spending Archives — Page 2 of 4

Have a Holiday Spending Plan: Don’t Dread January

December 7, 2011 By MelissaB 19 Comments

Holiday shopping is in full swing now, and you may be feeling the financial pressure. Shane recently quit his job and is working on a tight holiday budget. My husband and I are in the midst of being gazelle intense, so we don’t have much extra money for gifts. Yet even though we don’t have much money to spend this holiday season, I feel great about what we are giving because we are not overspending. We can truly afford what we are giving. Instead of overspending, we are empowering ourselves by spending exactly what we are able to spend. Follow these tips to rein in your holiday purchases this season:

-Freeze the credit cards.

Literally. Put them in water and freeze them. Better yet, put them in peanut butter as we did. Vow not to use your credit cards this month. There is nothing worse than opening your credit card statement and staring at the large number you now owe. The presents have been opened, the holiday is over, but you still owe for the holidays. If, instead, you put the credit cards away, you have nothing to dread come January.

-Set a budget and fund it with cash.

Determine exactly how much you have to spend and withdraw that money from your bank account. Pay for every purchase with cash. Feel the pain as you part from the cash. Acknowledge what you are spending, and feel empowered that you are sticking to your budget.
If you want to shop online, get a debit card. Just avoid using credit cards.

-Shop the bargains

There will be plenty of deals to come this holiday season. Stay focused on the deals and only buy items you can get on sale. Take advantage of buy one get one free sales such as buy one toy of a certain brand, get the second toy from the same brand free.

-Buy sets

For children, especially young children, buy toys that come in sets such as a baby doll with a stroller and a high chair. Take those out of the package and break them into three different presents for the price you paid for the bundled gift.

-Look in unconventional locations

My children get presents from Santa and from me and my husband. Since they were little, the toys that get from us are often gently used. I shop garage sales throughout the summer and hide gifts away. This year my three year old will get a new in the box baby doll that I picked up at a garage sale for $3. My son will get a wooden box with five different games in it that I found at a garage sale for $5.

Obviously you may not have time to go to (or even find) garage sales now, but you can shop children’s resale stores for quality toys at a steep discount.

They say ‘tis better to give than to receive, and that is true more so when what you give is what you can afford. Why not enjoy watching your family open their presents this Christmas without worrying where the money will come to pay for everything in January. It is possible. Beating Broke and I are both proof of that.

photo credit: aussiegall

Have a No Spend Month This Fall to Save for Holiday Gifts

October 3, 2011 By MelissaB 10 Comments

Have you ever watched your family open up Christmas gifts while mentally calculating how much each gift cost and comparing that against the amount you have in your checking? Have you dreaded opening the bills in January because you know the credit card statement from holiday shopping will be coming soon and you do not have the money to pay the balance in full?
When my husband and I were newly married and dirt poor, we carefully planned our Christmas purchases to fit within our meager budget. We didn’t buy many gifts, but the ones we bought were well thought out. When we went to visit my mom over the holidays, she kept telling us about all of the presents she had bought for us. There were so many under the tree! Because we are the only people to buy gifts for my mom because my dad has passed, we started feeling guilty about the few presents we bought her. Noticing that her bathroom towels were worn, we went out Christmas Eve night and bought her an entire set of 6 new bath towels including hand towels and washcloths with money we did not have. Then we bought her some jewelry. We charged everything knowing we didn’t have the money to pay.

On Christmas morning, she delighted in her presents. When we opened ours, we were in for a surprise. She too had bought a few well thought out gifts for us. But all those extra gifts we found under the tree? They were leftover t-shirts from a conference some of the professors had hosted at the university where she works. She bought them for a $1 each. Each time I or my husband opened another one of those presents that contained a t-shirt, I felt sick. We had put ourselves in debt to try to make sure our presents were equal to hers, but she had stuck to her financial budget by giving us “filler” presents. There had been no need to buy those extra gifts on Christmas Eve. . .

We worked like crazy selling off things in our apartment such as textbooks we no longer used so that we could pay off those credit cards used to buy the extra gifts. On our meager salary, it took us until March. Thankfully, we have learned our lesson.

If you don’t want to spend the months after Christmas worrying how you will pay off the new debt you just acquired, consider having a no spend month now. We still have nearly three months until Christmas. Pick a month such as October or November to drastically reduce your spending.

If you normally spend $1000 a month on groceries, gas, entertainment, eating out, toiletries, etc., decide how much you want to cut that amount. Maybe you will decide that in October you will only spend $500 a month. To make up the difference, perhaps you won’t eat out or you will eat from the pantry to use up those groceries that have been on the shelf for awhile. Maybe you will do something for free as a family rather than catching the latest movie.

By reducing your spending for just 4 weeks, you will be able to come up with a good amount for your holiday gift giving. If you normally spend $1000, but only spend $500 of that in October, you now have $500 saved for holiday gift buying. Yes, you sacrifice now, but it will be well worth it when you know that every present under the tree has been paid for. Best of all, there is no reason to dread the bills in January. Isn’t that a great way to start the new year?

photo credit: kevin dooley

The Art of Being “Un-Frugal”

August 8, 2011 By FPT Guy 15 Comments

12 Ideas For Spending & Splurging Your Hard-Saved Money

That’s right. I said it. SPEND your money. Before you go getting all fru-guilty on me, hear me out.

