New Year’s #1 Resolution Among Adults was…

Can you guess? You might be surprised. Go ahead, guess. I’ll wait.

It’s saving money! Not losing weight, but saving money. Yes, it shocked me, too. Second to your mortgage, food just may be your highest monthly expense. So, it does make sense to trim that expense as much as you can, right? (Hint, the answer is yes!) Menu planning can help you cut cost and help you resist picking up alot of extra food and snacks at the grocery store, not to mention going out to eat at the last minute…

The owner of DineWithoutWhine.com has given me a coupon code that I can pass onto you so you can save 20% on her menu planning service.

To get started, go to this site DineWithoutWhine.com and choose either the 3, 6, or 12 month subscription option. When you’re checking out, enter this code: 04AO (The first digit is a zero and the last is an uppercase letter “O”.) and you’ll save 20% instantly. Most people give up on their New Year’s Resolution before January 31st. Give yourself the tools to actually make it work this year. You’ll be so glad you did!

Here’s the details again:

20% off a 3, 6, or 12 month subscription

Code: 04AO

Expires: 4/15/2008

Click Here to Grab My Savings Now

Where is the Money going?

Start to take inventory with a Baby Step. Analyze you last grocery store receipt. If the concept of a full blown budget and tracking every dollar is overwhelming, start with the baby step of analyzing your most recent grocery store receipt. This is a great way to start to take inventory of where the money is going. Your grocery and drugstore bills are the easiest to control and the best place to feel some immediate savings.

1) Start by getting out a red marker and circling the convenience items. For example: ready made pizzas, complete stir fry or crock-pot meals, pre-cooked chicken strips or meat balls.

2) Next, in a different color pen, circle any “end cap” items that you threw in the cart that were not on your original list. Things like powdered donuts that were screaming your name, light up lollypops, or an adorable ladybug garden decoration.

3) Give yourself a star next to any coupon deductions you had at the end of the receipt. What percentage of items were left un-circled? Most of those un-circled items were probably staples. Things like sugar, flour, milk, raw meat, produce etc. The goal it to have more and more of these items and less of the circled items. You also want as many stars as possible.

I believe that there are different seasons of life that offer different incentives for saving money like trying to become debt free, live on one income, or save for your future. Therefore, I divide saving money into three levels: Crawlers, Walkers, and Runners.

Here’s the breakdown by type of saver:

Crawler: You might have had less than 10% of your items starred with a coupon deduction, and half your other items were staples. This level of savings is better than none and will at least save you the cost of tax if you live in a state that taxes food.

Walker: You should have purchased 25% of your items with coupons and had only one or two ready made convenience items. At this level, you will start to save $50 to over $100 off you your monthly grocery bills

Runner: At this level, you should be handing a stack of coupons to the cashier and matching your coupons with the sales items of the week. You will also highly annoy the person waiting in line behind you, so plan to go early in the morning or late at night. You will be working with a planned weekly, or even monthly menu that is based on the area store specials. You will also be shopping at more than one food store per week. The benefit to this level is that you will be bringing home hundreds of dollars of free food every month. When my husband and I were at this level, we were living in NJ, where they did not tax food, and where they offered triple couponning one week out of every month. The rest of the weeks, they doubled the value of coupons and matched other store specials. We saved up to $80 a week and we spent only $250/ month including drug store items, cleaning and beauty products. Our pantry was stocked and we truly experienced having more with less.
So get started today and fight the joy thief of financial stress.

© 2007
Kathy Kline Danner

 

Fight the Joy thieves of motherhood. Re-Claim the JOY and become a Joy @ Home Mom www.PBandJAHM.com Free tips and Tools for moms

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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It’s every parent’s worse nightmare — Christmas is coming and money is tight. Many parents out there sympathize with you, and are going through the same thing you are. You’re definitely not alone! Here are some tips for Christmas fun on a budget.

Buy on Sale – If you can, don’t leave all the shopping for the last minute.  There are some great sales on the run up to Christmas. Look through your local papers and try to buy items before they go up in price.  And remember you don’t have to buy tons of presents for a lot of people, be measured in your buying and remember that Christmas is not just about presents.

