Repair is Noble, Try a Fix-It Clinic

I still get the paper on Sundays. Once in a while I'll come across an article that is worth sharing. This last week, in the variety section of the Star Tribune newspaper, I came across an article titled: "Avid recycler is the spark behind fix-it clinics." Subtitle: "Lamp won't light? Vacuum won't vac? Talk to Nancy Lo, lauded for her Fix-It clinics." (by Kim Ode) I was intrigued.

Basically, this gal is spreading the motto "repair is noble." Her love of recycling and being a resource for people developed into these Fix-It clinics. The clinics are run by volunteers. People who have something to fix, like you or I, can go to a location nearby and get guidance on how to fix something. Pretty cool right? I think so.

One of my mottos is: "Nice things take time." My grandmother always said this. Organizing takes time. Running and maintaining a house takes time. Fixing things is no different. So, it sounds like a great option if you are willing to put in some time and possibly save some money on buying new. It's also much greener than potentially throwing out something that may just need to be re-wired or adjusted with a new part.

While I usually encourage people to not hold on to things that don't work, just because...this is an alternative resource to consider. Plus donating something that doesn't work just doesn't seem right. I like the idea of a Fix-It clinic, to fix your stuff, and see if in fact it can have a new life with a little attention.

So, got a broken toaster, lamp, record player, iPod, toys or even clothing collecting dust? Type "fix-it clinics" in the search field at www.henepin.us. View a list of upcoming clinics, a list of common things they've helped people fix, what to bring or how to get involved as a volunteer.

AnyList App for Organizing

I love the App AnyList for organizing! A basic account is free and it's easy to use. All you need is an iPhone or iPod touch. I use it on my iPhone.

Download AnyList Here.

Make as many lists as you want.
I use it for keeping track of  to dos, groceries we need, and keeping a packing list for travel I can reuse whenever I need it. I also find it super handy for an on going wish list for things I'd like.

Make lists Private or Shared.
A cool feature is that you can either keep the lists private or share them. I keep my to do list private for instance, but share the grocery list with my husband. That way he can add items he needs or wants when he thinks of it and we can both see it. Of course, I make my "wish list" a shared list too to make it easy for him to shop for things for our anniversary, my birthday or Christmas.

Color Code or Categorize.
A nice feature is that you can change the color of lists. For instance, my private lists are in one color and my shared lists are in another. The grocery list allows you to have categories like produce, beverages, dairy, frozen foods, deli, household and cleaning, etc.

Mark when you've completed something, Delete, Hide Completed, or Reuse a list.
The app allows you to touch any item and make a red slash mark through it to either show you've completed a task or no longer need an item. You can also swipe sideways to delete anything. I love that you can hide the completed or show completed items as well. This comes in handy for the grocery or packing list that I reuse often.

Do you have a favorite app for organizing? Leave a comment to share.

Use Vodka to Keep Clothes Smelling Fresh

Ever have a garment that you've worn once or twice and it only slightly smells, but you could wear it again? Or have you ever wanted to hold off on having something professionally dry-cleaned for just a little longer? 

This is no substitute for doing your weekly laundry, but a trick I learned from my theater background and how we'd take care of costumes: Spray VODKA on the armpits of jackets, dresses, or suit coats to get rid of odors. The alcohol serves as a safe disinfectant. A few squirts will do. 

My suggestions:

• Buy the cheapest bottle of Vodka you can find
• Pick up a $1 store spray bottle
• Label the bottle "cleaning vodka" with a Sharpie
• Keep the bottle in your closet so you have it handy when you need it

Organizing the Kitchen for Your Healthy Lifestyle

For most households, the kitchen is the heart of the home. Having this highly used space organized is key to making sure we can live healthy and stress free lives. Being able to prepare quick and healthy meals can often be challenging, but having your kitchen organized can help you save time and money.

We can only get healthier and maintain our healthy lifestyle if we consistently use the good products we purchase. It can be really disappointing when we purchase healthy, organic, gluten-free, or bulk ingredients, and then forget to use them because they are lost in the back of the fridge or in some cabinet. To avoid this, items should be stored in a way that keeps them fresh and in a place where you know where everything is. This way, you’ll be able to remember to use the things you purchase and know when it’s time to replenish.

5 Tips for Storing and Containing Bulk Items:


1. Choose containers carefully. Make sure lids fit tightly to ensure freshness.


2. Pick containers that are the right size and shape for where you want to store items.

Tip: Use square rather than round containers, as they can fit more tightly next to one another.


