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Snuffles
Member
07-17-2005
| Thursday, February 07, 2008 - 4:42 am
I have 2 separate savings plans (outside of the regular savings or retirement savings): 1) At the end of the day (or week), i'll empty all my change and $1 bills into my jar. I would originally just save coins, but i wanted it to grow faster, so anytime I have single dollars in my purse, they get put in the jar. [I've used this jar for spending on vacations or quick trip to Vegas or to buy that one tech thing I didn't plan for.] 2) My roommate and I put $2/day in a jar for every day that I do not exercise. There have been many times where I didn't work out for months and that jar has grown to just over $1,000!!! -- not sure if I'm happy I've saved so much or sad that I take so poor care of myself, but I'm likely the only person to pay $60/mo to not workout! [Ironically (or telling of my priorities), this fund is reserved for a new refrigerator! I'm looking at the French-Door Bottom Freezer one... nice! ]
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Frootjuuce
Member
02-24-2007
| Sunday, February 17, 2008 - 11:21 am
I have a savings system that is both easy and painless (usually). I am doing away with credit cards, so have had to come up with a way to save money for Christmas. I now use the "dollar system" so I can save all year - still being able to buy gifts all year if I wish or wait til the last minute! Here's the system: If you notice, there is a letter on each dollar bill that tells where that particular bill was printed. What I do is choose a particular letter and save that dollar whenever it is given back to me in change. For example, I chose to save dollars with "K" on them because they are printed in Dallas and I thought I'd get a bunch. So each time I get dollar bills back in change from a five, ten or twenty - I take the "K" bills out and put them in a savings tin. Usually there is at least one...sometimes two or three. This is my Christmas money. I start it in January of each year and go until December 1st - and I have truly been able to stay away from credit cards for the holidays! This past year, I had $400.00 in cash on December 1, but had taken some of my "k's" out throughout the year to buy Christmas gifts when I found the perfect thing for someone early. So I probably actually had saved about $600.00 total for the year. I have a friend who uses ths system using her granddaughters initials, and I have started an additional fund this year using the letter "F" for fun money. I will use this fund for buying CD's and books that I have not already budgeted for. My Christmas fund (K dollars) is already at $30.00 since January 1! This has worked really well for me....and if you don't want to have that many dollar bills lying around, every so often take thm to the bank and exchange them for a larger bill, or start another account for this money. Just remember what it's purpose is for and watch your savings grow!
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Sunday, February 17, 2008 - 1:32 pm
That's a fun system Frootjuice! There's all kinds of tweaks that could be made too like saving your states quarters or all nickles (am I the only one who never spends nickles?) I'm going to have to give this some thought. Like I said in an earlier post, I keep money (usually dollars and quarters, but often other change) in the ashtray of my car for the kids lunches. I've been trying to keep just enough for each week and putting the rest into my fun fund, but sometimes I just don't bother checking how much is there. Yesterday I had to leave my car parked at hte store (it was not running right) and when I left I cleared out the ashtray. There were six 1's plus a bunch of change...I just threw it all into my bottle. I'll have to go get money later for the kids lunches but I didn't have neough to make it through the week anyways.
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Biscottiii
Member
05-29-2004
| Tuesday, February 19, 2008 - 6:11 am
I have the "Harry Potter Book" Acct. Several years ago my Sis gave me this metal HP book for Christmas, inside holds plastic covering some darling Hogswort gloves with space to tuck some bucks. Could never bring myself to pull out the gloves, just too cute. Still, it fits nicely amongst my books, if anyone tried to burglarize the place they wouldn't know where the stash was. Don't expect burglars tend to read too much anyway. So, whenever I discover some money in my coat or pants pockets that I don't remember getting, like when the cashier gave out change or I'm doing laundry, it gets stuffed into the Harry Potter Book. Sis when visiting from Phoenix usually leaves money there too, anytime she gets some forgotten bucks or wins at a casino. They say that in the event of an earthquake, we really need to have cash on hand because the bank machines probably won't function. I confess that there's been times of emergencies with my Sister visiting we've yanked it out, like when the bank cut off her debit card. (She forgot to tell them she would be traveling out of state and she wasn't at home to pick up her answering machine calls telling her there were <gasp> charges from out of state on her debit card so they shut the card off for her protection). Thank HEAVENS she and her Grandkids didn't find themselves stuck in the middle of nowhere with no gas & no broomsticks!!! Sis was the one who remembered and asked "What's Harry holding!?!" Good ol' Harry has always come thru in a dire situation! Nice thing about the Harry Potter Acct is it's truly MAGICAL and invisible to me. Once I tuck money in there I forget it exists. There's been times that the money accumulated for a couple of years. (Of course I don't have kids and all the extras in the daily scramble to contend with, either. Not sure Harry could do much in that situation, but I can surely sympathize.) 
