New Year’s Resolution 2008 - January Update

I do not like New Year’s Resolutions. I never make them. I figure, if I’m going to do something, why not start now instead of wait until that magic date on the calendar? But then I read a blog entry by Chris at Notes From The Trenches. Her family is saying goodbye to spending this year. I thought that sounded like a great idea! I mean, of course we need some things . . . food for one . . . but Target is one place where I can’t just buy what’s on my list! No sirreeeee - because they ALWAYS have a clearance rack, and we all know that you can’t leave a store without checking out the clearance rack. So, I’ve decided to try it out - no impulse spending - no buying a pair of shoes because they’re cute and on sale if the peoples already have a gazillion pair of shoes that fit. No more buying a cute shirt off the clearance rack if the peoples already have 847 long sleeved shirts. I will, however, draw the line at not buying ridiculously cheap things on sale that will fit next year. I’ve also decided to keep a spreadsheet of how much I save . . . I figure that’ll add fuel to the fire when I tell Hubby I’m actually really ready to get rid of the car and get something with 4-wheel drive so I can actually make it up the hill to our house in the winter up here in the snowbelt

Anywho, this first month has gone swimmingly! I’m quite surprised at how this little resolution has really influenced my shopping. So far, this is what we saved in January:

Blokus - We bought this game because we’ve heard it is so much fun. But it was $30! And we have a gazillion games. So, we returned it and figured we could buy it when the kids get older and we need new games. Add $30 to the saved list!

Pictures - Because I’m an organization freak, at the end of each month I go through the photos I’ve downloaded from my camera and order prints of the ones I want to put in our scrapbooks. I’m quite impatient, and when I decide I want something, I want it now, which means I usually go for the 1-hour photo option at Walmart.com. With our wonderful trip to MN in December, I ordered a ridiculous number of photos. I had them all uploaded and ready to print and then I stopped to get realistic - there is no way I’m going to scrapbook ANY of these photos any time before next fall, let alone in the next couple of hours! So I opted for the 5-7 -day home delivery option. The price tag for the photos was still a whopping $114.97. BUT, by stepping back and thinking about it, I saved $44.50! Dang! Add $44.50 to the saved list.

Calendar Paper - Each year the kids and I make 3 scrapbook calendars; 1 for each set of grandparents. It’s their Christmas gift from Jason and Keira. I buy the supplies in January so I can make them throughout the year - much less stressful. A few weeks ago I headed to Archiver’s and bought the 3 calendars. I also usually buy the Calendar Paper Pack - it’s just an easy way to make the calendars look nice. I got to the checkout and realized that I had 2 30% off coupons. One expired that day, and the other wasn’t valid until the next day. Soooooo, I passed on the paper and went back a week later when I could use the 30% off coupon. The 2007 Me would have bought it that day because I didn’t want to go back. But the 2008 Me figured I’d grace the BW3 next door with my presence for lunch some day in the next week or so, so I could wait. I saved a whoppin’ $2.50. Add $2.50 to the saved list!

Step Stool - I LOVE Bed Bath and Beyond. I went there to get a new blender because mine broke - again. I bought an awesome one that was on sale, had an additional $20 rebate, and used my 20% off coupon. I didn’t add any of that to the list, but what I DID add to the list was a step stool. The kids have been great at helping with the dishes, but they need a stool to reach the counter and sink. I figured I’d buy them a little step stool to keep in the kitchen. Then I decided better of it when I realized they’ve been using the chairs just fine up until now; we do not NEED a step stool. So I put it back. Add $10 to the saved list!

TV - I may be stretching it a bit with this one, but I figured it deserved a place on the list. The TV in our room quit working last week. How annoying! We don’t watch a lot of TV, but we do watch 24 on DVD and the News. Now we couldn’t do either in our room! The 2007 Me would have insisted that we go out that day and replace the TV/DVD player in our room. BUT, the 2008 Me said this instead . . . Let’s just take the TV out of the guest bedroom. The TV in there is hardly ever used. If our guests want to watch TV, they can watch in the family room just down the hall. AND, if WE want to watch 24, we can use the TV and DVD player in the family room as well. So we took the smaller, older TV from the guest bedroom and put it in our room. Add $350 to the saved list!

So, the grand total savings for the month of January: $437.00!

Well on my way to saving enough for a new vehicle if you ask me