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A reader named Ellen emailed me about how she saves money by keeping items for later use.
I call it re-boxing versus re-gifting. Following every holiday season, I stow away any perfectly good boxes instead of sending them off to recycling. (I usually hide them from my hubby because he’ll want to throw them out–stat.)
My box stash comes in handy for next year’s gift load, not to mention other gift-giving occasions that arise. (During these times, when hubby is on the hunt for a box, I tap into my secret stash with that ‘I told you so’ look in my eye!)
I also save any festive bags that I may receive, knowing next year that I will reuse them, as well. Why spend money to buy boxes and bags when you can save the green by being green.
Ellen’s email got me thinking. Are there things around the house that I throw out or recycle that could save me money if I kept them? Could my empty wine bottles be turned into vases? Old comics used for wrapping presents? Food containers saved for leftovers?
Yes, yes, and yes. But just because something can be reused doesn’t mean you’re saving money by keeping it. What it really comes down to is how much it costs to hold onto something. I broke down the cost of saving something into five areas:
1. Space cost – do you have the room to hoard? Is it worth it to stuff your closets, garage or even rent space to hold everything?
2. Mental cost - do you have room in your brain to remember everything you’ve tucked away? I know I feel better about myself when I’m able to weed out unneeded possessions.
3. Organizational cost – do you want to spend the time organizing and keeping your stuff neat? Otherwise you’ll forget what you have and buy anew.
4. Partner cost – if saving stuff drives your partner/roomate/spouse crazy, is this a battle worth fighting? Or do you want to hide stuff, like Ellen does?
5. Replacement cost – how many dollars does the item cost new?
For me, the most important costs are No. 3 and No. 5. I’m fairly organized and I have a decent amount of storage space, so I often hoard smaller, high-value items like toiletries and clothes. I try to buy ahead of need (hence my $8.48 purchase of a sports bra at Target last week) because when I eventually need it, most of the time I will be able to find it in my closet. What about you?
Melissa pointed out an important part of coupon clipping that often gets recycled with the Sunday inserts. Buying items for free or cheap, even if you don’t need them, is a good idea because you can donate them to charity.
I am a 2nd generation extreme couponer teaching my kids to do the same.
Let’s remember that stretching our dollars can be used to maximize our giving to those in need. I try to spend an average of $2 per week on food or toiletries. With coupons & sales, I can sometimes fill up a bag. Even if all you can afford is one extra item per shopping trip, it still helps.
For more about how demand on pantries is growing while supplies are declining, see http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/28/local/me-valecon28.
To find out the most needed donations see http://www.jfsla.org/sova/DonateProducts.php
Donating to a food pantry is a great way to help our your neighbors and feel good about yourself! And if you are unable to donate to charity this holiday season, consider contributing to a food pantry instead!
For your vicarious bargain hunting pleasure – two recent “gloats” from readers who scored some major deals!
For the past year, I have been planning on buying a new TV for my bedroom (the old one took 7 minutes to show a picture). I planned on getting a 32″ LCD 720p (my receiver is standard def anyway) and I was not going to spend more than $300.
I found a website called Liquidation.com that has auctions of various types of items. Some of the auctions are for multiple items. I began to track the auctions and see what what TVs were going for. I found an auction that had 4 Vizio TVs (32 inch, 26 inch, 22 inch, and 19 inch). I placed a bid of $480 and won. After sales tax and something called a buyers premium I spent $549 on the 4 TVs. I put the 32 inch TV in my room (looks and works great), and sold the other 3 TVs ($200 for the 26″ $150 for the 22″ $100 for 19″) for $475. So, for about $75, I got my 32″ TV.
The description of the TVs on the auction site said they had good screens and some mine frame damage. After getting them, I was unable to find any damage to any of the TVs (although the 22″ was missing the remote).
Sorry about rambling. Keep up the good work. I visit your site daily and love seeing what you find.
Then there’s the story about losing a cell phone:
Dear Bargain Babe, My husband just lost his iPhone on a ride at Disneyland. Any ideas on how to get a new one at a discount price?
I replied:
That’s awfully tough because they are so in demand. Definitely check eBay and if you can, wait until closer to the holidays. It’s likely there will be a new product – which means later models will probably see a price drop. Good luck!
She updated me:
We just got back from the AT&T store. A great thing we learned, if you already had an iPhone and lost it, they will give you the new 3G worth $500 for only $99! But you have to pay tax on $500. Still a HUGH savings, we were pleasantly surprised :O)
What’s the best deal you’ve scored? Send me your story.
