By Rosanne Hart | Wednesday June 15, 2011
First let me say, I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in my big mouth from the South. No, it was more like growing up polishing someone else’s silver spoons. That said, today I can’t imagine not wearing sexy stilettos – especially those by my fave shoe guru, Manolo Blahnik—‘til the day I’m pushing up daisies.
Now, how does one afford ridiculously priced pumps when the soccer team dues, orthodontist, football uniforms, ballet lessons, and vet bills come calling? By using my money saving tricks for shrewdly saving and socking it away, that’s how.
I call my fund “The Manolo Money Fund,” because that’s where I stash away those dollars for the little luxuries that keep me sane when my kids are driving me nuts. Shoes are my ticket to sanity. For others, it could be the spa, a girls trip, or simply a very sexy something to light up hubby’s eyes
It all started many years back, when I was running my own company and had too much on my mind—hung over employees, two babes with chicken pox, and a bookkeeper who ran off with a month’s operating budget. Brain overload!
I couldn’t remember which bank accounts I had, or how much was in each account. Then one day I received a bank statement with money in an account I had set up ages ago. Found money! It would become the beginning of what I would lovingly name my own, personal Manolo Money Fund. Though this bank account was sometimes used for more “honorable” purposes, such as airline tickets for the family holiday vacation, etc., I discovered one of my money saving tricks: having several bank accounts was one way I could save money without thinking about it! Then I discovered online banks make it even easier to save for life’s little luxuries – or for when life throws you a curve ball when your kids are up to bat.
If you think you don’t have money to spare, try this simple money saving trick. Fill one of your child’s piggy banks with any pocket change leftover each time you pay for something with a $20 bill. Even smarter, when you buy groceries and pay with a debit card, get a few dollars back in cash for Piggy. When you’ve hit $100, open an account at a bank that doesn’t charge fees. If you’re so inclined, and you see another bank with a special savings rate, open another account with $100 or more. I’d suggest having the same number of accounts as children, but not more than 3 – accounts (not children) otherwise things start to get confusing!
Rotate deposits into each account. For example: one week, deposit into Bank A, next week deposit into Bank B, so each fund builds up to your savings goal—$500, $1000, etc. Then, forget about it! Leave it alone. Do not touch it. Let it be, let it be, let it be! Until you really, really need it. With several savings accounts, I rest easy at night knowing that when the right Manolo shows up in my future (on sale of course), I’ll be ready with cash in hand!
For now, I’m still waiting and saving…
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A small-town Nebraska girl, Rosanne Hart graduated with a BS in Journalism from Kansas State University. At the age of 30, with a $1000 line of credit, she founded a national fashion/beauty PR/Ad agency, The Hart Agency, Inc., in Dallas. Despite her initial inability to balance a checkbook, and having flunked college accounting, she pulled it together and built The Hart Agency into a $1.5M agency, with offices in New York and Dallas, handling fashion clients and Fortune 500 accounts. An advocate for women-owned businesses, she is a founding member of The Texas Women’s Venture Fund, the Dallas Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, and mentor to young women.
Her two sons keep her humble. She writes a blog on money matters under her alter-ego Spexy Lady and says outrageous things on Twitter: @thespexylady.
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Great Article Rosanne. My weakness is Jimmy Choo. I actually use a similar system for my “Choo-Choo” Fund as we call it over here but I use BOA’s Keep the Change program. They round all debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and transfer the difference from your checking account to your savings account. The best part is they offered a 100% match for the first 3 months. Not sure if they still do that but I’m already on my second pair of pumps. Time to set up a Christian Laboutin fund.
Brilliant, brilliant and more brilliant! What we call these types of systems here at FinancialRx are “responsible rewards.” It’s all about learning to reward yourself within your means so that you can remain smart about your money on all the other, non-reward days. Woot!
Fabuloso Pam! Lovin’ the Choo Choo Fund, and I’ll start my “The Chris Cash Fund” with BofA. Thanks for that tip!
I think you can even call it the Manolo Metaphor. It’s not about deprivation, it’s about focusing on what you really want. If Manolos are your thing, then you should be able to have them. People are always surprised at what my husband and I pull off. Just by tucking away a little here and there, we are finally going to Disney by my kids request. We manage to go on vacation at LEAST once a year. Travel is my Manolo. Great article.
Thank you MoneySavingEnthusiast!
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