Twenty Ways to Save Twenty Dollars
 At Cindy's Porch we have a goal to create a $1000 Emergency Savings Account: "The Sophie Account." We're DOing this by AUTOMATICALLY transferring $20.00 per week (or $100 per month) into this special account. I know some of you are going to have a mental block that says, “I don’t have an extra $20 each week. I live paycheck to paycheck.” I know it can be tough. The first thing we need to DO is change that thinking from “I don’t have” to “Maybe I can find….” Here’s 20 places where you might be able to find $20.00 this month.
- SHOP at home FIRST for your food. Many of you have been surprised to discover several WEEKS worth of food in your home. There is nothing wrong with having a stash of food in your freezer and pantry. But to continually add to this stash without using it up is a waste! Before you know it, you will be tossing mystery meat and unnamed frozen casseroles into the trash. Plan out how you are going to eat this food during the month of February.
- Leave all NON-Groceries in the store. Grocery stores make a lot of their money selling anything but groceries! This month, leave the flowers, the furniture, the towels, the household plastics, the DVDs, the wrapping paper, the baby clothes, the toys, the Valentines stuffies, the flashlights, the televisions, the snow shovels, the toques, the kid clothes, the adult slippers, the hair clutter supplies, the bedding, the bath mats, the plastic tablecloths, the stuffed Easter clutter, the coat hangers, the kid-sized treadmill and kid-sized stationary bicycle (yes I saw them – only $39.99 each – gosh my kids play too hard to stay on one of those units!), the cleaning supplies, the make-ups and other lotions and potions, the piñatas, and whatever other “must-haves” the stores are hawking at this time of year. If it says, “Made in China” there’s a good chance you probably don’t need it this month.
- Simplify your cell phone package (if you have a cell phone). Take a look at last month’s bill. How much are you paying each month? Are you paying for frills that you don’t use? Are you paying for frills that you don’t really need to use? My cell phone is almost an antique – it is four years old. It doesn’t have a camera. It doesn’t have text messaging (that I am aware of LOL). It doesn’t have a “family plan” because I am the only one in the family that uses it (my husband has a work cell phone). If the kids need a cell phone, they simply use mine. I have the cheapest plan possible.
- Simplify your cable, satellite television watching. Dig out last month’s bill. Are you paying for channels you never watch? Are you paying for channels not worth watching? Can you go to a more basic package? We are on the simpliest plan – it is nearly $40.00 less per month than what we were paying before. And I can honestly say, with the current writer’s strike we haven’t missed the television at all. It has been a great opportunity to tie into our DVD’s, board games, and library books!
- Simplify your magazine and newspaper subscriptions. Quick, how many magazines do you have kicking around the living room that haven’t been read yet? How about newspapers piling up in the corners? I get all my local, national, and international news from the internet. Our local library has all my favorite magazines – and I don’t mind waiting a month to get the “latest issue.” Sometimes, when I need a little Mom-time away from home I’ll head to the library, curl up in my favorite chair in the corner and catch up on the magazines. Doesn’t cost a dime!
- Say “no” to your kids for that new “thing.” Kids are the greatest negociators out there. Mine turn their blue and brown pleading eyes in my direction and almost (almost LOL) get me to say “yes.” But if it isn’t clothes or shoes that they need because they have outgrown their old ones, or something for school or their extra activities, chances are, I will say NO. I will also make a special note of what they asked for, so I will have ideas for when their birthday or other holidays come around. And guess what? Kids DO just fine when you say no to televisions, computers, stereos, IPODS, and other electronic gear in their bedrooms!
- Limit gifts to $15.00. Yes, even for the adults in your life. Every Christmas, one of our neighbors holds a special ladies only gift party. We all bring a gift for the exchange and swap. The only rule is, the gift cannot cost more than $15.00. What a hoot it is to hunt down the “perfect” gift and still meet the guidelines (I already have mine for next year – purchased at a 75% off sale!). It can be done. Just use your imagination and creativity. My kids have always known that birthday gifts for their friends (and the wrapping) have to come in under $15.00. They do it every time! (They have also gotten very creative when it comes to SHOPPING at home FIRST for their wrapping paper and home-made cards!)
- Watch those utilities! Dig out last month’s utility bills. Then go to the website for each one of your utilities. Chances are, each one will have some cost-saving tips on how to reduce your utility bills. Turn down the thermostat (“up” if you are on air-conditioning), cut back on the natural gas fireplace, turn off the lights, cut back on the hot baths (YIKES!), do an “electric run” on your home – how many things are plugged in? What uses power all the time. Imagine our surprise when we discovered an amplifier left on 24/7 in the basement. We turned that power hog off right away! If you can, try hanging clothes outside to dry. It’s a little cold for us to DO that now, but come spring, I will have fresh-air scented laundry that didn’t need any chemicals to make it smell wonderful!