Irene’s comment about the waitress debacle really struck me:
If you compromise your integrity because of peer pressure, you’re on a slippery slope. Your blog and your readers depend on your honesty, so get back on track by admitting the error, returning the money to the owner, and being scrupulously honest in the future.
Her point is that my actions extend beyond merely misbehaving in a social setting. My actions set an unprofessional precedent for BargainBabe, which absolutely requires total honesty.
I publicly confessed that I gave into peer pressure when my friends dismissed my suggestion to let the waitress know she undercharged us by $11 for two beers. But that admission – and the flogging that followed – is not enough. I must make right the wrong.
I’m heading by the BBQ joint on Saturday and intend to hand over $15 (which accounts for tax, tip and interest!) to the waitress or the manager. How does humble pie taste? I’m going to find out.
Related:
A better credit system up north? (comment of the week)
The value of art (comment of the week)
Ads suck? (comment of the week)
Reader Tamara shared her Canadian perspective about debit cards. Instead of credit card companies issuing them, banks do!
All this debit stuff in the US is so foreign to me. I was in Chicago recently and most places we went said “we take debit,” but really that means, “we take credit cards, but it’s okay if they are hooked up to your bank account and are kind of like debit.”
In Canada NO ONE carries cash because we all have actual debit cards that are issued by our banks and the money comes right out of our bank accounts. They are not VISA, or MC debit cards, they are *just* bank debit cards. And there is little to no fee to use them, and if there isn’t money in your account, and you haven’t previously set up an overdraft, your transaction is declined and your purchase doesn’t go through.
Also, debit cards are accepted EVERYWHERE from major retailers to 7-11 to the dollar store.
Who wants to move to Canada with me?
Linda LaStella, a full-time clay artist based in New Jersey, responded to my post about art being an un-savvy investment with this comment. The second paragraph is especially telling.
First, thanks so much for beginning this conversation! As a full-time artist, this is an issue dealt with daily. American society has a very hard time appreciating visual art. In popular media… film, TV…the visual arts are very often demeaned. I believe it is because the visual arts do speak to our spiritual nature, and so call for a degree of quiet and contemplation to appreciate…certainly a perfect element for a true home.
I believe “the investment” you are making when purchasing visual art is in YOURSELF…”priceless,” as the familiar ad goes…will your spirit be renewed daily by living with that object? Does it really resonate with your own interior beauty? Spirit of playfulness? Depth? Will its positive energy enhance every gathering of family & friends you have in that space? That, I believe, is what your are paying for when your purchase a piece of art.
I am reconsidering my opinion after reading so many comments about the virtues of art. Perhaps I should create an “art” budget so buying original creations seems like less of an idol splurge. Do you budget for art? How do you afford it?
UPDATE: Had highlight this comment by reader Tessie, who agrees with me that art is not a good investment, but says I should have bought the pastel anyway.
Unless you are very knowledgeable or extremely lucky, art is not likely to be a good investment. But with this piece of art, you missed the point. It is a watercolor of a place where you have hiked with your mother and sisters and that has an emotional connection to you. Once you lose your mother and end up far away from your sisters, the landscape would bring you good memories time and again. Some day you will regret not having bought it. Some things should not be thought of as investments, but rather as memories.
You may have noticed a few more ads, in the form of sponsored posts, have been appearing on BargainBabe.com. I know reader Brandon saw it because he left this comment.
Yep, I am officially done with your blog.
I guess I should call him an ex-reader.
I don’t see anything wrong with ads – as long as they are marked as paid content. I know many bloggers don’t mark paid content or paid product reviews, but I do. This kind of transparency is important to me as a journalist and blogger. The Ethics policy on my About page says
I do not accept money from any business or manufacturer to blog about their product on BargainBabe.com. If I write about a restaurant, retailer, Web site or product it is because I believe there is a good deal to be had. I sell sponsored posts and advertising on the site and participate in referral programs, however, because I gotta pay my bills. Paid content is always identified.
I haven’t done much with referral programs, but that is about to change. I’ve recently joined two referral programs. Basically, the way it works is that they send me special deals. I post the best ones and if you click through and buy something, you are supporting the blog. (I get a teeny tiny percentage of the sale, like a finder’s fee.)
Publishing ads and participating in referral programs enables me to continue sharing good deals with you, so I hope you’ll take a look at them and click on them if they appeal to you!
Reader Frugalgrad touched on a fundamental frugal dilemma in a comment about my coupon train paying off this week.
Coupons train, this is a new idea. But I would think this concept only works if you have a circle of friends who are into saving. Coupons are worth only a tiny amount so I’m not sure as if that’s even worth it at all. I have tons of coupons coming in every sunday but it’s never for something that I need. Well something works for others but not for me then.
