A Savings Plan — Little by Little, Ms Julia Style

by Katy on February 16, 2009 · 2 comments

Julia Park Tracey

The Following is a guest blog by Julia Park Tracey of modernmuse.blogspot.com.

Julia is a Compact-chum, and a fellow conscious frugality enthusiast. I really like how she is working to build savings a few dollars and a few dollars there. It’s something we can all do.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

Abe’s Birthday, and about pennies

It’s (still) Feb 12, which used to be Abe Lincoln’s birthday (still is) but no longer a holiday. Nevertheless, I have been collecting pennies all week wherever I find them, and adding them to my piggy bank. I took a bunch of items to two local consignment stores — one gave me $8 cash and the other is working on pricing and will keep the items for 2 months before donating if they don’t sell.  

One store is for kids’ clothes, and since I have the trendy teens, she took a handful of their trendy items, while the other is for women. I took a bunch of costume jewelry to that place, and she took almost everything I had, which is very nice. My dresser top is “lighter” without those items that I never wore anyway.

Tonight I went through the DVDs that were “mine” from way back — mostly chick flicks — and will take those to the used book & DVD store fro cash tomorrow. Not sure how much I’ll get — but I’m not going to watch any more “Legally Blonde” or crappy movies about “I married my best friend’s fiance or my formerly gay friend” or whatever. Life’s too short to own crappy movies that you don’t watch, don’t you think?

And again with Coin Girl, I have found change on the street almost every day for the past week, as much as a dime, mostly pennies. Very cool.

I turned in my library books today ON TIME (no fees) and did not bounce any checks (NO FEES/PENALTIES) which for me is a pretty big deal, but may it get more usual as we proceed. I did buy 2 balls of yarn at Beverly’s (on sale) but I had a $5 gift certificate from 2005 and thus the yarn cost me just $0.55.

Today I got all my tax papers together and took them to Mr Tax Guy. I believe I will get about $1500 back, and that’s nice, but I also want to adjust my withholding ASAP so I have that money now vs later, after the government rolls around in it naked for a year. Tomorrow is payday when my first automatic savings deduction goes to my ING savings account (2.5 % interest). That will be “invisible savings, bec I don’t see that account unless I go there online. I am not likely to spend what isn’t accessible in my checking account and tied to my ATM card. I’m fooling myself into saving! How dumb am I? Or smart? Voila! I give you — Julia Tracey, Mistress of the Penny.

Sleuthing to find pennies all over town,
“Moolia”

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

elementaryfinance February 17, 2009 at 6:50 pm

On my site, I advocate finding money within your current budget to “pay yourself” If you made coffee at home rather than buying it at the local coffee shop, “pay yourself” that $4 straight in to your savings account. Read my article (linked here) to read the rest.

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Muppet March 3, 2009 at 11:21 am

I don’t know how much you’re putting into savings, but if you sign up at saveyourself.com and save $100/mo. for a year, you’ll get $100 at the end of that year. It’s a thing by Suze Orman and that bank.

I’d do it myself if I was sure I’d be employed all year.( (I’m a temp). $100 is certainly more than $1200 would earn in interest this year.

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