INTRODUCTION

“Me’Shae’s Log of Money Saved” was the result of an experiment conducted six years ago while living in New York City. It started with the simple question: “Is clipping coupons, watching out for bargains, and other efforts truly saving me money?” And so I began tracking all instances in which money was saved due to sales, discounts and clearances, paying attention to pricing discrepancies, etc.

Turns out, I saved $2,304 from 2001 to 2002 in all purchasing instances in which money was spent and saved (not all purchasing instances). I repeated this experiment between 2004 and 2005 and saved $2,600; and then again in a small Pennsylvania college town, saving $2,078.73 from January to mid-June 2007. However, I’m quite certain the aggregate figure is well over 7 grand (I have the receipts).

Please be mindful that this is money “not spent,” meaning that we never saved the actual money. I do know, however, that money “not spent” was recycled for other uses in our household. Geee..if we’d only invested that money…

“Me’Shae’s Log of Money Saved” is so popular that I am finally turning it into a Blog. Due to a recent move, as well as constant financial activity, however, I have not been able to totally keep up with the postings, but the information is golden. So here’s what I am in the process of doing: I will begin to post the latest savings first beginning with 11/10/07, and work backwards until I get caught up to January 2007, Okay? Sometimes, the posting may not be quantifiable, and simply contain a lesson learned.

The purpose of this Blog is to neither endorse nor embarrass companies/vendors/organizations, but rather, to exemplify the little ways we all can reduce consumerism and redirect those resources towards the areas of our lives where we have identified the money is most / better needed.

Thank you for bearing with me during this time of transition from Pennsylvania to Central New York, and keep checking back regularly for instances of where you can learn how to save money in life’s everyday circumstances. Do even better than we did, and physically save your savings.