Isla Fisher and M-- Man are Twins!

After their last conversation, the Banker left M— Man in the lurch.  She left before he could figure out the next hidden fee that caused the magical Flying Dollar.  Luckily, M—Man had been reading a book series.

The series is called Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella.  The main character, Becky Bloomwood, is being plagued with debt.  She has overdrawn her accounts and used the ATMs way to many times.  M—Man and his trusty dog, Dollar, read them together.  Then they saw the movie with Isla Fisher.


They decided that it was time to take matters into their own hands (or paws, as the case may be), just like Ms. Fisher.  They did the research and found out that every time they withdrew from an ATM that was not from their bank, they were charged a fee.  That fee is sometimes over $3 per transaction.

They also found out that when they took more money out of their checking account than they had, they were charged a fee.  They felt it didn’t make sense because if they didn’t have enough money for their transaction, how was the bank going to get their extra money?

They didn’t want anything to do any bouncing, except for the owner of Mediterranean Place, since he refused to sell or trade for a “Get Out of Jail Free” card and had just bought a pogo stick.

They watched the news and started to plan ahead.  They balanced they checkbooks once a week and monitored their transactions online.  When they needed to get cash from an ATM, they took out larger amounts, so they wouldn’t have to do it too often.

Eventually, because of Dollar’s connections, they even checked out the Federal Reserve and got some advice.   Within a couple months, they were rolling in savings.  M— Man started to plot against the Banker.  Even though he was now keeping more of his money, he was starting to worry that she had been the cause of all the Flying Dollars.

But a bank is a business after all.  They have to make money.  Some do it by overdraft and ATM fees.  Others give out more loans at higher interest rates.  M— Man held no hard feelings.  He learned.

But now he just wished he could turn back time.  He wished he had magic.  Come back tomorrow to see if his magical Time Turner appears…

Wal-Mart May Sell For Less, But Do You Buy For Less?

Take a trip with me.  We're walking into Wal-Mart or wherever you do your normal day to day shopping, like Target or the grocery store.  We've been chanting in the car the entire ride about what we needed to buy.  We say that the toothpaste is low; we're almost out of soda; Roommate X used the last paper towel.  We know exactly what we're going to go in and get.  It's going to be a quick stop.

So we're walking in and skip grabbing a cart because we're not going to be in here that long.  We go straight to the personal care section to grab our toothpaste.  Then we remember we're almost out of razors.  We continue this way for a couple minutes - we get something on our mental list and remember something else.  I'll go back and get the cart so you can stay here, it's no big deal.

A little while later, we are at the check-out.  After we have to wait a while, because there are never enough registers open when it is not the holidays, we reach the counter and cascades of purchases flow out of our arms onto the rolling conveyer.  Finally, the cashier starts ringing.  We get more and more anxious as the total climbs higher and higher... we walk out completely depressed and $83 poorer.

If that's not your style, I will bet you that you fit into this second scenario.  We may only spend $20 each time we go shopping like this, but we go every 3 or 4 days.  I found this website where a man, for some unknown reason, kept all his WalMart receipts for almost 7 entire years!  He went to the store every couple days.  After looking at some of his totals, I panic to add them up for a month.  Frightening.

 

The point is, guys, that most people spend spend way too much on what they consider everyday purchases.  These are the things that you need to keep on living and don't really have the option to skip.  For me, it's shampoo.  If I skip one day, my hair turns into a greasy, oily mess.  I always have to have it on hand.

Plus, this is not just a problem that those Just Starting Out face... everyone does.  My mom even has an ongoing joke about it.  She says that if she spends less than $100 at WalMart, the buzzers at the front of the store will go off when she tries to leave to make her go back and buy more.  "Luckily," she's never had to worry about this fear.  She always reaches her quota.

Because of all this, I am making those everyday purchases this first official weekly theme!  There are tips, tricks, ideas, and hidden insight I've found that helps out.  But I don't know everything... if you have a better idea than mine or want to add something to them, please let me know!  I want to keep finding new ways to save money on these things.

So next time we're out making these purchases, let's chant something new.  Instead of repeating our list over and over, let's say:

Must Save Money.

Must Save Money.

Must Save Money.

Must Save Money.

PS - I belong to the second scenario.  I don't spend much at one time, but it seems like I am always going to Target or WalMart.