Economical Momical

A Container Saved is, Well, a Container Saved

2009-03-01T20:57:00.001-08:00

There's something about an uncertain economy that gets us all a little crazy. Today's thought was "what if I run out of plastic containers for the kid's lunch box and can't afford to buy more?"

So, I've spent the day saving and washing containers I'd have normally thrown away. First, there was the small plastic sour cream container. Then, there was the cute container the junior serving of ice cream came in at the local dairy bar. A butter dish. Oh, and plastic peanut butter jars -- 2 of them.

The ice cream container is an experiment. I can't wait to see if it made it through the dishwasher without melting. The sour cream and butter containers will hold a little leftover sloppy joe meat or will be good for catching glitter when we do our craft projects. The empty peanut butter jars will be nice "bug" jars when we finally start having some warm, summer nights. In the south, it's big fun for the kids to catch lightning bugs in jars. I've never thought about using the plastic jars before.

I hope you all spent time going through the Sunday paper to clip coupons for the items you need. You know, it does no good to clip coupons for things you don't need. Find a friend to switch coupon sections with. It's a good way to get extra coupons for the items you need plus you're recycling by giving the friend the pages of coupons you won't use. It's a win-win situation!

Savings Tip #2: Healthier and Cheaper (and a Little Green)

2009-02-24T08:30:00.000-08:00

Today's savings idea is something that will make me healthier while also saving some change...with the added benefit of doing my own little part to be "green." Usually on the way to pick my daughter up from school, I stop for a Diet Coke and Sprite at the c-store. Today, we'll drink water instead. It's better for us sodium-wise plus cuts down on the sugar and sugar substitutes going into our systems. And since I'll be using cups from home, that's two less plastic bottles in our landfill. I know it's just 2, but that's about 40 per month or 480 per year. What if 10 people did the same thing? Now, THAT could make a difference. Oh, and there's a monetary savings, too. Two drinks cost $3.03. For five days, that's a savings of more than $15. For a month, $60 saved. For a year, $720 saved.

I've found a new website I like. It's called http://www.layzgreenpeople.com/. There are lots of ways to do small things to make a big difference. While the site concentrates on saving the environment, you can't help saving a little money too. Check it out!

Savings Tip #1: Save Money AND Beat the System

2009-02-23T08:33:00.000-08:00

I personally am offended that our federal government bailed out banks that own credit card companies with gazillions of dollars. Those banks didn't loan the money to get it back into the market like they were supposed to do. Instead, they bought other failing banks and credit card companies. On top of all that, they outsource their call centers for telemarketing and collections to foreign countries. I know we live in a global economy, but what kind of message am I as a tax payer supposed to get from that?

I hate credit cards. I think they're a necessary evil. However, when we started our business, we relied on them heavily. They helped buy inventory for our small shop and helped pay an electric and phone bill here and there, too. We all know that you can't ever expect to pay a credit card off by just making the minimum monthly payment. But right now, many people are lucky if they can send that payment. So, what to do?

Thank goodness so many cards allow you to pay online now. Here's what I'm going to do. For a credit card with a minimum monthly payment of $50, I'm going to pay $12.50 per week, making sure that fourth payment is made online before the due date for the entire payment.

This will knock down the interest that accrues daily. At $12.50 per week, it won't knock down much, but it will add up over a year's time. Maybe I'll even raise that to a lucky $13 per week. I get a little added satisfaction of knowing that someone, somewhere will have to do a little extra work to process my irratic yet timely payments while I save a few cents here and there. To me, it's worth the effort. I hope you'll join me.