Take Advantage

Saving Money Tip #124 - Take Advantage. Opportunities present themselves in many different ways throughout life. It is best to take advantage of these opportunities with regards to saving money. If you live in the country, take advantage of all of the land around you and go out for picnics, go on hikes, pick edible wild berries, or go on a bike ride. All of these activities are free. If you live in the city, take advantage of all of the sights – museums, capitol buildings, statues, walks, or concerts. Most of these activities are free as well. If you are young, take advantage of your youth and walk where you need to go, ride bikes for exercise, play sports with friends, and use your imagination to have fun. If you are elderly, take advantage of your free time by reading, writing, creating, or cooking. If you work, take advantage of the opportunities presented to you through your office – holiday parties, employee picnics, or business trips. If you stay at home, take advantage of what’s around you – learn to cook or sew or enjoy activities in your town or city. If it is raining, take advantage of indoor activities. If it is sunny, take advantage of outdoor ones.

If we take advantage of the opportunities that are presented to us, then we will save money. If we seek out other ways to spend our time, we will spend more money. For example, a person who lives out in the country can spend the day on a nature hike. This is free. However, if he wants to visit a museum, he will have to drive to the city – spending money on gas. If a person in the city wants to go on a nature walk, he would have to drive out to the country – spending money on gas. Instead, he could do a city walk for free.

If a person works full-time and wants to learn how to cook, he would have to squeeze in time on weekends or after a full day at the office. If a person is a homemaker, learning to cook is a natural opportunity. On the other hand, a person who stays home who wants to travel to a new city would spend a lot of money getting there and while they are there, while a person who works may presented with the opportunity to go on a business trip and will see a new city as a benefit.

An elderly person may mourn the lost opportunities of his youth to learn how to play baseball, but could easily learn how to play the piano. A young person can take advantage of all of his energy and play sports, while putting off learning to knit for a time when she has less energy. The opportunity of a rainy day may be a good time to learn to knit or practice your writing, while a sunny day would be a great time to garden or take a walk

I am not saying you should never do those things that cost money or that are more of an effort. But I often find, that when people are looking for things to do, they look outside their homes or communities and beyond their abilities, when there are many opportunities right nearby or easier to attain. Why not start with those first?

In Real Life (IRL) – My husband had two back-to-back business trips this past week. One was in Arizona. He was able to take advantage of this trip and extend it two days to visit his sister in California, four hours away. For the cost of a rental car, he got to see his sister who lives on the opposite coast from us. He took advantage of an opportunity presented to him. Had he planned a trip to visit his sister separately, it would have cost plane fare as well. His second trip happened to be in North Carolina, near where his mother lives. He not only took advantage of that time to see her, he stayed with her and saved the company money on a hotel room.

I am a stay-at-home-mom, but I used to work full-time. When I worked full time, I made simple dinners when I got home from the office, and we ate out more, taking advantage of the higher income we had to try out new restaurants and ethnic foods. Now that I stay at home, I have taken advantage of the time I have in my house by learning to cook from scratch and baking bread. I have the opportunity to do this now and know it won’t be as easy when I go back to work.

We live just outside the city of Washington, DC. For the cost of a Metro (subway) ride, we can take advantage of hundreds of museums, monuments, and government buildings, and a zoo – all that are free! We won’t live in Washington, DC forever, so we take advantage of this opportunity now. When we live elsewhere, it would cost a fair amount to visit this city. As I get older, I look back and often wish I had done things differently when I had the opportunity to do so. I wish I played more sports when I was youthful. I wish I took advantage of all of the free activities that were offered to me when I was in college. Now that I am older and supposedly wiser, I am trying to take advantage of what we have and where we are and hopefully save money while we are at it.

Reduce, Reuse, And Recycle - Part 3

Tip #119 - Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle – Part 3. Today is the last part of this series, and we are going to discuss recycling. Recycling has almost become a buzzword lately. I hear many people around me talking about recycling. Basically, it is putting back into production items that no longer have useful life. If you finish with a plastic bag and can’t use it anymore you can recycle it at the supermarket to later be turned into other plastic products. Your newspaper that has no use to you anymore can be recycled on recycling day at your home to be turned into other forms of paper one day. While recycling is great – much better than going directly in the trash – steps 1 and 2 of this triad are much better for the environment and for saving you money than recycling.

