The Random Comic Strip

The Random Comic Strip

Words to live by...

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and to rest afterward."

[Spanish Proverb]

Ius luxuriae publice datum est

(The right to looseness has been officially given)

"Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders," wrote Ludwig von Mises, "no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interest, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle."

Apparently, the crossword puzzle that disappeared from the blog, came back.


Thursday, October 22, 2009

Saving a Little Cash

I was going to write about the difference between men and women today. But I got sidetracked and, besides, it can be summed up quite easily...

Men are simple, women are complex.

Let's just leave it at that.

Instead, I want to offer you something. There is something we do in this household that maybe a lot of you do yourselves. (Other than that, get your minds out of the gutter... or the bedroom) We toss our spare change into a coffee can we keep in the closet. Then, about once every month or so, we (and by "we", I mean Faye) take the accumulated change to our credit union where they happily (presumably) count it up for us and exchange it for paper money or it deposit it in our meager account. It has gotten (or is that "got"?) to the point where I carry no coins at all unless I am expecting to pay cash and then I pick up a nickle, a couple of dimes, a quarter, and 4 pennies* off the top of my dresser. Every so often, I clear all but a few coins (including 4 pennies) off that dresser and toss it all in that coffee can.

By the way, I swear by credit unions. I used to swear by savings and loan institutions but that was before the debacle back in the 80's. If you have a credit union near you (and you do), join it. Before they, too, are ruined by greed and government regulation (or lack thereof) and mergers.

Back to my offering. My nephew, who shall remain nameless at this point, sent me a book by one Neil Boortz. If you know who he is, please ignore it for the moment. Who he is is unimportant. It's what he wrote in one chapter of that book that I want to talk about.

The Dollar Bill Savings Program.

It's simple. It is just like that change in the coffee can thing except the can weighs less and is worth more. You come home at the end of the day and put your extra dollar bills in the can and then forget about them. But there is a bit more to it. During the day, you use nothing smaller than a $5 bill to pay for stuff. When you get change, you stick the singles in a different pocket (or part of your purse if you are of that persuasion) than the usual one. When you get home, the dollar bills get stuck in that can, or in a shoe box, or whatever you have designated as the storage.

Boortz suggests you wait until the end your second month before emptying the depository and then monthly after that. This is to show you how much that adds up.

I like this idea.

There is another thing I like to do and that is have a "cash stash." I started doing this while living in San Diego. It worked two ways. One was I would put away $20 in my dresser drawer each payday. Just take a $20 bill (or two $10's) and stuff it under my semi-neatly folded underwear on payday (which was Thursdays at the time) when I got home. When I started doing direct deposit, I would withdraw my weekly cash on the way home and do it.

Later, I began sticking a $50 or $100 in a odd place in my wallet before heading to Las Vegas. This meant, no matter what happened in Vegas (which stayed in Vegas along with most of my money), I would still have gas money to drive home on or taxi money for when I got off the plane. Being slightly frugal, even in Vegas, I usually found I didn't need that "stash" to help me get home. But it would come in handy at other times. Like for that new golf club...

* The four pennies means I do not have to get any additional pennies in change.

9 comments:

The Jules said...

I don't take my wallet to work with me on night shifts so I can't buy loads of crappy food at three in the morning.

I do however have an emergency £2 coin in my pocket diary, although I'm not sure what it's there for.

Steven said...

Our online credit union has ridiculously good deals on loans and credit cards. We use the card for everything (I hate cash, almost never deal with it) and get at least $50/mo cashback.

ING Direct has a much better online interface for bill pay and whatnot, though, and higher savings and checking account interest rates, though, so I don't bank with the CU.

A lot of people say not to use credit cards because you feel it more when you pay cash - but I'm the opposite...if I have cash I'll end up wasting it on something ridiculous.

Just weird like that.

Douglas said...

Jules, the bane of my existence was those vending machines in the breakroom with the burritos and burgers. Especially on night shift.

Steven, credit cards are wonderful things. As long as you do not run up debt. Pay off each month and they the greatest things in the world.

Charlotte Ann said...

I use a debit card for everything...instant removal from my checking account and a cc for online ordering that gets paid in full each month and I too have a "cash stash". I'm also frugal and have always saved, saved and saved!

generic Brand said...

I have more or less started this while living in Japan. With coins used up to the rough equivalent of US $5, it is easy to bring home whatever change I have from the day and throw it in a box. My only problem is that often I'll take a 100 or 500 yen coin out to go buy a snack at the convenience store or something.

I think it's funny you said you were going to write about the differences of men and women, considering that is a topic I've been toying with writing for the longest time. I too, thought it was very complex and would become rather long. Maybe in segments, or perhaps we could do some sort of joint blog attempt for that.

Douglas said...

GB, you are the only one to comment on that part of the post. I think it would be too controversial. Especially when I start talking about how well suited women are for housework and cooking while men are best suited to sitting or lying on the couch while flipping through various sports channels.

generic Brand said...

Well don't worry you have at least one supporter haha.
But seriously, I would explore the angle of how men and women are not equal, but that is not a bad thing. Men and women are just made to do different things. That doesn't mean women can't be CEOs of major companies and men can't be nurses, or whatever stereotype you want to use. But I think it should be pointed out that women aren't really built for manual labor, just as men are generally to bulky (really fat-fingered) for jobs that require a more delicate touch.

Douglas said...

GB, you are the only one to comment on that part of the post. I think it would be too controversial. Especially when I start talking about how well suited women are for housework and cooking while men are best suited to sitting or lying on the couch while flipping through various sports channels.

Charlotte Ann said...

I use a debit card for everything...instant removal from my checking account and a cc for online ordering that gets paid in full each month and I too have a "cash stash". I'm also frugal and have always saved, saved and saved!