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The Simple Dollar Morning Roundup: Forty Bars Of Soap Edition 6comments
Three different times, I’ve taken advantage of a local offer that nets me sixteen free bars of Lever 2000 soap. So, I just counted and we currently have 40 bars of soap in the closet. Considering my wife, my son, and I use roughly one bar of soap a month, I may be bartering some of these very soon. On to some personal finance posts.
Financial Zen: How To Get Financial Peace of Mind This is a great psychological plan for getting yourself into the right mindset for saving and escaping debt. (@ zen habits)
Quality Clothes For Less Than A Buck I was working on a post on this very topic (how to get cheap quality clothes), but this article basically sums up what I was going to say. (@ consumerism commentary)
What Would You Do: Paying Children For Good Grades This is the best plan I’ve ever heard of: if the child gets a 3.6 GPA or above for the quarter, (s)he earns a raise in allowance. But then the threshold for earning a raise next quarter goes up to a 3.7 GPA. I should write up my grand unified allowance theory sometime… (@ queercents)
The Simple Dollar Retro: 14 Ways Your Computer Can Put Money In Your Pocket It’s amazing how much many of these items seem like common sense – but also how few of them most people do.
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Soap doesn’t go bad, you know it will get used, and 40 bars hardly takes up a lot of room. Why barter it away when you’ll have to pay for more of it later? Unless you find someone willing to barter something really fantastic for a couple of bars of soap. Which I guess could happen.
Good link about buying quality clothes. I have to say, though, that I do buy clothes that people might consider “cheap” at places like Target or Walmart and I get alot of use out of them. Also, stores like TJ Maxx or Ross Dress for Less get quality clothes from the major retailers and then they can turn it around for cheap. Additionally, I’ve bought clothes at more expensive stores that shrink in the wash (which made me hang up most of my clothes to dry).
As for paying for good grades – I would be careful. Recently my husband and I were rewarding our children with purchased goods and foods for completing their school work (something they weren’t doing). But our family counselor said that children want time with their parents more than anything. We bought a game of Connect 4 (which they love) and told them that we will play the game with them on nights they finish their work. Last night was the first night and they had more fun than any of our previous rewards! Plus it avoids sending the message that hard work and high grades = money = success, which it doesn’t always.
This guy started with a big red paperclip and would up with a house. Bartering can work, if you’ve got the patience and time.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/07/11/1152383733880.html
Hey Simple Dollar:
Thanks for mentioning my article @ consumerism commentary about frugal clothes for less than a buck.
You’ve written several posts that I wish I had written first.
I’m a fan!
http://www.dealtaker.com is a great deals/coupons forum with RSS feeds and a new price filter at http://www.pricetaker.com. This filter will even tell you what store has the cheapest price and give you any available coupon codes.
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Don’t forget the goodwill or the salvation army for some great, cheap clothes. My wife has come home with great shirts for me that look like they haven’t been worn at all. Many times they cost 2 or 3 dollars!