A Sign of the Times

My sister, a regular gym-goer, always complains how busy the gym gets in January and the early part of February. Folks have obviously made their New Year's resolutions to get fit/lose weight, and they pack the work-out facilities. By the end of February and into March, as folks start breaking their resolutions, attendance starts to peter out and just the die-hards remain.

It appears that this downturn in the economy has made people start their resolutions now to cut back on expenses even though January is still 2 months away. Like those exercise-resolution-makers who pack the gym, people who have resolved to save lately are packing my Rite Aid drug store at 7 AM on Sundays!

In the past 3 weeks, I've been in town -- and at Rite Aid -- on two Sunday mornings. Rite Aid has had some great deals, many of which are free after rebate. I've learned over the past 3 or 4 years of being serious about sales, rebates, and coupons that you do have to get to the store early to ensure you'll get items you want. The best deals go fast.

A Rite Aid that's not too far from my house opens at 7 AM on Sundays. Knowing there really is no other fool who is going to be there at that hour on a Sunday, I drag myself out of bed and swoop in to get my pick of everything during the first minutes of that week's sale. I may run into one or maybe two other people -- usually a senior citizen buying a newspaper -- but I rarely see anyone honing in on the sale and rebate items like me...until recently.

Three weeks ago there were so many people there after the rebate items that I thought it was Black Friday! I couldn't believe it! This past Sunday there was similar crowd. Now the store wasn't really packed, but usually it's just me. Now I have 4 to 6 fellow early-bird deal-finders.

Then on Sunday afternoon, I read an article in the business section of the Washington Post about Snipping, Clipping, Scrimping. Apparently, it is a sign of the economic times.

It's hard to say when, but the economy will one day get back on track. I wonder if people will continue going after the sales, rebates, and coupons -- continue saving money -- after the stock market works itself out. Or will they fall off the bandwagon like so many of the exercise New Year's resolution people at my sister's gym?

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Traveling with a Budget

Believe it or not, I've never been too good with a budget. I think I'm too much of a literal thinker to make it work. Variable expenses (i.e. electric bill, water bill) frustrate me. It's high one month and low another month. Even grocery shopping is like that. Sometimes I want to stock up on a sale item, but that puts me over budget. I understand the concept. I've even had others explain it to me. But it's just never worked for me.

However, there is one budget that I actually like: our travel budget.

My husband and I take 2 to 4 trips a year for him to run marathons. He has a goal to run one in every state! It's a great way to see the country. This past Saturday, he just completed his 24th marathon (23 states plus DC). This time we were in Newport, RI. He only has a handful of states left east of the Mississippi, which means the cost of these ventures is going to start to really increase (when we add in airfare for two). But marathon trips are our "thing," and we have written the expense into our monthly savings plan.

We put a small amount of our paychecks toward our Travel Fund. Then, we beef it up with a variety of other sources (i.e. proceeds from yard sales/Craig's List sales, credit card cash back bonuses, savings account interest). It's a really good plan.

Then, before a trip, we think about all of the things we want to do while we are gone. We include budget line items for lodging, gas, tolls, airfare, car rental, food, admission fees to attractions, souvenirs, race entry fee, etc. Of course, I have a spreadsheet for our travel budget. I print it out, fill in the actual spending as we go and track our progress.

Thanks to a drop in gas prices, we did extremely well with our budget on our trip to Newport. We are leaving the leftover money from this trip in our savings account to put towards a future trip. Maybe this kind of budget works for me because it's over just a short period of time...

The budget actually helped us "live large" on this most recent trip without feeling guilty. I think it's because we had a complete understanding of what we spent and what we still had.

Michael's treat after a marathon is always a big steak dinner. This post-race celebration was no different. However, we were in the Ocean State, so we had to get some seafood too. We went for the $35 surf and turf -- filet minon and half of a lobster! We budgeted a decent amount for the steak dinner, but our big dinner choice put us $15 over the limit. No problem! We knew we still had money in the budget. We weren't looking to use up every penny just because it was there. However, this was a great way to treat ourselves -- guilt-free! And what a great dinner it was!

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It's Worth Shopping Around

We are still working on getting our "married" house in order. The other week Michael came up from the garage and declared that we really needed shelving down there to help get organized. I supported that idea. We were discussing what freestanding shelves would cost. I figured at least $50. He thought that was entirely too much and thought we should look for something less expensive or scrap the idea. My thought was that if it's something that we really do "need," and it could be used for a long time to come, we should go for it.

