Tightwad Tuesday

Hey! Look at me, I finally have something to add to Mary's weekly event! I lurk over at Tightwad Tuesday regularly, however, even though I am very cheap I don't often have anything original to offer. In fact, this idea may be a re-hashed one for frugal experts - but it is one that I have had to go back to using recently.

The price of milk has threatened on many occasions to bulge my budget and I really do not like powdered milk. Yes, I know the use of powdered milk is extolled by many a frugal housewife. It has been tried in my house and failed miserably. Lately, with the price of milk going up (yet again!), I have gone back to using a old method to skimp and save. Water.

No, not replace the milk with water. I buy 2% milk (in Canada in comes in bags, each bag holding 1 and 1/3 litres), then pour one bag into a 2 litre jug. The remainder of the jug is filled with water - i.e. giving me 2 litres of milk from 1 and 1/3 litres. The taste is similar, if not the same, as the 1% milk I usually buy. This is a method in which my family has not noticed any difference whether drinking the milk straight or in use for cooking and baking.

Just as a side note, the watered down milk also works with my kefir grains, too. If I could get my family to drink kefir alone - well, I won't hold my breath for that one!

More Tightwad Tuesday is over at Mary's site. Hopefully there will be other ideas that I can share in the future weeks.

More Money Than Brains

Okay, maybe that title is a bit harsh. However, I must say that because there are people in this world who are foolish with their money, I have benefited regularly. Obviously, yard sales are a great hobby for me - but stuff there still costs money. Today I'm talking about the free stuff. The perfectly good, barely used, over priced as new items that people just give away. I am talking about the re-use-it sheds at the local landfills.

In my area there are half a dozen landfills that utilize this practice of seperating items that can be used again from what is dropped off as garbage. Over the years I have acquired tv tables, bikes (kids and adults), a three piece glass mixing bowl set, a full children's china tea set, outdoor planters...the list could go on for awhile.

For those of you who are feeling squeamish about shopping at the dump, let me assure you that these items are in excellent shape, the workers from the landfill become aware of what will be taken away and what is truly garbage. For the most part, those individuals that fit the title of this post live in a materialistic manner - but don't appreciate the material that they acquire, and just throw it away! It never ceases to amaze me what people will throw away.

God has used these situations to bless our family repeatedly...proving, yet again, that He does own it all and will make sure it is used as He sees fit; even using the re-use-it sheds for the process.

I encourage all of you to check your local dumps - Happy hunting!

Credit Card Crusader

What's this? Talking about using credit cards as a frugal tip?

Yes, I say, yes! I have been on a crusade lately to use the banks the way they have used me for the majority of my life. For almost 6 months now, I have used my credit card for just about every purchase made. When I return home from that purchase, I take the first available minute to pay off the balance that was just created. This means there is always a zero balance on my card and I have racked up the 'bonus' points that the credit company promises for using their card - in my case it is points towards free groceries.

Now the point system is a bonus, but a very slow one. It takes alot of purchases to collect enough points to get even $20 of free groceries. True, any amount of free is good for me - but there is a more recent cheapskate habit I wanted to share today. It is another way I have trained myself to get "free money".

When I sit down at the computer to pay off my credit card purchases, I round up the amounts from each receipt. So, if there are 3 purchases at $5.25, $9.87 and $11.05, I pay a total of $6, $10 and $12 respectively on the credit card account. This habit has generally meant I have the credit card company owing me anywhere from $10 - $20 each month when I receive my statement.

Now, I know it isn't really "free money" - it's my money. But, with the nickel and dime savings I am forcing myself to make, it is always a nice surprise when the statement does arrive. Really...I don't miss that little bit of change each time I make a payment anyway.

The only warning tag to add is that it takes alot of self control and solid conviction to follow through with payments when using a credit card this way - even one missed payment can really throw off the budget! However, now that I have been doing it successfully for this long, I feel like a real grown up with my finances.

If I could just convince the credit card company that they should pay me interest on my overpayment...that would something to post about!

(You can find more tips on frugality by following the Biblical Womanhood link on side bar.)

The $10 Horse - A Frugal Heritage

It's very hard to teach an 8 year old about being cheap with her money. As I have mentioned before I have an addiction to yard sales and I have passed this passion on to my daughter, the Duck. She has money burning a hole in her pocket, but each Saturday morning we have lessons in wise money management.

This past Saturday had the ultimate test. A toy size horse, the size of a shetland pony so she could pretend to ride it. Now, the Duck already has one, but this horse had clydesdale qualities with longer, plusher hair and a fancy saddle. The reaction to seeing this horse was one that her future husband could only hope for - they saw each other from across the room (garage), they slowly came together, she reached out her hand and called out "oh, mommy, it's sooo soft!" I have to admit, I was tempted to just say 'yes, buy it' and allow the love affair to live on. Fortunately, my cheapskate voice spoke up first - "ask how much it is."

The young lady selling the horse was obviously older than the Duck, and had outgrown her infatuation with horses, but she figured she saw an easy sale. She wanted $10 - more than half of the Duck's current yard sale fund. She wasn't negotiating the price.

Instant devastation! The Duck loves horses, but she has learned, in an 8 year old understanding, the value of the money God provides to her. She walked away.

This was a proud moment for me as a mom. My little Duck was officially a tightwad! Oh the joy in seeing the fruition of soooo many discussions about money management!

And then God took it one step further. A family friend arrived at the same yard sale. This woman's twin daughters are two of the Duck's closest friends and they, too, are horse crazy. Our friend bought the horse for the twins. So, do you see the blessing of the Duck's frugal choice? She still has her money AND she can play with the horse anyway when she visits her friends. Our Father in Heaven truly does use all people and things to show His love and glory to His children!

Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Psalm 37:3&4

Just ask the Duck!

Frugal Failures (for Frugal Friday)

(this is where the Frugal Friday logo would be if I could figure out how to get it here!)

The 'frugal' word gets used alot these days, especially in the blogworld. I prefer the old-fashioned word - cheap. I am cheap; a real tightwad. My husband will attest to this fact. Although he is the money manager of our home, the cash he gives me bi-weekly for groceries is made to go a long way. The 'left-over' grocery money is deposited into a savings account as my special fund.

But to be cheap without standards is foolish. I am sure that all of us have lived through a bad buy. The times when we go cheap on an item only to have the phrase "you get what you pay for" bite us in the end. Just because an item is the lowest in price does not mean it is the best return on investment (R.O.I). My standards for R.O.I. are pretty clear, but recently I had an epiphany about it.

In my grocery shopping, I do consistently look at unit pricing. It has occurred to me that unit pricing does not always give me the best R.O.I. - this is my epiphany. If a chocolate bar is $0.65, but a bulk bag of 4 chocolate bars is $1.99, I would get more for my money buying the bulk bag. However, when it comes to junk food the R.O.I. of the bulk bag of chocolate will also include the fact that I will eat all 4 bars rather than just one. Not a good plan!

So, frugal is good; cheap is better; but R.O.I. is the only way to avoid frugal failures. How's that for wisdom of the ages?

See more Frugal Friday ideas by following the Biblical Womanhood link at side bar.

Yard Sale Update

The yard sale on Saturday was very successful! I managed to get rid of 80% of my junk and made a nice little wad of cash at the same time. The Duck sold some baked goods and some of her toys - walking off with a little over $15.

All in all, a nice way to spend a Saturday. However, I will enjoy getting back to being the buyer for next weekends sales! ;0)