The Black Friday Ads are out. I'm very disappointed to see that a ton of the stores are starting their sales during or even before Thanksgiving dinner.I could go on a long, long rant about how disrespectful I find it to start your sales during a time when people are supposed to be able to be with their families, but I'll stick to my point.
If you are thinking about going Black Friday shopping, there are a few things to keep in mind.
1.) Compare prices. Usually BF prices are pretty comparable, so why go to three stores for three different items when you can get all three at the same place for a few dollars difference? Consider the cost of your time and gas when deciding if it's worth that $1.00 savings.
2.) Have a game plan. Know where you are going and what you are getting. Having everything written down helps you keep your cool when you get in to the shoving and pushing crowd- you won't criss cross the store or miss out on that waffle maker you forgot you were buying your aunt.
3.) Divide and Conquer. If you have other family members going out, see if they are willing to divide and conquer. Ask them to pick up X and Y for you at Store A, while you grab Z for them while you are shopping at Store B. Make sure you trust the person to pick up your items and pay you promptly for what you get for them.
4.) Don't sacrifice family for stuff. Like I said- the sales are starting earlier and earlier. All these deals will be available online and at various retailers. Amazon.com usually does a great job matching deals, you will just have to fight online to get them. Regardless, remember- it's Thanksgiving. Your family changes daily, someone here this year may not be around next year, as sad as it is to think about. Don't sacrifice your time with loved ones to rush out and fight for cheap junk.
-Kristen
Showing posts with label Budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Budget. Show all posts
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Lost Food
Have you ever been digging through the freezer and found a lump of freezer burned meat that must be extremely old? What about getting home with a new pack of chicken, only to find half of the last pack still in the freezer?
What about cleaning out the pantry and finding expired food hidden behind good food- items you know you would have used, had they not been hidden under other things.
So frustrating- and expensive.
My goal is to do to the freezer and pantry what I have already done to my Spice cabinets. I plan to do a top to bottom inventory- what is in there, how much of it is there and where it is (top shelf, bottom shelf, etc). When I put something in, I make a tally mark beside the name, when I use it, I erase or cross off the item. It's a time consuming process to start with and of course, it has to be maintained every meal, but it is nice to know at a glance if I need more chicken, or where that can of beans is.
The hardest part of this plan is to get Tim on board with it. The Spice cabinets are pretty much solely my domain, but the fridge and pantry is communal property!
With this system, I'm hoping to minimize those lumps of unidentifiable freezer burned meat and tossing out tons of expired food. Ok, so it's not tons, but it is still throwing out money, not to mention the sheer waste of good food and the increased amount of garbage in the landfills.
Wish me luck on my new adventure!
What about cleaning out the pantry and finding expired food hidden behind good food- items you know you would have used, had they not been hidden under other things.
So frustrating- and expensive.
My goal is to do to the freezer and pantry what I have already done to my Spice cabinets. I plan to do a top to bottom inventory- what is in there, how much of it is there and where it is (top shelf, bottom shelf, etc). When I put something in, I make a tally mark beside the name, when I use it, I erase or cross off the item. It's a time consuming process to start with and of course, it has to be maintained every meal, but it is nice to know at a glance if I need more chicken, or where that can of beans is.
The hardest part of this plan is to get Tim on board with it. The Spice cabinets are pretty much solely my domain, but the fridge and pantry is communal property!
With this system, I'm hoping to minimize those lumps of unidentifiable freezer burned meat and tossing out tons of expired food. Ok, so it's not tons, but it is still throwing out money, not to mention the sheer waste of good food and the increased amount of garbage in the landfills.
Wish me luck on my new adventure!
Friday, November 1, 2013
Thankful for Deals! (12 Months of Christmas Post)
Are you ready for Thanksgiving? "Ha, yeah right" you are saying. "There were no 12 Months of Thanksgiving posts!"
This is one of my favorite sales times of year. I often stockpile certain items that go on sale- like Cream of Chicken Soup. It tides us over the rest of the year for certain items and that equates to saving money.
This has nothing to do with anything Christmasy, I'm aware. Hang in there with me.
This is a time where a lot of food item coupons come out and there are a lot of sales. How can you use that?
If you're planning on baking gifts, now is the time to get your baking items! Take advantage of those pie crust deals, the sales on chocolate chips, etc. If you need it, you can usually find it on sale, sometimes as loss leaders to get you in the store!
You can often find great items to go in snack or favorite-food gift-baskets on sale around this time too. If you're buying food items, just make sure they won't go bad before the next year- I like my gift baskets to be good at least through February.
It's also a great time to pick up canned goods for donation to local food pantries. If your Christmas is a little more about giving back than getting stuff, consider how much you can stretch your donation by buying on sale and using coupons.
-Kristen
Catch up on all the 12 Months of Christmas posts here.
This is one of my favorite sales times of year. I often stockpile certain items that go on sale- like Cream of Chicken Soup. It tides us over the rest of the year for certain items and that equates to saving money.
This has nothing to do with anything Christmasy, I'm aware. Hang in there with me.
This is a time where a lot of food item coupons come out and there are a lot of sales. How can you use that?
If you're planning on baking gifts, now is the time to get your baking items! Take advantage of those pie crust deals, the sales on chocolate chips, etc. If you need it, you can usually find it on sale, sometimes as loss leaders to get you in the store!
You can often find great items to go in snack or favorite-food gift-baskets on sale around this time too. If you're buying food items, just make sure they won't go bad before the next year- I like my gift baskets to be good at least through February.
It's also a great time to pick up canned goods for donation to local food pantries. If your Christmas is a little more about giving back than getting stuff, consider how much you can stretch your donation by buying on sale and using coupons.
-Kristen
Catch up on all the 12 Months of Christmas posts here.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Let's Start Wrapping This Up (12 Days of Christmas Post)
It's September now- we've talked about making gift baskets and making canned or dehydrated food. We've shopped the clearance, made lists of gifts in jars, gleaned nature during our vacations and now you tell me "But I'm not really that crafty- not enough to make someone's gift."
Way to wait until August to tell me this.
The truth is, you don't have to be that crafty. In the modern age of pinterest, youtube and the wonderful google, you can find dummy-proof step-by-step instructions on how to do pretty much anything.
However, let's say you prefer to buy your gifts. Nothing wrong with that as long as you watch to catch the sales, keep your budget in mind and don't wait until the last minute.
There is still savings to be had here.
Consider, if you have children, giving them cheap brown parcel paper and allowing them to draw the decorations on the wrapping! You can do the same with brown paper bags or even computer paper for small gifts. Trust me- this is one that grandparents will squee over.
A simple candy cane or a cheap $1 ornament attached to a plain package dresses up a gift more than that $5 a roll foil paper.
Save the colored funny papers from those Sunday newspapers you get anyway. It's an "old school" way to wrap that costs you no additional money. Some folks use sales ads or suggest wrapping sports gifts in the Sports pages. Do it how you want :).
Save gift bags when given to you and reuse them later.
Buy paper, Christmas cards, tissue paper and gift bags when stores mark their items down to half off or more. Even if you only get one roll, one bag of bows, etc. during the sales, you are still saving money.
-Kristen
Catch up on all the 12 Months of Christmas posts here.
Way to wait until August to tell me this.
The truth is, you don't have to be that crafty. In the modern age of pinterest, youtube and the wonderful google, you can find dummy-proof step-by-step instructions on how to do pretty much anything.
However, let's say you prefer to buy your gifts. Nothing wrong with that as long as you watch to catch the sales, keep your budget in mind and don't wait until the last minute.
There is still savings to be had here.
Consider, if you have children, giving them cheap brown parcel paper and allowing them to draw the decorations on the wrapping! You can do the same with brown paper bags or even computer paper for small gifts. Trust me- this is one that grandparents will squee over.
A simple candy cane or a cheap $1 ornament attached to a plain package dresses up a gift more than that $5 a roll foil paper.
Save the colored funny papers from those Sunday newspapers you get anyway. It's an "old school" way to wrap that costs you no additional money. Some folks use sales ads or suggest wrapping sports gifts in the Sports pages. Do it how you want :).
Save gift bags when given to you and reuse them later.
Buy paper, Christmas cards, tissue paper and gift bags when stores mark their items down to half off or more. Even if you only get one roll, one bag of bows, etc. during the sales, you are still saving money.
