Fabulous Financial Solutions

I know that everyone says not to have cable if you’re trying to save money. The thing is, why do people get it in the first place? I totally don’t get it. When I had my gym membership (another moneysucker), I would watch TV while on the treadmill and not enjoy it even though it was free. I vastly prefer having more choices.

What has worked for our family is having a Netflix membership. We get three at a time, which costs about fifteen bucks a month, which is nothing compared to the eighty that cable costs! Also, the library has movies that my son likes to watch. If he really enjoys something a lot, I might even buy a copy from half.com. We also watch clips on YouTube, CNN and multiple other places on the Internet where you can find things to watch that are better than television.

I especially like that my kiddo isn’t exposed to commercials. That makes not having cable a double-good way to save money!

I’m a huge fan of DIY. The remains of my various projects litter the entirety of the back porch. It’s fun to work on projects, and it’s a good way to bond with my son. The thing is, though, with few exceptions, I’m not sure I really save money doing it myself. Here’s why.

I tend to not finish things. However, unless I take the supplies that I bought back to the store, I’m out some bucks.

Sometimes I don’t even start things.

I don’t know how to do some things myself. Not every project works out. Like the jam-making project that turned into a gross lollypop-making experiment, thirty dollars later. At least it’s a good family memory. Sort of.

Even if the project works out, I may have only saved ten or twenty bucks by doing it. Considering that I can bring in $50 an hour tutoring, the time that I have spent going to the store for supplies, cursing my incompetence and ultimately completing the project may not have been worth it.

I get luxurious ideas when I DIY. Do I usually buy cashmere scarfs? No. Do I knit them? Yes. Nuf said.

If you’ve looked at the pages of a fashion magazine lately (hopefully one that you got at the library sale), you’ve noticed that women do not wear hose anymore. Well, perhaps in real life, but if you think about it, hose is an expense that no one needs to have. So here’s what you can do instead.

Get some self-tanner–I like Bain de Soleil for eight bucks–and slather it on. Self-tanner is cheaper than skin cancer. Your legs don’t have to be super-tan–you just want to get rid of the snow-woman look. A tube should last you at least a couple of months. Get some of those cheap stockings you slip inside your shoes so you don’t get blisters and you’re all set! No more runs!

Jeans are expensive, so it pays not to wear them out. One way to keep them nice is to wash them inside out and hang them up to dry. However, keeping the jeans nice is not my only motivation! I have a friend whose family has stopped using their dryer, and they are saving a ton of money on their electric bill.

I am not about to stop using my dryer though. I hate to iron, and I’ve found that when you hang clothes on the line, you have to iron everything, including sheets. Still, jeans take forever to dry, so why not ease up on the dryer for a load or two a week? You’d be doing your jeans a favor at the same time.

And washing your jeans gently (in cold of course!) is a HECK of a lot cheaper than dry cleaning them.