Money Matters

I just recently listened to a series of messages that Dr. Mazak did here at The WILDS on October 23-25, 2009. He used 3 out of his 5 messages to address finances for couples. I thought it was such an excellent series and I wish I could require everyone I know to listen to it--even if you are not married. The advice he gave was based on his study in Proverbs and it was extremely practical & easy to understand. Feel free to review his notes here and please, please consider ordering this series of messages from this link here.

If you need to save some money, you should use your freezer more often!!

That is one of my money saving tips. There are a lot more things that can be frozen than you might think. I love to freeze chopped onions, berries or fresh fruit, leftovers, cubed potatoes, casseroles, sandwiches, bread dough, and even cookie dough. In order to save space, anything moist or wet enough to stick together should be spread out on a cookie sheet that is lined with wax paper and slightly frozen before being dumped into a freezer bag. I'm sure freezing my own cookie dough doesn't add up to huge savings, but it is certainly one of my favorite things to do! I make a double batch of the following recipe, scoop it out with my ice cream scoop, freeze the cookies on the pan for about 2 hours, and then dump them into freezer bags. All you have to do is cook the balls of dough a little longer than normal. This gives me the assurance that I always have a dessert on hand for unexpected visitors or for occasions when I don't have time to make anything else. I hope you enjoy this recipe and these tips as much as my family has!


2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup butter or margarine (=1 stick + 2 2/3)
     *One friend uses only Land O Lakes margarine.
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla (or try almond instead)
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
     *One friend uses all bread flour & I use half bread flour with half all-purpose flour.
12 oz (or 2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix thoroughly shortening, butter/margarine, sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or just until outer edges start to turn brown. Cool before removing.

*Chocolate variation: substitute 1/2 cup cocoa for 1/2 cup flour
*If frozen: bake 2-4 minutes longer watching carefully

Don't miss your chance to get a FREE Olay Quench Body Lotion! Print your rebate form from here. You have to purchase the lotion by April 16th and mail in the rebate form by April 30th.

Frugal giving--sound like an oxymoron to you? This is one of my favorite advantages from our Budget! We have a category for "Benevolence Giving" that allows us to give above and beyond our tithe as we see fit. We've been able to give to people going on mission trips,  to traveling missionaries, and to many other people/projects without feeling financially strained to do so. Of course, if we want, we can give even more than we have budgeted in this category. Add this section to your budget and enjoy the blessing of care-free giving!

Completely Free Food!!

Take a minute to go to bargainbanana or beauty4moms and browse the list of restaurants that give you free food for your birthday. The ladies on these sites give you direct links to each restaurant or store and tell you what you will receive. I have received so many free things for my birthday that I couldn't even use them all!

After visiting these sites, let us know if they missed any other great birthday treats!

You are invited to The WILDS for our upcoming Ladies' Retreats on March 12-13 and April 16-17, 2010. I will be speaking on Managing Your Money in the Saturday afternoon workshop in the Fremont Chapel from 2:15-3:15 p.m. You can download a copy of the outline here or request the CD/mp3 from the workshop here. Hope to see you there!

Help us build a list of great money saving sites that highlight stores in your area. Be sure to give the name of your favorite website and the city/state in which you live. Here are two to get us started.

• Tracy; Armada, MI; http://www.macombmoneysavers.com/
• Holly; Schaumburg, IL; http://www.coupongeek.net/
• Christy; Deering, NH; http://www.wickedcooldeals.com/
• http://www.frugallivingandhavingfun.com/

Photos

• Consider using Shutterfly or Snapfish. Both have great quality prints. If you are a Costco member, you can get great quality prints as well. You can e-mail your pictures to Costco and pick them up in an hour. They are cheaper than Walmart and are a better product.
• Watch for specials from Walgreens as they offer occasional collage prints or 4x6 prints for free! Places like Southernsavers and MoneySavingMom will alert you to specials from all of these photo websites and more.

