Post Christmas Update – How I raised and spent money for a good cause
filed in Goals, Odds and Ends, Stretching your dollar on Dec.27, 2008
Since I started this blog two months ago, my readership has grown slowly without advertising or SPAM or anything.
Well a couple of weeks back, I began to raise some money for the Daily Bread Food Bank via PayPal donations and other methods that I employed. I am going to quickly break down the funds for you and show that its very easy to raise money by doing very little, and also with a little help, you can maximize this money further.
-PayPal
- I was able to raise approximately $19.00 through donations that varied from $0.50 – $1.09. With these micro-payments, the sum quickly did add up!
-eBay
- I sold a few basic things that were around my house which I had no use for. Believe it or not, those items were coupons! Yes, I sold coupons for dog food, free shampoo, free razors, money off other grocery items that for one reason or another would not use. As crazy as this sounds, selling these coupons raised $9 after eBay fees. In total, this took me only a few minutes to setup and mail to address(es).
-Craigslist
- This was another method I used to get rid of things lying around. I managed to get rid of a few books that were probably going to go in the trash but instead found a good home. I was giving them away for free but the buyer did throw me $10 for dropping them off.
In total, I raised $38 for the Food Bank which I then went over to the local grocery store with. And look at this list.
With almost $40, I managed to purchase:
11 bags of pasta which was normally $2.99/bag but on sale for $1.49. From that, I had coupons for a further $0.50 off which means each bag cost $0.99!
11 cans of tomato sauce – half price on sale for $0.69
5 Cans of baby formula – free with coupon from Simlac that I ordered in advance (normally 4.99 each)
12 bottles of Gerber Baby Food – had coupons for buy one, get one free. (each jar came to $0.25)
4 bags of Quacker Oats family size Oatmeal – $1.99 each
5 cans of baked beans – had coupon for $0.25 off each can – cost $0.99/can
5 cans of chili – $0.99/can
2 family size bottles of Heinz Ketchup – minus $0.75 coupon – each bottle came to $2.24
The total VALUE of the groceries before coupons: $102.85 before tax!!
Total COST of actual groceries: $43.82 before tax!
SAVED: $59.03
This is PROOF that a small effort can save money. I managed to raise a small amount which to some may be nothing, but maximized every dollar to the best ability to purchase groceries that were name brand, nutritious and in sizes that a typical family would use.
This was done to raise the most food possible for those in need, but take this for your own daily purchases. I know I emphasize many times the great value of coupons and hope this makes it even more real. Coupons can save you money.
For more info on coupons here is my last article on how to get the same coupons I used: Coupons..my fetish?
Personally this is not a lot of groceries, but I am glad that I could do something for the local community thanks to the help of your contributions and to those coupons provided by manufacturers! Next year the goal will be bigger and better.
Happy Investing!
Aman, MBA
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January 12th, 2009 on 8:53 pm
Actually, you should just give the money to the food banks. They can do more with it than a normal consumer can because they get special deals.
[Reply]
admin@BullsBattleBears Reply:
January 12th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
RM, I agree that money is a great way to donate, but the drive during the holidays was aiming for 500,000 pounds of food and I felt that I could assist that goal with the purchase of items mentioned on the media while at the same time maximizing my purchase power with the coupons I accumulated over the year.
When it comes to money, I do understand that food banks might have an edge on ordering bulk on volume meaning cheaper prices. But at the same time, I personally hesitate on one small point – the fact that not every dollar will get food. I usually look at a charity’s efficiency rating on sites like:
Charity Navigator/ who rate how of every dollar goes towards the cause after admin costs.
[Reply]
October 21st, 2010 on 9:48 pm
The formal article assited me very much! Bookmarked your website, very great categories just about everywhere that I see here! I really like the info, thanks.
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