The attraction to new technology

There is something about me that isn't a secret; I have a love for new technology.  The just off the shelf phones, the iPads, Mac's, and about anything else you can think of.  I am one of those typical people (yes, I know... judge if you must) that always need to have the newest thing. 

Now, with my love for new technology, also comes my extreme clumsiness with said products. I've had.... 6 iPhones in the last 4 years? Yup, sounds about right. Even the current iPhone I'm using looks like a dog chewed it and threw it down a cliff.

This becomes a horrible expense after a while.  Just think, the new iPhone's cost $600 I believe? Goodness that's a lot of hard earned money. 

Lately, I've been wanting the new iPhone SO bad. It's a constant battle in my head between me, myself and I.  The personal finance blogger side says "No way, Jose" of course the other side wants it because it's pretty and my current phone is definitely not.

As much as I love new technology, I normally take some time and talk myself out of it. I'm even using a 3 year old Mac Book as my computer right now. That means a lot considering I've been looking at the fancy new MacBook Pro's for a while now.

*Sigh*, what to do, what to do!

Is there something you absolutely love but can't afford? Do you love new technology as well?

My frugal hair

One thing that I have learned through my life so far, is that hair is the best way to give yourself a fresh, new look. Although, that comes with a price, am I right ladies?! It's the cuts, colours, the deep conditioning treatments and anything else you can think of.  It's extremely expense now to go to a salon and get your hair done. It's not like a $30 cut a man can get!

I actually just booked a hair appointment for myself earlier today.  Now before you get mad at me, I've gotten my hair done at a salon maybe 3 times in the last 6 years, and I've gotten it coloured maybe once in those 6 years.  To be honest, I'm totally against salons.  Its crazy expensive, and for the most part, I can maintain my hair by myself and still be happy with how it looks. Which is what matters right?

I started to do the math and was blown away with my results.  I averaged out 5 salons in Edmonton and wanted to see how much the typical women spends on their hair in a year.

Just to get your hair cut, it's about $65.  Most women like to get their hair cut (trimmed) about every 3 months or so.  Then you add dying your hair which is about $75.  So plus tip, the average salon visit is about $160, if you are lucky!  Then times that by 4 visits a year = $640. Just for hair?!  I just can't rationalize that for myself. 

That being said, what I've done since junior high, is box dye and trim my hair myself. It is definitely a daunting task, and obviously it isn't even in the same ballpark as salon treatments.  But you know what? I did a pretty darn good job with the box dyes and it didn't ruin my hair at all.  A box of hair dye costs about $13 give or take a few dollars. I normally dyed my hair about twice a year which equals $26.

Now $640 - $26 = $614 a year that I save by doing my hair myself.  That is also the amount I spend in gas on my car in a year!

It all seems like a pretty easy decision to me.  I have also been growing my hair out, which means I don't really need to get it cut. I have been trimming it on my own which is surprisingly easy. I have bangs as well, and I learned an awesome way to trim them and keep them looking Hollywood.  Check out the YouTube video below which I followed to learn how to do it.

How to cut perfect side swept bangs at home
Props to Rosebud143 on YouTube. She has a ton of great hair videos and this video is very easy to follow along with.

That being said, I know it is important to some women to get their hair done regularly. Just for me, it's an expense I am totally okay with cutting back on... Haha sweet pun Keens.  So, it was about time for a hair cut and colour at a salon as a treat to myself.  The next one will happen a few years from now. 

What do you think? Would you ever considering taking your hair into your own hands? Is it worth it for you?

Excessive unplugging disorder

Since this journey started, I have found so many ways to save money.  Although lately, I have found that I have a new money saving habit that is going a bit overboard; or maybe not.

In the place that I live right now, I am lucky because 2 of my 3 utilities are covered by my rent.  The only one that isn't is electricity. Now, this is not a huge bill for me every month, but every nickel counts right?  My bill used to be $35- $45 ish a month, which might be a lot for some people, I'm not sure though because I don't have any other place to compare it too.  So, I did what any almost normal person would do, I tried to stop using so much electricity to cut down my bill.  Little did I know, it would be a little more excessive than I thought!

Since then, I literally unplug every possible thing in my apartment before I leave for my day. I unplug my microwave, which is a hassle because I to have to reset the clock every time I want to use it, but long term benefit outweighs convenience for me. I also unplug my toaster, my apple wall plugin, my lamps, my hair tools, and my other misc chargers. But lately, I have been unplugging my entertainment system as well! Which has made a big difference. If you think about it, that system has 8 different things plugged into it! To me that is crazy. Even though things aren't on, there is a bit of electricity that flows through the device, thus costing you more money.

