ReadySetMom

When will the fundraising onslaught end?

The school fundraising bombardment is upon us, and I am feeling besieged.

In the weeks since school started, we've been asked to write checks for gift wrap, a read-a-thon, book fair, pink flamingos, a pancake breakfast and scrip. The requests to contribute to the school's annual art auction, the biggest moneymaker of the year, are already rolling in and it is still months away. To top it off, my son's in 5th grade, a major year for raising funds because it's his class' final year at the school and they work on a big legacy project.

I don't fulfill all requests for funds, mind you. Even without the huge economic mess that is swirling around us, I usually pick and choose which activities to support and which to decline. Also, there are only so many times we can hit up family members to sponsor the kids, especially now that both of them are in elementary school (at Forest Park in Portland).

But what is more worthy than my children's school? If I'm going to donate a finite amount of money this year, I'm definitely going to funnel it to the place where my children spend six-plus hours a day.

Are you feeling similarly besieged and pinched? Is there a constant stream of requests coming from your school? Or do your children attend a school that makes one lump-sum request at the beginning of the year to cover many activities? 

Are you a coupon user?

I was running errands yesterday and remembered I needed to buy a birthday present. I was right by a Michael's craft store, so I shopped around, picked up a beading set and got in line to pay.

As I waited in line, I started thinking about the 50 percent off Michael's coupon that was probably sitting in the pile of newspapers in my family room. I'm all about saving money when I can, but this happens to me all the time. I'm out buying something. The coupon I could be using is at home.

I'm not a big coupon user. I neither look at nor clip the pages of coupons in the Sunday paper because they are never for products I use, and if they were, I'd forget to bring them to the store. But if I see a $10 off coupon for a grocery store I go to or a free meal discount at a restaurant my kids like, then I'll try to put them in a convenient place, like in my messy, disorganized car. You see the problem?

Clearly, I need a system if I want to do better by our family finances. Do you have one that works?

Reduce, reuse, recycle - and consign

Now that the kids are back in school (Is that a collective cheer I hear?), I've started a closet-by-closet purge of clothing that is no longer being worn. The reasons are typical: Pants and sleeves are too short, shirts and sweaters are too tight, dresses and jackets are out of style or stained or torn.

There is the odd piece that makes me cry, "What was I thinking when I bought that???" and the suits my husband refuses to let go of. Yes, honey, those lapels are a little wide. No, honey, shiny fabrics are not making a comeback.

Heather has written about community organizations that accept donations, which I will probably contact when I'm ready to give away stuff that I've unearthed.

But I've come across some clothing that would be ideal to sell at a consignment store or online. The Ralph Lauren sweater that I bought for my son to wear to a wedding or other fancy occasion, but never got worn because we were never invited to any fancy occasions. The cute sweater dress I got for my daughter that fit her only when she was in her no-dresses-will-touch-my-body phase. The sheer and chic blouse I had hoped to wear on a date night sometime. Alas, it's way too sheer, I'm way too opposite-of-chic and date nights have been few and far between

Anybody know of any good consignment stores for very gently worn or brand new clothes for adults and children? Have you had success selling clothing on Craigslist or ebay? Is anybody interested in a size 42 sharkskin suit?

Let's make a deal

My husband calls me "boss lady," and not because I push him around or order my kids about. I'm the one who talks with repair people, reservation makers, store management and the like, and he thinks I'm a force to be reckoned with in such dealings.

OK, maybe he says this to get out of dealing with these matters, but that's a post for another day.

I'm always looking for the best buy, the deal, the discount. And lately, in this tough economy even, I've had some successful negotiations.

We're in the midst of getting the outside of our house painted. (Doesn't it figure that it started raining the morning the painters arrived to start prepping.) My two neighbors and I met with several painting contractors, who offered a discount if we all went with the same company. The neighbors ended up hiring one contractor and I went with another because his bid was substantially better. Technically, I wasn't entitled to a discount, but I was able to knock 5 percent off the bid just by asking. If you've gotten painting estimates lately, you know that's a decent reduction.

We rented a condo in Oahu recently. I asked about a discount because we were staying for two consecutive weeks, so the owner took 10 percent off the rate. He reduced our cleaning fee, too, when I suggested we would need just one cleaning instead of two during our stay. Then when I asked for a later checkout time because we were on a red-eye flight home, he let us stay three hours beyond.

The "boss lady" approach doesn't always work -- and I think it sometimes embarrasses my husband -- but I say it never hurts to ask. Asking saved us at least $1,000 this summer.

How are you at negotiating for a deal?

$4 gas and shaky economy = a bit more prudence

Remember that time? That time when I wanted to hire a personal trainer to come to my home so I could get me some Madonna arms? Remember? Hoo! What was I thinking? How in the world did I ever think we could afford that? My husband snapped his fingers several times in front of my face that night and chanted, "Come back to the light. Come home to us. Tell me where you've hidden the credit card." And POW! Back to reality. The reality of a $60 tank of gas, $7 organic milk and those children who keep growing out of their shoes. Time for prudence.

