If you have followed my money management tips, How to Manage Money Like Your Grandmother, you know that I advocate actually going inside the bank to complete your transactions rather than just using the teller machine.  I point out that we need to establish relationships with the bank employees (not easy to do with high turnovers in the banking industry, I know) so that we can go to them for help if needed.

Today, those relationships paid off for me. Without going into detail, I made a major banking goof that resulted in a bunch of fees.  These are the fees that I call “stupid taxes”–the penalty I have to pay for making a stupid mistake.  When I went to the bank to rectify the situation, I asked for help from one of the representatives I’ve had small-talk conversations with on many occasions.  She explained how the situation would be handled and then said, “Since you are a longtime customer and we know you and know that this is the first time this has happened, I can reverse the fees for you.”  I was elated because I hadn’t asked for this favor!  I left the bank 10 minutes later with the issue completely resolved.

Now, you have to understand.  This is a huge banking company (but the only one that would open up in our neighborhood) that often gets bad publicity for how they mismanage customer service.  But because I have relationships with real people who really want to provide good service, I am a happy camper tonight who has learned her lesson instead of being frustrated about having to pay a “stupid tax” for making a dumb mistake that I rectified as soon as I realized what I had done.

When possible, go the human route instead of the machine route.  It may seem expedient in the short term to use a machine, but the dividends pay off in the long term when you establish relationships with humans.

I usually try to run my errands on Friday mornings.  The stores are stocked up for the weekend rush, so there is a better selection on the sale items, but they aren’t crowded yet.  So, in honor of the shopping I will do in a couple of hours, I bring you The Shoppers Creed from Meta Given’s The Modern Family Cookbook (1953; previously published in 1942).  My intention is to spend some time next week examining what she says about meal planning and so forth.

The health of my family is in my care; therefore–

I will base my market list on meals planned according to “THE DIET PATTERN,”

I will choose foods of quality and in quantities that will provide the nutritive elements planned for.

Stretching the food dollar is part of my responsibility; therefore–

I will take advantage of what the seasonal markets offer in variety, quality and price, to the end that I may exchange my dollar for maximum values.

My family’s enjoyment of food is my responsibility; therefore–

I will use the possibilities of the market to provide variety, excellent quality and novelty within the limits of my food budget.

Purchasing food is an important link in the business of feeding my family; therefore–

I will make every effort to weigh possibilities offered by various markets, by various foods, and the forms in which they are offered from season to season, to the end that I may take pride in a job well done.

****

In the comments for the Wartime Meal Planning, Part 1, post, Beth remembered reading that Americans throw away as much as 40% of their food, so I did a little digging around the Internet.  What I found is that Beth was right–Americans in general throw away as much as 40% of the food supply all along the production line from farms, retailers, restaurants, and households.  That is a lot and up from 30% in the 1970′s. Families appear to waste about 12-14% of their food.

Environmentalists are alarmed at the impact of that food being dumped in landfills while charities are trying to divert some of that food to feed the hungry (see The Food Not Eaten and the Wasted Food blog by author Jonathan Bloom for thought-provoking information on this topic).  But I want to focus on the impact on the household budget.

For the average American, we could give ourselves a $500 annual raise simply by being more careful in our food planning.  While that doesn’t seem like a lot, if we look at it in terms of “life energy” described in Your Money or Your Life, that $500 can take on new meaning.  In California, for instance, minimum wage is $8.00 per hour.  For someone earning minimum wage, that food waste equals 62.5 hours of work or a week-and-a-half of work.  For someone earning $25 per hour, that $500 represents half of a week of work (20 hours).

Although I enjoy being a wise money manager (see  How to Manage Money Like Your Grandmother), I’ll admit that My Honey is much better than I am at translating purchases into “life energy” spent.  He’ll say, “Is this item worth 5-10-20-30-or-60 minutes of grinding metal?” (the step in the metal/sculpture casting process that he is good at but hates doing).  More often than not, it isn’t worth it and it will go back on the shelf.

