One of the things I recommend most to folks when they're trying to save money - be it their debt snowball or piling up cash, is to stay organized. Fortunately, my mother was an awesome one to follow in this area and my filing system is based loosely on her model.
My office is customized to what I need it to be (I have more files than average) but most folks need two filing drawers. I prefer hanging files, but whatever floats your boat. That being said, I have four.
Drawer One:
Folders labeled A-Z. When I bought a telephone, I filed the paperwork and receipt (stapled together) under "T". When I bought a washing machine, I filed all the paperwork and receipt in my "W" folder. One-time purchases, and miscellaneous small items go into my lettered file...even the extra bolts for the wagon!
Drawer Two:
Anything that I have continual paperwork for, insurance, utilities, auto repairs, you name it. I tend to keep my utility and bill folders in the very front for easy access but file everything else behind it alphabetically.
Drawer Three:
My "Business" files (my small business, and for the local GOP).
Drawer Four:
This drawer is mostly empty so I use it for easy access to our medical and tax files. All papers/bills for medical expenses, get filed into a yearly folder. At the end of the year, I go back and reimburse us from our Health Savings Account in order to take advantage of the tax break it offers. After I've been reimbursed, I file each bill into the proper person's file. I keep one for each of us. Unfortunately, mine is the thickest. :(
In the same drawer, I keep an large, manilla envelope with Taxes 2009 on the front. I make a new envelope every January. I place all papers that we will need for tax preparation into this envelope throughout the year. If I take a donation by the Salvation Army and get a receipt, into the envelope it goes. By the end of the year, all that's left to gather is our W-2s and off to the CPA we go. Everything is together in one place. Once our taxes have been prepared, I place our copy into this envelope and file in yearly order with the rest of my tax envelopes in the attic. These should not be discarded for at least ten years.
This is the easiest system I have found to stay organized at home. When you need something repaired - especially under warranty, you'll have everything in one easy-to-find location. If you don't have room for a filing cabinet, expandable files or boxes could be used. It's easy to adapt it to fit your needs and your space.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The Power of an Appeal
Lots of examples of this in my quest to save money, but here are just a few snippets:
This week:
1) Recently Eric and I took a trip through FunJet Vacations and Spirit Airlines. Spirit totally botched our return flight. When we finally got home, I wrote a letter to both Spirit and FunJet requesting reimbursement for the crap they had put us through. Spirit did refund part of our money (not as much as they needed to) but FunJet is actually giving us a $350 travel voucher as an apology for our trip being so messed up. I wasn't totally happy with the outcome but it was better than I expected given who we were dealing with (Extra tip: Never fly Spirit airlines unless you're feeling very spontaneous and have lots of extra time and cash to burn).
2) I purchased two new pairs of shoes for Mikayla over the summer (I had missed the consignment sales!). I purposely bought a brand that was well recognised for quality. Within three weeks, both pairs of shoes had messed up. I glued them back together and wrote a letter to the company detailing my problems with their product. Within two weeks, I had been contacted by the manufacturer who promptly replaced them. The glue was still holding Mikayla's shoes together so she sent winter boots and the next size up in tennis shoes.
3) Eric and I started doing P90X together three months ago. We realized right away that we needed exercise mats in order to do yoga, etc. I bought mats from one of the more reputable exercise companies expecting them to be exactly what was needed...they specifically said their mats were made for yoga and pilates. The padding was great; what wasn't so great was the fact that as you struggled to hold your "downward dog" position (or any other), the mat slowly stretched in both directions. It was hard enough for me to stand in the ridiculous poses, it did not help that the ground beneath me kept growing. Off went a letter. FedEx delivered their reply with the promise of two new mats that should be delivered soon.
4) About a year or so after we were married, Eric and I had finally saved enough money to purchase two leather couches for our living room. We loved them. They were comfortable and so easy to clean. I was rather dismayed to notice, after four years, that one of the couches developed a tear in the leather (obviously a flaw and not a user caused tear). The couches had come with a 5 year warranty but the manufacturer would not return my phone calls. I appealed to Sam's Club because we had purchased them through their store. They told me to bring both couches back and they gave me a complete refund. Granted, I had kept my receipt...this is very important for appeals and I'll probably blog about my filing system later this week.