3. Use clear containers so you can see at a glance if something is getting low.


4. Label containers to identify the contents: flour, quinoa, oatmeal, etc.


5. Choose plastic over glass in case baking with kids turns into a sporting event.

A Beautiful Engagement Gift: Wedding Workbook Download

Know someone who was recently engaged and starting to plan a wedding?

 

While many engaged couples are excited to get married, planning a wedding can be a really overwhelming task. I created the Organize Your Dream Wedding Workbook to help with the wedding planning process. It makes a beautiful engagement gift any do-it-yourself couple will love.

 

Just download and forward to the engaged couple or print the pages yourself. Three hole punch the pages and put in a binder for further organization.

 

 

Favorite Features:

 

• Practical tips, checklists, and resources for staying on track throughout the planning process

• Creative suggestions for how to personalize your wedding, choose your wedding colors, theme, and manage your guest list

• Budgeting guidance to save you time, money, and stress, and how to copy favorite ideas for less

• Organizing inspired date night ideas to keep the groom involved



Download the Workbook Here

 

 

Secondhand Dress-up Costume Bins

Now's a great time to start planning what you are going to do for all those kids on your Christmas list. It's also a great time to shop for costumes both before and after Halloween.

Last year I decided to do something different for Christmas gifts. I gave my nephew and two nieces dress up bins full of costume pieces. The idea came to me when a neighbor offered me a half dozen, plastic, hanging file totes that she had gotten from work that were no longer wanted. I knew with just a touch of soap and water I could put these bins to work and contain something in them, so I accepted. As I washed them out one at a time in my bath tub, my wheels started to turn as the water rushed down the drain. With Christmas still a couple of months away at the time, the idea to make dress up bins came to mind. I knew I had plenty of time to look around for just the right items to include.

I wanted to keep the project around $20/bin and keep the contents fairly even between the kids. I decided to head to my local dollar and thrift stores to shop. I found great deals and had a lot of fun picking out imaginative play clothing and accessories.

Some things I included:

• Cowgirl and Cowboy hats, bandannas
• Plastic Sword and Shield
• Pom poms and cheer girl outfit
• Princess skirts, high heels, tiaras, necklaces, and wands
• Doctor's tools and a white dress shirt
• An assortment of masks
• Fireman's hats, 2 yellow, 1 red
• 2 Purses and Mailman's hat

  
Other tips: Make sure to wash and dry all items you purchase before you give them as a gift. Use a black sharpie to label the items for each child on the tag or inside to keep them straight. When kids open their bins they'll tend to not know who's things belong to who as they begin to share and try things on.

 


What you'll need to make a Dress Up Costume Bin:

•  Costumes & Accessories like I mentioned above.  No need to spend a lot.

Fire Hat and Ax

• 1 Plastic Hanging File Tote with Lid

 

Other tips: If and when your child outgrows dress up, this file tote bin can transform into a place to keep favorite school projects, mementos and artwork. Just add more hanging file folders.




 

• 1 Hanging File Folder with Plastic Tab labeled with child's name (Great for keeping smaller accessories like Pirate eye patches, Gold Coins, Rings, Pearl Necklaces, Bracelets and Tattoo stickers)

Other tips: Show your child where the smaller items can be put back in the hanging file folder so they are easier to find and not misplace. Teach them how to fit the lid on top of the bin and that all costume pieces go inside the tote when playtime is over.

• 2 Super Sticky Post-It Labels for Sides of Tote (The super sticky post-it labels are great because unlike traditional post-its that are only sticky on one end, this one is sticky the entire length of the paper)

Other tips:
Choose a bright color label that will contrast the outside of your tote and will stand out. If you have more than one child you are making a bin for, use a different color for each. I like a good ol' black sharpie to write.

 

The Cheerleader outfit

Have fun with it. Try on a few things yourself at the next tea party you're invited to!










Stores to shop inexpensively or second hand: 

Costumes: Your own House, Dollar Tree,  Savers, Goodwill, Salvation Army,
Arcs Value Village, Thrift Store and Donation Center

File Tote, Hanging File Folders and Labels: Your own House or office, Office Max, Target

Duct Tape 3-ring Binder Makeovers

I love using three-ring binders to keep papers pertaining to different things organized. I have a variety of binders I keep for my organizing business in my home office. There's one for my Smiling Spaces business plan, Organize Your Dream Wedding information, and various courses I've taken on public peaking, paper, and clutter management.

