Walgreens had some vitamins on sale Buy One, Second Free. That's what we refer to as a two-fer. The best deal was a bottle of 365 pills for $19.95. With the two-fer, that would have been 730 pills for $19.95. A great deal.
The second thing I checked was the code date. The pills were good until February 2008. That wouldn't do. The vitamins were for Bob and he needed a code date out 2 years, at least on one bottle.
So, I checked all the bottle sizes and ended up with 100 tabs plus a tiny bonus bottle of 20 packaged together. So, 240 pills for $7.99, a savings of $7.99. I am glad I checked the code dates.
So, once again, the tip is to shop the ads. The second lesson is check the code dates.
We have been a family of two-fers. Bob loves the sales and watches the grocery ads week. He is the one who does the grocery shopping but we make the list together. When Jewel has a two-fer on canned vegetables, that's when we stock up. He takes advantage of splurge items on two-fer sale.
Last Christmas season, he got two bags of frozen shrimp for the price of one. It was a treat to share at the family gathering plus one for us New Years Eve. Bob is a friendly guy and has built relationships with the meat folks at the back on our Jewel. They had set 2 bags aside for him. It pays to be cooperative and friendly.
My son-in-law has the flu. It has really knocked him down. I think I'll check our stock of chicken soups (mostly two-fers) and take some over. I know he likes ginger ale too.
'til later
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
White Sales
My memory is that white sales (linens) are usually in January or maybe February. But yesterday I took advantage of a white sale at Kmart. It can pay to watch the ads and use coupons.
We have one Kmart in our town. I know over the past 10 years most communities have lost their Kmarts. Martha Stewart is now placing her linens in Macys - per tv ads - but she has quite a selection at Kmart as well.
An aside: Bob and I fulfilled a dream we have had since we were married in 1975. We hoped and planned to retired on water somewhere so we could fish and enjoy the calming affects of water.
In July we bought our lake home in Indiana. We purchased it furnished and we have been making it our own. One place I have improved the inventory for guests is the linens. There was one nice queen set of sheets and I wanted another one on the shelf.
If you have priced sheets and linens lately, you know a set of sheets can cost $50 and up. I realize there are many levels of comfort and thread count. I also know that for the lake I did not need high counts. I needed utilitarian sheets that could be easily washed, dried, and folded.
I found a Martha's 250 count set at Kmart yesterday for less than $30. I am thrilled. I also found a cotton blanket for less than $25. Bob will not fully understand the expenditure at this time (we are replacing the lake home furnace) but I wanted to take advantage of the sale.
I asked myself: Is this a need or a want? It failed the true need question but it passed the question: Can I anticipate a better sale for the quality?
One of the advantages of our savings philosophy is that we have savings enough to cover the furnace and the white sales. Wisdom is in the choices we make purchasing our needs and our wants.
'til later
We have one Kmart in our town. I know over the past 10 years most communities have lost their Kmarts. Martha Stewart is now placing her linens in Macys - per tv ads - but she has quite a selection at Kmart as well.
An aside: Bob and I fulfilled a dream we have had since we were married in 1975. We hoped and planned to retired on water somewhere so we could fish and enjoy the calming affects of water.
In July we bought our lake home in Indiana. We purchased it furnished and we have been making it our own. One place I have improved the inventory for guests is the linens. There was one nice queen set of sheets and I wanted another one on the shelf.
If you have priced sheets and linens lately, you know a set of sheets can cost $50 and up. I realize there are many levels of comfort and thread count. I also know that for the lake I did not need high counts. I needed utilitarian sheets that could be easily washed, dried, and folded.
I found a Martha's 250 count set at Kmart yesterday for less than $30. I am thrilled. I also found a cotton blanket for less than $25. Bob will not fully understand the expenditure at this time (we are replacing the lake home furnace) but I wanted to take advantage of the sale.
I asked myself: Is this a need or a want? It failed the true need question but it passed the question: Can I anticipate a better sale for the quality?
One of the advantages of our savings philosophy is that we have savings enough to cover the furnace and the white sales. Wisdom is in the choices we make purchasing our needs and our wants.
'til later
Monday, October 29, 2007
Budgeting - YUK!
Yesterday I told you we do our budgeting based on 80% of our earned income. Bob is on a pension and is working his consulting business almost as if it were a full time job. He's out on a day job right now. When he gets home later, we'll type of the report. That will take us about 2.5 hours. He wants his findings or recommendations to be published while they are fresh to him and to his client.
That's our picture. We know the amount of his monthly pension and we know what we need to earn to cover the short fall. But first we had to get our budgeting process done.
