January 12, 2010 | Everyday Wisdom, Mindful Money, What to Wear

I was just browsing around at Dillard’s, because they’ve just taken another round of markdowns and their online clearance is one of my favorite places to buy dresses. As I mentioned earlier this morning, I don’t have to look presentable all that often, but sometimes I do, and I enjoy having pretty things to wear when I actually, you know, bother to get dressed.

More and more in our “recession economy” I heard a lot of “don’t buy it on sale if you wouldn’t have paid full price for it” as a mantra for smart shopping, and as I looked at clothes this morning I found myself thinking about that. And you know what? I think that’s stupid.

People, if I never bought anything on sale I wouldn’t have cheerfully forked over full retail price for, I would buy nothing at all. Ever.

Now, I’m not saying everyone has to shop like me (I mean, feel free, but I’m not naive enough to think my methods are for everyone), but I know so many women who put nice clothing for themselves behind everything else—clothes for the kids, household items, even kibble for the pets—that I think this is a topic worth addressing. Let’s forget glib proclamations like “don’t buy it on sale if you wouldn’t have paid full price for it” and talk about practical guidance on this. (more…)

December 22, 2009 | Everyday Wisdom, Questions Answered

Carmie raised a point yesterday that I thought was timely and worth further discussion. She asked:

sking as a future parent of middle-schoolers…..do you let your kids hang on to their gift cash? Do they give you a portion? Do they have to save it all? Spend it all?

Obviously, my answer to this isn’t going to be right for everyone, but I’m happy to share what we do. And as with all monetary dealings when it comes to our children, I think the long-term goal should be teaching fiscal responsibility in a way that sticks. Demanding that all gifted money be immediately deposited into a savings account is certainly wise in the conventional sense, but if it leaves kids feeling deprived and not in control of their own money, they’re unlikely to make good choices once they have more freedom.

I’ve discussed my allowance philosophy here before; I believe in mandating some savings and charitable giving for our kids with the money they earn.

Now, cash gifts are (to my mind) a little bit different. I do not make my kids donate a portion of gifts to charity, just as I wouldn’t make them take a couple of markers out of the pack and donate them. Heh. Depending on the amount of money, we usually figure out a division of money to spend and money to save. If it’s a small gift, I’ll let them spend it. If it’s larger, we put some in the bank.

I also try to steer them towards purchasing something the giver would approve of (this isn’t completely necessary, of course, but again, I think it helps them to be more mindful). If it’s money from a peer, I’m more likely to let them spend it on toys. If it’s from a grandparent or older relative we usually go towards clothes or books.

How about you? I’m curious to know how other folks handle it. Hit me!

December 15, 2009 | Everyday Wisdom, Questions Answered

I feel somewhat disingenuous filing this under “Questions Answered,” as I’m not sure I really have an answer. But we’ll see what we can do. The very pretty Kim writes:

Lovely Mir,

I have adopted your gift closet approach to shopping year-round, but this holiday season, it is biting me in the butt. All of my husband’s family live on the West coast and we live on the East coast. When I took several boxes to be shipped the other day, the cost of shipping was equal to or more than the cost of the gifts inside the boxes! And I was shipping using the cheapest option available (i.e. UPS ground or similar). A couple were heavy, but even the light ones were pricier than I expected. All the money I have carefully saved over the year is lost in shipping those gifts across the country. Should I have shipped sooner, like before Thanksgiving? Are there other options I should consider (like Sherpas)?

After hemorrhaging all that money to UPS and FedEx, I am considering abandoning the gift closet approach for the holidays, and instead use something like Amazon Prime to ship them and have the parents/spouse wrap them for me. I won’t have the fun of wrapping, but even a year of Amazon Prime is less than I spent on shipping those boxes.

What’s a bargain-lover to do? (more…)

August 25, 2009 | Big Picture, Everyday Wisdom

I was telling a friend this weekend (before I got sick, and now I’m hoping to type out this tale before the Dayquil wears off…) that I recently walked into Target and paid full price for a new blender. And then I realized that was significant enough to warrant its own post.

Yes, Virginia, sometimes I don’t wait for something to go on sale. I know. Crazy, isn’t it?