With all the back-to-school excitement going on I thought I might like to go buy some fun new matching binders. But once I started looking around, I just couldn't justify buying all new binders just so they would coordinate. I came across a display with an assortment of duct tape in various colors and was inspired.

I gave my three-ring binders a duct tape makeover. It's so simple, and is a great way to re-use binders, give them a new look, and save money!

(Binders Before) mix-matched colors

(Binders After) colors that make me smile

Gift Wrap on a Budget

Isn't it crazy how much buying a new gift bag, bow to match, and greeting card can cost? Sometimes it's almost as much as the gift you're buying itself. In an effort to help stay on budget, yet make sure my gifts look great, I've gathered a few ideas to help wrap gifts for less cost.

1) Get creative! Look around your house for items you can reuse as a way to wrap your item.

Use: Classic Comics, Turn a Brown Paper Bag inside out, Sheet Music, Old Map, Fabric, Scarf, Metal Cookie Tin, Jar, Beach Bucket, Book Jacket, Wall Poster, Wall Paper Sample, Calendar Pages, Disguise that Fancy Shopping Bag you just couldn't throw out

2) Dress it up with what you've got on hand. Like an outfit, accessorize your gift to give it that finishing touch it deserves.

Use: Bow Tie, Artificial Flower, A few larger Christmas Light Bulbs, Pine Cone, Fabric Ribbon, Sparkly Garland, Elastic Head Bands, Old Cassette Tape, Ornament

Some ideas from Star Tribune, 12-16-2009 article "Re-Wrap" by Kim Yeager

Garage Sale Planning

With spring showers brings more time inside to gather up items for a summer garage sale.

If you're not sure where to start:

• Designate an area in your house to start setting items aside. Clear off a table in your basement or set aside some boxes in a corner so that you have a place to get everything you want to sell together in one spot.
• Get the family involved. Let them know where the space is to put items for sale and a time frame for when you would like to have it: in a few weeks, 2 months, etc.
• Spend a little time in each area of your home pulling items out for the sale. If you're sale is in 2 months you could designate each week leading up to it to focus on a different space.
• Have an incentive to put items in the sale. Let kids keep the money for the items they put in, or set aside the money from the garage sale for spending money on the next family vacation.
• Figure out ahead of time what you will do with items you don't sell. Pick a local charity or place to drop off items immediately after you sale so the items don't find there way back in your home.

Getting the most of Competitor Coupons

Did you know that some stores will accept competitor coupons? For example, Jo Ann Fabrics and Hancock Fabrics oftentimes will take each other's weekly coupons. I've also noticed this with gas station coupons, like the Holiday Gas coupons Cub Foods gives out for cents of per gallon. Last week I showed my Holiday coupon at PDQ and PDQ let me get a the same discount using some of their own coupons. They also gave me a whole sheet of more PDQ coupons to use next time I came in. I was able to keep my Holiday coupon for another fill up time. Perhaps it's only saving $1.00 or so, but hey that's a free cup of coffee, hot pumpkin spice cappuccino, or hot chocolate!

Free Mac Make Up

Mac make up recycles all their containers. Just bring them back to any Mac store. If you turn in six you’ll receive a free lipstick. Back to MAC Program

Deal Spotter Blog to Follow

The Star Tribune Newspaper has a blog called: Deal Spotter (www.startribune.com/blogs/dealspotter) Check it out if you spot a deal, or want to find the best deals in town to save you money.

Free Stuff for All

If you've upgraded your belongings or need to make space in your home...

Check out The Twin Cities Free Market to give away or get free stuff. All you have to do is type in your name, city, and zip code to set up an account. Then either list an item you want to give away or shop around for items yourself. You can also place a request for something you need.

Appliances
Children's
Electronics
Furniture
Home Renovations
Lawn and Garden
Musical Instruments
Pet Supplies
Recreation and Exercise

Visit http://www.twincitiesfreemarket.org/

Organizing Coupons "a little less dorky"

My last blog was all about cutting coupons and saving money like my mom used to. Today, I thought I'd talk a little about saving time looking for the coupons you've cut by sharing how I like to organize them.

I have a simple plastic expandable file folder with 12 slots. Each slot is labeled for each month of the year. I put my coupons under the month the coupon expires in. That way when the month is done I can simple take all of the coupons out in one handful that I know are expired. Toward the end of the month I can also quickly see what coupons I need to use up before they expire.

