Pinching Pennies or Spending Dimes

January 16, 2008

Being a mother with a single child, I always go into a store to buy one thing, and leave with more than I came for. Then again, I have to be honest with you and I, it isn’t her fault. I have always been a spendy gal, and by gosh, she doesn’t even talk yet to tell me she wants something.

Yet when I went to the Dollar Bazaar (to save some bucks on notebooks), I ended up spending 17 dollars on things I am almost positive I didn’t need. A fleece hat for my daughter, a big green squeaky fish for her bath, two packs of permanent markers, a pack of highlighters, some wet cat food (even though we have dry at home that the cat eats), cat treats, a sign to hang in the foyer about the cat… and the reason I got all this when I don’t need it? Because it was only a DOLLAR! What is deceiving is the sign to the dollar store says, “Everything is $1.00 or less,” so we go in loading up 15 carts with “it’s only a dollar” on our minds and at the register we ended up spending 100 dollars.

On The Ohio State University website, there is a Manage Your Money article written by Ella Mae Bard. She states, “Avoid exposing yourself to things that will tempt you to spend. Stay away from the stores except when you have something you absolutely need to buy. Avoid "just looking." Browsing can lead to buying. Make a list and stick to it.” How I would love to make a list and stick to it… the problem is places like the dollar store.

In this month’s Redbook magazine issue, Christine Larson wrote an article called Spend Less Have More. In this article that opened my eyes, she gave websites that can help with spending money or saving money.

· FREECYCLE.ORG- a place where more than 4 million people belong and list items they no longer want or need. And it’s not EBay... they are giving these items away for FREE!

· GROCERYGAME.COM- tracks sales and specials at the grocery stores around the country.

· COOLSAVINGS.COM or CURRENTCODES.COM- lists thousands of coupon codes that helps you do your online shopping.

With websites like these, I should have a college savings up and running in no time for my daughter. That means less junk in the house, and more money in the bank.

©COPYRIGHT 2008 ASHLEY B. VINCENT