We work so hard to save and spend our money wisely almost every day throughout the year – so don’t we deserve to treat ourselves really well, once in a while? Sometimes it’s time to celebrate our successes with being fiscally responsible and treating ourselves to a great emotional reward. I mean after all, this is life and you only get one shot, so how about a little spendy fun, at least once in a while?
Of course, this is only for the good girls and boys who have been saving hard and are already quite frugal. For people who are quickly paying their debt down or already have that illustrious excellent credit score rating. If you haven’t been frugal and been saving well, you can’t use this as an excuse to splurge and revel in your own financial gluttony.

Here’s a list of ideas for the angelic frugal-ers – for treating yourself for a day (or two, if you want to be really “bad”). I have to admit a bit of frugality slips in here and there on this list, it just couldn’t be helped. But be as frugal or as spendy as you want to be, you deserve it.

B&B Adventure – This one is obviously for couples, but don’t forget to keep the romance alive. A weekend bed & breakfast adventure might be all you need to refresh and re-inspire ourselves into everyday frugality. You could go by yourself if you’re single, but I just think that would be strange, unless you want to get romantic with yourself? Yikes.

Champagne Brunch – The classic way to celebrate any occassion with friends – mimosas, bellinis, bloody marys or just straight up champagne. If you don’t drink, then go for the non-alcoholic options, but I can’t claim to know those as well. Oh yeah don’t forget about tasty food, too. I love a nice eggs benedict for a fancy brunch. Choose a nice locally-owned place where you can remember the times and is more than just a franchise.

Latte Factor – This has been hammered on for years as a frugality-killer, but maybe for a few days in a row, you could treat yourself to some coffee binging for being a good frugal-er. Or even a week. Just don’t make it a habit again.

Fashionable Shopping Spree – OK, since we ARE frugal-ers – by spree I mean a pair of nice shoes, a pair of designer jeans or pants, or a fashionable shirt or you’ve been eyeing up. It’s ok to pay some good money for it, since you’re only buying one. I’m a Adidas Samba (shoes) freak so as a reward in the near future, I’ll be picking up some of those oh-so stylish sneakers.

Lounging Nights – Remember when you used to go out to a club or nice lounge with your sweetie or big crew of homies? Maybe you can’t remember, but if you did, a night with the party people could help you relive the party days a bit as a celebration. The next day you might be grateful those days are gone! This can obviously be combined with a fancy dinner, but if you want to frugal-it-up a notch, make a nice dinner at home. I just can’t help but to think frugally.

Surf or Turf? – Steak, seafood or both? A night out at a nice steakhouse or seafood restaurant. No – I’m not talking about Red Lobster or Outback Steakhouse. I’m mean a high end steakhouse or seafood restaurant. Reminding me of Peter Luger’s Steakhouse in New York City, yum. Go local!

Spa Day – Go for the all-out treatment if you can. Full body massages, facials, mani-pedis, Russian or Korean-style bathhouses, special shower treatments, hydrotherapy or whatever you fancy in a spa. Be adventurous and go for it. Oh yeah and this isn’t just for the ladies, guys can do it to nowadays. Heck, the Greeks did it long before we ever did, haven’t you seen “300” and how tough they look? Spas, fellas, spas.

Beer/Wine/Spirits Tasting – If you live in a state like Colorado as I do we have micro-breweries everywhere. So it’s a real treat to head down to a microbrewery and grab up a tour, or chill at the in-house pub or tap room, or go to several. I’ve got a friend in Brooklyn who recently went on a tour of a gin distillery, he loved it. If you live in or close enough to wine country, then it’s a no-brainer. Or plan a weekend trip to you favorite destination if you want to fly-in. If that’s too much, then get a party of friends together for a build your own tasting party at home.

Electronic Toy Time – Whether you want a new iPhone or Android Smart Phone, or perhaps a new MP3 Player, iPad or Tablet PC. Maybe that new flatscreen boob-tube is calling your name. Not limited to these devices, but whatever your geeky-side desires.

Outdoor Adventure – So much to do outdoors, so little time. By mountain, sea, land or sky? A simple camping trip can be a great getaway. If you’re the seafaring type then maybe deep sea fishing is your style, or a relaxing river or lake trip. Adventurous and thrill-seeking – why not fall from the sky for a couple minutes? With a parachute of course.

Concert/Sports Game – How long has it been since you’ve seen your favorite band or sports team? Whether you want to take family or friends, go cheer your favorite team or band on. I’m not a sports guy, but a musician and huge music fan, though I’m having a hard time justifying paying over $100 per ticket to see my favorite band Kings Of Leon this summer.

Dinner Party or BBQ – Make it Italian, Asian American or (insert ethnic food here) themed, or fuse them all together. You can turn this into a real shindig and go all-out, providing all the drink, food and fixings. OR…you can make it a potluck and provide some higher-end items. Frugality strikes again! Always combined with fun of course. I do love me some cole-slaw, cornbread and vinegar based BBQ dishes. Mmmm, mmm, Cletus!

EXTRA CREDIT: If you have a rewards credit card and having been using your card for all of your purchases, then perhaps you can use those rewards points to help pay for any of the ideas above. Of course, you are using your credit card the right way by paying it off every month in full and gathering all those tasty rewards points. As smart money people, we never will get in a situation where we damage our credit and have to work hard at a fixing bad credit score, right?

So that’s a wrap on how to splurge away those hard-saved dolares. I’m sure you’ll have more ideas or can expand on these, so feel free to share below. I know BB wants to see those comments and so do I!

photo credit: Velo Steve