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The Best Voyeuristic Financial Books

June 6, 2008 By Jennifer Derrick 4 Comments

A few weeks ago I wrote about books that are valuable for every level of financial knowledge. Almost all of those books were “how-to” books or books about developing and implementing investment strategies. This week I’m going to recommend a different type of financial book. These are the books that don’t teach you how to manage your finances in a step by step manner, rather they present the stories, examples, and cautionary tales of actual people. Some of these books discuss the financial situations of individuals, others look at ethnic/demographic groups, nations, or civilization as a whole and ask questions such as, “How did we get into this mess?” and, “How do we get out of it?”

Books with a voyeuristic element are often more readable than how-to books because, honestly, who doesn’t like reading about the trials, woes, and (hopefully) eventual successes of other people? We’re a voyeuristic bunch who like to know what others are doing. Look at the popularity of reality TV. It’s no different for finance. We like to compare ourselves to others and either feel superior to their situation or be inspired to do better. These books are also instructive because they expose us to people and situations that we would not normally encounter in our daily lives. We get to see that there are lifestyles, choices, and financial considerations other than those that we personally experience.

These types of books are good for summer reading because they read more like a traditional story. You can just sit back and read the tale without worrying about remembering certain points or doing “homework.” If you’re looking for some financial books with a human element to take to the beach with you this summer, here are my suggestions.

1. Maxed Out: Hard Times in the Age of Easy Credit by James Scurlock. This book presents several cautionary tales about what happens when the use, abuse, regulation and issuance of credit goes awry. It’s a sobering look at just how shifty credit markets can be.

2. Green With Envy: A Whole New Way to Look at Financial (Un)Happiness by Shira Boss. This book is truly voyeuristic, with the author looking behind the scenes at the lifestyles of her supposedly “wealthy” neighbors to discover that they really aren’t as well off as they would like the public to believe. It’s a case study on the idea that “the Joneses” that we are trying to keep up with are an illusion and, thus, any attempt to keep up with them is misguided.

3. The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don’t Need by Juliet B. Schor. This classic looks at the disconnect between our consumption and our satisfaction. Why are we killing ourselves with work and going deep into debt for “stuff” that doesn’t make us any happier? She looks at a variety of causes for our overspending and, unlike many books, doesn’t lay the blame at any one door, rather the blame is shared. She also provides hope for change in the form of “down-shifters;” people who have opted to slow down their spending, work, and consumption in favor of a better life.

4. Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic by John de Graaf. This book, based on two PBS documentaries, looks at excessive consumption as a disease that has symptoms such as anxiety, debt, waste, and stress. The book examines the effect of the disease on individuals and societies and also examines some of the potential “cures” for affluenza. Profiles of people with this “disease” make this an entertaining read.

5. Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine. The author embarks on a one year journey to buy nothing but necessities. She looks at the challenges and societal stigmas we face when we opt out of the consumer lifestyle. The most entertaining part, to me, is her constant struggles and rationalizations to determine what constitutes a “necessity.”

6. A Year Without “Made in China”: One Family’s True Life Adventure in the Global Economy by Sara Bongiorni. This books is a bit similar to “Not Buying It,” except this author goes one step further and attempts to avoid buying anything made in China. Of course this a serious challenge because so many of our goods come from China. She shies away from controversy by refusing to engage in debate about trade policies and politics, but it is a fun and humorous read about how one family tried to make a difference.

7. Money, A Memoir: Women, Emotions, and Cash by Liz Perle. This book looks at the consequences that arise when a woman leaves the finances up to her husband. When her husband leaves her, the author is faced with the fact that, despite being intelligent and educated, she knows next to nothing about spending, saving, investing or basic money management. How and what she learns creates an inspiring tale.

8. Give It Up!: My Year of Learning to Live Better with Less by Mary Carlomagno. Unlike the author of “Not Buying It,” the author of “Give It Up,” only gave up things for one month. Each month she gave up a different item: cell phone one month, shopping the next, dining out the next month, and so on. She didn’t suffer quite the deprivation and societal consequences that are found in books where the authors give up things for longer periods, but she did make herself more aware of her spending and consumptive patterns. It’s an entertaining read and not a bad plan for those looking to try living with less.

