Maybe some converts in the making

[UncleHoney]

Got a chuckle out of this article, some are changing their ways.

Consumers cut back on small pleasures - USATODAY.com

 

[Purron]

I enjoyed this article. This quote kind of sums it up: "It's hard for friends to understand, but I'm working on becoming more of a minimalist. It's a relief to have less."

Less IS more as many on this board already know! Naturally, there are special things we can't cut back on without a serious impact on our quality of living. For example, I can't imagine CFB giving up his bacon.

 

[W2R]

Good heavens - - the article describes a woman who customarily spent $55/month on Starbucks. Then she decided to cut back (poor baby? ).

I am going the opposite direction - - gradually "learning" to spend a little more and not be such a tightwad. But I have a ways to go before $55/mo on Starbucks seems like a really super idea. I guess I just happen to value other expenditures more at the present time.

 

[ziggy29]

I am going the opposite direction - - gradually "learning" to spend a little more and not be such a tightwad. But I have a ways to go before $55/mo on Starbucks seems like a really super idea. I guess I just happen to value other expenditures more at the present time.

I'm becoming like a pendulum. I allowed us to be a lot more spendy for a few years, living up to our means (fortunately, not above them) even when we had no real need to. Once I "got religion" in that respect I've tended to be a little too tightwaddish on the budget and the cash flow, often driving my poor wife crazy in the process. The pendulum came full-swing in the opposite direction.

Perhaps it will find equilibrium before too long. Saving for brighter tomorrows is important, but it needs to be balanced with the knowledge that there is no guarantees we'll *have* a tomorrow while we know we're here to enjoy today.

Still, at least for me, there a distinct pleasure of seeing savings and investment deposit balances creep up a grand or so every couple of weeks with each paycheck. I'm not obsessive -- I can quit whenever I want to!

Still, my problem with the original article is that it isn't so much that people are learning to enjoy simplicity, but that it's basically another media economic doom-and-gloom mongering example which tends to make a recession a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

[freebird5825]

Good heavens - - the article describes a woman who customarily spent $55/month on Starbucks. Then she decided to cut back (poor baby? ).

I am going the opposite direction - - gradually "learning" to spend a little more and not be such a tightwad. But I have a ways to go before $55/mo on Starbucks seems like a really super idea. I guess I just happen to value other expenditures more at the present time.

oh, boy. glad i wasn't driving on the same roads as the $55/month starbucks person. all that caffeine load and ALL THOSE CARS ARE IN MY WAY. picture it!

 

[UncleHoney]

oh, boy. glad i wasn't driving on the same roads as the $55/month starbucks person. all that caffeine load and ALL THOSE CARS ARE IN MY WAY. picture it!

I used to see a neighbor every morning on the way to work, he was either just ahead of me or right behind me going down the street. And every morning without fail he would stop at Starbucks. He had a 35 mile drive, I only had 4 miles to go.

 

[freebird5825]

I used to see a neighbor every morning on the way to work, he was either just ahead of me or right behind me going down the street. And every morning without fail he would stop at Starbucks. He had a 35 mile drive, I only had 4 miles to go.

And now our local headlines...A local retiree, UncleHoney was miraculously saved from certain collision with a rampaging type A at the wheel, last seen with a coffee cup in one hand, laptop on the dashboard, and cell phone stuck to his ear.

more details at 6...

 

[freebird5825]

from the article..."Ditto for his wife. He figures they spent $40 a month on bottled water.Then, his wife started to carry tap water in a bottle. He followed and hasn't bought water in months.
"I realized it was stupid," he says. Still, he adds, "It's been rough. I miss the taste."

um...if plain bottled water has a taste, isn't that a problem?

 

[Texarkandy]

I'm not normally inclined to bore people with posts consisting only of quotes, but the following jumped to my mind re: this article

"I see young men, my townsmen, whose misfortune it is to have inherited farms, houses, barns, cattle, and farming tools; for these are more easily acquired than gotten rid of."

"How many a poor immortal soul have I met well-nigh crushed and smothered under its load, creeping down the road of life, pushing before it a barn seventy-five feet by forty, its Augean stables never cleansed, and one hundred acres of land, tillage, mowing, pasture, and woodlot!"

