You know what will keep you in a frugal mindset long after one of your cars' oil leaks has been fixed? (And by "fixed" I don't mean "fixed" I mean "ignored" because it isn't that bad and it will cost too much to fix it.) Owing taxes.
So you have to pay taxes on unemployment. Maybe this is evident to all the rest of you, but I've never been on unemployment nor can I see the logic of paying taxes on government benefits. (Do you have to pay Social Security on your Social Security benefits? Seriously, do you?) Apparently taxes used to be withheld from your unemployment. But they don't do that anymore. (Government jobs still have taxes withheld, how is unemployment so much trickier now?) Had I been told about all of this, I could have had extra withheld from my paycheck. However, I wasn't. So now, not only do we have to pay income taxes on unemployment, we have to pay a penalty because we owe taxes. Since we're already living on the cheap, we can cover this as long as we delay a major purchase or two. (C'mon washer & dryer, you gotta keep it together for another 6-12 months!)
I noticed this morning all the penny-saving things we've done this week, some of which I've never blogged about before.
1. You know when you use your bar of soap down to the point where it's just a bunch of little pieces? I save those pieces. I cut the leg off a clean but runned pair of tights. I keep in it the shower, hanging over my wash-cloth bar and stuff those little pieces in the tights every time I end up with just the broken bits. Then when there are enough broken bits, voila--soap on a rope. I've been doing this for probably over a year and I've maybe saved myself buying a couple bars of soap. So, yeah, we're talking pennies.
2. Husband likes candles--especially if they smell like vanilla. When you buy the candles in the jars, you usually end up with a bunch of wax left over in the corner. A year or so ago, we bought some cheap wicks from the craft store. Then when we're left with wax and no wick in a candle jar, we put it in a pan of boiling water to melt it. Then we pour it into a leftover emptied out jar with a new wick and, voila--new candle.
3. Sunday morning I used all the coffee creamer. I put it on the grocery store list but then I realized: I have powdered milk in the freezer (for making bread in my bread maker) and cocoa powder, sugar, and orange extract in the pantry. I rinsed out the old coffee creamer bottle and poured all those things in with some water and, voila--orange mocha creamer.
While I realize the savings on these things is minimal, I've really been digging on the idea of using what I have to try to delay buying more stuff, especially when two of the three things are unnecessary. (I'm sure everyone appreciates that I use soap.) It's a double-win because the less money I spend now, the less money I'll have to scramble to find when April rolls around and the more stuff I use up, the less stuff we have cluttering up our house.
What are your penny-saver ideas? We always need suggestions.
1. I have never had unemployment, also didn't know the benefits got taxed, and also think it is idiotic that they don't at least give you the option to have taxes withheld. I mean, c'mon, do you pay taxes on food stamps?
ReplyDelete2. If your washer or dryer goes kaput, you can always come have a laundry party at my place. But I hope it doesn't come to that.
3. I squeeze the toothpase tube until every last bit comes out. And then I always figure, if I run out I can use the travel size one I've got in the closet from my last dentist visit. Free dentist visit stuff has also saved me from buying floss for years.
I hate the idea that I'm missing out on toothpaste or really anything else being left in the tube/bottle. I've taken to pouring a little water in my face lotion bottle to get more out of it. It works! I hear you on the floss, though!
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