What To Do When You Don’t Have a Clothesline

I’ll let the picture speak for itself.

I will say that

• I’m a little embarrassed to show a picture of my bathroom.
• By hanging clothes we have saved money and extended the lives of our clothing.
• I currently don’t hang up socks, children’s clothes or underwear.

We paid a lot more for drying when we had to go to  the laundromat in our last apartment. I wish I had seen this nifty indoor clothesline that Apartment Therapy built.

Hanging my clothes works for me. See what others are saying at We Are That Family’s Work for Me Wednesday.

Free Classical Music

Here’s a free album of classical music from Amazon. I’m downloading mine right now.

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Making The Decision to Change Apartments Part II

We recently moved apartments in the beginning of April. Our main reason for moving was to be in an apartment with its own washer and dryer, although we took other factors into consideration. We also wanted to cut down on our rent in order to increase our savings, especially with another child on the way. So around the beginning of February we started looking at apartments. Because we wanted to stay within 15 minutes of Tim’s work and also stay in our church congregation’s boundaries we knew we had to find a place close to our current location. Here are some things we learned in our quest to find a new place.

1. Learn how much notice you need to give your current location of your move
Our lease was technically up March 1st, and so I thought that if I gave them 30 days notice and informed them in February that we would be leaving, we could leave the 1st of March. Well, after talking to the office and re-reading our contract I learned we needed to give them 60 days notice of our leaving. So we ended up extending our contract one month because I never read our contract to see how much notice we needed to give them. Luckily there were no penalties or increases for the extra month of rent.

2.  Start looking at your options early
We started browsing at listings online and in the paper in January to get a feel for current prices and options. Since we were familiar with the area we quickly narrowed down our choices. At first we wanted to rent a small house but either the prices were too high or it didn’t fit our criteria. So we then started looking at other large complexes in the area.

3. Ask about current promotions or deals
This strategy mainly works for large apartment complexes, but it never hurts to haggle over price, deposit or other concessions. When we moved into our old apartment they were unable to take any money off of our rent, but they did lower our security deposit to $50. After we had toured our current apartment we asked about any concessions they were offering. At first they offered 1 1/2 months free rent if we were able to apply within a few days of an opening. Later they called with a new promotion and offered us 2 months free rent.

4. Talk to residents
We knew a few friends who lived in the complex that offered us the greatest deal and they were happy to give us their opinions of the complex. They were overall satisfied although with the complex although they had a few minor complaints. Their complaints weren’t major drawbacks for us and since we have lived in many complexes over the years as long as our family is safe and the apartment is sanitary we aren’t too picky.

5. Be willing to be flexible
After we had talked to our friends and applied for the apartment, the complex  asked us if we could move in a few days earlier. They offered to let us move in a week earlier rent free, as long as we signed the lease by a certain date. This arrangement worked out well for us because even though we signed the new lease on a Tuesday, we could wait to move in until Saturday when friends and family could help us. In addition, our old apartment’s lease wasn’t up until the next Monday so I was able to go back and clean an empty apartment. The only inconvenience about this arrangement was that we paid utilities for two places for a week.

We were also flexible about the type of apartment we wanted. Even though we would have preferred a bottom floor apartment, when none were available we agreed to take a top floor apartment.

Overall, we were happy with the new apartment we found, even though we had lost storage space. With the two months free rent, our rent was dramatically reduced, opening up more room in the budget for savings. In addition, the apartment came with its own washer and dryer, freeing up time and quarters. We feel like we found the best deal in the area and are glad we took the time to shop around for our housing options.

Garage Sale Season is Here!

One of our family’s favorite things to do in late spring and summer is attend garage sales. We can usually find some good deals and enjoy spending the time together. Here are a few things we do to get the most from garage sales. You can also skip down to the bottom of the post to see our latest finds.

1. Set aside a certain amount of cash each month specifically for garage sales
This month we set aside $14 for garage sales. We already had $11 left over from garage sales last month. The $11 doesn’t include clothing or furniture. We have set aside $20/mo for clothing and in the summer we buy most of that from garage sales. Since we moved into an apartment with less storage space, we have also set some money aside for shelving which we plan to pick up at a garage sale or off of craigslist.com. I simply divide my cash into different envelopes labeled “garage sales”, “clothing” and “furniture”. And when the money’s gone, it’s gone.

