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6th - Land of the Beautiful People
9th - False impressions
14th - Costly mistakes
16th - Blood from a stone
20th - Beyond the call of duty
26th - Stop Think Save
30th - Out to lunch
Beyond the call of duty
Mar 20, 2007
Eugh, it's bill paying day today, I'm not looking forward to it. Thank goodness for online banking - at least now it only takes a couple of minutes to pay a month's worth of bills and file them in the Bill Payment System; a far cry from all the years spent shuffling through piles of papers and getting writer's cramp from filling out so many cheques. The part I'm dreading is finding out how much - or how little - we're going to have to get us through the next month since Noel's bought all these blasted cows. The kids have been told in no uncertain terms that we can spend NOTHING except on essentials, so don't even bother asking. I think it's actually got through to them too! 'Is that why you never buy any food any more, Mum, 'cause Dad's spent all our money?' asked Liam in all seriousness. 'Er no, mate, that's because there is no spare room to store any food among Dad's vegetable avalanche,' I explained - also in all seriousness. Although I must say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has sent me recipes to use up my glut of tomatoes, they all sound wonderful and rest assured I have plenty of tomatoes on hand to be able to try them ALL - especially the tomato wine! I also really appreciate the clever ideas for containers for freezing in the Forum. My friend Maxine also gave me an idea, which turned out to be an excellent one. She suggested I buy some pita breads and use the tomatoes to make mini pizzas and freeze them for lunches and kids' dinners. As it happened, Mr Patel's had pita breads on special so I bought a load and cut them in half. At first I was shocked to think I had spent $12 on pita breads, cheese and tomato paste, but once I got home and assembled the pizzas, I was delighted to find that I had enough ingredients on hand to make 32 pizzas! 32 yummy lunches for $12! Considering I would normally spend $12 on one measly panini and drink at the local cafe, that really put the cost of eating out into perspective.
I don't think I'll be going to Mr Patel's again for a while though - I'm too embarrassed. Sometimes I wonder if the things I do in the name of saving money go way beyond the call of duty. For example, at the weekend Noel decided to take on another huge fencing project, tidying up the other side of the driveway and road frontage where we chopped all the trees down before Christmas. Our kind and generous neighbour once again donated all the wooden posts and rails we needed, Noel's staff discount at the rural supplies store entitled him to 20% off all the fencing bits and pieces and the job was done in a couple of afternoons thanks to borrowing a friend's tractor and post rammer. Seeing as he had 101 things to do that day and was in a bit of a hurry to get the fencing done while he could borrow the tractor, I begrudgingly said I would do some of his errands for him, the first of which was to take a trailer load of rubbish to the dump. It made sense as I had to go to Mr Patel's anyway and this would save money on petrol by not taking two cars. The only problem with this was, I remembered as I arrived with my load that I cannot reverse a trailer. With nobody at the dump around to help me, I had no choice but to park where I could face the right way home, which was some way away from the skips and cart all the stuff off the trailer one armload at a time. A bit of an inconvenience but no big deal. The only problem is, being such an environmentally conscious family means we don't dump much rubbish unless really necessary. We don't have a rubbish collection in our rural neck of the woods and it takes a long time for us to fill up a decent sized load, so by the time it actually reaches dumping stage, you could say it's rather 'on the nose', especially at this warm time of year. I was certainly glad to deposit the last of my whiffy trailer contents and with some relief hopped into the car, ready to move on to the next errand. Whereupon I was immediately engulfed by the most awful, indescribable smell I have ever had the misfortune to encounter. To my dismay I discovered the culprit was me. Whereas Noel would have backed the trailer capably up to the landfill and simply tipped up the trailer to empty it, my efforts to carry all the rubbish back and forth had resulted in me smelling as though I belonged in the skip too. I'm not joking here, it was BAAAAAD.
