Saving for what?

Recently I was asked by a reader what I was saving money for? The question struck me a number of ways. The dialogue in my head was random and not precise at all,.


Some thoughts that came to mind were;

1) What do you mean what am I saving for?
2) Big ticket items…what?
3) Why not save just to save?

Then it occurred to me that none of these answers would be sufficient. So I spent some time really thinking. What IS the goal here? Why am I pinching pennies so hard? The conclusion I came to is directly related to a frame of mind my generation, the late-thirty-something’s. The shared mentality of “I work hard! if I want something I am going to have it!” This way of thinking I can clearly relate to however it is not how I think now or at least not in the same way.

Years ago I can recall seeing a Movado Museum Face watch advertised in a magazine. The ad was exquisite and the colors, language and model all really grabbed me in an unusual way. Sometime soon after seeing that ad I saw the very same watch on TV. Although this time someone was wearing the watch on a talk show and a comment was made by the host on the high equality of the watch . The decision was made that someday I would have a Movado Museum Face watch. The kicker is at that point in my life I didn’t even wear or own A watch. Up until then I didn’t really even care to own a watch. Flash forward a few months and I am at the outlets and guess what? There is a Movado store. I beeline for the store and as I entered I swear I could hear the Angels singing. The store was beyond beautiful. Fancy chandeliers hung from the high ceilings, shiny pristine gold and silver accents were everywhere. The salespeople were all perfectly dressed and manicured. The whole experience felt important and exciting. The Museum Face Movado watches were displayed in the store’s most prestige’s location under locked glass. I approached them to find no visible price tag. A salesperson saw me and quickly approached with keys in hand. “ I know just the watch you are looking for,“ he stated cheerily. “You do?” I said skeptically. He pulled out a silver and gold Movado Museum Face watch and handed it to me. My heart was racing and I felt “happier“ than I could ever recall. I was wearing the exact watch “that I was looking for.” We talked a bit and he told me all about the history of Movado, the current BIG sale, the difference between outlet and store buying and so on. Finally after about a half an hour he stated the price. My heart sank at the $3,600.00 price tag. Which he informed me was $1,400.00 off regular retail. I thanked him and said I would talk it over with my husband. I left determined to get that watch! “Heck” I said “I work hard, if I want something I’m going to have it!” Months pass I find myself naturally navigating into jewelry stores. I was internet surfing for Movados -it had become a slight obsession. On a shopping trip to TJ Maxx I gandered at the jewelry counter and there it was! My Movado Museum Face watch ! The same watch I tried on at the Movado outlet in Manchester ,Vermont. I tried not to get too excited because I did recall the $3,600.00 price tag. However I was in TJ Maxx, so I ask the unkempt grumpy lady at the jewelry counter if I may try on the “silver and gold Movado Museum Face watch.” She slammed open the case ( I jumped-it was startling!) and yanked out the watch, hands it to me and-get this- walks away! She left me with a $5,000.00 retail Movado Museum Face watch! I’m slightly distracted by the events that led up to me wearing the watch so it didn’t occur to me to ask the saleslady for the price. I spent about 4 minutes looking the watch before I realized the price tag was hanging off it. Really, it was so shiny and beautiful I couldn’t take my eyes off the watch. I looked, looked again, then I summoned the saleslady to ask if she could read aloud the price on the tag because I was having difficulty with the small print. Reality was that my eyes were tearing with joy and I couldn’t believe the numbers I saw and wanted confirmation. “$369.99” she said. “I’ll take it” I said, before the last syllable left her lips. I wore it home, I wear it everyday and have for the past four plus years.

I paid cash for the watch and the buying experience was much different than it would have been at the fancy Movado store. A couple of things happened that require reflection. The first is that I was sucked in by advertising to make a big ticket purchase on something I hadn‘t ever thought of buying. I really do not know what compelling components the initial ad was comprised of and how it got to me, but it did. Then the successive episodes of seeing the very same watch penetrated my mind, scary, almost like brain washing. I truly felt strongly that I must have the watch. However I did not whip out a credit card at the Movado store when I initially found the “perfect” watch. This is where I differ from most. If I do not have the cash I do not buy. I scrimp and scrape and put money way so when I do find items that I want I can pay cash for them.