-Kristen
Catch up on all the 12 Months of Christmas posts here.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Gifts in a Jar (12 Months of Christmas Post)
Mason jars come in various sizes and shapes. Wide mouth jars can make very excellent containers for all kinds of jar gifts. Tie a bit of ribbon to the jar, use a little fabric over the top and it's gorgeous! Just be sure to look for wide mouth jars.
Food Mixes: Cookies, Brownies, Cakes- there is no shortage on the internet for wonderfully fun, attractively layered mixes in jars to be given as gifts. Don't underestimate an awesome jar of cornbread mix, along with a lovely printed recipe.
Pie in a Jar: If you can find the right size jars, you can bake small pies right in the mason jar! These are fantastically fun ideas and you'll have your friends and family ooohing and aaahhing over them.
Bath Items: Sugar Scrubs, bath salts- this is another sky's-the-limit jar gift idea. I like finding funky shaped jars (the best I found were at Lowes, of all places...).
Memories: Place beautifully typed or hand written memories on bits of colored papers and fill up a jar with them. Tie a candy cane to the outside of the jar and paint it or just wrap a bit of ribbon around the top. It's a very thoughtful gift for someone who has everything.
A quick google search will turn up hundreds of ideas, so get started! Be sure to check the sunday inserts for coupons on Ball Jars! Last year I scored lots of great jars at Dollar General.
-Kristen
Catch up on all the 12 Months of Christmas posts here.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Benefits of Eating In-
I was thinking today- as I often do. The topic was money and how to acquire more of it, or keep more of what I have- as it often is.
I thought of the website 5 Dollar Dinners and said to myself "Hmm. $5 a dinner for a month is $150. Fast Food at $12 for 2 people is $360. $20 a dinner (going out to a decent place for 2 people) is $600! WOW."
That's right. Eating at home can save so much money. I know most of us won't spend $20 a meal every night, but think about it this way- Let's say you go out for a sit down dinner twice a week (let's call it dinner on the weekend), and grab fast food one night a week. That's $72 in food that week, compared to $35 making a $5 dinner each night. Wowza- that's twice the cost.
Sometimes you can come in better than $5 by eating out. For instance- by utilizing a Papa John's coupon code tonight, I got a large pizza with tons of toppings for $8.54. We'll get two meals (for 2 people) off the one pizza, coming out to $4.27 for each meal.
Now is the time to start if you are interested in making cheaper meals. Cheap corn is easily frozen. You can go ahead and can your tomatoes, freeze your peppers- whatever you want to do. I'm going to try canning potatoes this year as a quick to prepare and inexpensive side dish.
Couponing and working the sales is essential to making cheap dinners. When you do go out, utilize coupons and bring home leftovers! $20 for your two people meal out isn't a budget buster if you get two meals off of it!
Drink water! That helps cut the costs of eating out as well.
The benefits to eating at home extend beyond saving money. You know what is in your food, how it was prepared, you don't have to wait in line to get it and it always is going to be just the way you like it.
I'm currently working on eating in more. It's satisfying to make your own meal and even more satisfying to make it with ingredients you grew or hand chose.
-Kristen
I thought of the website 5 Dollar Dinners and said to myself "Hmm. $5 a dinner for a month is $150. Fast Food at $12 for 2 people is $360. $20 a dinner (going out to a decent place for 2 people) is $600! WOW."
That's right. Eating at home can save so much money. I know most of us won't spend $20 a meal every night, but think about it this way- Let's say you go out for a sit down dinner twice a week (let's call it dinner on the weekend), and grab fast food one night a week. That's $72 in food that week, compared to $35 making a $5 dinner each night. Wowza- that's twice the cost.
Sometimes you can come in better than $5 by eating out. For instance- by utilizing a Papa John's coupon code tonight, I got a large pizza with tons of toppings for $8.54. We'll get two meals (for 2 people) off the one pizza, coming out to $4.27 for each meal.
Now is the time to start if you are interested in making cheaper meals. Cheap corn is easily frozen. You can go ahead and can your tomatoes, freeze your peppers- whatever you want to do. I'm going to try canning potatoes this year as a quick to prepare and inexpensive side dish.
Couponing and working the sales is essential to making cheap dinners. When you do go out, utilize coupons and bring home leftovers! $20 for your two people meal out isn't a budget buster if you get two meals off of it!
Drink water! That helps cut the costs of eating out as well.
The benefits to eating at home extend beyond saving money. You know what is in your food, how it was prepared, you don't have to wait in line to get it and it always is going to be just the way you like it.
I'm currently working on eating in more. It's satisfying to make your own meal and even more satisfying to make it with ingredients you grew or hand chose.
-Kristen
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Dave Ramsey's Guide to Budgeting
Go download Dave Ramsey's Guide to Budgeting now, while it is free. DR's "Total Money Makeover" is what started this whole thing for me- the way I look at money, the way I view debt- even my intense couponing.
This guide to budgeting will help you understand how to make your money work for you. It walks you through the fears people have about their money (fear of seeing that you are really eating out way too much in a month, for instance). He'll explain his baby steps and the envelope system. He covers various paycheck scenarios, marriage and having a baby! This is just the icing on the financial cake, as obviously he goes more in depth in his books- the ones you have to pay for. However, it's enough to get you facing in the right direction!
What are you waiting for? It's free and it just might start you on the journey to living debt-free.
-Kristen
This guide to budgeting will help you understand how to make your money work for you. It walks you through the fears people have about their money (fear of seeing that you are really eating out way too much in a month, for instance). He'll explain his baby steps and the envelope system. He covers various paycheck scenarios, marriage and having a baby! This is just the icing on the financial cake, as obviously he goes more in depth in his books- the ones you have to pay for. However, it's enough to get you facing in the right direction!
What are you waiting for? It's free and it just might start you on the journey to living debt-free.
-Kristen
Monday, May 6, 2013
Nearly Vacation Time!
Tim and I are gearing up for vacation time and I have to say- mentally I've already pretty much checked out. It has been a trying time recently, with stress over my job(s), tragedy striking some dear friends and just the gloomy weather we have been subjected to for the past week and a half or longer. I try not to focus on how long it has been dreary (and cold!) so I hopefully don't struggle with every minute of it.
This year we are going on vacation with a pair of friends. I am so excited because they are making the trip down from Toronto, Canada to visit with us! I'm feeling a little pressure to get us some extra good deals because of their costs in flying down.
So far, my attempts at cutting costs haven't been the most successful thing ever- with the economy beginning to recover, everywhere is stopping the constant promotions. I have heard Disney World is even trying to cut back on Free Dining Offers, with the thought of cutting them out entirely in the very near future. If Disney World isn't doing promotions, what hope do I have of finding something in Tennessee?
Still, we'll do our best! We plan on doing some cooking while on vacation and of course I will stop at the state border to pick up pamphlets and brochures, which often contain money saving coupons. Several days we have "free" activities planned, such as hiking. My trust "gas buddy" app will help us score the cheapest gas in the area. All in all, as things stand the vacation isn't going to be too expensive as is. However, every penny counts!
-Kristen
This year we are going on vacation with a pair of friends. I am so excited because they are making the trip down from Toronto, Canada to visit with us! I'm feeling a little pressure to get us some extra good deals because of their costs in flying down.
So far, my attempts at cutting costs haven't been the most successful thing ever- with the economy beginning to recover, everywhere is stopping the constant promotions. I have heard Disney World is even trying to cut back on Free Dining Offers, with the thought of cutting them out entirely in the very near future. If Disney World isn't doing promotions, what hope do I have of finding something in Tennessee?
Still, we'll do our best! We plan on doing some cooking while on vacation and of course I will stop at the state border to pick up pamphlets and brochures, which often contain money saving coupons. Several days we have "free" activities planned, such as hiking. My trust "gas buddy" app will help us score the cheapest gas in the area. All in all, as things stand the vacation isn't going to be too expensive as is. However, every penny counts!
-Kristen
Friday, January 25, 2013
Debt Proof Your Christmas- (12 Months of Christmas Post)
No, this isn't an accident. I am really posting about Christmas in January. GASP! I'm doing a blog series this year that I have entitled the 12 months of Christmas. Each month there will be a post about getting ready for Christmas, saving for gifts, or whatever! :).
I'm reading a book called "Debt-Proff Your Christmas", by Mary Hunt. As something that made me giggle, I bought this book at 90% off just recently, as it was considered a "Christmas" item.
The book centers around the Christmas rush and how we get caught up in the frustration of the season, often spending way more than we can afford in order for our families to be happy (or so we think), when a simpler approach really is the best way. It's chock full of great homemade ideas, new ways to do gift exchanges and helpful advice.