I'm sure the helpful young chap in the rural supplies shop thought I was most odd in my insistence to keep a respectful ten metres away from him as I followed him around the store with Noel's shopping list. In doing this however I figured I was only drawing more attention to myself, so by the time I reached Mr Patel's I decided I may as well throw caution to the wind and mingle with the other shoppers. Typical, the store was buzzing with people, I hadn't seen it so busy for ages but I did my best to move along the aisles as discreetly as possible to avoid wafting the horrendous odour around any more than necessary. By the time I reached the checkout I had convinced myself that there was really nothing to worry about and the only person who could smell anything was me. Wrong. The overpowering stink became worse with every second that passed and as I waited patiently for my payment to go through, Master Patel Jr began sniffing at the air. 'Ugh - what's that smell?' he looked at me quzzically. It took all my willpower not to burst out laughing on the spot but I did my best to look suitably offended and looked around, saying 'Ooh I know, I noticed it too! Isn't it terrible? I don't know what it is'... I hoped to goodness this would convince him enough that it wasn't me - after all, I was one of their most regular customers and to the best of my knowledge I had never had a reputation for smelling so appalling in their store before. By this time a queue had formed behind me and I couldn't get out of the store fast enough but I couldn't believe it when I was told there was a problem with the Eftpos machine and we'd have to go through the whole payment rigmarole again. Master Patel Jr was still sniffing around and called over to his wife in Indian to ask if she could smell anything, frowning and waving madly under his nose. At this point I was dangerously close to collapsing in hysterics and was desperately trying to hide the fact I couldn't stop smirking - how I held it in I'll never know. Mercifully my payment went through at last, just as Ms Patel Jr produced an air freshener. As I hurriedly dashed out of the shop, I helpfully dropped my plastic shopping basket on top of the pile at the door and as I did so, the corner of the basket somehow caught in the zipper of my shorts, pulling it down and exposing my wobbly white tummy and faded old undies for all to see. That really was the last straw. I ran to the car, laughed until I cried, carried on laughing all the way home and was still cackling to myself three hours later. Of course, none of the above would ever have happened if I hadn't been so blooming conscientious about saving petrol in the first place!
Needless to say, I have told Noel if he runs out of beer, he's just going to have to go to Mr Patel's and get it himself, although I never thought I would say it but I think he's actually gone off beer at the moment! Thanks to some clever marketing by Heineken, Ali's got his dad switching from his usual brand and drinking it like it's going out of fashion in a desperate attempt to win tickets to the Rugby World Cup. Talk about minimal chances - the idea is that you have to collect bottle caps featuring the names of all 12 countries competing in the World Cup, which of course takes ages because you end up with countless double-ups and triples of ones you already have before you can actually acquire a full set. Ali mistakenly believed that this was all we needed to do in order to score free tickets and was disgusted to find that wasn't the case. All it means is that we have to send our bottle caps in along with every other Heineken swilling mug in the hope our name gets drawn out of thousands. While Ali is of course not able to help his dad drink the bottle contents, he has done a stirling job of keeping his eyes peeled wherever he goes and has picked up a surprising number of bottle caps along the roadside and even at the beach, in order to help his cause and relieve poor Noel of having to drink a few more bottles. He never liked the stuff before and is certainly heartily sick of it now but as Ali rightly pointed out, it's a far cheaper way to get seats to the World Cup than forking out $50,000 or more for a guided tour. Quite.
Just as well our house is a Heineken-free zone once again, because as far as I'm concerned beer is a luxury we shouldn't be buying when we've got half a herd of cows to pay off. At least I'm trying to go the extra mile to save even more where possible. For example, after reading all the Forum responses to the hint Wash your hair with soap and vinegar I couldn't resist giving it a go. I washed my hair that night, following the instructions carefully and let it dry naturally. The following morning I got up and was gobsmacked when I looked in the mirror - I looked like Tina Turner! I wasn't expecting to be able to get a brush through my hair but it glided through easily and I was amazed to find that my hair actually did as it was told for the first time in years - and stayed that way! I couldn't help laughing at the thought of the squillions of dollars haircare companies make on volumising products, when here I was experiencing far better results than any of them with vinegar and Sunlight soap! Noel was most impressed too and assured me I didn't smell like a fish and chip shop. 'Think of all the money we'll save on shampoo!' he said. Well - that's the idea and if that's what we need to do to save money I'm happy to keep up the effort - even if it means storing what looks like a giant bottle of wee on my bathroom shelf. I even gave in and cooked a lamb roast for the first time since Friday and Bob's demise. There was enough left over to make Sophie Gray's 'Vegetable Soup with Lamb' the following night, which was a real hit with the family and made more than enough for three days' worth of lunches.
I did wonder today though if perhaps I have become far more of a miser than I thought. Chatting with a group of school mums this afternoon, I was appalled to hear that they had gone shopping for the day and spent a fortune on what I considered useless household items, which had no use other than for appearances only. What a terrible waste of money, I thought! Honestly, I felt truly sorry for them, not least because once upon a time I was the same but now I knew better. They had had a great time but now were regretting how much they had spent. 'Sounds like you need to join this website I know!' I piped up. 'Really? What does that do?' someone asked. 'Teaches people to save money,' I grinned, eager to help. 'Oh - I don't think this lot need to save money,' was the answer. I was genuinely taken aback and very nearly up for an argument, which is most unlike me but I couldn't believe anyone would seriously believe they didn't need to save money. Then again I've been there and done that. This Sad Sally has come a loooong way!