So do you if you want control over where your $ goes. Most of the people I have talked with are reactionary spenders. They simply respond to every bill that comes in the mail (or email these days). They simply respond to every ad or product placement that convinces them they need something.
The first constructive thing someone who wants control or who is in big trouble financially needs to do is create a budget. To record numbers for items like groceries, rent/mortgage, utility bills, dry cleaning, vehicle maintenance, insurance bills, magazine subscriptions, debt reduction, etc.
Budgeting can be a painful experience but it can be rewarding. Start with a draft of categories of disbursements out of your checking account like rent, cable bill, daycare, etc. You will need room to add categories.
Now, record everything you spend $ on over one month. Either a look back to a previous month (you'll need details off your Visa or MasterCard statement for groceries, fuel, clothing, entertainment, medical) or track a month going forward.
This will be an eye opener but the next step will too. You probably use cash for many things during the month. Carry a small notebook and list every payout. Cash for soda pop, tollway coins, bread on the way home, kid next door for walking the dog, etc. Consolidate items under larger headings like home maintenance for the lawn care, groceries for the out of pocket foot items, travel or commute for the tollway charges.
The biggest work of budgeting is getting a handle on where your $ goes/can go. Even look back to your auto insurance bill. If you pay twice a year, divide that by 6 to get a monthly cost. If you pay the real estate tax bill twice a year, again, divide by 6 to get the monthly number.
Take your time. I challenge you to be as thorough as possible. After a month of tracking categories and costs, recap everything. Don't forget debt reduction - payments toward the credit card balance. You will have charged things on the card and you'll need those numbers per category but one monthly payout now is also debt reduction so count it in a separate category.
I'll get back to budgeting with you in the future. You'll need to time accumulate things.
'til later
That's our picture. We know the amount of his monthly pension and we know what we need to earn to cover the short fall. But first we had to get our budgeting process done.
So do you if you want control over where your $ goes. Most of the people I have talked with are reactionary spenders. They simply respond to every bill that comes in the mail (or email these days). They simply respond to every ad or product placement that convinces them they need something.
The first constructive thing someone who wants control or who is in big trouble financially needs to do is create a budget. To record numbers for items like groceries, rent/mortgage, utility bills, dry cleaning, vehicle maintenance, insurance bills, magazine subscriptions, debt reduction, etc.
Budgeting can be a painful experience but it can be rewarding. Start with a draft of categories of disbursements out of your checking account like rent, cable bill, daycare, etc. You will need room to add categories.
Now, record everything you spend $ on over one month. Either a look back to a previous month (you'll need details off your Visa or MasterCard statement for groceries, fuel, clothing, entertainment, medical) or track a month going forward.
This will be an eye opener but the next step will too. You probably use cash for many things during the month. Carry a small notebook and list every payout. Cash for soda pop, tollway coins, bread on the way home, kid next door for walking the dog, etc. Consolidate items under larger headings like home maintenance for the lawn care, groceries for the out of pocket foot items, travel or commute for the tollway charges.
The biggest work of budgeting is getting a handle on where your $ goes/can go. Even look back to your auto insurance bill. If you pay twice a year, divide that by 6 to get a monthly cost. If you pay the real estate tax bill twice a year, again, divide by 6 to get the monthly number.
Take your time. I challenge you to be as thorough as possible. After a month of tracking categories and costs, recap everything. Don't forget debt reduction - payments toward the credit card balance. You will have charged things on the card and you'll need those numbers per category but one monthly payout now is also debt reduction so count it in a separate category.
I'll get back to budgeting with you in the future. You'll need to time accumulate things.
'til later
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Sunday best
I plan to take Sundays off from my blog but that will not be written in stone. Bob and I are often traveling for his work and if the motels we stay in do not have wireless connections, I will not be able to send that day's blog to you.
Today is Sunday. We're dressed and I'm eating my breakfast bar. Coffee is brewing and we'll take a mug with us to church.
I am a Christian and we generally do not forsake gathering in community worship on Sundays. God lives with me in my daily life but we are called to community weekly.
You might be asking if the bargain side of her gives to her church. Does she give by a strict tithe or ten percent dictate. My answer would be yes and no. The ten percent figure is mostly found in the Old Testament when God dealt with his creation under the Law. Christ came to fulfill that law and allow us to worship in spirit and truth.
I have the freedom to give beyond the tithe to express what scriptures call offerings. Tithes and offerings are stated in the same phrase so they are different creatures. Tithe is expected and offering is a flow of loving response to God's presence in our lives.
This sounds like a sermon. It's what I have learned over my many years. True wealth and true power come when we have the freedom to give and give. After our tithe, which is roughly based on take home wages, we give offerings. That's our philosophy. We do not dictate that to others.
