Free Money for your School

Did you know that you can link your Stop & Shop card to your school? I was just surfing their site looking for deals when I stumbled upon the program.

To learn more about this program and to register your card to your local school, click here!

If your school is not registered, make sure to contact your principal to make sure the school gets registered fom the 2010-2011 school year.

Harder than I thought

Just for the record, saving money is a job. I feel like every time I save a few bucks, something comes along and my efforts get trampled over. For example, I just had to drop $400 into my car. It is at 100k (well, just about there) and of course there is a list of what needs to be done to a vehicle after the owner has used and abused it for that long. I only did half the list, partially because I had some of it done not too long ago when other issues came up with my vehicle. So, next oil change I will have to go back in for another $400 adventure. I hope that this is the end of the major maintenance upkeep for a bit. I intend on driving this car until I am forced to get a new vehicle - let's just hope my plan works!

I also installed a new bay window and new slider door about a week ago. The old ones were very inefficient, not to mention an eyesore. Oh, and the back door didn't lock very well. I had planned on doing this for a few years, so it is great that it is finally done. Cost a pretty penny, but with the amount of heat/cool air we were losing I am sure it will be worth it. Plus the resale value just increased a few bucks on the house for doing that.

I am just finding it harder and harder to save money. I have an auto save plan of $600 a month, but like I said... something happens and I have to end up removing that money from my online accounts to pay for some "emergency".

Hopefully things turn around soon!

ALLY bank

Have you see commercials for Ally bank? It is an online bank, like ING. I have seen more Ally commercials popping up recently. Perhaps it is because they are trying to attract people to put their tax returns into an account. Or maybe they just want to get the word out that they have great rates.

Speaking of great rates, I do currently use an ING account as my $10k challenge account. I have had it for years - I think I was still living in VA when I opened it. ING has great rates compared to my local credit union. No, I can't get my money on the spot with ING, but I have not had a need to do that in the past 6 years or so. I think I am good on that front. ING does offer a checking account where you can have an ATM card, etc., I just don't use their services for that.

This morning I decided to check out what this Ally bank was all about. I went to their website and they have better rates than ING. Hmmmm... I dug deeper. Ally not only has better savings and CD rates than ING and my local bank, but also better checking account rates. In fact the rate is about double that of my local credit union. Ally also has no minimum balance required on their accounts.

So what did I do? I opened an Ally savings account and an Ally checking account. I will not use the checking account for bill pay and such yet, but the option is there if I choose to do so. I also get an ATM Debit card for free and I can use it at ANY ATM and they refund all ATM usage charges.

I hate to say this, but I think this might be a better situation than my local credit union. I might actually try to use the Ally account to it's full potential for a bit to see how it goes.

Check out ING and Ally to see if they can help you save more money!

So far... so... ok

Here is the status: $900 in the account! Well, after tomorrow there will be.

I have been such a good girl. Really haven't been going out as much for food, watching what I spend. I have done a few things for myself though. I got my hair cut and colored. My grays were just out of control and my hair was scraggly. I also purchased an area rug for the living room as the carpet was scraggly.

I have come to the realization that $10k is probably a long shot. But, I am going to see how close I can get.

Half way through April!

It is just over half way through April, month 1. So far not so good. I have managed to put $600 into my savings account so far, but that is going to be mostly going towards my property taxes. I have done a much better job at not eating out and not buying stuff that I don't need.

I have not been successful in pinching pennies and making sure that I have my coupon binder with me at all times. I have been able to get my grandmother to save me the coupons that she doesn't want.

My downfall is cooking good food. I am really into trying new foods, especially Indian. I have been buying different ingredients that I need to do the dish. I spent $30 on spices and flours today at the spice store. But, that amount is far less than I would have spent on the same spices at the grocery store. I got a whole bag of spices for $2 where a small bottle at the grocery store would have cost $6. Amazing! I have found me a new ingredient hot spot!

Update on the no TV thing: apparently we have more than just local channels. So, we are able to still watch our favorite shows and we are not paying an arm and a leg for channels we don't need or want.

I decided to not get the Honda replacement part for my side view mirror. I could not justify spending $26 on the mirror part and then another $95 on the install. AutoZone had a stick on mirror for $7. Problem solved. Mirrored plastic works pretty well. I can see when I am driving!

No more dish TV!

Today is the last day of fun TV. No more Food Network, TLC, Discovery or History channel. But that is OK. We signed up for Netflix. Of course this "required" me to purchase a Playstation 3 to play the Blu-Ray discs. It was a birthday present for my loving boyfriend who is going to be putting up with my budget for the next year. Good thing is that he loves the Netflix instant streaming concept. All of his favorite old school movies are available for instant viewing!

Dish style TV savings = about $60 a month
Land line phone required by Dish style TV service = about $15 a month
Netflix cost with Blu-Ray upgrade = $11 a month

Sooooo... net savings of about $64 a month!

Yes, I do realize that the Playstation 3 was a bit of an excessive purchase. I tried the plain Blu-Ray route, but my boyfriend was determined to go return it and use the money for the PS3 no matter what I said to try to convince him otherwise. So, a PS3 is what we now have.

