The Millionaires Club - Saving $$ challenge!

[biogeek]

Re: The Millionaires Club - Saving $$ challenge!

WOW! That sounds terrible, Jen! Does that affect all of Canada or mostly the Eastern side? In the US, we would demand that the lawmakers do something about that. Sorry you have to worry about the gas prices, but at least you don't have to commute to work. Hope the gas woes end soon!

[sadie147]

Re: The Millionaires Club - Saving $$ challenge!

Seems to be just Ontario from what I've heard. They're saying that refinery will not be back to full capacity until at least mid march. so I'm going to have to bite the bullet and go and get some gas today at lunch, no matter what the price i guess, just in case. this is what the gas companies of course are banking on all of us doing . a full tank will last me at least a month since I don't drive much.

Tuesday February 27, 2007
Another day, another gas shortage.
Ontario's seemingly endless hunt for cheap gas - or any gas at all - is entering its second full week, and like a computer virus, it's infecting other companies.
Esso was the first to go, after a fire in its Nanticoke refinery on February 15th left about 20 of its stations at least temporarily without fuel. That number now tops 100 and it's growing.
Independents serviced by parent company Imperial Oil - like some Canadian Tire gas bars - were next to run out.
Petro-Canada followed, with some 30 stations running on empty and around 80 rationing a fill-up to just 75 litres per visit.
And now the domino effect is continuing with Shell starting to experience problems of its own. So far, only a few of its local outlets have been affected but it may be a sign of things to come.
The company claims it's running its refineries day and night to try and meet the demand, but getting the product here hasn't been easy.
Officials with all the big oil firms are warning it could be days before they get the shipments in to replenish the dwindling supplies and weeks before prices return to normal.
Those costs are now close to or at the loonie-a-litre level, making a bad situation worse for frustrated drivers.
Queen's Park claims it's keeping an eye out for gouging, but there's very little the government can actually do.
Experts hope the return of CN conductors means new shipments from out west can start arriving by rail, but no one's willing to say when the pipeline from there will fully resume.
As if all this isn't bad enough, there was more distressing news from a different source on Tuesday.
Oil prices are rising on world markets as bad weather, tensions with Iran, falling U.S. reserves and overall demand soars.
That could mean the prices we're seeing now could go even higher, as market forces combine with the shortage to create a vacuum at the pumps - and in your wallet.

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_8249.aspx I'll let you know in a couple of hours if my hunt for gas at lunch was successful!

[sadie147]

Re: The Millionaires Club - Saving $$ challenge!

Found gas today, 1/2 tank was $30 (i can fill my tank normally on 35 from E). But i'm just glad i found some and don't have to worry for a while.

back on the money topic: I just happened to catch Larry king live tonight, and there was a woman on there named Suze Ormann, who has written a book called Women and Money. she really seems to be on the ball, i'd actually never heard of her, probably because i've never tried to save money before LOL. Anyway, she has articles on Yahoo Finance, and it seems like really good reading: http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/arch...s/suze-orman/1
She has an article about tax advice for those inthe US there too.

Check out the banking and budgeting...good advice here: http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting

[biogeek]

Re: The Millionaires Club - Saving $$ challenge!

Hey Jen!! Glad you found some "cheaper" gas. I can't imagine paying that much! OUCH!

Suze Orman has her own show in the US. People call in with the strangest situations & I usually agree with what she tells them. Here's a link to her website.

http://www.suzeorman.com/

Some folks don't like her because her lack of credentials, her exaggeration of her resume, and her common sense advice vs. specific advice. She's popular though and if you can get some good info, great!

[biogeek]

Re: The Millionaires Club - Saving $$ challenge!

The month is almost over!!!! Hope everyone is doing well with their budgets and have saved at least SOMETHING or paid off or a chunk of a high-interest credit card.

[boonie stomper]

Re: The Millionaires Club - Saving $$ challenge!

It certainly was an expensive month for me, what with having too many unexpected expenses, on top of unneccesary splurges, but at the same time, I did a lot of eating up extra foodI'd stocked up on last year, even though I took DS out for a lot of Happy Meals.

I also found while sorting last year's papers that I had a free checking account I opened last spring that had offered money as a perk to open it (with a minimum deposit of $500) that I'd completely forgotten about! I also had forgotten that DS had borrowed from me the entire amount he had in his account that I opened for him to save $ in, and I never withdrew those funds (about $30).

There's also $70 in unused gift cards from Christmas, and 2 "free" $20 gift cards the drug store gave me for transferring prescriptions when I filled them. So, shopping for necessities with the cards will save me cash should I fall short when I pay all the bills this week.

In any case, with spring around the corner, I'll soon be holding a much needed yard sale for some extra cash.

[Miss Phode]

Re: The Millionaires Club - Saving $$ challenge!

I did something really really bad today.

Today is payday, so I called up my husband and told him to meet me for lunch. We went to a local sushi bar, and spent $86 on lunch!

We'll be fasting for the next 2 weeks.

[Fit4me&kids]

Re: The Millionaires Club - Saving $$ challenge!