Did you notice the third sentence? Frugalgrad is asking if coupon clipping is worth the time.
The answer comes down to how you value your time. Some consider their hourly rate at work. If you earn $20 an hour but can only clip $5 worth of coupons in one hour, clipping is a waste of time. If it only takes you 15 minutes, you break even. If you do it in 5 minutes you come out ahead.
Others think about what else they could be doing with that time. Clipping coupons may shave a lot off your grocery bill, but if sucks up all your family time…
The reason I think coupon clipping is worth my time is that I get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing how much I can reduce my grocery bill. I love earning money by doing almost nothing. When I combine coupon clipping with buying items on sale, I feel good about myself.
Is coupon clipping a waste of your time?
This week’s reader comment of the week comes from Jake, who was rather ticked off that I gushed about Hubby’s nearly free exchange of a broken Roomba vacuum cleaner for a brand spanking new one at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Jake’s take on Hubby’s actions:
This seems criminal to me. This isn’t far off from shoplifting. And it certainly is lying and cheating. This isn’t anything to be proud of in my opinion.
What is interesting is that the disagreement – was Hubby in the right or wrong to exchange the Roomba – comes down to interpreting the store’s return policy. Bed, Bath and Beyond has one of the most open-ended return policies I’ve ever seen. From their site:
Merchandise returns get you down? Not at Bed Bath & Beyond; we make it free and easy! You may return a purchase for a refund, merchandise credit, or exchange to any of our stores nationwide or to our returns processing center.
There is only one mention of needing a reason to return an item in the BB&B return policy. The store is bending over backwards to please shoppers. In other words, BB&B is a retail pushover. Again, from their site:
Please remember to bring the original packing invoice and the credit card used for purchase. Without the original packing invoice and your credit card, you may receive an exchange or merchandise credit.
This leeway means customers have a LOT of discretion in how to interpret the store’s return policy. Hubby interprets the policy to be that if he is not satisfied with a purchase he can return it. Jake has a more limited interpretation, though he did not specify his exact parameters.
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Commenter SpendLessTV left this great cooking tip last week on BargainBabe.com.
Another tip for preserving herbs: take an ice cube tray, chop basil and freeze in broth. When making your next sauce or soup drop in an “ice basil/broth cube”! Can do this with any herb!
I think I’m going to use this to harvest my recession garden!
Tammy’s simple and practical system for organizing and remembering her grocery coupons is this week’s reader comment of the week. I’m going to use her system, and if you have a hard time remembering to bring your coupons to the store, you should try it too!
I pulled out my calculator after reading comment left by a reader named Bobbi, who writes a frugal living blog called Bobbi’s Bargains.
She wrote this after I divulged I had broken my moratorium for a third time to pay an embarrassing $3.50 library fine with a credit card.
If you are going to break your moratorium, it might as well be for one of the best bargains in America – the public library system.
Recently, I did a little bit of math and realized that I had saved at least a QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS by using the public library system. And that is a conservative number.
So, really, you will be saving way more money than you just spent if you take advantage of this wonderful resource that we have at our fingertips (literally)… http://www.lapl.org (website for Los Angeles Public Library)
I was skeptical so I asked Bobbi to show me her math and she followed up with:
I figured that I have taken out an average of 20 books a week at an average cost of $15 a book for 17 years. That comes out to $265,200.00.
It’s true! 20 (books a week) x 15 (ave. cost of book) x 52 (weeks in a year) x 17 (years)- 256,200. I asked Bobbi how she possibly read 20 books in a week. Turns out she home schools her kids. Some weeks she had more than 100 books at home.
Aha! Now this makes sense. I’m going to talk to Bobbi more about the finances behind home schooling so stay tuned.
Incidentally, Bobbi is running a free swap meet at the Frugal Fe$tival this Sunday, July 26 from 1-4 p.m at Woodley Park in Van Nuys. Interested in giving away stuff? Read the guidelines here.
This week’s reader comment of the week shocked me. When I first read reader Julie’s response to the guest post, 17 tips to keep it cheap in Vegas, I didn’t understand why she was so upset over a total stranger taking tissues and toilet paper from a hotel room. The author of the guest post, a longtime reader and Vegas-aficionado, recommended others take home these items at the end of a hotel stay as a way of saving money. Julie’s comment reads:
Just have to jump on the bandwagon — please, no more posts including info like “take the tissues and tp.” I come to this website to get info about frugality, and be inspired by other people’s smart ideas, not to become a cheapskate and — yes, I’ll say it — total douche.
Mind you, I don’t take home tissues and toilet paper – lotion and soap are enough for me – but I don’t care very much if others do. To each their own, right?