Let’s look at the example of the plastic bag that you took from the supermarket. Had you reduced your consumption and used a mesh bag from home, you would have saved 5 cents at many markets. Even if the market does not pay you to bring your own bag, you still contributed to lower overhead costs for the market by not taking a plastic bag. Lower overhead costs lead to lower grocery costs. In addition, by bringing your own bag you prevented chemicals, raw materials, and energy being burned to make a plastic bag. So reducing really is the best.

But let’s say you forgot to bring your own bag to the market and you take one. You forgive yourself and say you will put it in the recycling bin next time you are there. But what about step 2 of the triad – reusing which is still better than recycling. How about reusing the bag until you used the useful life out of it? Reuse it next time you go to the market or reuse it to clean up after your pet or use it for a trash liner. Before you recycle it, it can be used again. This leads to savings from not having to buy another bag, as well as environmental savings of producing another one.

After it has been reused, then it is time to recycle it. Hopefully, it will go to a place where it will be used to produce other plastic products. While this will not usually save you money directly, it can lead to lower production costs for the plastic company because they are not using materials already in existence rather than raw materials. It is certainly better for the environment.

There are a few things with which you can make money directly when recycling. Did you know that you can recycle aluminum and take it to an aluminum dealer for cash? It would take a lot of cans, but other things have aluminum in it – aluminum siding, old gutters, and parts from cars are just some examples. Aluminum has become expensive and someone may pay you good money for it.

There are places to “recycle” cell phones, printers, computers and other electronics. To me, this is actually reusing them since most places will only take the latest models. Either way, it may be a simple way to earn a few bucks and keep the item out of the landfill. Do a Google search on selling cell phones or other electronics and you will find a bunch of mail order places that will accept them. If not, a local school will often take electronics, and while they won’t directly pay you for them, it may help keep your school taxes down.

Lastly, I have read several places recently about a new program being test marketed in certain areas that pays you for recycling everyday stuff such as our bottles, cans, and jars. This program is called RecycleBank and it works by putting your recycling in your bin like usual, except the bin has a computer chip that records how much you recycle. You get rewards points for each pound you recycle, and then you can use those points at the supermarket or other stores. This program is supposed to encourage people to recycle rather than throw away. It would encourage me!

While no one is going to get rich off recycling, it is the preferable thing to do for our environment. Keeping landfills smaller will make this world a richer place even if it doesn’t put much money directly in your pocket.

In Real Life – I already mentioned in my first post in this series that I was the co-worker making sure everyone was using their recycling bins. I worked in Washington, DC starting in 1989 and soon after a recycling program was instituted for DC businesses. I was the unofficial enforcer for my office. It didn’t earn me any money but it made me feel better to see the tons of paper that our company was generating going back into the system.

As a household, we recycle everything we can, although we don’t usually get any money for it. We recycle papers (after reusing them), glass bottles, cans, and plastics. They go out on recycling day in a bin rather than on trash day in a can. And we always sell or donate used electronic parts that we don’t need any more.

Last year, we did make some money recycling, though. Our old house was in desperate need of new gutters. My husband took the old aluminum gutters as well as some aluminum part we had stored in the garage and took them to an aluminum recycler near his office. He got $23 for his trouble. Not bad for something we didn’t need anymore anyway.

Regardless of whether or not we make money, recycling is something that doesn’t take much effort and it is worth it to all of us in the end in the form of less pollution, cleaner air, and less landfill space. And to me, that is much more important than money.

Reduce, Reuse, And Recycle - Part 2

Tip #118 - Reduce, Reuse, And Recycle – Part 2. Today we will talk about part 2 of this triad. After we have done all that we can to reduce the amount of stuff we consume, out next step is to reuse the stuff we already have. Reducing and reusing go hand in hand. We can reuse something already in existence rather than buy something new, thereby reducing our consumption of new materials and packaging. For example, your son may need a baseball glove for little league this year. Rather than go to a store and buy a new glove with new packaging, you can find an old glove worn by someone previously and reuse that one.

But let’s suppose you are starting with a clean slate. You have nothing and cannot find a pre-owned item that you need. Suppose, for example, that your daughter needs a pair of size 6 shoes and you can’t find a used pair that works. So you buy your child a new pair of shoes. After a year, she outgrows these shoes. Then the next step is to reuse this item. This item still has useful life left in it. So you can save them for your younger daughter to wear when she grows into size 6 shoes. Or if you don’t have another daughter, you give them or sell them to someone who does.

