How I Became A Saver

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Something that has never crossed my mind until recently was how I became a saver. My whole life I have always been more apt to put money in the bank than spend it and recently I think I figured out why I became the saver I am. I traced it back MANY years ago to when I was in 1st grade at an elementary school in Maine…

So, how did I become I saver? I attribute it to the local credit union and my parents. When I had just began elementary school the local credit union would visit our classroom often. They were there to see if any of the students had any money to deposit into their savings accounts. Can you imagine that? 1st graders with savings accounts. Well, I was one of them!

So how exactly did they encourage me to want to save money? They had this great incentive for kids to deposit money! The credit union had a mascot of sorts, Monty Moose, that they created to identify with kids. Whenever I would deposit money I would get one Money Moose dollar for every US Dollar I deposited. My parents could then take me to the credit with my Monty Moose dollars and I could use them to purchase gifts from the Monty Moose drawer! These gifts weren’t anything fancy but everyone knows that as a kid you think little junkie cheap plastic toys are the best thing ever. They were even more awesome because I had saved up my Monty Moose dollars to buy them and felt that I had earned them.

But how did it work? When the credit union representative visited they would leave deposit envelopes for the kids to take home. Whenever I got one the first thing I would do when I got home was beg my mom for money to deposit so I could get more Monty Moose dollars. I didn’t get an allowance or any other money at the time so my mom didn’t mind giving me one or two dollars a week to deposit into my savings. When you turned your deposit in to the banker the next time they visited they would give you your Monty Moose dollars. However, they didn’t keep any gifts with them so you couldn’t turn around and immediately spend your Monty Moose dollars. I had to save mine and wait until my parents would take me in to the credit union.

That is how the bank benefited from the program. They got parents in the door when they brought their kids in to redeem their Monty Moose dollars. After waiting in line, when it was my turn they would take me to a file cabinet and the whole bottom drawer was filled with all sorts of little toys and you could choose whatever you wanted, provided you had saved enough Monty Moose dollars. If this program didn’t exist I don’t know if or when I would have been exposed to saving money and I sincerely doubt I would have been as excited about it as I was in elementary school.

In retrospect, knowing what I know about banks now, I expected there were a ton of fees related to that program. I was able to find their website and the program still exists! The best part is they have no minimum balance, no minimum transaction amounts and I couldn’t find any fees related to the account either. The only stipulation is that you have to be 12 years old or younger. They issue children passbooks to keep track of their savings and even pay dividends, although it is only 0.1%.

Looking back on it my parents were the biggest influence on me becoming a saver. They almost always gave me money to deposit for Monty Moose when I asked for it. If they hadn’t supported the program I can’t say for sure what would have happened, but there is a chance I may not have become a saver.

They also supported me in other ways much later in life. My parents always told me they would pay half for my first car up to a certain dollar amount. I saved most of the money I received from various small business ideas, birthdays and Christmas and when I finally had gotten my license I had saved up for my half of my first car!

Now, after reflection, I can say with a high degree of certainty that the Monty Moose dollars program at my local credit union was the first step that led me to become a saver. Were there other events? Sure, but this was the first.

Do you wish there was a program like this when you were a kid? If you have kids, have you looked for a similar program to get your children excited to save money?

Filed Under: About the Author, Save Money

My Tip For How To Save Money On Travel

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Today is the last day of the three day Memorial Day weekend for most of us in the United States. Many people are headed home from their three day weekend trips. Vacations and quick weekends away can get expensive fast and I thought it would be a great time to share a tip that can help you to save on your next weekend away from home or full blown vacation!

My tip on how to save money on travel is to avoid eating out while traveling. I know that a lot of people love to eat out when they reach their destination and it is part of the vacation feel. That isn’t what I’m talking about. I’m talking about eating out when you get in the car and drive or get on a flight and fly to your destination. The best part about this tip is the bigger the family the more you save!

If you are driving to your destination stop by the grocery store before you leave for you trip. Instead of spending money on the typical restaurant experience, buy some items you can pack for lunches, dinners and some snacks for in between. Most people just stop somewhere quick in the rush to get to wherever they are going. Your fast food options normally include McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King at most interstate exits and can be quick if appropriately staffed. That isn’t always the case and they aren’t very healthy either. Gas stations are another option but they have very inflated prices and typically only carry snacks and lighter meal items. Packing your food is even faster than fast food or a gas station because you don’t have to stop at all! I always liked to pack peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with Pringles but you can pack deli meat sandwiches in a cooler if you want. For drinks I pick up a 24 pack of water bottles (the only time I buy bottled water) and a 12 pack of soda as well. Again, the larger the family the more you stand to save.

