Andy Hough

Dollar Store Deals

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Due to my recent move I needed to acquire a few household items.  Being a Tight-Fisted Miser I didn’t want to pay any more than necessary for them.  Therefore I checked out the dollar store and was able to find a few things I needed there.

The best deal at the dollar store is probably the shower curtain.  It is $1 for the curtain and another $1 for the rings.   This would be about $10 at a big box store.  The quality probably isn’t as good but the shower curtain does its job and I haven’t had one fall apart on me yet.

Another good deal at the dollar store is kitchen items.  I bought a can opener for $1 and it works fine.  I also have a small frying pan that I bought at the dollar store several years ago that is still working fine.

Perhaps my best dollar store deal was a large laundry bag that I bought a couple years ago.  When I went hiking I used this to store my backpack when I checked it as baggage for my flight.  Many people buy large duffle bags to store their backpacks in which generally cost at least $20.  (If you don’t store your backpack in another bag the various straps and buckles on the pack often get caught on baggage handling equipment causing major damage to the pack.)  I figure the laundry bag saved me at least $19 and I still use it as a laundry bag as well.

Cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products can be good buys at the dollar store but I usually get these for free or almost free from playing the drugstore game.

I suppose some of the food might be a good deal but I just don’t trust food from the dollar store.

Do you get any good deals from the dollar store?  What products do you not recommend getting from the dollar store?

Moving Day

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I am moving in to my new apartment today.  I managed to find a one-bedroom apartment for $360 a month.  That is a pretty cheap even for Kansas City.  The apartment is nice it is just in an old building.  That is my best tip for finding a cheap apartment – look for an older complex that is still well maintained.  You can often get an apartment in older buildings for much less than the normal rate.  I guess this is because people think apartments in older building aren’t good?, I don’t know. The location is great with a CVS drugstore, Dollar General, grocery store, bank, movie theatre, library, park, and lots of restaurants within walking distance.

The only negative is that it is on the third floor and there is no elevator.  That could be a positive though because I need to exercise more.  Luckily, I don’t own much stuff so moving won’t be too difficult.  A couple of carloads should get me moved.

October Expenses – $1446.44

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Here is a breakdown of my expenses for September.

Household

$406.98

Entertainment

$54.61

Transportation

 $601.89

Food

$84.33

Medical/Dental

$61.66

Phone

$11.77

Education

 $52.20

Debt

 $173.00

Total

$1446.44

My expenses were a little high this month. That was mainly due to my car purchase. I left out the cost of the car purchase to keep my monthly figure from being skewed too much. I did count the expense of sales tax, registration, and insurance though which caused my transportation expense to be high. I should get my expenses back down to the $1000 level this month.

At the end of October my car had a cost per mile of $4.98. That isn’t too bad considering I had only had it a couple weeks. By the end of this month that figure should be way down. If I were to take out the purchase price from my total car cost I would obviously have a much cheaper cost per mile. Even though I could probably sell my car for close to what I bought it I am going to keep the purchase cost in my total cost since I plan to drive the car until it is near worthless.

October Income – $1586.35

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Here is a breakdown of my income for October.

Online Income

$427.46

Interest

$74.80

Stock Dividends

$17.54

Bonuses

$260

Medical Study

$800

Survey/Cashback

$6.55

Total

$1586.35

My income for October was good considering it was all alternative and passive income. It was higher than my expenses – if you don’t include my car purchase – which is always a plus. I will be hard pressed to match this amount of income in November since I don’t have any study money or bonus money coming . It is possible that I will have some income from a j-o-b this month but it will probably not add much to my total income.

October Investment Income – $85.24

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My October Investment income rose to $85.24 from $83.28 the month before. The rise was mainly due to adding more money to my stock portfolio although my portfolio did slightly rise in value also. I will probably not be able to add to my investments this month so any rise in my income will have to come from a rising market.

Disclaimer: This is not my actual investment income. To get this figure I first add up my retirement savings, emergency fund, and any other money I consider permanent savings. What the total of my savings would earn at 6% interest for a month is my monthly investment income. My goal is to get this amount to $1000 a month. If I have $1000 in monthly passive investment income I will be able to retire early.