There are two possible outcomes of frugality. One is to stretch your dollar so that you get a lot more in purchases. The other is to stockpile cash from all of the scrimping and saving. Let me give you an example. I have $50 to spend on gifts and scour the web /ads for deals and coupons. Through my frugal efforts, I am can either A): purchase a stellar gift for $25, a gift for another person for $15, and spend the remaining “saved” $10 on toiletries I need, thus stretching that original $50 that was earmarked for one gift or B): purchase a stellar gift for $25 and deposit the extra $25 into my savings account.

                It makes sense to invoke ‘A’ in certain situations. Around the holidays, stretching your dollar opens up the opportunity to purchase more gifts for your money, which is a higher priority because of the sheer number of people to buy for (at least in my family). If you do not make enough income to meet your needs and basic wants, then stretching your dollars may be the only option there is in order to make it in-between paychecks.

But don’t make the mistake that stretching your dollars alone means you will accumulate savings in a bank account. Whatever the reason is for stretching your dollars rather than banking them, your frugal efforts will never stockpile into an account if you keep purchasing more with your money rather than banking your frugal efforts. For all the scrimping, clipping, and strategizing you do, your bank account will be stunted. For me personally, I know that cash is liquid. Other than inflation whittling away at its value, I can count on cash being there. Cash can be used for anything; however, an extra lamp or a room full of books is more difficult to liquefy when you need money. And aside from this, stockpiling cash and investing it has the potential of growing passive income in the form of interest, dividends, and capital gains. You won’t ever squeeze a penny out of that new set of sheets.  

Frugal Sinks

I enjoy stockpiling cash from my frugal efforts so much that I refer to some objects around our home as “frugal sinks”. While looking at them, I calculate the amount of frugal “savings” that went into these objects. It seems particularly painful to me when I remember the frugal efforts leading up to these particular purchases, like the time when I saved $20 on new pillows at Marshall’s that we needed for guests coming into town and then I immediately fell in love with a half-off, gorgeous dress. Heck, it even happens at the grocery store. I retrieve a $5 off $50 HEB coupon from Recyclebank and end up taking those “savings” and purchasing a tub of Blue Bell ice-cream (chocolate chip cookie dough, of course).  

There is a frugal gremlin out there that likes to eat up the cash surplus from our frugal efforts: our self. If we aren’t careful, we could be the little old lady who lives in her clearance-marked-down-from-half-price shoes. We can stockpile things, or we can stockpile cash. If we’re lucky, we’ll find a happy medium and meet both our needs and our wants at the same time.

Thirty-Five year old Carrie Bradshaw had a stunning financial realization during an episode of Sex and the City. Let me set up the context here: Carrie and Aidan’s engagement fizzled after Aidan had bought Carrie’s and the adjoining apartment in order to knock down the wall and live in wedded bliss. The breakup included a sticky financial mess as Carrie now needed to buy her apartment from Aidan or vacate the property so that he could liquify and get out. Carrie could not fathom leaving her apartment, so she attempted to get a mortgage from the bank. Unfortunately, her assets were slim: our favorite New York sex columnist had just $700 in checking and $957 in savings. The bank teller inquired about property, stocks, or bonds. Carrie shook her head no, no, no. However, she soon discovered where all of her money went to: the shoes in her closet. The ridiculousness of her financial situation suddenly dawned on her, and she exclaimed, “I’ve spent $40,000 on shoes and I have no place to live? I will literally be the old woman who lived in her shoes!”                

As you look around your own home, parking lot, closet, and garage, do you notice a manifestation of your money? Has it ended up accumulating in plain sight of you instead of in a bank account? I am going to speculate on Carrie’s situation a bit to use her as an example; let’s see if any of this rings true. Carrie’s been working for most of her adult life. Just like us, Carrie graduated with a career in mind but had to work her way up to her Column and eventual Vogue Column placement at age 35. She has put years into her work, and although she loves what she does, she has nothing to show for it in her bank account—and this bugs her. Now that she is faced with a large financial problem, she is forced to either move or ask her friends for money. She has a lot of clothes, and a lot of shoes; to be honest she would love so many more of both if given the opportunity. But when she cannot handle this adult financial situation by herself because of her past choices, her power and independence is a bit diminished. And it makes her angry.

