Comments on: Some Un-Sexy Money Stats (and Leaks)…

By: Joel

Joel — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 18:11:08 +0000

In reply to Serena @ Thrift Diving. What's funny is that at the grocery stores I shop at advertise these same specials, but if I only buy one I still get the good price. Note that these are grocery store promos, not actual coupons though.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 17:31:16 +0000

@John S @ Frugal Rules – Yep. It’s insane that people don’t take advantage of that.

@Ross – Oh cool, thanks man! We haven’t tried LEDs yet but I’ll give it a shot :) And then if those burn out we’ll know that it’s something jacked up with our electrical or something – it would have to be? :(

@Anne @ Unique Gifter – HAH! Awesome. I love you for that :)

@Joanna @ Our Freaking Budget – Haha… I’d freak out after 2 months too! That’s crazy talk right there ;)

@Financial Black Sheep – You can probably just read it online too if you prefer – I know a lot of people do (I don’t though cuz I like holding real-life things in my hand! Esp since I don’t have to stare at another screen for more hours on end).

@Manette @ Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance – It will always be that way too :(

@Edward Antrobus – For sure. Coupons are not always sexy!

@Punky Coletta – First, I love your name :) Second, I still need to read that book!! I’ve had a copy of it for years now but keep forgetting to place it on my nightstand to remind me! So thanks – gonna go find it and drop it off there so I can start picking it up again :) Glad you got so much out of it!

@Kin – Exactly. You can’t make a budget on numbers you don’t know about!

@Cat – Haha def. tricky :) Same thing happens to me but on Amazon.

@Michelle – Well it’s awesome you at least USE your library! I always forget about those places :( So I’m sure you’ve saved plenty over the years to make up for your fees, haha… keep it up!

@debtgirl – That’s a GREAT idea for a new site btw ;) “SendMeYourGiftCards.com!” Haha…

@JD Maybe – Hi friend!!! Always be hustlin’, right? :) Hope things are well in your hood too – it’s def. been a while.

@Jane Savers @ The Money Puzzle – I’m sure of it. And people will ALWAYS use them too as they’re just so convenient.

@Sharleen – Nice!! I love it that they’re illegal in Australia! I bet it’ll get that way here too shortly, if it’s not already on the books. Cool you’re reading this from Australia too :)

@Rebecca – Sweet!! We need to follow in your country’s footsteps :) In many ways…

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 16:33:54 +0000

I always have partially-spent gift cards around. It’s illegal for them to expire in Canada. So if I have any money at all left on a card, I keep it until the next time I spend at that store. Once, I only got 26 cents off a gift card and paid the rest in cash — but it was 26 cents!

Sometimes it takes a really long for me to get back to the store. Sometimes it does take a year or two for me to spend an entire gift card. But eventually, they all get used.

By: Sharleen

Sharleen — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 02:00:30 +0000

I am guilty of the giftcard one, but good on all others, I live in Australia and here it illegal to sell standard light bulbs so everyone has no choice but to buy energy efficient ones.
I am fairly good with turning things off but I have an energy meter in my house that tells me how much electricity I am using at any given moment, and avarages for day, month etc, It motivates me to aim for 4cents per an hour when it’s not hot (when hot I run the house at $1 an hour (got the energy meter from the government as they were offering lots of energy saving things for $50).

By: Jane Savers @ The Money Puzzle

Jane Savers @ The Money Puzzle — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 01:33:56 +0000

I believe the unused gift card statistic. I will never give my sons a gift card again. They just seem to stress the seams of their wallets and never get used.

There is a cash machine at the Costco I shop at. A friend shopping with me used it and was charged a $3.00 bank connection fee or some other absurd justification for the fee. Now, whenever I am at Costco, there is always someone using the machine. Seems very wasteful and I think it is safe to assume that a lot of machines in gas stations and other stores charge a similiar fee.

By: JD Maybe

JD Maybe — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 06:13:33 +0000

Still @ it? wow! It’s been too long! I have some catching up to do! Thanks for still providing entertaining, relevant, and important info for those of us on a budget!

By: debtgirl

debtgirl — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 02:21:41 +0000

Those are interesting stats. I can believe the gift card stat. I use em up to the end, but lots of people toss them with the reciept when they get down to the last buck or sol Hey, I will send ya a stamp, send’em to me! ;-)

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 22:03:05 +0000

This post is so on point! When I look at all the leaks in my budget it’s eye opening-and really frustrating. I have found unused gift cards, noticed a large number of fees (not overdraft) just bullsh$t fees from the bank, book fines from the library. The list goes on. I had to think about the online coupon thing. And now realize that if I hadn’t received coupons maybe I wouldn’t have purchased the last outfit that I bought online. Huh.

By: Cat

Cat — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 19:58:02 +0000

$2 Billion – The value of gift cards that went unspent in 2011

WOW! Send those gift cards to me! hahaha. I’d use them that’s for sure.

And coupons are really tricky. I think they change your mind set. Almost like ebay does for me. For instance I sold 2 things on ebay yet some how I find myself looking for things to buy. Am I buying they because they are a good deal and I would have bought them anyway? Or because I am on ebay already? or because I feel awesome because I just made 10 bucks?

… I have got to work on that…

By: Kin

Kin — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 10:26:56 +0000

It always amazes me how much wastefulness go unobserved and unmitigated, be it in energy usage or simply being unaware of banke fees. I think the bottom line is, we should have a better grasp of what are our “resources” and learn to how to use them efficiently.

Personal finance wise, people should always have a ball-park idea of what and where they monthly spendings are going… This is before making any kind of sexy budget :)