Temptations

Lately, every time I get a new catalog or e-mail I start coveting things. I recently posted about the Tory Burch espadrilles that sucked me in. Ultimately, I didn't keep them (and even made a little money off them!) but initially I thought I needed those shoes.

Do you know what I don't need? 4" espadrilles that go with literally nothing in my closet and might get use in sunny San Diego, but not so much up here in summer-is-seven-minutes-long Seattle.

Then I received an e-mail in my inbox from Coach. I immediately started coveting a Kristen satchel for around $400 after tax. After all, my purse is old and the straps are kind of worn. After searching eBay for the bag, I caught myself seriously considering a $350 option. So cheap, right?! I backed away from the computer and reeled myself in.

I've also written before about canceling catalogs to avoid temptation. I've canceled a lot of catalogs, although clearly Nordstrom needs to be added to that list and maybe I need to start unsubscribing from some e-mail lists. These are clearly where temptation gets into my house and under my skin.

The extra money I made on eBay has been fantastic and unexpected, but it is not my intention to replenish my still large closet with that money. I want to set it away. In fact, I've even put it in a separate high interest savings account, and am working on paying the eBay fees out of my own pocket. I'd like to see if I can fit it all into my budget while keeping that chunk of savings wholly intact.

But apparently I want my cake, and I want to eat it too...

The goal this year is to save and then save some more and not touch it! And just because the bank accounts start looking really pretty, does not mean I have to spend that money haphazardly.

TradeKing - $100 Bonus!

My Roth IRA is with Fidelity, and I've had a regular brokerage account with Schwab for a long time, but lately I've been searching for a cheaper option. Fidelity charges $7.95 a trade, and Schwab charges $8.95. I'm happy with both platforms, but those fees can really whittle away at profits.

I initially was drawn to Zecco, but just as soon as I'd made the decision to open an account they dropped the free trades! There are a handful of options for trades in the $5 range, so I didn't rush to open a new account. I figured somebody would offer some kind of new account incentive soon, and I didn't have to wait long!

TradeKing is offering a $100 referral bonus for referring friends, and will also give the friend $100 for opening a new account by March 31st. All you need to do is get a referral to open an account, fund it with $1000 within 30 days, and make your first trade within 180 days. The $1000 minimum (minus any trading losses) must remain in the account for at least 180 days or you will lose your bonus.

This bonus is a great way to get started investing for people who have started a savings habit and reached $1000. Even if you're an experienced investor, it's a great incentive to try out a new and very discounted brokerage. TradeKing charges only $4.95 per stock trade. I can't find anything cheaper than that - if you can, let me know!

I'm excited to get  started with them, and don't plan to close my account after 180 days. For $4.95 trades, I definitely plan to stick with TradeKing.

If you know someone using TradeKing, ask them to send you a referral e-mail. If you don't know anyone, feel free to shoot me an e-mail at pigpenniesblog@gmail.com and I'll e-mail you a referral.

The best part? Once you're signed up, you can refer friends and earn another $100! Just remember, the promotion ends March 31st.

START Saving at USBank

I've been a USBank customer since about the tender age of...oh, eleven or so. This weekend I opened up a S.T.A.R.T. savings account, and if you're looking for a hassle free way to get started on a small emergency fund and earn a little extra in the process, this is a great way to do it.

You need to have a banking package with USBank to qualify. I have a Silver Banking Package meaning I have a no fee checking account and have now added a no fee money market account. If you don't already have an account through USBank, you can open a checking account with a minimum $50 deposit. There are no fees, and no minimum balance requirements.

The S.T.A.R.T. program is very simple. Add a money market account to your banking package and set up automatic deposits from your checking account. Once your balance reaches $1000, you get a $50 Rewards Card. I've set up twice monthly transfers of $250 so that I can reach that $1000 as quickly as possible. If you maintain a balance of at least a $1000 for a year, you receive another $50 Rewards Card.

That's a 10% return over a year plus however long it takes you to reach $1000.

Say you're just getting started saving, and don't think you can afford to put much away. Don't put it off! Start paying yourself first now, even if it's only a little bit. If you keep putting it off until you think you can afford it, you might never start saving. It takes time to form a habit, so getting into the habit of saving now - even if it's just a little bit - puts you in a better position for the future.

Think you can spare $50 from each paycheck? Setting up a $50 transfer twice a month will get you to that $1000 level in ten months. After ten months, you'll get a $50 Rewards Card, or a 5% return. That's better than you'll get in any CD or high yield savings account right now! Save that money (you can keep adding to it!) for another year, and you'll earn another 5% on your money.

I like getting cash rewards, but I'll take a Rewards Card. I can always pay a monthly expense with the card, and put the $50 extra cash I'd have into savings.

USBank is known for being conservative, approving only the best borrowers for loans and credit cards at really low rates, but also offering very conservative rates (i.e. low) on their savings and checking accounts. Once you've maximized your rewards from the S.T.A.R.T. program, I recommend looking into moving your money to a higher yielding account like Ally Bank, ING Direct or SmartyPig.

Think you can't get started with even a little every month? Sign up for a pay-per-action site like FusionCash. I easily earn around $25 a month without exerting much effort using FusionCash. With a little extra effort, you could easily make that $50 a month and turn that into $600 savings a year. Get started, even with baby steps!

Spare Pennies

I'm sure you'll all be very impressed to hear about my exciting Friday night - rolling coins! Yes, this is how I spent my evening.

While my husband went night skiing with friends, I caught up on the shows he refuses to watch with me and organized my purse. Cue counting the bag of coins I keep in my purse.

