The Value of a Dollar

We've already started back-to-school shopping. I took Cooper and Phoebe last week. Yesterday Topher and Sophie had a turn. For the last two years we've set a budget, then let them decide how to spend it. I insist that they go through their clothes at home first and get rid of anything that doesn't fit anymore. They also have to make a list of the items they think they'll need, like a new backpack or additional shirts. Last year I took them out one-on-one to shop. This summer has been so packed with activities that we had to double up. I think it's interesting that both girls bought something, then decided they'd rather use that money elsewhere and asked to return the item. They're learning the power of making and sticking to a budget.

This is Sophie's favorite thing that she's picked out with this year's budget. It's really cute on her!

And don't worry. As soon as I finished taking this picture I went and stopped Topher from climbing up the side of the cart.

A Lesson in Scarcity

The kids had their first garage sale experience this weekend. Our neighbors across the street filled their driveway with wares, which meant the boys could see all the goods from their bedroom window. As soon as we got up on Saturday, Peter wanted to head out to buy stuff. Being the mean parents we are, we insisted that he do his chores first. He kept gazing out the window, looking to what was still available. Finally, after checking each child's bank account, we headed out.

Because Peter had been watching the sale he already knew what he wanted: a shiny red robot. It ended up being two robots, one with a remote control. Bryan looked it up online and discovered that they sell for $85; Peter paid $1. It isn't it new condition, but it's certainly worth the money he spent. And he thinks it's awesome.

Phoebe already had one item; I had picked up a Rapunzel tower the day before, also for $1, which made me think that was the going rate. She wanted to pick something out on her own though, so I walked around with her, trying to help her decide. What she really wanted was a Merida costume, but it was much too big for her and would have cleaned out all the money she had. We negotiated a bit and she ended up with a very fancy Tinkerbell costume for $5. The shoes light up, so naturally she's been wearing them almost non-stop since making the acquisition. After she bought the costume and took it home, she came back and had a hard time understanding why she couldn't take anything else home. 

Then we had Cooper. He picked up and debated and considered most of the items they offered. Some things were two big (like the air hockey table) and some had too many little parts. There were a few things he wanted that ended up being kind of broken; those were quickly moved to the free pile. Finally, after much deliberation, he bought a card game meant to be used on road trips. I told him I thought it was a good choice since he's got a 45-hour car ride coming up shortly. And he only paid, $0.25.

Based on our shopping experience at the garage sale and Powell's Books, I'd say Cooper is much more like Bryan in his purchasing habits (spends a lot of time making a choice, weighs all pros and cons), Peter is more like me (I decide what I want in advance, see if the price is good, then get it), and Phoebe likes pretty things.

The Story Behind the Story

Once upon a time there was an MBA student who was Minoring in International Business. The program required that he go on a school trip to another country. Because his second language was Portuguese, he and his wife decided that between the Europe trip and the China trip, Europe was a better fit.

This student went to the first information meeting for the trip and learned that spouses were invited to come. He liked the idea and called home to ask his wife to pray about going on the trip with him.

She laughed.

In her mind there were several roadblocks of practicality between her and Europe. One was money. They were unemployed students, how on earth would they fund the trip for one person, let alone two? Reasons two, three, and four were very cute little people who needed someone to take care of them. While the prospect of the trip was inviting, the reality of it felt out of reach.

But she said she would pray about it.

That night she knelt by her bed and laid out her train of thought. She had studied it out in her mind and had come to the conclusion that while it would be totally awesome, she didn't think it was a good idea. She waited for confirmation that yes, this was a crazy idea.

It didn't come.

No, the answer she got was that she should go. She wasn't given the how or the why, just that she needed to go with her MBA student on a ten-day trip to London and Paris.

The MBA student had already called his sweet, patient, and kind mother and asked if she would either fly out from her home to help his wife during his ten-day absence, or if she would take over the small-child duties so both husband and wife could go on the trip. She said yes.

Reasons two, three, and four were suddenly take care of.

The day after she had gotten the answer that she should go, the wife was talking on the phone to her grandma. During the course of the conversation, the wife told of the MBA student's upcoming trip and of the laughable and improbable idea that she should accompany him. The grandma listened, then inquired about the details of the trip. When? Where? How much? The wife answered the questions and the grandma agreed that the wife should go.

And then the grandma offered to pay for the wife's trip.

The wife was speechless. She thanked, and then promptly refused. That was too much. But the grandma persisted. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, she said. And she talked about how much the wife needed a break. The wife knew that was true.

She finally agreed.

