In the Ensuing Panic

Some years ago, FMP built me a wooden box to keep money I found in. I usually keep it in my office, so it has a small padlock. This is not because I don’t trust my co-workers. I work for a college and a couple hundred students and others come into the advising area every day during a normal year. Obviously, the vast majority are good people who would not dream of robbing me. But, there’s always the one who ruins it for everyone else. Last week, when I started the count, I forgot to include what was in the box when we all went home in March. On most days, I walk the campus at 3 or 4 in the afternoon for exercise. Being a college, every building has at least one vending machine area. As I walk through, I check for coins in the change returns. This is where the bulk of the money in the Found Money Fund comes from. I also throw in money I find anywhere else. So, this week’s total includes what was already in there. In future, I will just tell you about any new finds.

Found Money Fund starting balance: $17.90
Food Town freebie/savings: $3.30
Kroger savings: $13.65
HEB savings: 6.02
Foreign money found (.04 in Euros): $.05
Found Money Fund (new): $.13

New total for The Scheme: $248.96~~TSG

Since I do the “big” grocery shopping on Wednesdays, I have decided to make them report days. Since the introductory post, I have added the following to the scheme:

Circle K win: 1.98
Food Town freebie: .98
HEB savings: 3.94
Kroger savings: 3.20
Walgreen’s savings: 4.50
Lottery win: 18.00

The new total is $206.91

Divided by the 7 days since I last reported, that comes to $4.80/day. I need to step it up~~TSG

After giving it some thought, I have come up with a new “scheme” to work towards. Last year, we paid off our house. Owning the home outright is a good feeling, but we really need to make some repairs and improvements. So, that is what I am going to save up for.

The first order of business is the fence. Recently, our backyard neighbors paid to clear some trees and vines between our homes and to replace a section of fence. We will be replacing the rest in sections as we are able. The fence between us and the neighbor on the left was replaced a few years ago. They paid for the materials and FMP and I provided the labor. The fence between us and the neighbor on the right was partly hidden by the above-mentioned vines and trees. When that part of the yard was cleared, it was obvious that sections of this part of the fence are on the verge of collapse. The amount needed to fix the parts of the fence that need it is around $2000. There are about 10-15 sections that need repair. That would be about $200 per section. Since I am not a good estimator, I am going to up the estimate to $250. If I want to fix a section every month, I will need to save the equivalent of about $8.50 per day.

Before I get to where I am right now in savings, I need to go over the “rules”. The following are sources of income: rebates, money I find on my daily walks around the campus, things I find that I can use or give as presents, sales from Ebay or any other source I end up using to sell finds or creations, anything I win from the contests I enter, anything I am given that I can use or give as presents, coupons that save me money and money I make from scrapping the various things I find that do not work. Also, if I can afford to “lend” money to someone, it is obvious that I can spare it. When/if the person pays me back, I will put that towards the scheme. For entertainment, I spend $5 of my “mad money” each week on lottery tickets. Anything I win from that will be put in the pot.

What doesn’t count: savings from making things myself that I would normally buy and change collected from our cash expenditures. If I think of other things in either category, I will add them as time goes on.

Here is where I am right now in the process. I don’t have dates for most of this because I didn’t think of that until just now.

Money loaned out and repaid: $100.00
Lottery winnings: $41.00
Circle K snack pack nuts win: $1.69
Food Town free product with purchase: $1.99
HEB coupon savings: $6.84
HEB coupon savings 8/12: $21.89

TOTAL: $173.41

Looks like FMP has a little bit of time to recover from the rush of harvest before I have him out helping me build fences.~~TSG

I’ve been reading through old blog posts and realized that there is some serious updating needed. Exactly 4 years ago, I started a project designed to achieve several goals without putting an undue stress on our budget. This morphed into a “scheme” to get our youngest child, CPI, graduated from Texas A&M University without debt. I am very pleased to report that we have succeeded. CPI completed his courses this spring and we are awaiting his diploma. He owns this degree free and clear. No one owes a single penny to the university or anyone else. Sacrifices were made by our entire family to achieve this. We are grateful for the assistance of God in remaining steadfast and resolute when it looked as if our plan was falling apart. This is a time of great triumph for us. I am most pleased that CPI has the ability to search for a job that suits his temperament and training. A job that will give him a feeling of usefulness and pride in his contribution. For this, I am truly grateful.

I must now consider what new “scheme” to turn my attention to. What other great thing can we accomplish if we choose the correct path? I must turn my thoughts to this. I will get back to you with the results.~~TSG