9. Save Karyn: One Shopaholic’s Journey to Debt and Back by Karyn Bosnak. The author, in her late twenties and with a decent job, nonetheless manages to accumulate $20,000 worth of debt in one year (mostly by trying to impress others and by being a slave to labels). When she loses her job, she decides to dig herself out of debt rather than declare bankruptcy. Not everyone will agree with her strategy of asking the public for donations, but it is interesting to see how such a shallow girl turns into a fairly resourceful person when the need arises. This is not serious reading — it’s a bit fluffy — but it’s not a bad tale.

10. The Two-Income Trap by Elizabeth Warren. The author argues that bankruptcies are soaring, not due to irresponsibility, but because two incomes are no longer enough to make it in the world today. Whether you agree with her or not, the book does point out some problems in society that could be addressed to keep people from falling so far behind that there is no way out. The profiles of families in crisis provide a sobering portrait of what some people are up against.

11. Strapped: Why America’s 20- and 30-Somethings Can’t Get Ahead by Tamara Draut. This book examines why those under thirty-five are struggling to make it when compared to their parents’ generation. The author dismisses over consumption as the problem and instead focuses on high student loan debt, skyrocketing costs, low paying first jobs, and jobs with no benefits. Her conclusions are valid, but her refusal to acknowledge that high consumption is a problem for at least some irks me. If you’re under thirty-five, you might recognize yourself in some of the stories presented here.

12. Luxury Fever: Why Money Fails to Satisfy In An Era of Excess by Robert H. Frank. This book is most similar to “The Overspent American” in that it looks at why consumption is not making us happy. However, this book looks specifically at luxury items and what triggers our desire to own them. He argues that our overspending is triggered directly by the spending patterns of those around us (it’s interesting to see just what those patterns are) and then presents several ways we could change the consumption patterns of our whole society to benefit everyone.

13. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. The author gave up her home, car and trappings of middle class life and sought out low paying jobs to prove how difficult it is to make it when all you can get are low paying jobs. She examines how difficult it is to get and keep a job when you have kids, no transportation, and other life issues. The book is at times a bit shrill and political, but overall it’s an interesting look into a side of life most of us try to ignore.

14. Choosing Simplicity: Real People Finding Peace and Fulfillment in a Complex World
by Linda Breen Pierce. This book is actually the result of a “Simplicity Study” conducted by the author. She has compiled many of the stories of her respondents and illustrated why they opted off the work, spend, work some more treadmill. She focuses on a variety of groups, from the young to the retired, those with kids and those without, the wealthy and the not so wealthy. She spends a lot of time on the positive changes these people noticed in their lives, but she also examines some of the negative consequences of opting out of the expected American lifestyle.

15. House Lust: America’s Obsession With Our Homes by Daniel McGinn. If you’ve ever surfed real estate websites “just to see what’s out there” you may have house lust. This book looks at American’s obsession with our homes; their value, appearance, square footage, and investment potential. It’s a fascinating look at how houses have evolved from simple “homes” to status symbols, markers of our worth as people, and showplaces that tell others about us.

16. Richistan: A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich by Robert Frank. This is a fun romp through the world of the ultra-rich and the unique “problems” and responsibilities that they face. The author also examines the good that some of the ultra-rich do in the world, but mostly he amuses himself with the excesses of his subjects.

Financial books don’t have to be dry and boring. Those that give us a window into the lives of others and tackle societal questions can be just as valuable as and, perhaps, more entertaining than those that offer step by step instruction. Exposure to the worlds of others is both entertaining and instructive.

Image courtesy of The Department

Falling Off the Dave Ramsey Diet

May 19, 2008 By Jennifer Derrick 153 Comments

If you’re interested in personal finance, you probably know who Dave Ramsey is. If you don’t know, he’s a television and radio personality (and author) who preaches a “common sense” approach to getting out of debt and creating wealth. His plan is built around seven “Baby Steps” that are designed to lead you to financial freedom. He calls it the “Total Money Makeover.” Dave is a master motivator who is very good at getting people fired up to do something about their finances, and his advice is generally simple enough that most people can understand what he’s saying. Now that the economy is slowing, I see more and more people turning to Dave for help.