I'm right there with ya on the yard sale. I put a lot of stuff on Ebay if it's in nice shape and easy to ship, but I have a lot of baby stuff that needs to go. It will also free up a lot of storage space as well. I'm currently sorting out all the yard sale stuff so that I can be organized. I think I'm going to have an early one in April. I want this crap gone. Plus, I can use the extra $$.

I'm tickled that our insurance has dropped $30 a month because we consolidated policies for homeowners, cars, camper, etc. to one company and got the 'multi policy discount'. Very nice savings each month.

I have been socking away $$ each week in the savings. Not as much as I had hoped, but still, it's something more than it was before.

I also hit a nice thrift store Saturday and got the baby a TON of summer stuff. It was 1/2 price day so I got 52 pieces total of kids stuff, plus 2 pair of jeans for me, 1 sled, 1 baby push mower, 4 movies, 1 dvd for $32.51. Baby is now outfitted for summer. What a deal.

It is very nice to have a bit extra in the accounts. I picked up a book at the library called Frugal Living and it has a lot of really nice money saving ideas. Some are really out there but others are rather practical for me. I'm only into the 2nd chapter so if I find any good tidbits, I'll share them!

[sadie147]

Re: The Millionaires Club - Saving $$ challenge!

Wow it sounds like everyone is doing great...well with the exception of miss phode and her $86 raw fish lunch LOL. I hope there was at least a nice wine for that price? thats $100 canadian, i don't think i've even ever spent that on dinner, nevermind lunch!!!

I was hoping i'd get my tax refund cheque this week but nothing yet..maybe tomorrow.

There was a lottery here yesterday, 1 winner guaranteed $1million a year for life, then a lot of guaranteed second place prizes of 100,000. it was an 8 number draw, my husband had 7 of the 8 numbers for 100,000! oh well, close doesnt count in the lottery . that cash would have helped my savings plan nicely!!!

[higgies]

Re: The Millionaires Club - Saving $$ challenge!

Wow! Near miss, huh Jen? I've been having premonitions (maybe just fantasies) that I'd win the lottery soon. LOL!

Well, I got a few things on ebay, so hopefully they sell for a little bit of $$. I also finally cancelled my personal cell phone account. I haven't been under contract for about 6 months and I have a company blackberry that is the only phone I've used. I was keeping my personal so I could keep my number and have it for whatever, but I haven't used a single minute in like a year! So I'll be saving $50/month there now.

I'm excited about not having debt anymore, but still nervous about that whole deal that I did.

[biogeek]

Re: The Millionaires Club - Saving $$ challenge!

Jen, hopefully your DH will have better luck next time! 7 out of 8 is so close!!! Heck, I would be thrilled just to win the $100,000 prize.

For Feb, my spending was under budget, so I was able to save even more money than usual. My step-daughter just started working at a bank a few months ago & DH and I opened two separate IRA accounts there a few weeks ago. This allowed my SD to get $50 bonus each...$100 extra for her is nice!

I've also sorted through some of my belongings and have made donations to the library, humane society, and Good Will. I probably could have sold stuff through E-Bay, but that seems like more of a hassle than I want to go through at the moment. Maybe with the next culling, I'll try it out.

Looks like everyone is doing a great job with their finances, sushi lunch excluded (sorry MP!), so hopefully March will bring bigger and greater savings!

[ValidRouge]

Re: The Millionaires Club - Saving $$ challenge!

I haven't been as aggressive as you guys, which is probably why I haven't been as successful with my money. HOWEVER, I have done a few things:
1) I increased my 403b contribution (it's like 401K) to 10%
2) I took all of our finances to an accountant (quit with the power struggle with my DH) and steps are being made to hire the accountant to do all bookkeeping.

[sadie147]

Re: The Millionaires Club - Saving $$ challenge!

Higgies, Is it easy/worth it to sell stuff on ebay? I've often wondered if allthe hassel of shipping etc is worth it. Do you have a min $$ limit that something should be worth before you sell it or do you set a reserve price?

I started cleaning out the basement on the weekend and ebay crossed my mind. We have some very unique stuff down there, that we don't want, but isn't garbage. This house used to belong to my husbands grandparents, who were packrats, so I've got all sorts of stuff. Alot of it's not valuable antiques, but some china and porcelin that might be collectable. Might be good for some extra $$. we've even got all sorts of old postcards, etc and i know alot of ppl collect stuff like that. Just wasn't sure if ebay was worth the effort?

[higgies]

Re: The Millionaires Club - Saving $$ challenge!

You can set up a minimum or starting bid as well. Sometimes it's not worth it, but you always charge extra to cover the shipping. The things I posted are not selling too well right now, but it's better than just throwing them in the trash. Plus, if I get rid of these things, I can reduce my satellite radio bill by like $8/month, so there's something else.

[boonie stomper]

Re: The Millionaires Club - Saving $$ challenge!

I would look up the item in question, and try to get an idea whether there is demand for it before listing it on Ebay. You can look at past auctions for similar items to see what they've sold/not sold for, and the ypical S&H.


I've sold things in the past that got me more money than a yard sale would have, but you have to consider the time spent packaging, labeling, delivering to a shipping company, cost of procuring packaging etc., plus fuel & vehicle mileage. I found generally, things that fit in a flat-rate envelope are better to deal with than bulky, heavy or odd-shaped items needing custom wrapping.