Don’t Forget the Yard Sales – Depending on the weather where you are there may not be many at this time of year but you may still find some good bargains in your local magazine.  Often times people will sell toys that still look like new for a fraction of the price, your kids won’t mind or even know they’re not new and you’ll save a bundle of money.

Handmade Gifts - Are you a crafter? Use your talents for creating handmade items and make all your Christmas gifts this year. Kids love things like long, funky scarves and hats. Not only can you make gifts, but your kids can, too. Let them make cards, calendars and scrapbook pages on the computer to print out for family members. Homemade goodies like cookies or candies are great presents to give to teachers and neighbors too.

Fun for Everyone - Is there something that all your kids have wanted for a while? Purchase one nice, “big” gift for them to share. Kids are almost always flexible when it comes to these things.

Buy for Younger Kids Only - Tell your family that you will only buy presents for the kids in the family and that they don’t have to worry about giving to you either.  This will take the pressure off you and the less you have to buy for, the easier it will be to stay within budget.

Stay Home - Christmas means traveling for many families. This year, save your money and stay home for Christmas. Your family will understand if money is tight. Staying home will mean less stress for you and less money spent.

Volunteer - Volunteer your family’s time at a local shelter or nursing home. You will be amazed at how much fun your children will have helping others. Even if you are on a tight budget yourself, this is an opportune time to see just how blessed your family is this holiday season.

Do you need nice, but inexpensive gifts for your friends, but don’t have a clue what to give them? This Christmas, don’t stress yourself out by shopping for hours on end. Instead, make your own homemade holiday gifts. Try these ideas that your friends are sure to love.

Gift Idea #1: Layered Cookie and Drink Mixes
Buy a box of Mason jar and lids at your local grocery store. These are usually available year-round. Purchase a small amount of fabric, to decorate the lids with. Using your favorite cookie and drink recipes, layer the dry ingredients inside the jar. Print your recipe on a small card, punch a hole in the top corner, and tie it around the lid.

Gift Idea #2: Homemade Jams and Jellies
If you grow your own fruit or veggies, jams and jellies (or pickled veggies) are wonderful gifts to give your neighbors. Make sure to can/jar extras during the summer months when you harvest. Then you’ll have ready-made gifts on hand at the end of the year! You can “pretty” the jars with your own decorations, if you wish.

Gift Idea #3: Inspiration Jar
Write special, inspiring or motivational messages on small slips of paper. Fold them in half and drop them into a small, clear jar or bowl. Then write a special message on a card to go outside the jar, telling your friend that the next time she’s feeling down or sad, take a message out of her “Inspiration jar” to help cheer her up.

Gift Idea #4: Homemade Goodies
Who doesn’t love homemade cookies, candy or bread? Plan a special day just for baking. Create all your favorite treats, including your famous homemade bread. Prepare trays of treats for everyone in your neighborhood. (You can find inexpensive plastic trays at most dollar or department stores.)

One of the best ways to stay on track with your family’s budget, is to curb impulse buying. Many people do this without even realizing it, and then wonder what happened to that careful planning that was supposed to balance income and bills.

The most common place that people impulse buy, is at the grocery store.  A good rule of thumb is never to go shopping when hungry.  Almost anything looks good when you haven’t had a meal recently, and you’re more likely to give in the appeal of a display or “special” for things that you might not buy otherwise.  Go shopping with a list and your coupons.  Don’t sabotage yourself by giving in to cravings or convincing yourself that you deserve a treat. 

On the other hand, treats should be written into the family budget, whether those are food items, or an entertainment expense.  Financial budgeting is much like dieting for calories.  If you continually deny yourself all the good stuff, or the things that you like best, you’re more likely to rebel and go overboard by gorging or spending to excess.

And of course, the classic safeguard against impulse buying is to ask yourself if you really need it.  Don’t stand there and argue with yourself, and try to rationalize the purchased.  If you can’t honestly answer “yes” immediately, turn and walk away.  If you really do need the item, it will still be there when you’ve considered your financial state and whether you can afford it.