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Chiliwilli
Member
09-04-2006
| Friday, February 22, 2008 - 12:30 am
How could you not love a Harry Potter Acct?
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Wednesday, February 27, 2008 - 1:52 am
I now have about 70 bucks in my fun fund and am hoping to increase that later this week when I take aluminum cans over to the recycling center. It's been months since I did it so it should be at least $30. Darren and I have been dumping all our change into it but I'm not keep track of that. Also anytime I find change around the house (can anyone tell me where all these dang pennies keep coming from?????) it goes right into the bottle. I still haven't started the home improvement fund because I really want to set up a seperate savings account for that and haven't had time to go do that yet. Plus we still can't decide on which home improvement project we want to start on first, lol. I occassionally get a little down because it is going slow but then I look at 70 bucks in just under a month and that doesn't seem so bad. If I can keep that up every month I'll be pretty close to the $1,000 goal. If I can do a little more I should hit it with no problem. We may not be able to save that much every month but hey it's more than we had to begin with, lol. Hehe, Biscottiii, the invisible and magic money is great! Sometimes after we moved into this house, I started tucking money away. There was a picture frame that set on the bookshelf and hid it so well. At some point, I stopped tucking money away and forgot all about it. When my step dad had his heart attack and died a week later, I ended up taking off work for a little over two weeks with no paycheck coming in, but we were doing ok. We had a little savings/emergency money we could tap into to cover the bills and stuff. And then of course, something went wrong, I don't remember if it was plumbing or the car breaking down or what but it was something we couldn't avoid taking care of right then. Oy, that was bad. Both of us were already frazzled and then to be worrying about money cuz some bill was due or we needed groceries or something, I can remember how upset we both were sitting here talking about how we were going to have to ask his mom for a small loan. One of the things I do when I get upset is to just clean, clean everything in sight, clean it thouroughly. So I set to working on the bookshelf. One shelf at a time, pull everything off, scrub the shelf, put everything back, what the heck are we going to do? Do we really have to go to his mom??? Got to the last shelf and pulled the picture frame down and there was a wad of cash...over 300 bucks. I actually sat down and cried and thank God for those invisible stashes! It was enough to cover what we needed til I went back to work and got my paycheck. Sure as heck taught me a lesson about our emergency fund! I've read you should have $500 set aside for emergencies, but I'm not comfortable unless I have enough to cover at least one mortgage payment. Worst case something happens and I actually need it for mortgage, but not worst case, it's probably enough to cover a house or car emergency and definitely enough for groceries or a utilities bill. Unlike the invisible money behind the picture frame, I never really forget it's there but we pretend it isn't unless or until there is a true emergency.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Wednesday, February 27, 2008 - 7:31 am
Have you thought about using the credit cards that give you a certain percent back of what you charge? All you do is charge everything you possibly can. Now of course you want to pay the bill off in full at the end of the month, but in the meantime you can grow quite an nestegg!!! Especially cuz you can charge everything these days--you can even charge a Big Mac at McDonald's!
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Wednesday, February 27, 2008 - 10:55 am
I keep an emergency fund too. Had always read that you should be able to cover your living expenses (including mortgage, car payment, etc.) for three months but recently saw somewhere that it should actually be six months. Yikes. ETA: Love the HP account too! And the lucky picture frame story!
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Wednesday, February 27, 2008 - 11:27 am
I have to save for all these tvch trips lol.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Wednesday, February 27, 2008 - 11:47 am
LOL Mocha. 3-6 months for an emergency fund sounds much more reasonable to me, Calamity, than $500. $500 might cover my utilities for a month with a little left over for some top ramen soup and that'd be about it!