It just so happened that the next Sunday a set of shelves like I already have in a basement closet was on sale at Target for $50 (regular $55 -- not a huge savings, but a savings none-the-less). I already know that I like this shelving unit, so I suggested we get one or two more to put in the garage.

Michael suggested that we shop around. Ugh. There a bit of irony here, but when I get my mind set on something, I don't actually like to shop around. I know that seems really strange given my frugal-ness. But I knew it was a product I liked, and the price was reduced. What more could we need? However, I agreed to get other "bids."

I checked out the websites for Target (in case they had something better than this shelving unit), Wal-Mart, Lowe's, and Home Depot. We don't actually have a Lowe's or Wal-Mart very near us, so it would have had to have been a great deal for us to consider buying anything from either of those stores. But I needed to check them out. I also thought I should check out Craig's List.

As it turned out, we found a great shelving system that someone was offering on Craig's List. There were two sets, and each held more than the one I liked at Target. The seller was offering them for $25 each, so we could get two for the price that I was willing to pay for one. Home Depot sells them, and the description sounded great and the ratings from consumers on the website were nearly perfect. We went to check them out, and they looked great. They come apart and can be reassembled so easily. Best of all, the seller was offering them for 38% less than we could buy them new at Home Depot. (I doubt Home Depot would ever put them on sale with that deep of a discount.) They are in good condition...maybe a little dusty/dirty. However, they are going to be in our garage and probably get dirty anyway.

We got them last week the night before we were going out of town for several days. Michael put them together that evening and we started filling them. We haven't finished yet, but they are perfect!

Wow! I couldn't believe this deal. I was so glad that Michael strongly encouraged me to shop around, despite my resistance. Looking on Craig's List really paid off. We are on our way to having an organized garage -- at a discount. You can get much better than that! ;-)

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I Made $31 on Craig's List Tonight!

This evening I sold some leftover things from our wedding through ads on Craig's List, and I made $31 more for our Travel Fund! It's amazing because I didn't have a lot of things from the wedding that I could sell. I know so people buy lots of vases, linens, etc. But we didn't have any of those things. I'm also keeping several things (i.e. my dress, veil, flower girl basket, ring bearer pillow). However, so far, I've made a total of $51 on Craig's List with wedding leftovers. Not bad.

There is apparently a pretty big market for wedding stuff on Craig's List. I suppose it's because weddings can be expensive, so people are looking for ways to cut corners. I've sold my things for about 60% of their regular retail prices. Most of this stuff you can get at craft stores like Michael's and A.C. Moore. The biggest discount I've ever seen on wedding-related items at one of those stores is 55% off, but usually 40-50% is the best you can do. So, by just undercutting the regular retail price, I'm able to move this stuff on to a new home.

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Finding More Ways to Be Thrifty

"Goodbye, Money!" That's what I've been saying over the past week as I've watched my retirement savings shrink and shrink. Of course, I've got decades to go before I need to use that money. So, it's painful to watch, but I'm confident the market will be in good shape again one day...I'll be okay. In fact, we aren't changing our contributions to our 401(k)s or IRAs. It's actually slightly exciting to know that we getting stocks on sale. (Now, if I could only find a coupon for Target 2045!)

I suppose a lot of people who haven't been super thrifty are at least thinking about it now. As I mentioned in The Same Old Message, I still listen to all of the saving ideas out there in print, on TV, and on the web. However, it's becoming more and more challenging to find new ideas.

My friend Bryan and fellow Save 4 Fun reader emailed me about an idea he got from Clark Howard that he's trying this year. My dad told me about this one too...so believe it or not, it wasn't new to me. However, I haven't actually tried it. But I might now. Here's what Bryan wrote:

Late last year a caller to the on the Clark Howard Show was asking Clark about his shaving razors...Razors are something I bought frequently and aren't cheap (I like the Gillette Sensor 3, which , in my area, typically costs about $12 for 4 or 5 blades and I was replacing the entire pack every two months or so).