However, there is one problem that I’ve noticed with Dave and his system. I’ve known many, many people who have tried his system and failed because they become frustrated, angry and generally unhappy. Why? Because if you really want to follow Dave’s plan the way he teaches it, there is no leeway, no room for individual circumstances to factor in. The Total Money Makeover is a lot like a very restrictive diet that severely limits your choices and leads to rebellion. Yes, some people are successful, but many others fall off the money diet that is the Total Money Makeover.

Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps

If you read Dave’s books and listen to his programs, he is adamant that you follow his seven Baby Steps in exactly the order that they are written, and you may not move on to the next step until the first is completed. While this makes for an orderly approach and is good for those who crave organization, it can cause some problems. Just to review, the Baby Steps are:
1. $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund
2. Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball
3. 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings
4. Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
5. College funding for children
6. Pay off home early
7. Build wealth and give. Invest in mutual funds and real estate

According to Dave, until you have all your debt paid off, you shouldn’t be saving for retirement. But this ignores the value that compounding interest brings over time. Even if you’re funneling most of your money to debt payments, any little bit that you can put towards retirement will grow much larger in the future. His idea for a $1,000 emergency fund isn’t bad, but in this day and age $1,000 isn’t going to cover many emergencies. You need a bigger fund than that, but you can’t start building it until all debt is paid off. Until then, if you have a big emergency it’s going to have to go on a credit card, putting you further in the hole.

Is Dave Ramsey’s Advice Too Restrictive?

Why can’t there be a compromise between directing large sums of money to debt, but also putting some in savings and toward retirement? Just like a crash diet is a shortsighted approach to losing weight, Dave’s plan is a shortsighted approach to getting control of your finances. His plan focuses too much on getting the debt down as fast as possible without looking at the larger life that you must also prepare for. Paying down debt is a fine goal, but there are other contingencies you need to prepare for, as well.

Dave’s steps also leave no room for fun or unnecessary purchases. He calls it getting “gazelle intense,” but it’s like telling someone on a diet that they can never have chocolate. Of course, deprivation only makes you want it more and can lead to bingeing when the restrictions become too much. Telling someone that they can’t go on vacation or out to eat once in a while is bound to lead to rebellion eventually. Either that or it may lead to depression, which is just as counterproductive to successful financial management. That’s not to say that you need to go on a swanky resort vacation or to a five star restaurant, but his advice ignores the fact that there are less expensive alternatives that can give you a break from the tedium of debt reduction while not breaking the bank. Just like a diet requires you to give up all “bad” foods, Dave’s plan requires you to put off “living” until you reach step seven, which could take years. It’s important to pay down debt and build for the future, but it’s also important to get some value out of today.

His advice also ignores the fact that people have to learn moderation. Just like those who overeat, over spenders have to learn to live in the real world. They have to learn how to spend and save in moderation. Dave’s steps don’t teach people how to live in moderation. You are told from the beginning to simply stop spending, but what happens when you reach step seven and you have built some wealth? Without knowing how to spend moderately, how long do you think it will be before that wealth is gone? His plan does nothing to teach behavior modification. Without that, long term success is iffy at best. As with a dieter, long term success can only be achieved when the causes and triggers of spending are identified and dealt with.

Some people end up feeling like failures on Dave’s plan and give up. Again, look at the dieting analogy. Dieters may be going along great, and then one day they break down and eat a cheeseburger and fries. Then they figure they’ve already screwed up the plan, so why bother to keep trying. This happens to many people who try Dave’s plan. They’re going along great and then they break down and buy a designer handbag (see the rebellion mentioned above). Then they figure that they’ve blown it, so why not get the shoes to match. They resolve to do better tomorrow, but it spirals out of control until they are back where they started. Then they are left feeling like a failure because they couldn’t adhere to this rigid plan and are more reluctant to try again. After all, who wants to feel like a failure? Dave doesn’t teach you how to stop the spiral, deal with the guilt of screwing up, and then get back on track. A more flexible, real-world plan takes into account the fact that we all screw up and shows us how to get back on track.