I sat down last night and made a file called Gifts. In it, I wrote the names of my Mom, Mother-in-Law, Sister-in-Law and Grandmother. Then I broke them down farther by Christmas, Birthday, Mother's Day, etc. Any occasion I buy for, I wrote down. Then I wrote down what I planned to give to each of them on each date. Some might be more vague than others- for instance one might say "bath gift basket" while the other might say "K-Cup spinning tower from Kohls".
This is going to go a long way to help me this year. No more buying something, then finding something better. No more hustle and bustle around crowded malls because I thought I had something that I didn't have. I have 11 months (to the day) to get ready for Christmas, there is no reason to put it off until my only option is to choose something too expensive and charge it.
If you find the New Year brings you lots of debt, I highly recommend you check out this book. If you live locally, I'll even let you borrow my copy.
Stay Tuned for another blog post that is going to be entitled "It's Better Than Good-Enough, It's Great."
-Kristen
I'm reading a book called "Debt-Proff Your Christmas", by Mary Hunt. As something that made me giggle, I bought this book at 90% off just recently, as it was considered a "Christmas" item.
The book centers around the Christmas rush and how we get caught up in the frustration of the season, often spending way more than we can afford in order for our families to be happy (or so we think), when a simpler approach really is the best way. It's chock full of great homemade ideas, new ways to do gift exchanges and helpful advice.
I sat down last night and made a file called Gifts. In it, I wrote the names of my Mom, Mother-in-Law, Sister-in-Law and Grandmother. Then I broke them down farther by Christmas, Birthday, Mother's Day, etc. Any occasion I buy for, I wrote down. Then I wrote down what I planned to give to each of them on each date. Some might be more vague than others- for instance one might say "bath gift basket" while the other might say "K-Cup spinning tower from Kohls".
This is going to go a long way to help me this year. No more buying something, then finding something better. No more hustle and bustle around crowded malls because I thought I had something that I didn't have. I have 11 months (to the day) to get ready for Christmas, there is no reason to put it off until my only option is to choose something too expensive and charge it.
If you find the New Year brings you lots of debt, I highly recommend you check out this book. If you live locally, I'll even let you borrow my copy.
Stay Tuned for another blog post that is going to be entitled "It's Better Than Good-Enough, It's Great."
-Kristen
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Cutting Costs of Sporting Events and Concerts!
Ok, so you've read about having minor league experiences and you know all about the high cost of seeing a professional game, but you really want to go see those pros play.
I totally get that. That doesn't mean you have to pay full price for everything though.
Try StubHub to get your tickets! People get tickets or have season tickets and can't make it to all the games, so they post them (often deeply discounted) on this website. StubHub backs every order, so no worries about getting fakes and being cheated out of your money. We have used this site twice- once to get discounted Anaheim Angels tickets and once to get very discounted UNC-Chapel Hill men's basketball tickets. They even sell concert tickets, so don't despair if your concert is too expensive or is sold out- check out StubHub and see what you can find. It may save you a few bucks.
Eat before you go. It may sound appealing to have a ballpark hot dog and a box of popcorn while watching your favorite sports team, but when you get there and realize you just paid the equivalent of a steak dinner for a snack that doesn't even taste that good, you're going to be very disappointed.
Go easy on the drinks. Beer and alcoholic drinks are widely available at concerts, sporting events and other similar venues (like street fairs). They are also highly marked up. Do you want to miss the play of the game or your favorite song because you had to go to the bathroom? Do you want to be drunk through an event that probably cost you upwards of $100 to experience? Skip the $7 beers or just drink in moderation and you will really cut the money you spend on your night out. Plus you won't have those holes in your memory of the night before or that pesky hangover to deal with.
Carpool. Since paying for parking is unavoidable, see if any friends or family are interested in going to your event. You don't have to sit together, but splitting up the cost of parking is at least 50% savings! That $7.50 might just buy you a beer, hehe.
Easy on the souvenirs. I know that concert Tee looks totally awesome. I also know that the stuffed bear wearing a baseball uniform is super cute. Evaluate how much you need items before you buy them and don't do your shopping after you've tossed back a few drinks. Go with a budget- your wallet will thank me next year, when you sell that bear for $1 at a yardsale, or the donate the unworn Tee to Goodwill because the concert's idea of an XL and yours are two different things.
Hopefully these tips help ease the pain of trying to see a concert or a game.
I totally get that. That doesn't mean you have to pay full price for everything though.
Try StubHub to get your tickets! People get tickets or have season tickets and can't make it to all the games, so they post them (often deeply discounted) on this website. StubHub backs every order, so no worries about getting fakes and being cheated out of your money. We have used this site twice- once to get discounted Anaheim Angels tickets and once to get very discounted UNC-Chapel Hill men's basketball tickets. They even sell concert tickets, so don't despair if your concert is too expensive or is sold out- check out StubHub and see what you can find. It may save you a few bucks.
Eat before you go. It may sound appealing to have a ballpark hot dog and a box of popcorn while watching your favorite sports team, but when you get there and realize you just paid the equivalent of a steak dinner for a snack that doesn't even taste that good, you're going to be very disappointed.
Go easy on the drinks. Beer and alcoholic drinks are widely available at concerts, sporting events and other similar venues (like street fairs). They are also highly marked up. Do you want to miss the play of the game or your favorite song because you had to go to the bathroom? Do you want to be drunk through an event that probably cost you upwards of $100 to experience? Skip the $7 beers or just drink in moderation and you will really cut the money you spend on your night out. Plus you won't have those holes in your memory of the night before or that pesky hangover to deal with.
Carpool. Since paying for parking is unavoidable, see if any friends or family are interested in going to your event. You don't have to sit together, but splitting up the cost of parking is at least 50% savings! That $7.50 might just buy you a beer, hehe.
Easy on the souvenirs. I know that concert Tee looks totally awesome. I also know that the stuffed bear wearing a baseball uniform is super cute. Evaluate how much you need items before you buy them and don't do your shopping after you've tossed back a few drinks. Go with a budget- your wallet will thank me next year, when you sell that bear for $1 at a yardsale, or the donate the unworn Tee to Goodwill because the concert's idea of an XL and yours are two different things.
Hopefully these tips help ease the pain of trying to see a concert or a game.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Special Ice Cubes
In a conversation the other day about how much food Americans throw away (almost half of what we encounter, if you can believe it), a friend mentioned she throws away a lot of citrus and wondered if she should juice it and freeze the juice in to ice cubes.
What a great idea!
Can you imagine? Lemon juice ice cubes to cool down and flavor your sweet tea! Orange Juice cubes to keep your Orange Juice cool- don't even get me started on lemon cubes for lemonade. You could even mix and match your ice cubes to create whole new flavor drinks, without watering down what you are drinking. Not to mention the vitamins you'd be adding in to your daily diet. You could freeze the ice cubes, then pop like-flavors cubes in to freezer bags and label them. It would be easy to store and easy to use.
Or, let's say you need just a little lemon juice for a recipe. You can melt an ice cube or two and have all you need, rather than buying more produce for a small or rare use.
You are saving money and helping yourself all at once!
-Kristen
What a great idea!
Can you imagine? Lemon juice ice cubes to cool down and flavor your sweet tea! Orange Juice cubes to keep your Orange Juice cool- don't even get me started on lemon cubes for lemonade. You could even mix and match your ice cubes to create whole new flavor drinks, without watering down what you are drinking. Not to mention the vitamins you'd be adding in to your daily diet. You could freeze the ice cubes, then pop like-flavors cubes in to freezer bags and label them. It would be easy to store and easy to use.
Or, let's say you need just a little lemon juice for a recipe. You can melt an ice cube or two and have all you need, rather than buying more produce for a small or rare use.
You are saving money and helping yourself all at once!
-Kristen
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Don't give up
Have you ever dieted? You know that one day where you lose your mind, can't take it anymore and end up eating half a cake by yourself? Or maybe it's a whole pizza or a pint of ice cream. What happens? You end up getting upset at yourself and more often than not, you give up on the diet because you've "blown it anyway". Maybe you don't give up totally, but you stop being as strict with yourself because "it's not as bad as that day where I ate that whole pizza". You stop losing weight and eventually you are right back to where you were. Maybe you even self justify it by saying "Well, I'd be worse off if I hadn't dieted that two weeks- I'd weigh more."