The caller and Clark discussed the reasons razor blades become dull. There are two main reasons: the obvious one where the blade gets dulled by contact with the hair follicles, but the other (and most substantial reason) is because of oxidation of the blade after it has been in contact with water. So, they suggested drying the razor after every use. There are three main methods that they mentioned and I've tried all of them: 1) the best, in my opinion, is to use the hair dryer - typically, it's right there on the counter for most people in the bathroom and it only takes about 10 seconds to dry the blade, 2) wiping it off on a towel - again, this is fairly easy, just make sure to wipe in the opposite direction of the blades - you don't want to cut the towel - and thus damage the blades or 3) dip it in rubbing alcohol - this makes the alcohol replace the water and then the alcohol dries out very quickly - I don't prefer this one because I'm just paranoid I'll forget to rinse the blade before the next use and then I'll be cutting my face with alcohol - not pleasant.

SO, the big question: does it work? I started trying it in January of this year. It's now October and I'm on the same blade! My shave this morning was as close as it was 10 months ago! One note: I don't shave every single day - typically every other day. Clark says it works with disposables just as well. This year, I've spent about $2.40 (for one blade) - compared to last year when I spent about $72 (for about 30 blades total). So, spending 10 seconds to dry the blade each day I shave has saved almost $70.

The next best thing to hearing a new saving tip is knowing someone who has made it successful and has actually saved using it. Right now, I have a basket full of razors I've gotten for free or a little bit of money (because of sales, coupons, and rebates). I'm not too picky on my razors. However, I might choose a good one and try this idea. I know it will take a little time for me to remember to do it each morning after my shower. But I'll eventually make it a habit, I'm sure.

This is also a good way to not only save money but create less waste!

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Making More Money in the Yard

Getting our new "married" home settled has taken quite a bit of time and effort. Especially after the arrival of all of the wedding gifts, we had so many duplicate items. In some cases, we had triplicates (his, hers, and ours). That called for another yard sale!

We did better than during the spring yard sale in terms of planning and the outcome. So, here's what worked for us this time:

1. We priced items as we found them. Last time, we made a huge pile of the course of several weeks and declared it yard sale stuff. Then, after it was all gathered, I priced it. That was one huge task that took forever. This time, before it hit the yard sale pile, it had to be priced. Come Saturday morning, we were all set to go.

2. I tried posting on YardSaleSearch.com this time, but I don't think it helped. I put a note on that ad about asking for an additional discount, but no one mentioned it. That leads me to believe no one saw the ad there. However, I did post it on Craigslist on Thursday and Friday and then again on Saturday morning. That required being a little creative because last time they flagged (deleted) our attempts to post after the first time because they don't allow duplicate ads. This time, I changed the heading and the wording in the body. All three were posted.

3. We put up more signs directing people to the sale from more intersections. I think that helped because we had a lot more traffic this time. I also made them on the computer rather than handwriting them like last time. During school supply sale season, I bought poster board and glue sticks for super cheap. They came in handy for the signs. We just printed out the text and then literally cut and pasted it on the poster board. They were easy to make and could be read easily on the road.

4. As things sold that were displayed on the tables, I pulled more things out of boxes and put them on the tables. As I emptied boxes, I turned them upside down to make little tables to display stuff. As more boxes emptied, I stacked them under the boxes that were serving as tables so that the items were in easy reach. Basic merchandising: People are more likely to look (and then buy) things that they can easily reach with little effort on their part.

5. I asked people to make offers if they seemed to like something but didn't buy it. It didn't work in all cases, but many people did buy after I said I was willing to give a lower price. It meant getting less money on some items, but if no one bought it, it was probably going to Goodwill for free anyway.

This yard sale, we made $225 and some change. That was much better than the last sale. Michael and I have already decided that proceeds from yard sales and Craigslist sales are going into our travel fund.

I'm already thinking about doing another yard sale in the spring. I know we have more things around here that we don't need/want anymore. I didn't have time to go through everything before this sale.

The stuff that remained from this sale mostly went to Goodwill (a whole car load worth). But I held a few things back that I'm going to try to sell on Craigslist. If they aren't sold by spring, we'll try them at the yard sale again. If they aren't sold then, they are bound for Goodwill. I even salvaged many of our signs to use next time -- with a new date. I'm already looking forward to the next spring sale!

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What to Do When You Are Tired of Sandwiches

After The Same Old Message post, I received a few comments about taking your lunch to work. For one, Mom emailed to remind me that you are probably packing something that is more healthy than an inexpensive microwaveable meal. Kate posted a comment along those same lines and noted that knowing it's healthy is one motivation to eat yet another sandwich at work.

Michael could eat a turkey and cheese sandwich every work day between now and retirement (which is decades away!). Not me. I need some variety. I don't mind eating the same thing five days in a row for lunch, but I need to change it up the next week.

