Frugal Tips #5 & #6 - Weekly Update Pending

Chris and Jax with part of our Corti Bros. family.

So you know it’s bad when you wake up at 4 in the morning and you are excited that you get to stay home with the toddler and clean house. Trying to juggle a million things and trying to get the house ready in time is exhausting on every level.  I have to get an update together and I am very late in getting more pictures up but in the meantime I thought I could share a couple more Frugal Tips.

Frugal Tips #5 & #6 – ASK and Acknowledge

ASK (or you probably won’t receive)
We are sitting at the computer at 5 am in the morning trying to figure out bills. (I know it may seem like a waste of one person’s time but I really recommend involving your mate in the bill and budgeting process, at the very least once a month. It saves a lot of relationship misunderstandings if they always know what is going on and you both make money decisions together!) It is always a balancing act especially when you are carefully trying to rebuild credit. One way that we try to save money is by closely monitoring and adjusting our service (i.e. internet, tv) plans to optimize what we pay for what we get. We are constantly calling in and asking what specials we can take advantage of, looking to see if there are there any new discounts that we can ask to be applied to our bills and so forth. This morning we saved ourselves $50 with a ten minute phone call doing just that.

Take this concept out on the road when you are out shopping. Ask about any discounts that may be able to be applied to your purchase. I am a coupon clipper (I carry a big plastic envelope of coupons in the car with me) but I don’t always catch them all. If I know I am going shopping somewhere I make sure to Google that store and “coupon” and see what printable coupons or specials they may have. If not, I ask at the register. You would be amazed what you can get. I got 20% off a purchase at Kohl’s (saved almost $9.00) just by asking.  

Yes, it may be embarrassing to ask -it’s kind of like dating- you run the risk of being publicly rejected but if you don’t ask you WON’T get it ever. I never press the issue, if I get a “No” I always smile and thank the person anyway. After all a sour face and an attitude will get you nowhere but I have actually had it happen where a sales associate remembered me from a previous time (and how polite I was when rejected last time) and they pulled out a coupon for me to use the next time I came back. You can imagine how great that feels that someone remembers you and does that. Which brings me right to Frugal Tip #6:

Acknowledge
Relationship-build with the folks who work at the stores or services you frequent. Genuinely care about their lives and you will see that some of them may start looking out for you. These are real people, who want to be treated with kindness and respect, and really appreciate it when you look in their eyes and acknowledge them as a person. Sometimes this can have amazing results.

Many years ago -when my CFS was so bad I could barely get outside to do yard work- I was gifted by a relative one year’s worth of lawn care. I knew of the guys that did lawn care for almost everyone else on the block and hired them. I always smiled and waved when I saw them. I would go out and talk to at least one of them. I made sure to lightly water down any dirt patches so that dust wouldn’t surround them as they worked. On really hot days I brought them water or homemade lemonade and on really cold, winter days I would bring them coffee and fresh-baked muffins.  The time came when our gift ran out and I went through a divorce, I was a single-mom supporting two kids all on my own. I went out to tell the owner of the lawn care service what was going on and that I would not be able to pay them anymore. He was very kind and sympathetic, wishing me the best… and they kept on doing the yard work anyway! This went on for many months before I had to move away. I like to think that they did this because that is what you do for family and they had become an extended part of my family. Maybe that is what community means. I cared for them as people and when I was in need, they returned it in kind.

So next time you talk to someone at a store, or someone doing work for you, remember that they are a part of your community, a person that wants to be acknowledged and appreciated. We all seem so busy nowadays that we rarely notice the person checking out our groceries or assisting us at a help-counter. (Sometimes I think we have better relationships with our phones, TV’s and gaming consoles than with those around us!) Recognize how tough their day must be, especially at the holiday season, and give them a smile that crinkles your eyes and a kind word of thanks or encouragement. Most often your payment is bringing a little ray of light into someone’s life and that is enough to lighten your own step as you go on your way. It may not always work, some people are really attached to being underappreciated and may not welcome your interference, but every once in a while it may come back to you in ways most wonderful and unexpected.

Hopefully coming up later today or tomorrow: WEEK EIGHT UPDATE