(A word on expiration dates) Most grocery stores will take manufacture coupons up to a month after the expiration date. You just have to ask. It can be worth a shot. Most store coupons have a small window of allowance as well.

You can also organize coupons by category. I use to do this in the past. It's helpful if you have a lot of one type. For instance, a bunch for toilet paper, coffee, cleaning products, staples, etc. Organizing them this way makes comparing brand prices and discounts easier to see all at once. It's especially great when you need something you don't buy as often and want the best deal with the coupons you've collected. This way of sorting makes time comparing go quicker.

Any file sorter will do, but choose one with a fun color or pattern that makes carrying it with you to the grocery store a little less dorky. When the people behind you in line see how much you're saving they just might ask you more about it.

My coupon sorter is yellow and has a 1950s vintage looking picture on the front. I've used it so much that the elastic band to close it wore out. I replaced that by sticking a square piece of velcro on the underside of the flap. Works great if not better!

Coupons

Who doesn't want to save money? Even if it's a few cents lately? I sure do. Think about how we get anxious when gas prices raise just 5-10 cents, sending us a few miles down the road to where we know it's cheaper at certain places. Think about how cents add up overtime.

This is where using coupons come into play. I have always had a relationship with coupons. My mom used to set her weekly pile on the kitchen counter with her scissors and would sit down with her cup of coffee to clip out coupons. When we got older it became a chore that we were sometimes asked to help with. It was fun to see all the things we could buy and save money on with coupons. My mom used to have a running total of how much she'd save each week. I remember when she would get super happy and a huge kick out of saving over $20 in one grocery shopping outing. That's a lot of money now, and was a lot then.

Today, I cut coupons myself. Every Sunday I look through the adds with my husband and clip out coupons I think we might use. I try not to clip out things we don't normally buy. I can't justify saving money on buying something just because I have a coupon for it. The only time I do this is if it is a new product I'd like to try. Staples in my house like butter, yogurt, oatmeal, tea, paper goods, and personal items I have no problem finding coupons for.

Many times you can even double up coupons with your local grocery store coupons as well. Most places like Cub Foods will take both a manufacture and store coupon. This can mean huge savings!

Check out www.couponsuzy.com for a way to print coupons according to your zip code.

Pay Your Bills Week: Part 2

Do you ever have trouble finding your checkbook? How about stamps, or a pen that works? Maybe your address labels are in one place in the house and your envelopes in another. This can make paying the bills take more time than is necessary and can add to the stress of what many people find to be a task that they would rather not have to do altogether.

Having things in order for paying your bills can make the process go faster and leave you more time to move on with the rest of your day. Not to mention it can save you paying fees and keep you from missing a due date on a bill.

Here are 6 ways to make bill paying more efficient:

1) Online bill pay. (This one was mentioned in my last blog to help decrease stress related to bill paying, but is worth mentioning a second time.)

2) Create a nook in your apartment or house just for paying your bills where you can keep supplies you need like: your checkbook, a couple of good pens, a calculator, a stapler, stamps, envelopes, address labels, etc.

3) If you don't have a special spot devoted to bill paying, create a bill paying caddy and fill it with office supplies listed above. This way you can grab it and take it to where ever you want to sit and pay your bills.

4) Decide when the best time to pay your bills is ahead of time and mark it in your planner. If certain bills are due the same time each month decide to pay them on the same day each month. Go through and mark a whole year's worth of bill paying reminders in your planner; this way you won't forget. If you want, you could use a different sticker in your planner for each bill and have a key with what each sticker stands for. Keep the sticker key with your bill paying supplies.

5) Have a place to keep receipts you collect throughout the week and month. Have everybody put their receipts in the same place so nothing gets lost. Get in the habit of emptying your wallet at the end of each day of any receipts. If every day is just too often for you, aim to do it at least at the end of each week. You can keep receipts and bills together with large paperclips labeled: Credit Card, Check Card, Bills to Pay, etc. Put these in a bowl, basket or in a desktop file holder. Whatever works for you.

6)Next time you pay your bills, time yourself. Make bill paying a little like the winter olympic games going on right now, and the next time after that try and see if you can beat your last time. (Okay, maybe that isn't so much of a tip for being orderly, but why not make a mundane task a little more exciting.)

Pay Your Bills Week: Part 1

This week happens to be "Pay Your Bills" Week. Not that we don't pay our bills at other times or something, but I guess it is a week to just rethink this process we repeat each month.

So, let's see... Bills.