One of my duties in our marriage is the grocery shopping. That means, I have quite a bit over the control of the weekly menu (which I think for Michael is where that "for better or worse" part of our wedding vows sometimes comes in).

I choose the sandwich meat, cheese, and bread based on what is on sale and has a coupon available. That keeps a fair amount of variety in just the sandwiches. Sometimes I'll buy a little less meat and cheese than we need and then I'll eat peanut butter and jelly one or two days -- or maybe the whole week. That helps with the grocery budget too.

As regular Save 4 Fun readers know, I also am a fan of little pizzas in my lunch. I haven't made them in a while. I'm going to have to watch for English muffins to go on sale again. I already stocked up on pizza sauce the other weekend when Harris Teeter was doing triple coupons.

My sister told me that this week she is taking taco salad to work every day. She cooks the meat on Sunday night. Then, she packs a serving of it up along with all of the fixings. She assembles her salad at work, and ta-da -- something better than a sandwich!

Mom reminded me in her email the other day that taking leftovers from dinner to work makes a good lunch. In addition to the grocery shopper, I'm also the head chef in our household, and I only cook about 3 nights a week. So, we are usually eating leftovers the rest of the nights. However, tomorrow I'll be eating some leftover soup that I made the other night for dinner. It was supposed to last two nights, but it wasn't very good. It's edible but not great. Michael wasn't a fan at all. So, I'll have to come up for a new plan for what was supposed to be the second night of the soup. He won't eat it anymore. You know me...I'm not going to throw it away. But I don't like the idea of him getting something better for dinner one night while I'm eating that not-so-great soup. So, I'll finish it up for lunch.

What do you do when you are tired of eating sandwiches for lunch?

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Calculating Your Tax Savings

*** Update: 10/3/08: It's been brought to my attention by a financial planner/Save 4 Fun reader that the Additional Annual "Catch-Up" Contribution for Employees Age 50 & Over function on this calculator is not up to date. For 2008, the maximum is $5000. However this calculator will only allow a maximum of $3000 for the "catch up" contribution.

I finally found a simple calculator that tells how much I will save in taxes now based on how much I put into my 403(b). (In case you didn't know, a 403(b) is the same thing as a 401(k), but the former is for non-profit organizations while the latter is for for-profit companies.)

So, if you are looking to put money into your employer's pre-tax retirement saving plan, check out this calculator. You will realize that you won't be parting with as much as your money right now as it seems.

Using the figures that the calculator has as its default settings, if you earn $50,000 annually, pay 5% in state taxes, are married and file jointly, and put 6% ($125/month) into your 401(k), you are really saving $25/month in taxes! That's $300 savings for the year!

In this example, increase your contribution to 10% of your gross paycheck, and you'll save $1000, annually. Better yet, put in 15%, and you'll save $1500 for the year! (And in the case of 15%, you'll have socked away $7500 for the year for retirement.)

You can use this calculator to figure savings if you use other pre-tax benefits too. For example, my husband just signed up with his employer to have his Metro fare taken from his paycheck pre-tax. He'll be saving $25.50 each month in taxes by using the pre-tax payroll deduction over going to the machine to buy fare for the bus and subway. That's $306 for the year! Trust me, we can think of far more "fun" things to do with that $306, than paying it to Uncle Sam for Michael to get to work.

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The Same Old Message

I grew up in a pretty frugal household. From what I understand, it runs in the family -- sometimes out of genuine need and other times because we believe there's no sense in wasting money when you could save it to use for something better.

Years ago, I remember the subject of Phil Donahue's talk show was pinching pennies, and I recall my mom saying that she wasn't learning anything. She was already doing all of the tips they were suggesting -- and more! "Why don't they tell me something new?"

I'm really a glutton for saving tips. It becomes more and more challenging to find a new idea because like Mom, I'm so tuned into these things, it seems like I've heard them all. However, once in a while, I find a new one that will really work for me. I love that!

But why keep repeating all of the tips it seems like everyone should know? Here's why: people don't always listen, and sometimes it takes several times hearing the message before we'll try something new. We may not all have been reading the magazine or watching the news report that told, for what seems like the millionth time, to pack your lunch for work instead of eating out every day. That's not "new" news anymore.

