Gifts on the Sly - This is almost too easy!

I just did the calculations.  With what this account of 'found money' is to cover - birthdays this year for my son, my daughter, my son-in-law and my 5 grandsons, and the budgets I have set for them this year - $100 for my son still at home, $50 each for my daughter and son-in-law, and $25 for each grandson - I only need to 'find' another $115.57 to fully fund this account - and it is only January!

Gifts on the Sly - Movin' on up!

So, who thought this challenge was a bit crazy?  Hard to do?  


Well, at last post, the balance was $35.16


Today, I received $107 FREE money for opening a checking account back in November.


I've decided to now use that account to hold the Gifts on the Sly money, so add in the small balance of $3.32 in the account.


Add in $50 in FREE gift cards - thank you MyPoints!


Toss in the loose change gathered over the past 6 weeks - $13.95


The new available total is.....$209.43!


Next birthday is my son-in-law...stationed in South Korea.  He will likely get the gift cards.

$107 FREE Money!

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, ING (an online bank) had a great promo going on.  If you opened an account during the specified time, and then made 5 debit card purchases within 45 days, they would deposit $107 into your account.  There was nothing to lose.  My money had to sit somewhere and I paid by debit card anyway, so I signed up.  My deposit was minimal - just enough to cover 5 small charges.  Then, I waited.  


I checked the account today - deposit was made!


So, I received $107 for about 3 minutes of my time - not a bad return!


Now, what to do with the money?


Well, I could do many things with it - remodeling account, emergency savings account, pay off a bill, splurge on myself, BUT...remember my 'found money' challenge?  Any 'found' or 'free' money goes to my Gifts on the Sly account to cover birthday gifts for the year.


Yep, that's where this will go.  Thinking about it, I believe that's what this account will be used for.  That way, I can deposit the change and not carry it around.  Speaking of...I need to go update the amount in that account with a few recent 'finds.'

Gifts on the Sly - $66.02 worth of gifts for....$5.41 (and not a penny out of my budget)!

I had $20 in Kohl's Cash to spend AND received a 20% off coupon via email from them this morning, so off I went.  I got a great deal AND learned something.  First, the deal.

Two long sleeve shirts - one button down, one fun tshirt, 1 cool puzzle including a magnifying glass and one book.  I wasn't planning on getting everything at Kohl's, but who can pass up free!  The shirts were originally $28 and $18, but we all know I absolutely hate paying full price - they were on the clearance rack.  The puzzle was originally $9.99, but on sale.  The book was part of their charity sales - $5.  The $20 Kohl's Cash covered all but the book!  (Kohl's Cash can't be applied to the special charity items.)  


While I was there, I picked up 2 other games:

Also on sale, leaving me with only one more game/puzzle to buy for the grandsons!  Each were under $4.  I walked out of the store with all of the above, only spending $12.09.  


Shopping for birthday #1 is complete.  All I need to do is make him his card and drop it all in the mail.  


Balance left in the Gifts on the Sly bucket:  $35.16


Next birthday is my son-in-law in February.


What I learned:  Be aware of store cash and coupon policies up front!  I assumed the 20% off coupon would be applied to my whole order BEFORE I paid with Kohl's Cash or any other form of payment.  Not the case.  The Kohl's Cash is applied to the total FIRST.  The discount coupon is then applied to the remaining balance (except for the charity items, of course).  I verified this on their website when I got home.  

Gifts on the Sly

Remember the challenge?  Pay for 2012 birthday gifts without a spending plan category for it.  That means I have to use 'found money' - change from paying cash, free gift cards, etc.


When I last posted about this challenge, I had $46.37.  I've been using the debit card instead of cash a lot lately, but I am adding $0.88 in change to that amount.  That brings the total to:


$47.25


I also have $20 in Kohl's Cash from Christmas shopping last week.  It has to be used today or tomorrow, so I'll have to shop ahead, but...tossing that in the total brings us to:


$67.25!


I have one birthday in January - grandson #2 is turning 6.  Gift giving for the grandsons is typically 1 book, 1 puzzle or learning game, and 1 article of clothing.  I'm off to take care of that today, so let's see how I do!

Gifts on the Sly - update

Because I couldn't think of a catchier name, this is what I'm going with for now.

Amount added to the fund = $2.51

Current total = $46.37

Not a bad start.  The first birthday gift to come out of this fund will be for grandson #2 in January.  The typical purchase for his birthday is 1 book, 1 game, puzzle or other learning item, 1 article of clothing.  The best way to do this is to keep my eyes open starting now for great deals.

Found Money! Starting Small - My results and a challenge to me!

Okay, I still have a few places to hit - like my purse and the car.  I'm not hitting those yet as I would get sidetracked cleaning those things completely out and I want to stay focused on the few tasks I've already given myself.  So, I hit my room and grabbed the jar of coins I've had sitting on my windowsill since summer.  I took a few months and paid cash for most everything.  This jar is the result of the change from those months.  Are you ready for the total?
.....
.......
.........

$43.86!

My brain had already decided what to do with the money, so here it is.  I am removing the 'gifts' category from my spending plan for 2012.  I will start paying cash for certain things again and use the change to fund this category.  I have another thing or two to help fund it, but that's for a different post :)  This will be no small challenge as this category covers birthdays for my daughter, her husband, my son and my grandsons!  Right now, it covers only birthdays (Christmas is a separate category in my spending plan), but still no small challenge!

Now I need a catchy name for my challenge so I can update along the way!  Any suggestions?