Money Saving Monday: If it ain't broke...or even if it is

*Deep Breath* Okay. This post will be a little revealing. This is going to expose parts of our life that I like to keep hidden. It's going to uncover truths about our life that I'm embarrassed to admit. Yet, I do this all in the name of money-saving. Yes, I'm going to exhibit just how cheap, old-school, and uncool we really are by showing you some of our most outdated and even somewhat broken prized possessions that we just keep using because, well, as the saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." When considering tossing vs. holding onto some of your "old" possessions, ask yourself if it's original function is still intact. This logic surely leads to becoming a lead character in that Hoarders show, but when your budget is tight, it works like a charm.

Exhibit 1: The Sony Radio Arm Band

Back in 2000, when home for summer break during college, one of my older brothers introduced this gem to me.  I was a sophomore in high school and was just really starting to take my running seriously in track and cross country (not that I was any good really, but just that I was actually trying harder and therefore running more). At the time, this was a huge step up for me in the world of music technology and running-Goodbye portable CD player! I shoveled out the $50 for this puppy, and I will admit that I at least have gotten my money's worth.

Here it is in it's original grandeur and glory.

This little guy has been with me for the majority of my runs for high school and then when I ran in college cross country for one year and for all the years after and in between. It has gotten me through training and race day for my one and only half marathon last fall.  It has traveled with us to Kansas City, then back to Wichita, then to Spokane and now to Birmingham. It has weathered sweat, rain and snow; treadmill, track turf, pavement, country dirt road or mountainous trail. It endured 5K's, 10K's, fun runs, trail runs, and a half marathon.

If you can't make out the huge eyesore, it's right there on my left arm. This was around the 12.75 mile mark on my half marathon last November.

All this, but not without some wear and tear: I've replaced the original headphones with ear buds...and I've super glued those replacement ear buds. (I'm so embarrassed to admit that I've actually super-glued ear buds in order to salvage them. Who does that?!?)

Evidence of my super-gluing ear buds...it is a thing.

 But like any old friend, it has some quirks that I've gotten used to over the years. For example, most of the time, the left and right ear buds alternate between which one carries majority of bass or treble. The irony just kills me every time this song comes on. And the left ear bud has lost it's squishy comfortable earpiece, so that one ear bud just usually hangs out on the collar of my shirt during my runs.  Unless this or this song comes on-then both broken ear buds are in and cranked up.

Right after running my first 10K with my trusty radio headset last November.

 Yet, it continues to motivate me and accompany me as my favorite running buddy. As vintage as it has become, I like the variety that the radio supplies vs. using downloaded songs. And I don't have many options as you'll read further down; I don't have an ipod or an iphone or itunes. So, does it still fulfill it's original purpose? Yep, so it stays.

Exhibit 2:  T.V's

This section is technically 4 part.

1. Box T.V.s. Need I say more? No flat screens over here.  Still, I remember what a big deal it was for Christopher to wait in line on Black Friday on the first Thanksgiving of our marriage (7 years ago) in order to get our big junker that is sitting in our living room now. That T.V. has also been through all of our multiple moves and life changes.  It may be silly, but I feel sort of attached to that monstrosity.  Throughout all the changes in our marriage and life so far-medical school, residency, different RN jobs and staying at home, moving and moving again, new babies-Christopher and I have always had "our thing": movies. Not in the theater (hello, we have 3 kids under 5), but at home on Netflix or Amazon Prime. I always look forward to getting our Netflix in the mail for our movie/date nights once the kids are in bed.  
2. Lack of cable. Yes, you read that right. We do not have cable. Well, actually, we had cable for about a week last summer when we (ahem, Christopher) painstakingly thought AT&T was offering a cable package for a 1 year special of only $60 (correction-it was $60/month in reality).  But we have PBS kids for kids' cartoons and we get our movie fix by either Netflix or Amazon Prime so we don't really feel the pain of a cable-less home.
3. Duct-taped antennae.  I'll let the picture speak for itself, but please note that both antennae are now taped, thanks to me on both accounts.
   