In what is the great irony of Dave’s model, he frequently advocates that you buy his books, pay to attend his seminars, or pay to join his website. While I understand that the man is a business, he is taking advantage of people’s desperation to get out of debt. Just like diets that promise you that if you buy their food or books or drugs you’ll lose weight, Dave advocates (in a subtle, master marketer’s way) that if you buy his stuff, you’ll lose the debt faster. The simple fact is, with diets or money advice, the more you shell out, the likelier you are to quit when it becomes too expensive. Some people say, “The heck with this. It’s costing too much and I’m not getting anything out of it, so I quit.” Then, not only are they still in a financial or dietary mess, it’s worse because of the extra money spent.

Dave teaches some good things, but his plan is too restrictive to be successful for all people. Yes, some people do very well under rigid restrictions and if this is you, I say, “Great!” However, the people that I have known who have succeeded on his plan have taken the basic steps and then modified them to suit their own needs and life situations.

I would encourage you, if you’re interested in trying his plan, that you modify it to suit your own needs and goals. Learn his baby steps, but also know what will enable you to be successful. Tweak the plan until you find a way to work it that works for you. You don’t have to follow him word for word. The Dave police aren’t going to cart you away if you go your own way. You can move up and down the steps as you need to, going back to an earlier one if you fall off the wagon, or jumping ahead if something is more important to you. Without modification of Dave’s plan, you might end up like a frustrated dieter who gives up on the plan because it ends up costing too much and doesn’t take into account the way you really live. Susan Powter, the fitness expert, used to scream, “Modify, Modify, Modify,” during every workout. It’s good advice, both for diets and financial planning.

And don’t spend money for materials. You can find his books for free at the library, his show airs on the Fox Business channel, and there are several free websites that are dedicated to his methods. Some churches offer his classes for free.

Finally, if you aren’t interested scouring the web to get Dave Ramsey’s insight, consider buying a copy of Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover. The book is a combination educational guide, inspirational coaching handbook and self study workbook. The book has sold something like 5 million copies – so it is widely read and very popular.

The Money Saving Aspects of Daylight Savings Time

April 25, 2008 By Jennifer Derrick 5 Comments

I’m a huge fan of daylight savings time. I hate the long dark winters and get excited when we make the transition to longer days. But beyond my joy at more daylight, the transition to daylight savings time also saves me money. When we moved to the longer period of daylight savings time last year, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my savings went up even more. No, I’m not putting away enough to buy a new car, but since every little bit helps, I like to keep track of what saves me even a little bit of money.

That DST saves money is good news since the idea that DST saves energy might not be accurate. DST is supposed to reduce energy consumption and costs because the extended daylight hours reduce the need for lighting. However, there have been some studies done that indicate that DST may not save as much energy as we first thought. While not definitive, the study indicates that the extra air conditioning and heating costs associated with the change may cancel out any savings in lighting.

So if DST isn’t saving energy, what is it good for? Does it serve any other purpose beyond giving us a mood lift? Sure. It saves money. Beyond the savings on my utility bill from reduced lighting, I’ve identified ten ways that DST saves me money.

1. I eat less, so I spend less on food. I think it’s because I have so much more to do when the days are long that I don’t eat out of boredom as much. By the time I come in from working outside, it’s too late for a snack and I’m tired anyway, so I just head for bed, bypassing the big dinners and late night snacks.

2. I spend less on gas. When the days are longer, I can ride my bike or walk to some places I want to go after work without as many safety concerns. Also, I go out less in general because I’m busy working and playing outside so I consume less gas.

3. I go out to eat less often. Although I don’t eat out much during the rest of the year, during DST my outings drop to almost never. I’m busier out in my garden and being outside is more fun to me than going to a restaurant. By the time I’m ready to come inside, it’s too late to go back out to eat.

