I've been thinking a lot about gift cards lately (yes that's how exciting my life is), and I had three thoughts I wanted to share. They aren't necessarily connected, but I didn't want to overshare by putting them into three separate posts.
Gift Cards as a Budgeting Tool
Occasionally we get random money from random sources. A bonus check, a tax return, birthday money, etc (many of you may have just received a stimulus check). These are funds outside our normal budget, so they can be hard to utilize effectively. One way I like to make sure extra money lasts is through gift cards.
If I'm thinking practical, that $1200 Corona cash could be gas money for a year for one of our cars. So I could take that money and buy 12 gift cards from the gas station at $100 each, then each month I pull out the gift card and know that I've got gas covered. The same could be done for groceries, haircuts, or any regular expenses that are bought repeatedly at the same place.
If I'm thinking more fun, I might buy restaurant gift cards. I know we're going to want to eat out on special occasions. If I have the extra money now, I can buy a I gift card and be confident that we'll be able to pay for the restaurant when we need it. Another great benefit is that restaurants will often offer deals on gift cards where a free gift card may be given with the purchase of another, so you get more bang for your buck.
Gift Cards to Support Local Businesses
A lot of us are concerned about supporting community businesses, especially when so many have been closed lately. Gift cards are a great way to help put money into a small business when you may not immediately be able to use their services. These could be gift cards for your own future use, or gift cards to give to others throughout the year. Imagine if every birthday party you sent your kid to over the next few months (heck, even a birthday party on zoom), you could just give them a gift certificate to a local salon or movie theater! Wouldn't that simplify life?
Re-Gifting Gift Cards
In the course of cleaning out my house, I have found a LOT of gift cards. I mean literally hundreds of dollars in gift cards to all kinds of businesses. Some of these have been a blessing to my family allowing us to make purchases that might not have been in the budget. But several of them have been re-gifted to others. I may be in the minority here, but I think there's nothing wrong with re-gifting gift cards. If you're comfortable with your twelve year old buying a DQ gift card for a friend, you ought to be equally happy giving a gift card that you already had on hand. Now when I'm cleaning and I find a gift card it goes one of two places. If I think I will use it soon, I put it strait into my wallet. If I don't have an immediate need for it, it goes in the "birthday box" to bless someone else at some future time.
KonMari 9: Komono, Medicine
Short version: Today is the day to clean out all the medicines, vitamins, and other medical supplies in your house!
Longer version:
Depending on you family size (and health, and belief in preventative medicine, and tendency to hoard) you may have just one small cabinet with medicine, or you may have a stockpile like mine. I had three bathrooms and a kitchen counter top full of things in this category.
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| I'm clearly running an underground pharmacy. |
This was definitely eye-opening. On a normal day, my kids would struggle to find a band-aid or a beneydryl. And if anyone gets sick, I'd likely head to the drug store and buy a bottle of cough medicine. So imagine my surprise when I discovered we actually owned hundreds of bandages and five boxes of cold medicine. And eight bottles of ibuprofen, and three bottles of vitamin C, and four hospital grade face masks (very timely during a pandemic!), and 12 inhalers, and 6 expired epi-pens!
The list (and VOLUME) of things we had stored in our cupboards was embarrassingly long.
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| In my defense, there are three people in my house who use two types of inhalers each. |
Once I had all these things sorted into categories, it was time to purge. Some things really needed thrown out. This is hard for me to do. In my mind even expired drugs still have value. In an emergency and expired drug might be more useful than no drug at all right? (This is not sound medical advice and should not be followed). You should probably throw out any medication that has already expired. I did not. But I did at least whittle it down a bit. While I can justify in my own mind a scenario in which I might one day need an expired epi-pen, it is much harder to imagine needing SIX expired epi-pens. So I threw out five.
In a perfect KonMari world, I would hold these bottles to my heart and contemplate which ones gave me joy. But honestly I just couldn't bring myself to try and find joy in my anti-itch cream, so all my decisions were based solely on what I felt was still usable.
Once I had sorted it all into categories and thrown out everything I could, I was time to think about putting things away. I started thinking about where I actually used medicine and where I could safely store it.
I decided I'd like to have a medical kit in my car. I found a little pouch and filled it with all the basics I usually wish for on a car ride. Pain medicine, benedryl, motion sickness pills, band-aids, etc. (Storing medicine in the uncontrolled temperature of your car may not actually be good for them, but that is a problem for another day).