Things can be a bit more complicated in the airport but bringing along food and drink is still manageable. Airport food is very expensive and, unless you like overpriced food, is rarely worth it. You can easily pack some food in your carry on bag but drinks are a bit harder because of those pesky security guards. There is a way to get around it and what I do is buy a 1.25 liter bottle of Coke Zero (my soft drink of choice) a week or so in advance. When I am done drinking it I keep the bottle. You can take empty bottles through security and the fill it up with the water fountain on the other side. Drinks at the airport cost at least double what they are anywhere else so I always bring an empty bottle.

Like I said before, once you reach your destination you’re free to eat out if it is part of the vacation plan. I like eating at beachfront restaurants when I’m going to beach. I try to stay away from the major chains because I can go to them at home and it is the same exact experience. Vacations should be about experiences and memories. The car or plane ride is rarely one of them so next time you head out save some money by stopping by the grocery store before you go!

Do you have a travel tip you’d like to share? What do you think about this idea? Let me know if you plan on trying it out!

If you have a travel tip of your own, head on over to Budgets Are Sexy to enter his $1,000 giveaway, in partnership with HotelClub!

Filed Under: Save Money, Vacation

Weekly Goals, Round Up and Carnivals #5

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Goals

Lose Weight, Eat Healthier, and Exercise

According to my last update I had lost 6 pounds total. This week was a busy week for me and as such I ate out way too much. I ate out at O’Charley’s, Wendy’s, a Chinese buffet for a Birthday lunch at work, and a small salad/sandwich/pizza cafe with my parents. Chinese buffets are horrible for me and I decided I need to avoid them from now on. I am going to set a goal to not eat out more than twice a week from now on. This week I didn’t gain or lose any weight though so at least I didn’t gain any. However this is the third no change week so I really need to buckle down.

My goal for exercising was to walk my dog 5 times a week. This week I barely squeaked by and walked her exactly 5 times. I also increased her walk from 2.5 blocks to a full 3 blocks which should bring it up to a mile. I skipped the first couple days but I wanted to keep my goal so I made sure I walked her every day after that.

Blog Goals

I finally have settled on a 4 times a week posting schedule and and confident I can keep this up. I will be removing this goal starting next week.

My only blog goal for next week is to continue to have my Alexa rank go down. My ranking was 898,343 last Friday and as of yesterday it was down to 605,683. Only 405,684 to go!

Quit Being So Lazy!

My goal to fix my motorcycle’s broken handle bar is currently on hold. I started but have to troubleshoot a few items. Unfortunately I have a lot going on this week and will be sodding my yard this weekend so the motorcycle project is officially on hold.

Round Up

Here are some of my favorite posts from this week! Enjoy some great weekend reading.

Retire by 40 asks What’s Your Ideal Home Size?

The Happy Homeowner went through a blog redesign and is no longer blogging anonymously. Check out it out!

Thousandaire wrote about why Pickup Isn’t Always Cheaper. This is very true so make sure you read up.

Congrats to Jai Catalano for his 1 Year Blog Anniversary!

Finally, for an inspirational post, Funancials wrote Stop Saying You’re Too Young… Or Too Old!

Mentions

I have been listed on MoneyCrashers as number #603 on their Top Personal Finance Blogs! Thanks to Gyutae for being prompt and adding my blog to the list. If you have a personal finance blog that isn’t listed contact them and they will add it quickly!

LenPenzo mentioned me as One of Their Blog’s They Were Following this week!

Tackling Our Debt mentioned me in their weekend reading list!

The Financial Blogger mentioned me as a New Blogger to Check Out!

Carnivals

This week I was included in the following Carnivals!

Carnival of Money Pros, The Festival of Frugality, Financial Simplicity Carnival, Top Personal Finance Posts of the Week, Financial Carnival for Young Adults, Yakezie Carnival and Carnival of Financial Camaraderie all included my post How I Paid for My Hobby.

Carnival of Personal Finance included my post The Parent Tax.

Thank you to all of the carnival hosts this week! If you hosted one of my posts in a carnival this week and I missed it please let me know and I’ll include you in next week’s carnivals section!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Filed Under: Goal Updates, Round Ups

Christmas is Seven Months Away – Have You Started Saving?

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When you woke up this morning I sincerely doubt you realized that Christmas is seven months away. Well it is! I’m not a huge Christmas person but I do like to make sure that I can give meaningful gifts for my close friends and family. I normally buy for eight to ten people in any given year and normally spend anywhere from $20 to $50 on each person. If I had kids I bet I’d be spending a lot more.

In order to get meaningful gifts I try to buy as many gifts ahead of time as possible. However, like a lot of people I know, I am a procrastinator and normally end up buying most of my gifts in December. This can mean spending a lot of money in a short time frame and I don’t know about you but my budget could easily get blown on Christmas.

My monthly spending allowance is much less than what I plan to spend on gifts so how do I get the money to buy my gifts at the last minute in December? I’m going to save in advance! For simplicity’s sake let’s pretend that I said I was planning on spending $700 for Christmas this year. In order to save that much money I would need to save $100 each month until Christmas. Most people would agree that sounds much more reasonable than coming up with $700 out of nowhere in December. I get two paychecks a month so that makes it even more manageable at only $50 a paycheck.