4. I’m less tempted to shop. Even though I’m not a huge shopper, when DST rolls around I go to the stores even less. There’s too much else to do-summer concert series’, sports, reading a good book in the hammock, working in the garden, etc.-to spend time in an artificially lit store.

5. I’m less likely to go to the movies. As with eating out and shopping, I don’t go to the movies very often but once DST starts, I don’t go at all. Most summers go by without me seeing a single movie. When there’s so much to do outside, I’d rather not sit in a dark theater.

6. I crank out more work. This isn’t so much a money saver as a money-earner but when DST begins, my productivity level jumps. Since I work from home, in front of a window, my work area is a better lit and more positive place to be than in the dark days of winter. I like to be there. I can also take my work outside in the evenings and write while I watch the sunset. I find that I’m more productive during DST because I like to work in such positive environs.

7. I reduce my NetFlix package. During DST, I drop from the three-out-at-a-time plan to the one-out-at-a-time plan. I just don’t have time to watch as many movies since I’m outside until dark. By the time I come in, it’s too late to watch anything. So I drop my plan down to the minimum needed to provide rainy day or weekend entertainment.

8. I grow more of my own food. Having longer days means that I can work in my garden after work and produce more of my own food. If the days remained shorter, I would lose that time and not be able to produce as much. (I also sell some of the excess so I make a bit of extra cash.)

9. Beyond lighting, my energy bill goes down in other ways. For example, I use the stove less often to cook since I can use the charcoal grill outside and I use the dryer less since I can hang my clothes on the line.

10. Intangible savings. I don’t know how to track it, but I know that I save money during DST because I’m simply in a better mood most of the time. The extra daylight keeps me sane. I don’t have to fight the need to “self-medicate” with food, stuff, or outings the way I do during the winter. Because I’m outside doing things, I’m away from the dismal news more during DST and that helps to keep me in a happier place, as well.

For me, daylight savings time is both a mood enhancer and a money saver. It’s a time of year that I look forward to. Even if it turns out that DST doesn’t reduce energy consumption by the amounts previously thought, I’m still all for it because it saves money in other ways.

Image courtesy of stephen031

Why Not Do Both?

April 24, 2008 By Shannon Christman 13 Comments

“Instead of using coupons, I buy things on sale” is a statement I hear often from people who think I waste my time clipping coupons. My response is, “Why not do both? If you use the coupons for things that are on sale, you can save even more.” In most cases, the “instead of” excuse makes little sense to me. (One exception that I could understand was when my mother-in-law said, “Instead of using coupons, I buy store brands.” After all, store brands are usually cheaper than even name brands on sale with coupons.)

The “instead of” excuse is used for more than just coupons: “I focus on earning more instead of saving more.” (This one is often worded, “I make enough that I don’t have to worry about saving.”) Once again, I respond “Why not do both? Earn as much as you can and save as much as you can.” If you work 80 hours a week and don’t want to spend your time off clipping coupons, that’s fine, but find some other ways to save. You can’t guarantee that your high salary will be around forever, and you may one day wish you had focused on saving more.

Funny, I never hear the opposite statement — “I focus on saving instead of earning.” I do occasionally hear “I focus on saving more than earning,” but it’s not used as an excuse for not earning. Instead, it’s an acknowledgement that the speaker’s saving skills are stronger than his or her earning skills. Those who focus on saving over earning (and those who focus on earning over saving, as opposed to earning instead of saving) recognize that both are important for financial health. Many of them, particularly those who focus on saving, know that time spent saving can occasionally be more profitable than time spent earning.

As I already mentioned, I am a coupon clipper. Two weeks ago, I combined coupons, sales, and rebate offers to buy about $25-30 worth of products (based on what I would pay on sale, not the regular retail price). In two hours, I spent $5 out of pocket (the rest was in store credit and coupons) and made back $32 in store credit and rebates. Allowing for $5 in gas to drive ten miles or so to four different stores, I saved about $12 per hour on merchandise and made $11 per hour for future spending. An hourly rate of $23 tax free is good money in my house.

