Frugal Friday-Sometimes it's The Little Things.

Last week, I ordered two shirts from Kohl's through their app. I also ordered a small outdoor throw pillow and a wristlet purse. I ordered this online and had it delivered to the store-and picked the items up from said store as part of my routine errands. Because I did this, I saved a minimum of thirty percent on each item-the tops for example being over thirty percent off after discounts.

I desperately needed the tops, the purse was on my list for awhile, and the pillow, well, the pillow was just plain cute. Admittedly. 

And of course, I just "happened" to have earrings made by my daughter that matched this shirt. Now if she can just make blue and pink ones for the other top. And yes, that chest is pure evience of my early years of sun abuse. What's a gal to do?

As you can tell, I come from the camp of "small amounts add up and are worth it", when it comes to my money-or anything else. A few steps increase health, time not spent on cleaning gives me time to sew (lol) and so on. Little pieces of money saved add up to large pieces of money saved-especially when you acknowledge that money as savings and some how specifically set aside. I have my sewing room set up so that I can come in and cut or pin fabric for even just ten minutes, knowing that will get things moving faster during a busy time. Having water instead of the rootbeer float in the previous post would save me money and calories (on the other hand, once it became refillable, I probably saved money and sacrified calories!!).

This is not to say that many of us may not need to make some large changes first, depending. Selling a home and downsizing to a rental is a big step, and one that put me in the position to be where I am now. But beyond the one time "big step" the small steps add up constantly, over time. Especially when you generally do them all the time.

I'm not a huge fan of spending beyond specific needs and wants, but those change for everyone. Sometimes even more often than yearly As someone who has lost weight and is in the process of moving to a "year around" capsule wardrobe system, just as an example (starting with 52 pieces and moving on), clothes are on my list of needs. While fabric is not a necessity of life, it can become a secondary need as I create and play.

Bottom line, if it's something I need or is something high on the 'want" priority list, in generally I'm going to try and get it as cost effectively as possible-and avoid paying full price almost all the time. Because while the difference between the 11 and fifteen dollar (both of an original $24) silky T-shirt may not be much, when I purchase five of them it's enough to...........fill in the blank here. And I consider that saved savings. Just as I do the extra few minutes it takes me to look for coupons that are twenty percent for two at the nearby Red Lobster.

Now to be sure there are things that I would not do to save unless it were a large amount. I'm fortunate to live in an area where driving by Kohl's and picking up ten items I saved five dollars each on is not affected by gas prices or time constraints, if you get my drift.

I also accept that unless it is something needed or on a high priority list, you would save more if you simply didn't buy-be it a large or small thing.  Along with that, as another blogger explained, are those things I don't consider savings as such. I mean, I always buy the things on the front of the grocery ads. I am NEVER going to pay more than a certain amount of chicken breasts. So subtracting what I paid from, say $2.99 isn't real savings, because I simply would not pay that price for chicken breasts. Ever. And if I never pay full price for the movies (unless gifted), comparing to the regular price doesn't work for me. On the other hand, sacrificing popcorn, drink and candy? That case would defintely be saved savings. Painfully saved savings.

So obviously this is a moving target and everyone will be different.

But I have joined that previously aforementioned  "saved savings" challenge. For the entire summer. Both to see how those dribs and drabs add up, and to put some spending cash aside for my September month long vacation and wedding hostessing as well as my October "destination" volunteer plans (more later).

And I have to set myself some guidelines.  So while I'm not looking at the number on the bottom of the receipt I am counting coupons and saving that difference. I'm counting rewards (travel rewards,  reward apps and so on) as savings when I redeem and cash them in. If I think about going out and then we order in more cheaply or dig something out of the fridge/freezer, I'm counting that at least for now (because we DO eat out). And so it goes...

Because for me at least, savings isn't savings if it goes back to the pot as opposed to being directed, any more than it's savings when we buy something un-needed. 

And just to show that into every life (even the Frugal Retiree's) a little unfrugal/non savings type pending must fall, today I grabbed this large tote that matches the small (needed) wristlet. On the one hand I didn't need it. On the other hand I like a small purse but needed a tote to carry things like knitting, planner, notebook and so on for those times I do need them-and lately I've been using whatever I grabbed, mainly old shopping bags. And yes, it was on sale. But I'm not counting this one as savings. Because I saw it, grabbed it, and bought it. 

If anything, maybe I should be taking the sale price out of my saved savings jar?  Who knows.