Pinching Pennies

During the month of October (and still today), we were pounded over the head by the media about the economy, living within our means, living on a budget, and the overall financial state of American families. Oprah regularly airs programs with Suze Orman discussing all sorts of financial issues. Suze helps families dig out of financial holes, educates them on how to live within their means, and just overall provides examples of everyday things that we should watch out for to make sure we are not wasting our money on unnecessary things.

I don't consider myself someone who has dug herself into any kind of hole. Chad certainly is conservative with his money and spending habits. This post is not intended to boast or brag about being in a good financial situation. Everyone, regardless of their financial means, has a responsibility to use their money wisely and prepare for the future. It is sad to see people with good jobs who make more money than me living paycheck to paycheck simply because of poor spending habits.

I'd like to share some new things that I've taken to heart about being frugal and pinching pennies. These are things that many people do, so if you think 'Big deal, Sadie, I've been doing this for years', then whatever...keep doing what you're doing. I just think there are a lot of people out there who won't do the easiest of things to save little bits of money.

• I've used coupons in the past, but now I'm trying to maximize my coupon usage and put the saved amount into savings. On my last trip to HEB I saved $7.50. Over the past couple of weeks I've saved close to $30. Coupons are in the paper. They're online. Use them.
• I'm not ordering iced tea (or other beverages) at restaurants as often...I order water. At about $2.oo a pop, I've been saving $4-10 a week. That amounts to $200-$520 a year just on iced tea. Ridiculous! Plus, we all know we shouldn't complain about our weight and order soft drinks.
• Another beverage issue - wine. I'm trying to limit the amount of wine I drink in restaurants. It is simply an expense that I can give up most of the time. Most of the wine in the casual restaurants we go day-to-day serve 'cheap' wine at an unreasonable price. I'd rather buy an entire bottle of a better quality wine for the price that I'd pay for two glasses at a restaurant and enjoy the wine at leisure at home. It is a better experience getting to hold the bottle, read the label, and share with Chad rather than getting an undersized wine glass and a mediocre drinking experience. On special occasions, I'll still have wine in a restaurant, but the regular choice of saving the restaurant wine money for bottles at home is a wiser choice for me.
• We've been watching more movies at home using our NetFlix subscription. While we will still enjoy an occasional movie in the theater, it just seems like a waste to spend $15-20 dollars on tickets (plus $20-30 for food and drinks at the Alamo Drafthouse if we go there), when we can get a whole month's worth of movies for $15.
• I save bars of soap from hotels that we visit and use them at home. There is the thought that taking the smaller bottled products from hotels is wasteful and not 'green' because of the waste of the packaging and such, but I figure the bar soap doesn't require as much packaging. I haven't bought a bar of soap in two years for my own use, and any liquid soap that we use has been purchased for Chad or was a gift. I've probably saved $10-$50 dollars if you consider the cost of replacing bar soap with liquid shower gel.
• I own a no annual fee AmEx card that pays up to 5% cash back per year on items that I charge. At the start of the year, before a certain amount of annual spending, it pays 0.5%-1% on charges. Once the annual spending hits the certain amount, I earn 1% on regular purchases and 5% on purchases in grocery stores, pharmacies, and gas stations. This card has no limit on the amount of money that it will pay you per year (my no annual fee MasterCard has a similar structure, but it has a limit per year of how much it will pay you and I've hit the limit in years past). At the end of this year, we're likely to get somewhere between $400 and $600 back as a credit on our account. I charge just about everything on this card and pay it off every month. I haven't paid AmEx anything in interest or fees since I've opened the account and last year enjoyed about $350 at the end of the year. That's free money, folks.

There are still things I'd rather pay full price or a higher price for. I'd rather pay a higher price for free-range/cruelty free eggs and meat for Chad. I'd rather pay a higher price for some organic foods. I'd rather pay a higher price for quality products versus a cheap version of something that will end up in a landfill when it breaks or becomes useless. Sometimes brand names really are better.

I don't shop at Wal-Mart or Target because I usually don't need the items that I buy there. There is just way too much temptation for wasteful spending at those stores. I tend to spend too much money on useless items just because they are priced low. It also takes way too much time to navigate the parking lot, the aisles, and the checkout lane. I feel like I'm wasting my life and money in there. Am I crazy for thinking that?

In the meantime, I'll keep doing what I can to pinch the pennies in areas where I am willing to give up a little. It makes me feel better about the occasions I do decide to spend our money on a brand name (or a vacation).

Do you have small things that you do to save money?