Posts Tagged ‘cash’

PF Weekly Reading List #11- Free Money, Want Some?

Posted: March 15, 2013 in PF Weekly Reading List
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
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Free Money

Photo Credit: Freedigitalphotos.net/Ambro

Free Money, imagine how fast that would spread like wildfire at the office. I had a laugh then a jolt of concern this morning while I was reading the news about this 12-year-old student who was handing out money at school to her classmates. I’m sure you can imagine hoards of kids running up to this student wanting to see what she had in her bag. The article  states it was quite the “show and tell” but I say likely none of the kids cared where she got it from so “show and get it while you can” was on the playground agenda. It’s free money after all who would turn that down? Most kids that age know that money can buy “stuff” so why not get in on the action.

The money was later all retrieved by the school so they could hand it over to the police to investigate. To shorten up the plot a girl who lives in Detroit, Michigan (Student B) is given a backpack from her friend (Student A) who lives across the street from her. The scenario below is what I imagined going down with the money although likely far from it. I just like to think crazy stuff up in my head. I’m just having a laugh with it but really I have to wonder what goes through the minds of young children and why they do what they do. We may never understand but we certainly can teach them wrong from right. Maybe the child truly thought by handing out money that she was doing something good. Same as the young person who gave her the bag of loot in the first place.

Free Money Young Boy

Photo Credit Freedigitalphotos.net/David Castillo

Fictional Scenario
  • Student A: Hey Student B wanna see what I found at my house?
  • Student B: Sure, what did you find Student A?
  • Student A: Opens her backpack and shows Student B lots of money.
  • Student B: Wow, that’s alot of  money what will you do with it?
  • Student A: I was thinking about investing in my education but my parents taught me to share so, I’m giving it to you.
  • Student B: Wow, thanks Student A. I think I will pay it forward as my parents taught me to share as well.

Student B proceeds to bring her new backpack to school and starts handing out cash to all her friends paying it forward. This is a true story although I made the fictional scenario up. Don’t you wish you had a friend like that at the office who was so generous and kind-hearted? Well that’s likely never to happen but led me to wonder, why people keep so much money at home? Sure we can come up with all sorts of scenarios as to why the parents of Student A had that amount of money in the house but it would all be assumptions. For all we know they despise going to a bank and the old “stash your cash” under your mattress (or in a backpack in this case) seemed like the way to go.

We read everyday that we should teach our children about money from an early age but maybe we should also teach them to not touch it if it’s not theirs. Although this child was 12 years old and I’m sure had good intentions this scenario could have turned deadly in an instant. Anything could have happened to her if word got out that she was carrying that much money and the school was unaware. There are lots of crazy people out there that would do just about anything to get their hands on some cash. I’m just happy to hear the school stepped in right away and that someone alerted them to what was happening. We hope that the school system is listening to not only what happens in the classroom but also outside the class.

Hiding Money

I think it’s OK to stash a bit of cash at home but not all in one place and certainly not $20,000 worth BUT again, they may have been on their way to the bank to pay off a chunk of the mortgage or it was a windfall or a gift they were hoping to take to the bank. Some people have a fear of not having enough money or losing money so they save it in a safe spot knowing that they will always be OK. If parents have this kind of cash around, at least stash it in a good hiding spot and get it where it needs to go fast. I know that if I touched anything like that in my parents house I’d be in my room thinking about why I did what I did.

Plus, If your house were to catch on fire or someone was to burglar it you can bet your insurance company may tell you to go swing on it if you try and say a backpack with $20,000 went missing or burned in the fire. Ya right! Be smart with your money and house it in a financial institution so you can sleep better at night. Heck you might even make 1% interest keeping it in a high interest savings account (cough) that your mattress can’t offer you. See there is a perk!

A popular blog post here at Canadian Budget Binder is “5 Unusual Places To Stash Cash At Home“ which leads me to think that many people like to stash a bit here and there in case of emergency.  I’m also guessing that “would be thieves”  or other interested parties are scratching their head going, “wow I never would have thought to hide cash there”.

Do you keep cash in the house? Why?

Why would you think that someone would keep $20,000 in cash in their house?

Personal Finance Weekly Reading List

PF WEEKLY READING LIST

These are my TOP 8 Blog Post Picks + Funniest Post of the Week and My Top 2 Recipes/Frugal Blog Posts of the Week!!

Recipes/Frugal Blog Posts of the Week
  • Lil Suburban Homestead- Potato Tower Time- Check out the frugal way to grow lots of potatoes
  • Aunt B on a Budget- Pickle Juice Vinaigrette; Don’t throw out the pickle juice, save it and make this amazing recipe!
Funniest or Motivational Post of the Week
  • Money Bulldog UK- A six-year-old girl manages to run up a 900 pound bill by purchasing $69.00 gems in a My Little Pony free I PAD Game in 30 minutes. I thought it was funny at first because a kid so young was smart enough to figure out how to spend money like water without even knowing what she’s doing. It ended not being so funny knowing how much money the parents had to dish out. Sounds to me like the parents need to take more security precautions when it comes to purchasing power of a toddler. 

