Jenniflower's Personal Finance Blog

Well, I haven't kept exact track of where all my little bit of savings has come from in the past month or so, but I've been putting $$ away regularly.
My savings came from:
-cash paying clients
-extra cash that I overbudgeted for the month
-paid surveys
-....and I don't know where else - I'm just glad it ended up in my savings envelope!

Previous Balance $784
PLUS $512
Current Balance $1296

I had a cash paying client today (I clean houses)
So that's $40 into the challenge.
I always have to put this money into the challenge right away, or it gets spent.

Previous balance $744
plus $40
Current balance $784

Well, it's been a couple weeks since I've blogged about my additions to the challenge....

$5 - paid survey
$10 - 10 loads of laundry hung on line
$40 - cash paying client
$25 - found on my desk after I cleaned it off - what a nice surprise!

Previous balance $664
Plus $80
Current balance $744

I had a cash paying client today, so I'm putting that $50 toward the $20 challenge before I spend it.

Previous balance $614
Plus $50
Current balance $664

Today at Albertsons I saved 65% on my grocery bill. Included in my savings were GM Honey Nut Cheerios at $1.00 a box after coupons and Free Elecrasol Tabs for the dishwasher. Yay!

Spent $22.98
Saved $41.94
Total Savings 65%

My mom had another garage sale - and did really well - over $700! I gave her a few of my things to sell and made $44 from that. I also hung a load of laundry this week, so I'll put $1 toward the challenge.

Previous total $569
Plus: $45
Current balance $614

Well, dh got paid today, so I was doing the budget. I realized I had over-budgeted for our envelope system (spending real cash makes us spend less money than using a card) So I am putting the extra $50 into the challenge, as well as $40 from a cash paying client.
Since this is now my "new car fund", I'm also adding $100. I hope I'm not changing the $20 challenge too much by doing this. It just helps me to save that $100 if I pay it to myself at the beginning of the month, instead of waiting toward the end to see if we have any money left over.

My question is - Once my challenge reaches $1000, I'd like to put it in some kind of account so it will earn some interest. I'd like to keep it somewhat liquid. Any suggestions? Maybe a money market acct?? What do you all do with yours?

Have a great Independence Day, all!!!

Previous balance $379
Adding $190
Current balance $569

Today I did my weekly grocery shopping at Albertsons, combining coupons with the sales.

I spent $30 and saved $37, so that would be a total savings of 56%. I've done better, but still consider over 50% to be good enough for me!

Spent $30
Saved $37
Total Savings 56%

I have $74 dollars in my wallet and I don't really need to buy anything. But I know if it's there, it will probably get spent. SO, I'm putting it safely away into my $20 challenge.

Previous balance $305
Plus: $74
Current balance $379

Well, this past week I sold a brand new clock (one of five that we recieved as wedding gifts - I guess people didn't want us to be late anywhere!!) on Craigslist for $18 and hung 5 loads of laundry on the drying rack, so that's $5

Line drying clothes hasn't seemed to affect our electric bill at all, but I think the culprit might be my husband. He changed the thermostat for the attic fan, so now it runs almost constantly. I think I'll sneak up in the attic today amidst all the insulation and spiders and fix it to how I like it. He'll never know.

Previous balance $282
Plus: $23
Current Balance $305

This past weekend we had a multiple family garage sale and I made $62 total,
plus I had a cash paying client, so $40 from them to add to the challenge.

I am amazed at how much I've saved from this challenge in less than a month!
I've decided that my challenge money will be going toward my replacement car fund. I would like to pay cash for our next vehicle instead of having a car payment. Some say that you'll always have a house payment and a car payment.
I don't want a car payment if I don't have to - I think it's just throwing away money, when you can save up for it and pay cash.



Previous balance $180
Current balance $282

I had another cash paying client today, so that will be another $50 to add to my $20 challenge. I love cash paying clients, because then that money goes into the challenge now instead of my spending it who-knows-where. Yay!

previous balance $130
current balance $180

Well, I just got back from the grocery store and unloaded all my "prizes".
I love using coupons! It's just like a game. - see how much money you can save. I try to never buy groceries at full price. (doesn't always work out that way though) :-

I spent $41.04
I SAVED $56.91
I figured that out to be a savings of 59%!

Thanks for looking!

Jenn

My sister owed me $40 from awhile back that I had forgotten about. I'm putting that toward my $20 Challenge, since I didn't miss the money in the first place. He he... it's funny - if I lend someone some cash, I almost always forget about it, so if they never pay me back, it's no problem!
Anyone need to borrow money? I'll forget that you owe me! Just kidding!

Oh, I also hung a load of laundry - $1 for that.

Previous balance - $89
Current balance - $130

I just recently started the $20 challenge and am amazed at how fast all the little bits of cash add up! Before, I would just keep the money in my wallet and eventually spend it - probably on something that I didn't really need. Now, it's safe and tucked away in an envelope, waiting to be invested eventually.

The past few days I've added:
- $10 for kitchen appliance sold on
craigslist (I'm spring cleaning and
selling or throwing out anything I
don't really need)
- $3 for 3 loads of laundry hung on a
rack instead of the dryer
- $40 for a cash paying client. I have
my own business cleaning houses and
decided to save the money if clients
give me cash. (most give checks)

Previous balance - $36
Current balance - $89

Ok, today was a good day for saving!
I sold a mirror on craigslist for $15
and also hung a load of laundry instead of putting it through the dryer, so gave myself $1 for that.

Previous balance: $20
Current balance: $36

I'm starting a new category, titled "My weekly grocery savings".
I use coupons, sales, double coupons and all that every week at my local grocery store. At the end of the receipt it always says how much you saved.
So, I thought I'd do a brag blog of my grocery savings. - More to motivate me than anything else, as I look back over my savings when I get in a coupon "rut" and don't want to deal with coupons anymore.

Well, this week was an awesome week!
Altogether, I saved $43.91.
I SPENT $16.47
That's a savings of about 73%, if I figured it out right. Yay!! Usually I don't do that well.

SAVED $43.91
SPENT $16.47
SAVINGS 73%

Thanks for looking!

I just registered and have been reading posts about the $20 Challenge and thought I'd start one also. I know, I'm about 6 months behind those who started in January, but that's ok - saving is saving, right?!

Some ideas of mine are:
-spare change and $1 bills
-rebates
-stuff sold at garage sales and on craiglist.
-using the clothes rack instead of dryer
-not buying something that I really want
-any extra money that comes my way!

I'm not looking to save up Thousands of dollars, since we already pinch our pennies just to get by - already make lunches, no Starbucks, use coupons, etc.

Any ideas that you use for the $20 Challenge would be appreciated!
Thanks for reading!

Challenge Total - $20!