Money saved during Summer/Fall/Winter 2009

I started blogging about money I have saved since 2007 (offline since 2002). For reasons having to do with working full-time, keeping up with house, hubby and extra-curricular activities, I was simply unable to maintain the blog Summer/Fall/Winter 2009. Further, I tried Tweeting (papermeshae) instances where I saved money, and had to protect my tweets because it was attracting unsavory followers. Finally, I can't seem to get "2007" deleted from the blog title so it doesn't seem so dated, but to no avail. Therefore, this is the decision I have arrived at: this will be the last blog entry posted onto BlogSpot per se. You may continue following this very same blog on my website at http://blog.rollingenterprises.com. Perhaps this one (BlogSpot) will be exported to WordPress in the future.

Having said all of this, here is a summary of the hundreds of dollars I am positive I have saved during summer/fall/winter 2009:

Routine, obligatory actions:

* Calling the credit card company to request a rate reduction on our credit card(s) and receiving it--simply by asking--even in this economic recession
* Taking advantage of Sales, Discounts and Clearances
* Making sure our frequency cards are swiped at CVS, local grocery stores, and office supply stores
* Using our Sam's Club or BJ's membership card to take advantage of lower gas prices
* Making sure our home is purged of old stuff before bringing in new stuff (i.e., clothes).
* Making tea and coffee at work; and making lunch for work unless I wanted to pay for it. I work in an academic environment, so there is always food around; it also helps that I am an event planner! Out grocery bills were higher than normal, though; but I guess I'd rather take this over eating out all of the time.


Unconventionally:

* My "baby" sister, a Ph.D. candidate in English Literature, gave me two free article edits/review--valued at $40--as my birthday gift.
* My toll-free vanity number costs me 10 bucks a month, even if there are no incoming calls; I called the phone company to see how can I reduce my cost while retaining the number, and the CSR offered to put it in suspension for $5 a month. Until my profile increases, it's a done deal. Saved $60/year
* NYS Fair admission tickets cost $10 pp. Purchased (3) tickets in advance at $6 each at my local supermarket. Saved $12.
* In my job capacity, I make sure vendors we're doing business with are provided the university's tax exempt form.
* We went to Wal-Mart to stock the fridge with food while on vacation and saved tons of money by not eating out, unless we wanted to.
* We also saved money on our vacation rental car by filling-up the tank before returning the vehicle.
* This year we finally bought furniture. I window-shopped for over a year, and zoned in on the furniture stores/types of furniture/sales reps I wanted to patronize before bringing my husband in to make the final decision/purchase. I do not like being followed around while shopping, so sales reps who respected my space--while being available, of course--received the sales commission.
* Did I already tell you the one about receiving a whopping $432 refund on a patio furniture set from Home Depot because we purchased the furniture, came back with our U-Haul truck to load the furniture, and got the heftiest refund I've ever received because the item went on sale in the interim due to the 4th of July holiday?
* Purchased a leather sectional during a furniture store's going-out-of-business clearance sale (and we still negotiated the final price successfully), thereby saving hundreds of dollars.
* Further, we utilized balance transfer checks, good for 0% interest for the full year; paid the 3% fee; and we have a pay-off plan in place.
* To accessorize, I bought inexpensive, quality-looking decor and accessories vs. going to a florist or interior designer.
* The Living Room looks fab and we won't have the debt to go along with it! Despite our "microwave" society, delayed gratification and patience is not out-of-style.
* Received a GPS as a gift this fall!


Conventionally:

* Using regular coupons from Sacred Melody and Factory Card Outlet, where the cards are already generally less than $1.50 anyway
* Requesting discounts on vehicle repairs
* Redeeming "Kohl's Kash", coupons toward the next shopping trip after making a minimum purchase amount generating a $10 coupon, at least in my case. I have used this three times to purchase gifts during the holiday season, and have saved $30 (off of items I was going to purchase anyway).
* Purchased a Syracuse coupon book for $20; but the savings far outweigh the price of the book; for instance, there are numerous restaurant coupons such as buy one entree, get another for free!
* Booking certain purchases in advance (i.e., airfare tickets)
* Calling our Phone/Internet/Cable carrier upon notification of a rate increase and being granted exemption from the bundled increase--simply by asking--even in this economic recession
* Questioning an automatic overcharge on our credit card by $50 and getting it corrected/credited


Misses:

* Gotta watch that parking downtown!