Think Outside The Piggy Bank

reward points

Are they worth it? I'm thinking more about store reward programs than the reward points earned with credit cards. Let's take the Shoppers Drug Mart (Canada's largest pharmacy chain) Shoppers Optimum Reward program as an example. When you rack up 7,000 points, you can save $10 on your next purchase. Sounds great, but in reality that means (if you don't end up earning extra bonus points along the way) that you've spent $700 to get the measly ten bucks. If you make it to the highest level of 75,000 points, you get rewarded with $150. But of course you've spent (again, without extra bonus points thrown in to help) a whopping $7,500! Now, it's true that if you would have spent that amount in that particular store anyway, then the reward is kinda nice (although still paltry), but I think the reward system entices you to spend more than you normally would. At least, it did with me a number of years ago. When I found myself deliberately buying things I didn't necessarily need (yes me, the frugal one!) just to get more points more quickly, I stopped using the Shoppers Optimum card and am glad I did.

Ha! Here's someone with a different take. Kathryn uses the reward system to much greater advantage, so perhaps I need to rethink my strategy.

black friday and buy nothing day AGAIN

Good grief. I was going to add a pithy post about Black Friday/Buy Nothing when I decided that I had better check and see if I had written anything last year, and lo and behold I had even come up with the same post title! (Now changed a bit of course.) But there's no point in restating what I said about Black Friday a year ago, so if interested, have a gander at last year’s post. Alternatively, take a look at why one person feels we really SHOULD shop on Buy Nothing Day. And if you are absolutely determined to drop your dollars, why, then you might as well drop in on the box below. ;)

think inside the mouse

So I nearly killed my mouse the other day. No, not that kind of mouse (I'm vegan after all), but the mechanical one that you probably have your own hand on right now. It had been giving me trouble lately and I could barely get it to point to where I needed it to go. Even dragging was well, a drag, as it would only drag down and to one side. Finally I got so frustrated that in a fit of computer rage (yelling, "Bad, bad mouse!" -- as if that would really help) I slammed it several times on its pad (because you know, I couldn't throw it against the wall like I really wanted to do), when I remembered that I should probably just clean it. That, as you likely know, involves removing the ball inside and scraping the little bars with your fingernail of any dirt. Unfortunately that didn't do the trick, so I sadly pronounced the mouse dead and had my unofficial computer tech give me another one. But before attaching the new mouse I decided to open her up (note: vegans are officially opposed to opening up real mice, snort) and compared her to the old one. Sure enough I discovered that I'd overlooked the little white wheel and after cleaning that as well (a pesky job I admit), the old mouse glided across her pad like a graceful young figure skater and was as good as new.

The moral of this mouse tale? Computer mice get dirty on the inside real quick, and even though they're inexpensive to replace, a bit of elbow grease will get them squeaky-clean in no time and save you both a bit of money and a whole bunch of frustration to boot.

licorice and thrift stores

I'm not the only one who likes thrift store shopping! Donna Freedman (excellent personal finance writer by the way) explains why in this video.

And yesterday I picked up another bargain -- licorice spice tea! Now for those of you who just raised an eyebrow or two when you saw the word licorice, know that for most Dutch people licorice (called drop in Dutch) is not only an obsession, but also practically a sacred duty, snort. Don't believe me? Visit any Dutch store in North America and you'll probably find over 50 different kinds of the sweet and salty stuff. You can even get double salted licorice! Seriously. Oh, and for those of you who have never had the pleasure of tasting Dutch licorice, it's nothing like the licorice you're used to. REAL licorice (can you tell I'm addicted and am practically salivating as I type?) has licorice root powder or extract, whereas the North American stuff is usually just flour, molasses, and anise flavouring.

Now where was I? Ah, licorice spice tea. That, by the way, doesn't have a super strong licorice taste per se, but with licorice root, cinnamon bark, orange peel, ginger root, cardamom seed, and clove bud (doesn't that sound delicious?), it's flavourful and sweet. But for some strange reason licorice tea doesn't seem to sell well here, and I often have difficulty finding it. So I was mighty pleased to see it in a drugstore the other day, and although dismayed that it was being discontinued, was more than happy to take advantage of the discount price. Instead of having to pay $6.99 per box, I paid $1.99, so promptly scooped up the remaining four boxes. I saved $20, and as mom sagely pointed out to me, that means I can buy three of those for-$6-fill-the-bag-with-clothes next time. ;)

Now tell me you don't want to eat these right THIS second!

thrift store clothes shopping

We have an excellent thrift store here in town and every once in a while they have a fill-a-bag-with-clothes-for-$6 deal. I've taken advantage of this twice already, and boy, have I lucked out. The first time I got two pairs of jeans, a bathrobe, three long-sleeved tops and a T-shirt. Yesterday I picked up one pair of jeans, a beautiful dusty rose sweatshirt, a purple long-sleeved top that I'm wearing right now because I absolutely adore the colour, a T-shirt, and two dressy shirts. Not bad eh? Brought 'em home, popped them in the wash, and now they're officially mine.