On the plus side, the lack of TV options will prompt us to actually do more around the house, exercise, etc. I am excited. I am sure we will have some cravings for Discovery or History channel, but we will get through it!

Let the challenges begin!

Murphy's law, correct? You know what I am talking about. If something is going to go wrong, it will go wrong at the most inopportune time. Here is what has gone against my plan in the past week so far:

• My dog needed a new set of bowls or accessories to slow his eating. He has been eating so fast that he chokes on his food and it affects him all day. Cost = $34
• The driver's side view mirror on my vehicle fell off while I was driving down the highway on my way home from work last night. Not the whole thing, just the glass. I never knew how much a driver actually depends on that little mirror until I didn't have one anymore! Cost for a new mirror from Honda = $27 (self installed - hopefully I won't break it). If I want Honda to install it they charge a full hour of labor = $95. I went to AutoZone and got a stick on piece of mirror for $7. If that looks horrible I will spend the $27 on the Honda mirror and keep my fingers crossed that my boyfriend can install it with out breaking it.
• Gas costs are rising! I have spent $40 since April 1 in gasoline! Ahhh!

I must stay on track but it has been less than a week and I am already having issues keeping to my budget!

First Full Week is under way!

My official start date for the $10k budget started on April 1. It was a short 3 days and I really didn't spend much money at all. We had a variety of food in the fridge and freezer already so we didn't go grocery shopping last week. I did do a few lunches out last week, but it was well under my food budget limit.

I did go to get a few things at the grocery store. My shopping trip was just to go out to get some bread sticks or something for our inexpensive dinner - soup, salad, and bread sticks. My basket included 1 whole pineapple, 5 apple pears (yummy new adventure), and 4 tubes of Pillsbury bread products. I did my shopping at Stop & Shop on this day and I did save some cash. They had some of the Pillsbury products on sale for 2/$4. I purchased 4 tubes because I had coupons! Save $1 when you buy 2 tubes. The whole pineapple was also on sale for $2.99. Pineapple is a staple for us. So we always have one on the counter ready for chopping. The apple pears were on sale for $1 each. So, I got out of there for $13.99!

This week is going to be the true test of how I work this budget. I still have a vet bill to pay off - one of the cats had massive oral surgery in the fall and I did a 12 month no interest plan through CareCredit. I actually looked at the bill today and noticed that they charge a $2 a month service fee, but no interest. I had been paying more than the minimum because I can, but now that I know I will be paying an extra $24 over the 12 months when I really don't need to I will just pay it off this month.

I think I have decided that I will use my Discover card to make purchases and just pay off the purchases on a daily basis. Especially if the purchases are made at locations that are participating in the monthly 5% cash back program. Currently it is home improvement stores, department stores, and clothing stores. If you have a Discover account you should go to your personalized website and sign up for the free 5% cash back!

I am a little behind on getting my spreadsheet set up to track my successes and opportunities. This is my goal for the week. I have been keeping my receipts and will make sure to track every penny I spend!

A few hours to go!

Only 2.5 hours until the challenge starts! I am so nervous! What if I can't control my spending? What if I blow my budget? What if I am a complete failure at this?

I guess we won't know how I do until I start, right? I am ready... at least as ready as I can be.

1 week to go!

I am starting to get nervous about this endeavor. With just over a week to go, I still have not made final decisions on many aspects of this budget and spending habits. I still have tasks to get done to set myself up for success.

Here is where we stand so far as completed:

• budget finalized
• paid off all bills except 1 - completing this week
• purchased items for my "super saver binder"
• cleaned off the office desk
  
• canceled satellite TV service for end of billing cycle
• purchased Internet ready blu-ray disc player
• signed up for a free trial of Netflix

Here is what I still need to get done:

• set up filing system for ALL of my receipts
• set up tracking system in Excel to ensure I am following my budget
• set up "super saver binder"
• find my debit card and redo the PIN so I can use it
• cancel home phone service
• set up weekly/monthly meal planner
• reorganize my wallet/purse for optimal saving/spending habits
• make a final decision on how I will use my credit cards - this means researching the new terms and conditions regarding non use fees

Tonight I intend on knocking at least a few of these items off of my to-do list. I will try to post my budget on Friday!

The Budget

Who knew it was so hard to make a realistic, workable budget? I thought I could just sit down and do the math, but boy was I wrong. We discovered that it appears that we have not been equally dividing the bills (as far as I can tell). Doing the math, it looks like I can save around $8,000 if I stick to the budget. I had to cut out the TV provider, which allows me to also get rid of our house phone! We only had the house phone because it was required from the satellite TV provider. This is going to save right around $1000 a year!

We are going to keep every receipt to make sure we are spending money on what we need to and that we are dividing the expenses equally. Once we get the budget finalized I will post it so you can see what we are dealing with!

Just over a week to go until I need to get down to the nitty gritty!

Getting serious and getting to work

After work tomorrow I am sitting down to do the most difficult thing. I am going to make a budget. I have never actually sat down and tried to calculate an honest budget. This means I am going to have to actually see where all of my money goes and find ways to cut back.

