Dedicated savings for college
Aug. 6th, 2015 07:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pegkerrThe girls have been stressed over money.
Delia has a good amount of savings still. (She managed to work about five months this spring, although she lost that job when summer started). Delia's financial aid for the new school year still hasn't been finalized, though. Rob and I will be filling out yet more forms this weekend and answering questions about medical expenses.
Fiona is frugal, frugal, frugal, but she went a good number of months last year without a job and her savings are all but gone. She is getting loans/financial aid, and I am helping both girls as I have been putting money aside for them in a 529 savings plan since Fiona was two. But she is going to be running things close to the wire. I have told her sternly to let me know if it ever looks like she can't make rent or she's starting to skimp on food and I will do what I can to help, and she has promised she will.
So I have been wracking my brains trying to figure out how to squeeze more money to put away for college for them each month. This month I hit on one idea and I've been putting it into practice.
I have always been a frugal shopper (thanks, Mom, you taught me well) but when Rob lost his job I really learned to buckle down and get serious. Thrift stores. Coupons. One of my favorite websites is RetailMeNot.com. Now before buying almost ANYTHING I will first check to see if I can find a coupon. Most of the time, there is.
I discovered that my gas station takes competitor coupons. THEN I discovered that they double their coupons on Tuesdays if you ask. Just think: for years I bought gas and it never occurred to me look for a coupon. Now I'm saving $0.20 per gallon. So I've been setting a reminder on my calendar to buy gas on Tuesdays and googling to find the highest local gasoline coupon.
As I said, I'm still putting money into each girl's 529 plan each month. But it just recently hit me: why not put my coupon savings in, too? What if I put in the extra dollar I save when I buy that bottle of nail polish when it's on sale? What if I put in the $0.10 I get for answering a trivia question correctly when I order coffee? I get emails from about five or six websites to let me know when ebooks go on sale or are free. What about putting aside those $2 or $3 saved?
I had been giving myself one indulgence a week by going out to dinner at a favorite restaurant each Friday night, but thinking about Fiona maybe looking at going hungry, I decided to look for a cheaper place to eat and put the difference in the college fund.
So this month, I started keeping track of all these various little pittances, ways I've discovered to shave money from the budget. How much money is it, really?
This month it will be an extra $50.00, which will be split between their two accounts above and beyond my usual contribution. I'm really pleased. I'm being frugal AND boosting my college savings.
Delia has a good amount of savings still. (She managed to work about five months this spring, although she lost that job when summer started). Delia's financial aid for the new school year still hasn't been finalized, though. Rob and I will be filling out yet more forms this weekend and answering questions about medical expenses.
Fiona is frugal, frugal, frugal, but she went a good number of months last year without a job and her savings are all but gone. She is getting loans/financial aid, and I am helping both girls as I have been putting money aside for them in a 529 savings plan since Fiona was two. But she is going to be running things close to the wire. I have told her sternly to let me know if it ever looks like she can't make rent or she's starting to skimp on food and I will do what I can to help, and she has promised she will.
So I have been wracking my brains trying to figure out how to squeeze more money to put away for college for them each month. This month I hit on one idea and I've been putting it into practice.
I have always been a frugal shopper (thanks, Mom, you taught me well) but when Rob lost his job I really learned to buckle down and get serious. Thrift stores. Coupons. One of my favorite websites is RetailMeNot.com. Now before buying almost ANYTHING I will first check to see if I can find a coupon. Most of the time, there is.
I discovered that my gas station takes competitor coupons. THEN I discovered that they double their coupons on Tuesdays if you ask. Just think: for years I bought gas and it never occurred to me look for a coupon. Now I'm saving $0.20 per gallon. So I've been setting a reminder on my calendar to buy gas on Tuesdays and googling to find the highest local gasoline coupon.
As I said, I'm still putting money into each girl's 529 plan each month. But it just recently hit me: why not put my coupon savings in, too? What if I put in the extra dollar I save when I buy that bottle of nail polish when it's on sale? What if I put in the $0.10 I get for answering a trivia question correctly when I order coffee? I get emails from about five or six websites to let me know when ebooks go on sale or are free. What about putting aside those $2 or $3 saved?
I had been giving myself one indulgence a week by going out to dinner at a favorite restaurant each Friday night, but thinking about Fiona maybe looking at going hungry, I decided to look for a cheaper place to eat and put the difference in the college fund.
So this month, I started keeping track of all these various little pittances, ways I've discovered to shave money from the budget. How much money is it, really?
This month it will be an extra $50.00, which will be split between their two accounts above and beyond my usual contribution. I'm really pleased. I'm being frugal AND boosting my college savings.