In the case of the blender, well, our ancient blender was on its last legs, and my daughter has taken to drinking smoothies on school mornings. Her lunch period is at 10:30 (don’t even get me started on that…) and she says that if she eats anything else at breakfast, she’s not hungry enough at lunch time to eat her lunch, and then she’s starving at the end of the day. So, smoothies it is! I punch up the nutrition by adding salba and spinach to our concoctions of orange juice, yogurt, and frozen fruits. Frozen fruit is hard on a cheap blender, so I knew I needed a decent one rather than one of those $19.99 specials. And I could’ve waited for a sale, but we use it five days a week, and I was worried the blender we were replacing could die at any moment.

So I bought it. For full price. (I got this Oster, both because my research showed it to have great reviews particularly with pulverizing frozen fruit, and because it matches my new stainless kitchen appliances nicely.)

The way I see it, getting as many bargains as I do offsets the occasional time I want/need to “just buy it.” I felt a flutter of guilt and then it passed. The moral of the story is that sometimes it’s okay to “just do it” (provided you can afford it, of course). Other things—off the top of my head—for which I will pay full price, on occasion: Local/organic foods, the perfect bra (sorry guys, but fellow women will understand that one!), and my work computer (because Macs don’t really ever go on sale).

So tell me—what will you pay full price for, regardless of your propensity to find the best deal on everything else?

July 14, 2009 | Everyday Wisdom, Product Talk, Questions Answered

The very pretty Julie writes:

Mir, I am hoping you and your very wise readers can assist me. On a recent day trip with my 6 and 4 year olds, it occurred to me that now that we don’t use a stroller, I don’t have a place (other than my purse) to stow the various water bottles, bags of snacks, sunscreen, camera, and various other items that inevitably get handed to Mom for safekeeping. My husband suggested next time we use his backpack. That would work, but I don’t want to look like I am getting ready to scale a mountain I’ve seen some smaller backpacks on-line, but would hate to order it only to have it arrive and not be useful. Do you or your readers have any practical suggestions on what has worked?

Julie is experiencing the post-diaper-bag quandary, which is that the kids are still small enough to be toting various items and not able/willing to carry them themselves, but big enough that an entire diaper bag is silly. What to do?

This is actually a question of both function and fashion, which means it’s my favorite kind of question! (more…)

June 25, 2009 | Everyday Wisdom, Questions Answered

Lovely Sheri writes:

So Mir, as I happen to read your blog everyday, I realized that you, of all people, might know of some fun places that have goodies with which to decorate a classroom. I’ll be new teacher at a sweet little school teaching 6th graders the joys of science and English…he he he…

Anyways, as college students aren’t too eager to spend their money on laminators and cardboard thingys, I have zero-zip-zilch-nada decorations or anything for my classroom…and I’m still not too eager to spend THAT much, and I have little to no idea of where to look.

A little help here? After all…it’s for the children…

Gotta love that little bit o’ guilt at the end there. Nice touch, Sheri!

Two stores immediately spring to mind for me, if you want to shop online:
1) Oriental Trading Company, where you can currently use coupon code JUNSAV25 to save $10 off your $50-$99 order or $25 off your $100+ order, or
2) Discount School Supply, where shipping is free on $79+ and code STOCKUP will get you an additional 10% off.

If youre shopping real stores, I’m kind of a sucker for Big Lots for this sort of thing.

But I’m not a teacher, and I know we have lots of teachers reading. Anyone want to chime in and help Sheri out?

June 10, 2009 | Everyday Wisdom, Quick Tips

I happened to be at TJ Maxx this week with my daughter, looking for a new purse. I found one I really liked, but it was still quite a bit more than I wanted to pay.

My daughter—ever my protege—checked out the price tag and declared that I should “totally get it” on account of it already having been marked at the original TJM reduced price, then discounted twice more. In fact, we could see that the cost was now about 25% of the original MSRP. (Two words: Italian leather. Mmmmm.)

That bag had a few scuff marks. So I took it to a manager and asked if she might take a bit more money off, on account of the bag’s condition. She said that it had already been marked down twice, so the best she could do was another 10%. I told her I would need to think about it a bit more, and what should I do if I decided I wanted it at that price? Just tell the cashier, she said, that she’d okayed another 10%.