Stop Think Save
Mar 26, 2007
Hello to all the new Kiwi members! Isn't it brilliant news about the new NZ site? I'm so looking forward to telling everyone I know about Simple Savings - even though I have been bashing their ears about it for quite some time as it is. And why not too? Thanks to SS, I am looking just faaabulous lately - well, compared to the usual Penny standards anyway! Unfortunately I have had to concede defeat on the method of washing my hair with soap and vinegar. I'm so upset when everyone else has been enjoying such success with it! I followed the instructions to the letter but no matter what I did, my hair resembled steel wool - even the kids noticed 'What have you done to your hair Mum? It's hard as!' Worse still, my hairdresser noticed when I took the boys for a haircut. 'Egads girl, what have you got in your hair?' she asked. 'Oh, I'm just trying out a new shampoo', I mumbled, smiling apologetically. 'Well stop using it! Wash the dogs with it instead!' she scolded. Ah yes, people were noticing alright. From a styling point of view, my hair had never been easier to manage; it was permanently set solid and never moved even a hair out of place, so I was detemined to keep persevering but my experimenting came to an abrupt end when one of the local newspapers wanted to take a photo of me last week. Instead of being filled with excitement, I was immediately filled with dread - my hair! I have learned over the years that when a newspaper takes your photo, they are often kept on file for a few years so that when they are quoting the same person again in future, they simply use the same photo for convenience and even share it around with other publications in their media family. Very commendable but there was no way I was being captured for posterity sporting a concrete bouffant. I told them I was terribly busy that morning but would pop in and see them that afternoon - and immediately made an emergency call to my hairdresser. To give Debbie her due, she didn't laugh TOO much when I confessed all; in fact she was blown away by the volume. She even picked I had been using Sunlight soap, due to the sheer bizarre texture of my hair but wasn't surprised as she said lots of people use it with great success. Just obviously not me. By the time I left the salon, my oily frizz had been transformed into a mass of soft, intricately arranged curls and I was quite looking forward to striding into the newspaper and posing for my mugshot; 'Of COURSE I look this sophisticated all the time, dahlings!' It was just a shame it cost me $20 to fix up my hair experiment that was supposed to SAVE me money!
On the positive side though, Debbie was blown away by my haircut! I wasn't looking forward to sitting in the chair and admitting I only needed my hair washing, not cutting as I had already done that myself. Years of doing my own wonky fringes told me this didn't usually go down well with hairdressers but on scrutinising the layers and the fact there were no split ends to be seen anywhere, she told me I had done a fantastic job! She was amazed when I told her how I did it but admitted that was exactly how hairdressers normally layer hair, simply by bringing all the hair around to the front, so could see how and why it would work. Reassuring words indeed - I'll definitely keep on doing it! Some time later I emerged from the newspaper office and decided as this particular town wasn't a place I visited often I would have a quick look around. Funnily enough I had just been discussing my favourite saving tip with a lady at the newspaper and I told her the one which works best for me is to ask yourself 'Is there a better way?' I was starving and was tempted to head up to the nearest McDonalds but quickly stopped myself when I remembered our conversation. Sure, I could walk all the way to my car, drive to the other end of town and spend almost $10 on fast food or I could walk a few feet to the nearest bakery and buy a huge roll stuffed with salad for $2. No-brainer! Stop, think and save Penny. The same happened when I spotted a sale rack outside a clothing store, advertising 40% off boys' clothing. I rifled through them and picked out some great things for Liam - then put them back, reminding myself that I had only just sorted out the kids' wardrobes and knew without a doubt that he did not need any of these things. As I progressed down the street, it almost turned into a little game - stop, think and save; stop, think and save and by the time I made it back to my car I felt terrific at the amount of money I had been able to successfully stop myself from parting with.