Those who hate coupons or who make significantly more per hour than I do can apply this principle to any saving method. If you spend fifteen minutes calling one of your service providers to ask for a better deal and wind up saving $100, you have saved at a rate of $400 per hour. Better yet, if you spend fifteen minutes convincing yourself not to buy that $400 gadget you want, you have saved at a rate of $1600 per hour.

If you find yourself rationalizing your avoidance of saving with a statement like, “I do something else instead,” think about your reasoning. Is it actually possible and worth your time to save and do that something else — combine saving methods or spend time both saving and earning? If so, stop making excuses and get saving!

Image courtesy of babasteve

Ten Ways to Reduce the Cost of Printing from Your Home Computer

April 6, 2008 By Shannon Christman 13 Comments

Printing invitations, photos, shipping labels, and other paper items from a home computer is one do-it-yourself activity many people erroneously adopt in an effort to save money. While printing from home rather than buying in a store can save money in some cases, it may actually cost more in others. Those who believe they are always saving by printing from home may minimize or overlook the cost of ink and paper in their calculations.

A search for ink-jet printer cartridges and all-purpose paper on Walmart.com (which, for better or worse, is a store where a typical bargain shopper will be likely to buy these items) yielded a broad range of prices. The most expensive and least expensive brand-name cartridges both cost about 2.5 cents per page to print (based on the estimated page yield stated in the product descriptions). Spot-checked prices for other cartridges had per-page prices of more than 3 cents. (If your printer requires more than one cartridge – say, black and color – you have to add those prices together.) One off brand had a much lower price, just over half a cent per page. Another reputable online retailer, 247inktoner.com, has compatible ink and toner cartridges at a fraction of the cost of the name brand cartridges.

All-purpose paper bought by the ream, also on Walmart.com, cost an additional penny per page. The lowest price for photo paper (fifty 4×6 sheets) was sixteen cents per page. At Staples.com, the bestseller list includes Avery shipping labels. They cost $11.99 for a 25 sheets of 30 labels each – 48 cents per sheet. Specialty papers, such as those used for resumes and invitations, also add to print-at-home costs.

So how can you keep printing costs as low as possible? The most obvious answer is to print less. You can accomplish this goal several ways:

Ask yourself if you really need to print. If you need a hard copy to carry with you, give to a client, or keep as a historical record, print. If an electronic copy of a document is equally practical and effective, skip the hard copy.

Get it right the first time. Before you print anything, proofread it carefully. Check the page margins, font, and other relevant details. By catching errors before you print, you can avoid printing documents multiple times before getting a perfect copy.

Send away for photos. Even buying the lowest-priced photo paper and ink from Walmart.com will cost you more than 16 cents per 4 x 6 photo. Several online photo sites — Snapfish, York Photo, even Wal-Mart — offer better quality prints at lower per-photo prices. Even after shipping costs (which you can avoid or decrease by taking advantage of special offers), it pays to send away. Plus you don’t have to deal with the frustration of photos not printing correctly or printers breaking down.

Copy and paste. Put the relevant information from a web page or email into a word processing document before you print so that you don’t waste ink on header information, ads, and other details you don’t need.

Practice your handwriting. Rather than print out driving directions, confirmation numbers, or other short bits of information, go low-tech and write down the details you need on a piece of scrap paper.

Once you’re printing as little as possible, you can look for ways to reduce the cost of materials.

Don’t buy address labels. Instead, print addresses on plain paper and stick them to envelopes with shipping tape. Some frequent shippers recommend taping over the top of labels, anyway, to keep them from falling off en route, so why bother paying for that extra adhesive on the back of the paper?

Print addresses directly on envelopes to completely eliminate the need for extra paper. Many printers take at least #10 envelopes (larger envelopes may be a bit difficult to run through properly). It may take a few tries to figure out the right way to insert them.

When possible, print on both sides of the paper.

Consider buying refillable ink cartridges or refilling regular cartridges. Refilling can save you a good deal of money, but some customers say that refills cartridge are hard to use, messy, less effective than new cartridges, and prone to clog printers.