Wait a minute -- it is old news to me. However, recently I've been looking at what my neighbors are carrying on the bus to work in the morning. Very few (some days, none) look like they are taking their lunch to work. Sure, maybe their employer does like my previous employer did, and they get free lunch at work. Maybe there is a grocery store beside their office, like mine now, and they get a super cheap microwaveable lunch every day. But I'm willing to guess that a lot of them are going out to eat every day.

Perhaps one day they will tune into world of saving tips, start bringing their lunch, and socking the extra cash away for something better than a hamburger and fries on a daily basis. There's hope, but the rest of have to keep listening to the same old message that we already know and abide.

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Gift Bags, Gift Wrap Gallore

I spent a while yesterday working on organizing all of the gift wrapping supplies that we have. The volume of stuff is incredible! Michael asked, "Where did you get all of this?"

Well, I had a bunch -- bags, tags, wrapping paper, tissue paper, bows. I used to buy it when I found it on clearance (usually at Target). He also had some that he brought to our household when we got married. But the bulk is from the wedding.

I was pretty lucky in that I had several friends and family members who wanted to host a bridal shower for me. It wasn't really possible to combine any of them. So, I had three showers thrown in my honor. Then, of course, there were all of the wedding gifts. Many of them were shipped to us without wrapping. However, quite a few were delivered in lovely boxes and bags with ribbons and bows.

I'm not a hoarder, but I do hate throwing good stuff away. I want to either give it away, sell it, or use it...not throw it away. All of these wrapping supplies were no exception. In fact, that stuff can be kind of expensive if you buy it full price. So many people gave us gifts in such nice bags with beautiful ribbons and bow -- it seemed crazy to throw it away from an environmental and financial point of view.

As a result, we now have about $600 in retail value of wrapping supplies. Okay, I don't actually know the value of it, but it's a lot of stuff! In fact, after organizing it and boxing it up, I'm not sure I can all be stored under one bed.

If you get a gift from us in the next 10 years or so, it's probably going to be wrapped in reused tissue paper, in a reused gift bag, or tied with a reused ribbon and bow. I hope you'll be able to pass it on too.

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Keys to Financial Success: Dedication & Perseverance

With all of the gloom and doom economic news lately, there are a lot of reports on how to save money, especially on the morning programs. I love watching those segments.

I was just watching this report on the Frugal Family Challenge on Good Morning America Weekend Edition. The financial planner who was helping the family that ended up saving the most said something interesting: "Saving money is more about dedication and perseverance than it is dollars and cents." I really believe that's true.

One of the financial planners we saw at the CFP Board's clinic the other week told us that financial planning and saving money isn't "rocket science," but it just takes "time, thought, and organization." I believe that's true too.

It's easy to just buy the first thing you see on the shelf at the first store you enter. It takes more time to shop around. It's a breeze to pay your bills but never think about the total you are spending. It takes thought to create a spending plan and stick to it. It's simple to walk into a store grab a few items. It takes more organization to plan a shopping list around sales and coupons.

However, if you persevere and stay dedicated to saving, you'll benefit a lot.

Here's my little secret: there are days I don't feel like making a grocery list (with sale items and coupons) or walking downstairs at night to turn off the TV, router, and cable box at the power switch or logging all of my receipts into my financial software. I can be so lazy. But I usually dig deep, suck it up, and just do it! And it pays off when I realize what we are able to do -- save for the future and do fun things now like travel, despite living in an expensive area on average salaries.

And that's my motivation: save for fun!

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Cheaper Chicken

Today at Harris Teeter I was going to buy Perdue chicken breast which was on sale for $3.99. I knew that was a good deal, but I always like to confirm. So, I checked the price of the Harris Teeter brand chicken. It was $5.29/lb. (regular price). I was ready to load some Perdue into my cart when something caught my eye.

The large package of Harris Teeter chicken breast was only $3.29/lb. That was the regular price too. However, it was $2.00/lb. less than the exact same thing in a smaller package. It was also cheaper than the sale price for the Perdue chicken.

Wow! I guess when I was only buying for one person (before I was married), I never paid attention to those huge packages. Michael and I still won't eat $14 worth of chicken in one meal or even one week (thank goodness!). However, I have learned the value of freezing individual servings. So, I'm off to the kitchen now to prepare the chicken for freezing. We eat a fair amount of chicken, but this will last us several weeks.

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Jump on Your Money Bus

It just so happens that a Certified Financial Planner reads Save 4 Fun, and he's also a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA). After reading about me going to the CFP Board's free financial planning clinic, Brian brought another fun event to my attention: Your Money Bus.

