Spending Challenge and More Snowflaking Ideas

Thus far in August, I have had three no-spend days, three days of eating out, and seven spend-but-no-eating-out days. In order to motivate myself to cook and eat more at home as well as to spend less in other ways, I have decided to provide myself with a monetary incentive. I have created a new “Pamper Myself” sub-account. For each no-spend-eat-at-home day, I will give myself $2. For each day I eat out, I will take out $2 from the pamper account for snowflaking. And for each day I spend money that’s not eating out, I’ll cut the account by $1. This will definitely encourage me to plan and lump my shopping expeditions together instead of going to the grocery store every time I need some small item. At the end of each month, I will calculate and deposit the money into the “Pamper…” sub-account. If the amount is in the negative, I’ll snowflake it. If I do end up having some money in the “Pamper” account, this money can be used by me at any time with the following stipulations:

1. The money SHALL NOT be used for eating out.
2. The money SHALL NOT be used to buy dull stuff like groceries.
3. The money shall be spent ONLY on myself and not on others.

I think I know what I shall do with it: I probably will revive my suspended Netflix account first (I shall have to fight this urge until January since this coming semester I need to focus on research and internship applications among other things. Netflix only encourages me to procrastinate. I get more done when I am too lazy to go in person to the redbox or library.) Also, I shall buy myself an iPod Shuffle to replace my iPod Nano which I stupidly ruined – that will encourage me to get out and walk more – another one of my goals. I am sure I shall not run out of ideas about what to pamper myself with. I have -$7 in this account right now. :-(

P.S. Another snowflaking idea I saw on some PF blogs is to snowflake any amount saved using coupons. I have to get some milk tomorrow and have a coupon for $0.75 off. So, this snowflake category will kick off tomorrow!

How I Saved $56.12 on Hand Soap

I am feeling rather proud of myself – my second day of well planned purchases. I planned my purchase for today around sales and used coupons. Bath & Body Works has its hand soap sale going on (5 for $15, or 7+ for $20). I love their hand soaps – especially their aromatherapy ones (originally $6). Unfortunately these are not antibacterial, but they smell absolutely heavenly, and I usually grudgingly shell out the $6 to buy them. Anyway, today I had my revenge. I got 10 of them for $1.85 each. How? Well, let me tell you. :-)

I had filled out a survey for them which gave me a code for $10 off a purchase of $30 or more. I also had a coupon for a $12 signature product free with any $10 purchase. So, I got 10 aromatherapy hand soaps, and a Velvet Tuber Rose Body Cream (originally $11). That’s a total of $75.97 including taxes. When you throw in the sale prices, that comes down to $42.27 after taxes. Enter my discount code, and the total is $31.57. Add the coupon for free body cream, and the final price of the lot is $19.85 including tax. That’s ten hand soaps at $1.85 each and a large free tube of body cream. The price of each bottle of this hand soap is now cheaper than a comparable bottle of SoftSoap.

All that being said, it will take me quite a while to get through my assortment of hand soaps now. I think I’ll be okay for hand soap for at least a year and half given that I live alone and use the soap only in the kitchen and one bathroom. I briefly considered snowflaking my whopping savings of $56.12, but since I don’t usually go about buying 10 bottles of hand soap at a time, I decided not to. Also, since summer funding is meager, I can use that money for groceries and other basic essentials.

P.S. Unfortunately, I have had no no-spend days in August thus far. However, I’ve only eaten out one day. Let’s hope that the next week will be a no-spend, or minimal-spend one.

How I Saved $24.84 on Kitchen Utensils

I had a good day of shopping today. I feel good about all the purchases I made (mostly on excellent sales), but I feel best about my purchases at Bed, Bath & Beyond. I walked in to purchase a can opener, but ended up not since they did not have what I wanted. Instead, I made a good purchase of a 11” covered non-stick chef pan (originally $19.99), and an expandable over-the-sink strainer (originally $14.99). That’s a total of $37.08 after taxes. However, I used the store sales leaflet for a coupon of $10 off $30, and a mail coupon I received for 20% off one item to bring the total down to $22.24 after taxes. I also received a mail-in rebate coupon for $10 for the chef pan. So, that’s a total of $12.24 after the rebate (which has already been mailed off). A net savings of $24.84! I hadn’t originally intended on buying these two items today, but I have been on the lookout for a good, affordable stainless steel over-the-sink strainer for some time now, and one can never have too many chef pans. And now I can use my savings to go and buy two things I really need, but did not want to splurge on - a really fancy smooth-edge can opener for $14.00, and a pair of silicone baking sheets for $11.00. YIPEE!!!