And while I've seen others stuff their bags with even more clothes, I'm picky enough that I still try everything on, and still have to really like what I buy, because even averaging at about $1 per item, I'm frugal enough to not want to waste money on anything. A former friend of mine used to always say, "Oh, at that price I can't say no", which I disagree with because there's no point buying something only because it's cheap. Unless it's something you really need or want, you should ask yourself how much clutter you have already. My technique is to not go into the store too often, because too often too many things will demand that I become their new owner! Like the book, mug and trivet who now seem to feel right at home. Still, my total bill was $7.50, and if I say so myself, I look quite ravishing in purple. ;)

7 links to keep you busy

I promised you links to worthwhile sites a couple of posts ago, and they're up and running now. Just scroll down the left-hand column until you hit Smart Reading. Here you'll find tons of ideas covering creativity, productivity, personal development, happiness, organization, purpose, passion, growth, and ways to keep more of your dollars in your wallets. There are of course countless blogs devoted to any one (or all) of these topics, but if you're like me and easily get overwhelmed by the sheer number of sites you could potentially follow, then these select few are all you'll need to get started. Enjoy!

Monday's money question 6

In honour of Labour Day, let me ask you this: what is your favourite labour-saving device?

Not sure what mine is, but it's definitely not dishwashers. I've never had one, and I've never liked them, and given the fact that my parents use theirs as storage space, I can only conclude that they don't really like theirs either. Half the time I didn't even use the one at work when I looked after twenty residents at three meals and two snack-times, because I found it quicker and easier to do it by hand. Plus quieter. And it's a Zen thing for me I suspect, as I like the idea of only being responsible for getting a plate clean in the moment that I'm washing it. (Have to admit that I only wash and let everything air-dry. I also make a point of doing the dishes at least once a day before I go to bed, so that I wake up with a clean slate, um, counter.) Now I do understand that a busy family with working parents might really want and need their dishwasher, but one or two people?

That was my thought anyway as I saw a counter-top dishwasher in the Canadian Tire flyer this week. Obviously, being able to stand on a counter, it's really tiny, and of course that means you can only do a few dishes at a time. Which then begs the question; why not do them by hand? It would save not only time, but also hydro, and at $250, a fair bit of money. Well, folks, I was going to include a couple of money-saving tips gleaned from my house-cleaning days, but hey, I think I've laboured enough on a weekend when you're not even supposed to labour, so I'll leave it for now.

(pssst, but I'll give you a hint: avoid stainless steel!)

seeing red

Almost any man knows how to earn money, but not one in a million knows how to spend it. --HENRY DAVID THOREAU

Hmmm, not one in a million? I'm assuming that he meant spend wisely, although I could be wrong. And most of us are not taught how to manage money well at all, unless we've been fortunate enough to learn by example. But luckily, more schools are catching on that basic financial skills would be valuable to add to their curriculum, because it's certainly not an innate skill. 

Hey, remember that lamp I bought? Not sure what Thoreau would have thought of my spending in this particular case, but here it is:

The halogen bulb for the reading lamp part (it swings around the other way too) cost about $3.50, and I decided to leave the red floodlight bulb on top, because well, it's different, so for under $10, I got myself a floor lamp! Below you can see it turned on, but this was during the day. Try instead to picture a room with a burgundy carpet bathed in red light, and you might just get the idea! Hey, I wonder what it looks like from the outside?

hot, hot, hot!

   

Although I'm not really complaining because it's only THIS week that the heat and humidity has begun. The summer has been far harsher in other places, and given that September is only two weeks away (what a scary thought!), I'm certainly not going to bother installing the air conditioner now. I don't have to pay for hydro myself, but I imagine that people here in Ontario have saved themselves oodles of dollars the past couple of months by not having to run the air most of the time.

Now excuse me if you will while I soak my feet in cold water and um, take off a few things. :)

speaking of light...

Ha ha. Actually, I really AM in the dark most of the time. I abhor artificial light during the day, and even though I'll have a lamp on in the evening for certain tasks (like reading), I find that the cozy glow of the screen is all I need when I'm on the computer. Strange as I crave natural light most of the time (one can never have enough windows!) and get cranky without it, but seem to have little need to illuminate my place once the sun sets.