Just to compare, I got my last month electrical bill the other day, and it was $30.96. Saving even $4 ish a month is a win to me.  Now will making this little change in my daily habits be the reason I become a millionaire? Probably not, but it is part of the road to get there. It is also another step for me to be more financially aware and continue to find areas to save money.

What do you think, is unplugging worth it?

Spending cash instead of plastic

Today I had someone bring up to me the idea of using cash over plastic. I've seen tons of articles on both of these opposite ideas.  Different ways work for different people I'm sure, but lately I've been going with the cash option.

Starting in march, I want to take out $150 cash every payday (every 2 weeks) and have that be my entertainment and more fund. Now, this doesn't include major bills such as rent, credit cards, phone etc. This is strictly entertainment, groceries, coffees, and meals out.

I have done this before and it's worked really well in the past. Because for me personally, if I can see the physical cash dwindling down in my wallet, I'm much less inclined to spend it.  With plastic, it's easy to swipe and just forgot you ever spent money, which is a very bad habit.

With this system, I'm hoping I'm able to survive. I should be able to considering I've already cut my grocery and morning coffee costs.

Anyone else have luck with the cash over plastic system?

The coffee expense

Ever since college, I have been an avid coffee drinker.  Having at least one cup a day, give or take. Now I know there are millions of other people out there who have the same addiction that I do. We are surrounded cafes, coffee shops and even Starbucks in our local grocery stores, which I have definitely been a customer at.

Because of my love for coffee, I decided to see how this expense is affecting my budget and how much I'm losing from my goal of being a millionaire.

During college, I definitely was a Starbucks girl. I rationalized in my head everyday that a $5 latte is totally normal and that I could afford it. Well, nothing like a cup of coffee slapping you in the face to realize that is ridiculous. Since then, I have pretty much broken up with Starbucks and am now an avid Tim Hortons fan. Which my wallet is happy with, but I tend to go overboard.

I'd say I go to Tims and get a medium double double about 3 times a week, having coffee at work the other days.  So...

$1.64 (which I think is what I pay every time) x 156 coffees in a year = $255.84

I'm actually shocked with that number.  For some reason I thought it would be more.  Regardless, that is $255.84 that could be going into savings.  So, because I own a Keurig coffee machine, I wanted to price out what it would cost per year if I used strictly that and never bought coffee at Tims again.

The kind of Keurig K Cups I normally get are $13 for a box of 18 on average, which means each cup of coffee costs me $0.72.

$0.72 x 156 coffees in a year = $112.32

That is much more reasonable. Telling me that obviously I don't need to waste time going to Tim Hortons, as much as I LOVE roll up the rim right now... haha! Not to mention the gas that I'm using to get there, when I can just make coffee in the comfort of my own home.

I could be saving $143.52 a year from cutting out Tim Hortons! Now don't shake your head, I know that doesn't seem like a lot, but any bit counts. Especially with the goal that I have!

So coffee from home it is! I really hope I can stick to this actually, it will be tough, but if anyone see's me with a Tims in my hand, feel free to get mad at me! I'm sure there will be a few exceptions from the rule, but cutting the majority out will definitely help in my journey. Seems like a positive to me :)

The gym - The place we love to hate

We all have a love/hate relationship with the gym, am I right? I don't think there is a single person out there that doesn't want to be healthy.  But, the gym can be a scary place and not to mention expensive!

Tonight I decided to go for a late night run and workout in the gym in my building.  I like to consider myself semi-fit, and I try to get to the gym as often as I can.  Lately, that has been less that I would like, but that is besides the point. I started to think how lucky I am to have a gym in my place of residence.  If I didn't, the cost of a gym membership elsewhere would definitely hinder my drive to workout, in an official gym at least.

Now, I realize I am paying for the gym in my rent, so it really is a cost to me.  What that cost is, I guess I will never be able to figure that out. Depends on how often I use it I suppose.  That intrigued me to take a quick look and what gym memberships cost these days.  Lets take an annual membership for example:

City of Edmonton - $524.00 (Average of 3 levels of facility you go to)
YMCA: $718.25 (This one blew my mind!)

Okay to be honest, I looked up a bunch of other gyms as well (Gold's Gym, Spa Lady, World Health, Goodlife Fitness) and none of those places had their prices anywhere online. So, that doesn't help me at all! Shesh!

Regardless, no matter what gym you go to, it can be very expensive. Unfortunately, from experience, I have seen a lot of people commit to a gym membership, give their all for 3 weeks, then quit or get busy and let their money go unused.  So one tip, just make sure you are dedicated and planning ahead so you don't have this expense become a waste.  Even better, just go for a run outside, create a workout group with your friends in someones basement, or even do yoga by DVD at home.