Money management is just like dieting. There will be some point where Murphy (you know, Murphy's Law- what can go wrong will) will pop up and slam you with some big bill- new tires for the car, a broken leg, a vet appointment- something will happen. Or perhaps you end up taking an unexpected and unbudgeted for trip. Maybe you just can't stand it and run out to buy the new iphone. Whatever. Things happen. This is no time to give up on money management or your long term financial goals. Don't think about how you saved $20 that month and said "well, good enough, I can quit." Don't say "I blew $1000... I'm so dumb, I am just not going to try anymore."
There is no need to throw good money after bad (which is one of my favorite sayings ever). Get back on track. So what, it will take a little longer to reach your goal, whether that's to pay off all your debt, or whether it's to save a specific amount- or for a specific item. If you stop now, will you ever hit your goal otherwise? How many times have we all said "I wish I'd stuck with that diet in January, I'd look so much better in this bathing suit now in August". "I wish I had started couponing twenty years ago, I'd be so much better off now."
Stick with it. Accept there will be mistakes and mishaps along the way, but it's the trying that counts. Every $20 you save, every penny you shave off a bill, is moving you towards a better life- one including financial freedom and hopefully financial security. So you had to take $500 out of savings to blow on new tires for your car- at least you had it to begin with. It isn't on a credit card that will ultimately cause you to pay even more than $500. You aren't having to beg family members to loan you the money and straining relationships with them.
You can do this! Even if it takes you a little longer because of setbacks, don't give up.
-Kristen
Money management is just like dieting. There will be some point where Murphy (you know, Murphy's Law- what can go wrong will) will pop up and slam you with some big bill- new tires for the car, a broken leg, a vet appointment- something will happen. Or perhaps you end up taking an unexpected and unbudgeted for trip. Maybe you just can't stand it and run out to buy the new iphone. Whatever. Things happen. This is no time to give up on money management or your long term financial goals. Don't think about how you saved $20 that month and said "well, good enough, I can quit." Don't say "I blew $1000... I'm so dumb, I am just not going to try anymore."
There is no need to throw good money after bad (which is one of my favorite sayings ever). Get back on track. So what, it will take a little longer to reach your goal, whether that's to pay off all your debt, or whether it's to save a specific amount- or for a specific item. If you stop now, will you ever hit your goal otherwise? How many times have we all said "I wish I'd stuck with that diet in January, I'd look so much better in this bathing suit now in August". "I wish I had started couponing twenty years ago, I'd be so much better off now."
Stick with it. Accept there will be mistakes and mishaps along the way, but it's the trying that counts. Every $20 you save, every penny you shave off a bill, is moving you towards a better life- one including financial freedom and hopefully financial security. So you had to take $500 out of savings to blow on new tires for your car- at least you had it to begin with. It isn't on a credit card that will ultimately cause you to pay even more than $500. You aren't having to beg family members to loan you the money and straining relationships with them.
You can do this! Even if it takes you a little longer because of setbacks, don't give up.
-Kristen
Thursday, June 14, 2012
No Beer Purchase Required
My newest "money making scheme" (which really isn't a scheme at all) is the use of NBPR rebates. NBPR stands for No Beer Purchase Required and luckily for those of us in North Carolina, we get a lot of these.
You've seen those tear pads at the stores- "Get a $5 rebate when you buy $5.01 or more worth of meat and two cases of Beerofyourchoice Lite!" Maybe you pass them by because you don't drink Beerofyourchoice. Next time, stop a minute and check out the fine print. In a good number of states, you actually are not required to purchase the beer to get the rebate! So in this example, if I spent $5.01 on meat, I can get a $5.00 rebate back when I fill out the original form and mail it in.
I found a tear pad at Walmart the other day for $5 back when we bought propane and beer- but oh wait! Right there in the fine print, NC is a NBPR state! So I can get $5 back just on buying the propane for our gas grill, which we buy anyway.
You can purchase NBPR original forms on ebay cheaply, which is a double edged sword. You can get a lot of rebates from all over the country, but people also steal the entire tear pad so they can make a few bucks on ebay- meaning you have to pay for something that should be free. The good sellers will type up which states don't require you to purchase beer and all the other little legal ins and outs as stated on the form- make sure if you do decide to purchase them, you buy only originals. 99.995% of the time, a copy is not acceptable to the companies and who can blame them?
This is a fantastic way to "find" money if you are lucky enough to live in a NBPR state- after all, you are probably going to spend $5.01 on meat at the grocery store anyway- why not get $5.00 back?
Just make sure you keep track of which rebates you've submitted! Most state only one per household and run for several months, so you don't want to waste postage on a rebate you have already done!
-Kristen
You've seen those tear pads at the stores- "Get a $5 rebate when you buy $5.01 or more worth of meat and two cases of Beerofyourchoice Lite!" Maybe you pass them by because you don't drink Beerofyourchoice. Next time, stop a minute and check out the fine print. In a good number of states, you actually are not required to purchase the beer to get the rebate! So in this example, if I spent $5.01 on meat, I can get a $5.00 rebate back when I fill out the original form and mail it in.
I found a tear pad at Walmart the other day for $5 back when we bought propane and beer- but oh wait! Right there in the fine print, NC is a NBPR state! So I can get $5 back just on buying the propane for our gas grill, which we buy anyway.
You can purchase NBPR original forms on ebay cheaply, which is a double edged sword. You can get a lot of rebates from all over the country, but people also steal the entire tear pad so they can make a few bucks on ebay- meaning you have to pay for something that should be free. The good sellers will type up which states don't require you to purchase beer and all the other little legal ins and outs as stated on the form- make sure if you do decide to purchase them, you buy only originals. 99.995% of the time, a copy is not acceptable to the companies and who can blame them?
This is a fantastic way to "find" money if you are lucky enough to live in a NBPR state- after all, you are probably going to spend $5.01 on meat at the grocery store anyway- why not get $5.00 back?
Just make sure you keep track of which rebates you've submitted! Most state only one per household and run for several months, so you don't want to waste postage on a rebate you have already done!
-Kristen
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Second Job & Debt Snowballing
I'm looking in to picking up a second job. It's nothing super impressive- actually it would be working 1 hour, 1 day a week. It would pay $20-$25 per day though, which is an extra $80-$100 a month.
Not setting the world on fire, but not bad for working a grand total of 4 hours each month either.
My plan, if I get this job, is to set aside 1/4 for taxes. We have to pay taxes anyway (we withhold ourselves because of some crappy tax laws), so I might as well go above and beyond to cover and surprises.
That leaves, let's say, $60 left. Now, I could do something fun with it. Lord knows, I'm fighting the desire to use that money to buy fun things- dinners out, movies, buying new rabbit cages/equipment or just going nuts in stores.
Instead, I'm planning on using that money to pay on a bill each month. The same bill- the goal would be to have $60 extra go directly to principal. I am thinking right now it would be best to put it on our oldest car- we're so close to paying it off anyway, we'd free up a few hundred dollars extra as soon as that bill is gone!
Then I can work on doing a "debt snowball". Basically, I'd take my extra $60 and combine it with what we are spending on the car payment to pay down another debt even faster. Then I take that money and use it to pay off something else even faster. See how that works? The amount you pay to principal snowballs each time you pay off a new debt.
For instance (all numbers are made up to use as illustrations).
Let's say we that monthly we have a $500 car payment, a $500 house payment and a $100 credit card payment. You can either pay off the lowest balance first, or the highest interest rate, whichever is your preference.
So I use my $60 a month to pay to principal and eventually pay off my credit card debt. The next month I pay $160 extra towards my car payment. We pay off the car after a year or two and then we pay an extra $660 each month on the house payment! You're paying more to principal each month than your minimum balance is! So a 30 year loan just dropped to 15 years and you saved untold thousands of dollars in interest, not just on your car and credit card, but on your house as well.
So, fingers crossed for me. $60 extra isn't a lot, but it's just the beginning!
-Kristen
Not setting the world on fire, but not bad for working a grand total of 4 hours each month either.
My plan, if I get this job, is to set aside 1/4 for taxes. We have to pay taxes anyway (we withhold ourselves because of some crappy tax laws), so I might as well go above and beyond to cover and surprises.
That leaves, let's say, $60 left. Now, I could do something fun with it. Lord knows, I'm fighting the desire to use that money to buy fun things- dinners out, movies, buying new rabbit cages/equipment or just going nuts in stores.