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| Every car trip just got a whole lot better now that I don't have a migraine and the kids aren't throwing up! |
Then I pulled out one of each type of medication we use daily. My husband and I keep our personal prescriptions in our own bathroom, but the kids' daily prescriptions were put in a bin on the kitchen counter along with everyone's daily vitamins, a bottle of pain medicine, and a bottle of allergy pills (these are things we definitely use every day).
After that, I had three basic kinds of things left: first aid supplies, slings and braces, and extra vitamin/pill bottles.
All the first aid supplies (bandages, burn creams, anti-botic ointment, etc) were put together in one clear tote in my bathroom.
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| This probably still looks messy to some, but it is a thousand percent better than before. |
The rest of the bottles were stacked in semi "neat" rows in a drawer, so that I can find them when I need them. Having everything group together lets me know what I really have and when I actually need to buy more.
The surprising result of all this was that when I took out all the medical supplies and put them into one drawer, every other drawer got cleaner. My boys' bathroom drawer now only holds dental supplies, and is surprisingly tidy!
So here's what I learned....
I was storing a lot of medical supplies "just in case." I hate to throw things out, and I was worried that I might need them one day and regret not having them. But the truth is I had so much that I didn't even know what I had. So I really had to get rid of a lot, in order to appreciate and use what I actually need.
Also, I was storing medicine in a lot of different places. I had a bottle of ibuprofen in nearly every room in my house. This seemed handy because in theory it was always right where i needed it. But in reality I could never find it. If someone had a headache, they would wander room to room trying to find a stray bottle, because they were literally spread all over the house. The beauty of having all the medicine in only one place, is that I ALWAYS know where they are. So maybe I have to get up from the living room, and walk ALL the way to the bathroom, but I know when I get there, I'll find what I need. And that is true convenience.
Episode 8, Konmari Komono: Sewing Supplies
Clean out your sewing supplies (or whatever type of craft you tend to hoard!).
If you are a crafter, you know how hard this is. Crafts typically have an emotional attachment that goes far beyond just "I really like this." There's that added guilt of "I was going to make this for so-and-so," or "This fabric reminds me of ______." These things can fall dangerously close to being sentimental rather than simply functional.
I sew a little, but I think about sewing a lot, and my fabric stash shows it.
So I also have a habit of saving old (not special clothes) just in case I ever need scraps of fabric for some random project. These have come in handy many times when I needed to make a quick puppet or costume. But the amount of garbage clothes I have saved far outweighs the amount I've used. So I bravely said good bye to most of these.
In the end I sorted all my sewing into four piles. Big pieces of fabric, small scraps for quilting, needle point projects, and general supplies. When they were sorted into these categories, it was easier to see what was worth throwing out. And once they were sorted, it was easier to put them away. I could fit most of my fabric back into the desk where my sewing machine sits. And now I'll be able to actually find things like needle and thread when I need them because they are sitting in a convenient location next to my sewing machine.
TIME OUT!
I finished, and then.... I wasn't finished.
After I proudly put all my sewing stuff away, I found more. A lot more.
If you are a crafter, you know how hard this is. Crafts typically have an emotional attachment that goes far beyond just "I really like this." There's that added guilt of "I was going to make this for so-and-so," or "This fabric reminds me of ______." These things can fall dangerously close to being sentimental rather than simply functional.
I sew a little, but I think about sewing a lot, and my fabric stash shows it.
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| I had two boxes (2'x2'x2') packed full of wadded up mystery fabric. |
As always, step one is to gather everything of one kind into one place. I have a sewing machine in my bedroom, but there isn't really a place in my room for sewing supplies. So I had to search all over my house in every nook and cranny to find my stash of fabric and sewing supplies. It turns out I had fabric hidden in EVERY closet in EVERY bedroom of my house!
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| This little dresser was hiding in my daughter's room and packed full of old (30+ years) needle point projects. |
I found all my fabric. I found all my needle point. I found every little would-be project I'd set aside over the course of my entire life.
What I also found, that was entirely more difficult to deal with, was sentimental clothes. I often save old baby clothes thinking I will one day make baby quilts out of them. I have made four quilts in the past 20 years. So it's not completely impossible that I might actually use these clothes to make some future quilt. But I don't actually have any babies (or grandbabies at the moment), so this fabric has no current use. Still I couldn't part with it.
