In last week’s Taking Action column, I shared some financial New Year’s resolutions, including one to use coupons only if you can be disciplined about shopping wisely. Or if you have a tendency to buy things you might not need because you have a coupon, stop getting the coupons. (Go online to www.ohio.com/betty if you missed it).
That led to an email from a reader telling me she keeps money she saves with coupons in a separate pouch.
It becomes her fund to buy books and CDs for the next year. For 2011, she saved $440 and she has a little bit of money left over from her 2010 savings.
“If I buy items at Target which give me a gift card, that amount also goes into the kitty,” she said. “I like this idea because I feel like I am getting free books all year. No Nook or Kindle for me. I want a real book in my hands and it has to be a paperback for reading in bed.”
Sure, she could save the money for other parts of her budget or some might argue she could get books at the library, but this is her way of saving for a luxury she enjoys while giving herself some spending parameters.
Jay Seaton, area president of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Northeastern Ohio, likes the approach.
“What is good about this approach is that she has a plan. She is actually thinking about money. She has thought it through and is making it something where she has made a choice,” Seaton said. He said a similar savings kitty could be created from other types of savings, such as giving up a lunch out or changing a different spending behavior.
“Having a plan and making a conscious choice (even if others might question the choice) is better financially than being ‘buffeted by the daily winds’ and just spending as the whim suits you,” he said.
If you have some other ideas or practices, share them with me and maybe we can all learn from each other. Email blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com or leave a message at 330-996-3724. Leave details of your idea with a name, hometown and phone number (which will not be published).
— Betty Lin-Fisher