As the Home Manager, it is my responsibility to eliminate waste wherever possible so that my husband’s life energy isn’t wasted, too.  As I make my purchases today, I will keep in mind the Shopper’s Creed.

I’ve been in a contemplative mood all day.  I met with my students yesterday, turned in my grades last night and no longer consider myself a professor or administrator.  I guess my 15 years in higher ed will always have influence but it is kind of a weird place to be.  No big brass bands to send me off into my new life.  I’m just here.

One thing I noticed was my urge to “just go shopping.”  Well, if you have subscribed to my “How to My Manage Money Like Your Grandmother Tips,” you know that I don’t believe in recreational shopping. I thing “Retail Therapy” is a concept that marketers devised in order to get us to part with our money.  Sure we feel the rush of having something new and exciting but then, for many of us, regret starts to set in.  I reminded myself that shopping wouldn’t fill that empty spot in me and decided not to go to the mall.  In the end, I did end up going to Home Depot to buy some replacement shades for the cheap plastic ones that had broken apart on a cheap goose-neck lamp I bought from Target a few years ago (as the founding member of the newly established Quality Club, I would not have bought that lamp today).  Having guests this weekend motivated me to get those bare bulbs covered up again.

Something has been bothering me as I’ve been reading some homemaking blogs lately.  The author describes how money is tight for her spousal unit and her in several posts and then a few posts later describes the bargains she received when she bought XYZ because it will make the bedroom/kitchen/dining room look so much better and it was needed!  There seems to be a disconnect there.

I’m not going to name names because my intention is not to shame people and I believe if you have the money, it is yours to do whatever you want with it.  But I know that when I’m working with coaching clients, they often do not see the disconnect between what they are saying and what they are doing and I can hold a symbolic mirror up for them to see where they are running into trouble (and to be fair, I have my own mentor coach so that she can show me my own blind spots, so I know that I’m not immune to this phenomenon).

We have become brainwashed–especially by home decorating shows and magazines–to believe that in order to transform a space, we have to spend money at some home decorating chain and completely redo the space with new stuff.  Even if the stuff is on sale, it isn’t a bargain if you spend money you don’t have.  THE BEST bargains are the ones where you spend very little to no money in order to freshen up a room.  Sometimes it can be as simple as replacing the clutter with a vase of flowers.

Hand-me-downs and used furniture shouldn’t be overlooked, either.  Half of our furniture came from my grandparents either as items my grandfather made or what I inherited after he passed away (and he made most of his furniture).  We also have furniture that originally belonged to My Honey’s grandmother.  We bought our office furniture from a used office furniture store.  In fact, the only thing we bought new was our sofa after our old one (that belonged to my grandparents) could no longer be revitalized.  When we bought our sofa, we noticed that the quality of mass produced furniture has gone down.  Buying used furniture or accepting hand-me-downs often means that you are staying within the guidelines of the Quality Club.

Here is a fun film from 1958. The Star Bronze Company, purveyors of furniture refinishing chemicals, show “Jack and Jill” who have more love than money but are able to transform their 3rd floor walk-up apartment into a nice cozy space.

One of things I like about this film is that it shows a “starter home.”  We have to build up to the “House Beautiful” type of home.  There is no shame in the notion of “starter decorating,” no matter what HGTV and magazines  (or family members) would have you believe.  Be rebellious.  Do it yourself…at your own pace…with your own TLC…and make a game out of redoing your space without spending money.

Click here if the player doesn’t work for you.