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| These are the adorable matching dresses our girls wore to Disney Land 15 years ago. |
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| This is a stained onesie. What was I thinking? |
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| Maternity shirt, circa 2001. I cannibalized the sleeves for some past project. |
In the end I sorted all my sewing into four piles. Big pieces of fabric, small scraps for quilting, needle point projects, and general supplies. When they were sorted into these categories, it was easier to see what was worth throwing out. And once they were sorted, it was easier to put them away. I could fit most of my fabric back into the desk where my sewing machine sits. And now I'll be able to actually find things like needle and thread when I need them because they are sitting in a convenient location next to my sewing machine.
TIME OUT!
I finished, and then.... I wasn't finished.
After I proudly put all my sewing stuff away, I found more. A lot more.
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| Another bag of quilting scraps. |
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| And another bag of large fabric pieces. |
On the plus side, now we have plenty of extra fabric to make our Covid 19 masks!
I still might have a bit more fabric than I need (that sounds like blaspheme!), but it's at least manageable for now. And that is a lot better than it's ever been.
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| My sewing desk, clean and sorted! |
Episode 7, Konmari Komono: Stationery
Assignment for the week: Go through all your writing supplies, eliminate what you aren't using, and put the rest together in one organized location.
Longer version:
The next stop for me on the Konmari train was stationery. This means all paper and writing utensils. That includes note cards, post its, pens, pencils, staplers, tape, envelopes, hole punchers, paper clips, rulers, calculators, and more. As I worked to gather these items up, the list kept expanding. I pulled together items from every desk, every nightstand, every counter, every junk drawer.
*One thing I did NOT sort was CRAFT SUPPLIES. In some homes stationery and craft supplies may be one and the same. But I own a LOT of craft supplies and a LOT MORE scrapbook paper. Those will be two categories for me that must be tackled separately.
Initially I sorted and put back EVERYTHING, but forgot to get rid of ANYTHING. Oops. My husband and I are both teachers, so we have (and need and use) a LOT of office/school supplies. We also have five kids in school. They have/need/use a lot of office supplies. So I couldn't feel good getting rid of much of anything. Plus these items are so basic, I found it hard to use the joy principal on them. How do you hug a pencil and decide if it brings you joy?
So honestly not a lot was gotten rid of on my first go around, and only a little bit more was reduced on my second sweep. In fact I may have just spent a lot of time sorting for nothing. But the plus side is, every time I decide on a specific space where something goes (I used to have like thirty different places where I felt like pens should rightly belong!), I am more inclined to put things away. Now when I see a pen on my dresser, I think "that doesn't belong here, I'll go put it in the jar on the desk." I also no longer have a junk drawer. Seriously! Everything that was in there before is now carefully put away with like items. And all my "stationary" is contained to two large cabinets. I am hopeful that I will eventually reduce my hoard enough that all my scrapbook and craft supplies might fit in these cupboards as well.
For this particular category, I didn't reduce the amount of stuff I owned by much. But simply sorting it has been a huge help. Now ALL the paper is in the same place. This means not only is it easy to find when we need it, but I also have a clear idea of how much we own (a LOT) so I know if I need to buy anymore (I DON'T). And when next school year starts, we'll save a small fortune by not having to buy any school supplies!
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| This is just one of the many desks in my home. Not exactly functional is it? |
Longer version:
The next stop for me on the Konmari train was stationery. This means all paper and writing utensils. That includes note cards, post its, pens, pencils, staplers, tape, envelopes, hole punchers, paper clips, rulers, calculators, and more. As I worked to gather these items up, the list kept expanding. I pulled together items from every desk, every nightstand, every counter, every junk drawer.
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| Just a small portion of the masses I've accumulated. |
*One thing I did NOT sort was CRAFT SUPPLIES. In some homes stationery and craft supplies may be one and the same. But I own a LOT of craft supplies and a LOT MORE scrapbook paper. Those will be two categories for me that must be tackled separately.
Initially I sorted and put back EVERYTHING, but forgot to get rid of ANYTHING. Oops. My husband and I are both teachers, so we have (and need and use) a LOT of office/school supplies. We also have five kids in school. They have/need/use a lot of office supplies. So I couldn't feel good getting rid of much of anything. Plus these items are so basic, I found it hard to use the joy principal on them. How do you hug a pencil and decide if it brings you joy?
