Frugal & Rich: 10 Reasons I'd Save Even With Wealth

When looking for a gown to wear to a family wedding, I browsed through Marshall's and I also checked into an upscale boutique. In both stores, I saw the same gown, but the Marshall's version was about one-third the price of the boutique counterpart. I don't remember the exact numbers, but I was stunned by the huge price difference.

That moment of comparison shopping made me realize that even if I had a lot of money, I'd still live frugally. Here's why:

10 Reasons Why I'd Save Even With Wealtlh

1. I would give more money to charity, including scholarship funds for inner city kids.
2. I would save money in order to justify my purchase of the best court-side season tickets for Miami Heat games and NBA playoffs. I'd take my boys and I would also find some fun outing for my husband and daughter. They have to do something fun while me & the boys are at the games.
3. I would be frugal in order to spend more money on my favorite projects and hobbies.
4. I would save in fear of a downward shift in fortune. I, too, have my bag lady fears, something that even Oprah has confessed to.
5. I would be frugal in order to pay back my parents, siblings and friends for all their years of generosity.
6. I would donate money to various educational institutions, public and private. The list would include my parents Alma Mater: Cheyney University, Georgetown University (My school) and the schools that my children attend. I would also give lots of money to my syngogue.
7. I would save in order to conserve the environment. I have too much stuff already.
8. I would continue to clip coupons & shop sales with my savings going to greater purchases of organic produce. I would buy a larger share in a food co-op and provide several scholarship shares for those who can not afford to shop organically.
9. I would save so that my children could live comfortably.
10. And I'd live frugally just for the discipline.

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Captured Thief Provides Anti-Theft Tips to My Neighborhood Association

Several major thefts and home break-ins have kept my neighborhood on edge. The police recently caught the thief. Based on the interrogation of the alleged criminal, the police passed on these tips to our neighborhood association.

I've edited the suggestions for space and format, but the quotes are exact:

• "Anyone can be the victim of a break in to their home by a burglar.


• The general rule: make your home less attractive to the thief.


• Be sure to lock all doors and windows prior to leaving your home.


• If you have an alarm system, make sure you turn it on and use it.


• Remember if you will be away on vacation: Stop mail delivery or have someone pick up the mail for you. Stop the delivery of the daily newspaper. Have an
  automatic timer for a light to go on in the house to give it the look of an
  occupied home.


• If you will be gone for several days or longer, call the Police Department
  and ask for a watch order to be placed on your home, so officers will check the
  perimeter while you are gone."

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How I Milk Sacred Cows for Cash

Almost every family budget has a few "sacred cows," which are special perks that defy fiscal responsibility. That's the wisdom from the Economides, "America's Cheapest Family."

Frankly, I have my own sacred cows, but I have various strategies for saving money while enjoying luxuries.

"Sacred cows are the little extravagances that you refuse to forgo even when you're under financial pressure." --The Economides in Bottom Line/Personal: www.bottomlineSecrets.com.

Here are my cows; here's how I milk them:

1. Organic fruits and vegetables:
money-saving strategies: I enjoy the health and taste benefits of organic produce, which are quite expensive. I save money through an organic food co-op, which sells produce at a sharp discount. I also look for sales at health food stores and traditional supermarkets.

2. Eating out:
money-saving strategies: I love to eat out, but I save money by a)sharing meals, which are usually jumbo-sized; b) using discounts from restaurant.com; and c) reserving tables only for birthdays and special occasions.

3. Books & magazines:
money-saving strategies: I swap books, magazines and films with friends and relatives. For example, my copy of Ahab's Wife is from my Mom. I receive stacks and stacks of magazines from friends. Other sources of books: eBay, discount tables, used book stores, thrift stores and garage sales.

4. High-End Vacations:
money-saving strategies: We stretch our vacation dollars by targeting out-of-season rates at hotels, staying with friends & families, renting affordable apartments and homes in resort areas. We also look for theme park discounts and special student rates for the kids.

We also have found creative and affordable stay-at-home vacations that have cost very little. Every town has special tours, exhibits and events. We stay home and pretend that we are from out-of-town.

5. Personal Trainer:
money-saving strategies: My personal trainer specializes in Yoga, which eases the pain in my hands and back. Yoga also stretches the mind and helps me to manage my hectic schedule.

As such, the personal trainer is not really a luxury, but not quite affordable at a rate of $65 an hour. However, by sharing the hour with a small group of women, I pay $10 a session (or less) and receive the special benefits of a personal trainer.





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Compromises I Make: Trading Up & Down The Consumer Chain

Life is a menu and I don't have the time, money or energy to sample every item.
So I have established priorities. Basically in some areas I'm not willing to compromise on quality (trading up), but in other consumer categories, I care less about quality and more about price. In those areas, I have traded down.