Instead, I'm planning on using that money to pay on a bill each month. The same bill- the goal would be to have $60 extra go directly to principal. I am thinking right now it would be best to put it on our oldest car- we're so close to paying it off anyway, we'd free up a few hundred dollars extra as soon as that bill is gone!
Then I can work on doing a "debt snowball". Basically, I'd take my extra $60 and combine it with what we are spending on the car payment to pay down another debt even faster. Then I take that money and use it to pay off something else even faster. See how that works? The amount you pay to principal snowballs each time you pay off a new debt.
For instance (all numbers are made up to use as illustrations).
Let's say we that monthly we have a $500 car payment, a $500 house payment and a $100 credit card payment. You can either pay off the lowest balance first, or the highest interest rate, whichever is your preference.
So I use my $60 a month to pay to principal and eventually pay off my credit card debt. The next month I pay $160 extra towards my car payment. We pay off the car after a year or two and then we pay an extra $660 each month on the house payment! You're paying more to principal each month than your minimum balance is! So a 30 year loan just dropped to 15 years and you saved untold thousands of dollars in interest, not just on your car and credit card, but on your house as well.
So, fingers crossed for me. $60 extra isn't a lot, but it's just the beginning!
-Kristen
Saturday, May 5, 2012
In a Completely Irresponsible Move-
I did it.
My poor Kodak Easyshare is 5 years old. On the trip to Grandfather Mountain, it was having real trouble. After a small amount of usage, the camera had to "process" for quite a while after each new shot- causing me to miss some excellent pictures of a black bear.
We went in to Best Buy a week ago to browse cameras. Unfortunately Kodak went bankrupt and isn't making cameras anymore, so I knew I'd have to go with a different brand- not really a problem, since I have owned Nikon film cameras and Canon digital cameras in the past.
I spent an hour browsing the cameras and talking the ear off a sales associate. I don't think he minded, I'm pretty sure I tripped him out. I have that effect on people.
Tim made me go look at the DSLR cameras. I wasn't really planning on purchasing one because of the price difference. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the basic DSLR wasn't much more expensive than a regular point-and-shoot. Tim of course was standing on the sidelines cheering me on to get the DSLR. He's so not helpful when it comes to temptation.
I left the store and spent a few days reading reviews and gathering opinions (and price comparisons) online.
We headed back to Best Buy today and I made a purchase. I actually ended up purchasing the DSLR, a Nikon D3100 with a bonus package- an extra lens, a camera bag and a lens filter. The "extras" ended up putting me over my planned budget by several hundred dollars.
However, I did happen to have $95 in Best Buy gift cards, which helped ease the pain a little.
So, to cut a long story a little shorter- Tim convinced me to spend several hundred dollars over my budget on an awesome camera that I am going to need a college degree to use to the best of it's ability (ok, it's not that bad, but it sure does have a lot of options).
I am, of course, wrestling with guilt over spending a hunk of money on a "pleasure" item like a camera, especially with all that is going on in the economy and with my job worries.
At least I will have it for vacation- and Tim's right about one thing, I will use this camera until it dies on me. The Kodak will still be going to the west coast with us- that's right, it's not retired! It still works and will be helpful in situations where I don't want to risk the DSLR.
-Kristen
My poor Kodak Easyshare is 5 years old. On the trip to Grandfather Mountain, it was having real trouble. After a small amount of usage, the camera had to "process" for quite a while after each new shot- causing me to miss some excellent pictures of a black bear.
We went in to Best Buy a week ago to browse cameras. Unfortunately Kodak went bankrupt and isn't making cameras anymore, so I knew I'd have to go with a different brand- not really a problem, since I have owned Nikon film cameras and Canon digital cameras in the past.
I spent an hour browsing the cameras and talking the ear off a sales associate. I don't think he minded, I'm pretty sure I tripped him out. I have that effect on people.
Tim made me go look at the DSLR cameras. I wasn't really planning on purchasing one because of the price difference. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the basic DSLR wasn't much more expensive than a regular point-and-shoot. Tim of course was standing on the sidelines cheering me on to get the DSLR. He's so not helpful when it comes to temptation.
I left the store and spent a few days reading reviews and gathering opinions (and price comparisons) online.
We headed back to Best Buy today and I made a purchase. I actually ended up purchasing the DSLR, a Nikon D3100 with a bonus package- an extra lens, a camera bag and a lens filter. The "extras" ended up putting me over my planned budget by several hundred dollars.
However, I did happen to have $95 in Best Buy gift cards, which helped ease the pain a little.
So, to cut a long story a little shorter- Tim convinced me to spend several hundred dollars over my budget on an awesome camera that I am going to need a college degree to use to the best of it's ability (ok, it's not that bad, but it sure does have a lot of options).
I am, of course, wrestling with guilt over spending a hunk of money on a "pleasure" item like a camera, especially with all that is going on in the economy and with my job worries.
At least I will have it for vacation- and Tim's right about one thing, I will use this camera until it dies on me. The Kodak will still be going to the west coast with us- that's right, it's not retired! It still works and will be helpful in situations where I don't want to risk the DSLR.
-Kristen
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Can you really? Part IV
Can you believe we're to Part IV of the how to save money on your grocery bill series? I can't!
See Can you really Part I here , Part II , and Part III here!
Dilute your juice: Plenty of folks I know water down their juice (or even their milk). Most say the kids can't tell the difference and it stretches it out even farther. With this one, I suggest doing it a little at a time until you find a happy medium. It might only stretch out an extra cup for some or it might double the amount others get out of the jug, but every little bit helps! As far as diluting your milk, I've been told that buying a gallon of whole milk, splitting it in half and filling both containers up with water 2/3 of the way full makes your own skim milk. Tim refuses to try this. I kind of don't blame him.
Make Your Own: This goes for a ton of things. Rather than buying a $10 cake at Walmart, buy a box of cake mix and icing and just make your own. It's much cheaper and frankly, it's going to taste way better. You can also make your own yogurt, bread, etc. It all depends on how much time you have and how much effort you want to put in to it. Some people just do not have time to go out and make their own cheese. Some people (like me) don't want to make our own cheese.
Needs before Wants: There is a fun southern saying- "Put your wants in one hand and poop in the other- see which one fills up faster." Gross, but it makes sense. Wants aren't Needs and the sooner everyone figures that out, the more you save money. Just because I want to buy a $8 package of beef jerky does not mean that goes on the grocery list every single trip. What do you actually need to buy? How much money can you save by practicing just a little self control? It's probably more than you think.
Learn about Expiration Dates and Use by Dates: Don't forget- there is a difference in "Best By" dates and "Expiration" dates. Properly stored, food can last beyond the expiration date even. I love the website www.stilltasty.com. It helps me judge how long things can be safely used. I have some salad dressing in my stockpile that's best by date was in November 2011. However, it's been unopened and stored in a dark, cool, dry place. It can be safely used pretty much until November 2012. Once I open it, I plan on using it very quickly (as a marinade for chicken I'll toss in the freezer, etc). If there is any doubt, throw it out! You don't want a hospital bill trying to save a $2.00 bottle of dressing. However, if an open bottle of dressing is three days past the expiration date, you're pretty safe as long as you've kept it in the fridge, closed.
Frugal Menus: We'd all love to eat expensive, fancy meals every night. I know I would! However, being frugal with your menus can allow you to stretch your budget farther than you'd think. Hot Dogs are a cheap meal. Grilled cheese sandwiches and a bowl of soup can really hit the spot, even if it isn't fancy. Homemade waffles with eggs and bacon- it's an IHOP worthy meal for a fraction of the price. Check out the thousands of cheap meal websites out there to get great ideas on eating inexpensively. Even if you replace one meal a week with a good old fasioned "el cheapo" meal, you're saving money.
Invest in Gadgets: Do you love popcorn? I do. For Christmas Tim bought me an air-popper. It was inexpensive, $20 or so, but it allows me to purchase bags of popcorn kernels. I am able to eat healthier popcorn much more cheaply. You can invest in a quality dehydrator to make your own jerky, fruit chips, veggie chips, etc. Just make sure you will get enough use out of the product to justify the start up cost! I've already made my money back on my air popper and then some!
