Week #22 - Out With The Old & In With The New?

So its no secret to most of you that I have a lot of stuff. I've always kind of collected stuff and I'm a packrat (hoarder?) of a lot of random things. Currently I have over 1200 CDs, 800 records, 800 t-shirts, 100 sweatshirts & 10 guitars. I don't really buy many CDs or guitars anymore, but the other 3 'collections' are always being added to.

 

I have been thinking about some stuff I would possibly like to buy but don't really want to put out the money for. There are some small things like a few records to add to my collection and a new hockey jersey because mine is much to big now, but I've also been thinking about how it would be fun to have a 'cool' car of some kind. Like an old muscle car, a 50's ratrod or the ultime, a Delorean! Now I will almost definitly not be buying a 2nd car, but I may actually get some of the other things.

I always look at stuff I don't really use and think I should sell it, but when I figure that I could maybe get $10 for an old shirt I don't wear it doesn't seem worth the effort. Well something clicked and I think I might actually start selling some stuff off to replenish my 'online spending' savings account so I can maye get a new hockey jersey or something. If I can sell a few old shirts, some CD's or some of the action figures that have not even been unpacked or thought about since we moved I can easily come up with the money. It will take some work, but its better than keeping a bunch of 'junk' I don't really want and spending more money on something new.

Sometimes its worth taking a good look around and making sure you actually need the things you have the same way it makes sense to think about something before you buy it!

ok... Not much of a blog this week but its a good savings week so take the bad with the good! I got a paycheck for $615.36 this week and $39.12 went to my 401k pre-tax. I'm going to take $25 off the top and put it into the savings I have incase my cat (Beetus) needs to go to the vet. Then I'm going to take the remaining $590.36 and put 1/2 in my future car savings and 1/2 in my money market savings. I also made a trip to the supermarket with my deposit cans again this week. Not only did I have the cans we save at the house, but I also had a big bag of cans at work that I had been saving for the last few months so it was a good day at the olde Stop & Shop and I left with $12.05 to add to the piggy bank of saved cash! Yup, did the $20 vacation transfer too, which is good because we are actually starting to plan this years vacation (more on that eventually) and that money will come in handy! Now here is the weekly wrap up....

Here is the week 22 wrap up:
$39.12 to my 401K
$20.00 to my vacation fund
$25.00 to my future vet bill savings
$12.05 in the piggy bank
$295.18 to the future car bills account
$295.18 to my money market savings

Which makes the 2013 totals:

$720.18 in my 401K
$440.00 in the vacation fund
$48.05 in the piggy bank
$250.00 in the quarterly loan payment account
$100.00 in my vet bill savings
$858.00 in my money market
$857.99 in my car account

I don't really have much in the way of a bonus for this week so I just want to point out that we are 5 full months into this experiment and not only have I added $720.18 to my 401k, but I have saved $2554.04 in cash! Now as you can see my crazy OCD has all that cash alloted for specific things, but the bottom line is that it is saved and could be used for anything if an emergency came up! I also realize that I treat saving money as a 'bill' for myself, but I have not gone without or had any major stress about putting this money aside and I'm happy to know that its in the bank and its working for me making interest!

Now saving $2500 in 5 months may seem totally unatainable to you, but I'm begging you to start small if you have to. Next time you find something that you were going to buy anyway and you get some great deal on it, take the money you were going to spend, but saved and put it aside. Wether its $1 you saved using a coupon or $50 you saved buying something used rather than new or $3 you saved buying gas at a cheaper station, it doesn't matter... its still money you saved and I promise you it will all add up!!

Week #21 - Gift Cards & Free Money

So in the past I was never a fan of getting gift cards as a present. I always feel like its an easy way out for the person buying them and as stupid as this is, I feel like it puts a lot of pressure on me to do something great with the gift card and not just buy something I would have bought anyway. However, in the last 6 months my opinion on gift cards has changed!

We got a gift card to Newbury Comics from someone as a wedding gift as well as a Home Depot gift card and a prepaid Visa gift card. I also got gift certificates to the comic shop I go to every week (www.RubberChickenComics.com) from my mom and my dad for Christmas. It was thanks to those gift cards that I had money to buy comics during the time I was out of work after my gallbladder surgery. The Newbury gift card also came in handy when Record Store Day came around! So what I'm saying is that gift card are pretty cool, but do yourself a favor and don't rush out to spend them the day after you get them because they can come in handy if you save them for something special! I actually still have the Home Depot card stashed away for a future home repair!!