Reason number one was erased from the list of roadblocks.

So it was the generosity of a mother-in-law and a grandmother that made this picture (and many more like it) possible.

I'm a Visual Learner

Every Little Bit Helps

I have a picture in my mind of the kind of person that uses coupons. She's in her late thirties and is wearing a jean jumper with a floral print cotton shirt. She has an envelope in her hand that is packed and overflowing with small slips of colorful paper. Her gaggle of children are clambering for her attention as she digs through her clutch of coupons and the people standing in line behind her are checking their watches and wishing they had picked a different line. Yes, I know that I'm falling prey to socioeconomic profiling, and I realize that this mental picture is not accurate, but it's still the stigma that clings to the concept of couponing.

In spite of this, Bryan and I have been seriously considering entering the wide world of coupons.

Now, we can't go coupon crazy. Peter's food allergies and our general desire to eat healthy food cuts out lots of the stuff that coupons cover. You know, TV dinners, meals where you just add water, anything by Hostess. No, we like fruits and vegetables and make lots of stuff from scratch.

That said, is it even worth it for us to invest the time and money in clipping coupons. We've agreed that we would need to subscribe to the Sunday paper in order to make this work. I don't want to shell out that money ($91 for 52 weeks) if I don't think we're going to save even more than what we've spent.

So here's my question to those of you with coupon experience (and anybody else that wants to respond): Is it worth the cost of the Sunday paper to save money on toiletries and whatever healthy food might be on sale? Or should we just look for deals online? Are their other coupon tricks we should be aware of? Do I really need to buy a jean jumper to make this work?

The Book

Friday is my shopping day. That makes me sound like a 1950's housewife. Let me explain.

Last year Bryan and I were analyzing some of our spending habits in an effort to trim around the edges. After reading articles about personal and family finance, we decided to implement a few things. One of these was shopping only one day a week. I realized that most of our incidental and unnecessary purchases came from trips where we meant to buy one thing. And so, Friday was chosen as the day to hand over our (okay, Bryan's) hard earned cash.

That means that Thursday is my shopping list day. I've become quite the peruser of the weekly grocery ads. I look at what's on sale, what we have in the pantry and the fridge, talk to Bryan, make a menu for the upcoming week and compile my list. My lists are thorough because I only buy the things on my list and I have a self-imposed rule that I can't add anything new to the list once I'm in the store. (Why can't I think of a different word for list? The writer in me is writhing from the sheer repitition of that word.) Now you're probably asking yourself why I'm going into such detail about how I make my shopping list. Well, the list is only half of the awesome frugal-wizardry.

I write my list in a small notebook. Once at the store I write down the price of everything I have on my list. Yup, I keep a price book. It makes my shopping trips longer (and I always take both boys with me when I shop, so speed is a top goal) but it's worth it. I've been keeping the book for six months now. I write down the overall price and the unit price (ie. ounce, pound, item). What's cool about it is I can tell how often we buy certain items (because I date all the shopping lists) and when a sale is a bargain or not. It's swell. I highly recommend it.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have some shopping to do.

Pinching Pennies, Clipping Coupons, See a Brand New World Unfurled

Bryan and I were cheap before it was cool. Actually, we lived it up a bit in college by going to movies and out to dinner. Sometimes I kick myself for all the money we could have saved, but then I'm reminded that we won't be able to do that again for a LONG TIME, so it was okay for a little while. Although, not going to movies might have had us into a house by now...

Anyway, frugal is now in. And Bryan and I do frugal very well. I bought a ham for $7 on Friday, cooked it on Saturday, and have eaten it for lunch and dinner everyday since. I would say that we have enough meat left to make two more distinct dishes. And I'm going to use the ham bone to make beans. That ham has gone a long way.

I know that I still have a lot to learn about pinching pennies, but I am much better than I used to be. And I know that I'm not the only one trying to save money. Target's new batch of commercials seem to have frugality in mind as well. They talk about the "new" way of doing things. The "new commute" is a bike. The "new trip to the salon" is a bottle of hair dye. Okay, I can get behind trying to help people in their quest to live within their means. But I don't think they've gone far enough. They call the "new home addition" six throw pillows. But the pillows are $20 each! At my house that would equate to $120 dollars in very small trampolines.

No, they need to appeal to the truly miserly. Instead of a new bike, show someone climbing onto a bus, reading the target ad. Instead of the bottle of hair dye, let us see someone in severe need of a root touch-up, buying a hat. And the new home addition? Curtains made out of plastic target grocery sacks. That would be really cheap.