This first thing that comes to mind is stress related to paying things like rent, mortgages, credit card bills, and utilities that we'd rather not even think about.

The second thing that comes to mind is the actual process, which really shouldn't take that long if we have things in order.

Since this is a week devoted to bills, today I think I'll talk about the first thought of how to make bill paying less stressful.

6 WAYS TO AVOID EXTRA STRESS WHILE PAYING BILLS:

1) Sign up for automatic bill pay online for all of the bills you can and avoid having to write out checks altogether. Many times you can arrange to pay more of your bills on the same day, or space them out if you need to watch when you will have the funds to pay certain ones on time.

2) Make sure you have enough money in your checking account before you write checks out. Online bank access makes transferring money a cinch.

3) Turn on some of your favorite music before you start paying your bills.

4) Use a fun pen that works great and makes you smile. There is nothing like a bad pen that doesn't work right to make paying bills even less enjoyable.

5) Use sticker return labels to make labeling the envelopes faster. I save the free ones companies send in the mail and use those.

6) Write out and pay bills assembly-line style if you have a stack to do at once. This makes it go faster. Start with opening all of the bills, getting rid of the junk and stapling what you need to file together. Next, write checks out, record and write "paid" on the invoice. Lastly, stuff the envelopes, seal and place your stamp and return label on. Done. Go have a treat or dance a little to the music playing.

National Buy Nothing Day

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is also National Buy Nothing Day. The idea I guess is that we try to refrain from buying things we really don't need and instead reflect on what we do have. Black Friday is known for being the biggest shopping day of the year, so to not buy anything on this day is a big deal, some might say somewhat of a sacrifice and ultimate test of self control. With all the deals out there and advertisements of sales on the hottest items for the holidays it is a hard day to observe. I must confess I did end up buying two things. One was makeup concealer I use everyday at Aveda, and the other was some fabric for my office window seat. The concealer is something I was out of and I put into the category of an essential, like toothpaste or deodorant. The fabric, although not quite an essential, is a part of a project I've been working on this past month and I had a 50% off coupon for it. I shopped around for the right fabric for at least a month and final decided on it. By the time I bought it there was more of a sense of completing a task rather than buying something extra.

The most exciting part of my day was that I took advantage of a price adjustment on something I bought the week before. I purchased a gift for my parents marked down 50% the week before Black Friday and then saw it was marked down an additional $20 between certain early bird hours. Although I didn't want to head out in the crowds, I figured that if I could get $20 put back onto my credit card it might be worth it. Boy was it ever! I not only received $20 back, but I got an additional $6 for something else I had purchased that was also now on sale.

How I did this: I called the store ahead of time to make sure I could get a price adjustment on the item I had purchased. Customer Service said that I could as long as I came within the Sale hours advertised with my receipt. When I arrived at the store I walked immediately back to Customer Service and stood in a line that was much shorter than the checkout lines. It took about 5 minutes to wait my turn and then another 5 minutes or less to get my adjustment. I was patient, shared a smile, and thanked the gal who helped me. It happened to be the same lady I talked to on the phone. She appreciated my kindness and thanks and I left feeling absolutely terrific for basically getting $26 back in less than 15 minutes.

So, although I didn't quite "buy nothing" last Friday, I did earn some money back, which I think is pretty good anyway. Apparently, it's more about being more conscious of the purchases we make if we simply have to buy something.

To end, a quote or paraphrase I remember from high school English class.
"On Walden Pond" Henry David T.- "The cost of a thing is equal to the amount of time in which it takes to acquire it."

Avoiding Wish List Woes

About this time every year when I was a child my mom used to hand my sisters and I each a piece of paper and ask us to write our wishlist for Christmas. It was an exciting time to dream big, cover all avenues of clothes, toys, accessories, and such. She told us that we had a deadline of Thanksgiving to give it to her and after that we she couldn't guarantee that we would get something we really wanted. The other rule was that we couldn't buy anything off our list for ourselves, of course.

We'd look through magazines and turn down corners for her to see the picture of items we thought were cool. One year I remember giving her such a detailed list that not only included the thing I wanted, but what store to get it at and how much it cost. She later commented how much that made shopping for me a sinch. I was, and am to this day, so fortunate to have such a wonderful and loving Mom and Dad. We were so lucky to get many things we wanted each Christmas.