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Wednesday, February 27, 2008 - 7:35 pm
LOL Mojo!! wait til FL..I swear money is like water there!!! we did meet someone that gave us free parking all week, saved us over 100 bucks 
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Wednesday, February 27, 2008 - 8:26 pm
Girllll I'm already scared enough and those boys eat like horses lol.
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Biscottiii
Member
05-29-2004
| Thursday, February 28, 2008 - 12:05 am
Thanx Folks and Harry thanks you too! He sure has bailed us out a couple of times. Truly "Creative Financing" lol. War, what a GREAT story of the picture frame acct! Mostly have to live paycheck to paycheck so I could just PICTURE it when I read that. Would have sat down and cried tears of relief there with you. I don't have the funds for the 3-6 month emergency acct, much as I wish. Guess I do have svgs bonds and some mutual acct checks tho, so maybe I do. One time the mutual acct manager guy called to discuss that acct of around $700, up to over $800 now. How we could make changes to increase profits. I told him I really didn't want to talk about it. He said, but there's been no activity, other than whatever interest tacks on, for years. We don't want to look like we're not interested in you as a customer. So, I told him that the only reason that the acct has managed to survive is because I had totally forgotten it existed - until his phone call. So, even though it wasn't making bigger profits I just want to go back to forgetting about it. He laughed. So, he & I ended up having a lovely chat instead. Turns out the Financial Analyst Lady (such a wonderful lovely lady) that got me the acct has left the business and gone into Interior Design. Not surprising, she had a fantastic home. She was the one who stashed the money for me (same mutual acct) when I got a settlement 10 yrs ago, wired it for my house downpayment & she got me an honest mortgage broker friend of hers. How nice it was to catch up on what she's been doing all this time. Have to laugh, this guy hasn't called me again (& helping me stay forgetful). They send the yearly interest statement for taxes, but I just 'Click It and Forget It'.
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Biscottiii
Member
05-29-2004
| Thursday, February 28, 2008 - 12:18 am
One point I might add. Years ago I moaned to my boss (who was kind of a financial whiz) that I felt so badly that I could never save any money. Feeling discouraged. He said, "But Bisc you've said that you have Deferred Comp taken out of your paychecks and you've said you buy Savings Bonds." Yes, that was true. He said, "But don't you see? THOSE are SAVINGS accts!" Never thought of them like that, since they were not easy to access. In the event of an emergency those types of accts are there available. So, if you feel discouraged, it's something to consider that you might already have savings that one doesn't even realize.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Thursday, March 20, 2008 - 11:42 pm
That's very true Bisc. I also try to remind myself when I start to get discouraged about how slow it's going is that I have more money saved now than I did last month. I think this is a bad thing but I've kind of lost track of how much I have saved, lol. It's not that there's so much money in my jars or anything like that, but everytime I have dollars or change in my pocket, I toss that into one or the other. Some days I may only have a few coins (lol, in fact one night it was 11 cents) but some days, like yesterday, I had pulled a 20 to have money at Kota's softball game and we ended up only spending 4 bucks and some change, so the rest got put into a jar. We don't usually take money so that won't happen too often, lol. I'm also still tossing 60 into the fund fun and this month only did 50 for the house fund (someone, not me, got a speeding ticket he, not me, had to pay.) I just posted in the facts thread about my lottery ticket. I buy one scratcher whenever I fill my car up with gas (about every 2-3 weeks) and usually don't win anything, but when I do it's almost always a free ticket. Couple weeks ago I bought one and won a free ticket and it's been sitting here since. Tonight I took it over and turned it in for the new ticket and won $40. I'll cash it in tomorrow and that's so going to one of the funds, haven't decided which yet. I spent 3 bucks on the ticket so I'm up $37. Ya'll wouldn't believe how excited this made me, lol.
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Biscottiii
Member
05-29-2004
| Saturday, March 22, 2008 - 2:41 am
Now THAT'S progress! Woo Hoo! 
