Veto Valentine's Day!

I'm not the horrible, cold hearted cynic you think I am.  I like flowers as much as the next girl, BUT, you pay a premium on those flowers on the 14th.  Please celebrate with your Valentine, but avoid the boxed chocolates, stuffed things, and all those plastic, white tents you see in the grocery store parking lots. 

Celebrate instead with a nice meal (I did see ribeyes on sale...) at YOUR house and gasp...maybe some candles!  A pink teddy bear that says "I love you" means nothing to me.  My husband washing dishes and putting the kid to bed - now that's what lights my fire.  

Just remember, that little heart shaped box of chocolates that you buy on the 14th for $15 will likely be $7.50 on the 15th.  That, my friends, is a loss any way you look at it.    

 

Sweat the Small Stuff

Obviously I don't mean the small stuff like the idiot that cut you off or the cashier that somehow managed to text and ring up your purchase, but rather the small stuff like the bottle of water you bought at the gas station or the shirt (or any other clothing item) that was on sale at the mall that you didn't really need, but it was on sale...

I'm not saying don't buy those things, but don't just pull out your wallet on a whim.  Take a minute and THINK about what you're buying and what the cost is.  For me, it's much easier to think about the $2 bottle of water if I have a financial goal in mind.  So now I think about how I would have $2 more toward an Australia trip or $2 closer to getting a wood floor in the living room. 

It's hard to think like that if you don't have a big picture or goal.  The first goal you should work on is building an emergency fund - something that can get you through six months if something drastic happened - losing a job, big car repair, hospitalization or injury...(I know that's not fun saving, but foreclosing on your house isn't fun either!) But, once you have that, identify what you love to do and work on saving toward that.  Open a special savings account just for that purpose (online accounts typically have better interest rates than a walk up location).  

In the end it's all about what makes you happy.  Personally I think I'll enjoy Australia a whole lot more than a bottle of water.  Speaking of water, check this out! 

Put Google to work for you!

Lately I have had to replace a lot of 'blah' items like refrigerator water filters, house phone batteries, and a camera charger that apparently didn't like the voltage in Dubai.  With a few minutes of research online, I found replacements for much less than if I walked into a physical store.  I didn't replace the items with their name brand equivalent, but even if you wanted to, a few minutes of googling would at least save you a few bucks.  Not to mention the fact that you don't have to leave the house!  Plus, I've found that you can get reduced shipping by buying a certain amount.  If I bought $75 worth of stuff when I bought the water filters, the shipping price dropped significantly.  So, I just bought three filters instead of two.  Done.  Cheers to filtered water and avoiding all those plastic bottles that are bad for my wallet AND the environment!  


Another research benefit - and this is not my personal experience because my husband buys all things electronic for the house, but I've seen the effects - is when you're in the market for a new television, computer, digital camera...You can read reviews of the products you're interested in and compare pricing.  This will take more than a few minutes, but could ultimately save you hundreds of dollars either in finding the best price or purchasing the best quality item that will last longer without malfunctions. 


Now, you just have to figure out how to tear yourself away from Facebook and open a search engine.