Working Mommy Wednesday (and Hump Day)

First things first ... I got my sex on this weekend ... three times!

Thank you, thank you. Moving on .....

Today, I decided to take part in Working Mommy Wednesday over at Work, Wife, Mom ... Life, introduced to me by my bestest Texas friend Aunt Crazy a few weeks ago. Although I'm not a wife, at least not the acceptable sense that most married woman are, I am a working mom ... and I swear, when you see a blog posted by me at 2pm on a weekday, I AM working. Just kinda in between projects ... or something along those lines. It's okay, really it is. IT is doing their rounds updating security on "questionable" machines as we speak and I wasn't on that list ... I just minimized blogger while he popped in to tell me my machine is A-O-K. Again ...

Back to Working Mommy Wednesday. Todays question is WHAT ARE YOUR BEST MONEY SAVING TIPS?

I'll start with how I've saved money in the last year ... and let me tell ya, these weren't exactly choices I made. I was perfectly content before, just living in my rented house, going to the casino and spending sometimes hundreds of dollars a month at the black jack table, drinking caesars, and taking cabs home. I also enjoyed the freedom of accidently spending more money at Winners than I needed to, and it being okay because I made decent money for a single mom. A single mom who rented! Along came July 2009, when I decided pretty much out of the blue to buy a house. Slowly and steadily, but surely, I've been left with less and less money after pay days. I'm still struggling with WHY, but it is my assumption that it has something to do with being a big girl now - having a mortgage, property taxes, and everything else that comes with owning versus renting your home. Ouch, yuck, and what was I thinking? Not to mention the fact that when shit breaks, I have to fix it. Or I should say .. my faux-husband has a lot more to do around my house now than when I rented. But it's a nice house, a house I am proud to own, and in 29 years, I'll be mortgage free. If I maintain my new money saving ways. And if I can control my teenagers outlook on finances. Like when I say I don't have money, how she simply tells me to go the machine .... if it were only that easy sweetie! 

I've given up most of my gambling habits. I still buy lottery tickets and ever since T-Bone tought me to play poker, I like to play $5 games with him and his friends. Sometimes I even win. But I don't go the casino anymore and sometimes, I miss it so.

I also drink less. Not because I think it's the healthy thing to do, but because I physically can't handle to drink as much as I used to. We've talked about this ... sigh ... it's probably for the better though, what with the raging alcoholism in my family n all.

When it comes to clothes shopping, I started going to this cute little second hand store close to my house. Although, this really isn't to save money.  It's because I've mysteriously been outgrowing all my clothes and I'm sure that one day, I'll wake up and they'll all fit again. It just wouldn't make sense to buy a whole new wardrobe two sizes bigger.

I'm also lucky enough to be surrounded by grocery stores. I can pick n choose where I want to buy certain things, and each store is barely a few blocks away from the next. When I feel like gambling, I go to Co-Op. It's the most expensive, but if you hit the right sales on the right day, you win. But you need your little club card. No card, no sale. Safeway is similar, minus the gas cash I collect at Co-Op. I save a buck on groceries everytime I fill up my car. Sa-weet. Then there's Super Store. In NE Calgary. That is a rare trip for me, usually when I feel like I've been bad and deserve to be punished. And it saves me the most money. You can either go when you are in a bad mood to get some agression out, or go when you have three spare hours .. which as a single working parent, I surprisingly have a lot of those ... But you have to be prepared. And armed.

I also buy as many store-brand items as I can get away with. Although some people are pretty particular with food or house hold items brands, I honestly can't tell the difference with most items. Toilet paper is not one of those items though. $10 for 24 rolls if I have to, sorry, not compromising there. I don't like to touch my own pee. Sydnerella asked me recently if we can stop buying the white boxes when we win the lottery ... Oops, have I passed my imaginary safety net on to my daughter?

And my most recent money saving idea this year was bundling my land line with my internet and cable provider. I saved about $20 in doing this. But then I added the movie channels and rented another cable box for the house, so I guess that does't count. But the initiative was there.

A few other little things I do to save money is drinking my office coffee instead of stopping at timmy hos for $1.64 large double double every morning. And I'm sadly giving up parking down town more and more. I just can't justify $25 a day ... sometimes I can, but mainly, I know I can be doing better things with that money ... For instance, a three day break from parking at work pays my house cleaners for a month. And that really was the only goal I had a year ago ... figure out a way to afford to buy a house AND for someone to clean it. 

Click on the button to read more money saving tips or to play along.