It's expenses like a gym membership going unused that can help hinder people from becoming financially stable and one step closer to being debt free.  I know it seems small, but expenses like this make a difference in the big picture.

Can anyone else think of an expense that is often overlooked like this one?

Success

Well, as promised, I went grocery shopping trying to take all my new rules into account.  I must say, I am very proud of myself, finally feeling like I had a successful adult shopping trip! Woot!

My average grocery bill was $110, and it went down to $70. I got all very healthy and gluten free things, and I followed the advice of my commenters and stayed on the perimeter aisles of the store for the most part.

Although, I did go hungry.  It was right after work, but that's my own fault. Yet, I resisted the chocolate monster as much as I could and came out the victor.

Now, if I keep this trend of cutting down my shopping and being more organized with my grocery money, lets see how much I'll be saving in one year.

$40 x 32 shopping trips in a year = $1280

Easy as that, I just saved myself $1280 a year.  Every penn... nickel counts right?!

The evil grocery store

Since living on my own, I have had a brutal war with grocery shopping.  Without a doubt, I always seem to be on the losing end of that war.  Grocery stores across Edmonton are laughing at me the minute I walk through the door.  Am I the only one that feels grocery shopping takes way more effort and work than it actually should? I'm assuming so, because I am 23 and still haven't mastered it.

It's funny; every week I walk into Save-On Foods with a smile on my face and a feeling of hope that I will finally get enough food to last me, plus throw nothing away. So finally, in my journey to become a millionaire, I said enough is enough. Time to buckle down and finally see exactly how much money I am wasting every shopping trip.

On average, I spend about $110.00 every week and a half on groceries. So, let's break that down:

$110 x 32 shopping trips per year approx = $3520.00

You don't even have to say it; that number is WAY higher than it should be for a 20 something female living on her own with no roommates. I was astonished when I saw that.  But, that being said, it is completely my fault it's that high.  I tend to buy gluten free/healthy/organic foods for the most part, which are without a doubt more expensive then most other foods. At the same time, I am hugely unorganized when it comes to grocery shopping and I have nobody else to blame.  I am not changing my eating habits though, I just need to re-adjust my spending and be way more organized when it comes to giving my local grocery store money.

With that number in hand, I then calculated a rough estimate of what I throw away in that same time period, which I already know is hard for me to write.  I throw away about $30.00 of food before my next shopping trip, just due to the fact that it goes bad in that week and a half.

$30 x 32 shopping trips per year approx = $960.00

I can't even believe that number! I might as well throw that money from my balcony, which essentially is what I'm doing.  That's horrible and I need to kick that habit ASAP.  No wonder I'm not a millionaire yet...

While wallowing in my sadness, I came up with a few ways to help curb this trend, for me at least, hopefully they help others as well.

1) Never go to the grocery store hungry - I know everyone always says this, I just need to follow the advice. I normally always go after work, before I've had a chance to eat dinner.  When you're hungry, the whole store looks like a giant chocolate bar, which I can't resist.

2) Plan out your meals for the week - I have never done this, which tops my list of reasons why I'm throwing away so much money. Buying random food items isn't going to help you during the week when you are making meals. You are without a doubt going to miss something or not use something.

3) Make a list and stick to it - This is in the same family as number 2. Again, I never go with a list, which means I end up either buying way to much food, or I miss many things that I thought I've made a mental note of.  It also made me discover my memory isn't the greatest. Gotta love teaching yourself a lesson.

4) Designate one day a week to cook and prep your weeks meals - Now because of my 60+ hour work weeks (I wish I was exaggerating that number) I always get caught not having meals made. Thus, I eat out and don't use the food I have in my fridge.  From now on, Sunday is my cooking day. Doesn't matter what other plans I have that day, I need to dedicate the time to prep my meals, so I not only eat healthier but am able to use up all my food. With this, I will be in my kitchen, drinking wine, blasting music and cooking up a storm every sunday. No questions!

5) Coupons, coupons, coupons - I was hesitant to put this recommendation in.  Because coupons can hurt you in they aren't dealt with properly.  I used to be the person that picked up a flyer of coupons and said "OH I could use this, this, this and this." But that is wrong on so many levels. That prompts you to buy things you might not actually need and you can end up spending more money without creating any savings.  My advice is, make your grocery list, plan all your meals, then once that is done, consult your coupon flyer and see if any of the items you are getting have a coupon. If they do, bonus! If not, don't buy something you really don't need just for a deal. My boyfriend was the one that brought this to my attention. How right he is!

I plan on going grocery shopping tomorrow since my fridge is bare right now, I'll blog about my first organized and planned shopping trip.  Fingers crossed I don't have to throw anything away for once. Although, my fingers don't need to be crossed if I'm prepared.  Time to finally win the grocery shopping war.