Scrapbooking

• Visit Photoshop and search “products.” If you look at “elements” you can download a free version and get ideas on how to create digital scrapbooks.
• Places like Costco, Sams, and Walmart will print a 12x12 page picture for $1.25 each. Depending on how much you typically spend on paper and embellishments, this could be a significant savings.
• There are a lot of free sites where you can find papers and digital creations. Try Digifree!

I created this Excel document after we were first married so I could easily track grocery prices until I had determined what the best average price was for each item we frequently bought. You can personalize the document by entering in the names of the groceries you buy most frequently and then printing it out for easy record keeping. I simply recorded the best price on each item every week from the various store circulars in our area.

I created a seperate list for other items that we frequently bought at Walmart. It helped me to determine whether or not another store was having a better sale or if I was really getting it cheaper at the drugstore with my coupons.

Once you've determined a good price for each of these items, whether grocery or toiletry, you should record them on this list created by Jenny at southernsavers. You can then carry this list with you as you shop thus being confident that you are getting a good deal. Follow this link to view Jenny's personal list of best prices.

Here are a few suggestions for online shopping.

• Search on e-bay, Craigslist, Freecycle, and Amazon to compare prices before making a purchase.
• Always try to use a cash-back site like shopathome.
• Use sites like retailmenot to find coupons or free shipping codes.
• Google things like, “Oil of Olay rebate” or “free shipping code for Toys R Us” and see what sites come up.
• Start using swagbucks by following the link on this blog. (It’s a search engine like Google.) *See note below about Bing.
• Use alice for a cheap way to have items delivered to your door.
• Try looking for your makeup online. I get my favorite Clinique lipstick for at least half the price from e-bay.
• If you are considering purchasing something from an unfamiliar site or company try Googling that product name with the word "scam." Don't ever purchase anything from Celebrity Smile!!! (Can you tell I learned a hard lesson?).
• Find out if your credit card or debit card provider offers a one-time-use number for online purchases.

For a more thorough list of ideas and suggestions, follow this link to MoneySavingMom. 


A friend of mine also wanted to share what she has learned about the Microsoft Search Engine--Bing. She said the following:

• An AMAZING thing we’ve discovered is that the Microsoft Search Engine is trying to get more people to use it over Google, so they’re basically paying people simply to search for products through them. So, if you do your e-bay search through the Microsoft Search Engine, they will subtract a certain percentage off of your final order. We got $160 off of our upcoming Disney vacation, just b/c we searched for it through the Microsoft browser!! The percentages change everyday, so watch it and try to buy your item when it gets high. We’ve seen it get as high as 14% off your entire purchase, but some days the discount will not be there at all. (It varies depending on how many people are using it). The average percentage off between 8-10%--but that can help tremendously!! I'm not sure how long it will last, but it can save you a lot of money!

I want to hear from you! Following my workshop on Managing Your Money, I desire that each attendee have an opportunity to share her thoughts with me and everyone else who views this blog. So tell us, how you save and manage your money.

1. DO AS MUCH OF THE LABOR YOURSELF
We did all of the labor ourselves and added hardwood floors, granite tile counter tops, cabinets, all new paint, bathroom fixtures, new windows, and knocked out walls—all for $13,000—using the equity we had when we sold our other house. We took an old rental house and did the work ourselves, shopping for real bargains. We recently had the house appraised for $75,000 more than we have invested in it. It took several months but was well worth it.

2. MAKE A BUDGET AND STICK TO IT
The first thing we did was shop for cabinets. We found reasonably priced cabinets, because we learned if you dress them up with nice hardware (on sale or on ebay) and put nice counter tops and back splash—then people do not notice that you could have spent $10,000 more on the fancier door style. (Remember, our perspective has changed since our last house---we decided that we could use the money for a better cause and we locked ourselves into only spending the $13,000 total on all of our remodeling.)

3. SHOP AROUND FOR THE BEST PRICES ON HIGH END ITEMS:
We bought granite tile and laid it ourselves. Our countertops (because we have a smaller kitchen) only cost us $150. Cheaper than the $500-600 formica we were going to purchase.

