10 Ways to Save Money — It is so Easy!!

10 Ways to Save Money - they are so easy, you’ll be saying “I can’t believe I have been spending so much!”

1. Coupons are literally FREE MONEY!! Use grocery coupons!. It really isn’t hard, especially if you have a goal in mind. When you get home, see what your coupon savings were and write yourself a check for that amount and deposit it into your savings account. Once you see your savings grow, your inclination to use coupons will grow! This is a great way to save if you can afford to do it this way, but in my case, I had to use coupons to get that free money so that it would add to my available cash so that I could get enough groceries for the week. If my coupons added up to $10, that meant I had $10 more to spend than the actual cash in my hand. If my budget was $100, and I had $10 in coupons, that meant I could buy $110 in groceries! Either way, it is a great way to save! Just think - if you save $10 a week, that’s $520 a year!!!!

2. Once you have your goal set, and your coupons funding that goal, get involved with a coupon exchange! Friends, family, neighbors - just ask them if they want to trade with you or if they would just save the sunday newspaper coupons for you! You are only allowed one coupon per item, but if you have 10 coupons, you can buy 10 items! If they are on sale this week - all the more savings! 2 weeks from now when you need that item, you don’t have to pay full price for it! You can also watch Ebay for coupons. Watch out though! Don’t forget you have to pay shipping fees on your purchase. Make sure you add your purchase price AND the shipping charges to see if it is a bargain or a rip-off!

2. Set aside a day when you will spend NO MONEY! Whether it be once a week or once a month - it is saving you some to add to your goal. Give it a cute name like “One Step Closer to my Vacation Day” so that you have something to hold on to when you say no to spending. Make it your reason! Brown bag your lunch to work. Don’t buy your cup of flavored coffee on this day. Eat left overs for dinner. Drink a large glass of water instead of getting a soda out of the vending machine. Or bring a soda from home! Depending on what you do, there could be alot of savings in just one day!

3. When you see things on sale like pens, tablets, note cards, or other things that you use all the time, buy several of them while they are on sale. Back-to-school times are the best times to buy this kind of stuff.

4. Yard Sales!!! They aren’t just junk! Trust me! You never know what you will find! I just went to one and bought 10 of those little Post-it sticky pads,brand new, still in wrapper - 10¢ each! And they are like $5 for 5 pads at the office supply store! I also bought sealed packs of lined, 3×5 index cards, some white, some colored - 10¢ each! And those run about $3 for 100. These can be used for flash cards for the kids, note cards, message paper, recipe cards, chore or job cards - the possibilities are endless! Keep some in your car’s glove box. Throw some in your purse. The kids can keep some in their notebooks - and on the list can go!

5. When you eat out - check out the appetizer menu. Those tend to be good size portions and the price is reasonable. Remember, go out to eat but only eat till you are full. It’s no fun and you can feel guilty if you gourge yourself at your meal and then go home and you feel miserable cause you ate to much. Or if you do get a meal, eat only half of it at and take the rest home for your next meal.

6. Don’t subscribe to magazines - go to the library and check them out! But if you have to subscribe, surf the internet for bargains! Or ask for the subscription as a gift at christmas time or birthday. Or ask your friends what magazines they have and do a “magazine swap” the last day of the month!

7. You young kids might not know this, but we have this thing called U.S. Postal Service - it is where you write, (with a pen), a letter (on a few pieces of paper) to a friend or loved-one and these guys in blue deliver it to your friend for you!! Yes, write a letter and mail it!! Instead of paying for a long distance call, do a 39-center! You have “visited” with your friend, and just think how excited and surprised they will be when they get your letter! What a noval idea!

8. When particular foods are on sale, buy in bulk and then freeze in meal-size portions! For instance, when that ground round goes on sale for $1.99 a pound, buy 10 pounds. Once home, seperate it into quart size freezer bags - about a pound each. This way, the package takes up less space in your freezer, it is a great way to stack the packages so they don’t fall out when you open the door and they thaw very quickly. (A thin slab will thaw much faster than a thick ball) Now you are set for 10 meals! Now that is for a family of 4 - okay I used about 1 1/2 pounds per meal for my family of four but I had a growing son and a husband working in construction! But you get the point! This is also great for boneless,skinless chicken breat - buy them on sale and freeze enough for a meal. Watch for your favorite meat!