2. Know your target price on items
As I have gone to a few sales in the area this year I am starting to set my target price on items like shoes, clothes and children’s books. I try to get clothes for $0.25-$0.50 a piece and will pay no more than $1 for shoes. We are also trying to build our children’s library and my target price for books is $0.25-$0.50. Since I could go overboard easily on clothes and books, having a target price helps limit my spending.

3. Make a ListI find this especially helpful when trying to buy children’s clothes 1-2 seasons in advance. We have been very blessed to have been giving most of my son’s clothing up until 24 months, but one day I realized he had no clothing beyond 24 months. Since his 2nd birthday is this summer I recognized I had to get busy building his wardrobe during garage sale season. I have since compiled a list of the number of shirts, pants, etc he has in each size so that I know exactly what types of clothes to look for at garage sales.

4. Plan your route and if possible attend neighborhood or multi-family sales
On mornings when we are going to garage sales, we look up listings from our local newspaper online and check out craigslist.com for sales in our area. We highlight any neighborhood or multi-family sales to save on gas and time. We also take into account the areas where sales are. Since we live close to some wealthier suburbs we can often find high-quality items for a cheap price. After we have chosen the sales we print out a multi-destination map from mapquest and head on the road.

5. Leave early and bring snacks for kids
Although we rarely are out the door by 8:00 AM, we try to leave before 9:00 to beat the summer heat. In addition, leaving early means we make it back home by lunchtime and have a happier child. We have also learned the importance of bringing snacks for the road.

We have made great memories as a family attending garage sales and finding steals. Sometimes, like this morning, I just drive to a neighborhood garage sale and walk around to get some exercise and enjoy the weather. On these days if I happen to find a deal then great, if not I’m not too concerned.

This morning I went to a local neighborhood garage sale and picked up the following items in the top photo for a total of $10.

Here was the breakdown of the prices:

Baby BJorn Carrier: $3
Baby Bath: $1
Child’s Sleeping Bag: $2
Boy’s Snow Boots: $1
Boy’s Dress Shoes: $1
3 Bottles: $0.25/ea
2 Cans of Formula: $0.50/can
Girl’s Dress: $0.25

I was very excited to find the carrier and reasonably priced snow boots for my son. I am planning on breastfeeding our next baby but I picked up some bottles and formula just in case in an emergency we would need formula on hand. One of the lessons I learned from this week was to remember to check the condition of each item. After I got home I found that the sleeping bag’s zipper was broken. For only $2 I can’t complain since I could maybe (?) fix it, but I still should have checked the condition at the time. Overall though I thought I did great for $10.

Spending Money to Save Money

Part of living on one income is protecting your assets and investments, and sometimes that takes cash. For example, we have a nice computer that we bought a few years ago and have used extensively for both household and business tasks, including working with intensive movie software. Lately the computer has been slowing down and we decided that the best thing to do was to buy an external hard drive to free up some space so the computer won’t have to work as hard.

We waited for a good deal on the hard drive but still spent about $75. In addition we also need to purchase more RAM. All in all we will spend about $100 on our computer. Hopefully this investment will take some strain off of our computer and prolong its life, so that we don’t need to buy a computer in the next couple of years while we are working so hard at saving money.

A sound part of any budget is including maintenance money for assets such as your house, car or in our case, computer. I have written about the book America’s Cheapest Family and one of the successes to their sound financial status is preparing for maintenance and emergencies. Yes, at times it hurts to spend money when you’re trying so hard to save, but in the end sometimes the best thing for your financial bottomline is to spend money where it will count and prevent hardships down the road.

The Simple Life: Continuing Education-Using the Local Library

My husband and I are both students at heart, even though we’ve been out of college for over a year. My parents taught me the value of an education and books from a young age. My husband and myself might go back to school one day for additional degrees but right now we don’t have the time or money to enroll in classes. So the next best step is utilizing our local library.

For me there has always been something special about libraries. Last night, I went to the library to pick up some books on hold and when I walked in I just felt like I was at home. I think the feeling stems from a deep respect for all of the knowledge contained within those brick walls.

