I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…

Five Concrete Ways To Pay Yourself First

We’ve all heard the phrase “Pay yourself first”, but what does it really mean?  At its essence, paying yourself first is saving money for yourself before you give it to everyone else.  I use the term “give” loosely, I am not talking about specifically charitable giving or anything like that, more anything you spend money on, be it bills, shopping, or anything else.  It is a simple concept, pay yourself first, but one that a large amount of people do not follow.  Why?  Because it is easier to spend than save?  Because it is easier to pay those who are asking for your money than give it to yourself?  because it doesn’t seem like there is enough to go around?  Whatever the reason, here are five concrete ways you can start getting into the habit of paying yourself first.

1.  Set up an automatic paycheck deduction/savings deposit.  You don’t have to start at the top to do this.  Yes, we’ve heard you are supposed to save 10% of your salary but you don’t have to start there.  Set up an automatic deduction out of your paycheck to go into your savings account (or an automatic deposit out of your checking into your savings) for just $25 a month.  Just do it.  You’ll get used to having that money automatically saved for you, and you can build it up to a bigger amount later.

2.  Put one item back at the store, and deposit the savings.  Before you leave the store when shopping, go through your cart and put one item back.  Write down how much that item would have cost, and then when you get home, do an online transfer from your checking account to your savings account for that amount.

3.  Skip your habit once, and deposit the savings.  Do you have a habit that costs you money?  Be it smoking or coffee or eating out or books or anything else, I’m not asking you to give it up for good.  Just for one day.  Refrain from your daily (or weekly) habit one time, and then deposit the savings into your savings account.

4.  Sell one item, and deposit the profits.  If you are like most people, there is at least one item in your house that is underutilized and you could sell for something.  Use craigslist or e-bay or even a note on a bulletin board and sell one item.  Just one.  And deposit the profits made into your savings account.

5.  Make a phone call, record the savings. What services do you have, and what might you be able to pay less for?  From interest rates to insurance payments to calbe TV, look at all of your services, and identify where you might not be getting the best deal.  make a phone call - and when you reduce a payment, deposit the savings.

There’s a recurring theme here, and it is for a reason.  Deposit the savings.  Don’t just save hypothetical money through actions - actively *save* that money concretely somewhere.  And don’t stop with these ideas - this is just the springboard to get your toes wet.  The more you make paying yourself first a habit, the more likely you are to do it.  And the more likely you are to do it, the more times you will follow through and pay yourself first.  Even little payments to yourself can over time add up.  Keep that big picture in mind, and make a payment to yourself today.

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I Have Finally Achieved Coolness

As I wander grocery aisles, clutching my coupons and scouring the shelves for advertised (and unadvertised) deals, I have noticed something.  I’m not the only one.  And as I shop I see more and more coupons left on the shelves by other customers who were looking for a good deal, and I notice more and more people clutching their own handfuls of coupons.  I’m not an oddity.  I fit right in with the rest of the shoppers.

As I pull into the parking lot at our local Goodwill store, I find it harder and harder to find a parking space.  And the store itself is more crowded every time I visit.  The cars in the parking lot aren’t all old beaters, either.  There are some pretty nice cars parked next to my old Saturn.

It is becoming hip to be frugal.  Saving money on purchases isn’t just smart shopping, it is the new trend.  I hear conversations about coupons and sales in the most unlikely places.  The souring of the economy, whatever it means long term, has turned into a short term (at least more than passing interest in making dollars (and cents) go further.  As little as six months ago, when I would talk to my friends about deals I’d seen at CVS or Walgreens or the grocery store on everyday items, they’d act intrigued but bemoan the fact that it was too much work.  Now, those same people want me to teach them what I’ve learned so they can try it too.

I wonder how long it will take for just *saving money* to become cool.  Maybe by the time I start building up a cash hoard.   I have decided I am the new trendsetter.  (Okay, maybe not, but it is nice to feel cool for a change.  )

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Tell All Tuesday: Holiday Edition

Thank you all for the concern for my daughter after my last post.  She is doing better - I can’t say she is 100% yet, but she is definitely on the way there.  The swelling has disappeared, and now we’re just dealing with the rash and endless itching.  Hopefully that will start getting better soon and she’ll be back to normal.

