Green Minded Wallet

Yesterday, I wrote about how I planned to spend my fourth. Well this morning, when I was parking my car (we have alternate side of the street rules here), I heard a breakdown of America’s Fourth of July Spending that was published in Forbes magazine. So I decided to look up the article. It lists what Americans will likely spend today on their festivities. Some of the highlights:

• hotdogs: $101 million and another $34.5 million on buns
• charcoal and lighter fluid: $274.2 million
• booze: over $303 million, with another $126.2 million on soda
• fireworks: $690 million (primarily of the backyard variety)

They estimate the total cost to be about $2.5 billion, which I find to be a staggering number, though I’m not all that surprised. Personally of all the expenses I think that the $690 million for backyard fireworks is the most ridiculous, since they are dangerous, expensive, and illegal in many places.

Whatever your plans are for the fourth count the costs then have some fun.

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Some people swear by coupons, while others don’t think they’re worth the effort. Personally, I think it depends on what type of coupons you’re going after, as not all coupons are created equally. Personally, I like to break coupons down into three main categories:

• Newspaper coupons: These are the coupons that come along with the Sunday circular. They are normally colorful and shiny and contain ads to sell you figurines and other keepsakes. I tend to not bother with these as I don’t take a newspaper. Also, many of the coupons are for boxed, packaged food products that I don’t buy so I have found that there’s less and less there that I can use.

• Store coupons: These are the in-store coupons that you pick up by the door, sometimes these can be found online. I like these because since this is a store that I am choosing to shop in (often frequently) there’s more of a chance I will find something of value to me. For example in the past month I’ve saved over 20 dollars (and spent about $45 at Sally’s Beauty Supply). I only shop there every couple of months, but it just so happened that I came at a time when the things I wanted were on sale. Another nice thing about store coupons is that they often advertise for very broad categories. I do some scrapbooking (I know, not the most frugal hobby), and I can frequently find all paper or all acid-free stickers on sale for 50% off at Hobby Lobby. I like this because it generally includes most brands and types, versus only being able to buy Brand X in quantity Y. Hobby Lobby also has an online coupon where you can get 40% off any one non-sale item. This makes me very happy.

• Community Coupons: These are the coupons that you receive in the mail that are catered to your area. Yesterday my roommate and I went to dinner with a one-free-entrée coupon (that had no expiration date!). We paid less than 14 bucks total with taxes and tip. When you’re a student, that’s a great deal. I tend to find good deals for local restaurants and oil changes in those books and fliers. And since the local Jiffy Lube gives free car washes with an oil change, it turns into a smokin’ deal.

Well that’s how I use coupons. I know everyone is different, but I think that with coupons, there’s pretty much something for everyone. I spend very little time on finding coupons and I get plenty of benefit, because I’ve realized where utilizing coupons actually makes sense in my current lifestyle. Does your coupon use fall more heavily into one category over another? Is there another category that I’ve overlooked?

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While I am a frugal person, I believe there are certain items where you get what you pay. I’m not advocating that you buy the highest end, but for certain products there is often a big difference between the low and middle end. Here are six things that I don’t buy low end, because I don’t think it’s worth it.

6. Beer. Life’s to short to drink bad beer. Unless I need to drink a cheap beer to be polite and hospitable, I just can’t be bothered to drink the stuff.

5. Bras. It’s estimated that 8 out of 10 women wear the wrong bra size. Now there are some reasons for that, for example your ideal bra size isn’t carried in most department stores, but for the most part it’s silly. Spending time and money on good bras and replacing them when they wear out makes your clothes fit (and look) better and can prevent you from having back problems (or other issues) in the future. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to go to an overpriced lingerie store, but taking the time to get fitted and buying what’s best for you even if you could get something else for 1/3 of the price can really pay off down the line.

4. Shoes. Like bras having good shoes are important for your health and comfort. Even if you don’t have a job where you have to stand or walk a lot, having good shoes can make a big difference. This goes not only for everyday shoes, but for athletic shoes as well. You’ll hopefully have your feet and your knees for the rest of your life, be kind to them.

3. Food. There’s a reason why you can buy Top Ramen for virtually pennies on the dollar. What we eat down has an impact on the rest of our lives: both quality and quantity. There’s a lot of conflicting evidence out there about what’s really good and what’s really bad. Personally I believe in balance and moderation. But what we eat from day-to-day helps determine our comfort, our productivity, and our attitude. Personally, I’m not willing to skimp on any of those.

2. Mattresses. Have you ever stayed with someone and slept on a sleeper sofa? How about a thin futon or an old saggy mattress? Now, I know that everyone has different tolerances when it comes to sleeping surfaces: personally I can camp for a week and not be bothered, but a night on a sleeper sofa leaves me feeling less than satisfied. Everyone is different, but it’s important to find out what your needs are, and meet them. About a year after I graduated from college, I bought a nice high quality mattress; it is one of the best investments that I have ever made. A good friend a mind bought a really nice mattress and we were so excited you might have thought one of us got engaged. Most of us spend one quarter to one third of our lives in bed, shouldn’t we invest in making that time as comfortable and supportive as possible. You probably spend more time in bed than you do in your car. I’m just saying.

1. Tires. Buying cheap tires, or not replacing your old worn out ones, is a gamble not only with your life, but that of your family, your friends, and complete strangers who may cross your driving path. I bought cheap tires a few years ago because I didn’t know better. Last winter I replaced them with much better tires and it’s has made a huge difference. Good tires won’t make up for bad driving, but it can do a lot to help prevent unnecessary incidents, like spinning out on a curve when you’re going 25 with chains on. In my opinion never having that happen again is worth a least an extra 50-100 bucks a year.

That’s my list. Is there any that you think should be on here?

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