From my perspective I try to see more than just the item in front of me when I look at spending. What am I buying? Why am I making this purchase and the overall impact - ie am I helping the local economy? The environment? The impact on the future? Is this setting a good example? And so on. The Movado experience is another story. I was almost completely blinded by advertising. So much so that I longed for a certain watch when I did not even wear a watch. My judgment was effected by advertising. Well, my flag is up and I am hyper aware of selling tactics and I am careful not to fall into this same predicament again….or so I hope. With that said, Andy- I am saving so I can buy what I want, and pay cash of course.

Groceries for a family of four....only $75 a week

Each week this time of year, usually on a Saturday, I make the 15 mile trek to the grocery store and spend about 40 minutes and $75.00 buying one week worth of groceries and household necessities for my family of four. My two oldest are twenty-one and nineteen and out of the house. That leaves my nine-year old and five-year old to feed, they are both boys and always hungry. I am a stay-at-home school-from-home Mom so I am perfectly able to make our meals and desserts from scratch with is a huge money saver. Although I do not buy whole chicken roasters and cook and separate the meat for meals…I buy the more expensive boneless, skinless chicken breast. The savings would be significant if I would purchase whole roasters but after leaving a 14 year stint as a vegetarian I have trouble with meat still on a bone.


My goal eventually is to food shop only once or twice a month. Living in the northeast the fresh fruit and vegetables can be tricky to keep for weeks at a time so in the winter months it is just not feasible to shop so infrequently. In the summer months home gardens would supply us with our vegetables and we stock up on things like laundry detergent, shampoo, soap and the like with the surplus in our budget. This way when we are buying produce in the colder months we already have a winter supply of non food items stored in the basement and our weekly budget remains the same $75.00.

The following is a random week shopping receipt and menu. Keep in mind when you peruse my menu that I was not totally without food at home and some meal components are from my freezer and/or left over from previous food shopping trips. There is also more suppers than there are days in a week. This is because I like to have some choice already in mind. Many times when I have been inspired I have strayed far from my menu and created wonderful meals all within my $75.00 budget. Another point to make is I live in New Hampshire and food prices do vary geographically. Note there are no fresh tomatoes on my list…it’s March 2010 and the freeze in Florida eliminated the Florida tomato crop and skyrocketed the price of the Mexican tomato crop which I refuse to buy. As a result I plan on researching hydroponic tomatoes growing so I am never in this tomato-less predicament again.

GROCERY RECIEPT

MEAT
80% lean ground beef 18.65 (1.99lb)
Chicken breast 4.49 (2.69lb)
Chicken breast 4.22 (2.69lb)




PRODUCE
Romaine Hearts 2.29
Cucumbers 1.99
6 lbs Mac Apples 3.98
Granny Apples 2.80 (.99lb)
2 lbs carrots .99
2 lbs bananas .97

DAIRY
12 oz Mont. Jack cheese 2.00
12 oz Cheddar 2.00
1 lb Mozzarella 2.99
(all cheese is in a brick/not shredded-that would cost more)
Fr Van creamer 2.99
Whole Milk gal 2.39
1 lb butter 1.99
2 doz Lg white eggs 2.78

GROCERY
2 Chunky PB 5.00
2 Pasta sauce 2.00
3 whole wheat bread 4.50
Strawberry preserves 2.49
Flour 1.99

Total $73.50

MENUS

Breakfast MENU
1) Oatmeal
2) Pancakes -made in bulk in freezer
3) eggs
4) toast

Lunch MENU
1) egg salad sandwich
2) PB & J sandwich
3) supper leftovers

Supper MENU
1) burgers, salad, carrots
2) chicken, cauliflower, cucumber salad
3) spaghetti, meatballs, carrot salad, homemade bread
4) homemade pizza
5) meatloaf, potatoes, brussel sprouts
6) bacon wrapped chicken, cucumber/carrot salad
7) goulash, salad, bread
8) sloppy joes, salad
9) leftover night

SNACKS
1) Apple
2) Banana
3) carrot
4) homemade muffins, cookies, baked goods
*The rule at my house is you never need to ask for a healthy snack you can eat any fruit or any vegetable ant time!