Speaking of gift cards, I did something pretty cool last week. We go out to dinner almost every Thursday at a small regional chain restaurant called Chelos. They are running a special right now where up till Fathers Day if you buy a $25 gift card they will give you an additional $5 gift card. Not only are there no restrictions on the additional $5 card, but they also offered to put all $30 on one card. So during dinner I went to the front desk and purchased a $30 gift card for $25 and then when the bill came after we finished eating I paid the bill with the $30 card! So I spent no more money than I would have and I got $5 for free! I will be sure to do this every time I go to Chelos until this promotion ends! Keep an eye on specials like this at places you go. They pop up mostly around Christmas, but it can happen any time!


Allrighty.... Last week I said that the check I got was my 'extra check' and that I was using it for a trip to New York with a couple of friends. I ended up with about $400 left (out of $615.36) and I'm going to deposit it into my checking account and use it to pay off my current credit card bill. There will be a little left over, but not enough to really add to any savings.

This week I got a paycheck for $627.41 ($40.00 taken out pretax for my 401K) and its going to be the 2nd check of the month that I put into my mortgage checking account. I'm going to take out $50 and put it in the 'quarterly loan repayment account' which leaves $577.41 go to towards paying the mortgage this month.

This month I also got a $40 check for a survey I did for the post office a few months ago and I got a check for $50 in 'cash back' from my credit card that gives me 2% on gas purchases & 1% on all other purchases. The post office survey was a pain in the ass, but those two things combined still mean I basically got $90 of free money! I think I'm going to just cash those checks and keep the cash in my wallet for awhile, but if I change my mind and 'save' any of it I will let you know.

I think it goes without saying, but yeah... I did my $20 vacation transfer too! And now... the weekly wrap up!


Here is the week 21 wrap up:
$40.00 to my 401K
$20.00 to my vacation fund
$50.00 in the quarterly loan payment account

Which makes the 2013 totals:

$681.06 in my 401K
$420.00 in the vacation fund
$36.00 in the piggy bank
$250.00 in the quarterly loan payment account
$75.00 in my vet bill savings
$562.82 in my money market
$562.81 in my car account

First let me remind you to be sure and join the facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/OCDSavings and contribute your own tips and hints for saving money!

For this weeks bonus I just wanna tell you not to take shit from big companies! If you buy their products or pay for their services then they owe you! I have had some pretty major issues with Sirius Satellite Radio over the years and if you complain to the right people they will give you a few months of free service or a credit on your account and there is no reason not to take advantage of that!

Last week I bought a bottle of soda at a convenience store and the minute I opened it I knew it was past the expiration date and it tasted like crap! I called the Coca-Cola 800# and told them. They asked a few questions and wanted some info off the bottle and now they are sending me some coupons for free sodas! I had also mentioned to the clerk at the store about the bad soda I bought the day before and he said he was going to look into it. Well today I went in to buy a bottle and the one up front was a fresh one and when I went to pay he said "you're all set" and I got it for free!

Week #20 - 'extra' money

Allrighty.... well, I can't say that I'm not still somewhat disillusioned with saving money, but I do still have an end of the year goal in mind. Its either to reach a certain balance in my money market savings or to leave my current job and start something fresh even if it means spending some of my saved money in the process. That being said, I'll keep going with the blog for the time being.

I want to bring up the the money market I opened a couple of months ago because it was getting a much higher interest rate than the one I already had. I logged into my banking website today and saw that, because its an adjustable rate, the interest I got for the past 30 days was almost double what it was for the month before. In just 2 months I have gotten over 3 times the interest I got all of last year combined on the same account with close to the same balance. So again, I'm pleeding with you... make sure your money is working with you to the best of its ability!

