To Spend or Not to Spend?

This week's topic on Kelly's Korner Show Us How You Live is money saving tips.  Since I've done a few posts on how and why I save money, I've combined the best advice I have from some of them.  My favorite one is how to indulge in retail therapy while "saving" money at the same time.

Whenever I need a boost in spirits, I indulge in retail therapy. Probably not the smartest thing to do, but this is why I have had to make some rules for myself regarding spending.

Katie's 7 Rules of Retail Therapy Spending

1. If I buy something, I must sell something. They don't have to be the same value, but if I buy something I don't need, then I sell something on eBay that I no longer want. That way there is still money coming in and not just money going out.
   
2. I give myself a price limit before indulging. The price can vary, depending on my financial situation and the reason why I'm feeling I need retail therapy. Ex. A big fight with friends or family may have a $50 limit, whereas a difficult day with Spencer would probably have a $15 limit.
   
3. There is also a monthly limit that I give myself. If I spent $15 every difficult day with Spencer, that would roughly be about $300 a month! By setting a monthly limit, I have to decide what warrants retail therapy and warrants a nap and some Hershey's kisses. This month had a $75 limit, some months have more, others have less.
4. Retail therapy spending, (RTS) always comes from my PayPal account. I take the allotted amount out at the beginning of each month and put it into my regular account. I must always have at least $300 dollars in PP, I never let myself go under that amount, at least in terms of RTS. If I only have $350 in there at the beginning of the month, then I can only take $50 to spend.
   
5. If I don't spend the full designated amount in that month, I put it back into PayPal. Some months are more difficult than others, and I like to have a little cushion for freedom, just in case.
6. Know when to say NO. If my first thought is "I don't know if that's worth the money" then it isn't. I usually prefer to spend smaller amounts on many things than a large amount on one item.
7. RTS is only on me! Almost all of my money is spent on Spencer, so RTS only really works if it's something for me.

Another great way to help improve your financial situation is Swabucks!  It's a search engine that's powered by Google and Ask.com and it's the easiest thing to do- you get paid just to do your regular every day searches.  There are no strings attached and you can earn great prizes like Amazon gift cards, Paypal dollars, and a bunch of other nice things. I've been using it since the end of February and I've already received $65 in Amazon e-cards!  If you haven't registered yet, click on this button and get started!  It's the easiest money you'll ever earn.

Moving right along: another one of my best money tips comes from a past Show Us How You Live Post on our favorite charities.  You can read the full post here or just these highlights. I was trying to think of ways I could make the extra money so that I could sponsor a child from Compassion International and I hadn't come  up with anything promising that would consistently give me an extra $38 a month.

"While I was going through my email, my BlogHer weekly newsletter popped up into my inbox.  And that's when I had my "Ah, Ha" moment.

Up until yesterday there was only one BlogHer ad on here.  Awhile ago I had thought about adding a second one, but I realized I'd have to have to have three ads and I didn't want three adds, so I stuck with my one.  But more ads means more revenue and that's what I was looking for.  I did some quick calculations about how much more revenue my traffic would generate if I ran a few more ads and I found out that if I added those two, I would be able to afford sponsoring a child.  So that's what I did! set it up so that all revenue from my new ads will go directly into my Compassion account.  I am now the proud sponsor of a little girl named Ega!" 

Awhile ago someone asked me how I financially support Spencer, being that I'm a single parent.  Here was my answer:

One of the main reasons I'm able to support Spencer and myself is because we live in my Mema's old house. My parents were generous enough to let us live here which means that I don't have a mortgage or rent payment.  And I was fortunate that I got a lot of help from my parents when Spencer was first born. Other ways I earn money are on Ebay and Etsy. I also do some odd jobs, like photo sessions for people, pet sit, house sit, and do research work for a small newspaper. I'm lucky in that in my youth I used to have the Life of Riley and was able to accumulate a lot stuff (combined with the fact that I'm a pack rat, borderline hoarder) that was worth a fair amount of money.

After years and years of never getting rid of anything, I had a pretty large reserve of things to sell.  When I'm in a pinch I just sell of my belongings. I used to have multiple designer bags, plus some great Guccis that I picked up in at an outlet in Italy. Now I just have one nice bag- I sold them all, even my Guccis. Plus I had many ball gowns from Kappa formals, size 4 Lilly dresses, sunglasses, and an impressive collection of watches. Most of that is all gone now, I only have one pair of shades, two formal gowns (that I will never wear again, but still can't part with), and my red D&G watch that I bought at the same outlet in Italy. But don't worry, I'll never run out of things to sell, I haven't even touched my shoe or other jewelry collections. So all of that was able to give me quite a nice chunk of change, which has definitely come in handy.

I'd say that a lot of how I manage to stay fiscally afloat is due to spending sacrifices. Gone are the days of hair cuts and colors every 6 weeks, pedicures twice a month, sprees at Target and Sephora, hard back books, and going to the movie theater. I would never say that I do without, because there are certainly so many people out there that actually Do Without, but I do with a whole less than I once did. I now borrow books or buy them used, go to the thrift store, use a ton of coupons, paint my own toe nails and use hair color from a box, watch movies at someone else's house, eat Spencer's leftovers, and wear the same outfits over and over again.  Basically, I used to be a Someone Else Do It For Me and I'll Pay You type of person. Now, I'm mostly a Do It Myself or Maybe Not at All type of person.

But in all honesty, it's because of my parents that I can give Spencer this life. I would never have been able to do without them. In the beginning they paid for everything regarding Spencer, from diapers, to organic food, to BPA free bottles. We lived with them for a year and I had a roof over my head, free meals, and access to all the OnDemand movies I could watch. Now, I buy everything Spencer needs and pay most of our bills, but they still pay for her very expensive health insurance. Let's just say I've racked up a pretty impressive IOU with them!

So how do I support Spencer? Frugal living, selling my worldly possessions, Etsy and Ebay, odd jobs, wise spending choices, and a lot of help from my parents.