5) Eric and I purchased (also at Sam's) a set of mattresses for our bed. After 4 years, our "Ten Years and No Sag" mattress had developed quite the dent. It had become unbearably uncomfortable. Another appeal. Another "Bring it back and we'll refund it". Again, I had saved my receipt. Who wants to guess where I bought the replacement mattress? With that kind of warranty, I'll keep buying from Sam's!
DISCLAIMER:: I do not try to cheat companies by abusing their return policy. In each of the above circumstances, I had a legitimate claim and made sure the companies knew the circumstance surrounding my letter. :)
This week:
1) Recently Eric and I took a trip through FunJet Vacations and Spirit Airlines. Spirit totally botched our return flight. When we finally got home, I wrote a letter to both Spirit and FunJet requesting reimbursement for the crap they had put us through. Spirit did refund part of our money (not as much as they needed to) but FunJet is actually giving us a $350 travel voucher as an apology for our trip being so messed up. I wasn't totally happy with the outcome but it was better than I expected given who we were dealing with (Extra tip: Never fly Spirit airlines unless you're feeling very spontaneous and have lots of extra time and cash to burn).
2) I purchased two new pairs of shoes for Mikayla over the summer (I had missed the consignment sales!). I purposely bought a brand that was well recognised for quality. Within three weeks, both pairs of shoes had messed up. I glued them back together and wrote a letter to the company detailing my problems with their product. Within two weeks, I had been contacted by the manufacturer who promptly replaced them. The glue was still holding Mikayla's shoes together so she sent winter boots and the next size up in tennis shoes.
3) Eric and I started doing P90X together three months ago. We realized right away that we needed exercise mats in order to do yoga, etc. I bought mats from one of the more reputable exercise companies expecting them to be exactly what was needed...they specifically said their mats were made for yoga and pilates. The padding was great; what wasn't so great was the fact that as you struggled to hold your "downward dog" position (or any other), the mat slowly stretched in both directions. It was hard enough for me to stand in the ridiculous poses, it did not help that the ground beneath me kept growing. Off went a letter. FedEx delivered their reply with the promise of two new mats that should be delivered soon.
4) About a year or so after we were married, Eric and I had finally saved enough money to purchase two leather couches for our living room. We loved them. They were comfortable and so easy to clean. I was rather dismayed to notice, after four years, that one of the couches developed a tear in the leather (obviously a flaw and not a user caused tear). The couches had come with a 5 year warranty but the manufacturer would not return my phone calls. I appealed to Sam's Club because we had purchased them through their store. They told me to bring both couches back and they gave me a complete refund. Granted, I had kept my receipt...this is very important for appeals and I'll probably blog about my filing system later this week.
5) Eric and I purchased (also at Sam's) a set of mattresses for our bed. After 4 years, our "Ten Years and No Sag" mattress had developed quite the dent. It had become unbearably uncomfortable. Another appeal. Another "Bring it back and we'll refund it". Again, I had saved my receipt. Who wants to guess where I bought the replacement mattress? With that kind of warranty, I'll keep buying from Sam's!
DISCLAIMER:: I do not try to cheat companies by abusing their return policy. In each of the above circumstances, I had a legitimate claim and made sure the companies knew the circumstance surrounding my letter. :)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
A penny saved is worth more...
Ever wonder if it's worth it to save $.10 on a can of vegetables, shop the sales, coupon?
Yesterday I mentioned saving is done best by thinking in percentages instead of pennies and dimes. Let me break it down even further...
Say you want a $10 item. You look around on ebay, craigslist, and the yardsales in your area...you find and purchase it for $2. How much did you save?
The simple answer is $8. But, that's not correct. In order to spend the additional $8 (if you're in, for example, the 20% tax bracket), you would have to earn $10. On top of that, you have to pay additional sales tax. You didn't just save $8, you saved $10.56.
How many of us would be happy if our money could earn that type of interest in the bank?