I am a bit nervous though. What if I do the math and I can't accomplish this $10,000 in savings on my current income?

I guess tomorrow we will find out if this whole thing is going to be doable!

Another $10k?

I talked with my boyfriend some more today and he is interested in saving a hunk of money this year too. There is so much to do with this money that we will be saving that I have begun to make a mental list.

• repair the leaky foundation
  
• replace windows
• redo the ceilings upstairs
• replace flooring
• add a 1/2 bath downstairs
• redo/expand the deck
• replace the front stairway
• new furniture downstairs

Those are not in priority order except for maybe the first one.

I found myself looking at the circulars for the local grocery stores. The great thing about living where I do is that there are currently 3 grocery stores with in a half mile of each other just a few minutes down the street! Today I opted for Hannaford's because they had frozen veggies $.20 less than everyone else's advertised low price!

Tonight and tomorrow I will be starting to get organized. I am thinking about making a binder for this whole project. I can keep track of everything: shopping lists, coupons, loyalty cards, circulars... the whole nine yards!

Hmmm, no reaction.

When I got home from work late last night I decided to tell my boyfriend about my crazy idea to save $10,000 in 365 days. The reaction? Not much, which is kind of disappointing. It was pretty much an "ok". With some more questioning he said it was "a good idea".

I mentioned the preparing food schedule that I wanted to try and that didn't get much of a good reaction either. Why do I think this is going to be more of a challenge than it should be? We have an hour car ride today, each way, so I will try again.

Huge expense based on laziness

We eat out a lot. For one of us it is at least 2 meals a day - breakfast and lunch. Is Dunkin Donuts a publicly traded company? Perhaps I should get some stock in that company - we spend enough money there to own our own franchise. It is also not very weight loss friendly to eat out that much. So I figure if we do our shopping on Sundays we can make a meal plan for the week and maybe even get a head start on some cooking for the week.

Sounds easy, right? Not exactly. See, I recently gave up animal products. Meat, eggs, dairy, fish... if it comes from an animal I am going to do my best to avoid eating it. My boyfriend, on the other hand, is not exactly veggie friendly. He is very particular on what he eats and doesn't eat as far as the "main dish". He is great at trying new flavors and dishes, but they require meat. This translates into shopping for two different eating habits, a squabble during the planning, or one of us eating cereal 24/7.

The great thing about not eating meat is not only the health benefits and environmental impact, but the cost benefits. A bag of dry beans costs far less than a steak and you can get many servings out of just one bag. Plus if they are dry in a bag you don't have all that waste of a can and the chemical additives of BPA in the can.

Yes, chicken can be cheap and if you buy on sale and freeze you can really do some savings. In fact I have lots of chicken and fish in the freezer that we have to use still.

Since I have about 18 days to go until I really am starting this challenge I will take a look at prices at the grocery store and research the price differences in the stores in my area for my normal grocery list pick-ups and figure out the difference in some of these dishes.

Stay tuned to see what I find. I won't really have time to do some more shopping research until Monday- so I will post after that.

Am I crazy?

I want to save $10,000 in 365 days. I have things I want to do with the money, but first I must save it. Perhaps I am being over ambitious. Ten thousand dollars saved in a bank account is quite the under taking.

$10,000 / 365 days = $27.40 per day

That is $191.78 per week.

$833.33 per month.

How on earth am I going to do this? Here are some ideas that I have. Of course even if I don't make my goal of $10k, these ideas are going to help me save a chunk of change no matter what.

Priority #1: Credit Card use. I am a bit torn on this one. I am a big user of my Discover card. I don't use cash. Well, I rarely use cash. My Discover card has no annual fee - as of right now - and I get a minimum of 1% back on purchases. On some purchases I get 5% back. So, in the end it saves me a bit of money. The only problem is I tend to spend on stuff I don't NEED because I can - I have credit. There have been a few months when I have not been able to pay off my entire bill by the due date, which wipes out my 1-5% savings that I have accumulated by using the card in the first place.

So, what do I do? Do I continue to use my Discover card and just closely monitor my use, pay off each purchase as I make them (gotta love online bill pay), just use it for those 5% purchases? Do I not use it at all and just use my debit card?

Priority #2: Automatic savings plans. I have an online bank account with ING Direct. I like this type of account because it is out of sight. If I want to take money out of the account I must plan ahead because it takes about 3 business days to transfer the money into my regular bank account. I already do an auto deduct, but it is only a few hundred dollars a month. That money already goes towards paying my property taxes.

Revision to $10,000 in 365: I need to save $14,000 so that I can take out $4000 for property taxes.

Reality check: I probably can't save that much money in a year. $10,000 is a stretch but $14,000 is just crazy. That is 1/3 of my salary! But, just think of what our grandparents did. They had way more kids than families have today, on much smaller salaries and they still managed to save money for retirement and pay off their houses...

My goal is to start on April 1, 2010 and to go to March 31, 2011. Until then, I will continue to research and figure out how exactly I am going to pull this off.