Column: Some green in my purse and a mind uncluttered

  • Melissa Herrera (COLUMN)
  • November 12, 2012
  • 330
                        
Column summary: Digging down deep in your purse to find money that isn't there? Here are a few tips to find a little more cash - and sanity - in our anxiety-ridden lives. I want more green in my wallet. If it weren’t for those darn bills we have to pay every month I’m just sure we would have more of it. Who needs a cell phone, internet, cable, or electric? Lots of people live without it and I’m sure we could to. Putting fantasizing aside, what can we live without? Or rather what are some ideas to put a little more cash in our wallets? Cars are a big drain on our wallets what with all their needy maintenance. We’ve always had pre-owned cars. In my lifetime, I probably will never drive a new car off the lot. That’s okay with me. I’ve had blue Mercury’s, stick shifts, Geo’s, an awesome Mazda, vans with wood trim, a Yukon, another van, and lots in-between. I am now driving a Jeep I love that we bought from a friend that fixes up cars to sell. There are times, like when we had three of the tires blow within a month, that I long for a new car. It would be a pristine model driven off the lot with nothing wrong with it. Then I remind myself of the huge payments I would have and I stop. I read an article last night that talked of a man who owns a 17 year old truck. Someone asked him why he doesn’t just buy a new one. He said that the maintenance on the truck is around $1300 per year. That breaks down to just $108 per month. The truck runs steady and smooth, so why would you want to pay more buying a new car with a hefty payment? This made perfect sense to me and I loved it. I look at my trusty used cars in a new way now. After all these years, it’s not about how cool my car looks – it’s about getting me from A to B. That’s a big money saver. Embrace imperfection. Lots of people are wrapped up in having everything look perfect. Perfectly manicured lawns, perfect flower beds, perfectly arranged pumpkins sitting on their front steps. We go out and buy things the minute it’s time so we can beat our neighbor to the punch and have our porches looking the best on the block. There’s nothing wrong with pride in your home, but I think we go too far at times spending inordinate amounts of money to have the perfect decorative touch outside. Are you up at the crack of dawn blowing leaves off your driveway because you can’t stand to see them there – EVERYDAY? I think we bog ourselves down with anxiety and forget to embrace the imperfection in our everyday lives. My pumpkins were bought halfway into October and they had blemishes and cracks, but turned around you don’t see those flaws. My pumpkins sit on $1 wooden planters I nabbed at a garage sale, and the mums that grace my porch were purchased at our local Wal-Mart for .98 each. They may not bloom huge and orange like the super expensive ones, but add a touch of color for a fraction of the price. They please me and my pocketbook. And the leaves of fall? I’ve been known to leave them a bit longer than necessary just so I can look at them. There’s nothing like the crunch of them under your feet and the color they provide is worth its weight in gold. They are only here once a year, so why not enjoy them gracing your driveway? Recycle and replace is something I try – and I said try – to live by. We can get deal after deal but if we’re piling it on top of the old we already have than what’s the use? The last several years I’ve been trying to get rid of something when I purchase something new. Clothing can be a main culprit. When you buy several new pair of jeans, why not go through your drawers and get rid of those jeans you haven’t worn in a year? Take them out, snap a photo, and stick them on the Bargain Hunter’s Unite page and sell them. Hoarding clothes, or inadvertently doing so, makes your closet full and your mind cluttered. I can tell this to myself as well with my bookshelves. When I read a book I have to own it, so I’m not much of a library person. Libraries are a wonderful place and great resource. They are also a big money saver as you can check out books and movies for free – what’s not to like? For myself, I need to own the book so I face that age old dilemma of where do I stash all these books? I don’t feel too guilty because I don’t buy books new. I buy most of them at thrift stores or garage sales. Once a year I go through them and pick ones out that didn’t mean a lot to me and I get rid of them. Books are the hardest thing for me to get rid of, but I know when my husband starts eyeballing my shelves that his mind is feeling cluttered up with reading material. Then I know it’s time to start gleaning those shelves. Now if I could only get rid of my husband’s insane magazine collection. If it’s not one thing it’s the other. It’s okay because we all have something. Maybe I should try selling bundles of magazines online? You never know where you can make a buck – or save one – if you don’t try!


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