Bulk Stores: If you can, borrow a friend's card or go shopping with friends or family. Don't buy a membership unless you don't know anyone that has one. Before you join, look around and check out the prices. Will you be able to save enough that you save over the membership fee? If not, pass! We bought a membership to BJs for several reasons. 1.) You can use coupons. 2.) Their gas is the cheapest around. 3.) It was for 14 months, not 12 as a special promotion. 4.) 100% satisfaction guaranteed. If on the very last day before my membership expires, I go in and tell them I didn't get enough use out of the membership, I get 100% of my membership fee back. I will only do this if I truly feel like it wasn't worth it. I offer my card to all friends and family who want to shop there without a membership. It may have to be when I am able to go, not necessarily when they get to go, but it's a little inconvenience for them to get greater savings.
So there you have it! So what do you think- can you save a few bucks every week on your grocery bill?
-Kristen
See Can you really Part I here , Part II , and Part III here!
Dilute your juice: Plenty of folks I know water down their juice (or even their milk). Most say the kids can't tell the difference and it stretches it out even farther. With this one, I suggest doing it a little at a time until you find a happy medium. It might only stretch out an extra cup for some or it might double the amount others get out of the jug, but every little bit helps! As far as diluting your milk, I've been told that buying a gallon of whole milk, splitting it in half and filling both containers up with water 2/3 of the way full makes your own skim milk. Tim refuses to try this. I kind of don't blame him.
Make Your Own: This goes for a ton of things. Rather than buying a $10 cake at Walmart, buy a box of cake mix and icing and just make your own. It's much cheaper and frankly, it's going to taste way better. You can also make your own yogurt, bread, etc. It all depends on how much time you have and how much effort you want to put in to it. Some people just do not have time to go out and make their own cheese. Some people (like me) don't want to make our own cheese.
Needs before Wants: There is a fun southern saying- "Put your wants in one hand and poop in the other- see which one fills up faster." Gross, but it makes sense. Wants aren't Needs and the sooner everyone figures that out, the more you save money. Just because I want to buy a $8 package of beef jerky does not mean that goes on the grocery list every single trip. What do you actually need to buy? How much money can you save by practicing just a little self control? It's probably more than you think.
Learn about Expiration Dates and Use by Dates: Don't forget- there is a difference in "Best By" dates and "Expiration" dates. Properly stored, food can last beyond the expiration date even. I love the website www.stilltasty.com. It helps me judge how long things can be safely used. I have some salad dressing in my stockpile that's best by date was in November 2011. However, it's been unopened and stored in a dark, cool, dry place. It can be safely used pretty much until November 2012. Once I open it, I plan on using it very quickly (as a marinade for chicken I'll toss in the freezer, etc). If there is any doubt, throw it out! You don't want a hospital bill trying to save a $2.00 bottle of dressing. However, if an open bottle of dressing is three days past the expiration date, you're pretty safe as long as you've kept it in the fridge, closed.
Frugal Menus: We'd all love to eat expensive, fancy meals every night. I know I would! However, being frugal with your menus can allow you to stretch your budget farther than you'd think. Hot Dogs are a cheap meal. Grilled cheese sandwiches and a bowl of soup can really hit the spot, even if it isn't fancy. Homemade waffles with eggs and bacon- it's an IHOP worthy meal for a fraction of the price. Check out the thousands of cheap meal websites out there to get great ideas on eating inexpensively. Even if you replace one meal a week with a good old fasioned "el cheapo" meal, you're saving money.
Invest in Gadgets: Do you love popcorn? I do. For Christmas Tim bought me an air-popper. It was inexpensive, $20 or so, but it allows me to purchase bags of popcorn kernels. I am able to eat healthier popcorn much more cheaply. You can invest in a quality dehydrator to make your own jerky, fruit chips, veggie chips, etc. Just make sure you will get enough use out of the product to justify the start up cost! I've already made my money back on my air popper and then some!
Bulk Stores: If you can, borrow a friend's card or go shopping with friends or family. Don't buy a membership unless you don't know anyone that has one. Before you join, look around and check out the prices. Will you be able to save enough that you save over the membership fee? If not, pass! We bought a membership to BJs for several reasons. 1.) You can use coupons. 2.) Their gas is the cheapest around. 3.) It was for 14 months, not 12 as a special promotion. 4.) 100% satisfaction guaranteed. If on the very last day before my membership expires, I go in and tell them I didn't get enough use out of the membership, I get 100% of my membership fee back. I will only do this if I truly feel like it wasn't worth it. I offer my card to all friends and family who want to shop there without a membership. It may have to be when I am able to go, not necessarily when they get to go, but it's a little inconvenience for them to get greater savings.
So there you have it! So what do you think- can you save a few bucks every week on your grocery bill?
-Kristen
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Can you really? Part III
See Can you really Part I here and Part II here!
Do you have a friend or family member that hunts or likes to fish? If so, see if they will be willing to hunt for you. I offered to pay the processing on a deer if my Dad would shoot one for me while he was out hunting. Since he loves to hunt and doesn't need a ridiculous amount of meat, this works out well for him. He can continue to look for a trophy buck, meanwhile I get a freezer full of meat for under $3/lb. On a side note, this is yet another thing I love about my Dad- he won't shoot it if he won't eat it, or doesn't have an outlet for the meat. We both win!
Barter: If you have a ton of garden produce (because, you know, you're growing your own to save money), look in to barter opportunities! How great would it be to trade a basket of your excess tomatoes for a basket of peppers or some farm fresh eggs? Folks are always looking to trade.
Skimp on the Meat: Maybe Meatless Meals aren't your cup of tea. Rather than using a pound of meat in your spaghetti sauce, use three quarters of a pound or even a half pound. I have also found making smaller meatballs, meat patties, etc encourages you to eat less, meaning either you can have leftovers or stretch less meat farther.
Creative Cutting: When you get large chicken breasts, try butterflying them. We recently got three very good sized pieces of chicken out of one single large chicken breast! It was enough for both of us to have more than enough for chicken parmesan for lunch, with one leftover to take to work the next day for lunch. Since we also bought the package of chicken on markdown, it stretched our dollars even farther.
Eat your leftovers: Honestly, this one is so simple I almost didn't put it on the list. Riddle me this- which is cheaper, buying a $3 Lean Cuisine for Lunch or taking your leftover spaghetti from the night before? Right- the leftovers!
Limit Soft Drinks: Tim was drinking a 2-liter of Coke daily. Well, he wasn't drinking it all. Quite a bit got tossed out when the ice melted and it became watery and "gross". At $1.25 a 2-liter on sale, that got to be quite an expensive habit- to the tune of almost $40 a month. Remember, that's when I could find it on sale! Rather than drinking soft drinks all the time, try to limit it to only one meal a day. It's just healthier for you. Otherwise try to really stock up on it during sales and drink out of smaller glasses to minimize how much is wasted.
Check the price per ounce: Generic doesn't always mean it's cheaper! Be sure to utilize the price per ounce/pound/etc tags on shelves to make sure you are really getting the best deal. This one saves pennies, not dollars- but pennies become dollars!
Eat cheaper cuts of meat: This one I generally can not do. I only eat chicken breasts, even though often chicken thighs are much cheaper. I do prefer sirloins though, which thankfully tend to be the cheaper steak. If your family doesn't care one way or the other, why not purchase the cheaper meat?
Keep an eye out for Part IV!
-Kristen
Do you have a friend or family member that hunts or likes to fish? If so, see if they will be willing to hunt for you. I offered to pay the processing on a deer if my Dad would shoot one for me while he was out hunting. Since he loves to hunt and doesn't need a ridiculous amount of meat, this works out well for him. He can continue to look for a trophy buck, meanwhile I get a freezer full of meat for under $3/lb. On a side note, this is yet another thing I love about my Dad- he won't shoot it if he won't eat it, or doesn't have an outlet for the meat. We both win!
Barter: If you have a ton of garden produce (because, you know, you're growing your own to save money), look in to barter opportunities! How great would it be to trade a basket of your excess tomatoes for a basket of peppers or some farm fresh eggs? Folks are always looking to trade.
Skimp on the Meat: Maybe Meatless Meals aren't your cup of tea. Rather than using a pound of meat in your spaghetti sauce, use three quarters of a pound or even a half pound. I have also found making smaller meatballs, meat patties, etc encourages you to eat less, meaning either you can have leftovers or stretch less meat farther.
Creative Cutting: When you get large chicken breasts, try butterflying them. We recently got three very good sized pieces of chicken out of one single large chicken breast! It was enough for both of us to have more than enough for chicken parmesan for lunch, with one leftover to take to work the next day for lunch. Since we also bought the package of chicken on markdown, it stretched our dollars even farther.