So honestly not a lot was gotten rid of on my first go around, and only a little bit more was reduced on my second sweep. In fact I may have just spent a lot of time sorting for nothing. But the plus side is, every time I decide on a specific space where something goes (I used to have like thirty different places where I felt like pens should rightly belong!), I am more inclined to put things away. Now when I see a pen on my dresser, I think "that doesn't belong here, I'll go put it in the jar on the desk." I also no longer have a junk drawer. Seriously! Everything that was in there before is now carefully put away with like items. And all my "stationary" is contained to two large cabinets. I am hopeful that I will eventually reduce my hoard enough that all my scrapbook and craft supplies might fit in these cupboards as well.
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| This cabinet contains paper, pens, and our printer. |
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| This cabinet is folders, notebooks, markers, scissors, glue, and graph paper. |
For this particular category, I didn't reduce the amount of stuff I owned by much. But simply sorting it has been a huge help. Now ALL the paper is in the same place. This means not only is it easy to find when we need it, but I also have a clear idea of how much we own (a LOT) so I know if I need to buy anymore (I DON'T). And when next school year starts, we'll save a small fortune by not having to buy any school supplies!
Episode 6, Konmari Komono: Makeup and Accessories
Today's Challenge: SORT THROUGH ALL YOUR MAKEUP AND ACCESSORIES (HAIR CLIPS, JEWELRY, NAIL POLISH, ETC.)
Longer version: The next thing I tackled was makeup and accessories. I REALLY thought this would be easy because I don't own a lot of makeup or jewelry. Unfortunately it got complicated because there are a lot of border categories that got sucked in with it. Hair dye, nail supplies, hair clips, general bathroom stuff, etc. So please feel free to break this down into smaller categories if you need to.
I have three daughters, so nearly every room in our house has a pile of stray hair bands or nail files. I basically had to clean out every bathroom drawer and every nightstand to find all the things that belong into this category. Once they were all together, I pulled out everything that wasn't meant to be dealt with today (mostly medicines).
The pile was actually quite atrocious. Makeup is messy. Hair is messy. So dealing with this category had me digging through piles of hair balls and crusted mascara. Would you believe I still had makeup that I bought in college? In the nineties! I really don't wear a lot of makeup, so that stuff really lasts a long time. Too long in fact. I drew a hard line, and threw out anything older than my children. Everything else after that was negotiable. Luckily most of my makeup didn't bring me joy, so I tossed a lot.
Jewelry was a little tougher. I don't wear a lot of jewelry, but most of it was bought for special occasions (like my bridesmade necklace from Kate's wedding!) or kept for sentimental reasons. I decided anything I didn't love wearing either needed to be given away, or put in my pile of sentimental items to be sorted through later.
After everything was sorted into it's category, the hard work began of putting it all away. I decided for the first time in this process that I needed to get a few drawer dividers. I'm not big on buying things for storage, but I just didn't have any trays or boxes small enough. I picked up a couple little trays at the dollar store.
A word of caution: When storing items, look for containers with no lids. If you put an item in a box with a lid, it disappears. You won't use it. You'll just hoard it. But put it in a container without a lid, and now you've organized it for easy access instead of just hiding it away.
Once I found trays that fit my drawers, my bathroom looked a whole lot better.
Happy sorting!
Confession of failure: I have two problems remaining. First, my bathroom drawer is still too full, so I'll have to give it another sorting in the future (I'm finding this to be a common theme. I think everything will need a future sort, perhaps many future sorts over the years). Second, I like having things on my night stand. Lots of things (chap-stick, lotion, medicine, hair bands, pens, paper, etc). So even though they are all sorted into bins, my nightstand is currently overwhelmed by items I felt I HAD to have at my bedside. Hopefully I will have the guts to deal with this clutter soon.
Longer version: The next thing I tackled was makeup and accessories. I REALLY thought this would be easy because I don't own a lot of makeup or jewelry. Unfortunately it got complicated because there are a lot of border categories that got sucked in with it. Hair dye, nail supplies, hair clips, general bathroom stuff, etc. So please feel free to break this down into smaller categories if you need to.
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| My bathrooms had a lot of bins in them, but they were really just a dumping ground for everything. |
I have three daughters, so nearly every room in our house has a pile of stray hair bands or nail files. I basically had to clean out every bathroom drawer and every nightstand to find all the things that belong into this category. Once they were all together, I pulled out everything that wasn't meant to be dealt with today (mostly medicines).