Are you a little shook up by the economy? I feel like it's time to buckle down and get thrifty. The driving thing? Only if we absolutely have to. Last week when I drove back and forth to Willowbrook Art & Music Camp (paid for many weeks ago) -- it just about killed me thinking about the gas I was burning. (And I WOULD NOT recommend traveling 30 mph down I-5. Trust me.) We have become a family that walks. My son is developing little calf muscles from all the walking we've been doing. (My muscles on the other hand remain the EXACT OPPOSITE of Madonna's.) But staying home is good, too! There is plenty of fun to be had around this old house. Where there is a weed, there is a game of Pull the Weed to be played. Do you know how much entertainment a bin of curbside recyclables can offer two children? A lot. And we've only eaten out once in the past month because we have plenty of food in the house. A can of lima beans, a jar of mustard and some black olives? It's nouveau cuisine, kids. People in New York City pay big bucks for this stuff. It's all good.

Truthfully? I'm actually less stressed about money now that we've stopped spending so much of it than I was back in the personal trainer heydays of yore. I'm doing things around the house that I've wanted to do for a long time. Like make my own soy nuts. (Really!) And install a clothesline. And actually sit on the couch with my kids and read ten books in a row so that we can walk down to the library and get them a little prize. It's all good.

So how you doin' economy-wise? 

How to handle allowances, take II

Awhile back we talked about allowances: when to start, how much to dole out and whether to attach it to household chores. Diane writes:

My husband and I have been discussing an allowance for our 6 year old.  He thinks it should be tied to chores, I don’t.  I’ve reading Raising Financially Fit Kids by Joline Godfrey and am just wondering what others out there are doing, have had luck with and/or other resources that might aid us in our discussion.

I tried giving my daughter an allowance, but I made it too complicated and never had the money to give her at the end of the week (I think I was giving her $2 in quarters or some crazy thing). It didn't last long. But I, too, have been thinking it's time to give it another try for both kids. How are you handling allowances with your kids?

Free fluoride and vitamins at Haggen stores

If you are taking prenatal vitamins or giving fluoride supplements to your kids, you can now get them for free at Haggen stores.

Haggen's will give the vitamins and fluoride at no cost to anyone who has a prescription, and insurance coverage is not required.

When you head to the store to pick up your vitamins, make sure it's a Saturday. Every Saturday in June will feature balloons, games, cookies and prizes as part of Kids Month. I love anything that will keep my kids happy while I get the grocery shopping done.

Thank you, Haggen, for thinking of our families.

Economic stimulus check: spend, save or other?

According to Diane MacEachern, of Big Green Purse, women spend 85 cents of every dollar in the marketplace. Yes, indeed, we moms do control the purse strings. That said, we got our "economic stimulus" funds yesterday via direct deposit. Quite a windfall. Lately we've all been upgrading our bikes via some good deals on craigslist. So, some of our stimulus money will go toward improved, greener transportation. Some of it goes toward funding our retirement accounts. And a lot will probably be saved. Yet, we've got plenty of opportunities to spend: an upcoming family reunion in Disney World, an invitation to a wedding in San Diego later this month, solicitations from some of our favorite non-profits. That big fat check could be gone in nanoseconds without much effort. But fears of an economic slowdown are making our family cautious.

What are you doing with your big payout from Uncle Sam? Saving, spending, donating or already gone?

Free kids' admission at art museum starts April 23

The Portland Art Museum has set a date for the start of free admission for kids.

Currently, kids under 4 are free, and those ages 6-17 pay $6. Starting Wednesday, April 23, all museum attendees under the age of 17 will be admitted for free!

We have longtime Portland patrons Gordon and Katherine Sondland to thank for the new admission policy. They presented a $1 million gift for a permanent endowment to pay for admission for anyone 17 and younger.

Feeling the pinch of high cost of health care, groceries and gas?

Man, if it's not one thing, it's another. The cost of gas, the cost of milk, the cost of salmon, the cost of medical care. Everything's going up. I guess you could say we have good health insurance: the whole family of four is insured, we don't have to choose between feeding ourselves or getting medical care...yet. But that said, it's been distressing to see how much the cost of health care has risen in the 6 years since we started our family. Co-payments have more than doubled. Deductibles have doubled. Prescriptions can be skyhigh. Of course, the food is more expensive too, as is gasoline, services, pretty much everything. We've been saving on gas by walking to more places. With food, I guess we aren't really making any cuts yet, but that could come in the not-so-distant future.

Is your family's budget feeling the pinch of the high cost of everything lately? How are you cutting corners and still finding it possible to afford what you need?