Since we have done our kitchen, seven of our friends have done the same thing. You can find the granite tiles at Lowes and Home Depot, and bargain-builder places. You have to wait for the exact kind you want sometimes, but it is worth it—for just $4 a foot versus $60-80 a foot for solid granite.

4. NEGOTIATE WITH THE MANAGERS OF THE STORES IN A KIND AND GENTLE WAY: (Pushiness gets you nowhere!)
We also went to a flooring place and talked to the representatives asking about any discontinued flooring. We didn’t care if the manufacturers weren’t going to make it any more, as long as we had enough to do our floors. We went with a pre-finished hardwood flooring because we were putting it in ourselves. We negotiated for a couple of days and found one place that had a lot of the second grade flooring and was being discontinued. (Meaning it had a few more knots/blemishes in the flooring).

We purchased the flooring and waited it’s arrival. They called us and said they made a mistake and the company didn’t have enough of the flooring, but since we had prepaid they were sending us the premium instead because it was their fault for the mistake.

5. BARTER FOR THINGS YOU CAN’T AFFORD
We bartered several things we couldn’t afford to do ourselves. I traded faux finishing a room for someone’s den for electrical work. And we bartered door installation for babysitting a two-year-old for a weekend.

ALSO- Bartering works great on other things you want your kids to do:

• Soccer- I became the secretary, treasurer, to pay for my kids playing
• Piano lessons- I became the secretary in trade for lessons.

6. SPLIT COSTS WITH A FRIEND WORKING ON THE SAME PROJECT
We had help with installation of our hardwood floors by finding a couple who wanted their floors done also. We split the cost of a case of nails, rented nail guns, and did both houses together.

We also split large quantities of supplies—like underlayment, tile glue, etc. because we were both working on the same projects.

7. BUY “ MISTINTS” or RETURNED PAINT
I had heard that Duron and Sherwin Williams (which has the same paint colors) had mistints or left over paint for $1-2 a can as opposed to the $30 a can.

I went during a span of three weeks to each of the Sherwin-Williams stores and opened every can of their mistints to see if any would work. We ended up painting everything in our house except for our kids rooms for $68, the price of two cans.

Keys: Have them shake the cans for you if you think you like the color. You can see if there is a problem with the paint right away. Also, the colors will look different if shaken.

If you like a certain color and are not specific on the exact color, then you can take a 5 gallon bucket and combine all of the colors that are close--as long as they are the same type of paint (eggshell, satin, etc.). A professional painter told me that is what they do when they are hired to paint spec houses. They take all  of the leftover paint and combine it.

I ended up with everything on my color swatch that I wanted and even made up my own color swatch by combining paints.

If you combine paint, then paint some on an index card so if you need more made they can match it with a computer. I had to do this in our dining room and it worked perfectly.

Hint: Pray before you shop!!! I prayed before entering each store that God would help us find what we needed and  we found five of the six colors I wanted—they had never been picked up by a decorator after he/she ordered them, so they were perfectly good. God gave us the paint we asked for!

8. CHECK OUT THE CLEARANCE AREAS:
This is how I found the cabinets for our bathrooms. They had three fixtures marked down to a ridiculous price. I bought them immediately. The manager told me they had them marked wrong and had to sell them that way, even though the sales associate had put the wrong price on them. We weren’t planning on redoing the bathroom but for that cheap we got new cabinets! January is a great time to get cheaper supplies because of inventory time. Stores are clearing out!

I found displays at Lowes for faucets for 80% off. The supply line had been cut since they were displays. I called the company to find out how to get a new part and they said they ship those parts for free. I explained it had been a store display and the customer service agent said it didn’t matter. It was something they did, no questions asked. So we ended up buying all of the displays, and I tried not to be as picky on the selection. So, we got a better deal.

9. BE WILLING TO WAIT IN ORDER TO GET A LOWER PRICE:
We had eighteen pine trees to remove from our home. We got a bid for their removal and set up a time to have it done. Then last year’s ice storm hit and one tree hit the house. We removed that one with help from friends and called the company who was supposed to come the next week. The company had to get all of the emergency trees done and said if we needed it done now the price would triple. If we could wait until all of the other jobs from the ice storm were finished—they would guarantee the price.

