It has been almost a month since Dear Hubby and I returned from our two week vacation. We stayed at our usual beach front resort in warmer climes and I feel emotionally rejuvenated and ready to make 2018 our most frugal, CALM year yet!
As part of my mounting frugality I have begun a "Money Stash" book.
In this book I track my "change stash", ie all quarters and dimes that I have saved. If I have either $1 in quarters or $1 in dimes I drop them into a large jar and log them in my book, calculating the running total each time. If I cannot make $1 in quarters or in dimes I put the coins in a cash box until I have enough to transfer to my jar. Any other coinage is dropped into Dear Hubby's 5 gallon coin jar. Our change is taken to the credit union, counted, and deposited frequently because it doesn't take many coins to weigh a whole lot!
I am also trying to stash "paper cash" for Dear Hubby's impending retirement. With the state of employment in the U.S., I fear he could be forced into retirement before his intended date and we are NOWHERE near ready! So, any cash I have left in my purse at the end of the month, dollar bills I receive as the result of a store transaction, and any "found money" (such as the $20 bill I found in the street while on vacation!) is placed in an envelope and logged into my book. When the envelope stash hits a point where I am uncomfortable with it hanging around the house, it is immediately (and I mean IMMEDIATELY) transferred to a bank account. I struggled too hard to have the fruits of my labor stolen in a home invasion! An MP3 player and about $10 in change for tolls was recently stolen from Dear Hubby's car...in our driveway! I fear our once peaceful and safe neighborhood is headed downhill.
I have also continued the purge of our home. After almost 29 years we have WAY too much "stuff" in here to live a calm, comfortable life. Certain things have "gotta go"! So I have been listing items on eBay to see if I can recoup at least a portion of the money we spent on the item. Money from any eBay sales is directly deposited into a Paypal account and logged in my book. Anything not sold after a few listings is immediately donated. For some reason sales have been down, but at least I can get a tax credit and someone else can benefit!
I am also trying to watch videos and do searches through MyPoints or Swagbucks. When I have enough points I redeem them for gift cards that I can use for practical living expenditures and gifts.
For years now I have made purchases through MyPoints to help build my point tally. Over the years I have experienced many occasions when MyPoints failed to issue earned points. In order to keep a tighter reign on this issue I have begun a small notebook where I list the name of the company and the date I made the purchase through MyPoints. It really is keeping my points going where they belong! I can question missing points and provide proof much more quickly and will not lose out due to waiting too long to submit the query. I have also begun purchasing through Ebates when the store is not MyPoints eligible or when I will get more "bang for my buck"with Ebates cash! I track these purchases, too, though I have yet to experience a loss of credit through Ebates.
In addition to our finances, I am trying REALLY hard to address the stress in my life. Stress is hard on any body, but especially on a body already compromised by various medical conditions. I have begun to faithfully use my essential oil diffuser and my salt lamp. When I began delving into oils, I set up a storage system to house these precious liquids. However, accessing them is far from convenient and sometimes I was just too tired or just too sore to make the effort. Bad me!!!
So, I pulled out a few of my favorite oils and placed them on a small table right next to my diffuser. However, the oil could do major damage to the surface!
Five minutes in front of my sewing machine and I had a cute little mat to hold a few bottles.
I truthfully haven't accomplished much in the way of sewing since we got back, but I feel like I have established a solid foundation to move forward with a frugal, creative, healthier new year.
What are your plans?
Toodles...
You have a good system set up. Doesn't it feel good to have a plan and to get organized?
ReplyDeleteMy plans are to get back to journaling and to practice my penmanship. I have found journaling on the computer is not the same thing as physically writing it down. I have two journals to work with. One for my thoughts, favorite quotes and such. The other is for Scripture copying to help me get into the word more and to get the word into my heart. I am getting a fountain pen for Christmas that I am excited about!
Two weeks on a beach sounds heavenly!!! =)
Amy, I think it is wonderful that you are beginning your journals. I purchased a new bible which also includes designs to color in and lines for notes (saw it on Elefantz). I have not been as diligent as I should be in reading the Word, but I hope to change that! It is hard to find quiet "alone" time with my 6yo grandson here. He is an early riser, which means I need to be an even "earlier riser". My goal for 2018 is to carve out at least an hour in the morning for me to sit with my bible while inhaling calming oils and then do a daily 10 minute meditation that I found online. By the time the kiddo comes downstairs I should be able to handle my day with less stress. Fingers crossed and prayers raised!
ReplyDeleteI usually put any and all change into jars at the end of two weeks. The paper money goes into an envelop to be used to buy Harvey's Christmas, Birthday and Father's Day gifts as well as fabric and yarn.
ReplyDeleteHarvey was kind of forced into retirement a bit before he really wanted to go, but things are working out very well and we did manage to save quite a bit before. Harvey says it is because of my thrifty, frugal ways we are doing much better than many others in our city.
God bless.
Jackie,
DeleteI know I have said before that I am determined, but the time has come to REALLY stick to it! Today we went grocery shopping at Aldi, something I haven't done in a few years. The difference in price was amazing! My next goal is to reduce the number of items and money spent at Aldi by making things from scratch. But, baby steps. If I try to go from eating out to everything from scratch all in one step I know I am going to fail. It has happened WAY too many times in the past. One change at a time until it is such a habit that I can't remember NOT doing it that way! Then another frugal reduction! Every time we think things can't get worse at his work, they do. I'm really worried about the amount of stress he is under and the damage it is causing to his health. Why do people have to be so rotten? It is one man causing all of the issues.