Money, money, money

I’m going to talk about money today and answer some questions about it that I routinely get.  So here’s the 2 questions:

Junie asked if I’ve always been frugal and if Jay is, did we change once we got married?

I don’t know if I’m even that frugal, but I consider myself a smart consumer most of the time.  Since high school, I’ve commercial fished meaning that I’ve always had an income, even when paying for college tuition so I could afford a few fun things.

I remember one day in college walking into the Nordstrom in Santa Barbara and buying a full price Kate Spade handbag just because I wanted it. 

But I have never been irresponsible with money; my parents taught us kids to pay our taxes, tithe, and retirement accounts first and that if you can’t pay a credit card in full every month, you can’t have one.  So although I bought $230 Rock & Republic jeans, I didn’t go into debt or buy something I couldn’t afford.

Dang jeans, shoulda saved my money.  But I still wear them!

Marrying Jaymo, things changed because he is a total deal finder; he rarely buys something for full retail price.  He enjoys shopping around, searching ebay, researching prices; it’s like a game to him.

He taught me that I don’t have to buy Route 66 jeans from Walmart if I don’t want to, but why not go to Nordstrom Rack and get a pair of Seven jeans for $89 instead of the latest design at Nordstrom for $189?

So I’ve become a more educated consumer/deal finder because of him.  I still buy nice things, especially shoes I like to buy quality, but I’d rather go and buy last season’s or a similar style at Marshall’s than pay more.

For example, I love this Kenna-T Embellished Leather Jacket at Nordstrom for $438.

But I’m not going to pay that much for a jacket; hey, I gotta fund a lot of races here!  So I found a Michael Kors leather jacket at Nordstrom Rack for $159; I had $100 in gift cards so it cost me $60.  sweetness. And I love this jacket. and cupcakes.

Another example would be sunglasses.  In college I went through a phase of needing Chanel sunglasses.  They aren’t cheap which is unfortunate because I’ve lost 2 pairs.

Anyways, Jaybo taught me the secret of Nordstrom Rack sunglasses… you won’t find Chanel there, but there’s tons of designer sunglasses for much less than the $300+ Chanel price tag. 

Lesson: you can still have your little luxuries whatever they may be, but you don’t always have to pay that expensive price tag!

The top 2 pairs are Chanel sunglasses (yep, $300 each, waste!) that I bought in college; the third pair is Juicy Couture bought at NR for $39.95 and the last pair is Jimmy Choo from Costco for $60. 

The great irony in it all is that I prefer and wear the latter two pairs much more than their pricey counterparts.

I’ve been asked a couple times how I afford to travel around the country and run so many races, am I “independently wealthy”? 

Unfortunately, I’m not.  Like I said, I have a seasonal job where I commercial fish in the summer and take the rest of the year off so I have the time to run as much as I want. 

Also, at this point, the SR household is DINKS: dual income, no kids.  So we have a little extra fun money, and most of my play money goes to races or traveling for races.

But I do have some money-saving tips; I’m always looking for a sale or good deal on a race or whatever. 

SAVING MONEY

*Decide what you value most, what you’re going to spend your cash on.

You can have it all, just not all at once.  Unless you want to live in the poor house, you can’t have the latest clothing fashions, travel around the globe, eat at the trendiest restaurants, and have the hottest tech gear.  Decide what you want the most; for me, that’s traveling and running.

Look back on the year and think of the things that you did/bought that make you smile or conjure up good memories; those are the things that you probably value.  For me, I have never ran a race or taken a trip that I regret.

*Give up the little things that you can easily cut out

The little things are different for everyone, but one thing for me was Starbucks.  I used to go a lot but now make it a treat or an event (walking the dog there and sitting outside in the sun having a drink).  For other people, their daily java might be their little indulgence, me time, moment of calm that they don’t want to give up and that’s fine too.

Just figure out what you can do away with without feeling deprived.  For example, we cancelled HBO, not a big deal to me since I never watched it.  And we try to go to Red Box to rent $1 movies instead of $5 Blockbuster rentals.  These are the small things that I don’t miss.