How does this turn out for Carrie? In typical television fashion, her bff Charlotte was willing to let go of a $30,000+ engagement ring for a marriage that went wrong and gave it to Carrie as collateral on a mortgage. Most of us would not be so lucky.

When I was around 11, my sister started collecting pigs. Everywhere we went we had fun hunting for pig chotchkes—little statues, stuffed animals, and other knick knacks. I felt left out (she is my older sister after all!). So one day when we were at a flea market I decided that I would start collecting something. I chose cats, as we had a lot of them growing up on the farm and I loved them all. For the next year or so I hunted for cat items and purchased many of the objects that I found. I didn’t display them in my room; in fact, I don’t remember what I did with them.  I completely lost interest in using my money to purchase another variation of the same thing.

What I am lucky about is having learned my lesson early on to not accumulate for accumulation’s sake. Or, at least I learned most of this lesson. Turns out, stockpiling things instead of stockpiling money is not something that only impulsive shoe-shoppers like Carrie Bradshaw or people with tool fetishes like Tim the Tool Man Taylor do.

Check out my post on Wednesday where I discuss Frugal Sinks (and not the kind you brush your teeth in).

You May Also Enjoy these Articles:

Bank It!: An Experiment
Bank It: Saving Beyond Your Means
Direct Selling: The Potential to Increase Your Bottom Line, and Your Cupboards

Hello Frugal Confessions Readers!

Here is my frugal confession of the week:

Last Saturday night we had a hot date: poker night with the family! For a little bit of gas and some wine coolers we got out of the house, spent time with each other, caught up with family, and just had fun. Big shout out to Jen and John for hosting–we had a lovely time.

 What is your confession of the week? I’d love to hear it!

I am having a trying year. It is the beginning of May, and I have managed to get sick (like can’t-get-off-the-couch-with-this-fever, throat-killing, glands-swollen, cough-scarring-my-insides sick) four times thus far. My sick leave has plunged to a dangerously sub-10 hour level after a distinct pattern of slipping into illness, being ill, regaining energy, feeling good for a week or two, and then slipping back into illness. The first time was normal, as I typically go through a 3-4 day period of the flu each year. The second time seemed coincidental, but I shrugged it off as my immune system unable to take on a different strand of bug or virus in its weakened state. By the third time I began seriously questioning my underlying health and contemplating whether or not my body had given up on me all together. The fourth time I felt numb and accepting of the idea that I may go in and out of sick cycles for the rest of my existence.

                It’s been depressing and enlightening to say the least.

                The depressing part is easy to explain, as anyone who has prolonged periods of illness can attest to its negative impact on quality of life and mood. Being sick is like being held in afterschool detention on a warm spring day; it’s all about what I could be accomplishing, what I could be pursuing, what I could be fill in the blank. Sickness being an enlightening process is the interesting part, and the lessons I have learned can be used for illness, financial circumstances, and life in general.

‘Why Me’ Thinking is Toxic

I am utterly convinced—having come out of a few “why me” sessions over the last few months—that this type of thinking can be paralyzing. To sit there and think negatively about your situation for a prolonged period of time will impair action, blow re-actions out of proportion, and make you ill. It is completely natural to become discouraged, to have negative thoughts, and to entertain a few moments of playing the victim—and trust me, we’ve all been a victim at one time or another. But planting a negative seed and fostering its growth through continual negativity can suck the life out of you. In a very physical way, I figured out that when I allowed myself to plunge into this negativity for half a day or more, I literally felt sicker. When I thought about all of the things I have to be thankful for, I stabilized. I am sure you can’t think yourself completely better, but I am equally sure that attitude plays a big role in the duration of illness or of any other situation in life.