This week I got a check for $615.36 ($39.12 was put into my 401K pre-tax). The month of May has 5 Fridays in it which means 5 paychecks for me and since I go my budget on a weekly basis it means that there is an 'extra' paycheck. I got an 'extra' paycheck in March which worked out well becuase I had medical bills to pay from my gallbladder surgery. Well, this months extra check is also great timing. I'm going to New York with 2 friends to see some bands that have not played in many years. I had to buy a ticket ($35) and chip in for a hotel room ($90) and then there will be gas, train, food and lots of t-shirts & other swag to buy. My plan for this weeks check it to simply bring it to the bank and cash it. I will use the cash to cover all the weekends expenses and then figure out what to do with the left overs when I get back and see what I spent in total.

Even though as of now I did not deposit any money I did make my $20 vacation transfer and I also returned some cans & bottles and added $5.75 to the piggy bank. I'll also see what I have left when I get back from NY and all the bills for the weekend are paid and decide where to deposit the left over cash. I'll let you know where that money ends up next week.

Here is the week 20 wrap up:
$39.12 to my 401K
$20.00 to my vacation fund
$5.75 to the piggy bank

which makes the 2013 totals:

$641.06 in my 401K
$400.00 in the vacation fund
$36.00 in the piggy bank
$200.00 in the quarterly loan payment account
$75.00 in my vet bill savings
$562.82 in my money market
$562.81 in my car account

I know we are still a month and a half away from the HALF YEAR recap, but just take a look at the numbers in my 2013 savings totals for a minute. Even if you don't make enough or your bills are to high to have put $500+ into different savings accounts maybe you could have set up a weekly transfer like I make for my vacation savings or maybe you're throwing away cans & bottles that you could be returning for free money! Just by putting aside $20 a week I saved $400 for a vacation and from returning deposit cans/bottles I have another $36! I know some of you comment and let me know that you enjoy reading this every week and some of you have offered advice on ways to save, but do any of you have a total of money you have saved this year either on your own or because of this blog? Let us know!!

Lastly (once again) be sure to join the facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/OCDSavings and contribute your own tips and hints for saving money!

Week #19 - Disillusioned

Ok ladies and gentlemen... I have had pretty much the worst time ever at work over the last two weeks. Most of you guys know I really hate my job, but its recently gotten worse. I've been looking for a new job, but its just not that easy to find something that I am qualified for and will bring in enough for me to pay my bills. Its because of this frustration that I've kind of become disillusioned with saving money. I've always done it because I just feel like its what you're supposed to do if you are able, but I see how other people act & spend and I wonder if I'm wrong?

I do most things responsibly as far as what I spend and the thing I commit to doing, but I see so many other people that don't and they still manage to get by! People that spend tons of money on cars, homes, hobbies, trips, nights out etc and seem to have no worries. Worst case is they charge up thousands of dollars on credit cards and then can't pay so some debt service helps them pay a small portion of what they actually owe. How is that fair? Why am I penalized by having to pay for everything I buy just because I'm responsible? Answer... its not fair and that's why I'm frustrated.

I'm not sure if I'll keep doing the blog or not because only about 10-15 people are actually reading it anyway. I do appreciate the people that do read it and the comments & feedback I've gotten, but I'm not sure if its worth doing it or not.

I got a check, it was $740.35. $125 of that was to repay me for some new safety shoes I bought online so that money is already marked to pay the credit card I used to buy the shoes. $39.12 went to my 401K (pre-tax). Of the remaining $615.34, $50 will go into my quarterly loan payment account and the remaining $565.34 will go toward paying the mortgage. I did the $20 vacation transfer too.

Here is the week 19 wrap up:
$39.12 to my 401K
$20.00 to my vacation fund
$50.00 to the quarterly loan payment account

which makes the 2013 totals:

$601.94 in my 401K
$380.00 in the vacation fund
$30.25 in the piggy bank
$200.00 in the quarterly loan payment account
$75.00 in my vet bill savings
$562.82 in my money market
$562.81 in my car account

We'll see what happens next week if I decide to post again or not. If I do it will be my 'extra' week paycheck and I'll explain what I'm doing with it and if not then, its been nice and thanks for reading!

Week #18 - Cheap or Frugal?

*editors note: the 'bonus section' of this weeks blog is actually better than the actual blog so if you find yourself bored with this weeks topic at least skip down to the bottom before you just stop reading. I'll try to do better all around next week!