Talking about saving for Christmas is easy, but actually doing it is another story. Here are a couple ways you can effortlessly save for Christmas without having to think about it after you have it set up.

The first requires you to set up a new savings account. If you have a bank like ING Direct this process is as simple as a few clicks and about 2 minutes. If you have a more traditional bank or credit union stop by a local branch and ask to have a new account set up. Next, set up a direct deposit for the desired amount to automatically get part of your paycheck deposited into your Christmas account. Most employers should allow this. I can set mine up myself where I work but you may have to talk to your Human Resources department and fill out a simple form.

Another method would be to set up an automatic transfer out of your checking account and into your savings account the day after your paychecks get deposited. At ING Direct this is called an Automatic Savings Plan. All you have to do is set it up and forget it until Christmas and then you’ll have your desired amount ready for buying gifts!

If that all sounds like too much work for you I can understand that. This method is even easier, but a little less secure. After your paycheck is deposited withdraw your desired amount from your checking account and put the Christmas money in a secret place that you know you won’t touch. You can hide it in a jar in your kitchen or in a safe hidden in a closet. The location is up to you but make sure it is somewhere you won’t be tempted to spend it, somewhere you will remember, and somewhere not out in the open so it doesn’t get “borrowed from” or stolen.

Now that you are fully aware Christmas is only seven months away hopefully you have a great idea how to pay for it this year. This should help reduce any Christmas stress and more importantly Christmas debt.

Have you ever saved in advance for Christmas? How did it work out? Any other tips you’d like to share?

Filed Under: Save Money

How To Win Scholarships

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When I was a college bound high school kid and while I was attending college I made an effort to try to win as many scholarships as possible. It was free money for the most part but you have to spend some time to finding the scholarships and filling out the applications. Over the course of my 4 years in college I probably received about $20,000 in scholarship money! If you think this article doesn’t apply to you just keep in mind that if you ever plan on going to college or furthering your education with graduate school or have a child that will be going to college (even 15 years from now) you had better stay tuned.

There are many different types of scholarships. There are need-based scholarships (obviously based on financial need), academic scholarships (based on grades), and special qualification scholarships (such as organizations, gender, ethnic background, etc)  just to name a few. There are also a ton of places to check for scholarships. FastWeb is a scholarship search engine I used while I was attending college. You can also find scholarships through high school guidance counselors and college financial aid departments. Another great place to look is the student or parent’s current employer and the potential future employers of the student. This is not an exhaustive list so check anywhere you can think may offer a scholarship.

So now that we know the basic scholarship types and some places on where to find scholarships, let’s get the point. How do you win scholarships?

The first step in winning a scholarship is applying for it. If you don’t you have a 99.99% chance of not winning. The .01% are the scholarships that you must be nominated for and can’t apply for. Once you start looking you will realize there are thousands and thousands of scholarships out there, but chances are you won’t qualify for a lot of them. Don’t get discouraged. Find the scholarships you can qualify for and apply for those.

Once you find scholarships you qualify for here are some tips to increase your chances of winning:

  • The more effort it takes to apply for a scholarship the fewer number of applications the scholarship sponsor will likely get. This increases your chances of winning so don’t write off any scholarship application just because it requires an essay.
  • Try to find the applications with the smallest potential pool of applicants possible. Do you have a unique heritage? There might be a scholarship for that. Are one of your parents in the military? Apply for the local commissary scholarships! Even better, submit your scholarship to a commissary in the area with as small a population as possible to increase your odds of winning. Did military parent work on aircraft carriers? Mine did and believe it or not there are scholarships for that too!
  • While applying for a scholarship keep your audience in mind. Write to who will be reviewing the scholarship entries and tailor your experiences/essay/qualifications to get the reviewer to want to pick you. If you are writing for a military based scholarship don’t offend the military.
  • Do not lie! If you lied you will likely get your scholarship application tossed out or if you were awarded the scholarship it could be revoked.
  • After you apply, follow up with the scholarship organization to ensure they received your submission if at all possible. This shows your continued interest in the scholarship organization.

Make sure to keep track of all of the scholarship you apply to and whenever you hear back update the status of each individual scholarship. This will allow you to be able to analyze what types of scholarships you seem to be winning. In the future, make sure you apply to more of the types of scholarships you are winning.

I used all of these tips when I applied for scholarships. The ones I normally ended up winning were academic based or were based on my parents’ previous or current employment. I have to admit though, for every 1 scholarship I won I easily got rejected by 20 others. Keep your chin up and keep applying! Scholarship money was some of the easiest money I have made in my life and I am very thankful to all those who helped me complete my education.

Do you have any other tips for applying for and winning scholarships? Did you get any scholarships when you were in college?

Filed Under: Grow Income, Save Money
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