Saving Mr. Lincoln - July 2013 Update

Saving Mr. Lincoln – July 2013 Update is the half way point. Halfway to what? Halfway to a year of savings! I’ve challenged myself on this project now for 6 months! I’m so happy about my progress that I’m literally giddy with happiness and joy! Gleeful! Can you picture me clapping my hands together really fast in gleeful joy {grin}? For readers that have not (yet) followed this series and have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s a brief rundown:

Since Mr. Lincoln’s birthday on February 12th of this year, I’ve saved my 5 dollar bills (because they have Mr. Lincoln’s face on them) that I receive as a gift or as change from a purchase. Well, in March of this year, Charlie started saving his 5 dollar bills, too, and gives them to me (a gift) plus I collect my 5 dollar bills organically, from change from a purchase.

I’m happy to report that for Saving Mr. Lincoln – July 2013 Update, I’ve collected 20 $5 for a total of $100.00! Here’s a recap of my monthly savings:

February 12, 2013 – $40.00 (8 – $5 bills)
March 12, 2013 – $110.00 (22 – $5 bills)
April 12, 2013 – $80.00 (16 – $5 bills)
May 12, 2013 – $70.00 (14 – $5 bills)
June 12, 2013 – $145.00 (29 – $5 bills)
July 12, 2013 – $100.00 (20 – $5 bills)
Total – $545.00 (109 – $5 bills)

I can’t believe that I’ve saved more than $500.00 in 6 months, painlessly! Why is it painless? Because I’m not setting aside a certain amount every month (like a 401k plan), but am making a commitment to myself to save $5 bills that come my way. As soon as possible, after I receive a $5 bill, I get it out of my wallet so that I’m not tempted to spend it. I put it in my secret hiding place and then take it to my bank and deposit it in my free savings account (my bank doesn’t charge to have a savings account; if you are paying money to save your money, that’s like one step forward and two steps back!).

Each month I’ve added a challenge to my savings strategy. Here’s a rundown on those challenges:

February 12th Challenge: save all $5 bills. Outcome: successful.
March 12th Challenge #1: don’t by coffee drinks when out-and-about. Outcome: moderately successful. Kept challenge from March 12th to April 20th (visited a friend for the weekend and we had coffee out – twice). Got back on track and haven’t had one since and have made my own at home.
April 12th Challenge #2: avoid fast food restaurants and drive-through restaurants by planning ahead. Outcome: 3 days after committing to this challenge, I broke this challenge! Since my reasons for breaking it and whining about it are countless, you can read about it here: Saving Mr. Lincoln – May 2013 Update.
May 12th Challenge #3: use a shopping list and stick with it. Outcome: somewhat successful. This is harder than it looks. I’m often tempted to buy things not on my list and have yet to master it. On-going challenge AND on-going commitment to master this challenge.
June 12th Challenge #4: seek out ways to have fun for less money. Outcome: hugely successful.

Here’s a list of things I did to have fun:

Prior to this challenge, I was motivated to create this challenge because on June 1st, Tiffany, the Princesses P, the Princesses P’s grandmother, and their great-grandmother (my mom) all went to the Fairy Festival along with a friend of Tiffany’s and her children. There were 9 of us. The Fairy Festival was free and we packed a picnic. You can read all about the Fairy Festival here:
Then, on the 8th, me and one of my girlfriends and my mom went to a nice restaurant for lunch and Mom paid! Also, that evening, Charlie and I joined some other friends at a church’s annual Fiesta. This Fiesta is an annual fundraiser for the church. They have all kinds of vendors there with different ethnic food choices to purchase at really reasonable prices. They have a band playing music for dancing. And, they have a white elephant sale. We spent $4.00 on food ($2.00 each!) and I spent another $40.00 on books for Charlie at the white elephant sale. This $40.00 bought 32 hard-backed books! They were selling them for $1.25 each! Charlie is a voracious reader and it’s hard to keep him in books, so this was an unbelievable stroke of good luck!
On the 15th (now in the challenge’s time frame), I went to another nearby city and had an overnight slumber party with 4 of my girlfriends. While I took the hostess of the event a hostess gift, I spent no other money that weekend because the hostess cooked for us and one of my friend’s drove us!
On the 22nd, we drove to another nearby city to visit a relative that lives in skilled nursing. We had lunch with her at her facility. Cost: zero except for the gas to and from.
On the 28th, my Mom and a girlfriend took me out to lunch to celebrate my birthday. Cost to me: zero.
On the 29th, one of my girlfriends took me out to lunch for my birthday. Cost to me: zero.
On the 30th, I went to a friend’s baby shower. Cost to me: zero (except that I did buy a baby shower gift!).
On July 3rd, I got sick. And, I’ve been sick ever since (I have strep throat, don’t take pity on me! I’ve got great drugs now and am doing soooo much better!). So, I haven’t been anywhere or done anything since, except for a trip to Urgent Care on the 9th!

But, I think I’m off to a good start about finding ways to do things for little money or no money. The one I like best is the free lunches to celebrate my birthday {grin}. Do you think I can milk that one for awhile {grin}?

So, now I’ve mastered Challenge #1. I haven’t had a coffee drink outside my home in almost 3 months. And, I’ve finally mastered Challenge #2. I haven’t eaten at a fast-food or drive-through restaurant in 2 months. Challenge #3 is still a work in progress. Challenge #4 is faithfully underway and working. So, what new challenge should I pick to save more, spend less and build financial security?

I know! I’ll clean out my freezer! I have a full-size freezer in my garage packed full. Here’s a picture:

I also have a normal freezer that’s part of the refrigerator/freezer combination and it’s packed full, too! I’ll work on creating meals to unpack the freezer! Although we have freezers full of food, every time I go to the grocery store, I buy more stuff that needs to go in the freezer! So, I’m going to back off buying freezer items and use what we have! Sounds like a good plan, right?

Plus, we are having a party and I need space to put the party stuff. Did I tell you that we are having a party? Tiffany and I are celebrating our Blog-o-versary on July 28th and we are having a party! This shelf is nothing but bones: turkey bones, chicken bones, pork bones, beef bones. I save bones with the good intention of making soup. Since I’m sick, soup sounds pretty good to me!

So, to recap, here are the challenges I’m going to work on this month in addition to saving my Lincolns:

Challenge #1: don’t buy coffee drinks when out-and-about.
Challenge #2: don’t buy fast food.
Challenge #3: when shopping (any kind of shopping; not just grocery shopping), make a list and stick to it!
Challenge #4: explore ways to have fun spending less money.
Challenge #5: don’t buy anything else for the freezer until I use what I have.

Should be fun! I’ll be creative on the freezer thing. What challenges are you going to set for yourself to save more, spend less and build financial security? I would like to hear about it, so please leave a comment!

Tootles,

(on Saving Mr. Lincoln)

(on frugal living)

(on the Fairy Festival)

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