It is almost Wednesday, but on top of all the craziness going on here already, our internet and cable went out last night and was out for most of today.  My son did have fun watching all the technicians in our yard and our neighbor’s yard for several hours figuring out the source of the problem, though.  Now it is fixed and I can get back into the swing of things, I hope.

The holiday today thwarted my plans to be all crazy.  I am thankful to our veterans and happy they have a holiday, I just forgot for a while that meant that banks were closed.  Although it would be better to wait until Friday when I and my spouse get paid, I decided that using my tutoring paycheck from last month (I get paid the 4th business day of the following month) combined with what I’ve saved to snowflake and our discretionary money (basically grocery and gas money) this week, I could just go ahead and pay off the car today.  I would just have to wait until the weekend to grocery shop when we got our paychecks, and be very careful about any random spending.  But then I remembered the bank was closed.  And I came to my senses.  I can wait until Friday.  I don’t need to tempt fate.   I was actually thinking about doing it because I can’t take my daughter inside anywhere but she is happy driving around in the car, so the bank drivethrough would be somewhere to go.  But I ended up waiting around here all day and dealing with the cable repair people, so it didn’t end up mattering.

I’m being impatient, and I know I shouldn’t be.  The last time I was really impatient, with the credit card payoff, my car died when I only had a little over $100 left to pay off.   And it ended up having to wait another month.  So patient I will be.  I will probably end up waiting until Monday to go pay off the car.   That way I can wait until our bank clears both our paychecks and not leave anything up to chance.

I wonder how impatient I’ll feel when I’m down to only the $11000 debt.  On the one hand - it is one debt!  But on the other hand, it feels enormous.  But if all goes according to plan, I think it will be the 8 month or less debt.

But when have things ever gone according to plan…

I am looking forward to life returning to some semblance of normal.  Hopefully sooner rather than later!

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Why We Have An Emergency Fund

Wednesday afternoon, my daughter developed a rash on the insides of her thighs.  I had put a new pair of pants on her that morning, and I thought maybe she’d had an allergic reaction to them.  We changed the pants, and the rash didn’t seem to get any worse.  Problem solved, I thought.

But the next morning, the rash was all over her lower body.  I called her pediatrician, and they suggested hydrocortisone cream.   But by Friday morning, the rash had spread even more, and she had a fever as well.  The pediatrician then decided it was a reaction to the MMR vaccination she’d had the week before, and said to treat the fever as needed and it would start to get better in the next day or two.

By yesterday morning, her hands, feet, and face started to swell up.  I rushed her to urgent care, and after they looked at her and then consulted by phone with our pediatrician’s partner, they sent us to see our pediatrician’s partner in his office, on a Sunday no less, and he diagnosed her with a systemic, whole-body allergic reaction.  He gave her steroids, and sent us home with a prescription for steroids for the next two days, plus instructions to dose her with antihistamines every six hours.

At many points Sunday morning and afternoon, I thought we were headed for the hospital.  We may still be.  She’s not out of the woods yet.  Hopefully by the time you read this, the steroids will be doing their work and she will be a lot better.  But this is exactly why we have an emergency fund.  Whatever happens, whatever copays we have to pay (we’ve paid for the urgent care copay and the steroid prescription, but who knows what a Sunday visit to a doctor costs), and whatever happens in the next few days, I didn’t have to think about money.  I could just focus on taking care of my child without the added worry of how we were going to pay for it.

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Freebie Alert: Free 8×10 Print at Walgreens

If you have a Walgreens near you, you can get one free 8×10 print today or tomorrow by ordering online and using the code FREEPIC at checkout. Choose in-store pickup to make it completely free!

I already ordered mine and will pick it up on the way to work. Lucky for me I drive by no less than 3 Walgreens on my normal to-work route. Hee hee.

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