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation."

"I also have in my mind that seemingly wealthy, but most terribly impoverished class of all, who have accumulated dross, but know not how to use it, or get rid of it, and thus have forged their own golden or silver fetters"

Economy
Henry David Thoreau

 

[imnxpat]

I know from personal experience how living modestly and cutting out frivolous expenses can make a huge difference. As icing on the cake, dump your loose change into a jar every night. When the jar is full, deposit the funds into your bank account. You'd be suprised how much you can save that way.

 

[Nords]

As icing on the cake, dump your loose change into a jar every night. When the jar is full, deposit the funds into your bank account. You'd be suprised how much you can save that way.

We use a similar system for our pizza purchases so I'm in favor of the change-dumping.

But has anyone ever found a credit union or a bank that accepts rolled change without fees or threats? I'm not even gonna ask about weighing & rolling loose change...

 

[bssc]

And now our local headlines...A local retiree, UncleHoney was miraculously saved from certain collision with a rampaging type A at the wheel, last seen with a coffee cup in one hand, laptop on the dashboard, and cell phone stuck to his ear.

more details at 6...

At least there wasn't a dog under the gas pedal.

 

[W2R]

We use a similar system for our pizza purchases so I'm in favor of the change-dumping.

But has anyone ever found a credit union or a bank that accepts rolled change without fees or threats? I'm not even gonna ask about weighing & rolling loose change...

A friend just takes his in to the Whitney Bank in a mayonnaise jar. They'll throw it in the machine, which sorts and counts it, and the money is deposited into his account. I think they only do that if you come in personally, though. They don't charge him anything for that.

As for me, I'm one of those aggravating people who hold up checkout lines while I fish out exact change (so that my mayonnaise jar doesn't fill up).

 

[FIREd]

As for me, I'm one of those aggravating people who hold up checkout lines while I fish out exact change (so that my mayonnaise jar doesn't fill up).

So that was you holding up the checkout line while digging for that penny! Do you also pay by checks at the grocery store?

 

[W2R]

So that was you holding up the checkout line while digging for that penny! Do you also pay by checks at the grocery store?

That's me! And I also helpfully volunteer to provide exact change for Frank when he doesn't have it at the checkout....

 

[Khan]

We use a similar system for our pizza purchases so I'm in favor of the change-dumping.

But has anyone ever found a credit union or a bank that accepts rolled change without fees or threats? I'm not even gonna ask about weighing & rolling loose change...

At my credit union there is a change sorting machine. Anybody can use it for a small fee. If you deposit the redemption slip, there is no charge.

 

[Cattusbabe]

My bank will take the money with out charge so long as it is rolled and has your name ans account number on each roll. I just print out address labels with that information and stick them on the rolls.
We have a large pretzel jar in our home office for collecting loose change. Twice a year I sort and roll the coins and make the deposit. We built our emergency fund this way. That loose change really adds up.

 

[freebird5825]

i'm still using the Almaden wine bottle and piggy bank method...

 

[travelover]

......................But has anyone ever found a credit union or a bank that accepts rolled change without fees or threats? I'm not even gonna ask about weighing & rolling loose change...

I believe that you can use Coinstar and get your cash back as a gift card at places like Amazon. Borders, etc. Not free, but if you shop there anyway a work around.

Coinstar : Our Products : FREE Coin Counting when you turn coins into a Gift Card or eCertificate

 

[cantlogin]

It's much simpler and faster to simply spend the change instead of accumulating it. I know I can count exact change faster than the current generation of cashiers can count out change from a purchase.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Travelover, I use the coinstar every year for an Amazon card to buy Christmas gifts. It is usually around $75-$100, which is great. They don't charge the fee when you get a gift card instead of cash, so it is free.

 

[imnxpat]

I believe that you can use Coinstar and get your cash back as a gift card at places like Amazon. Borders, etc. Not free, but if you shop there anyway a work around.

Coinstar : Our Products : FREE Coin Counting when you turn coins into a Gift Card or eCertificate

Thanks, travelover. In My OP about saving coins each day, I forgot mention Coinstar as another option to turn your coins into more manageable cash.