Avoid Over-Generalizing

It is so easy for me to over generalize by sweeping all of 2012 into the “bad year” category. In fact, that is just what I did above! But the truth is life has ups and downs and oftentimes they intermingle. Even during the dips, there are nuggets of pure beauty and joy that perhaps I would not have known about or cherished as much as if I had been well this whole time. For example, being sick has afforded me the time to follow the saucy Nigella Lawson on her food shows—I’m a fan for life! We’ve been blessed this year with visiting family staying in our home either before or after I’ve been sick, so I have been able to fully enjoy their company. The weather has been mild and gorgeous, affording us many hours out in our backyard (heck, even the mosquitoes have held off until the last week or so).  Plus, I am just about finished with scrapbooking our pre-wedding/wedding/honeymoon era! That has brought me much joy.

Negative Circumstances are Catalysts for Positive Changes

There are always things in life that take a back seat even though they are no less important than your current task. Perhaps it has taken me getting very ill to pay attention and make some necessary changes that otherwise would have continued to get lost in the torrent of work and mindless errands. Spending many afternoons lying on a couch wondering “why” has motivated us to start taking food-based vitamins (the first time in our adult lives!), seek out and eradicate any mold issues in our home (i.e. the shower curtain), drink more water, and look into having our ductwork cleaned and treated.

Celebrate Everything Else that is Working

Around the third time the onslaught of illness crept in it felt tragic; I looked ahead over the next few days knowing that they would be spent watching the world spin by and that I could do nothing about it. During this period, I realized that life is such a delicate balance of many parts and even one of these parts swaying out of control can cause everything to lose that balance. In other words, things working so seamlessly most of the time are more extraordinary than I ever thought before. I suddenly was very thankful for the long periods of health, prosperity, and goodness that I have had. Just as I learned to stop over-generalizing, I also learned to celebrate what is working—the true miracle—rather than always fixating on the problems at the time.

                  Thankfully, the majority of people are not sick. But can we say that the majority of people are happy and accepting of their financial circumstances? Credit card debt, phrases like “keeping up with the Jones’” and reality television shows of the rich and famous mirroring the popularity of news segments suggest that many are not. I’m not going to pretend that I have been happy with my hand dealt these past few months. There have been many hours spent thinking, analyzing, and wondering what is going on with me. However, I’ve worked to accept my circumstances and hope that others can do the same.

Happy Friday everyone!

Here is my frugal confession of the week:

I have this burlap tote bag I picked up for free years ago from an organic food convention. About two years ago I finally figured out its purpose in life–to hold my knitting and knitting supplies. Unfortunately, my cat Lyla LOVES to get into my knitting, and this bag has no clasp to close its top. So, we have had to shove it under a shelf in the living room so that little Miss Lyla cannot get her paws on my yarn. Since it looked out of place, I thought about purchasing a ‘proper’ knitting bag so that I could keep the knitting by my side on our couch. But then the answer came to me–make a closure for the bag.

Last week I spent $3 on velcro and made a closure for the top of my knitting bag. No need to buy another now, and I can finally take it off of the shelf and display it near our couch. Hurrah!

What is your confession of the week? I’d love to hear it!

Sometimes what we want to give loved ones cannot come close to what we can actually afford to give them. Because there is pressure from the media, retailers, and other people to try and express all of this emotion towards others in a financial way, we may purchase a gift that is over our budget or fail to give anything at all since there is such a huge gap between what we want to give and what we can give. While it would be nice to really treat our mothers to something wonderful—brunch or afternoon tea at a restaurant—it is not always feasible to do so. Fortunately, there are always options to show others how we feel about them without spending a lot of money. At the end of the day it is the feeling we leave with our loved ones that matters the most, not the price tag on a gift. Just ask anyone if they would rather have a new television or your unconditional love and support.

For Mother’s Day, I’d like to give you some frugal ideas that will allow you to express your love and gratitude.  