Furthermore, the time you would have spent earning the $10.56 could have been spent looking for more sales. :)
Yesterday I mentioned saving is done best by thinking in percentages instead of pennies and dimes. Let me break it down even further...
Say you want a $10 item. You look around on ebay, craigslist, and the yardsales in your area...you find and purchase it for $2. How much did you save?
The simple answer is $8. But, that's not correct. In order to spend the additional $8 (if you're in, for example, the 20% tax bracket), you would have to earn $10. On top of that, you have to pay additional sales tax. You didn't just save $8, you saved $10.56.
How many of us would be happy if our money could earn that type of interest in the bank?
Furthermore, the time you would have spent earning the $10.56 could have been spent looking for more sales. :)
Monday, September 14, 2009
Everyday Savings...
No great deals to post about today...I thought I would try to post a few of my everyday savings tips in the mean-time.
Breakfast. I hate breakfast. Breakfast means dishes and I had doing dishes, especially first thing in the morning. BUT, it can be an awesome opportunity to save money.
Several mornings per week, the babies ask for cereal. I figured that cereal costs $2 per box and Milk costs $2 per gallon. At this rate, one cereal costs $.22 per serving and the milk $.13. Total Cost: $.35 per person. This of course, is based on 1 serving per person and we all know how many servings growing boys can and will eat.
To save money, I often opt for oatmeal (yes, the instant kind!). Oatmeal costs $.98 for 13 servings ($.08 per) . I use 1.5 cups of milk when I make my oatmeal so add so add $.06 for milk. One serving of oatmeal costs: $.14! I'll add a teaspoon of brown sugar and occasionally a sprinkle of cinnamon. Add another $.02. That's still a savings of 50%!
Can you imagine saving 50% on your grocery bill every month? Yes, at breakfast we're talking pennies, but it's important to think in measures of percentage when saving money. Pennies add up very quickly.
Remember a penny saved is MORE than a penny earned.
Curious as to how? Stay tuned. I'll try to explain tomorrow. It's one of my all-time favorite money tips.
Breakfast. I hate breakfast. Breakfast means dishes and I had doing dishes, especially first thing in the morning. BUT, it can be an awesome opportunity to save money.
Several mornings per week, the babies ask for cereal. I figured that cereal costs $2 per box and Milk costs $2 per gallon. At this rate, one cereal costs $.22 per serving and the milk $.13. Total Cost: $.35 per person. This of course, is based on 1 serving per person and we all know how many servings growing boys can and will eat.
To save money, I often opt for oatmeal (yes, the instant kind!). Oatmeal costs $.98 for 13 servings ($.08 per) . I use 1.5 cups of milk when I make my oatmeal so add so add $.06 for milk. One serving of oatmeal costs: $.14! I'll add a teaspoon of brown sugar and occasionally a sprinkle of cinnamon. Add another $.02. That's still a savings of 50%!
Can you imagine saving 50% on your grocery bill every month? Yes, at breakfast we're talking pennies, but it's important to think in measures of percentage when saving money. Pennies add up very quickly.
Remember a penny saved is MORE than a penny earned.
Curious as to how? Stay tuned. I'll try to explain tomorrow. It's one of my all-time favorite money tips.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Yardsales
One of our family's favorite "dates" is to go to yard-sales on Saturday mornings. Being the cheapie that I am, I've always loved it but it took a while to convince my husband. He was won over on a random outing where we found a solid oak roll-top desk for $50 (still sold online for $1,600)...his dad had always wanted a roll-top desk. We gave him his "Christmas gift" early that year and scored extra points with the in-laws.
The babies get more and more excited every weekend. Once they discovered that the toys they had wanted and worked and saved for were much, much cheaper if someone else owned them first, they were convinced. How many folks kids wake up at 6:30 am on Saturday and say "Yay!"?
Today's finds include:
30 gig ipod classic: $1 (ERIC IS THE YARD SALE KING TODAY!)
Baby Blue Top-Sider Sperry's: $3
Dooney and Bourke Key Fob: $.50
Brighton Watch: $1
Baby Stroller (for the pregnancy center!): $1
Brand new tennis shoes for Seth to grow into to: $1
Philips, Craig and Dean CD (for Mama, it's my favorite): $1
Seth bought a car machine/garage thingie: $2
Seth bought a pair of binoculars: $.50 - he talked them down from $3!