The pile was actually quite atrocious. Makeup is messy. Hair is messy. So dealing with this category had me digging through piles of hair balls and crusted mascara. Would you believe I still had makeup that I bought in college? In the nineties! I really don't wear a lot of makeup, so that stuff really lasts a long time. Too long in fact. I drew a hard line, and threw out anything older than my children. Everything else after that was negotiable. Luckily most of my makeup didn't bring me joy, so I tossed a lot.
Jewelry was a little tougher. I don't wear a lot of jewelry, but most of it was bought for special occasions (like my bridesmade necklace from Kate's wedding!) or kept for sentimental reasons. I decided anything I didn't love wearing either needed to be given away, or put in my pile of sentimental items to be sorted through later.
After everything was sorted into it's category, the hard work began of putting it all away. I decided for the first time in this process that I needed to get a few drawer dividers. I'm not big on buying things for storage, but I just didn't have any trays or boxes small enough. I picked up a couple little trays at the dollar store.
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| This was my drawer after the first sorting, but it still seemed a bit too cluttered. |
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| This is my slightly improved drawer after I bought a few more tiny sorting trays. |
A word of caution: When storing items, look for containers with no lids. If you put an item in a box with a lid, it disappears. You won't use it. You'll just hoard it. But put it in a container without a lid, and now you've organized it for easy access instead of just hiding it away.
Once I found trays that fit my drawers, my bathroom looked a whole lot better.
Happy sorting!
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| I kept one basket on the bathroom counter for my husband's things (his watch, comb, and beard elastics). |
Confession of failure: I have two problems remaining. First, my bathroom drawer is still too full, so I'll have to give it another sorting in the future (I'm finding this to be a common theme. I think everything will need a future sort, perhaps many future sorts over the years). Second, I like having things on my night stand. Lots of things (chap-stick, lotion, medicine, hair bands, pens, paper, etc). So even though they are all sorted into bins, my nightstand is currently overwhelmed by items I felt I HAD to have at my bedside. Hopefully I will have the guts to deal with this clutter soon.
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| I'm keeping too much by my bed, but I can't decide what to get rid of. |
Big money, and What to Do With It
It happens every now and then that we get a lump of money that isn't part of our normal income. Think tax return, gift, insurance settlement, work bonus, etc. There are just times when money comes in various amounts from a variety of places. We all love these moments. It can be very exciting (and sometimes downright miraculous) to get an unexpected influx of cash. But if you aren't careful, that money (and more!) can be gone before you've even had a chance to enjoy it, and you are left wondering where did it all go?
Typically one of two things has happened. Either you failed to plan, or you over planned. If you don't have a plan for your money, it will quickly spend itself a few dollars at a time, disappearing in places like McDonald's and Walmart. Or you may over plan, telling yourself all the things you can use the money for, without realizing that this limited supply of cash can't fulfill all of your expectations. In the end, your extra money is gone, and you've racked up extra dept on your credit card because you thought you had enough extra money to cover your extra purchases.
The cure for both of these problems it to have a plan ON PAPER. Always spend your money on paper before you spend it in real life. This helps you to realize just how far your money can and can't stretch. It gives you direction when making spending choices. And it provides a record to help you remember where your money went when it's all gone.
BORING!
I know. But it's a necessary evil that allows us to get what we want. So let's talk about the fun stuff: SPENDING!
My husband and I have a policy of never spending "extra" money on "regular" bills. We don't want it to just disappear into the bleak abyss of our everyday budget. If money comes from an unexpected source, then we spend it in an unexpected place.
So how can you put that money to the best possible use before it slips though your fingers?
That will depend a lot on how much money you receive, and what your personal circumstances are, but here are some suggestions:
Pay Off Debt
If you have debt, paying it off is always a great idea. If extra money comes in and it's enough to completely (or almost super close to completely) pay off a debt, we do it. It's like a gift to ourselves. Paying off a debt is not only good financial sense, but it's a gift you can relive every month when you don't have to make that dreaded payment! We have paid off two cars with tax returns, and in my opinion living without a car payment is the only way to live! My sister is more ambitious than me. She uses every extra bit of cash that flows through her fingers to pay off her mortgage. No mortgage, can you even imagine? How awesome is that!
