I’m going to challenge myself to a summer savings challenge, and am inviting all of you to join me. I’m running this challenge here and on hotcouponworld, on the stockpiling forum where I am the moderator. One prize per site, and since this is a ‘last man/woman standing’ type of contest, we don’t know when it will end. But the prize will be a big envie of coupons, rainchecks, whatever else I can compile and what is current at that time.

It starts tomorrow, June 25. That’s right, tomorrow! For two reasons, one is that it’s an easy date for me to remember and I don’t really want people to have time to prepare. If I gave you a week or two to prepare, you could go out and overspend in preparation and this is all about stretching and saving a dollar.

Here’s how it works:

Starting June 25, you get to start with a few things. One is $25 for every member of your household. I plan to pull mine out in cash and keep in a separate pouch, but you can monitor it however you wish. GOAL: see how far we can all stretch a buck!

You also get a full tank of gas, so fill ‘er up. We’re going to try to see how far one tank can go, so you’ll have to plan your trips accordingly. GOAL: make us shop smarter and not running all over town for deals.

And you get to have a book of stamps, and $5 per family member in a paypal account. (for trades and MIRs) GOAL: trading, rebates, get rid of unused/unwanted items.

What gets deducted from your kitty of money:

1. Food, beverages, alcohol. Exceptions-any previously planned parties or gatherings, or something that you’d be expected to participate in because of work or something.

2. Outings & entertainment. Exceptions-any previously planned vacations, summer camps, work commitments.

3. Gas. Exceptions-commuting costs, and how you monitor that is up to you.

4. Clothing, accessories, handbags, shoes. Exceptions-if you’ve signed up your child for a sport/camp and you need to purchase a uniform or equipment, or a situation like that.

5. Utilities do not count. Except–if you’re on a monthly cell phone plan and you always go over in minutes or texting, the overage counts and gets deducted. The whole idea of this is to stick to your budget. So check your bill and square it up today.

6. Household-cleaning & paper supplies count. Necessary repairs do not. The very cute dish towels you see at Target and must have, they count.

7. Pets-routine food & medical do not count, treats and toys do.

8. Medical–Rx, copays, all that stuff–does not count.

How you can add to your kitty of money:

Any non-traditional form of income. So, not your salary. But use this as your motivator to grab all that stuff around the house and list it on ebay or craigslist. (Hence the money in paypal to get you started.) You can also trade or barter. Any money gained from MIRs can be added. If you watch the neigbor’s kid weekly for income, that’s usual income and doesn’t get added. But if you watch the kid or the dog for a weekend while they’re away and it’s just extra, it gets added. You can sell your stockpile, get money from surveys or focus groups–just as long as it’s not money you usually count on as part of your budget.

Any gift cards, RRs, ECBs, catalinas, swagbucks, etc. etc.–anything like that already in your possession is fair game!

And, I don’t want everyone sitting at home in the dark eating ketchup sandwiches, just to be frugal. I know that all of you know of ways to score free movie passes, bowling passes, amusement park passes……..so be creative and share with us how you’re doing.

I hope for much of the group to make it through most of the summer. In addition to posting deals, I’ll be posting my progress once in a while, so please post a comment here or on the thread on HCW.