Apply that concept to other things around your home. You receive a gift from your boss in a nice box. Rather than throwing that box away, you can reuse that box to put a different gift in. The more things you reuse or buy used, the less effect you have on the environment. And more importantly for the focus of this blog, you save money. Using an article of clothing from your first child for your second child does not cost you anything, whereas buying a new article of clothing does. Reusing books from a friend or the library does not cost you anything either. You can be creative in your reuse beyond the typical clothes and books, and you do not have to use the item for its original purpose. A food container can become a craft project. A string from a balloon can become a ribbon for wrapping a present. An old mug can become a pencil container.

Before you go to the store to buy something, think about what you have around the house that you can reuse for the purpose that you need. And remember that reusing does not have to be just from items you, yourself own. Buying used is reusing items. Places such as Craigslist and Freecycle are excellent sources for used items. Pre-owned items almost always cost less than their new counterparts. By buying something pre-owned or reusing something you already have you are cutting down on wasting raw materials and packaging, while saving money as well.

In Real Life (IRL) – I am constantly reusing what I have. In fact, other than a supermarket, I hardly ever set foot in a retail store. I mostly already have what I need and when a need arises for something “new” I usually look for it on Craigslist or a yard sale for a used version. So I guess you could say I am a big reuser.

In context of reusing something I have, I try hard to look at something before I throw it away to see if I can do something else with it before adding it to the landfill. One recent example I can think of is egg cartons. We buy eggs at the local grocery store or at Costco. And I hate to throw away the egg containers because surely they can be reused somewhere. Well, last summer I found out where. At a pick-your-own farm we went to I saw that they sell fresh eggs and people bring them empty egg cartons to use. So now I have a pile of egg cartons in my garage to bring to them this spring. In the meantime I was able to use one for starting our indoor garden.

Things that I cannot use anymore I give away hoping to keep the items out of a landfill since there is still useful life left in the article. By giving things away, I often get things in return too. A friend with a son 9 months older than mine often gives me clothes. I, in turn, pass on clothes to a different friend with a son 9 months younger than mine. If I don't give it away, I sell it. Giving things away or selling them helps the environment and makes or saves me money, too.

Keep Your Eggs And The Basket

Saving Money Tip #115 - Keep Your Eggs And The Basket - During this time of year with Passover underway and Easter on the horizon, it is time to celebrate those holidays that should not be costing us much money. Yet each year, the stores are filled with huge baskets, dozens of different kinds of candy, and hundreds of colorful eggs for Easter along with the unleavened food and accessories for Passover. And while I can certainly understand the Easter candy and the unleavened food from year to year, as food is certainly disposable, I do not understand who is buying up these dozens and dozens of Easter eggs. Where do they go from one year to the next?

Seriously. I know new families are created each year and still other families move into this country, but I suspect that 90% of the population hasn't changed from year to year (does anyone know the actual percentage?). What does everyone do with their colorful eggs from one Easter to the next? Where do they go? I know that sounds like a silly question. But I truly wonder this. Same with Christmas decorations. Why don't people hang on to their decorations from year to year? How can it be that stores can be successful selling those colored eggs and holly-laden tablecloths year after year? What do people do with them? Well, I obviously do not know what they are doing. But I know what they should be doing. Keeping them. This is not only good for the environment, but it is good for your pocketbook, too.

Unless you have added a new child to your family, there is no reason why baskets cannot be reused from year to year. And there is no reason to be buying new eggs every year. This applies to decorations from all holidays. Once they are bought, that is it. There should not be any reason to be buying new decor year after year. It is a waste of money and a waste of resources. Keep your eggs and the basket, too.

In Real Life (IRL) - I won't lie and say I stay up nights thinking about this stuff. But I have always wondered how stores have stayed in business selling holiday merchandise. Every year around Christmas, I would think, who is buying those holiday dishes this year? Didn't everyone already buy them last year or the previous year? And of course the Easter eggs. I don't even celebrate Easter and I have a stash of eggs. Doesn't everybody else have a stash of eggs that they can refill?

For Passover, which we do celebrate, I have a Seder plate, a Matzoh plate, a wine cup, and a bag of plagues. That's it. Every year we use these same things again and again. I cannot imagine buying any new Passover products unless it is food or other disposable products (which I try hard not to buy).

For all holidays, in order to save money, use what decorations you already have. I know people like change and fresh ideas but seriously, these things are only used for a few weeks per year, how much fresher can they be? Save your money and reuse holiday decorations again and again. Whatever you do, though, don't reuse the matzoh. :-) Anyone want a stash of colorful eggs? Anyone? For other frugal tips, check out Life As Mom.