The Art of Frugal Gift Giving

There is a Goodwill store next to the bus-stop where I board my bus from. I was several minutes early today and decided to get out of the heat and humidity and look through some of the store’s offerings. I have found several barely-used, wonderful items at thrift stores. Today, I spotted a seemingly brand-new book of cocktails, that I picked up for a cocktail-crazy friend’s birthday (in September). The total price - $0.89. :-)

I like to receive gifts – and I like to give them too. I am always giving things to people – usually my little sister, but to others too. And most of them aren’t fancy or pricey. I give things to people at random times – it does not always have to be a birthday or anniversary. For example, while I sell my used textbooks on Amazon, I give away lots of the fiction books that I read (they don’t fetch any money on resale). I know a friend who is as voracious a reader as I am – and she is always excited at receiving a “new” book. I am constantly picking up other things too – pots left by the curbside for a gardening friend, coupons that I don’t use for another frugal friend, and so on. And most of the fun gifts I have given and received aren’t too pricey. Here are a few tips for frugal gift-giving:

• If you can, make it – Gifts that are made by hand – handmade cards, crafts and so on, offer a double serving of joy to the receiver – firstly, any handmade gift is unique and one-of-its-kind. And secondly, there is no doubt that if you spent enough time, effort and energy to make something, you most definitely care. I try and make things that I myself enjoy – mostly jewelry or crocheted items. I have fun making them, and a packet of beads or a roll of yarn is delightfully cheap too.

• Keep an ear open at all times – I often hear people saying, “I don’t know what to get her – I never know what she would like.” I rarely run into this problem because I keep my ears open. People will often inadvertently tell you about things that they like and enjoy and would want – a friend of mine is always saying how her shoulders ache – a perfect person to gift a massage to. My sister is always shopping – she’s a perfect person to give a gift card to. I keep a notebook in which I jot down things when people give me these hidden hints. Come birthday, anniversary or Christmas time, I get my notebook out and know what to give them. Knowing what you could give someone can help avoid last minute expensive gift-buying or splurging on something that the receiver would probably not use.

• Keep and eye open at all times – Most times, the gifts I give are not bought right before I give them. I sometimes pick up gifts months in advance if I see a good deal – like the cocktail book from this morning. Or at a garage sale or store close-out. However it is also important to remember that you have bought people something. I have a “gift shelf” where I store anything that I have bought intended as a gift. Periodically, I’ll clean out my home and place things that I want to give away on this shelf too.

• Your gift does not need to cost any money – Some of the best gifts are free. For instance, I offer to babysit friends’ children while the couple has a fun night out. I offer to drive my sister to the mall, carry her bags and help her shop although I despise long shopping trips – and she loves the company and my perspective. I once donated a vacation day to a grieving co-worker, and was astonished at how touched he was. Time, effort and energy don’t cost a great deal – but can be heartwarming. I believe that the best gift that one can give another is just “help” – through any small way.

It was my birthday last Thursday, and the best gift I received was a boxful of second-hand books purchased at the library sale for $5. Frugal – and fun! Happy frugal gift-giving!

Opened New HSBC Savings Account

I opened a new high-yeild online savings account with HSBC Direct. I transfered the measly $100 I have in my Credit Union savings account to it and plan on sending in my snowflakes to this account until I reach my $1000 goal. It offers 3.50% APY till Aug 2008, after which is it 3.45% APY. It does not require any minimum deposit and you can link your checking account from any other bank to this account for easy transfers of money. I shopped around for a bit and thought this was the best option out there.

P.S. The Customer Service number offers options for service in four different languages! Isn't that amazing? I feel quite satisfied with how multiculturally competent HSBC is!

Fifteen Mangoes

I love Indian food. Three is no other food that makes me quite as happy as Indian food. Consequently, I cook a lot of it. I am vegetarian, and the variety of vegetables used in Indian cooking is positively astounding. Unfortunately, Indian vegetables are not easy to come by. Anyway, I was at the local international grocery store yesterday since it was vegetable-restocking day and I wanted to be in early so I could get my pick of veggies. I bought fresh Indian chillies, tapioca, plantains and colocasia taro (which I have not eaten in four long years, and so was very excited to see them at the store). I had come early in the hopes that I would find raw mangoes with which I planned on making spicy and savory mango-coconut chutney. Raw mangoes are practically unavailable in the US - even mangoes that look green have slightly ripe insides - the sharply sour Indian mangoes are nowhere to be found. However, I was ready to make do with even the reddish green ones if they appeared firm and raw. But there were none. The owner of the international store was very apologetic. He said that he still had almost a whole box left over from the week before because no one wanted them. I didn't either, and so he said he'd throw the lot away. I asked him not to - horrified at the thought of all those mangoes going to waste. And then he offered them to me. For free.