Every girl needs to pamper herself once in a while though and from my own recent wardrobe de-clutter, it was plain that I was in desperate need of some new stuff. Trousers, skirts, shoes, jumpers for winter - you name it. The problem was, I couldn't afford to go splashing out on new clothes. I was feeling a bit down in the dumps and decided to browse the Vault to find some suggestions of how other SS members give themselves a lift when money is tight. It didn't take long to find the answer - op shopping! Why didn't I think of that before? I enlisted Mum's help to make sure I didn't go overboard or buy anything that wasn't suitable and off we went for a leisurely browse around all the second hand stores. I couldn't believe my eyes in the first shop we went in - almost every garment had a label I knew and many of them were labels I would never otherwise be able to afford in a zillion years! Everything was immaculate and had been meticulously washed and pressed. I bought three skirts, a pair of trousers, three jumpers and two blouses, all for the price of what it would normally cost for a single outfit at an average clothing store! The lady in the store even threw in a pretty brooch for free, just because I said I liked it! Mum picked up some gorgeous bargains too and from there we headed across the road to the Salvation Army Family Store. My mum is a shoe fanatic and straight away spotted two pairs of expensive leather shoes which had never been worn. They fitted her perfectly and I was excited to see a pair of brown Hush Puppies ankle boots - again, never worn. After a lengthy hunt for a pair of jeans, I also found a pair of Levi's, complete with the original tag. I tried them on and they fitted perfectly but I couldn't help laughing when I saw the price tag - $4 for a pair of brand new Levi's! There was even better to come though; when we took our purchases up to the counter the lady looked at the shoes and said 'Tut - these haven't been priced. They're $2 each then'. 'You're joking!' Mum spluttered but it was apparently so; anything that had gone out on the shelves without being priced were $2 - store policy. My Hush Puppies were also $2 and my Levi's were reduced even further to $2 when the lady informed me they were having a 50% off day, just like this hint says! She even threw in a Star Wars book for free that I had picked up for Liam! I couldn't believe it when I arrived home and hung up all my new things. Everything I had bought was a top quality brand, almost all of them were brand new and unworn and they were all far better quality clothes than I would ever normally have dreamed of buying. Makes you wonder why we bother buying anything 'new' at all!
We also found it quite interesting talking to the shopkeepers when going around. The first secondhand bric-a-brac store we went in was a sad place. This was a shop that used to be a huge, bustling business, full of people and full of quality bargains. I remember visiting them when Noel and I were setting up home together and we still have everything I bought from them! However they had recently moved to smaller premises and didn't carry even a small fraction of the items they used to. The woman who owned the shop was talking to another customer and we could hear from her conversation how disillusioned she was. According to her, Trade Me (or eBay for non-Kiwis) has killed off the second-hand trader. Many shops have been forced to close because nobody needs to visit them any more; they buy everything they need online. Others find they make more money selling their items on Trade Me than they do sitting in their own shops. A sign of the times and I thought it was pretty sad, considering what an essential part of the community these places have been for generations. On the other end of the scale, it seems to have worked the other way for clothing retailers. The woman at the first clothing store we purchased from actually started out as a Trade Me seller but found that buying and selling clothing unseen over the Internet was too hit and miss for many people - including her, so she opened her own shop instead and has never looked back. She's right too - I would never buy any clothing from Trade Me I couldn't try on first and get my money back on if they didn't fit. I had a go at selling a few garments there in the past but found too many other people thought the same thing!
There have been some great hints added to the Vault recently. One of my favourites is Superior comfort from cheaper shoes. What a great idea! I'm sure I have been guilty of throwing out shoes like this in the past, so will definitely keep this hint in mind in the future. Unfortunately it also looks as though I am going to have to try out Pest control like the professionals too. I don't like using chemical sprays but we have been getting inundated with nasty white tail spiders and are going to have to do something about them, unless anyone knows of a more environmentally friendly method! One of my big spending mistakes from last year was spending too much on the annual school photos. I ended up ordering every single pack going - individual, siblings together AND class photos and it cost me a blooming fortune, so this year I was determined to be smarter. When photo time came around, I was very careful to order only a portrait pack of the boys together, for around a quarter of the price of last year's splurge! The boys got their hair cut and went off to school excitedly in their best bib and tucker but were rather despondent when they came out of school. 'We didn't have our photo taken Mum - we told the lady heaps of times that you had paid but she didn't believe us so she wouldn't take our photo'. The kids were gutted and so was I so I went to the Principal. The photographer and his assistant had long gone and if the silly moo had checked our family's envelope properly along with all the others, she would have seen our cheque sitting neatly inside, just as her instructions spelled out. Bloody typical, it had to be us, didn't it! The thing is, this year's photo of the two boys was even more special than usual because it's Liam's last year at primary school. Next year he will be at college and won't be having his photo taken with Ali, so I don't mind admitting I was mightily persisted off. However, I wasn't beaten! I had seen enough Vault hints such as DIY Pixi Fotos at home to know that I could achieve a perfectly nice portrait of my boys at home, using my own camera, so that's what we did. Get stuffed Photolife, you miserable lot - I've cancelled the cheque and saved myself $42!