Thrifty and Thriving

CNN money has a rating of top 5 least expensive cities and top 5 most expensive cities

Three Ohio cities made the list of most affordable. Time to move?

It’s ironic that I saw this post linked to from Consumerist today because my husband and I just had this conversation this morning. Every year we make the same mistake. We put off Christmas shopping until December and take a big hit in our bank account all at once. So this year, we decided we’re going to start getting little things here and there as early as this weekend.

I’m not sure how successful this plan will be. One drawback might be that we end up spending even more, not able to resist some of the last minute sales before Christmas. Here’s some advice from the Money Saving blog on how to plan ahead:

• Create a budget beforehand. Some examples they provide for doing this include staggering your expenses, and cutting back on other non-holiday related expenses so you can save up.
• Do you need to travel? If yes, make your plans now. We might be taking a chance on the weather, but we plan to drive down to Georgia rather than fly. One year, we got up, let our daughter open her presents, and then set off on Christmas day. Traffic was fairly light, though I would recommend you pack a cooler as there weren’t many restaurants open along the way. At that time, we also lived in Maryland, so it was a shorter trip.
• Make your gift list and check it twice. Can you get away with just giving certain people a card? I think if it’s a relative or friend you’re not going to see over the holidays, it makes a lot of sense. However, I don’t see a way around getting a gift for someone who’s going to be at a family gathering, especially if you’ve brought gifts for others. Just handing them a card might be a little tacky. In the past, when we have had Christmas parties with my relatives, we each drew a name from a hat beforehand. In this way, it eliminated the financial burden of having to buy a gift for everyone there. They suggest that you can save even more by putting your craft or baking skills to work, and make gifts if you can (and if you have time).
• Cut back on holiday events. This is a problem I don’t usually have. I don’t think I’ve been invited to any kind of formal holiday function since my kids were born. If your holiday social calendar is a little more happening than mine however, they suggest choosing only the most important events and getting by with clothes you already have in your closet.
• While you should avoid going into debt, things happen. It’s probably a no-brainer, and easier said than done, but you should make a plan to try to repay as soon as possible.

Read more from the Money Saving Blog. Do you have a strategy for holiday savings? Share what works for you here.

Check out this article which summarizes a survey conducted by Huntington National Bank. The survey asked people to complete the sentence: “My most creative way of saving is to…”

Most popular answers were, of course, to put money in your savings account before you can spend it, but there were some interesting ones. Here’s a list of top 10 answers. #3 is by far my most favorite one - it’s super creative, challenging, and there’s an element of surprise to make saving money a little more fun and exciting!

1. “We have piggy banks throughout the house and every coin I find in the washer or on the street is put in the piggy bank. Once full, it is deposited in our savings account.”

2. “For every dollar I spend when I pay bills, I try to save a half dollar. It sounds hard, but once you learn to live frugally, it is a lot easier than you think.”

3. “I do not spend $5 bills. When I receive a $5 bill in change, it goes into an envelope for savings. This money is deposited at the end of each month. I can save $100 to $150 using this method.”

4.“Every time I take cash from the ATM, I transfer the same amount to my savings. It was my New Year’s resolution. It works!”

5. “I have five accounts, each account has a purpose. Gas, bills, savings, Christmas and just spending.”

6. “I transfer at least half of our checking balance that remains the day before payday into our money market account.”

7. “Personally, if I do not carry cash with me, I tend to spend less on the little things like pop and snacks. I am more careful if I have to put these items on a card.”

8. “I remind myself on a daily basis that I need to ‘do without some things.’ Then I make it a game for myself to see how much I can hold on to in the span between paychecks. Then I dump that money into my savings account.”

9. “I hold an annual swap with my friends. That way we can exchange our unwanted items for other things we might need that someone else is getting rid of.”

10. “I take the stimulus money and put it into my savings account every two weeks. I didn’t have the extra before so no need to make it a part of my monthly budget.”