Build Up Your Savings
If you don't already have a solid savings account, use the extra money to start one. Just be sure to put it out of sight, so you don't dip into it on accident. That end of the year bonus, could be the emergency money you need next summer when your car gives up the ghost. You could build your savings in general, or start a savings account for a specific purpose. A newer car, vacation, repairs, school, tires, etc. I once put away $500 for possible car repairs, and when my car broke down six months later, I was almost happy about it. As I spent my "Car Repair Fund" on actual car repairs, I felt really confident, like I was in control. I know it's a little crazy, but it's still true.
Stock Up On Things You Need
I worry about the value of the dollar (I know I'm a total, nerd), so I'd rather keep my savings in supplies instead of cash. My husband used to sell cars for a living, so our income fluctuated a lot. Whenever he had a paycheck that was more than the usual amount, I would take the extra money and buy laundry soap and toilet paper in bulk. There are some things that never go bad, and you know you'll always need them. So why not buy them now while you can afford them?
Budget with Gift Cards
Not everything can be bought and stored. But gift cards can. My husband is in school right now and our income is pathetic. It doesn't even begin to cover our monthly expenses. When you can't pay your bills, things like gas money can be impossible to come by. Last year when we received our tax return, I took $1200 down to the gas station and bought twelve $100 gift cards. I wrote a different month on each of them. Now on the first of every month, my husband takes out the card for that month, and he is guaranteed to have gas money without having to scrounge through the house for spare change.
We bought several other gift cards for things we were going to need in the next few months that we knew we were unlikely to be able to afford with our current monthly income. We bought five gift cards to each of our five children's favorite restaurants. That way when their birthday rolled around, we didn't need to worry about whether we had the money to take them out for a treat. We also knew we were going to need to redo our bathroom soon. We put $1000 on a Lowe's gift card so that we would have the money in the right place when we needed it.
Lessons
Perhaps that extra money could be put aside to pay for lessons that you wouldn't be able to afford out of your regular monthly budget. An $800 work bonus could be ballet lessons for a year!
FUN
It is good to have fun. If you have extra money that isn't part of your normal budget, there is nothing wrong with having a little fun. A little extra cash can be the perfect excuse for taking a vacation that you've been putting off for years. Just remember to only use your extra money for the trip, and don't over-plan and end up going into debt to pay for the little extras that pop up during your vacation.
Intent
Another important question to ask yourself is Where did this money come from? and What was the intent? A few years ago my grandmother died and left each of her grandchildren $1000. I did not have a good relationship with my grandmother while she was alive, and the money she left me was not only a surprise, but was the only nice thing I could ever remember her doing for me. As we considered what to do with the money, we decided that whatever we spent it on, it should be something lasting. We decided to spend the money on a piano. We had been planning to buy a piano for years, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to not only buy what we wanted, but create a lasting memory of my grandmother that was positive. My kids are all beautiful pianists now, and I have my grandmother to thank for it.
Letting Off Steam
If you are living on a super tight budget, and some extra money comes into your hands, your first impulse may be to blow a quick $40 on a long-denied dinner of fast food (or whatever it is that you always want but never get). THAT'S OKAY. You don't always have to be super stingy and frugal. Sometimes you need to let off a little pressure and indulge. Just make sure your splurge has boundaries. Perhaps you got an unexpected $500 work bonus. You and your husband both agree that building your emergency fund is the responsible thing to do. But it's not fun! So lighten up a little. There is nothing wrong with allowing each of you to spend $50 on whatever it is you want, and putting the other $400 into the bank. Remember, it's only money.
Now go have some fun!
Marcia
Typically one of two things has happened. Either you failed to plan, or you over planned. If you don't have a plan for your money, it will quickly spend itself a few dollars at a time, disappearing in places like McDonald's and Walmart. Or you may over plan, telling yourself all the things you can use the money for, without realizing that this limited supply of cash can't fulfill all of your expectations. In the end, your extra money is gone, and you've racked up extra dept on your credit card because you thought you had enough extra money to cover your extra purchases.
The cure for both of these problems it to have a plan ON PAPER. Always spend your money on paper before you spend it in real life. This helps you to realize just how far your money can and can't stretch. It gives you direction when making spending choices. And it provides a record to help you remember where your money went when it's all gone.
BORING!
I know. But it's a necessary evil that allows us to get what we want. So let's talk about the fun stuff: SPENDING!