One of the main reasons I go to the library is to educate myself on current issues our family is facing. I have checked out multiple books on personal finance, fitness, investing, cooking, childcare, indoor gardening and many other areas. When my husband showed me our options for hte 401(k) plan I didn’t feel intimidate voicing my opinions because I had spent the time to learn about the basics of investing and the different vehicles you can use.

Currently I am researching safe home and natural remedies for common ailments to hopefully save a few trips to the doctor and prescribed antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. I am also looking at investing in a few basic essential oils to add to homemade gifts, cleaning solutions and basic first aid. With all the products out there I want to make sure that our family is getting the best use of our time and money in the solutions that we find. And that is where books are so helpful.

I have to admit that going to the library now with a 1 1/2 year old in tow is a bit of a challenge. I’ve found that reserving books online and picking them up is a lifesaver. Before my son was mobile I would usually take my time to browse through the different selections, but now by the time I’ve given the books an adequate lookover my son has either destroyed the bottom shelf or has run to the next aisle in order to play peek-a-boo.

Even though trips to the library may be a challenge now, I’m trying to instill the same love of learning and books to our son, so I try to make the library fun. I think it’s working because when we go to the library he knows exactly where the kid section is and starts playing with the blocks while I pick out some books for him. And at home he loves to read books.

Even though I am not currently in school I find great satisfaction out of utilizing our local library to keep informed and current in my life and the world around us. Using the library improves our lives by allowing us to improve our minds—all for free.

New February Printable Coupons

It’s the start of a new month and that means new printable coupons on my sidebar.

Here are just a few of my favorites:

Save $0.50 on Cottonelle TP (Kroger’s will double this coupon, making the tp free!)
Save $0.50 on WackyMac pasta
Save $1.00 on YoPlait YoPlus

There are many more available, but be aware that the good ones go fast and may only be up for a few days.

IRS Free File

Did you know that if your adjusted gross income for 2008 is $56,000 or less, you may use selected tax softwares and efile your federal taxes for free? Go here for details and make sure you access the software through the IRS’s site.

We took advantage of this program the last couple of years when we were poor college students. Using tax software certainly made it easier for us to understand the tax code and we received our refund through direct deposit within two weeks. We found TaxSlayer to work best for us and when we compared it to TurboTax, we got the same amount of deductions. We even used this when our taxes were a little more complicated, i.e. Tim owned a business, worked as an independent contractor and we had to file in multiple states with multiple W-2s. Keep in mind that if you want to use tax software to file your state taxes you may be charged, depending on the state.

We are now gathering up all of our tax documents and preparing to file online again this year. We still qualify to efile  our taxes for free, and it’s nice knowing that with all of the headaches of preparing taxes, at least we don’t have to pay for preparing them this year.

Hulu

Hulu.com is a website where you can watch television shows and movies for free. We don’t own a tv and have been using Hulu for quite a few months to watch many of our favorite shows without costing us a penny.

In addition, we frequently use Hulu movies for our date nights. They add movies each week and during the past few months their selection has grown to include such movies as My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Karate Kid, Men in Black and many others.

Hulu programs have small advertisements throughout the show to pay for the service, but these are much shorter than television commercials. In addition parents should be aware that Hulu has some racy programs not suitable for children.

My sister just sold her tv and cancelled cable after trying Hulu for a week because of the money it would save her with her limited tv watching. We recommend Hulu to others who are looking for free entertainment to help them save and get out of debt.

A Little Joke With a Lot of Wisdom

I’m paraphrasing this joke as I can’t find the original source.

A man arrives home sweating and out of breath.
His wife asks “What took you so long to get home?”
“I ran behind the bus the whole way home. I saved $2.00 in bus fares.”
“That’s nothing”, his wife replied. “Last week I saved $15.00 by running behind the cab.”

The moral of the lesson is that it’s really not how much you saved, but how much you spent or didn’t spend. That’s why I don’t pay too much attention to my receipts when they say what percentage I’ve saved. The only numbers I care about is the total amount and that it fit within my budget.

Moneysavingmom has a similar guest post about this topic.

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