It was still more than I wanted to spend, but in the end I decided to buy it and take it home; if I got it home and realized I’d really spent too much, I could always return it. (But if I left it there, it might be gone if I decided I really wanted it.) We went to pay and I told the cashier what the manager had said. She said she’d get the manager behind the counter to make a new tag for it.

And the new tag was for 25% off instead of 10% off. I don’t know why—I don’t know if it was an accident or if the other manager meant to do it—but I do know that I have a pretty new purse for approximately 18% of the original retail price.

All because I asked.

March 25, 2009 | Everyday Wisdom, Groceries

I’m not in much of a shopping mood today. I find myself unmoved even by deals on shoes, which is a sure sign that I need professional help. And probably more caffeine.

Regardless, today I’m thinking about my grocery bill. Just to be perfectly clear: I am not one of those ninja couponers. I don’t have the time, and I don’t buy many of the things you can usually buy with coupons (most of those items are usually things which—if we do use them—I can buy in bulk, at a significant savings, on Amazon). I think I do okay, though, by shopping the sales, buying in-season, and planning meals. But I would like to do better.

Time for a bit of grocery group therapy! I’ll start!

Best: My biggest budget “success” this past year, I’d say, was the switch to dried beans. I used to think dried beans were somehow scary and difficult to prepare. Because I was a moron. After making them in the crock pot (so easy!) I can freeze and pull out as needed. I haven’t bought a can of beans since I started doing that, which means I’m saving money and space. (Yes, we eat a lot of beans.)

Worst: I feel like I spend half our grocery money on milk/cheese/yogurt. Even on sale (and/or with coupons), the organic stuff is expensive. I’m drawing ever-closer to attempting to make my own yogurt. But until I figure out how to either make my own Muenster cheese or make my children stop inhaling it, I may be in trouble.

Your turn.

March 19, 2009 | Everyday Wisdom, For the kids, Questions Answered

The very pretty Kristen writes:

Hey Mir,

I have a 2-year-old and want to get her some summer/outdoor toys and was wondering if there is a good time of year to buy them and which sites/stores are good for bargains? Is it better to wait until closer to the season (i.e. May) to get some deals, or is it better to buy now? The toys I’m talking about are ones I’m sure your kids played with – like a bubble mower, picnic table, maybe one of those sand/water tables., etc.

Thanks for your help!

Ahhhh, the Big Plastic Toys of Summer. I remember those days. In fact, I vividly remember saying those words no one ever told me I would need, as a parent: “No, you may not sleep with the bubble mower. Because I said so.”

The answer, of course, is that now is the wrong time to buy. And now is exactly the right time to buy. Clear as mud, yes?

Allow me to elaborate. (more…)

February 9, 2009 | Everyday Wisdom, Questions Answered

I post lots and lots of shopping deals, here, but Want Not is supposed to be about overall budgeting (even if it may not seem that way, some days) and living well within your means. It seems like with the holiday shopping season and then subsequent post-holiday belt-tightening, it’s kind of been all deals, all the time, lately.

Let’s change that.

The very pretty Kristy writes:

Mir,

I love your websites and I enjoy all the deals you post on Want Not! You’ve helped me start a gift closet and I’ve saved quite a bit of money along the way thanks to you! Oh, and you’re so very pretty that I feel prettier just reading your posts!

My stupid, er rather, less new and inexpensive townhouse has broken all kinds of major things (roof, furnace, exterior walls) and I’ve racked up a lot of debt fixing it. I’ve been as smart as I can be about the debt (0% interest for a year) but now I’m taking a hard look at it and how fast I can make it go away.

Saving money is one half, but the other half is how to make a little money on the side. My husband and I work full time, but we do have nights and weekends. You’re so smart and pretty and web-worldly, I thought you might have some ideas on supplementing a paycheck. Do you have any tips for me?

First and foremost, Kristy gets 10 points to Gryffindor for her excellent powers of flattery. You’re pretty, Kristy!

Second, how about it—are there good ways for “regular” people to make money from home, tucked into the bits of time between work and life? (more…)