NAPFA's fee-only financial advisors will be touring the country in this bus -- telling Americans all about the importance of saving and how to do it. It's starts off in DC on October 1 and 2. Unfortunately, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to make it since those are weekdays, and I don't work very close to the National Mall. They are, however, doing a symposium on "Understanding Debt, Saving and Your Financial Well-Being" at the District of Columbia Public Library (G St NW) on the evening of October 1, which is free and open to the public.

It looks like Your Money Bus will be touring the East Coast at least through November. Their website says they'll be crossing the country, so stay tuned to their website to find out when it will pull into your town. If it's anything like the CFP Board's clinic, it will be worth checking out. (If it's not coming to your hometown, you can keep up with the Bus and even ask the advisors questions via the blog on their website.)

Take a look at their You Tube video.

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Free Financial Planning

Yesterday, as scheduled, Michael and I headed downtown to go to the Certified Financial Planner Board's free financial planning clinic. It was definitely worth our time -- and it was free!

I drew up the draft of our new spending plan earlier this week and then got Michael's input before we both approved the final version. This morning, I printed it out along with a report of our current net worth which detailed all of our accounts (assets and liabilities). I drafted some questions so we knew what we wanted to find out from the financial planners. And after Michael returned from a 18-mile (marathon training) run, we ventured off to the clinic.

We talked with 4 different planners in 3 different topic groups: general financial planning, retirement planning, and income tax planning. I guess we spent about 10 to 15 minutes with each one. We wanted their opinions on our newly minted spending and savings plan, on priorities (saving versus paying off a high interest car loan), on retirement savings, on saving for a down payment on a house, and on filing joint income taxes.

It was helpful that I took our detailed information with us. Generalities really don't work very well in financial planning. In fact, the CFP Board's introduction to the clinic told us that. So, we were able to get some tailored advice. And like all of the planners told us, just knowing our net worth and thinking about financial matters puts us well ahead of the curve.

The good news is that we seem to be on the right track. Our natural instincts were in line with the professionals' advice. Now, we just need to stay the course.

If the CFP Board does a clinic in your area, I highly recommend going. But whether you go to a free clinic or pay a planner or do it on your own, just make sure you make a financial plan. You'll reach your goals a lot easier and faster.

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Give & You Might Receive

During the past week, I've been working on our "married" spending plan. On paper it seems like it will work. (But that's a whole other story.)

One thing that I put into the plan and that Michael approved was for giving to charity (including church). We have no intentions of giving with the expectation that we will personally gain something directly from our gifts. We just believe it's the right thing to do.

However, I recently received something because of a gift I gave...

In June 2006, I went to a Girl Scout Silver Award ceremony at the Pentagon and afterwards got to go with them on a tour. It was my first time to the Pentagon. I love tours, and I've always been curious about that mammoth building. So, this was great!

We got to go to the memorial room and chapel that were built where a conference room had been prior to September 11, 2001. For a variety of reasons (including the fact I live 2 miles from the Pentagon and felt my house shake the morning of the terrorist attacks), I've always felt a strong connection to that event despite not personally knowing anyone who was affected. So, while I was touring the Pentagon, I picked a brochure about the Pentagon Memorial Fund and decided I would give a little money to that cause.

Finally, in May 2007, I got around to actually giving a gift to the Fund. It was a mere $100 -- probably a quarter of a drop in the $22 million bucket. However, even if it was just a little, I wanted to give something. I wouldn't have my name printed or engraved anywhere. But I would just always know that I helped (even in a small way) to build that beautiful place.

Then, a few weeks ago I got a letter in the mail from the president of the Pentagon Memorial Fund, thanking me again for my donation and offering me a ticket to the dedication. Wow! I felt so special. I like being a part of those kinds of things. And again, this one held a little extra meaning. So, I asked them to send me the ticket.

I took Thursday off from work and went to the dedication with about 16,000 other invited guests. I felt pretty honored to be there. After all, on 9/11/01, I was just the 25-year-old down the road who had the day off from my job as a hotel manager...who was literally shaking at the time of impact, not because I knew what had happened but because I knew whatever it was, was big. But there I was with all of these military people, first-responders (even search & rescue dogs!), victims families, people who had been in the Pentagon that day, the President and Vice President of the United States and members of the Cabinet...watching the dedication of this lovely place that will help with healing and help us to never forget.