But Julie’s passion troubled me, so I brought it up with Hubby.
“Why is she so upset?” I said. “And another reader threatened to break up with me for the post! I don’t get it.”
Hubby wasted no time.
“Because taking tissues and tp makes frugal people look cheap.”
Ahhhhhhhh. Yes.
The fraught relationship between frugal and cheap, otherwise known as the difference between swiping lotion and taking tp.
Who know toiletries could cause so much distress?
Here’s my take on being frugal v. being cheap. Being frugal is making choices to conserve money in your own life, like riding a bike instead of driving, renting a movie instead of going to the theater, brown bagging your lunch instead of buying it.
Being cheap is forcing your frugal choices on others: buying a gift on sale even though it is the wrong size for the recipient or insisting on ordering the cheapest bottle of wine at a restaurant.
Being frugal feels good. Being cheap leaves a bad taste in your mouth (and it ain’t the wine)!
Does taking tp and tissues leave a bad taste in your mouth? Does the hotel expect guests to take these supplies? Certainly the cost of providing them are built into the room price. Perhaps more importantly, what does the hotel do with these supplies after a guest checks out? Are they tossed out or left for the next guest?
Reader Suzanne is quite the freezer diva, but she shares none of my problems with frozen foodstuffs taking up residence in her freezer. She described her system in a useful comment this week:
I label and rotate my stock. I have a top freezer with my refrigerator in the kitchen. This is where I keep items I will be likely to use within the next 2-3 weeks. I have a chest freezer that stores items bought in bulk and on sale at good prices. These are dated/labeled. This is where the stock for the kitchen freezer comes from. I have learned to only purchase the items we use on a regular basis so that I do not have “tenants.”
This is a great idea that I’d like to implement. But Suzanne, what do you do with leftovers? Do you immediately incorporate them into future meals or make yourself use them before you can replenish from your chest freezer? Do tell!
PS. This picture is not of Suzanne’s freezer, but I imagine hers is just as well organized!
Once again, my readers are keeping me honest. Earlier this week I came up with three very good reasons why I should not go on a spending moratorium, but you all rejected my pleas and voted overwhelmingly to put myself through this wacky experiment.
As of Friday morning there were 112 votes. About 45 percent want me to go on a spending moratorium, 27 percent say it’s silly, and 13 percent (15 readers) agreed to go on the spending moratorium with me!
It’s nice to know I’ll have company. 
Three readers in particular encouraged me to take the plunge.
Katie said:
I challenge you to go on a complete spending moratorium! Don’t buy ANYTHING (except phone, utilities, rent) for 30 days. See how long you can live off of the groceries you already have on hand. You will be surprised. Be extra careful about how much electricity & gas you use–unplug appliances, play a game instead of watching TV or read a book, don’t leave the light on when not in the room, etc.
Kristin at makingcentsoutoflife.blogspot.com said:
I think that if your hubby is willing, you should do it jointly if you are going to do it at all. Kind of like a diet, it’s easier with support. I think it’s a very worthwhile experiment that anyone who does it will benefit from because it will save you a ton of money as well as force you to be content with things you already have. By not spending, you focus your efforts on other parts of your life and can make those things better. Heck, if I could stay out of Walgreens I might get more done.
Sarah said:
I’m doing this in June. It’s a really interesting experience. I’m still buying food, gas, and other things I consider necessities (like a new filter for my PUR–though I stretched the old one farther than I thought possible). I’m also have a budget plan but this really is making me consider and evaluate every single purchase. What’s fun is how other people respond: I’ve had more offers to buy me lunch than ever before!
So here are the ground rules for my spending moratorium.
Allowed purchases include rent, one tank of gas, groceries, utilities, my Internet and cell phone bill. My automatic monthly savings withdrawal remains unchanged.
Business expenses, such as flyers or postage, are allowed.
During the moratorium I’m allowed to use any gift cards I have currently have in my possession (either previously purchased or received as gifts).
I’m allowed to receive gifts as long as they are a true gift and not a way around the moratorium. (This is a gray area I’ll try to define later.)
The 15 readers who voted to go on the moratorium with me should send me an update about how they are doing at least once a week. Don’t think you can get away with not participating just because, ahem, I have no idea who you are! Participating readers, let me know if you are using my ground rules or setting your own (and what they are). I’ll regularly write about what we are struggling with, our creative solutions, and lessons learned on BargainBabe.com.
The moratorium starts July 1 and ends July 31, 2009.
Tammy reuses envelopes she gets in the mail (clever) and has a fool-proof way of remembering coupons. Thanks, Tammy!