Spend Time with Your Mom

Kids become teenagers, who then become adults with our own careers, families, and lives. Somewhere along the way most of us spend much less time with our mothers than we used to. Taking an afternoon, a day, or a few hours to spend with your mother will truly show her how much you care. Here are a few ideas to make it a special occasion:

• Invite her out for a cup of coffee or tea and catch up
• Attend church with her
• Rent a movie she wants to see and bring over the popcorn/a dessert
• Invite her over for a family dinner or for brunch in her honor

Offer Your Services to Make her Life Easier

Is there something that you do that your mother could benefit from (or has hinted she would like help with)? For example, Paul works in IT and could offer to clean up his mother’s computer for her. Perhaps Mom needs help with downloading apps or music. Gutters need cleaned, cars need washed, and I’m sure your Mom has a thing or two she would love some help with. Better yet, make her a pitcher of iced tea and let her relax while you knock a few things off of her to-do list.

Purchase a Token of Love for Under $5

There are many small tokens you can purchase for your mother for under $5.00.

• Single Serving from a Bakery: A cupcake from a cupcake boutique, 2-3 macaroons, a slice of cake, etc. can be purchased for less than $5 at most bakeries. The bonus is that the baked good will likely come in a pretty box or bag.
• Purchase a Plant from the Garden Center: You can certainly find a plant for under $5 if you stay out of florists (nothing against florists, but you are on a tight budget so it is best to go directly to a plant center). Would it be better to purchase an annual or perennial? Think about location as well; would your mother be likely to plant it in the ground, or keep it inside?
• Frame a Memory: Is there a day the two of you spent together over the last year or two that you could commemorate by printing photos from? Either provide several photos tied with ribbon, or purchase a picture frame (some great deals at Ross’s, TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, etc.) and present her with it. If you do not have photos, take the time to photograph you and your family out in nature (spring is a beautiful time to do so!).  
• Make Homemade Chocolate-covered Strawberries: These are simple and oh so tasty. You can purchase a cute takeout box from a craft store to spruce up the gift.
• Purchase Gourmet Dipping Oil: Ross’s, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx’s, etc. are great at offering gourmet foods at huge discounts (always check expiration dates). Peruse their food aisle and choose something mom would like. If you have money leftover, pair it with some fresh, crusty bread.  

What are your plans for Mother’s Day? I would love if you can share ideas in the comments below.

I have taken the time to link to some great personal finance blogs that have caught my eye. But I have yet to share some of the wonderful DIY/home bloggers who bring such joy to my day and to our home through their wonderful and (oftentimes) frugal decorating ideas. My “favorites” tab is filled with a bazillion projects from these types of blogs—typically for very little money, and always much less than you would pay if you purchased it all ready made. Even though I have not had the time to complete even half of the projects that I would like to, I wanted to take the time to share some of the great ideas I have incorporated into our own home. Several are from other bloggers and I’ve taken this opportunity to link to their post that inspired me. A few are from my own ideas (though I am sure I was inspired somewhere along the way from others), and others were suggestions from friends or family.

                Please note: these projects have been completed over the last two years and I did not save all of the receipts. Some prices are approximates.

• Tufted Headboard: I wanted to dress up our guest bedroom and provide a place that people can prop their head against. However, I did not want to purchase a bed frame (we do not even have a bed frame aside from the basic metal one). When I came across this DIY headboard, I fell in love! I didn’t even know that you could make your own. I decided to not do the “tufting”, but am very happy with the results nonetheless. For this project we purchased a sheet of plywood ($25), fabric ($15), and foam ($15).

• Origami Crane Mobile: I was inspired by this pinwheel mobile to make one of my own. My sister had lovingly crafted 100 cranes (origami) for my bridal shower two years ago, and they were sitting in a bag in my closet waiting for a purpose in our home. Perfect opportunity! The dowel rods were purchased from a craft store for a few dollars, and I used fishing line from my fishing pole (it’s been dormant in our closet for years now). The mobile has added so much to my creative space!

• Fabric Wall Art: We had very bare walls in our guest room, and I’ve seen the growing trend of using fabric as wall art (also my friend Aurora had shown me some they used in their bedroom—looked really nice!). At a fabric store I was able to find this romantic fabric written in French (could say something very unromantic…I am not really sure) and glued it around a metal frame kit I found at a craft store for a few dollars.