I have never really pulled any punches when it comes to the fact that I'm cheap. Some people have tried to correct me and say that I'm 'frugal' or that I'm 'smart with money', but the truth is... I'm cheap when I can be! There are some things that are important to me and there are a lot of things that are not important to me. If you read last weeks blog you know that I spent a couple of hundred dollars on records a couple of weeks ago, but I'm wearing a shirt and pants that came from Savers (a regional thrift/2nd hand store) and cost a total of $8 for both. I have lots of shirts from Savers and all my pants come from there and usually cost between $3-$6 each. I was actually at a regular retail store and saw some shorts I really liked and gasped when I saw the price of $14!

So clearly clothes are not a big concern for me. I also don't put a high priority on having a fancy clothes, expensive shoes or brand name glasses. In fact I try to get as much of that stuff as I can for free. Often I will help friends with graphics for T-shirts to promote their bands or other causes and all I ask in return is a free shirt. One of the benefits I get through my work is a free pair of steel toe safety shoes (up to $125) per year and I'm currently looking at the computer screen through horribly scratched glasses because I will be getting a new pair of free safety glasses though work in August. I did splurge on a pair of prescription sunglasses a couple of years ago, but they came from a website that offers very discounted glasses and cost a whopping $18!

Now because I'm so cheap with things like that for myself I am able to do things for people I care about without having to worry to much. Like when Christmas comes around and I'm able to get nice presents for the people I care about or when another type of event pops up and I'm able to give someone a nice gift or treat a friend to a treat of some kind. I guess you could say is that I pick my battles! I'm willing to wear $6 pants to ensure I can buy someone a nice birthday present (or buy myself a few records!).

Ok... so today I got the first paycheck for May which I'm going to deposit into my primary checking account to pay my credit card bill ($150) and to pay for the rest of regular the stuff I will do or buy over the next few weeks. The check was for $615.36 with $39.12 taken out pretax for my 401K. I didn't have any cans to return and didn't really do much else besides making my $20 vacation transfer so there really was not much saving this week. I do want to point out that May has 5 weeks which means 5 paychecks for me and since I do my budget on a weekly basis that means an extra check. I have some plans for it already, but we will get more into that in a couple of weeks. Now on to the weekly wrap up....

Here is the week 18 wrap up:

$39.12 to my 401K
$20.00 to my vacation fund

which makes the 2013 totals:

$562.82 in my 401K
$360.00 in the vacation fund
$30.25 in the piggy bank
$150.00 in the quarterly loan payment account
$75.00 in my vet bill savings
$562.82 in my money market
$562.81 in my car account

 

I was having a hard time coming up with a topic for this weeks blog aside from the usual bullet points but I did a couple of things yesterday that I think make this 'bonus section' actually better and more informative than the actual blog portion.

Over the last week or so I got a few things that could be considered to be junk mail, but I set them aside when they came in and yesterday I actually used them. First I had gotten a coupon for 20% off any item at Bobs Store and then a $10 off a $10 purchase at Bobs Store. I went to Bob's and found a bathing suit that I wanted to get. It was on 'blow out' sale for $20. Unfortunately my 20% off coupon was not good to use on a 'blow out' item. So what I did was I folded the price tag in half where it said 'blow out' and I hoped the cashier wouldn't notice. Well... he didn't so I got 20% off and then $10 off making my $19.99 bathing suit cost only $5.99. Not bad, but not the best bargain of the day! After Bob's I went to AAA where I applied for a AAA Visa card. Upon my approval I was able to buy a 4 pack of movie tickets (to any theatre) for only $1! I also found out that the usual cost of 4 movie tickets from AAA is $26 which is a savings of at least $14 versus buying them at the theatre. So I got 4 tickets for $1, but going forward I will buy tickets at AAA before I go to the theatre!

Make sure you take advantage of coupons or other special offers you are entitled to. Saving .20 cents on a can of soup might not sound exciting, but all savings add up and once in a while you hit the jackpot and you get 4 movie tickets and a bathing suit for $6.99!

 

 

 

 

BONUS BONUS...

I just set up a Facebook group for the blog. My hope is that people will post hits and tips on savings as well as coupons, special deals, bargains as they see them on the fly etc. Join the group and participate. The more we share, the more we can all save!!

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/OCDSavings/