Last week it was about helping with car repairs and helping with expenses for a funeral.
This week was about koala's.. A small donation to a friends fundraiser to help out with all the wildlife hurt by the fires in Australia.
I am not sure what next week might be about in my quest for small gestures.
I passed up contributing to the Girl Scouts via their cookie sale. I can't say that I will be great at sales resistance when they are out in front of Walmart or Publix.
Jenn and I were able to snag really pretty beachy lanterns from Kohls. By waiting for the sales, piling up the coupons, discounts and Kohl's bucks, we got the lanterns for $5 including free shipping. Original cost $60. I LOVE IT !!!! (Oh and it lights up too.)
I finally broke down and used my TD WOW points. These point accumulate as you get thank you's and WOW's from coworkers. I ordered a Belk gift card to get some makeup and some wireless ear buds. Didn't cost me a cent!!
This is my new game, see what I can save or buy saving the most money.
When I worked up my annual budget, it was a little unnerving. I can make the books balance but what I have left over once the bills are paid to cover the vet, gas and groceries is not a huge sum. I am NOT pleading poverty by any stretch of the imagination. I just need to be prudent in my decisions. Think about my purchases and make wise decisions and do some research to make sure I am getting the biggest bang for my buck.
I am now eating what I have in the house which means plenty of food. Instead of replacing what I use for meals right away, I am creating meals out of my pantry.
Since I have a mandatory dining expenditure each year, I divided it by 12 and am using it for meals on the weekends, it makes it easier than stressing at the end of the year because I still have a big balance left to use or lose. I have to lay out the money anyway so it makes sense to adjust my shopping budget to get the meals already prepped.
I am not and I repeat buying another book until I make a dent in the ones I already have. My bookshelf is loaded with books.
Instead of going to the movies, I can surely wait to rent a movie I really want to see. I just rented "Downton Abbey" over the holidays for $5 instead of going to see it in the movies where I am sure between ticket and popcorn would have cost $15.
I now have a very cool little cooler/fridge on my desk. It cost $20 and keep my water cold all day.I have a mini crock pot too in which I can heat up soup. This will save $$ on lunches and the boredom of always packing a sandwich.
It's also time to get the Birkenstocks resoled which is cheaper than buying new pairs.
I also went to pick up my inhalers today. Last year, I couldn't quite squeeze together enough $ for a 3 months supply which would have been about $750. I ended up buying them monthly for $250 but since I didn't buy them in 90 day supplies it didn't count against my deductible (I really need someone to explain that to me). I had heard that my company was looking to add more medications to their list to cost less. Since this is an inhaler I must use twice a day (two puffs in the morning and two at night) as it is a preventative med and not my emergency inhaler. I had enough money for the three month supply saved up. I was shocked when I was told the three months would only cost $187. It is still not cheap but I drove away feeling like I had saved almost $500.
These small steps are making me happy. They also make me feel in control of my finances.
In 2020, there will be no big vacations. I may do some small projects around the house but I will plan and make sure to not go overboard and break the bank.
Enjoying small donations, enjoying saving money and being grateful for what I have thats what 2020 is all about.
Hopefully, no more looking like this maybe? With some discipline and saying NO.
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