Around the Sun: Blog About Saving Money

As we frugal types already know, the public library is an excellent resource for books and other media.

But don’t forget, as I tend to do, that the library also offers tons of free events, classes and programs for kids and adults alike.

 Here’s one online resource for finding libraries in your area (US only):

www.publiclibraries.com 

For those in Portland, I’d like to point out two cool programs—one for kids, one for adults—sponsored by the Multnomah County Library system:

Young Adult Writers Workshop
Saturday, June 16th, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Join editors Ali McCart and Kristin Thiel from Indigo Editing and the Ink-Filled Page quarterly literary journal for a two-hour writers workshop. Come prepared with a story you’ve written or just an idea and we’ll examine writing strategies that make successful stories and exercises to build your writing voice. At the end of the workshop, you can submit your story for publication in the Ink-Filled Page! Read the journal at www.indigoediting.com/Ink-Filled_Page.html.

This workshop is free and open to all young adults between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. Arrive at the U.S. Bank Room (off the main foyer) of the Central Library, 801 SW 10th Ave., Portland, at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 16. The workshop will last two hours; we will provide supplies and light snacks as well as plenty of advice for improving your writing.

No RSVP required. Direct questions to info@indigoediting.com.

Craft Classes for Adults: http://www.multcolib.org/events/adultcrafts.html
Times and locations vary, check website for details

Super Crafty Love-In
Love crafting? Join the authors of the book Super Crafty: Over 75 Amazing How-To Projects for an adult craft-in. Supplies to complete a craft will be provided and crafty questions answered.

Kanzashi: The Art of Japanese Fabric Flowers
Learn how to make kanzashi with Diane Gilleland from the Church of Craft. The flowers are traditionally used on the elaborate headresses worn by geisha. They involve a little bit of fabric origami, a little sewing, and a little gluing. They make wonderful jewelry, embellishments for handbags or refrigerator magnets. And they aren’t so hard to make!

Bead and Wire Crochet
Using fine-gauge wire and assorted beads, Diane Gilleland from the Church of Craft will show you how to create delicate beaded chains and make them into necklaces, bracelets and earrings. No crochet experience is necessary—and if you are a crocheter, you can also learn some more advanced techniques.

See you at the library!

Portland has a parking garage company called SmartPark. The rates are pretty affordable for night or weekend parking, but weekday rates are similar to other companies.

The upside to SmartPark is that hundreds of stores in Portland validate, each giving you 2 free hours of parking. Buy from 4 different stores and you get 8 hours of free parking or one full work day. This can be handy if you occasionally need to drive into work, rather than using mass transit or other (cheaper) commuter options.

Now, I’m curious what you all think. Do you feel it’s okay to buy something just to get the validation and then return the item?

Of course, the act of buying and then returning takes precious time out of your life. Do you feel it’s even worth it to do this?

As you know, I love to swap.

What you may not know is that I also love to craft. 

Thanks to Sister Diane of the Portland Church of Craft, there’ll be an opportunity  to swap craft supplies this weekend in Portland.

Here are the details:

Sunday, May 27th, from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
The 100th Monkey Studio
110 SE 16th Ave.
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 232-3457
It’s the low, green building at the corner of SE 16th and Ankeny. There is
plenty of street parking.

Details:

- Please bring any art or craft materials that you aren’t using anymore. We’re open to pretty much everything — paints, fabrics, yarn, beads, buttons, pens and pencils, clay, paper . . . 

The only stuff we’re not looking for are those random cast-off things you’ve been hanging onto in case that perfect project comes along. You know . . . those paper-towel tubes and the guts of that old transistor radio.

- There is no admission fee for this event. We do ask that you bring something to swap. The 100th Monkey Studio will have a collection jar to take donations for their Art Scholarship fund, in case you’d like to donate a bit.

- You are welcome to take any art or craft materials you can use from the swap. We’re not placing limits on what people take, but we hope everyone will respect that this is a community event, and leave plenty for everyone else. We are donating a large portion of the leftover material to Outside In.

- We will have three free craft tables going on during the day, so you
can also hang out and make stuff:

From 11:00 - 1:00, we’ll be making Fabric Scrap Flower Pins.

From 1:00 - 3:00, we’ll be making Refrigerator Magnets, using all kinds
of found objects.

From 3:00 - 4:00, we’ll be making Fused Fabric Greeting Cards.

Bikes are a transportation option that offers financial, health and environmental benefits. Likewise, bike tours can be an economical form of entertainment and source of education, as well as a way to connect with your family and your community.

If you are looking for a free event this Saturday, consider this bike tour of Portland’s small museums:

Join us for a monthly bike tour of Small Museums & Collections in the
Portland area. Each month we’ll pedal to unique collections, enjoy
presentations by experts, and have a fun, yet educational outing by
bike. The tour is led by Carye Bye, the director of the Bathtub Art
Museum ( http://www.bathtubmuseum.org/).

May’s Small Museums by Bike : Book Arts & Fine Printing:
Saturday May 26, 2007
12:45 pm
SW Park Blocks - North End, Salmon & Park. Downtown Portland
Length: 3.5 - 4 hours, non loop, ending in inner SE
contact: Carye Bye 503-248-4454
Free

While illustrated manuscripts, and fine bookbinding have been around
for centuries,  contemporary artists are learning old traditions and
pushing the boundaries to create well-crafted works of art using hand
binding, handmade paper, letterpress printing, calligraphy, unique
book constructions, and other associated arts.