Eat your leftovers: Honestly, this one is so simple I almost didn't put it on the list. Riddle me this- which is cheaper, buying a $3 Lean Cuisine for Lunch or taking your leftover spaghetti from the night before? Right- the leftovers!
Limit Soft Drinks: Tim was drinking a 2-liter of Coke daily. Well, he wasn't drinking it all. Quite a bit got tossed out when the ice melted and it became watery and "gross". At $1.25 a 2-liter on sale, that got to be quite an expensive habit- to the tune of almost $40 a month. Remember, that's when I could find it on sale! Rather than drinking soft drinks all the time, try to limit it to only one meal a day. It's just healthier for you. Otherwise try to really stock up on it during sales and drink out of smaller glasses to minimize how much is wasted.
Check the price per ounce: Generic doesn't always mean it's cheaper! Be sure to utilize the price per ounce/pound/etc tags on shelves to make sure you are really getting the best deal. This one saves pennies, not dollars- but pennies become dollars!
Eat cheaper cuts of meat: This one I generally can not do. I only eat chicken breasts, even though often chicken thighs are much cheaper. I do prefer sirloins though, which thankfully tend to be the cheaper steak. If your family doesn't care one way or the other, why not purchase the cheaper meat?
Keep an eye out for Part IV!
-Kristen
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Can you really? Part II
See Part I of "Can you really?" here.
Stock up on dry essentials when they go on sale. Does your household eat rice twice a week without fail? When you see a really good sale price on rice, don't be afraid to grab enough for a month or two (or longer), rather than just enough for dinner that week. Yes, you may spend a little extra on that week's food budget (or you may not, depending on how great the sale is), but you'll save money in the long run. Every time you are able to grab a box of rice out of the pantry, rather than paying full price for it, you save! I do this with: mustard, spaghetti sauce, spaghetti noodles, macaroni and cheese, boxed mashed potatoes, ketchup, salad dressing, shredded cheese (in the freezer), etc. Not to mention the health and beauty care items I stock up on for free- that doesn't really come in to this discussion.
Buy in Season: I love love love strawberries. However, I only eat them in season. Part of that is because I find out of season strawberries disgusting. They are either green and hard or mushy and half rotten. Gross. However, strawberries out of season are expensive! I prefer to buy them in season and freeze the extras. Frozen fruit (in the case of berries especially) are just as good when unfrozen as they were fresh. I actually don't mind partially frozen strawberries as a snack. Yum.
Pick Your Own: Since we're buying in season, check out the prices of Pick Your Own places. It's fun, especially for kids, to pick their own food and you can save per pound on favorite treats. Just be careful, it is so easy to go way overboard! That's where freezing your excess comes in handy.
Gleaning: Does your aunt have a pecan tree she never pays attention to? Ask her if you can gather from the tree. Some farmers will let you come in and glean after their crops have been commercially harvested. Gleaning an apple orchard can produce excellent apple pies, homemade apple sauce or just snacking apples. It never hurts to ask around or even post on websites like craigslist to see if there is a benevolent farmer or family friend that would rather see you make use of the leftovers than leave them to the wild animals. Again, this can be very fun for kids. I remember joyfully gleaning persimmons and pecans from the yard of a family friend when I was little. It didn't matter that I do not like persimmons. I just enjoyed the experience.
I may have been an odd child.
Make a fruit salad: Mix more expensive fruits in with less expensive fruits (think bananas) to great a fruit salad. That way you get your absolute favorites, but you also don't break the bank and you have a filling snack.
Portion control: Remember that I love strawberries? I can easily sit around and eat an entire package of strawberries. Do I need an entire package? NO! In fact, it's mostly mindless snacking. Yes it's healthy, but it's still mindless. If I do that in the dead of winter, it's very expensive mindless snacking. Setting up reasonable portion sizes can help stretch everything from fruit to cheese doodles. It also helps you not stretch your pants size.
Keep an eye out for Part III!
-Kristen
Stock up on dry essentials when they go on sale. Does your household eat rice twice a week without fail? When you see a really good sale price on rice, don't be afraid to grab enough for a month or two (or longer), rather than just enough for dinner that week. Yes, you may spend a little extra on that week's food budget (or you may not, depending on how great the sale is), but you'll save money in the long run. Every time you are able to grab a box of rice out of the pantry, rather than paying full price for it, you save! I do this with: mustard, spaghetti sauce, spaghetti noodles, macaroni and cheese, boxed mashed potatoes, ketchup, salad dressing, shredded cheese (in the freezer), etc. Not to mention the health and beauty care items I stock up on for free- that doesn't really come in to this discussion.
Buy in Season: I love love love strawberries. However, I only eat them in season. Part of that is because I find out of season strawberries disgusting. They are either green and hard or mushy and half rotten. Gross. However, strawberries out of season are expensive! I prefer to buy them in season and freeze the extras. Frozen fruit (in the case of berries especially) are just as good when unfrozen as they were fresh. I actually don't mind partially frozen strawberries as a snack. Yum.
Pick Your Own: Since we're buying in season, check out the prices of Pick Your Own places. It's fun, especially for kids, to pick their own food and you can save per pound on favorite treats. Just be careful, it is so easy to go way overboard! That's where freezing your excess comes in handy.
Gleaning: Does your aunt have a pecan tree she never pays attention to? Ask her if you can gather from the tree. Some farmers will let you come in and glean after their crops have been commercially harvested. Gleaning an apple orchard can produce excellent apple pies, homemade apple sauce or just snacking apples. It never hurts to ask around or even post on websites like craigslist to see if there is a benevolent farmer or family friend that would rather see you make use of the leftovers than leave them to the wild animals. Again, this can be very fun for kids. I remember joyfully gleaning persimmons and pecans from the yard of a family friend when I was little. It didn't matter that I do not like persimmons. I just enjoyed the experience.
I may have been an odd child.
Make a fruit salad: Mix more expensive fruits in with less expensive fruits (think bananas) to great a fruit salad. That way you get your absolute favorites, but you also don't break the bank and you have a filling snack.
Portion control: Remember that I love strawberries? I can easily sit around and eat an entire package of strawberries. Do I need an entire package? NO! In fact, it's mostly mindless snacking. Yes it's healthy, but it's still mindless. If I do that in the dead of winter, it's very expensive mindless snacking. Setting up reasonable portion sizes can help stretch everything from fruit to cheese doodles. It also helps you not stretch your pants size.
Keep an eye out for Part III!
-Kristen
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Can you really? Part I
On a forum I am a part of, someone recently asked "Can you really feed a family of 4 on $100 or less a week?"
She has an athletic family- two teens who both participate in sports and eat a lot. She cooks nightly and in fact, her son prefers to eat fruit over junk food. As we all know though, the healthier you eat, the more expensive your food bill runs.
There are a lot of ways to trim the fat on your food budget. Even though there is only Tim and &, we often spend only $30 a week or so on groceries. That's not eating hot pockets or frozen pizza every night either. I'm going to do a series on trimming your food budget with tips that may or may not be helpful to you. You don't have to do all of these- there are tips I've shared that I certainly don't do myself. Hopefully everyone can find a few little things they can do that will help.
Make a Shopping List: Making a shopping list before you go will help minimize impulse purchases. Plus, you won't buy something for full price, then get home and realize you already have it!
Use Coupons: This one is self-explanatory. If you made your shopping list, look to see if there are any coupons on your favorite brands. There are tons of coupon databases out there that can help.
Price matching and shopping around for the best prices are a great way to shave dollars off your bill. If Aldi has grapes on sale for $0.50 a pound, why pay $1.50 a pound at Walmart? Take in the ad to price match, or else just purchase them at Aldi.
Meatless Meals are a great way to save money, since often meat is the most expensive thing you will buy at the grocery store. I love making spaghetti and just topping it with a little cheese and regular spaghetti sauce. No meatballs, no chicken parmesan, etc. Even if you do this just every other time, you're saving around $4 on beef alone (considering a high quality ground beef is around $4/lb now)!
Buy meat on markdown: There is nothing wrong with the chicken marked with a sell-by date that is close. In fact, the chicken can sit in your fridge a couple days past expiration without problem. Simply buy the meat (as long as it looks fine. I have seen some nasty looking beef at a local Grocery store before- avoid that) and use it quickly, or repackage it and pop it in the freezer.
Shop the Farmer's Market: The local Farmer's market has ridiculously good prices when fruits and vegetables are in season. If you don't want to grow your own, consider purchasing them here.
