As a stay at home mom that fails miserably at housekeeping and once was known throughout the land for her financial acumen, you'd think I'd have our family's finances locked up. I am here to admit, that I have not achieved as admirably as I had hoped.
Coupons
I was once really addicted to couponing. It was such a high to walk out of the grocery store with 8 bags of groceries for next to nothing. It became a full on addiction. For one thing, you had to keep shopping to get those discounts. And at a certain point, you just become inundated with crap. Sure, I made a couple of runs to our local homeless shelters, but enough is enough people.
As a tree hugger, I found couponing didn't suit my families needs. Well, let me rephrase that: "My husband is more than happy to use sulfate laden products, but I am so crazy, I hear orangutans cry as I rinse the shampoo down the drain." So, we are slowly depleting our stockpile, and I am improving my shower arias. In the meantime, I am keeping my eyes out for good deals to be had in the "green" beauty care sector.
Gardening
Although Geoff may be content to eat boxed foods with pink slime, I prefer more unprocessed foods. I prefer to eat more veggies, especially locally grown. That can be expensive. But, oh well. To offset the cost, we garden. I love to garden, but this clay soil and the upkeep have been the death of me. Geoff likes pretty, he doesn't care about veggies unless they add value to our house. Geoff: "Misty, there are bugs on your squash. I bought you kerosene or this ultra toxic bug spray." Misty: " Geoff, I don't like using bug sprays. Maia eats straight out of the garden." Geoff: "Tell her not to."
Is it fair that I have these high standards and need Geoff's help? No, but I do try to do all I can in this regard. I don't have the ability to drag out the no kink hose. Those things have some serious heft to them, but that is Geoff's doing. If we are going to buy something, it better work, and work well (often regardless of cost). So, my logic is that if we must buy equipment I can't wield, I deserve his help.
***On a funny side note, Maia and I just planted lettuce, onions, and turnips in the front gardens much to Geoff's dismay. Apparently, those aren't "landscaping" plants. Pssshaa. I do all the landscape design so he can bugger off.***
Five Dollar Plan
So this brings me to my most ridiculous savings plan to date. I want to go on a vacation. I want a new computer, Geoff needs a new car. The list really does go on and on. So, while I was tooling around on Pinterest one day, I saw a pin for the $5 plan. Simply put, anytime you happen across a $5 bill, you set it aside. Reading through some of the comments gave me a chuckle because some poor saps were actually heralding this as their choice savings plan. I think it works great for vacations or splurge spending, but why would you not set aside x amount for emergencies? What about retirement? I guess for those "cash" families this might be the way to go, but I hardly come across a $5 bill.
That leads my funny story for the week. Geoff, by the way, thinks this is a ridiculous way to save for anything and totally mocks me for it. Yesterday morning, we pulled through Dunkin Donuts to get coffee (Yea, yea, yea: saving money my foot. Well, we could have done worse, there is a Starbucks next door). The total came to $5.94. I gave Geoff $11 cash to pay the bill so I could get a crisp $5 bill back. This amount so perplexed the cashier. Needless to say, he handed Geoff the single back instantly and Geoff giggled all the way to our final destination.
