Pennies From Heaven

 

Hello Dear Ones!

Happy happy New Year! I do hope you had a wonderful holiday time with loved ones! But whether you were with many people or few, I pray you were blessed and refreshed.  So are you ready to head into the new year strong? It doesn’t need to be with anything huge—little money saving habits repeated over and over can add up to a big savings over time. As busy as the holiday time is, I didn’t write down a list of my activities as I normally do, but when I sat down and thought about it I still found I had had quite a few money saving actions. In the week between Christmas and New Years, these were some of the saving activities: 

1) I caught up on book keeping and bill paying.  I know, I know, not always the most fun activity!  At least it is not on my top ten list of most favorite things to do—but I love knowing that we are all caught up on paying bills and therefore avoiding late fees, as well as knowing exactly what our budget is and how many dollars we have in each category. It truly gives a peace of mind that is beyond any price tag! If this is an area that you could use some help in, I highly recommend Dave Ramsey.  He has many helpful articles and resources, many of which are FREE including his “Every Dollar” app for tracking your spending.  Budgeting doesn’t need to be complicated, and it will truly bring you peace of mind in knowing you have what you need set aside each month.

2) Related to item #1, I also used online services to send donations to our church and various charities. Our finances have changed along with the tax laws, so that I no longer end up itemizing these things on my taxes (it is better for me to simply take the standard deduction now a days), though I used to itemize.  But I STILL like going into the new year knowing that the money I have pledged to give various places is now given! It can be helping in the areas I wanted—such as supporting orphans, etc., and those charities have what was promised to be paying their bills with.  

3) We ate all the leftovers from Christmas dinner!  Yes—by the third day we might be getting a bit tired of some things—but it was still good food and we were thankful to have it and I was also thankful to have been able to cook for Christmas and then have several non-cooking days afterwards. Waste not, want not.  Sometimes I fail and end up with food that has to be thrown away—but I try very very hard to not let this happen and am usually successful.

4) I accepted a work job from my boss on January 1.  She is very understanding, and when she contacted me she was totally fine if I wanted to turn the job down, being the holidays and all.  But I told her I would do the job happily. I had the time to do it, without taking away too much from family time as they were all off doing various things.  So over a couple days I clocked in a bit over eight hours work. It may not be very much, but it does add up to help with an upcoming expense I have. 

5) I returned a duplicate book I had bought.  When I had been at a used book store earlier, I ran across a music theory series that I have been gifted one volume of.  But I couldn’t remember if the volume I had been given and was at home was volume 3 or volume 4! Knowing I could return things within 30 days purchase, I went ahead and purchased volumes 2, 3, and 4, and once I returned home I checked and found it was volume 3 that I already had.  So I set that on my table with the receipt, and made a point to actually take it back to the store with me the next time I was out. It is not easy learning new things as an adult learner, but I am making progress in my goals this year of improving my music skills—both reading music as well as playing music.

6) While at the used bookstore making my return, I found a used hymn book that will be a good level for me soon.  It was just $1.50, so well worth the purchase to add it to my music library.  The music theory book I was returning was also $1.50, so it ended up being an even exchange. I will wait before starting to learn anything out of this book, as I am already working through some others that are a better fit for my current level. But when you see something at a price like that, it is a good time to purchase it!

7) I drew out calendar pages for the next 6 months. I like to use a dotted grid blank book for my organizer.  I draw out the calendar pages, and then leave several blank pages afterwards for notes and things before drawing out the next calendar pages. Later I will add stickers or drawings in the margins around the calendar pages, so it ends up being a bit of both a calendar/organizer plus a little creative activity.  Here is the margin for the month of January. 

8) I choose pdf forms to print myself, over purchasing an already printed  Bible study journal. The journal I wanted was absolutely stunningly beautiful—but the pdf forms will work just fine for me and were a mere fraction of the cost.  I can print out as needed, and hole punch them and put them in my 3 ring binder that I already have. I was also able to get 20% off of the forms, as the company was running a New Year’s sale.

9) I purchased a study Bible at a thrift shop instead of ordering a new one online.  I had been wanting to add a Thompson Chain Reference Bible to my study materials, and had been looking at them online.  I had preferred to get an ESV version, as that is the version of my regular Bible—but the ESV versions of the Thompson Chain Reference Bible are $$$! Even one I found at the used book store was $48, so I left it there.  I debated ordering an NIV, as there is one on close out that is very affordable right now from Christian Book, but I wasn’t sure. I did a bit of research, and learned that the study notes are all the same no matter what Bible version the Thompson Chain Reference is.  It is only the Bible text itself that varies.  So I had pretty much decided I might go ahead and order the lesser expensive NIV version, when I checked in a regular thrift shop at their books and lo and behold look what I found for .50 cents! It is true that the cover is pretty worn, and it is the NIV version not the ESV like I had originally wanted, but for .50 cents I decided it would serve me just fine! And besides that, if I find I use it a LOT, and still really want it in a different version, I can always purchase a new ESV later.  This will give me a chance to see how much I will be using these study notes or “chains” or not. At that price, it is very, very low risk!  Besides that—I didn’t even really have to pay the .50 cents, as it was at the thrift store that I volunteer at, and so I had a gift certificate they had given to me, so in essence it was completely free for me! If I want to, I can always stick it in one of the Bible covers I have, and then you wouldn’t even see the worn cover.  But my plans are to use this just for study, and it will work just fine for sitting on my study table.

10) Last but not least—I accepted some hand me down jeans. 👖 My husband was given a stack of pants—some dress slacks, some more casual, etc. As he was going through to see what fit him, he found a brand new pair of men’s jeans that were his size but not his style.  They were made with denim that has a little stretch to them, and cut in a skinny cut.  He commented to me that he felt they looked more like women’s jeans than mens—though I personally thought they could be worn by either. Just on a whim, I commented that I wouldn’t mind trying them on before we sent them to be donated.  And when I did try them on—they actually fit me very very well!  They were brand new even with the tags still on them!  So I guess the lesson is to be willing to try things on, even if you think they won’t fit!  

Well, that is my list of frugal activities!  What did you do over the holiday season?  Did you focus on saving money, or did you simply let this time be a time you didn’t worry about saving at all?  I like to NOT have huge unexpected bills come my way in January, so I try to keep a good reign on my spending even over the holiday times. Feel free to share what saving activities you did—I would love to hear!

Until next time—

Friend