So our beginning budget always starts with 10% outgoing to church or other causes, 10% to ourselves in the form of saving. We live our budget based on 80%. These are, of course, of the leftover money after taxes are satisfied. We consider any tax refund as earned wages and subject to these divisions as well. In other words, not a free gift to splurge with or to pay down debt.
The coffee is ready and so am I. It looks like it frosted last night on the grass and windshields. The Bears play at noon.
'til later
Today is Sunday. We're dressed and I'm eating my breakfast bar. Coffee is brewing and we'll take a mug with us to church.
I am a Christian and we generally do not forsake gathering in community worship on Sundays. God lives with me in my daily life but we are called to community weekly.
You might be asking if the bargain side of her gives to her church. Does she give by a strict tithe or ten percent dictate. My answer would be yes and no. The ten percent figure is mostly found in the Old Testament when God dealt with his creation under the Law. Christ came to fulfill that law and allow us to worship in spirit and truth.
I have the freedom to give beyond the tithe to express what scriptures call offerings. Tithes and offerings are stated in the same phrase so they are different creatures. Tithe is expected and offering is a flow of loving response to God's presence in our lives.
This sounds like a sermon. It's what I have learned over my many years. True wealth and true power come when we have the freedom to give and give. After our tithe, which is roughly based on take home wages, we give offerings. That's our philosophy. We do not dictate that to others.
So our beginning budget always starts with 10% outgoing to church or other causes, 10% to ourselves in the form of saving. We live our budget based on 80%. These are, of course, of the leftover money after taxes are satisfied. We consider any tax refund as earned wages and subject to these divisions as well. In other words, not a free gift to splurge with or to pay down debt.
The coffee is ready and so am I. It looks like it frosted last night on the grass and windshields. The Bears play at noon.
'til later
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Costs of dying
My father passed away suddenly three weeks ago. I have 4 siblings and one is an accountant. The support has been great and The Blonde has just updated us on the correspondences she's already done in regards to Dad's accounts.
The days following October 6 are a blurr. The funeral home was very nice and the gentlemen were friendly and professional. They were helpful with questions about so many things including handling the many floral arrangements and plants that were delivered. They were understanding about our requests regarding Dad's jewelry, etc.
Dad had revisited their place a year or so after Mom's passing in 1998. He had chosen his coffin and vault. The home had records of the burial plots. He had been given a quote of about $9,000.
The other girls (I live 200 miles away) had met with the funeral home the afternoon of Dad's passing. They agreed on the choices Dad had made and made some small ones together. The three of them were a little surprised when the cost was actually $13,000 but then several years had passed.
They needed a deposit. The Blonde signs on Dad's trust checking account and paid $2,000 up front. She listed herself as the responsible party as she is also the Executor of the estate.
Dad's service and burial were on Wednesday. By Thursday The Blonde had fielded several calls from the funeral home administration staff. They had uncovered the fact that she's unemployed. No, her status had not changed since that Saturday but they needed the name and number of another family member who would be responsible for the $11,000 balance. The Blonde, a stay at home mother, gave them The Brother's name and number.
When RD was reached the next Monday, he read them the riot act. He asked about standard operating procedures. What is the only person left behind was a grieving 80-year old widow? Would they have demanded another responsible employed person to contact?
It still stands that the funeral home is waiting for their money. Dad's life insurance policy proceeds will arrive in the checking account just in the nick of time to be forwarded to those dealers of coffins, liners, and fancy stationary notes with Thomas Kinkade paintings.
The lesson: name an executor of your estate who has a good paying job not just one who has an education in accounting. If you find one, I could use some suggestions myself. I have The Blonde listed in my will as executor. She, in turn, has me as guardians of her children. Let the angel of death wait until we can both find better suitor!
Meanwhile, I'm thinking prepaying of the costs might be a saver. Dad would have saved about $4,000 over 8 or 9 years. That's about 5% savings per year or above what most CDs and passbooks would have come close to since 1999 or so. Which also says the funeral costs have risen about that same percent. Is that industry regulated?
'til later
The days following October 6 are a blurr. The funeral home was very nice and the gentlemen were friendly and professional. They were helpful with questions about so many things including handling the many floral arrangements and plants that were delivered. They were understanding about our requests regarding Dad's jewelry, etc.
Dad had revisited their place a year or so after Mom's passing in 1998. He had chosen his coffin and vault. The home had records of the burial plots. He had been given a quote of about $9,000.
The other girls (I live 200 miles away) had met with the funeral home the afternoon of Dad's passing. They agreed on the choices Dad had made and made some small ones together. The three of them were a little surprised when the cost was actually $13,000 but then several years had passed.