Needless to say, I took them. I brought the lot home, peeled, sliced and cubed the lot and packed the pieces into individual Ziploc bags and stored them all in my freezer. Over the next few months, they will be cooked - with lentils, yogurt, coconut milk and other yummy foods. And although I hadn't planned on spending the money on buying so many mangoes, I estimate I saved about $15 on them. :-)

A New Outlook

The cooking at home challenge failed on Day 1 - I ended up buying a sandwich for $3.75 at the cafeteria because I was lazy and slow and did not have time to pack lunch for today. This shall not happen tomorrow. I did cook a bunch of dishes yesterday, so I have homemade food ready for a few days. On Friday, I am dining with a friend at an all-you-can-eat buffet, but it won't cost much since we have coupons for $4.00 dinners each. And on Saturday, a friend is taking me out to a posh restaurant to eat - and I won't have to pay. On all other days, I lunch and dine on the concoctions of my own labor!

I have something quite exciting to share - I have been blogging only for a month now, and watching my spending only for a few months. Yesterday, as I walked down the grocery aisle (on an empty stomach too), I saw so many items that would have tempted me in my pre-frugal days, but which no longer held any attractions for me. I saw packets of potato crisps, donut holes and other yummy looking processed food and felt no yearning to purchase or consume any of them. I also saw other non-eatable erstwhile tempters, and kept thinking, "Who in their right minds would pay $... for THAT!?!?" Needless to say, I walked out with only what I had intended on getting. I hadn't expected to see such dramatic changes in my attitude so quickly. But, isn't it lovely?

Textbook Blues and Pink Folders

I started teaching for the summer today. Being an instructor is financially fun because you don’t get charged for the textbooks – the publisher’s rep just sends you a free desk copy. I have loads of instructors’ textbooks – no different from the regular textbooks other than the fact that they have “Instructor Copy” printed on the cover, or stamped on the fly-leaf. These are books that I could sell to reel in several hundreds of dollars. I wish so much I could bring myself to sell them, but I can’t. It is not illegal or anything, but if I do so, I contribute to raising the cost of student textbooks. And I cannot bring myself to do that. I know how hard it is to shell out good money at the beginning of every semester to buy textbooks – and I will not add to other students’ financial burdens in order to ease my own.

Not that some students mind shelling out money! As a 28-year old graduate student, I suppose I am more mature than most of the population in my small college-town. However, immaturity itself cannot be the sole factor in the reckless expenditure of most of my fellow students. I see people spend money on what I now think is the most ridiculous stuff – closets overstuffed with clothes, shoes, bags and other accessories that match them, $5 - $7 on “weight loss smoothies”, premium gym memberships when there are fiver perfectly well equipped gyms on campus, not to mention other sports facilities – and unnecessary trimmings on bags, folders etc. It has to be more than immaturity – vanity, maybe. I am chiding myself for saying all this because what got me into credit card debt in the first place was partly my own frivolity and vanity (and other unavoidable stuff too). Anyway, I just benefitted from one such frivolous act of another student’s spending. One of my students a few semesters ago turned in a portfolio of a semester’s worth of work – in a really lush and fancy pink leather folder with really fancy section dividers and additional folder pockets. I guess she must have spent nearly $15 on the thing. She has not bothered to pick it up in nearly two years now, so I suppose she has decided she doesn’t need it back. So, I took the pages out and turned the lovely thing into a financial folder for myself – it cost me absolutely nothing, and it brightens up the ugliness of my financial situation. :-)

Reduce Your Rent

I said in a recent post that money is easy to come by when you look around for it. That has been proved true - again! I called my landlady and asked her if she would agree to knock some money off my rent in exchange for yard-work, trimming bushes and other general maintenance around the building. My neighbor is moving out in August and I also offered to help with the cleaning after he leaves. I was hoping that she'd knock off about $30-$35 per month over the summer. This would be a godsend because I don't get paid my regular salary over the four summer months, and any reduced bills are very welcome. Anyway, she said she'd think about it. That was a few days ago. She called me back today. And she offered to knock $50 off my rent per month for yard-work! And she said if I'd show prospective tenants my neighbor's apartment and got someone to sign on, she would give me $200!!! Now isn't that wonderful? All that money will go towards paying off my dreadful Chase Visa debt.

P.S. I came out of my vacation spending less than $150 (excluding airfare). And that's definitely an achievement for me. :-)