I'm sorry that some of you don't see the logic behind spending less vs. keeping money in different places. Please note that the original post DID NOT encourage cutting corners in any way -- it only recommended saving change from purchases you'd make anyway. My point is that this ALONE is simply not saving.
On the other hand, if you are cutting corners AND putting that money aside, that IS saving. Dinnysuw's 9-year olds who are putting their allowance aside INSTEAD of spending it have a firm grasp on the idea. It's the "instead of" that makes the difference.
CACruiser, I agree about "found money". I find an amazing amount of change on the floor in my school. You could also consider rebates "found money".
I can see the point in doing a change jar with children -- I was only thinking adults when I wrote my previous post. I agree that it can be a teaching tool to help children SEE their money accumulate. However, I'd suggest taking it a step farther and opening a vacation savings account. If you're using the jar as a teaching tool, expand that tool to include using passbook savings. Teach them that they are adding interest each month. You can easily make a Disney savings chart for the refrigerator: Draw a cruise ship on notebook paper, and each time you make a deposit in the Disney account, color in a little more of the ship; this gives you all the visual-learning benefits of the change jar PLUS the interest. And you can't easily grab that chart for lunch money.
Here are some more savings ideas:
Keep your car's engine tuned up, have the oil changed regularly, and keep the tires filled to the proper air pressure. This will help your fuel efficiency and reduce the likelihood of expensive repairs.
Before you buy that new outfit, make sure it can be machine-washed. Clothes that must be dry-cleaned are expensive to maintain.
When buying classic wardrobe items that you're going to want to keep for years (i.e. navy dress pants that are unlikely to go out of style), buy the best quality so they'll last. Shop cheap for a trendy top that's likely to look dated by this time next year.
If you need formal wear for the cruise, try consignment stores. You'll have to wade through some 1970s wedding dresses, but you'll find plenty of nice things for $20-30; many of them will have been worn only once.
Another alternative: shop in June and July for formal wear on clearance. The stores have stocked up for proms and June weddings, and they'll want to clear out their old stuff. October is also becoming a big wedding month, so likely you'd find similar savings in November. And if your taste runs to black, gold, and silver, don't forget to shop the after New Year's clearance formal wear.
Take your newspaper ads to the store and price match your back-to-school supplies. I bought everything that my two girls needed FOR THE YEAR for less than $30. Just say no to the Sponge Bob notebooks and glitter pencils, and you'll be surprised how little you can spend on school supplies. Disclaimer: That $30 didn't include new backpacks -- their old ones were still perfectly good.
When you buy something that's going to be around a while, buy quality. You can buy an assemble-it-yourself bookcase for $75, and it'll look old in a couple years. Or you can buy a real wood bookcase for $125, and your grandchildren will still be using it.
Consider doing it yourself. We're doing a much-needed kitchen/family room update right now, and it's amazing how much we're saving by doing very minor parts of the work ourselves. We saved $200 by removing our old countertops (one evening's work). The tile guys wanted $25 per appliance to move our washer, dryer, and freezer out of the laundry room before they began their work. We're also going to pull up the old carpet ourselves before the hardwood floor folks arrive.
Mow your own grass. Clean your own house.
Do you need new luggage before your cruise? Most of us give our children multiple Christmas presents anyway, so make the needed luggage of those presents. My girls received bright red rolling duffle bags embroidered with their names a few years ago, and they're still very useful today.
Along those same lines, consider giving the family a shore excursion for a Christmas present. Slip a "bananna boat ride" into a Christmas stocking. Wrap a big box with a "Cozumel jeep ride for the family". Draw a silly picture on the outside of an envelope so they'll know what the money is for. Of course, after Christmas put the cash into your vacation savings account. I did something like this last year: everyone received a 5-day Hopper Pass in his or her stocking. If the grandparents ask what the kids would like this year, tell them: "They have more toys than they need now, but they'd really love Disney Dollars that they can spend on our upcoming cruise". Beach towels would be another nice "to be saved for the cruise" gift.