9. You have heard “make a menu and stick to it” to save money. Well, that never worked for me. What if something is on sale but not on my menu for that week? Do I pull a “stupid” and pass it by because it is not on my menu this week? For heaven sake, no! It works so much better and is so much cheaper to buy what is on sale, and then go home and make your menu based on what you had just bought.

10. Make “crowd-pleaser” size meals, and FREEZE the rest! I would do some cooking on the weekends and make a HUGe pot of chili, spaghetti sauce, or soups. Then freeze in meal size portions. That makes for quick and easy preperation after a long day at work!

The thing you have to remember is that it is not a complicated or confusing as it sounds! You just have to pick an issue and do it. Once that one is in place and you have it running well, pick another one and on down the line. Before you know it, your savings will accumulate and you biggest decision will be “what do I get to spend it on?”

 

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Grilled Cheese Done Right

Grilled cheese sandwiches are the simplest meal to make. Children can even learn to make it themselves. The ones I used to make contained regular cheese and white bread with butter to cook it. Here are a few ways to make that grilled cheese sandwich healthier for your kids.

First of all you need to reduce the fat in the cheese. Full fat cheeses are a thing of the past. A slice of fat free cheese melts just the same with fewer calories and fat. If American cheese is too ordinary, try a slice of Swiss or provolone cheese. Monterey Jack is great on a sandwich, also. One slice of cheese is plenty, but if you are using the fat free kind, you could usually get by with two slices for a creamier sandwich.

What about the bread? The bread is crucial. White bread contains too many sugars that are not healthy for you. Try whole wheat or seven grain bread. Sourdough bread would make a good substitution. What you want is bread with fewer calories and carbohydrates per serving.

What about some meat? When they added bologna to a grilled cheese sandwich when I was a kid, they called it a “flying saucer”. Adding a slice of meat makes the sandwich more of a complete meal. Depending on what their favorite is, you can add roast beef, sliced ham, sliced turkey, bacon, sausage, or sliced chicken breast.

What about some flavor? Add flavor to their grilled cheese sandwich with a few choice condiments. Adding mustard gives the sandwich a tangy taste. For an even better taste add brown or Dijon mustard. Go Mexican with a bit of salsa added to the sandwich. The salsa will make the grilled cheese sandwich spicy. Roast beef goes well with a dollop of barbeque sauce added for good measure. If your child is into the simpler tastes, add a bit of fat-free or reduced fat mayonnaise or ketchup to the sandwich. Adding some dressing such as Peppercorn Ranch is another great option for adding variety.

Add some crunch to your sandwich. Slice up an apple and place it on top of the cheese. People eat a slice of cheese with apple pie and many cheese trays are served with apples, so why not on a grilled cheese sandwich? Use a Granny Smith apple maximum crunch. They will hold their shape better than a red apple.

Our grilled cheese sandwich is really coming together. We have added meat, changed the cheese, changed the bread, and added sauces for an extra kick. What’s left to do? Maybe we can incorporate some vegetables. Pickles work well on a cheese sandwich with bologna. A juicy slice of tomato would add color and flavor to any meat and cheese combination. Get a slice of green with a leaf of romaine lettuce or some spinach.

Ditch the butter. I used to spread a thick layer of butter on both sides of the bread before I put the sandwich in the pan. Here are a few alternatives to that. Use spray butter or non-stick cooking spray in the pan. Your kids will still have the butter flavor without all the butter calories. Another choice would be to brown the sandwich in the oven. Using a cookie sheet, spray both sides of the bread with butter spray. Bake the cheese sandwiches in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for about six minutes per side.

Grilled cheese sandwiches are getting a new look. By adding meat, seasoning, and veggies, your sandwiches are now a meal unto themselves. Get your family involved in the process. Let them create their own sandwiches.