I went to Joann Fabrics the other day to pick up pearlized snaps for the cowboy shirt I am making for My Honey.  While I was there, I saw some quilting fabric that I thought would make a cute “grandma style” apron using one of my vintage patterns.  I wasn’t sure how much to buy so I did a quick look at similar styled aprons in the pattern books and determined that I needed 2 1/4 yards.  I went to the cutting counter and asked for 2 1/2 yards.  Unfortunately, there was only 2 1/4 yards left on the bolt.  The woman asked if I still wanted it and I told her that I really only needed 2 1/4 yards but…and before I could finish the sentence, she said, “the other 1/4 yard was for shrinkage because Joann quilting fabrics often have a lot of shrinkage.”  I nodded in agreement as I pondered why I was willing to pay for an extra quarter yard of lower quality quilting fabric just so I could have enough for my project (it turns out, I only lost 2″ of length, so I’ll be fine).

Today I read an April 4th article by Karen Von Hah of The Globe and Mail that challenges us to let go of our “subprime shopping habits.”  You know it’s going to be a good article when it starts out with

Because of the subprime mortgage crisis, spending less has become the name of the game, but does that mean that everything else we buy has to be subprime too? In my view, what makes something a steal or splurge isn’t simply determined by the price tag. Less can be worth more if it’s better.

She points out that despite the current recession, we still are filling our closets with crap (her word)  instead of quality.  She uses cashmere as an example:

As I have personally discovered, those “cashmere” cardigans lumped on sell-off tables for $69 may look like a deal, until you wear one once. Because it’s made from the short, cast-off “cashmere” kibbles and bits on a factory floor somewhere in China, the pilled, misshapen lump bears about as much resemblance to a three-ply Scottish cashmere as a dinner roll.

Ms. Von Hah then challenges us to start being as careful about what we wear and buy for our homes as we are about what we eat.  She points out that this kind of austerity isn’t really a new idea.  It is the  mindset out grandmothers used when they shopped.

Okay, it’s radical, but it’s hardly a new idea. In fact, it’s rather an old-fashioned one. It acknowledges some essential truths we appear to have been in denial about (and which denial has undoubtedly contributed to the sorry state of our economy): Yes, Virginia, there really is such a thing as quality; better goods have more inherent value; and like it or not, you do tend to get what you pay for.

I encourage you to read her entire essay.  I have a feeling many of my own readers will be nodding their heads in agreement.

Let’s start a new “popular girls group.”  And we’ll call it the Quality Club!  What do you think??

My very first credit card was from JC Penney with a credit limit of something like $200. I was either 23 or 24 and credit card companies hadn’t yet set up shop at colleges offering to give students free t-shirts in exchange for signing up for the credit card. I used it to buy a sewing machine and slip covers for my hand-me-down furniture for my first apartment. I then got a Sears card, then a Visa, and then…well, by the time I was 30, credit was much easier to obtain and I had opened a charge account at all of my favorite stores “to take advantage of the discounts.” I was naive enough to think that I was saving money by having the cards. The problem was, I didn’t realize how very easy it is to go over one’s planned spending when plastic is used. Depending upon which report you read, people who use plastic–whether it is debit or credit–will spend anywhere between 20 – 50% more than if they had paid with cash. (and read here, too).

When we switched over to the “envelope method” a couple of years ago, it took me a lot longer to do our weekly money management because I kept thinking that I had messed up.  We suddenly had a whole lot more money because we were paying with cash (except for our usual monthly bills) instead of with the debit and credit cards.

But credit itself is not the bad guy.  The problem seems to be that we forget that credit is real money, too.  In this slightly surreal 12-minute educational film from 1960, “Mr. Money” teaches two high school students about the different types of credit and how to use credit wisely.  Although credit cards were available when this film was made, they were limited and the expectation was that the charge would be paid off when the bill arrived.  While watching the film, note how the “cash installment loan” resembles how people have used credit cards during the past few years. What I really like about this film is that it teaches how to decide how much credit one can afford (not how much they can obtain).

The best lines from the film:

“To earn credit, you have to build character.”

“But Mr. Money, doesn’t it cost more to use credit?”  “Oh yes it does!”

Note: The film constantly bounces/rolls.  If you get dizzy easily, just listen to the audio of the film instead of trying to watch it.

Click here to watch film if player doesn’t show up below.