• Made Ceiling Fans look High-End: My friend Helen told me that you can unscrew fan blades and paint them—what a great tip! There were very functional, but pastel-colored ceiling fans in each of our rooms that were completely not our style. Instead of replacing them (a small fortune), I took off each of the blades and spray-painted them a glossy mahogany color. They look fantastic! Total cost was about $16 for the paint. I went a little crazy and even “upgraded” the ceiling fan in our garage.

• Expanded Kitchen Pantry Space: For about $60, we replaced the shelves with wood that we stained a mahogany color. The shelves are now wider than the previous ones, giving us more space. And we reused the shelf liners from the previous owners as they were in great shape.

• Created Succulent Planters: I came across this wonderful idea to use IKEA utensil holders (Asker container—$5.99 each) as succulent planters. We have a window over our sink that gets a decent amount of sunshine, and it turned out to be the perfect spot for these!

• Made Herb Hangers: I have always wanted to hang herbs in our kitchen, but couldn’t figure out the best way to do so. While shopping at IKEA a year ago I found these little brushed nickel bathroom hooks for towels and such (a few dollars each). Paul installed them on a lip underneath our cabinets, and I used thread and little wooden paper clips (thank you Vickie!) to hold the herbs. Paul’s mother has kept us in good supply with fresh rosemary—thank you!

• Created a Jewelry Holder: I saw this fantastic jewelry holder idea from Real Simple Living magazine and made a copy of it myself. Forutnately I had a bulletin board on hand that I got free from my last company (they periodically gave items away they no longer wanted), and I had curtains from my old apartment right out of college. I used the curtains as fabric for the board, and purchased a gold/metallic paint to paint the frame. Then I purchased colorful pins, and hung the piece of art in my closet!

Projects on My Can’t-Wait-To-Do-List

•  Small Space Garden DIY Pallet: I love vertical gardening, and think this is an awesome way to reuse pallets. Why pay $20-$30 or more for a structure to hang things on when you can just make one yourself? Heck, why not make some pallet bookshelves why you are at it?
• Roman Shades: I pictured gorgeous (but expensive) roman shades in our kitchen, and now it appears that I can make it happen with some sweat equity and fabric!
• Love Map: This is such an adorable way to commemorate your partner and your history together. Just not sure where we will hang it…

I have many other projects on my list, but I would like to focus on just a few in the coming months instead of overwhelming myself.

I would love for you to share your own DIY successes in the comments below! What do you hope to accomplish around your home over the next few months?

Hello Frugal Confessions Readers!

Here is my frugal confession of the week:

There is a drink that I adore at Starbucks: the Iced Soy Chai. However, it costs a small fortune on top of the fact that my stomach does not always like the soymilk. So, this past week I purchased a carton of Chai Tea Concentrate for $4.99 for 32 fluid ounces to mix with almond milk. Yummy! Not only does it settle well with my stomach, but it also costs a fraction of Starbucks (I calculated that it costs me approximately $0.72 per drink to make my own instead of $3.53 per drink for a “tall” size).

What is your confession of the week? I’d love to hear it!

I like to keep track of our annual energy consumption. One of the reasons is because when we purchased our home in the fall of 2009, I asked the previous owners what they paid for electricity. Amazingly, it was close to $500 per month! This cost shocked my husband and me into being extremely conservative in our energy use (such as unplugging all appliances after each use except for the refrigerator and bedside lamps, and changing out all of the light bulbs to more energy efficient ones). The other reason is that I genuinely enjoy finding ways to reduce our energy consumption.