Those concepts are featured in the books Trading up and Treasure Hunt by Michael Silverstein (with John Butman).

After reading Treasure Hunt for a book review assignment, (not related or linked to this post), I made my own list of where I trade up and down in my buying decisions:

Groceries:
I Trade down for basic products and household items. (I use private labels and loss leaders and coupons.)
I Trade up for organic produce. (I pay more for organic fruits and veggies, but I have cut costs by joining an organic food coop.)

Hair Care
Trade down with DIY haircuts & braiding
Trade down for hair care products: We use mostly Suave brands ($1 on sale) or some other discount promotion.

Makeup/Personal Care
Trade up for some "green" and healthier products
Trade down for most cosmetics and creams: I've dropped makeup products with unhealthy ingredients and I've tried to find safe and frugal drug store choices.

Vacations:
Luxury for less. I look for off-season deals at upscale resorts.
We have also gone on a cruise with my parents and relied on family assistance for other posh vacations.
In Orlando, we saved money by staying with family.

Clothing:
Luxury for less: I love finding expensive clothes at steep off-season prices. It's my red-tag only strategy. Best deal: $60 skirt for $6 at Ann Taylor

Transportation:
Trading down: My husband drives a used minivan and we save thousands by using just one car. I use public transportation, car pools and I walk a lot.

Tax planning:
Trading up: Nixing the DIY tax-route. I'm hiring a professional.

Meanwhile:

I'm re-evaluating my trading up/down approach to banking, entertainment, utilities, and other areas.








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Picking Ads & Stocks: The Value of Money & Ethics

I'm curious about the process other bloggers, publishers and website operators use to pick ads. Just like a stock picker can select investments that fit a certain ethical & social & economic agenda, I try to select ads that fit the frame of my blog.

For example, I run a blog about frugal beauty tips. Given that editorial view point, should I run ads for expensive skin care products? Likewise, on this blog, I've nixed ads for gambling and other "free" you-will-lose-money-for-sure promotions. Ditto for Viagra ads and assorted really-don't-try-this-at-home products.

But it's not always so clear cut & I'm curious about the procedures other writers use for handling advertising. Here are my questions:

1) Do you have any choice about the ads on your blog(s)? Do you exercise that choice?

2) If so, how do you decide which ads to accept and which to nix?

3) Do you think readers care about the types & quantity of ads on your site?

4) Do you ever feel uncomfortable about the ads on your site vs. the content you create?

5) Do you just leave it up to readers to sort through the ads?


Comments are appreciated: Sharonhr@bellsouth.net or please leave a note in the comment section. Thanks!
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Insider Tips for Getting on Deal or No Deal; Writing Tips I've Learned

A casting insider for the hit show Deal or No Deal offered some really good tips today on a local Miami station. (102.7 Majic)* Casting for the show is tomorrow (Saturday) in Miami and by early Friday afternoon, the crowds had already started to line up.

Luke, the show's insider, spoke to deejay Mindy Lang and here are his tips:

1) Put something "neat" on your application for the show. Be original. Be Real.

2) Prepare for a 30-second interview. Be personable. Have a story to tell. "Stories are nice. Tell me something original," Luke said.

3) Be special. "I'm looking for that it factor, that personality, that glow," he added.

4) Don't be a copycat. Too often while people are standing in the audition line, they compare notes and exchange stories. The result: copycats and bland Wannabes

Final quote: "Come up with something original...that's true about yourself," Luke said during the radio interview.



What I learned from Luke:

1) Always keep a pen handy.
2) Keep an open mind. Good advice comes from strange sources.
3) Pay attention.
4) Be real. His comments reminded me of the recent excellent post from The Weight of Money about the importance of real stories and content that connects. I enjoyed that post so much.


*Note: 102.7 (Majic in Miami) is an oldies station. Tag line: Your favorite hits from the 60s, 70s & 80s. My fondness for that station is the only telltale sign of my status as a member of the Aging Baby Boomer Demographic Group. I usually "pass" through the age borders as if I were a younger Gen X or Gen Y mom. Clearly, I must have issues about aging.
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In Honor of MLK Day: Moving Beyond Fame & Fortune.

Today would have been the 78th birthday of Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

Here's what his daughter has to say about the community service contributions of her parents, who worked for World Peace and better lives for African-Americans and all American in the U.S.:

"When you see the commitment my parents exhibited ... it was not for fame or fortune," Yolanda King said. "The best sermons are those that are lived.-- source: Associated Press

Here's a link to the full story.

The eldest daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King evoked the civil rights movement while reminding those remembering her parents that America has not yet reached the promised land of peace and racial equality.


"We must keep reaching across the table and, in the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, feed each other," Yolanda King said Sunday at Ebenezer Baptist Church during a presentation that was part motivational speech, part drama.
--AP report

Here's a link to a bellsouth.net video about MLK. ( a short commercial goes on first).