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Lumbele
Moderator
07-12-2002
| Saturday, March 22, 2008 - 6:13 am
It sounds like all these piggy banks are getting fuller, drop by drop. Except for Mocha's, of course. Hers should be dwindling rapidly just about now. That Mickey Mouse will be pulling the greenbacks our of her pockets, one after another. Forgot to report another per cent of that garden fund saved. Now that I think about it, one of those bug zappers might be a good start. If we don't get eaten alive, we might actually go out there every once in a while. It would protect dh when he is mowing. That West Nile is becoming a serious problem in our province now, too. Besides, it's a more realistic savings goal, rather than for the big overhaul all at once.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Thursday, March 27, 2008 - 1:38 pm
I have a situation I'm not sure how to handle. It's not a real big one though. I do my aunts grocery shopping and I also go during the month if she runs out of something or needs/wants something different. Since sis moved in, I've been calling and asking her if there's anything she can think of too trying to cut down on trips to the store (sis does the cooking for aunt now so she knows what they are out of and need.) Ever so often, sis will ask me to pick up something for her. This morning it was a treat for the girls and cigs for her, she'll pay me back when I get there. Usually ti's not more than $5 or $10, she'll just give me cash, and when it is more she'll give me a check I put that back in the bank. What I've been doing is that if I end up with cash that I don't have a purpose for (it's not lunch money for the kids ro whatever else I'd use cash for) is to just drop it in my bottle. But I keep going back and forth with this money from sis. It's out of my checking acct, didn't plan on saving it, but I know dang well I'm not going to the bank to deposit a 5 or 10 dollar bill, lol. It's also not really money I need to spend. So...drop it in the bottle or hold onto it in case I need cash?
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Thursday, March 27, 2008 - 2:00 pm
I'd hold onto it and then deposit it once a month into your account.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Friday, March 28, 2008 - 1:14 pm
I thought about that Escapee, but it's only about $25-30 cash by the end of the month and I'm not sure it's really worth running to the bank for it. At the same time, it's not really money I need to be spending, lol. So I guess it's a toss up between the bank and the bottle I'm really serious about having this fund going and keeping the money in it, but I don't want to get to the point I'm putting everything into it either, that'd just be taking money from one place and putting it in another. What I'm getting caught with on this money is that it's already taken out of my checking acct and since its not causing us any great concern doesn't it kinda make sense to stick it in the fund and forget about it?
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Kitt
Member
09-06-2000
| Friday, March 28, 2008 - 1:20 pm
You mean if you deposit it back into your checking account you'd probably spend it, whereas if it's in the bottle you'll save it? Can you open a separate account without it costing anything? Many banks allow that (for free) if you have a checking account with them. It sounds like it's in bills, and I'd be wary about having bills around the house, too easy to pinch (learnt that from when we were broken into - several jars of coins, including many quarters weren't touched, stack of fives and ones in bills were taken).
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Friday, March 28, 2008 - 1:44 pm
That's pretty much my worry Kitt. I'd look at it as extra spending money I think. Oh, an extra 25 bucks...let's stop and get dinner on the way home! Our plan is to open two new accounts...one for home improvements and one who's sole purpose is a fun fund (both of which I have been saving for already.) It'll be easier too to just transfer what we plan to put in them between our regular checking acct and these two new accounts, rather than pulling cash to drop it in. I've been waiting to get a little more money saved before doing it though. Once we set that up, we'll keep dropping loose change and the dollar bills in the jar and then ever so often deposit them into their proper account. One thing I will miss is that I'm a visual person. It's nice to know I have X amount saved...but when I can look at the bottle and see how much is there, the loose change, the bills that's a wow moment for me. The bottles were empty in January, now they are not...wow! LOL, silly I know.
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Lumbele
Moderator
07-12-2002
| Friday, March 28, 2008 - 1:58 pm
Not silly at all, War. You could tack an envelope somewhere and save the bills in there; out of sight. Every time you add to it, you could run your fingers through the greenbacks with glee. While I think of it....adding another percent to the garden fund.
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Landileigh
Member
07-29-2002
| Friday, March 28, 2008 - 2:00 pm
war is going to be one of those people that when they go through their things after they are gone, they're going to find $20 bills in pages in their books!
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Friday, March 28, 2008 - 2:43 pm
LOL, no way, Landi! I am so bad about putting stuff up like the remote or the phone or my keys and then not remembering where I put them that I know better than to hide money. I did it one time, it turned out to be a good thing that I did, but I know better now.
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