                In 2010, our energy cost (electricity and natural gas) was $1,628.86. This was while paying 10.8₵ per kWh. I snagged 9.1₵ per kWh at renewal of our electricity contract in late 2010 and figured we were set to shave an extra $171 off of our annual electricity costs in 2011. Our actual 2011 energy cost (electricity and natural gas) was $1,587.79. This was a savings of only $41.07, even though we were paying less per kilowatt than the year before.  When I thought about why we had not seen the $171 savings we should have in 2011, I figured it must have been because of the intense heat and drought we experienced here in Houston—I am sure you remember how tough our year was in terms of weather.

So how did our energy consumption compare to others? The Energy Information Administration (EIA) comes out with an energy survey every so often with the latest being 2005 (the new one was scheduled to be out in late 2011/early 2012; however, I could not locate the report). Below is a list of what people in our situation spend on average per year in energy costs to give a better comparison:

• 2 Person Household: $1,847
• Single-Family Detached Home: $2,060
• Year of Construction (1970-1979): $1,654
• 3,000-3,400 Square Feet: $2,172
• Texas Household: $2,051 per year

Thankfully, our energy costs are below average for each category. It’s nice to know the changes we have made are paying off! I hope we can shave even more off of our annual energy bills in 2012.

How was your energy use in 2011? Any changes you have plans to make this year in order to decrease your energy consumption?

Earth Day/Week is here, and I thought I would take the opportunity to update you on the reward point programs I introduced about a year ago. These programs are something I am particularly excited about because I love to recycle and lessen my carbon footprint, and you won’t ever see me turning down reward points! Most of these programs listed below I have used over the last year and can give further details on the amount of points we have accumulated and redeemed for. Check them out and see if any are worth it to you.

• My Emissions Exchange (Out of Business, or at least Out of Domain): I was very excited about this website a year ago, which offered a Cap and Trade program for individuals to reduce their personal carbon emissions and then sell the credit on the carbon market. However, it appears that they went out of business (or at least out of domain; the domain name is no longer valid).
• Earth Aid (now MyEnergy.com): At this site you earn Earth Aid Rewards Points for each kilowatt-hour of electricity, each ten cubic feet of natural gas, and every twenty gallons of water that you save relative to your baseline (based on energy and water use from the previous year). This program is supposed to be very convenient because it retrieves your baseline data for you from participating companies. Unfortunately, none of the companies that I use for energy are supported, so my data is not updated (and I can’t find a way to update my own data). Also, the rewards do not seem too appealing; right now we can get a coupon for $40 off of an environmentally-friendly cleaning. Since September of 2010, Paul and I have accumulated 324 points and have redeemed none.
• Greenopolis: The Greenopolis Recycling System compliments curbside recycling and differentiates itself in three ways: it is product and material specific, it is traceable and it offers recycling on the go. Each time you recycle using the Greenopolis Recycling Kiosks, you receive a receipt indicating the number of items recycled and a deposit statement with a prize code redeemable for points at Greenopolis.com. Materials you can deposit are: PET #1 plastic, HDPE #2 plastic, Aluminum, or Glass beverage containers. Check out this link for Greenopolis Kiosks in Houston.
• Nuride: This site rewards you for carpooling, taking the bus/train/light rail, walking, telecommuting, or bike riding around town and for your commute instead of driving in your car alone. You can join through an organization affiliation, so check to see if your employer or school participates. I joined in 2010, and have earned a total of 8,800 points. I cashed 1,000 points in for two $5 coupons off of $50 at H-E-B.
• Recycle Bank: Houston participates in this; check to see if your city does (if it doesn’t for the recycling portion, you can still sign up and complete little quizzes and such for rewards points). For recycling we receive points that are good towards gift cards, coupons, and other rewards. Since beginning with this rewards site in April 30, 2010, we have earned 3,439 points for recycling 1130 pounds of materials and completing quizzes online. So far we’ve redeemed for a free bag of Spec’s coffee, a coupon for $5 off a $25 purchase at Half Priced Books, and a $10 Gap gift card (we still have 940 points).

All in all, I most enjoy Recyclebank from the list above. They are very user-friendly and offer rewards that I want. I think MyEnergy.com offers a great service…except that they need to expand at a faster pace.

Do you know of any rewards programs I missed? I’d love to hear about them!