52 Week Save Money Challenge: Week Two

Although I wasn’t disappointed with my $5 savings for week one of this 52 week save money challenge, I was hoping to come in with a better number for week two. While I wasn’t able to cross off the highest amount on the chart this week, I did get to cross off a much higher amount than last week. Below is a recap of the savings I was able to find this week.

Called the Cable Company

The big savings this week came from a call to the cable company. I simply made a call saying that the current amount I was paying was more than I could afford, and if it wasn’t possible to get a better rate, I would go ahead and cancel. The fifteen minute phone call netted me a $26 per month reduction for the next 6 months while the service will basically stay the same. I will have to make another call after 6 months when the rate will return to what I was paying, but this week’s call will net me $156 in savings during the year. I even marked my calendar so I know when the rate is going to expire, and I’ll need to call again.

If you have cable, you should definitely try this. It doesn’t always work, but it has worked for me on numerous occasions. With so many people opting to quit cable all together these day, the cable companies seem to be more willing to find a way to keep you than they have in the past.

Saved: $26.00

No Sake

One of the items on my shopping list this week was to get a new bottle of sake (Japanese rice wine) since I had run out. While I don’t drink every night, I will have a glass or two of sake every once in a while. I decided that I really didn’t need to buy a bottle right now which saved me $10 I would have usually spent.

Saved: $10.00

Money Jar

The change that I collected this week from left over purchases and money found totaled $1.71. I will put $1 of that into the challenge account with $0.70 being carried over until next week. I have also placed one cent to the side since it was a wheat back penny.

I decided that I will keep this penny for myself since you don’t find many of them these days.

Saved: $1.00

Pay to Use My Car

This week I used my car two times which should mean that I saved only two dollars through this method, but I actually have $3. One of the trips was with a friend and when she saw the big “Pay a Buck” sign upon getting into my car, she laughed and asked me what that was all about. I explained the challenge and that I now pay $1 every time I drive as part of it. She insisted that she also pay $1 since she was in my car. I’m not sure if that $1 should go toward the make money challenge, or this save money challenge, but I am placing it here since the inspiration behind it was for saving money. Once again, I saw a definite change in my driving habits, which I’m sure saved me much more than the $3.

Saved: $3.00

Found Money

I ended up finding three cents at the gas station. Two pennies were on the ground:

while another one was on top of the gas pump:

I also found a $50 shell gas card on top of the pump. I assume that it’s empty (I had already filled the car when I noticed it), so I’ll check the next time I need to fill up. The three cents found was added to the change jar. That makes $0.05 found so far for the year.

Saved: $0.00

This week I was able to save a total of $40.00. I crossed this amount off the chart and placed it into the saved column. That means for weeks one and two I have put away $45.00. The good thing here is that with the savings from the cable bill, I will be able to save $26 five more times this year and there is nothing else I need to do (I’ll place that savings into the account when the bill arrives each month).

Total Saved Week 2: $40.00

Goals for the Coming Week

The main goal for this past week was to go through my old documents and find the monthly bills for the last year. These will allow me to make a comparison between what I paid last year and what I pay this year. The assumption being if I pay less this year, it’s due to the steps I’ve taken around the house to reduce those bills. I somewhat succeeded in this goal. I found most of the bills, but still have a few missing. That was a big impetus for deciding to do the declutter challenge this year as well. I know that they are there somewhere in the pile of papers I have, and it’s just a matter of finding them (and throwing away all the papers I don’t need). Finding the missing bills is one goal for this coming week.

The other goal is to put together a list of steps I will be taking to try to reduce those bills. I will start with electricity. Basically, I want to put together a list of things I can do to reduce the electricity bill that I’m not already doing around the house.

If you are also doing this challenge, how did your second week go?