SPENDING MONEY

*Don’t pay full retail!!!

There are very few things that you won’t ever find on sale (Christian Louboutins for one); in an economy like this, everything is negotiable.  Instead of immediately buying something, wait and search for the best deal.  Look for a sale online, clip coupons, ask for a better price.

The Biancas I bought… not on sale.

*Shop discount stores

Nordstrom Rack, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Century 21, Loehmann’s, Ross, whatever you like. 

I personally don’t like searching the racks at Ross; it’s way too disorganized and I don’t want to spend the time searching for a hidden treasure, but Jay loves it.  And he always finds his best deals there.

*Use the internet

• Check out Groupon and LivingSocial; these websites offer a daily deal on local restaurants, event, and services for 50% off or more.  This is how I bought my entry to the Malibu Marathon through Groupon for $70 and race day registrations was $145!

• CitySearch sometimes has coupons for services, and also check out the company’s website as well.  I needed to get my hair done recently and found a new local salon to try.  I looked on their own website and found a first time customer deal, a hair cut and highlight for $65. schweet.

• Google “Store Name/Product” promo code before you buy anything online.  You might find a free shipping code, 10% off or some other sort of deal you didn’t know about.  For example, I found KateSpade.com has a 15% off code if you sign up for their newsletter.

*Get something for using your credit card

If you are going to spend your hard earned money, get something for it!  Whether it’s miles or points, use a card that rewards you for spending money.  (I’m talking about the responsible use of a credit card; if you can’t stay within your limit or pay it off, don’t even have one)

I never use my ATM card; I use my Alaska Airlines Visa for everything so I can accumulate free airline miles.  We fly Alaska frequently and you can fly anywhere on Alaska for as little as 20,000 miles so if you can put some big bills, business expenses or other things on there, pretty soon you have a free ticket to Hawaii. score.

*Get something for your gift cards

Especially now with the holiday season coming up, if you are going to buy gift cards, buy ones with some incentive.  Again, search around for a deal.  Red Robin does a promotion where if you buy a $25 card you get $5 extra. 

Some private schools do a Script program where you can buy gift cards and a percentage of the sale goes to that child’s tuition.  We do this for my nephew K and even though he’s only 3, part of his Christian schooling is already paid for!

SPENDING MONEY ON RACES

*Look for a coupon code

The first thing I do when I find a race I want to run is google “Race Name” promo code.  Sometimes I’ll find a $10 off code, sometimes I won’t.  I’ve emailed race directors before asking if they have any special offers.  I got a $5 off code for a local race this way; $5 isn’t much but it’s still $5 in your pocket and not theirs.

Rock ‘n’ Roll races almost always have coupon codes; just keep searching online for one and you will almost always find one.  Of course, their races are expensive to begin with…

*Sign up early

Most races have a tiered registration fee system: the earlier you sign up the cheaper it will be.  Sometimes the price can double if you enter a race at the last minute.  So if you know you want to run a specific race, sign up early and save a couple bucks.

SUMMARY

*Be prepared

The times when you spend the most are when you’re rushing around at the last minute trying to get a present or running through the airport starving and grab a $10 banana.  Be prepared.  Spend a little time researching a good deal, packing snacks, finding a cheap hotel, whatever it be. If you are prepared and have done your research, you will probably pay less.

For example, in September I was in Washington after fishing and had to buy running shoes since I didn’t have any with me.  I paid $100 at the local running store for the same shoe that I just bought online 2 pairs for $120 at Running Warehouse (link to the right –>).  I obviously wasn’t prepared and had to pay a lot more.

*Don’t be afraid to ask for a good deal or use a coupon

It’s no longer considered cheap to be money conscious; it’s smart!  So go ahead and ask if the company has any coupons, sales or deals, if they have a cash price, if they can help you in any way.  They want to make the sale and get your money, and even if they can’t do anything, it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Do you have any money saving tips or good websites to add??  Where do you find your deals?  What’s your money saving tip??

Tagged as: i like stuff, saving money, steals and deals