They needed a deposit. The Blonde signs on Dad's trust checking account and paid $2,000 up front. She listed herself as the responsible party as she is also the Executor of the estate.
Dad's service and burial were on Wednesday. By Thursday The Blonde had fielded several calls from the funeral home administration staff. They had uncovered the fact that she's unemployed. No, her status had not changed since that Saturday but they needed the name and number of another family member who would be responsible for the $11,000 balance. The Blonde, a stay at home mother, gave them The Brother's name and number.
When RD was reached the next Monday, he read them the riot act. He asked about standard operating procedures. What is the only person left behind was a grieving 80-year old widow? Would they have demanded another responsible employed person to contact?
It still stands that the funeral home is waiting for their money. Dad's life insurance policy proceeds will arrive in the checking account just in the nick of time to be forwarded to those dealers of coffins, liners, and fancy stationary notes with Thomas Kinkade paintings.
The lesson: name an executor of your estate who has a good paying job not just one who has an education in accounting. If you find one, I could use some suggestions myself. I have The Blonde listed in my will as executor. She, in turn, has me as guardians of her children. Let the angel of death wait until we can both find better suitor!
Meanwhile, I'm thinking prepaying of the costs might be a saver. Dad would have saved about $4,000 over 8 or 9 years. That's about 5% savings per year or above what most CDs and passbooks would have come close to since 1999 or so. Which also says the funeral costs have risen about that same percent. Is that industry regulated?
'til later
Friday, October 26, 2007
Is it a real Bargain?
I enjoy exploring discount lot-end stores such as Big Lots and General Dollar when we are on the road. This week I had a list of needs (I will explain needs v wants later). I passed on dishwasher soap not because of the price but because it was a brand just too generic for me. I picked up hair ties, room freshener refills, and light bulbs. My husband (D. Bob or Bob for short) asked what I gave for the bulbs. I said a 4-pack for $1.50. He claims he can find them at Jewel-Osco on sale for less than that. I had no idea they ran those kind of discounts.
So, is a bargain really a bargain just because I find it at Big Lots. Not always. What is the difference. Education and experience. If I had known to wait for the Jewel sale, I could have save on that purchase. My thing is education and experience. I have much to share and look forward to the opportunity.
I am just beginning this sharing format but I have shared my 50+ years of experience with family and friends over the years. Our daughter (and was she listening) lived through her own money experiences early on including having to repay an advance on her allowance with interest. We set up a payment plan, hung it near the phone in the kitchen, and attributed part of her payment to principal and part to interest. There are few trully free rides in this world.
Later on in life she learned another financial truth when she got her first credit card just before her senior year in high school. We arranged for a credit card with a small limit tied to her credit union account. Just a little rope - not enough to hang her.
She used it for a friend to buy a blouse that was on sale. Ally said she'd pay her back from her babysitting incoming the following week. One week became 2, 2 became 3, and soon a month had passed. Ally had all kinds of excuses. The friendship dwindled - probably for several reasons but at the root was this over hanging debt. The $12 lesson was one Marny hasn't forgotten.
Lending money is a two way street and it can certainly get between friends. We'll discuss what it can do to a family in the future.
Hope you enjoy this ride. I have much to say. Stay tuned for a mix of my daily/weekly money experiences and my life-long earned wisdom.
Until then,
So, is a bargain really a bargain just because I find it at Big Lots. Not always. What is the difference. Education and experience. If I had known to wait for the Jewel sale, I could have save on that purchase. My thing is education and experience. I have much to share and look forward to the opportunity.
I am just beginning this sharing format but I have shared my 50+ years of experience with family and friends over the years. Our daughter (and was she listening) lived through her own money experiences early on including having to repay an advance on her allowance with interest. We set up a payment plan, hung it near the phone in the kitchen, and attributed part of her payment to principal and part to interest. There are few trully free rides in this world.
Later on in life she learned another financial truth when she got her first credit card just before her senior year in high school. We arranged for a credit card with a small limit tied to her credit union account. Just a little rope - not enough to hang her.
She used it for a friend to buy a blouse that was on sale. Ally said she'd pay her back from her babysitting incoming the following week. One week became 2, 2 became 3, and soon a month had passed. Ally had all kinds of excuses. The friendship dwindled - probably for several reasons but at the root was this over hanging debt. The $12 lesson was one Marny hasn't forgotten.
Lending money is a two way street and it can certainly get between friends. We'll discuss what it can do to a family in the future.
Hope you enjoy this ride. I have much to say. Stay tuned for a mix of my daily/weekly money experiences and my life-long earned wisdom.
Until then,
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