Look for good deals & stock up. As with most products, the prices of ink and paper are not fixed. Clearance sales, closeout stores, and even yard sales may have these products at significantly lower prices. When you find a great price, buy as much as you know you will use and have room to store.

A few pennies per page may not sound like much, but they add up to more than what you might realize, especially when you habitually print a lot from your computer. By decreasing both the number of pages you print and the cost of printing materials, you should be able to notice a difference in your home office expenses.

Image courtesy of sondratheloser

Short-List Grocery Shopping Tips

April 5, 2008 By Ann Hartter 4 Comments

I went to the grocery store this morning. My list included four items. I returned with ten. It would seem I had a problem with the impulse buy. That’s not, however, the case. Four of the things I returned with were on sale, so maybe it was sale-blindness. That’s not the case either. I rarely leave with more than I came for. I figured, as I left the store, that my actions deserved an examination.

Shopping wasn’t an unusual experience, considering one of my family goes to the grocery every three or four days, depending on how long the milk lasts, and when in the month it is. Today I went because we were out of milk, and I take milk in my coffee. I could’ve had a cup of tea, but a week-long head cold takes the allure out of tea and builds a craving for a warm, smooth cup of joe. I surveyed the house before I left, turns out we were out of coffee, too.

I’d just woken up and I was on my way to the grocery store; I was still in half my jammies. I checked myself to see if I was fit to shop: shopping scatterbrained can be dangerous, especially when paying with credit. I decided I would come home with a supplement to breakfast, like a banana bread, as well as the requested Superfood product my husband drinks for breakfast, and milk and coffee. I brought one bag for my nickel discount.

I call this short list to the grocery a supplemental trip. We shop heavily once a month at both the grocery, the warehouse club, and through the SHARE program. When shopping for a small, supplemental list, there are some saving things to look for.

Buy One Get One: The first shipment of strawberries were in for the season, and were on sale BOGO. Great for breakfast, snack and dessert. Those would be more versatile than the bread and be a change from granola bars, apples, and toast snacks. I grabbed two, and checked one item off the list. You should only take advantage of a BOGO sale if you have space to store it, know it will get consumed before going bad, and have it or a substitute for it on your list in the first place.

Doubling the Days: When I get sent out for coffee I like to come back with two different kinds. I like the variety. Two went into my basket, one check went on my list. When you buy two instead of one at regular price, it should be because it’s a staple, and will save you a return trip down the road.

Deep Discounts: I swished to the meal-in-a-bottle part of the produce store, where they were one-third off. If you’ve never experienced Superfood, it’s perfect for someone like my husband who’s too busy to eat breakfast and sometimes lunch, but doesn’t mind drinking a meal. I grabbed two, since sales don’t last forever, and it never goes unconsumed. Again, enjoy the deep discount on something currently on your list, and only double up if the sale will end soon, you know you have space, and you know it will be used before spoiling.

Additions: My coffee-protein-shake-drink stuff was on sale, too, so I grabbed two of those. They weren’t on the list, but I will use it as a substitute for milk in my coffee. something not on your list is on sale, run a quick check list: is this thing ever on my list? do I already have enough? is it something I use instead of something else? will it be a problem to use it before it spoils?

Comparison Shopping: The exciting part: milk was on sale! It was a “luxury” option to my regular brand, but the sale made it the cheaper choice today. I don’t do a lot of shopping around for milk because there are other factors like flavor and how the milk is treated that I take into account. I did a mental check on my fridge to make sure there was room for two milks with everything else I’d bought, and I grabbed two. Small lists are usually for staple items or are very specific. There is still a level of comparison and price competition that you should be aware of. Blindly grabbing what you always grab on a quick trip and deprive you of saving opportunities.

This is how I went home with 10 things instead of 4. I saved by buying “bulk,” eliminating a return trip for coffee, extended the savings on Superfood and milk, and extending the life of the milk by buying a price-comparable substitute. I felt weirder leaving with plastic bags I didn’t come in with than leaving with more items than I’d expected, because I got more value for my short-list trip to the store. And I managed to do it before my first cup of coffee.

Image courtesy of lyzadanger