DESSERTS (all homemade)
1) Pie
2) Pudding
3) cake
4) cookies
5) muffins

Get Over It.....

A big house, lots of land, a fancy foreign car, a huge diamond ring, and more. You think you know what you want, but do you really know what it will require to get, maintain and hold on to it? Today is “Get Over IT Day”. This is a perfect opportunity for people to really think about what we perceive as the keys to our own personal happiness.


A house on the lake, If I only had a second home on the lake then I would be happy. An easy thought to have but lets break it down. Buying, furnishing and maintaining a second home may require you to work more to pay the additional bills. Taxes, utilities and expected entertaining would also be included. Would this excess work take more time? Yes. Does additional work make you (or your spouse) cranky, tired, irritable? Will you even have time to spend (awake) at either of your homes? How often, or rather how long would you truly enjoy that second home before it became a burden? Keep in mind this blog is not intended for people like Bill & Melinda Gates, this blog is for lower to middle-income people.

In early winter 2008 my family lost our entire house and garage in a fire. We lived in a lake town, but not on the lake, and the majority of the rentals at that time were lakeside and very expensive. A one-level large-yard lake house was available to us for the time period we required. The location was ideal only minutes from where we were rebuilding. We were getting a taste of life on the lake. We were thrilled to say the least.

The lake house rental was perfect. How beautiful the area was as we watched as the seasons change. Open water froze and the boys ice skated while I cross country skied. We roof raked and shoveled all winter long, which we oddly enjoy. In the spring we sat on the dock with friends and sipped wine. The kids splashed and played in the water. Dinner parties were held a few times a month. As time passed we realized for us to have a house on the lake it would be our only house. According to our calculations the mortgage would be around $3000.00 a month for 40 years and that would not include the $30,000.00-$40,000.00 annual taxes. The house was large and drafty. We found that it is always noticeably colder on the lake also. Utilities were included in the rental but I have an idea that the heating bills were very high.

To be honest the lake house just didn’t seem worth the time and expense. A third of the way into our stay my husband and I both said that it was nice to have the opportunity to see what the lake life was like although it wasn’t as great as we thought. Both of us realized we had some really distorted thoughts of grandeur regarding living on the lake.

Our delusional shock from lake side living has carried over into other parts of our lives. It would be nice to drive a Hummer or a shiny new Jag, as long as I don’t have to pay for it! I will continue to drive my Chrysler Pacifica. I will enjoy me little house - built low maintenance, energy efficient, easy to clean and very low taxes. I still live in a lake town but all those people who have lake houses, well, they pay big taxes so the rest of us enjoy low taxes.

Years back a good friend of my stated it was her twentieth wedding anniversary and she and he husband were looking at diamonds. I stole a glance at my own left hand and briefly longed for something sparkly to rest on my wedding band. A week later she displayed what looked like a close relative to the Hope Diamond. This ring was amazing! A big, sparkly, perfect diamond just over three-carats. I went home and cried with jealousy into my pillow. The following months our conversations consisted mainly about ring related difficulties. Money was tight because they bought the ring, she was always worried about losing the diamond or the entire ring slipping off her hand, or my favorite: the ring was hard to get used to because it was so heavy. I saw my friend recently and noticed she wasn’t wearing the ring. When I inquired on the whereabouts of the ring she said they decided to sell it and pay off some of their credit card debt. She also said “I don’t know what we were thinking when we bought that ring”. "I do," I said quietly to myself…and thanks.

Consider looking closely at the “things” you believe will make you happy. All the times you have said “if I only had ________then I would be happy”. Then look around and the “things” you do have, most of the happiness attached to tangible items is acquired during the planning process and maybe a little happiness during the early stages of ownership. That elation fades over time and what is the depreciation value? Is it worth it or should you just “get over it ?”