My husband and I have a policy of never spending "extra" money on "regular" bills. We don't want it to just disappear into the bleak abyss of our everyday budget. If money comes from an unexpected source, then we spend it in an unexpected place.
So how can you put that money to the best possible use before it slips though your fingers?
That will depend a lot on how much money you receive, and what your personal circumstances are, but here are some suggestions:
Pay Off Debt
If you have debt, paying it off is always a great idea. If extra money comes in and it's enough to completely (or almost super close to completely) pay off a debt, we do it. It's like a gift to ourselves. Paying off a debt is not only good financial sense, but it's a gift you can relive every month when you don't have to make that dreaded payment! We have paid off two cars with tax returns, and in my opinion living without a car payment is the only way to live! My sister is more ambitious than me. She uses every extra bit of cash that flows through her fingers to pay off her mortgage. No mortgage, can you even imagine? How awesome is that!
Build Up Your Savings
If you don't already have a solid savings account, use the extra money to start one. Just be sure to put it out of sight, so you don't dip into it on accident. That end of the year bonus, could be the emergency money you need next summer when your car gives up the ghost. You could build your savings in general, or start a savings account for a specific purpose. A newer car, vacation, repairs, school, tires, etc. I once put away $500 for possible car repairs, and when my car broke down six months later, I was almost happy about it. As I spent my "Car Repair Fund" on actual car repairs, I felt really confident, like I was in control. I know it's a little crazy, but it's still true.
Stock Up On Things You Need
I worry about the value of the dollar (I know I'm a total, nerd), so I'd rather keep my savings in supplies instead of cash. My husband used to sell cars for a living, so our income fluctuated a lot. Whenever he had a paycheck that was more than the usual amount, I would take the extra money and buy laundry soap and toilet paper in bulk. There are some things that never go bad, and you know you'll always need them. So why not buy them now while you can afford them?
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| My monthly stash of fun and practical. |
Budget with Gift Cards
Not everything can be bought and stored. But gift cards can. My husband is in school right now and our income is pathetic. It doesn't even begin to cover our monthly expenses. When you can't pay your bills, things like gas money can be impossible to come by. Last year when we received our tax return, I took $1200 down to the gas station and bought twelve $100 gift cards. I wrote a different month on each of them. Now on the first of every month, my husband takes out the card for that month, and he is guaranteed to have gas money without having to scrounge through the house for spare change.
We bought several other gift cards for things we were going to need in the next few months that we knew we were unlikely to be able to afford with our current monthly income. We bought five gift cards to each of our five children's favorite restaurants. That way when their birthday rolled around, we didn't need to worry about whether we had the money to take them out for a treat. We also knew we were going to need to redo our bathroom soon. We put $1000 on a Lowe's gift card so that we would have the money in the right place when we needed it.
Lessons
Perhaps that extra money could be put aside to pay for lessons that you wouldn't be able to afford out of your regular monthly budget. An $800 work bonus could be ballet lessons for a year!
FUN
It is good to have fun. If you have extra money that isn't part of your normal budget, there is nothing wrong with having a little fun. A little extra cash can be the perfect excuse for taking a vacation that you've been putting off for years. Just remember to only use your extra money for the trip, and don't over-plan and end up going into debt to pay for the little extras that pop up during your vacation.
Intent
Another important question to ask yourself is Where did this money come from? and What was the intent? A few years ago my grandmother died and left each of her grandchildren $1000. I did not have a good relationship with my grandmother while she was alive, and the money she left me was not only a surprise, but was the only nice thing I could ever remember her doing for me. As we considered what to do with the money, we decided that whatever we spent it on, it should be something lasting. We decided to spend the money on a piano. We had been planning to buy a piano for years, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to not only buy what we wanted, but create a lasting memory of my grandmother that was positive. My kids are all beautiful pianists now, and I have my grandmother to thank for it.
Letting Off Steam
If you are living on a super tight budget, and some extra money comes into your hands, your first impulse may be to blow a quick $40 on a long-denied dinner of fast food (or whatever it is that you always want but never get). THAT'S OKAY. You don't always have to be super stingy and frugal. Sometimes you need to let off a little pressure and indulge. Just make sure your splurge has boundaries. Perhaps you got an unexpected $500 work bonus. You and your husband both agree that building your emergency fund is the responsible thing to do. But it's not fun! So lighten up a little. There is nothing wrong with allowing each of you to spend $50 on whatever it is you want, and putting the other $400 into the bank. Remember, it's only money.
