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Showing posts with label saving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label saving. Show all posts

Friday, January 13, 2017

Pennies Make Dollars, Dollars Make Sense

Remember that I gave up on making New Year resolutions a while back. I stand by that, but I have started making some New Year changes. The biggest one is to do with money.

When I think of saving money, I normally think of a regular account with my bank. That's not savvy enough. Plus, no matter how much I save in the bank account, I always find reasons to dip into those funds. Always. That money is too freaking accessible for someone as impulsive as I sometimes am.

I'd heard about ways to save with small investing apps. There are a lot of them that sound interesting:

Image result for i see broke peopleWhat sounded great about most of them is the small amount required to start an account. What I balked about at first were the monthly fees. Also, I was nervous about the idea of ~gulp~ investing. The only time I've ever been involved with investments is through employer offerings of IRAs and 401ks. Thinking of handling any kind of investments on my own sounded a little scary. Plus, my budget is so tight I actually call it a "budg". 

Still, I knew that I wanted to do something so I had to work on my doubts and concerns.

First, paying a buck-a-month fees to invest in a couple of plans is not that scary. I could give up chewing gum and never feel the loss of that.

Second, yes, my budget is tight, but only because I can be less than smart about my spending. 

My first step was to trim the "luxuries" from my budget. Here is what I cut:
Image result for broke people memes
  • Netflix was the first to go. I don't own a TV so streaming is my one way for that kind of entertainment. It's a $7.99/month charge I can easily give up. I have Amazon Prime which gives me access to TV shows and movies. Also, I get all the other Amazon Prime benefits that I do use a lot. (I have no idea why I didn't cut Netflix sooner.)
  • Planet Fitness was a $20.06 monthly fee that was a little frivolous. I could have had the $10/mo option if I used the gym enough to warrant a membership in the first place. My nephew has a couple of pieces of gym equipment that I can use anyway. 
  • I used to give myself a $40/mo allowance for makeup and other girlie goodies. I cut that down to $10. I don't need to spend so much money on hair and makeup until I am getting paid for my appearance.
  • I canceled my $15/mo Audible account. That hurt the most. Sort of. I listen to and read books the way some people watch TV. It's my addiction. I rarely am without a book in my hands or ears! The only way I am surviving this cut is by depending on my local library and Overdrive accounts for my fix. (By the way, I highly recommend these for anyone who loves books.)
Image result for champagne budget beer tasteI am making some other minor cutbacks too. When I grocery shop, I only get what I know for a fact that I'm going to use what I buy. I realized that this was a cut I could make when I looked in the freezer and saw meats that I'd bought a couple of months ago. 

Basically, I've cut over $70 a month from my spending. That might not be a lot to some people, but that's a huge amount to someone in my position. What the heck was my broke, champagne-tastes behind thinking all this time?!                         

I can now invest those amounts. Any type of investing involves risk, but I'm only risking the money that I was previously just giving away. This is a classic win-win for me.

For anyone who thinks that small-change investing is not worth it, take a glance at this:




That there is a screenshot of my Google Rewards history. All those tiny amounts in the middle column have added up over the last few years to the $120 amount you see at the top of the right-hand column. That's how a pennies make dollars. Seriously. 

So, yes, investing small amounts of money can make a lot of sense for people who can't afford to deal with big investment firms. As for myself, I'm really not that high-maintenance. If a ton of money suddenly rained down on me, the first thing I'd do is lock myself inside a nicely stocked cabin with book-lined walls!

I decided to start with Stash. It was a pretty painless set-up process. Now, I am looking at a couple of the other app choices. I can't recommend this for anyone else, but I can tell you that this is one New Year change of habit that I feel really good about.

Peace
--Free

Friday, October 07, 2016

**REVIEW** Cartoon Piggy Bank ATM

This is the "Cartoon Piggy Bank" sold on Amazon by Jhua.




It's cute, right? I wouldn't call it a "piggy bank" though. The shape is all wrong, and the image isn't even of a pig... 

I think I see a panda....

PROs:

Okay, so it's not a traditional "piggy bank", but it is a neat little bank. It is, in my opinion, suitable for kids and adults. The packaging labels the bank as being for "Ages 3+" but the features are nice for anyone:
  • It's set up like a little ATM
  • Works with a password
  • Takes both bills and coins
  • Voice prompts user when entering password correctly or incorrectly
  • Lights flash when entering passwords (red for incorrect & green for correct)
  • Beeping reminders when door left open
  • Comes with preset password (can be changed by user)
The unit is plastic and not very heavy (when empty) but it is sturdy.  

I think that kids (okay, and adults) will like using this just because of the ATM-like features. The password might deter snooping siblings and little visitors.

CONs:

One of the corners screws was missing on the unit I got. Not a huge deal because the other 3 screws are nice and tight, but... I'm sure that if I contact the Seller, they will be happy to send me a replacement, but that's a lot of hassle since I see no reason to ever be removing that entire backplate.

This comes with decent instructions but I did get a little annoyed because of a misprint. What is the most important thing when buying something like this for a kid? Batteries, right? Well, at first glance, the back of the box shows the battery compartment and labels the 3 battery slots with "AAA". The note to the side of this illustration indicates "AA" batteries. By the way, the correct answer is... "AA" size batteries.

You're going to need AA batteries, folks

Other than the problem of thinking I already the correct batteries on hand (and having to run out and get the right ones), I really like this little bank. I plan to give it to my nephew for either his December birthday or Christmas.

You will notice in my disclosure that I got this item at no cost in order to do a review. That's really good because as I write this post the Amazon price is $26.88. That's a little bit steep for something I would get a three-year-old, but I'd get it for someone 6+. DJ will be getting this review sample when he is five. He's a really smart 5 though!

How'd it work?

Watch as I demonstrate the bank. (You should be able to view the video as soon as it's finished uploading!)

To sum up, this is a good gift item and the features are really nice - they are even something of a learning tool for young ones. Just be aware that you will need to get your own "AA" batteries - not "AAA" - before you can use it. This bank is pretty useless without batteries.

You can find the item here on Amazon. 

Peace
--Free





DISCLOSURE: I received one or more of the items mentioned at a discount or no cost in exchange for doing a fair and unbiased review. Because of changes n their policy, I can no longer review these Amazon items on Amazon, but that's where they can be purchased.