Unclaimed Money

It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes we find, or are given cash we didn’t know we had. Maybe you find five dollars in your jeans from last week. Maybe you get $20 on an instant lottery ticket. No matter the source, unexpected cash is always welcomed, and small amounts like this usually get tucked into your wallet and used for your normal everyday things.

What do you do though when you get a larger sum unexpectedly? Getting an unexpected larger sum is even less common, but it does happen. Perhaps you receive an inheritance you weren’t expecting, get a bonus from your place of employment, or a stock you own has suddenly doubled in worth. If you are an United States tax payer, a nice unexpected sum may be coming your way.

The plan is to put a tidy sum in your pocket in the form of a tax rebate. You are then supposed to go out and spend it to jump start the economy. Should you co-operate with this plan? Well, of course that is a personal decision, but in my opinion the answer is maybe.

I have a great aunt who occasionally will slip me a  handful of twenties, and say, “Go do something fun.” In those rare instances I do go spend the money on something that would not be in my normal budget plan. I obviously do not have the same relationship with the government as I do with my great aunt, and therefore do not feel as inclined to follow their wishes for how I use the money.

When a nice sum of unexpected money comes your way it should be used to meet the financial goals you already have. If you’ve been saving for a house down payment, then a tax rebate will be a nice jump start to that process. If you building an emergency, college, or retirement fund put your unexpected cash into that fund. Trying to pay off debt? Use the money toward that. If you’ve been planning to buy a large screen T.V., then you may be able to it sooner than planned.

Getting some extra cash should not be an excuse to blow through the money leaving you no better off than before you received the money.  Unexpected cash should be treated as a boost to the financial goals you already have established.

Thanks to Melissa whose post Recession Fears = Flat Screen TV?  was the inspiration for this post.

Typically, I tend to do things a little differently. It bothers me when people do something because “That is they way we’ve always done it.” Now maybe the way you’ve always done it is a great way. Maybe it is the best way, but do you know? Have you thought about it? Would you be willing to try to do it differently?

That attitude could be applied to a lot of areas of life, but for the purpose of this post the discussion is about household tasks. I don’t want to go against the grain just for the sake of being different, but I also don’t want to only buy XYZ brand just because that was what mom always bought. In general I think through tasks and try to find more efficient and economical ways to get things done, but the other day I caught myself red handed.

I was given Friendship Bread starter a few months ago.  Dutifully I’ve been caring for my starter, and trying new recipes with it. If you’ve ever had this starter, I’m sure you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, let me quickly explain by saying every ten days you create dough for baking, and four more starters. I’ve been freezing my extra starters for future use, or to give to friends.

The other day I was dutifully separating my starter, putting the new starters in their own ziplock bags when it dawned on me what an incredible waste that was. I know ziplocks aren’t that expensive, but four, every ten days, indefinitely. . . .well it adds up. I also had perfectly suitable reusable containers available. Why was I using all these disposable bags? Because that is what the directions said to do. Busted!

You may think not using ziplock bags is extreme, but there really are many ways to save money while you accomplish household tasks. It just takes a little thought sometimes, and a little experimentation.

Take cleaning products. Cleaning with simple items like vinegar and baking soda can save you a lot of money. (see Frugal Cleaning) If you prefer to buy cleansers, generics often work just as well. Whether you choose to buy generics or name brands, chances are you can use a lot less than the recommended amount and still get the job done. Try using only half the laundry detergent suggested. If the clothes are still clean, cut the detergent back even more. Dryer sheets can be cut in half, and still be very effective.

Frugal minded bloggers are a great place to find a wealth of ideas for thinking outside the box. Memes like Frugal Fridays are a great source as are blog carnivals like the Festival of Frugality. Books like the Tightwad Gazette are wonderful too. There are thousands of simple little tricks that can help save you money. What are some of your favorites?

Many of us have set goals to save money this year. Sometimes saving money requires sacrifice, but other things really are fairly easy and painless. Joining in this week’s Frugal Friday theme here are five painless ways to save $100 this year:

1. This winter throw on a sweater and turn down the heat a few degrees.

2. Eat your leftovers!

3. Grow your own veggies and herbs.

4. Never go grocery shopping while hungry.

5. Pack your meals on family outings.

Be sure to take a look at the other participants in the theme for Frugal Friday. On our main site you may be interested in the following articles:

10 Tips to help you save $200 this month
Make an extra $200 this month to pay off debt - 5 steps to get you started.

Being content and happy often is a matter of perspective. When you are trying to keep up with Jones’ it is hard to be content. Someone always has something better than you. You will always want more. We rarely need anything else, and should be content with what we have. My oldest son learned a bit of this lesson over the holidays.

He is nine, and until very recently we have owned no game systems of any sort. It isn’t that we find anything particularly wrong about game systems, we just didn’t see owning one as necessary. They are expensive, and it wasn’t in the budget. My son never really cared, until he started playing games belonging to his friends.

Suddenly he was asking for a particular game system over and over. We talked about the cost, and that it wasn’t very likely we would be purchasing one. He kept asking. He did save up some of his own money, and purchased an older, used game system. That stopped the asking for awhile, until Christmas was approaching. Then the new game system popped up again on the Christmas wish list.

It didn’t show up under the tree. A few new (used) games for his system were there though. I really expected him to be disappointed. I feared that he might even throw a fit, but he didn’t. He was happy about the new games, and didn’t even mention the other system.  A few days later he came up and told me that he really didn’t want that other game system anymore, that what he had was really fun.  I couldn’t have been more proud.

I know some will read this and perhaps think we are not very compassionate parents. It is hard to be the kid who doesn’t have the latest and greatest. Yes, we could have squeezed the cost of the new sytem out of the budget, or bought it on credit. He would have been thrilled on Christmas morning,  but what lessons would we have taught him? That you should get everything that your friends have even when it isn’t within your budget? That it is okay to buy something that you really want on credit? No, I am happy with the lesson he did learn; to be satisfied with what he has and what is within the family’s financial means. That lesson will serve him well into adulthood.