Now, I never use cash for anything. I'm a credit card rewards kind of gal. How I end up with any change at all is beyond me, but I had so much change that I went looking for more!

After I'd cleaned out the coin tray that hubby keeps by the bed (and then never does anything with) I searched the house for more change. I ended up finding a jar I've had since college full of pennies, along with a small box full of coins. I've been moving it from school to apartment to house all these years and stowing it in the back of a closet. Go me?

When I was done, I had $26 in rolled coins! Okay, actually $25.25. I need to find 3 more quarters to finish off my quarter roll. Only $9.25 of that is in quarters. Can you imagine rolling $16 in pennies, nickles and dimes? Not that easy, but totally worth it.

Once again, the pennies really do add up!

Food Waste Friday - Brie and Frozen Flank Steak

I'm extremely happy with how my food waste has been going ever since I started partaking in Food Waste Fridays. Posting once a week helps keep waste in the forefront of my mind, so I've been very conscious of using up leftovers and finding ways to incorporate veggies that are looking like they're on their way out.

The only thing I have to report this week is an old piece of Brie - mostly rind. It's been in there...awhile. I'm pretty sure someone brought it over during a potluck get together, and the last little bit was thrown in a plastic bag and into the deli drawer of my fridge, never to be seen again until today.

Brie is pretty much my most favorite thing in the world, so I said a few words before regretfully tossing it.

The hubs bought strawberries two-for-one last weekend when he got a hankering for Belgian waffles, so I have a ton of strawberries in the fridge that probably won't last much longer. I think I'm going to add some to my homemade yogurt. I'm wondering, do strawberries freeze well? I need to get on it, or these will be part of next week's post.

The other thing I've been doing a lot of lately is using up frozen leftover flank steak. I buy a two pack of flank steak from Costco every month. I'm that girl sorting through every package of flank steaks in the fridge looking for the lightest, cheapest one. Hey - there's only two of us! Even though I usually don't spend more than $15 on two small flank steaks, they're still far too big for the two of us to finish, so I throw the leftovers in the freezer.

If I don't, they will go to waste. I've learned this about myself, and accepted it. Leftovers go straight into the freezer, none of this fridge business.

Next time I decide we're having red meat for dinner, I take out the leftover flank steak and make it into Beef Stroganoff! It's actually a bonus that it's already frozen, because many stroganoff recipes call for you to lightly freeze the beef before chopping it up. Here's how I make my stroganoff:

Heat up a little oil or butter in a skillet while you chop up a medium sized onion. Toss the onion in the pan, and slice the leftover flank steak into bite size pieces and then dredge in flour. When the onion is looking pretty translucent (cook it on pretty low heat) toss in the dredged meat. I season with salt, pepper, and some Italian seasoning or thyme. I usually add some freshly chopped garlic or powdered garlic as well.

Once that's all tossed together and heated through (remember, I'm using cooked meat - if yours isn't, make sure to cook it all the way through) I add about a cup of chicken broth. Many recipes call for beef broth, but I never keep that on hand. I think the chicken broth is just as flavorful. I let that cook down just a little, and then stir in about a cup of sour cream. Oh - don't forget to cook your pasta at some point! I like to use linguini. Egg noodles are the usual choice, but I don't keep them on hand.

I stir the sour cream in for just a few minutes, adjusting the seasoning to taste and the thickness with either broth or a little more sour cream. You can also add a little flour if it's not thick enough. Then, pour everything from the skillet over your pasta and serve. Voila! Another meal from my frozen flank steak.

If you're wondering where the mushrooms are, my husband stands steadfastly against button mushrooms. He's worked his way into liking Portabellas, but hasn't opened up his palate to any other fungus...yet. I'm trying. If I don't feel like serving my stroganoff with a salad, I usually add some cooked peas instead. Delish!

A Super Delayed Spending Saturday

I've been procrastinating about looking at my spending for the past week because I was afraid to confront it, but after taking a gander I'm actually not doing so bad.

I've made way more money than I thought possible selling my lightly worn clothes on Ebay. As with any unexpected windfall, spending that money is far too easy. Of course, the Nordstrom catalog showed up around the same time and I fell in love with a pair of Tory Burch espadrilles. I rushed to my computer to see if they were even in stock still.

(I was fairly certain they'd already be sold out, torturing me like the sparkly Enzos I didn't get to wear at my wedding whateverwhocaresoverityeahright.)

They were still in stock! And selling in only whole sizes. I immediately purchased 2 pairs.

By the time they came, I was feeling sort of like they were an unnecessary purchase (duh). I had sort of talked myself into them by deciding I'd list some of my lightly worn and worn-no-more shoes and if they sold for a reasonable amount I could keep the new ones. But when they came, they looked only about 75% as adorable as they did in the picture. Okay, they were adorable, but also kind of impractical, and so looked less cute in my bedroom than they would on a models feet strolling around St. Tropez.

So, I decided to Ebay them. By now they were sold out online in both sizes. I figured if I could make a profit, all the merrier, and if not I'd return them. When the pair that actually did fit sold, I was a little sad, but at that point there was no turning back, and I'm very happy with the roughly $60 profit I made. It helps ease the pain.

Other than that, it turns out I didn't really spend anything this week except a little at the post office saying goodbye to old clothing and a new roll of packaging tape.

And yes, I purchased it online through Ebates before picking it up at Lowes and earned 2% of the purchase price back. It's what I do!

LivingSocial Deal - Two Movie Tickets for $9!

If you're looking for a cheap date night, it's a great idea to snatch up LivingSocial's deal today. They are selling two movie tickets through Fandango for $9! And now I'm going to go feel old because I remember the days when that wouldn't have really been a deal...