On this tour we’ll visit with Jim Carmin, the rare books & exhibit
specialist for the John Wilson Room at Portland’s Central Library, who
will walk us through two exhibits - ‘Philip Smith: Extraordinary
Bindings from an Englishman’ and ‘15 Years of Artists Books by
Catherine Alice Michaelis’.  Across the river, the New American Art
Union is hosting ‘By All Means: Artists Books & Objects’ . Diane
Jacobs, one of the 7 participating artists, will tell us about her art
and involvement in the show. We’ll also have our own chance to make a
book using simple binding techniques and a table-top letterpress at
the Independent Publishing Resource Center.

Carnival of Personal Finance marks its 101st edition at FIRE Finance:

http://firefinance.blogspot.com/2007/05/101st-edition-of-carnival-of-personal.html

I’m honored that my post on coupon clipping service The Coupon Clippers was included, along with 67 other posts on topics such as frugal living, savings, credit, investing and more. Check it out!

And if you would like to participate in the next carnival, go to http://carnivalofpersonalfinance.com/

I never thought I’d buy coupons. Pay money to save money; it didn’t seem intuitive. But my first experience with a coupon clipping service convinced me that, in the right circumstances, buying coupons is worth it.

Last week, grocery chain Albertsons advertised a special that caught my eye:

6 bottles of All Small & Mighty liquid laundry detergent for $15
Or $2.50 per bottle

Not a bad deal in and of itself, but I knew that there was a $1 coupon from the Sunday paper a few weeks ago.

Problem was, I had just one coupon. Even though Portland-area Albertsons stores add an additional $0.50 savings for each coupon used*, one coupon hardly made a difference:

6 All detergents: $15 - $1 coupon savings - $0.50 additional savings = $13.50
Or $2.25 per bottle

But if I could get a coupon for each item purchased, I could reduce my cost substantially:

6 All detergents: $15 - $6 coupon savings - $3 additional savings = $6
Or $1 per bottle

Now this price got my blood pumping.

I decided to visit The Coupon Clippers, a site I had heard about in online coupon forums. Managed by Rachael Woodard, The Coupon Clippers is a coupon clipping service that provides manufacturer’s coupons and rebate forms for a small handling fee.

I ordered 14 coupons for All Small & Mighty, as well as 22 other coupons to use on other sales. The total cost for these coupons was $3.89. If I could do the All deal twice, the cost would be:

12 All detergents: $30 - $12 coupon savings - $6 additional savings = $12
Total cost: $12 + $3.89 (cost of coupons) = $15.89
Or $1.32 per bottle

This wasn’t as good as $1 per bottle, but it was an acceptable price for me. And if I could use the other coupons I had purchased, the cost per item purchased would go down even further.

I ordered the coupons on Tuesday night, and they were shipped on Wednesday. The coupons arrived on Saturday, enough time for me to use them on the sales.

I would definitely use The Coupon Clippers again. The process was problem-free, and the turnaround was as promised. If you don’t have the right coupons on hand and don’t have the ability or motivation to get them in a more economical way, I would recommend giving The Coupon Clippers a try.

Tips for using a coupon clipping service:

• Read the fine print. Make sure you understand the ins and outs of the service, such as fees, location (this will give you an indication of shipping time), turnaround time for orders, minimum orders and limits, and customer service. For The Coupon Clippers, I recommend reading the FAQ section of the website before purchasing.
• Check turnaround time. Will the coupons arrive in time for you to use them before a sale ends or before the coupons’ expiration date?
• Do the math. Calculate the cost of the coupons into your total cost for the items. Is the total cost still acceptable to you?

* Portland-area Albertsons stores allow you to use the Thriftway and Safeway “doubles” coupons from the Oregonian Foodday issue. 

For more information on coupons, check out these articles:
“And Your Total Is $0″
“You’re Not Alone”
“My Grocery Game (Part 1)”
“My Grocery Game (Part 2)”

Last week, inspired by My Money Blog’s success at lowering his Comcast rates and the arrival of an ad from Qwest, I called Comcast to try to get a discount on my own TV and internet subscriptions.

Attempt #1: Armed with the Qwest ad, I called Comcast customer service at around dinner time. I was on hold for over an hour (luckily I have speaker phone). I hung up in disgust.

Attempt #2: I called again the next day at around 10 pm Pacific time. A customer service rep picked up immediately. I said that I had received an ad from Qwest offering DSL for $26.99, and I asked whether Comcast could price match. The rep said no, but offered to lower my internet bill by $13 for the next 6 months. I took it. Then I asked whether there were any discounts on cable TV. The rep offered $10 off for 3 months. I accepted that too. 

All in all, I will save $108 over the next 6 months!

I highly recommend asking your internet/cable provider for a discount. Once I actually got a live body, the call was easy and fast.

I also highly recommend calling during non-peak hours.

Thank you to My Money Blog for inspiring me to do this and many other great money-saving ideas over the years.

On the topic of inspiring blogs, I’ve also been reading No Impact Man. No Impact Man, aka writer Colin Beavan, and his family have embarked on a one-year experiment in reducing their impact on the environment.

Today’s blog explains how going green has saved him money. Here’s an excerpt:

“When the project began, we were without a dime in savings and, though not in credit card debt (I’ve been there, done that), we were both way too comfortable being in overdraft. Now, the money idles provocatively in our bank accounts. We’re living on one salary and stashing the other.”

Read the full article here: Money Is Green

Learn more about the experiment here: http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/2007/02/the_no_impact_e.html