- If you have pets, leave all the pet clutter in the store. Your dog only wants four things from you. Food, water, love, and a W-A-L-K. The walk doesn’t cost a dime. Leave the questionable treats, the plastic squeakies, the fake stuffies, the clothes (?!) in the store. Your pet just wants you!
- Clear out your closet and discover a wardrobe you have already paid for. Toss out the stained, the unmendable, the “never will fit again”, and the ugly shopping mistakes. Make room for the clothes you love. Yes, even haul out the iron and get those clothes ready to wear and enjoy! You paid good money for these clothes (some of you are STILL paying good money for your clothes LOL), you may as well wear them. Leave the new stuff in the store – you have a plan on what you want to DO with your money this month!
- EAT at home FIRST: $20.00 can disappear faster than you can say, “Coffee to go” at your local fast food, deli, or coffee drive thru. Think about your schedule for the day. Does anyone need lunch? Do you have the crazy kid drive after school? Are you at a game or practice during suppertime? Pack up some sandwiches, fruit, and water bottles before you leave. We use a picnic cooler on wheels for those emergency meals on the road. If supper is going be late, then plan something ahead for your slow cooker. There is nothing like walking into your home at 7:00 and smelling supper ready for you and your family to eat.
- Toss out the catalogs. Stay away from TV channels or websites whose only goal is to try to convince you to BUY their clutter! This month, you are concentrating on your own economy, not the bottom line of some faceless corporation who is trying to satisfy their shareholders. Leave their clutter in their stores! (It will still be there next month LOL)
- Monthly Subscriptions: are you paying monthly subscriptions to something that you never use? Perhaps a club, a gym, an internet radio program (my husband has one of those – but he loves it and uses it), a business group, a networking group, etc. Think about whether you are getting good value for those dollars, Perhaps this is a good time not to renew.
- Remember, there is always another sale. As the economy shifts, we are going to be seeing a lot of advertisements out there from businesses doing their best to hawk their stuff. Just watch how many items are going to go on sale fore around the magical $600 mark LOL. I truly believe that it is time to focus on our own personal economies. Leave the clutter in the stores. Love and enjoy the things you have already paid for! Remember, there is always another sale.
- Discover “DO instead of BUY” There are so many wonderful things to DO in your own home, neighbourhood, and communities that do not cost a dime! Check out the library, look for free skates and swims, museums, plays at the local high school, winter fair events, free bands in the park, etc. Blow the dust off your sports gear in the garage or basement. Watch your kids eyes grow as you attempt a bike ride around the block or to catch a Frisbee in the park. One of our most precious family memories is that of my father-in-law putting on ice skates for the first time in 40 years and challenging his young grandson to a race on their local slough (it was frozen solid to the ground – remember – this is the prairies LOL). My father-in-law has since passed away, but that memory will last forever! Families need to DO more together (and playing computer games doesn’t count!).
- Leave the pre-packaged foods in the store. This is another “gotcha” in a grocery store. A whole turkey costs less that some of those “turkey TV dinners.” .A frozen lasagne consisting mostly of noodles and tomato sauce costs several times more than making your own from scratch (and actually adding real vegetables!). Haul out those cookbooks that you’ve dreamed of cooking from and start cooking. Let the kids cook too. My kids all know how to create meals from scratch (and for some strange reason – seem to love it LOL – me, I am the cooking-challenged one).
- If you are a smoker, take the steps necessary to wipe these things out of your life! I am not an expert here, but I know there are lots of people (starting with your doctor), websites, and other agencies that will help you on this journey. Imagine what you could DO with an extra $3,000 per year in your cash stash! Imagine what you can do with that much more lung capacity in your body!
- Think about the things you have always wanted to DO. Now go into your DO-stash (crafting supplies, sporting supplies, painting supplies, camera supplies, exercise cloth supplies, hiking supplies, snowshoe supplies, power tool supplies, etc) and imagine you finding the time to actually DO these things. Make a date for Saturday or Sunday and start DOing! Leave the mall-shopping for someone else – you have better things to DO!
- Leave the water bottles in the store. This bottled water is big business! Most of us have fantastic water right from our own taps. Most of us have water bottles we paid good money for over the years (I use a stainless steel water bottle – no plastic flavor for me!). We just need to DO our own bottling. Before you leave the home, dig out favorite water bottle and put it to use!
- Keep paying off your debts! Anything you can DO to cut back the interest that you need to pay each month, is money that you get to keep in your own cash stash. Every month, your debt should be a little less than it was the previous month. Make it your challenge to find a little extra to add to that payment. And then DO whatever you can to keep from adding NEW debt on top of the old debt!
Whew! You made it to the bottom! We’re looking for $20.00 per week to add to our Sophie fund (and emergency fund account). See if you can find just a few of these that may make a difference in your home. Make it a game – a challenge. We’re all DOing this together!
Take care of you,
Cindy
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