Unfortunately, it seems as we get older this wishlist thing gets a little more daunting as we become the gift buyer and have to think what to get everyone on our list. It may be hard to know what someone might like or need and we may have a budget we are trying to follow. Here are a few quick tips to ease the stress related to gift buying this holiday season:

* Make a list. Write down who you want or need to buy for and any ideas you have for what you might get them. If you don't have any ideas, leave a space to fill one in later. This way you will see who you need to ask specifically or do some research on.

* Set a budget. After you make a list, write down next to each person how much you ideally would like to spend on them. This will help you when you are out and about shopping and may get tempted to buy more than you were hoping to spend.

* Put a store name next to each gift idea. This way you can save time and gas money by picking up more than one gift at any given store instead of running around looking for one person at a time.

* Set a timeline for gift buying completion. Maybe it's the 1st of December, or the weekend before a holiday party. Whatever it is, factor in gift wrapping time and other holiday preparations you may have such as baking cookies or seeing someone's holiday show.

* Make your own wish list! Remember to let yourself dream a bit too. Post a list on the fridge or on your bathroom mirror and write down ideas as you think of them day to day. That way you'll be ready to give an idea to someone when they ask: "So, what do you want for Christmas?" Just don't tell everyone the same thing, or you may get five pairs of pink fluffy slippers!

HAPPY SHOPPING!

Holding on to my pennies

Isn't it amazing how much a little word like money seems to creep into our vocabulary pretty much everyday at some point. I find that lately that and the word economy are the main topics in the news everywhere.

I myself tend to get a little tired of it, but am comforted by these words: "the cost of a thing is the amount of time in which it takes to acquire it." (Henry Thoreau, from: Walden Pond)I read that quote in high school and it has stuck in my mind ever since. What I think it means is that money and cost are just numbers and numbers can mean different things to different people. Anything can be valued differently by someone depending on how much they need an item and how much money they have to acquire it. If someone has a lot of money they may not even blink at dropping $20 out to lunch for themselves, whereas someone who makes minimum wage might see that as a good few meals for their entire family in one week. The amount of time it may take to make $20 varies from person to person.

I have kept this in mind and have seen how it affects how I spend my money. I've had some jobs that pay quite decent, and others that have not. During the times with the better paying job I was more likely to spend money on things I didn't necessarily need but wanted. The times with the jobs that paid less hourly I tended to spend less in general because I knew that it really was taking me longer to make that money.

What it comes down to is this other commonly said phrase: "time is money." You can reverse it and say: "money is time" and get a similar message.

I think most of us nowadays are holding on to our money a little tighter anyway no matter how much we make an hour. It seems like the one nice thing about all the economic talk of losing jobs and houses, etc. is that it is seeming to close the gap a bit and make everyone have something in common. I know some would disagree with this, but I really think it has given everyone a chance to see that without our money and possessions we are all the same. Nothing is free, and everyone is subject to loss at any point in their lives.

Knowing this has got to make us more responsible, less materialistic, and more conscientious of what we spend our time and money on.

My mom and I have this thing where we love to find pennies or any other change in parking lots or on the sidewalk when we are walking. I used to think she was silly for stopping and bending down to pick up a dirty penny, slipping it into her nice pocket after brushing it off a bit. But when I went to college I started seeing spare change everywhere I went, no kidding! It was really odd, and believe it or not I just started picking it up too. I figured if I can be humbled enough to pick up spare change in the middle of a busy walkway and not feel stupid, I was doing okay. I think I had close to a few dollars by the end of one school year. Although that might not seem like much, it was free money and took really no time to acquire it.

I sometimes get teased for being someone who gives exact change as well. I don't mind using it and counting it out. It is money and has a value. It all adds up. When people got so anxious about gas prices being so high last summer even if it changed by a few cents I thought to myself how my spare change really had even more value.

Kids are great with this. When they are little they hold on to the dollar bills and spare change they may be given as an allowance or gift for their Birthday. It's exciting to them to save up for a small purchase they can make all on their own. When I was a kid I remember getting 35 cents a week! Milk at lunch was 25 cents and latter went up to 35 cents. Although my mom didn't make us pay for our own milk, if you lost that quarter or dime in your lunch box you were not a happy camper.

In college I even named my three goldfish penny, nickle, and dime. I didn't have three at once but three separate fish over the course of a couple years after the little guys passed away one after another. Maybe I thought naming them a little more expensive value of coin would make them live longer? Well, money didn't quite equal time in that sense.

Needless to say, I'm still going to be holding onto my pennies in the hopes that when the time comes that I need them they are there.