Quote-Budget and Money

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Solving Spending Pressures of the Holiday Season

Posted: July 23, 2012 in Everyday Living Tips, Our Family Budget
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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You’re probably at the beach or spending time in the pool and snow and ice are the furthest thing from your mind. It’s only July but thinking about the Holiday Season early can save you money and help take the stress down a notch with a an early planning strategy.

The Holiday Season was special for my family in the UK and there was a feeling of  joy in the air every day in December. We celebrated Christmas in the UK but just not on the level as Mrs. CBB’s family does here in Canada. Looking back I think if we had the snow it might have had a bigger impact on us. You know how we are all dreaming of a white Christmas… well that is part of the experience but not all of us get it.

My father used to always say,”I was lucky if I got an orange son,you don’t know you’re born“. In other words you don’t know how lucky you have it now compared to life before you were born.

My Mum and Dad would always help us kids decorate a tree and we would all have gifts to open on Christmas morning followed by a traditional Goose Dinner. We never really had snow on the ground so no snowmen or snow angels on our front lawns. What we did have is love and although our gifts might have been far and few we can’t deny that money is the topic most chat about leading up to Christmas and thereafter.

I’m not kidding when I say my first Christmas in Canada was outrageous. Not only did I get to make a snowman but I got to drive highway 401 in a snowstorm as my first Canadian driving experience. I also got to feel the crisp cold air up me nose and feel my hands going numb. These times although we may have had them when I was very young were not memories in my mind.

I also got a glimpse of how empty my pockets were going to be if I didn’t start planning for the holidays in Canada. I believe that Christmas is much more Vegas compared to what I’m used to and I’m not a Mr. Money Bags. No, I’m no Scrooge either but I certainly wasn’t ready for the celebrations Mrs.CBB’s family were about to surround me with.

I figured for about 8 of us it took around 5 hours to open our Christmas gifts as it’s the one time of year the entire family is together and boy do they make it a good time. The budget for each person was $150-$300 and was a growing trend each year as if we all needed to deal with a shopping addiction. Although Mrs. CBB’s family is frugal with their money they spare no expense for Christmas.

Mrs. CBB and I didn’t spend that much on each other in fact after the first year we stopped buying gifts for each other. We saved our money to buy what we wanted once per year. Last year was our HD (1080p) Smart television that we envisioned for 3 years on our wall over the fireplace.

Since we were Newlyweds and needed a budget by the time we got round to it last year everything had changed. The family now had to listen to us say no we are on a budget and so we decided to pick names for Christmas with a $50 limit per person. If only more people realized it’s not the amount you spend it’s the love that’s given. So now we only spend $100 at Christmas as opposed to the almost $2000 we used to spend (not really but no one needs to know if you got a good deal, right?)

Stress for many creeps up during the holiday season when people are trying to sort out what to buy and if they can afford it. Sometimes this stress can turn into holiday depression. Some families turn to the food bank or rely upon Christmas hampers, community groups and donations just to see the kids smile. It’s these programs that take some of the stress away for many and continue to gain full support from communities around Canada. Tis, the season of giving, sharing and Love.

Then for others it’s after Christmas when the credit card bills start popping up that stress sets in. This can cause money fights and money problems in relationships. Most people spend far more on holiday shopping than they should and simple planning can help solve this problem. Stop the last-minute shopping and paying full retail price for items. Some people like to shop after Christmas to get boxing day deals, wrap them up and away they go, smart idea.

Not only are gifts and the grocery budget top of the list during the festivities there is also snow tires, under coating protection for vehicle maintenance, shovels, wiper blades, wind shield washer fluid, boots, hats, gloves, scarves, snow pants, ice scrapers, ice-melt etc….

All this can add up and if it is not being saved in the budget these expenses can come at a high price for some. These are not considered emergency expenses either.

Ways we reduce spending pressures of the Holiday Season

  • Budget monthly maintenance costs and save the money in our projected expenses account so the money is there when we need it.
  • Factor in the cost of winter attire into our clothing allowance when allotting money to the clothing category in the budget.
  • We draw names for gift-giving each New Years Eve so that way we know who we are buying for at the beginning of the year.
  • We talk to the person who we are buying for and ask them about things they like in advance so you have options.
  • Search for the best price on items that the person we are buying for wants, then buy it. The best part is we have all year to do this.
  • Save $25 a month in our Budget for projected expenses at Christmas Time and New Years (we don’t go out so not much to save for us).
  • Set a grocery budget that reflects the food we want to bring to the relatives as we don’t normally host. This includes baking as we bake for our friends and wrap up our Christmas Cookies each year.
  • Set a drinking budget-how much alcohol do we want in our home. festive season so we budget this ahead of time so we have the money.
  • We buy items at end of season for the following year. We are well stocked on wrapping paper, bags, Christmas cards, outdoor-lights etc.
  • We don’t buy for each other so we save for want we want and buy it on boxing day if we find an awesome deal.
  • Avoid the line-ups, shop early, time is money and we would rather spend it together than slugging around in the snow from shop to shop.
  • We also like to volunteer during the festive season with our local community groups.

Thanks to my Facebook Fan Mary Campbell for asking me to talk about this topic! I always appreciate listening to what my fans want to know and learn.

What ways do you prepare for the festive holidays? How do you save money? Do you budget your holiday expenses?

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