   Maybe now that this picture is all over the internet I'll finally spray paint the tape black. You know, make it a little less conspicuous.
4. VCR player.  The fact that my wonderful mother-in-law gave this to us from a garage sale makes it even sweeter.  This also numbs the sting of a cable-less home, especially for the kids..just take a look at this VHS collection of kids' movies. 

   

   I may or may not have had quite a few of these before we had children.

Despite all these tacky truths about our t.v., it continues to be the source of "our thing"; continues to be my parenting crutch basically anytime PBS kids is on; and continues to bring pure satisfaction whenever Parenthood or Bachelor is on. So, does it still serve it's original purpose? Yes, again.

Exhibit 3:  Flip Phones

Everyone's getting all crazy-excited about the new iphone 6 and I'm sitting over here with my old, non-texting flip-phone.

Who needs the new iphone 6 when you can have this?!?

A couple years ago, we got tired of receiving texts on our phone and having to pay for those notifications even though we didn't have a texting plan, so Christopher called Sprint and completely eliminated texts all together on my phone. So, I don't even get notifications anymore if you send me a text. I try to let all my texting friends know so they don't think I'm ignoring them. 

Big news: Christopher recently upgraded his and only his phone to texting. But it was only because he was missing work-related texts. Still, at least one of us is text-able now.  I almost forgot to mention that my phone is (obviously) not a smart phone; it's more like a "dumb" phone. Not only that, but it's extremely old. I'm surprised it still functions. I've had it for over 4 years...maybe 5. That's got to be like 103 years in phone years.  If it were to accidentally fall in the toilet, "get lost", or otherwise get destroyed, I wouldn't be too upset. 

I would only miss the newborn pictures of Gianna and Benjamin and a few saved messages of my parents and sisters. As worthless as I make it out to be, I'm pretty dependent on that old piece and feel slightly connected; it has been through 3 states, 2 additional children, and job changes (and it used to hang out in my scrub pockets daily when I was an RN and now it hangs out in that same pair of gym shorts as a SAHM). So, it still does it's job overall so it stays.

Exhibit 4:  Vechicles

The most drastic way to cut down on costs for vehicles is to drop down to a "1 vehicle family", although I wouldn't recommend it for much longer than a few months. It being my first year as a SAHM, we made the decision to leave 1 vehicle behind when we moved to Spokane, WA from Kansas to save on money. In reality it was because we honestly didn't think Christopher's 15 year old Camry could survive the road trip. My in-laws graciously let us store Chris's car in one of the farm barns during Christopher's intern year of residency when we lived in Spokane. Unfortunately, when moving from Spokane, WA to Birmingham, we soon found out that the Camry was mice infested and would no longer run. So, our initial plan to be a 1 vehicle family for only 1 year turned suddenly to indefinitely. 

To top it off, I was around 20 weeks pregnant with our 3rd baby, we were moving across the country, I was a newly SAHM and we were in a new city/state where I knew no one and knew nothing about my surroundings. It's no wonder I started feeling extremely cooped up after Benjamin was born and it was going on 2 years that I did not have my own vehicle. If I had an appointment or wanted to go somewhere with the kids, I'd have to pack all 3 little ones in the Corolla (3 carseats in the back of the Corolla in and of itself is pretty amazing) to take Daddy to work (early at the break of dawn-resident hours, remember) and then do it all again during rush hour traffic through downtown to pick him up from work later that day. This got old real fast.  And that is why I was so desperate to get a vehicle and am never ashamed to be a "van mom"; in fact, I'm sort of in love with our van. 2 words: DVD Player. Those 14 hour/day drives to Kansas are much more tolerable for all involved now.

On a trip from AL to KS taking a "non-movie" break.