Grow and Preserve your own vegetables. A garden is a very simple way to save a lot of money. Does your family member love cucumbers? Plant a few plants, then sit back and reap the benefits all summer! I flash freeze peppers and can my own salsa and tomatoes every year. Yes, it takes a little bit of work, but when Tim wants chili in the dead of winter, I have on hand ingredients that cost less than pennies to make it for him. Compare that to paying $3.00 for a single green pepper out of season and you'll be amazed at how fast your savings build.
Keep an eye out for Part II of this series soon!
-Kristen
She has an athletic family- two teens who both participate in sports and eat a lot. She cooks nightly and in fact, her son prefers to eat fruit over junk food. As we all know though, the healthier you eat, the more expensive your food bill runs.
There are a lot of ways to trim the fat on your food budget. Even though there is only Tim and &, we often spend only $30 a week or so on groceries. That's not eating hot pockets or frozen pizza every night either. I'm going to do a series on trimming your food budget with tips that may or may not be helpful to you. You don't have to do all of these- there are tips I've shared that I certainly don't do myself. Hopefully everyone can find a few little things they can do that will help.
Make a Shopping List: Making a shopping list before you go will help minimize impulse purchases. Plus, you won't buy something for full price, then get home and realize you already have it!
Use Coupons: This one is self-explanatory. If you made your shopping list, look to see if there are any coupons on your favorite brands. There are tons of coupon databases out there that can help.
Price matching and shopping around for the best prices are a great way to shave dollars off your bill. If Aldi has grapes on sale for $0.50 a pound, why pay $1.50 a pound at Walmart? Take in the ad to price match, or else just purchase them at Aldi.
Meatless Meals are a great way to save money, since often meat is the most expensive thing you will buy at the grocery store. I love making spaghetti and just topping it with a little cheese and regular spaghetti sauce. No meatballs, no chicken parmesan, etc. Even if you do this just every other time, you're saving around $4 on beef alone (considering a high quality ground beef is around $4/lb now)!
Buy meat on markdown: There is nothing wrong with the chicken marked with a sell-by date that is close. In fact, the chicken can sit in your fridge a couple days past expiration without problem. Simply buy the meat (as long as it looks fine. I have seen some nasty looking beef at a local Grocery store before- avoid that) and use it quickly, or repackage it and pop it in the freezer.
Shop the Farmer's Market: The local Farmer's market has ridiculously good prices when fruits and vegetables are in season. If you don't want to grow your own, consider purchasing them here.
Grow and Preserve your own vegetables. A garden is a very simple way to save a lot of money. Does your family member love cucumbers? Plant a few plants, then sit back and reap the benefits all summer! I flash freeze peppers and can my own salsa and tomatoes every year. Yes, it takes a little bit of work, but when Tim wants chili in the dead of winter, I have on hand ingredients that cost less than pennies to make it for him. Compare that to paying $3.00 for a single green pepper out of season and you'll be amazed at how fast your savings build.
Keep an eye out for Part II of this series soon!
-Kristen
Monday, January 9, 2012
Offsetting Vacation Costs
I posted here that I like to try to offset our vacation costs as much as possible. I wanted to share how I do that.
Cook in the room- This one is a biggie for us. We are lucky in that we have a nice time share. If we use it, it has a full kitchen. If we trade it in to go elsewhere, we can choose places that have full kitchens in the rooms. A quick trip to the grocery store (with coupons, of course) and we can at least toss in a frozen pizza one night, or make sandwiches one day! Plus it's a nice break from eating out every.single.day. It's also healthier and really can make the difference on a week-long trip financially.
Take photos of things I want- This one is a lot of fun and way cheaper than simply buying everything you see. I also don't end up with buyer's remorse when I get home, nor do I have to figure out how to cram it on the plane/in the car. I did a big write up on this idea here.
Frugal car rentals- This is one where Tim and I really differ. Sometimes, we take trips that involve rental cars. He'd much rather pay the extra $20 a day and upgrade to a super cool car that he never gets to drive in real life. He'd love to get a Challenger to drive around. I'd rather get the cheapest thing possible- it probably also has the best gas mileage! Just think, on a 7 day trip, that extra $20 turns in to $140. Not to mention the gas costs. Stick to a regular car. After all, no one knows you in your vacation spot anyway. If you really want to pretend you had a cool car, run by a car dealership and snap a few free photos. Or just get over it,
Groupon- Once we figure out where we are headed, I go to Groupon and start checking out the deals in that city or the surrounding area. Why not? You can end up with half off of something you really wanted to do anyway! Living Social is also a site I like to keep an eye on.
Transport- I offer transport for the bunnies! Obviously this doesn't work out unless we are driving, but rabbit transport goes from $15-$35 depending on the person doing it. If you don't mind making a small pit-stop or two, it can really help out. You can also transport other things- just use your imagination. I do recommend only meaning in public areas though.
Coupon- I take my coupons on vacation with me! Not only that, I actively search out coupons for things I know we want to do or places we want to eat. A few years ago I got my family week-long tickets to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for $99 a person. My aunt went just two weeks before us and paid $150 for 2 days worth of tickets per member of her family. A little planning really does go a very, very long way.
Ebates- Ebates is my favorite way to save money on vacation. It's a shopping portal. Basically you sign up and then when you want to purchase something online, you go to ebates.com. You search for your store and it will tell you what % cashback you get when you click their link to open the store's website. That's it! The best part? Groupon works with it. All of your travel sites work with it. That's right. You could book your hotel through ebates- get money back. Book your car through ebates- get money back. You are being paid to plan the exact same vacation you were going to plan anyway! Why would you not? I've used ebates for several years now and have always been paid- I love it.
So there we have it. Some of the ways I take the sting out of paying for vacation!
-Kristen
This post contains a ton of referral links! If you sign up for anything shared here, please use my referral link and thank you very much!
Cook in the room- This one is a biggie for us. We are lucky in that we have a nice time share. If we use it, it has a full kitchen. If we trade it in to go elsewhere, we can choose places that have full kitchens in the rooms. A quick trip to the grocery store (with coupons, of course) and we can at least toss in a frozen pizza one night, or make sandwiches one day! Plus it's a nice break from eating out every.single.day. It's also healthier and really can make the difference on a week-long trip financially.
Take photos of things I want- This one is a lot of fun and way cheaper than simply buying everything you see. I also don't end up with buyer's remorse when I get home, nor do I have to figure out how to cram it on the plane/in the car. I did a big write up on this idea here.
Frugal car rentals- This is one where Tim and I really differ. Sometimes, we take trips that involve rental cars. He'd much rather pay the extra $20 a day and upgrade to a super cool car that he never gets to drive in real life. He'd love to get a Challenger to drive around. I'd rather get the cheapest thing possible- it probably also has the best gas mileage! Just think, on a 7 day trip, that extra $20 turns in to $140. Not to mention the gas costs. Stick to a regular car. After all, no one knows you in your vacation spot anyway. If you really want to pretend you had a cool car, run by a car dealership and snap a few free photos. Or just get over it,
Groupon- Once we figure out where we are headed, I go to Groupon and start checking out the deals in that city or the surrounding area. Why not? You can end up with half off of something you really wanted to do anyway! Living Social is also a site I like to keep an eye on.
Transport- I offer transport for the bunnies! Obviously this doesn't work out unless we are driving, but rabbit transport goes from $15-$35 depending on the person doing it. If you don't mind making a small pit-stop or two, it can really help out. You can also transport other things- just use your imagination. I do recommend only meaning in public areas though.
Coupon- I take my coupons on vacation with me! Not only that, I actively search out coupons for things I know we want to do or places we want to eat. A few years ago I got my family week-long tickets to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for $99 a person. My aunt went just two weeks before us and paid $150 for 2 days worth of tickets per member of her family. A little planning really does go a very, very long way.
Ebates- Ebates is my favorite way to save money on vacation. It's a shopping portal. Basically you sign up and then when you want to purchase something online, you go to ebates.com. You search for your store and it will tell you what % cashback you get when you click their link to open the store's website. That's it! The best part? Groupon works with it. All of your travel sites work with it. That's right. You could book your hotel through ebates- get money back. Book your car through ebates- get money back. You are being paid to plan the exact same vacation you were going to plan anyway! Why would you not? I've used ebates for several years now and have always been paid- I love it.
So there we have it. Some of the ways I take the sting out of paying for vacation!
-Kristen
This post contains a ton of referral links! If you sign up for anything shared here, please use my referral link and thank you very much!
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