And finally, here's a link to the www.thekingcenter.org

Shalom (Peace)
--shr


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CNBC: How We Spend Our Time OnLine: The Most Popular Destinations

My favorite place online is PFBlogs.org, which provides a quick snapshot of interesting trends, news and insights in the world of frugal and financial bloggers. This news aggregate service offers access to a wide range of voices, links, Fiscal/Frugal Carnivals and data.

My son loves Youtube.com,which is the top-ranking destination according to CNBC.com, which provided a rundown of popular online destinations. Traffic on Yahoo.com is still strong (about 25 percent of traffic), but that figure represents a slight drop over the last quarter. Meanwhile, MSN.com has seen a spike in traffic, according to Julia Boorstin's Media Money blog at CNBC.com.

Tied neck and neck with Yahoo.com is MSN.com
another 24.5% of all web page views going to Microsoft's portal -- and that's up 4% from five months ago.-- CNBC.com

By the way, CNBC.com has redesigned its site, according to this report from Cyberjournalist.net, an excellent source of news about online journalism.
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Trading a Gucci Bag for Pills & Other Tough Choices

Scenario: You have a $4,500 real Gucci purse, (a fashion industry job perk). For you, this to-die-for accessory has status appeal and emotional appeal going back to childhood, when your mom gave you her favorite purse, which resembled that Gucci bag.

But what if your Dad needed expensive meds (about $200 for a month's supply of pills), but had no money and no health insurance to cover the tab?

Question: The pharmacist is not into medicine for charity, but she likes your $4,500 purse. Would you give up the purse to finance 15 months of meds for your Pop?

Ugly Betty Solution: Betty trades her Gucci bag (a work bonus and a competitive edge in her image-conscious fashion workplace) for meds and I would do the same.

I'm reading Winning, by Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, and in that text, he talks about difficult trade-offs in the home-work equation.

"Work-life balance is a swap--a deal you've made with ourself about what you keep and what you give up."

--Winning by Jack Welch (with Suzy Welch)

We all make difficult trades regarding family, money and personal pursuits.


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Tagged: I was a Shoe Model & An Ugly Betty: 5 (TMI) Things You Don't Know About Me

A fun game of tag has been going on at www.PFblogs.org. When tagged by another blogger, you are it and it's your turn to offer "5 Things You Don't Know About Me." Thanks to Millionaire Artist (great blog: pretty to look at, wonderful to read) for tagging me.

So Here's My T.M.I. (Too Much Information) List:

1. I was a shoe model. When I first moved to New York in 1984, I worked at a small family-owned (non-fashion) publishing company that paid a salary, that should have come with food stamps and Section 8 housing subsidies.

To pay my rent, I worked at a restaurant with lots of wannabe actresses. One struggling actress told me I had sample feet (size 6) and suggested I become a shoe model. She gave me the name of her agent, who sent me on go-sees.

Ultimately, I worked for a California-based shoe manufacturer, who hired me to model shoes at tradeshows. Good money, but it was weird having shoe buyers from major retailers study and touch my feet.

Then I was saved by Wall Street. Found a job writing about stocks and bonds, which paid a decent salary. I love capitalism!


2. I was married in Central Park. Here's the clip from the New York Times. I wore a second-hand dress and paid for a park permit for Shakespeare's Garden in Central Park. It was a fun, frugal wedding that still cost as much as a downpayment on a home.

3. I ran one year of track (a sprinter) at Georgetown University. I was a total non-athlete. Then I was hit by a broken heart during my junior year. The object of my affection was a runner. I started running to impress him.

Surprise: I was a darn good runner. Fast, really fast. And long after I stopped chasing him, I held onto my running shoes. I got over him, but I still love my Nikes.


4. I am an Ugly Betty. I know where she lives. She's me when I first moved to New York and tried to break into the fashion magazine scene. That sisterhood of fashion magazines plucked out my heart as if I were an overgrown eyebrow. (line borrowed from Ugly Betty.) It was like a sorority that I couldn't join. It was the worst of High School all over again.

I felt like a total geek: a tiny girl (five-foot), in the world where beauty is measured in inches and heels.

Ugly Betty is my vindication and besides, if you look closer, she's really cute.


5. Roland Flint is my favorite poet and the former Poet Laureate for the State of Maryland. He was my favorite professor at Georgetown. I used to email him a lot. He passed away a few years ago.

Here's a snippet of my favorite Roland Flint poem: It's Say It, from his book by that same name.

"Then Thank a mystery that speaks your name
thank every trick in your ear, and listen."
--Roland Flint
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Tagged:
And if she has not been tagged already, I tag Sally (another poet) from Through a Glass Darkly

and I also tag Domestik Goddess.
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