Mikayla bought a pink VW Beetle replica: $.25 - she asked for a discount when they wanted $.50!
Total Spent: $11.25
Total Value: approx. $350
Not too bad!
The babies get more and more excited every weekend. Once they discovered that the toys they had wanted and worked and saved for were much, much cheaper if someone else owned them first, they were convinced. How many folks kids wake up at 6:30 am on Saturday and say "Yay!"?
Today's finds include:
30 gig ipod classic: $1 (ERIC IS THE YARD SALE KING TODAY!)
Baby Blue Top-Sider Sperry's: $3
Dooney and Bourke Key Fob: $.50
Brighton Watch: $1
Baby Stroller (for the pregnancy center!): $1
Brand new tennis shoes for Seth to grow into to: $1
Philips, Craig and Dean CD (for Mama, it's my favorite): $1
Seth bought a car machine/garage thingie: $2
Seth bought a pair of binoculars: $.50 - he talked them down from $3!
Mikayla bought a pink VW Beetle replica: $.25 - she asked for a discount when they wanted $.50!
Total Spent: $11.25
Total Value: approx. $350
Not too bad!
Friday, September 11, 2009
What is a Silver Talent?
I've been thinking about blogging for a while...we'll see how it goes. If I can keep up with it, I think it might be fun. A friend has been encouraging me to write things down as they happen because our family's life is pretty full...
Why the name SilverTalents?
I guess I should go ahead and let everyone know, if they don't already, that for most of my life, I've been keenly interested money. Making money, saving money, investing money and, of course, spending money. Before someone tells me that "money is the root of all evil" I will defend myself and say that in the New Testament, Jesus talks more about money than any other subject. He left very clear instructions on how Christians should handle money.
In Matthew 25, he talks about a man who left silver talents with his servants while he went on a long journey. One servant was given 5, one 4, and so on and so forth. The last servant was given 1 talent.
The first servant took the money invested and doubled it. The fourth did the same (and so on and so forth). The last servant came and admitted that he had merely buried his money because he was afraid his master would be upset if he lost his investment. The Master was angry and admonished him that he should have at least put the money into a bank where it could have earned interest.
In my mind, the parable works this way. God is my master, I am His servant. Yes, I work hard, but what money I have ultimately belongs to Him. I'm not to stand idly by and squander its blessing. There are many other teachings in the New Testament that relate specifically to money...we should work hard, we should make wise decisions, we should give generously. I believe that debt is a curse, and yes, I listen to Dave Ramsey.
All that to say, my blog will mostly be about the Silver Talents I'm trusted with. How I make them, how I save them, how I invest them, and probably how I spend them as well.
Why the name SilverTalents?
I guess I should go ahead and let everyone know, if they don't already, that for most of my life, I've been keenly interested money. Making money, saving money, investing money and, of course, spending money. Before someone tells me that "money is the root of all evil" I will defend myself and say that in the New Testament, Jesus talks more about money than any other subject. He left very clear instructions on how Christians should handle money.
In Matthew 25, he talks about a man who left silver talents with his servants while he went on a long journey. One servant was given 5, one 4, and so on and so forth. The last servant was given 1 talent.
The first servant took the money invested and doubled it. The fourth did the same (and so on and so forth). The last servant came and admitted that he had merely buried his money because he was afraid his master would be upset if he lost his investment. The Master was angry and admonished him that he should have at least put the money into a bank where it could have earned interest.
In my mind, the parable works this way. God is my master, I am His servant. Yes, I work hard, but what money I have ultimately belongs to Him. I'm not to stand idly by and squander its blessing. There are many other teachings in the New Testament that relate specifically to money...we should work hard, we should make wise decisions, we should give generously. I believe that debt is a curse, and yes, I listen to Dave Ramsey.
All that to say, my blog will mostly be about the Silver Talents I'm trusted with. How I make them, how I save them, how I invest them, and probably how I spend them as well.
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