage:

Spent: 141.53
Saved on Store Card: $35.17
Saved on Coupons: $ 20.59
Total Saved Today: $55.76
Transferred to Savings: $55.76

Year to Date Savings: $66.49

Not bad for just day three, eh?

I remember back in junior high and high school having this attitude about hand-me-downs.  Being the youngest of three girls, I grew up in hand-me-downs.  My parents were fairly well off, so I think it was just a matter of convenience more than saving money.  Still, it was a big deal when I got something new.  By the time junior high rolled around and kids were concerned about being “cool,” I developed a distaste for the hand me downs.  I had no idea of the virtual treasure trove of wonderful finds at thrift stores.

It wasn’t until I had a family of my own that I learned to appreciate hand-me-downs and thrift store finds.  As a young couple with a limited income, we had to be very careful about how we spent our money.  I started shopping at thrift stores, consignment stores and resale shops for the kids clothes.  It was on those trips that I discovered the incredible number of great outfits for myself – practically new jeans, designer clothes, nice handbags and more at a fraction of retail.  I was hooked!

Now, whether I can afford to buy new or not, I always look first at thrift stores for what I need.  Only if I can’t find what I’m looking for at the many thrift and consignment stores around here do I purchase something new.  Of course there are some things I won’t buy used.  Underwear comes to mind.    When I look in my closet I estimate that over 90% of what I own now has come from thrift stores and consignment shops.  I have saved countless thousands of dollars over the years on clothing alone.

Bottom line is you can find amazing deals.  Shopping at places like Goodwill and Savers takes some time and patience.  You do have to sift through some junk to find good stuff, but it’s there for the taking.  An example would be a couple days ago I popped into Savers and found a practically new J.Jill comfy sweater – and ultra-soft cardigan that retailed for $69.  I got it for $5.99.  It’s in perfect condition and I’ll get tons of wear out of it.

I love a good deal, don’t you?

I’ll update the post at the end of the day with any savings!

This was an easy day.  Didn’t shop, didn’t spend any money.

I just worked in the morning and spent the rest of the day hanging out with the family.  Got a little nap in too, which is always a treat.

Tomorrow I need to work on a grocery list and go through the coupons.  I got some coupons from Costco in the mail, plus the regular coupons from the paper (which I don’t pay for, by the way!)  It’s going to be a tight few months here.  Work is slow and it’s time for belt-tightening.  I’ve been digging into the pantry and my stocks of stuff are low, so I have to find the best deals I can.

Spent: $0

Saved:$0

Transferred to Savings: $0

Total Savings: $10.73

A new year has begun and it’s time to focus on what is to come in the this year ahead.  The turmoil of the past few months has shown that now is a good time to watch our pennies and make the most of what we have.

I’m no extremist.  I’m not a crafty do-it-yourselfer type.  I’ve never made my own laundry detergent or used home made cloth diapers.  One thing I learned, however, is to spend less on just about everything.  Over time it’s been out of necessity, then it just became a habit.

This year I’ve decided to take another step and start tracking my savings and more importantly, start actually SAVING the savings.  It’s one thing to get a deal on something or to save a few bucks clipping coupons, but what good is it really doing if that money isn’t truly being saved?

This blog will track my savings and deals throughout the year and share information I find on great deals with you!  I hope you enjoy it.  It will be exciting to see what the savings account looks like at the end of the year.

Here goes…

Day One:

Had a little Christmas gift cash left over.  Went to Savers and got a practically new J. Jill super-comfy sweater and a nice pair of pants and a cute Kate Spade bag.

Spent $17.18

Sent my husband to the store.  No coupons this time, just the store savings card.

Spent: $53.51

Saved: $10.73

Transferred $10.73 into savings account.