Now go have some fun!
Marcia
Episode 5, Konmari Komono: Soaps and Lotions
Short version: SORT AND TOSS ALL YOUR EXTRA SOAPS AND LOTIONS FROM THE WHOLE HOUSE.
Longer version: next on my checklist of komono (everything else) was soaps and lotions. This included hand soap, body soap, shampoo, conditioner, dandruff shampoo, lotion, scented lotion, sun screen, hand sanitizer, face wash, hotel samples, etc.
Remember we're sorting by category, not by room, so you can't just go in and clean out your bathroom. You must gather everything from every where. For me this included two bathrooms (I didn't touch my girls' bathroom since most things in there don't belong to me), the kitchen, and a lot of shelves. I brought them all out onto my kitchen table (What would I do without a table to sort through my life on?) and sorted them into groups of similar items.
While sorting, I went ahead and threw out anything that was stinky (lotion definitely goes bad).what stinks. I also consolidated half used bottles and washed up any dirty bottles.
Once I had everything sorted, I put one of each type of item in each useful location. So each bathroom got a soap, shampoo, and hand soap. And every nightstand got one bottle of lotion.
Then I took all the extras and organized them in one single bathroom cabinet. My kids were not entirely excited about this. They felt like extras should be kept in each bathroom. That's how we've stored things in the past. But in the past we've also run out because we had no idea how much of anything we had in the house. So I'm sticking to the script on this one and storing the extras all in one place by category for easy counting and restocking. It turns out I'm short on body wash and dandruff shampoo but have have enough sun screen to survive the apocalypses.
It feels so good to add something to my shopping list knowing that we actually need it, and that I don't already have a dozen bottles hiding somewhere in my house. So in the end I'm saving money by only buy what I'm actually running low on. I promise you'll love it too!
Good luck!
Confession of failure: I also saved all those tiny little hotel samples. I really like having little bottles for when we travel, so I just couldn't bare to part with them. I have a small ziplock bag for each category, and all the bags are together in one bin. Now when we camp or fly and are in need of a tiny bottle, we'll know just where they are. If a year from now I find that my stash of tiny bottles is growing instead of shrinking, I'll rethink this choice.
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| In my defense, I bought most of these soaps on clearance. |
Longer version: next on my checklist of komono (everything else) was soaps and lotions. This included hand soap, body soap, shampoo, conditioner, dandruff shampoo, lotion, scented lotion, sun screen, hand sanitizer, face wash, hotel samples, etc.
Remember we're sorting by category, not by room, so you can't just go in and clean out your bathroom. You must gather everything from every where. For me this included two bathrooms (I didn't touch my girls' bathroom since most things in there don't belong to me), the kitchen, and a lot of shelves. I brought them all out onto my kitchen table (What would I do without a table to sort through my life on?) and sorted them into groups of similar items.
While sorting, I went ahead and threw out anything that was stinky (lotion definitely goes bad).what stinks. I also consolidated half used bottles and washed up any dirty bottles.
 |
| Check out this army of soaps! |
Once I had everything sorted, I put one of each type of item in each useful location. So each bathroom got a soap, shampoo, and hand soap. And every nightstand got one bottle of lotion.
Then I took all the extras and organized them in one single bathroom cabinet. My kids were not entirely excited about this. They felt like extras should be kept in each bathroom. That's how we've stored things in the past. But in the past we've also run out because we had no idea how much of anything we had in the house. So I'm sticking to the script on this one and storing the extras all in one place by category for easy counting and restocking. It turns out I'm short on body wash and dandruff shampoo but have have enough sun screen to survive the apocalypses.
It feels so good to add something to my shopping list knowing that we actually need it, and that I don't already have a dozen bottles hiding somewhere in my house. So in the end I'm saving money by only buy what I'm actually running low on. I promise you'll love it too!
Good luck!
 |
| Nothing warms my heart like a fully stocked shelf. |
Confession of failure: I also saved all those tiny little hotel samples. I really like having little bottles for when we travel, so I just couldn't bare to part with them. I have a small ziplock bag for each category, and all the bags are together in one bin. Now when we camp or fly and are in need of a tiny bottle, we'll know just where they are. If a year from now I find that my stash of tiny bottles is growing instead of shrinking, I'll rethink this choice.
 |
| Free samples may be taking over my house. |
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