I gave, and then as a surprise, I was included.

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Getting Ready for the Free Financial Planning Clinic in DC

Now that the wedding is over, you'd think I'd have more time to blog. However, we've been trying to get the house set up and in order. We've made some good headway, but we still have a long way to go.

Another big project I'm working on is getting some kind of hold on our finances. I need to input all of my receipts over the past month (ugh) into my financial software. I normally do that every few days or at least once a week, and then it's not so bad. However, with the wedding planning, wedding, and honeymoon, I just didn't have time and/or wasn't home.

After I finish that, I need to look at our joint finances and figure out where exactly we are. Then, Michael and I both need to figure out where we want to be in order to set some goals. Considering his aversion to financial talk, that ought to be fun. But because of pre-wedding financial planning (I made him talk to me about all personal finances about 3 days after we were engaged!), I, at least, have some kind of understanding of how that conversation will go. He'll warm up to it -- after all, I save 4 fun!!!

Anyway, the big rush on getting a hold of the finances is because on Saturday, September 13, the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards is hosting a free financial planning clinic. Qualified volunteers from their organization will be available to talk to people about all sorts of financial topics. They promise no sales pitches and that they don't even take down your name or information. I figure that's a good place for us to get started before we consider paying someone to consult us.

So, I've already registered us. I got Michael's consent before I registered. The deal is that we just have to be home before 3:30 so that he can watch the UGA football game. No problem. We'll be there when they open at 11 AM and talk to as many people as we need/can and then head home to cheer on the Dawgs.

Now, I just have to get our money matters in order so that we can have some good questions at the clinic.

If I'm not posting as often as usual, you now know why...

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Freezing Individual Servings

As regular readers of Save 4 Fun know, I like freezing food. It helps to have ready-made meals prepared as well as a means of stocking up on sale items. However, I've found that sticking a whole package of meat in the freezer isn't always the best idea. Once you thaw it, you have to cook it. Maybe I don't want or need the whole package. Something I tried recently has worked well to help with this problem.

The first tip involves bacon. If you freeze a whole package, you can forget trying to pry one or two strips out until it's thawed. I don't always need a full package at once. So, the last time I bought bacon, I pulled apart the individual strips. Then, I laid them out on a baking sheet and put it in the freezer. Once they were frozen, I put them into a freezer bag. Now, I can just pull out a piece or two when I need it. The other night we had baked potatoes for dinner. I took two pieces of bacon out and cooked them. It was great on the potatoes. The rest of the bacon stays in the freezer until I need it another time.

The second tip is for chicken breasts. On Sunday when I purchased a package of skinless, boneless chicken breasts on sale, I decided not to freeze the whole package. Instead, I cut the three breasts length-wise. That created six thin but good sized chicken breasts. I froze them in the same way as I did the bacon. I'm kind of picky about my chicken. So, I was able to clean it up even more than how it sold before freezing it. Now, it is all ready to be cooked - either one piece or a bunch of them, depending on what the need is.

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Saving on Moving Boxes

When we moved my sister out and my husband-to-be in, neither of them had to buy moving boxes. That's good because that seems a little ridiculous to me to buy boxes.

Angie's friends had just moved and had lots of boxes that they had purchased from the moving company. They were nice boxes that both she and Michael used.

They also used the boxes that reams of paper come in too. Those are great sized boxes for carrying and for stacking. They work well for storage as well. We got those for free from our offices.

Another source of boxes was the shipping boxes in which many of our wedding gifts arrived. They were also good sized boxes because they were big enough to hold a fair amount of items but not too big to carry once filled.

If none of those sources works for you or doesn't provide enough for your needs, check out Freecycle and Craigslist. I see people giving away moving boxes all of the time on those sites. Actually, once we get settled, I'll give ours away that way too. It's better to give them at least one more use than to recycle them since they are all still in good shape.

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Saving on a Moving Truck

Last month when we got a rental truck to move Michael's large pieces of furniture into my place where we would live post-wedding, I found out a little savings tip. Trucks are often less expensive to rent on Sundays than on Saturdays.

We had waited until the last minute to book a truck. So, even though we wanted to move on a Saturday, there weren't any trucks nearby that were available. We had to do it on the following day instead. But we saved $20 on the truck rental at Budget by getting it on Sunday rather than Saturday.

