Fabulous Financial Solutions

Usually, when I consider the amount of my electric bill, I am thinking about how much the air conditioning or heating is running up the bill. However, we’ve had a recent spate of really good weather for a couple of months now. My electric bill did go down, but not nearly enough. I started evaluating my home to determine what the problem could be.

I finally figured out that it must be the lights. Every fixture in my house has four light bulbs. I have four canister lights in every room. I have lights under the cabinets and lamps. There is outside lighting.

So we finally started turning off the lights in a serious way. We’ve switched to florescent bulbs in some rooms. This month, we’ll see if the bill goes down. I certainly hope so!

I have been hinting for some time now that I want some perfume for Christmas. And not just any kind of perfume, either! I like a brand that can be pretty pricey. Yet, I want cheap perfume. Just not cheap perfume, you know? If you must know, my perfume of choice is Dior J’adore. It just figures that I’d like Christian Dior perfume. I suppose I’m fortunate that I don’t like the make-up as well. My financial approach to situations like this one is to get my eyeshadow at the dollar store and get the perfumes that I really love.

At any rate, this is my Christmas to get greedy. I have a wish list going that I am all too happy to share with anybody who is interested and a few who aren’t. After all, isn’t one of the biggest bargains getting gifts from others? It is if the gifts are things that you want!

I know my son is hoping for an iPod. I’m really not sure why, since he uses mine more than I do. I don’t think this is going to be the year that Santa brings an iPod, although I would be just thrilled if he brought a Wii Fit game! Actually, while he’s at it, he could just go on and bring the whole entire system. There is no way that we are going to buy a Wii when the only game I am interested in on it is the Wii Fit. I wish there was some way to try one for a while and see if Wii Fit is something that I would actually stick with, instead of getting bored with it after a few days. Even though you can find a deal on a Wii, I still wouldn’t invest in one unless it’s going to get a lot of use.

Today, I lucked out and found an awesome estate sale across from the school that I teach at. During my break, I cruised on over there and found a wooden back massager for three dollars, and a gorgeous carved goard for fifty cents. The goard is very similar to one I have hanging up that my mom has admired for years. I think it will be lovely in her garden and definitely an improvement over the massage gift certificate that went unused last year.

The massager is being given to my brother. It looks absolutely new.

I also found bags of vintage greeting cards. I got about a hundred cards for five dollars. When I got back to school and went through them, I discovered that there were some homemade cards with some gorgeous photos on them. I definitely lucked out on today’s treasure hunt!

It’s pretty much a given that it is more expensive to live in a city than in a small town. Perhaps, though, you haven’t considered how many ways you can save money by moving to a small town. Other than Vail, that is.

You will find that housing is much less expensive. I bought a three bedroom house in a historic downtown neighborhood for 60K! This would be unheard of in a city.

Entertainment is usually free. In the town in which I live (population 30,000), we go to church functions, school functions, parades, free concerts in the park, parties, parties and parties. I’ve found that I don’t miss things like comedy clubs that much after all. I can always download a clip on the computer and get my fix that way.

Since you aren’t stuck in traffic, you don’t spend as much money on gas.

If you need to find your child a tutor, you can do so for about fifteen dollars. Since the cost of living is low, so is the cost of services. I’ve had my entire yard mowed and raked for thirty dollars.

These are just a few example of the ways that you can save money living in a small town. Just make sure you find a job before you move!

I’m familiar with the usual “painless” ways to save, such as having the money taken out of your check a la direct deposit. However, that takes the fun out of the whole thing–although it is probably the most effective way to save that there is! In addition to that method, here’s a couple of other to try:

Save every penny. Literally. Whenever I receive change, I throw it into the bottom of my purse. It stays there until I get around to asking my son to put it in the “kitty bank”. Every now and then, we trade in the coins for cash. The hundred dollar bills go straight back into the kitty, along with more change. This is our trip fund. I’ve found that my son especially enjoys saving this way. He’s even put part of his allowance in the kitty before!

Start a fund for a specific item that you want. In my case, it’s the down payment on a new car. Yes, a NEW car. I know better, but still. I set aside $100-$200 a month from my check for this goal. It is fun to see it in the bank, because then that gives me license (excuse the pun) to enjoy all of the online shopping that I am doing for my new car. It IS a good feeling to have money in the bank!

It’s a good thing (for stores) that I don’t shop the same way in them as I do online. The way I determine if I really want something or not is by putting it in the shopping cart. Then I revisit it the next day. Most stores will keep the items in the cart for 24 hours, so that is not a big deal. If I am still dying to have it the next day, I will give it more consideration.

Even better is Amazon’s wish list. I’ve been utilizing it for years. The other day, I was looking at it for the first time in forever, and realized that ninety percent of what was in it was junk I no longer wanted. Just imagining the money I would have spent if I had made all of those impulse purchases was a real eye-opener!

I’ve never thought turning off lights when I wasn’t using them was a big deal. Not compared to things like the air conditioner and the washer and dryer, at any rate. Apparently, though, lights ARE a big deal. I found this out when I decided that I was going to put a 100 watt bulb in the shed to deter theft and mildew.

My husband suggested that I look up how much it would cost on a yearly basis. To have that bulb on 24 hours a day, which was the plan, would have cost $300 for the year! I was stunned.

The living room, dining room and kitchen all have multiple canister lights with 60 watt bulbs. Believe me, I turn off the lights now! As for the shed, so far no mildew. Thank goodness.

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!