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.

DIY Saturday: Hot Pads and Coasters

When I first was starting to get interesting in crafting, there was something scary about walking into those stores.  You are completely surrounded at all times by scissors and ribbon and paper and glue and glitter and... Well, you get the point.

Eventually, I started to get used to the stores and I actually enjoy going to them now (Michael's is a personal favorite of mine - they have great sales).  However, I could never quite get used to the prices of everything.  A single bottle of glue can be $5!  That is definitely not in my budget.  Just give me classic Elmer's during Back-To-School week for a dime.

So recently, I started thinking... How can I still make some crafts, inexpensive gifts (handmade is always a bonus for Moms, etc), decorations, or anything else for my apartment?  I want to spend next to no money.  The idea hit me like that one raindrop slamming into your cheek before the rainstorm really begins.  Recycle.

There are so many things that can be made from stuff lying around the house (which might have been found when you were organizing!) or stuff that I can grab at a sale/my mom's house for next to nothing.  Think about it: cardboard, paper, clothes, CDs, plastic bottles, soda cans, tin cans, light bulbs, books - there are so many left over and/or forgotten things that can be used to make something else entirely new.  On the HGTV show Decorating Cents, there is a section called Trash to Treasure, where they show how to revitalize an item that had been discarded!

So welcome to Do-It-Yourself Saturday!  I am taking these ridiculously inexpensive ideas and showing them to you - either how to make them, websites to go to, or maybe even a tutorial or two when I get further down the line.

For today, let's think about hot plates and coasters.  Coasters may not be a necessity to you, but in order to keep your furniture looking better for longer, they are definitely a good idea.

Those in the picture are made from cardboard!  As a student, I get Amazon.com boxes delivered to me all the time!  For this project, all you need is scissors, glue, maybe some ribbon, a steady hand, and an imagination. 

They work really well. Plus, if you have a birthday or anniversary coming up, they can be given as a good gift for under $1, if you know how to find cheap ribbon (think clearance bin).

The cardboard hot pads come from the Recycled Crafts Blog.  New idea every day, if you're interested.  Also, if you're a little more crafty than I, then you might want to try to crochet some plastic bags into coasters.  Or why not try old CDs that you never listen to?  What about their cases?  Seriously, if you like the art on the cases, you don't have to do any sort of crafting, unless you want to embellish them.  Just slap them on the table and call it a day.

Use your imagnation!

I Was Only Trying To Help...

A good friend came up to me a couple months ago, telling me his stories of financial woe.  His car is on the verge of a complete breakdown, school fees were eating him alive, one of his roomates lost his job, and the other roommate simply just never puts up enough money to cover both rent and bills.  He had to put all his savings into bills and rent, just so he could have a place to live.

Why did he come to me?  Although I am not quite in the same boat as he, I have been trying to save money for the past couple years, in order to save for my future.  I'm in college studying to be a high school teacher.  I'm living with roommates in an apartment near school.  I am the typical broke college student, and due to my chosen profession, I will continue to be broke for a long time.  I've learned (and am still learning) quite a few tricks of the trade.

So, he came to me to ask for some ways that he might be able to save some money.  He had three must-haves:

1. Use as few coupons as possible (he gets embarrassed sometimes)
2. Quick solutions that do not require him to spend hours upon hours Googling or hunting down specific sales or bargains
3. Not a "Quick Fix".  He wanted some methods that could turn into habits and not something that's only good at one store on one day at one time.

I had a million and half ideas for him!  I started rattling them off the top of my head.  The problem came in when they didn't stop and kept flowing like salmon during spawning season.  I really was only trying to help...

But... he quickly became overwhelmed.  He said I needed to slow down and make him a list or give him one idea at a time.  I ended up doing both.  I made a huge list.  Pages upon pages on a Microsoft Word document.  Then I started giving him one idea at a time, and I grouped them into categories, like "How to Save Money on Electricity."

He loved it!  He's reopened a savings account and passed some of the ideas onto his roommates (in the hopes to get some money back).  So, that brings us to where we are now.  I am writing the "Just Starting Out Blog."  It's for people like you, me, and my friend, who don't have time to clip umpteen coupons or go spelunking on the internet or in newspapers for the biggest sales.  Our time is valuable!  We can't have a technique that works for one day - we need to make being thrifty a habit, and not just something to do when we're short on cash.

Every week, I will have a theme for my posts, like "Coupon-Less Grocery Shopping" or "Saving Some Green: Environmentally Friendly Savings."  I'm going to do the hunting for you!  Come and join me on this journey.  Bookmark it, Follow it, Google it, or do whatever else is easiest.  Visit once a day, once a week, or once a month.  There'll always be something new; you won't be disappointed!