I have spent the better part of my working years in the real estate industry. Cost vs. value is a hot topic because people sink a lot of money into real estate, and hope to get every penny back (and more!) when they sell. Some times they do, and sometimes...
Enough with the brainy lecture! I am an avid knitter. I didn't say I am a terrific knitter, I say avid because I knit a lot. Anyway, I like creating small things that knit up fast because a project can get boring if it takes too long (my husband wonders why his wool sweater is nothing more than a front, back and a sleeve for so many months...). Recently I took on the challenge of learning to knit socks. They are small so they must be easy and quick, right? And they cost about a buck in the mega pack at Target, so they must be cheap to make, right? Nope, nope, and nope! For a beginner like me, a pair of socks will take about a week and 10 bucks of yarn to make.
This is where we get to the value part. My handmade socks are soooooooooo comfy. They are worth every penny and every hour I spent swearing over them.
Hand made items are usually no bargain to make, but the value is unspeakable, and worth the splurge!
See, I do spend some of my saved dollars sometimes!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Saving Money Takes A Lot Of Work!
I'm a little worried that I am losing my money saving mama fire. More than once this week I've weighed out the value of my time when deciding if a money saving avenue is worth pursuing...I never dreamed I would become this person! But alas, I eventually come back to my saving sense (or maybe it's my cheap-o mentality!) and get back to work saving money here, there and everywhere...
I think the reason that I have questioned this hobby of mine lately is because I've realized that it takes a considerable amount of time and energy to police any and all accounts that we have. Add to it the "fun" stuff we sometimes pursue...like joining a gym...and saving money for your family could easily be a full time job. Here are my latest encounters:
I mention joining a gym. I have been dreading going through the process for months. My gym membership expired today and it's a better bargain for me to join the gym next door. In a nutshell, I can't stand the paperwork...voiding and parting w/ a perfectly good check to set up draft payment, posing for a pic for your new card (and the machine always seems to be broken when you are there to use it...).
The gym I joined this time around had a start up fee. Generally I would not even consider a gym with a start up fee, but I did my homework and found out that my husband's employer has a perk that the fee is waived if you produce a letter from their company to the gym. So, about 2 months ago I had my husband get me the letter. He sent me the link to his HR dept. I explained those are password protected sort of things and I can't waltz in and grab what I need (duh).
Then he was told by HR that the form had been faxed to the gym. Then the gym informed me that's not the process and no letter was faxed. At this point I thought: is this worth 50 bucks? My husband has spent a ton of his time and the HR Dept's time working on this. My time is worth something...and all together it's probably time to pay the 50 bucks, get my pic taken, and hop on a treadmill! When I get like this I put it to myself this way: 50 bucks is several small trips to the grocery store...which you will for sure take. 50 bucks is 15 lattes at Starbucks...and you will for sure consume those before Christmas. 50 bucks is a tank of gas... The list goes on, and my budget is constant...so I can use the 50 dollar savings!
Here is the kicker...I sat at the gym yesterday and went through all of the sign up hoo ha. At the end the nice man said: that will be $110...your first month plus our start up fee. I almost cried. But that would have been extreme, so I reminded him of the 8x10 sheet of gold I had worked so hard to obtain and handed to him 15 minutes earlier...and gone was the 50 bucks...
On to my latest encounter...got a statement in today's mail for a line of credit we have open. Zero balance, but somehow $100 is due. I called, sat on hold, tricked the system into putting me to a human (pressed lots of zeros), got disconnected when the human put me on hold, and called back to find the $100 due was an error and they removed it on the spot. 100 bucks. One phone call...well two if you count calling back. How many account holders will pay the computer's malfunctions this month? I'm probably naive when I predict thousands...unreal. Watch your statements, zero balance accounts or otherwise, like a hawk!!
I think the reason that I have questioned this hobby of mine lately is because I've realized that it takes a considerable amount of time and energy to police any and all accounts that we have. Add to it the "fun" stuff we sometimes pursue...like joining a gym...and saving money for your family could easily be a full time job. Here are my latest encounters:
I mention joining a gym. I have been dreading going through the process for months. My gym membership expired today and it's a better bargain for me to join the gym next door. In a nutshell, I can't stand the paperwork...voiding and parting w/ a perfectly good check to set up draft payment, posing for a pic for your new card (and the machine always seems to be broken when you are there to use it...).
The gym I joined this time around had a start up fee. Generally I would not even consider a gym with a start up fee, but I did my homework and found out that my husband's employer has a perk that the fee is waived if you produce a letter from their company to the gym. So, about 2 months ago I had my husband get me the letter. He sent me the link to his HR dept. I explained those are password protected sort of things and I can't waltz in and grab what I need (duh).
Then he was told by HR that the form had been faxed to the gym. Then the gym informed me that's not the process and no letter was faxed. At this point I thought: is this worth 50 bucks? My husband has spent a ton of his time and the HR Dept's time working on this. My time is worth something...and all together it's probably time to pay the 50 bucks, get my pic taken, and hop on a treadmill! When I get like this I put it to myself this way: 50 bucks is several small trips to the grocery store...which you will for sure take. 50 bucks is 15 lattes at Starbucks...and you will for sure consume those before Christmas. 50 bucks is a tank of gas... The list goes on, and my budget is constant...so I can use the 50 dollar savings!
Here is the kicker...I sat at the gym yesterday and went through all of the sign up hoo ha. At the end the nice man said: that will be $110...your first month plus our start up fee. I almost cried. But that would have been extreme, so I reminded him of the 8x10 sheet of gold I had worked so hard to obtain and handed to him 15 minutes earlier...and gone was the 50 bucks...
On to my latest encounter...got a statement in today's mail for a line of credit we have open. Zero balance, but somehow $100 is due. I called, sat on hold, tricked the system into putting me to a human (pressed lots of zeros), got disconnected when the human put me on hold, and called back to find the $100 due was an error and they removed it on the spot. 100 bucks. One phone call...well two if you count calling back. How many account holders will pay the computer's malfunctions this month? I'm probably naive when I predict thousands...unreal. Watch your statements, zero balance accounts or otherwise, like a hawk!!
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