In quickly reviewing the Budget website as I began to write this post, I noticed it seems that moving truck rental prices are much like airfare and hotel rates. They vary based on demand and the time (date/day of the week) of use. You can get the same truck today for $29.99 plus $.79/mile that goes for $69.99 plus $.79/mile next Saturday. Next Sunday, the price is $49.99 plus $.79/mile.

If you have flexibility in your dates, especially for a local move, it might be worth looking into the prices for different dates. If you are available today, you could save quite a bit by moving now. Or you might find that booking in advance will help you save.

One word of caution: like hotels and airlines, rental truck companies also overbook. We got to the pick-up place fairly early when we got our truck. However, the person just two spaces in line behind us was told that she'd have to go get her truck at another location because they had run out of all of their trucks that morning. Like the rest of us in line, she had a reservation. Get there early!

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Wedding Full of Deals

I'm back from the wedding and honeymoon. They were both fantastic! There is so much to do to set up our new house, but I'm going to try to find a little time for the blog.

Not to worry - I won't fill Save 4 Fun with all kinds of wedding things. However, the other day on the bus on the way home from work I jotted down all of the things for the wedding that I got on sale, on clearance, with a coupon, or for a low price. There actually may be more, but this amused me...so I thought I'd tell you about it.

11 candles on the altar in honor and memory of family & friends came from the Dollar Tree.

The beautiful wedding cake was from Wal-Mart. (This was an amazing deal...I will probably have to post a picture of it when I get one because it was lovely.)

We got the wedding bands online from two different vendors (Blue Nile and eWeddingBands.com). Of course, we had coupon codes! And Blue Nile is a partner with Shop Discover, so I got an extra Cash Back Bonus there.

My wedding shoes were on clearance (for $13 -- regular $80) at the Naturalizer outlet.

I thought I was going to wear Mom's pearl necklace that I like, but it was too short for the neckline of my dress. Not wanting to spend much on a new necklace, we got one at Kohl's on sale and with a coupon for about $13.

The dress I wore for the ceremony was my grandmother's wedding dress. It did require some repair work; however, it was still less than a new wedding dress.

The frames I used to display pictures as centerpieces at the reception were from yard sales and Freecycle.

The baskets that I used to hold the favors and for the bubbles (that guest blew for our exit) were from yard sales, Freecycle, Goodwill, and the Salvation Army.

The silk flowers and ribbon used to decorate the bubble baskets and gift card holder were on sale.

The ribbon we used for the bows on the chapel pews, doors, and outside railings and lights were purchased with coupons.

My custom-made guest book (a Kodak Gallery photo book of pictures of Michael and me from birth through our engagement) was purchased with a coupon code, and I got Upromise credit.

The flower girl's basket and the ring bearer's pillow were on clearance. They were white, but everything else for the wedding was ivory. That wasn't working for me, so a very talented friend covered them in ivory lace. They were beautiful!

The chocolate lollipops that my sister made for favors were not only tasty and cute, but we got the supplies on sale and with a coupon.

The photographer gave us a 10% discount for paying in full up front.

The glass platter that the wedding cake sat on was a few buck from the DAV thrift store.

The knives and servers for the wedding and groom's cakes were purchased with coupons.

Our DIY invitations were on sale.

Our matching DIY programs were purchased with coupons.

I wanted the flower girl to use silk flower petals. I couldn't see paying $9.99 at the craft store for them. Even on sale or with a coupon, they were too much. The Dollar Tree had packages of the same quantity (300 count), obviously for just a dollar. However, all they offered were white. I needed ivory. So, I tea-stained them, and they looked great.

It was simply good luck, but I found the perfect necklaces for the bridesmaids at Talbot's -- and they were on sale!

I got the flower girl a monogrammed silver locket from Blue Nile with a coupon code. And again, I got an extra Cash Back Bonus from Shop Discover.

In the end, I was really pleased how everything turned out with the wedding. It was by no means inexpensive. We were blessed to have a generous budget from my parents and from my own savings. However, it was far less than the national average for the cost of a wedding. I really didn't have to sacrifice anything that I really wanted because of a tight budget. In fact I even got my top choices on several of the vendors...and ones I still really liked even if I didn't get the top choice on other things. And then things like the cake that I didn't actually care much about turned out far better that I could have imagined.

I will eventually be converting my blog for wedding guests into a blog about the tips and tricks I learned along the way...as well as my comments on the vendors we used. It will be a while to do that. However, once that's ready, I'll let you know in case you or someone you know is planning a wedding.

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