Another more reasonable way we cut down on costs for vehicles is to eliminate car payments. Neither Christopher or myself have ever had car payments and we've always bought used vehicles.  We plan on driving our vehicles until they can't run anymore. So far, we've done just that with Christopher's first (mice-infested) car and my first car from college which I totaled the year before we moved to Spokane, forcing us to get the Corolla we have now (Best. Car. Ever).  Our little Corolla was my car when I was working 5 days/week and had 2 little ones; it got us through our "1 vehicle family" 2 year stent; it has safely carried Christopher along with as many of our possessions it could carry to Spokane and then all the way to Birmingham a year later; it has welcomed Benjamin home from the hospital and into our family; it has seen Christopher through medical school and into residency; and now serves as  Christopher's work car and the occasional Mom's Night Out, kid-less car. We're not planning on getting rid of it any time soon.

Exhibit 5: Gym Membership

Really, it should be "lack thereof". I guess I'm lucky because my favorite types of exercise are running and biking, where a gym membership isn't really necessary. One year during Christopher's 3rd year of medical school (and our 3rd year of marriage), we used our Christmas money to buy a treadmill so I could still run during the winter without fighting the cold during my runs (I really hate cold).  And I guess we had to spend money to buy bikes and the trailer but I got a heckova deal on our current trailer for 80% off at Target last summer.  Our first bikes and trailer we bought from craigslist while in Spokane and we were able to re-sell them after using them less than a year for the same price we bought them at, so nothing lost there.

Our first bike/trailer combo in Spokane a few years ago when we were a family of 4.

Sure, it'd be nice to have a gym membership (um daycare during work-outs obviously), but honestly, I actually like running and biking with the kids in the jogging stroller/bike trailer; it's like a double work-out with that extra 70+ pounds. Plus, I like getting us out of the house and into the fresh air. And the flabbergasted looks and comments I get from people I pass while hauling my load either running or biking is seriously the highlight of my day. Lastly, my mornings FLY BY when I get the kids out with me on a run or bike ride. The only bad thing about actually enjoying running is that all the races I end up running during a year's time probably would cover the cost of a gym membership. 

My favorite running buddies.

My favorite biker buddies.

Exhibit 6: Camera

I'm starting to feel like my camera is turning into one of those weird obsolete things from the "good ol' days" like cassettes, VHS tapes, and land line phones.  I've gone through quite a few cameras since college similar to this one.  I also print off pictures regularly and store the hard copies in photo albums, which is probably more money-wasting than money-saving. But I'm a big fan of having the pictures out to see vs. stuck in my computer or a hard drive and never viewed. My kids will talk about things that happened when they were infants like they were actually capable of having memories at 6 months old because we look at photo albums CONSTANTLY, telling and re-telling stories of our past. So, for now, or until we eventually get an iphone, I'll keep my old-school camera handy.

My current camera: the next cassette tape of my generation? 

I'm curious what secret possessions other people have in their lives that could or should be upgraded; everyone has something. But in all honestly, they are just things...our possessions. It's easy to feel attached to our prized possessions that we use 24/7/365.  Heck, I realized how attached to my silly "dumb" phone I am when realizing the pictures and voices of my loved ones that live and die in that old piece of junk.  Yet the more we move (and are forced to purge in the moving process), I realize how much unnecessary stuff is cluttering up my life. I love the feeling I get from de-cluttering my cabinets, taking boxes to Goodwill, and even just taking the trash out on trash day. I don't mean to contradict myself in this blog by starting out by saying, "hold on to your old stuff," and then finishing with, "get rid of all your junk". I just mean to evaluate if you really need the upgrade or if using the old is enough; to get rid of the excess, yet hold onto the useful.

Less is more. Simplicity is the new black. As Leonardo de Vinci said, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."  Or as Socrates said, "The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less."  In this crazy, materialistic world we live in, we yearn for simplicity. Or at least I do.  So, while it would be nice to have flat screens, blue-ray players, iphones, and gym memberships, for now I'm content with where I'm at. Or at least I'm trying to be content with where I'm at.