We waited and had it done this fall. It was worth the wait. We tried getting estimates from others and it was twice the amount the first company wanted. By waiting, we saved a lot of money.

10. NEVER PAY IN FULL UPFRONT AND GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING:
Some friends of mine learned this the hard way. Take the extra time to get everything in writing and work out a payment plan that will protect you.

*You can also check with your bank to see if they offer a debit card with similar rewards!
If you are not currently in debt and have no history of trouble with credit cards, it's time to pick one that will start paying you! I Googled a few sites that will help to narrow down some of your choices.

• DollarTimes
• CreditCardGuide
• BankAholic
• CardRatings

The following is an excerpt from DollarTimes with recommendations on reward cards:

Citi Rewards Cards: I personally have a Citi card that has a very good rewards program. Unfortunately, it's not available any more, but Citi still offers some decent cash back cards.

Other Recommend Cards:- from Jason Skinrood, of PlasticRewards

• Costco American Express: This card is quickly becoming very popular because of the large 3% gas rebate. Card features excellent customer service but you receive your rebate as a Costco gift card.
• Discover More Cards: The cards feature excellent customer service and earn up to 5% cash back. Rebates are tiered and Discover offers additional promotions throughout the year.
• Citi Forward Visa Card: Earn points that can be redeemed for cash back or other rewards on every purchase. Cardholders can also receive up to 2% APR reduction with responsible use.
• IBERIABANK Visa Gold Card: This card for people with excellent credit earns a straight 1% cash back on all qualifying purchases. No cash back limits or expiration dates.
• For REI Customers: The REI Visa card has also caught my eye. It has 1% cash back, and 5% cash back on REI purchases. But you have to be an REI member to qualify.
• Airline Rewards Cards: I have looked at dozens of offers for credit cards that reward you with airline mileage. None of them are good, mostly because of hefty annual fees. If you find a decent airline miles card, please let us know.

*A note from me: We’ve been very happy with our Chase Visa card which earns us a point for every dollar spent. We turn those points in for gift cards for gas, restaurants, retail stores, etc. My husband saved his birthday money and added several of these gift cards to put towards an IPod Touch from Best Buy. Sometimes he surprises me with cards to places like Kohl’s or Pier One as a special treat. Most often we use them towards restaurants so we can eat out guilt free—financially, that is. Most of the friends that I surveyed used Discover or Capitol One for great rewards, but one friend told me about USAirMastercard which earns them free flights and has no yearly fee.

If you are struggling financially, you must consider budgeting your money. You need to know where your money is going for a number of reasons.

1.Your money is on loan from the Lord and He expects you to be a careful steward of it.
2. You can't fix the leak if you don't know where the hole is!
3. It takes discipline to stay on track financially and this is the best place to start.
4. It is very important for a couple to be like-minded financially. Starting a budget will allow you to sit down and talk about it while you face the reality of your income on paper.
5. Budgeting allows you to plan ahead for things like Christmas, medical bills, car repairs, etc. You save monthly for the bigger bills that hit you at once.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Here are some great resources to get you started. Don't forget to check your local library as well!

Budgeting Ideas:

• Dave Ramsey Envelope System
• If you use envelopes, you’ll like this idea of “prettifying” them.
• Larry Burkett’s financial books from Amazon
• Google his name and you can find many more
• My favorite Budget Template (in Excel)
• This is the budget system that we use. My dear friends, the Tracys, let me use their template and adjust it to make it user friendly for you. I've included a lot of notes in various cells in order to help you understand how I use it myself. Have fun tweaking this template to fit your income and personal preferences!
• This Completed Budget has four months of spending recorded for you, in order to guide you through some of the questions that might arise as you use it yourself.
• Other free Microsoft Excel Budgets
• Free Excel Training
• Spending Plan Online Calculator
• Budget Planning--free demo and ideas (less than $10 purchase fee)
• Mvelopes--an internet budget that ties into your bank account for a small fee