Do your kids use scout uniforms, baseball cleats, school uniforms or other expensive items that tend to be outgrown before their usefulness is gone? Consider organizing a used-item swap for the organization. You'll have first-dibs on the best stuff for your own kids.
Here's the recipe for that Homemade Gormet beer bread that people are scarfing up at $5/package: 3 cups self-rising flour, 1/3 cup sugar, one can of beer (or other carbonated drink). Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.
When you eat fast food, consider ordering a Happy Meal for yourself. A hamburger meal is enough for me most days, and it contains fewer calories. Obviously, this tip is more likely to ladies rather than men!
Before you use a coupon at the grocery store, compare the store-brand price. Unless you can double your coupons (which stores don't do in my area), the store-brand is less than the name brand with a coupon. Cereals are the worst for this! You can buy Cocoa-Puffs for 3.50 minus a 1.00 coupon, or you can buy store-brand Choco-Puffs for 1.75. The coupon purchase will cost .75 MORE than the store brand! This is not always true, but keep an eye out.
On the subject of cereal, I ususally buy the bagged cereals, and I pour them into large Rubbermaid pour-out containers: the plastic containers keep the cereal from going stale.
Do you have a food salvage store in your area? I can buy fast-food french fries ten pounds for $1. I regularly find things like Arby's frozen chicken patties for sandwiches, prepared taco meat for Taco Bell, etc. for $1/pound. Usually the packaging is damaged. I have to drive a ways to get to my salvage store and I never know what I'll find, but it's always worthwhile and it's always an adventure! Because most of the food comes in cases, I often shop with a friend and we divide the large cases into ziplock bags.
Consider buying at the discount bread store. Here's how it works in my area: the delivery trucks do their runs to the grocery stores, then they take their "leftovers" to the discount store. I can get three loaves of fresh bread for $1. Of course, the bread store is very conveniently located for me -- I wouldn't drive across town JUST for this small savings.
Save your receipts. If you buy an item and it goes on sale within two weeks, many stores will refund the difference to you. It's called a "price adjustment", and they'll do it because it gets you back into their store. Target,
Walmart, Belks', Kohl's, and other major stores will do this. Note: seasonal items are often exempt from this policy.
Never use a credit card if you won't be able to pay it off at the end of the month.
Reduce the amount of cleaning products you're using. I used to run through dishwashing detergent quickly; then I realized that I could get good results by filling only one of the two containers half full. Try using half the recommended amount of laundry detergent, shampoo, etc. You'll probably find that the results are just as good, and your bottles of cleaner will last longer.
Avoid using those expensive throw-away cleaning products that are becoming so popular today: the dishwashing detergent lumps, the Clorox and Windex wipes, etc. You're paying quite a premium for the convenience.
For a treat, take your kids to the free summer movies. Around here they run last year's "big movies" on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings -- completely free! Ask the kids if they'd rather have popcorn at the theater or make a $10 deposit into their
Disney cruise account.
If you're going to the gotta-buy-a-ticket movies, get a movie saver card and collect "punches" or "points" toward free admissions.
Examine your own spending habits to look for financial holes in your financial ship. I'll tell you one I'm really bad about: I'll go to the craft store and buy the materials for a big project, maybe a Christmas present or something fun to do with the kids. Then I'll let the stuff sit and sit and sit. Recently I went through my craft stuff, and a bunch of it is going into the yard sale -- not a good use of money. I need to work on that. What are your financial holes? Perhaps it's fast-food breakfasts, expensive coffee drinks, etc. Consider where you're overspending and find a way to fix the leak!
Perhaps a better way of spreading her wealth of knowledge would have been to just nicely say, hey here are some other ideas, rather than to be confrontational with the :"I just don't get it" approach. Just my little old opinion that maybe I should keep to myself!
