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Ok, so I know it’s already three weeks into January and I’m just now posting my Saving on a Shoestring update. I have no excuses other than I’ve been working on lots of other fun stuff!
I have something new and exciting that I plan on adding to this year’s Saving on a Shoestring updates. My husband and I have been steadily putting money away for a new car ever since we paid off our last car about six years ago. We did take a break during the lean months of Wes’s unemployment, but picked right back up once he was back to work.
We have been drooling over wanting a mini van ever since we realized how much stuff a baby requires when you travel anywhere. {Seriously. What’s up with that?!} But the time has never been right since both of our vehicles were still working well and we hadn’t reached our savings goal yet.
And now the end is in site!
We are on track to make our purchase sometime this year. (Not to mention our vehicles are 13 and 15 years old, so we better be!) I thought it would be fun to share this part of our savings journey with you all so we can celebrate this milestone together.
I figured we could call it: Mission Mini Van! {grin}
So here is where we are at with each of our savings updates:
Project Cruise 2012: We are up to 28%!
Mission Mini Van: We are at 67%!
Cha-Ching! Christmas Club: I am at 8%!
I am still using my handy dandy Cha-Ching Christmas Club Savings Tracker and love it! Remember that you can download your own copy (click on ‘File’ and then ‘Download’) and then make it all your own.
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How about you? Have you been saving and scrimping toward a reward or are you a part of the Cha-Ching! Christmas Club? Then leave a comment or a link below sharing your savings update. And then PLEASE encourage each other by leaving comments here or on the blogs listed. If we work on this together, it will be so much more fun!
AND just to add to all the fun going on around here, I will give a $5 Amazon gift code to one person who leaves a direct link to their savings post or a comment sharing an update on their savings. (I figure it’s just one more way to help you save on that shoestring!)
The giveaway will end January 28 at 10 a.m. EST. I’ll randomly select the winning comment or link. Winner will be notified by email and listed on this site.
Note: If you have a blog, here is the HTML code for the Saving on a Shoestring button above:
<p><a href=” https://chachingonashoestring.com/category/saving-on-a-shoestring/” title=”Saving on a Shoestring”><img src=”https://chachingonashoestring.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Saving-on-a-Shoestring-button-1252.PNG” alt=”Saving on a Shoestring” /></a></p>
I’ve been saving since September 2010 and I’ve saved $1208 so far on my toiletries & groceries!! I’ve spent about $300…… 🙂 I’m trying to save up to buy off a portion of the mortgage by the end of the year!!
I’d really love to get a minivan too 🙂 Our only car is 15 years old too, but my husband is a student and I’m staying home with my 1 and 2 yr olds so things are definitely tight. I’ve been working on earning a little bit of money with Swagbucks, and I’ve earned $10 in Amazon gift cards so far this year. Every little bit helps, and I can use it to buy diaper which we always need.
I have decided to save all of my rebates for Christmas. So far I’m at $18, but I’m waiting on an additional $50+ to come in. I have also decided to track the total $ amount in coupons I use. I chose not to keep track of sale items, although I may do this next year. To date I have used $278.16 in coupons. I consider it my part time job and I’m interested in seeing how much I “make” this year 🙂
I needed to get a thermos for my daughter (old one is Barbie and she’s “too old” for it). My neighbor mentioned one he really liked and offered to split the shipping cost with me as it’s only available online. I found it cheaper on Amazon and offered to order it as I get free shipping. When I added the thermoses to my cart, I noticed they were part of a 4-for-3 promotion. I decided to get 2 more so my husband and I can have thermoses as well. Normally it would cost $80 for 4, but with the free thermos, it’s $60 ($15 each). I had a $5 Amazon GC from Swagbucks and $20 Amazon GC from LivingSocial (that cost me $10). My out of pocket expense was $45 ($80 total – $20 for free thermos – $25 Amazon GC + $10 to buy the GC). I’ll get $15 from my neighbor for his thermos, so in the end, I’ll end up with 3 $20 thermoses for $30.
We aren’t directly saving for anything at the moment, but our budget savings this year has compensated for my staying home with our baby girl since she was born 8 months ago! Totally worth the work of clipping coupons and tracking down deals!! 🙂
I’ve gotten so many great ideas – the Special K cereal that was BOGO, I actually had to wait 2 weeks to purchase with the coupon with a rain check – store ran out of the cereal. Just purchased on Sunday and paid $0 for 2 boxes of cereal – SCORE!!!! Love this blog. To date, I have $81 saved. We decided to take any loose change in our wallets/pockets and use that toward Christmas. Can’t wait to increase my totals. Filling out surveys on line left and right and can’t wait to see what I accumulate.
Thanks for all of the coupons and ideas.