Saturday, October 30, 2010
Free $3 towards amazon mp3!
Simply free, no strings. Follow the link and the code is "student3". Enjoy :)
Save 30% or more on your electric bill...with 1 phone call
Get out your old utility bills. You have electricity choice now. If you have not chosen an electricity suppplier, you are overpaying for electricity by at least 30%! All you need is your acct number.
For those in Maryland, switching to Washington Gas and Electric will save you a lot of money. Currently, their lowest kWh rate is 9 cents/ kWh, before the standard fees. BGE is currently 10.1 cents, before fees. The average US household uses 740 kWh/ month. Full disclosure...that bill would make me pass out! But the average household would save $8.14/month. That is $97.68/ year found! This savings will be even more in the summer, when Bge's rates spike. This past summer, it was 12.7 cents/kWh.
If you are locked into a plan that is much higher, you may consider switching to a different plan. Usually the cancellation rate is $7/ month counting back from the contact cancellation date.
I pay extra for wind credit power, which right now will cost you 11.3 cents/ kWh. Overall, this is still cheaper than BGE for my family as we use most of our electric in the summer. Luckily we have solar now, otherwise I would look at my 11.7 locked in rate and decide if it made sense to switch.
For those in Maryland, switching to Washington Gas and Electric will save you a lot of money. Currently, their lowest kWh rate is 9 cents/ kWh, before the standard fees. BGE is currently 10.1 cents, before fees. The average US household uses 740 kWh/ month. Full disclosure...that bill would make me pass out! But the average household would save $8.14/month. That is $97.68/ year found! This savings will be even more in the summer, when Bge's rates spike. This past summer, it was 12.7 cents/kWh.
If you are locked into a plan that is much higher, you may consider switching to a different plan. Usually the cancellation rate is $7/ month counting back from the contact cancellation date.
I pay extra for wind credit power, which right now will cost you 11.3 cents/ kWh. Overall, this is still cheaper than BGE for my family as we use most of our electric in the summer. Luckily we have solar now, otherwise I would look at my 11.7 locked in rate and decide if it made sense to switch.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Maximizing the use of heat
The chill is forecasted to reach soon and I am not ready to embrace my winter heating bill. Start throwing open your south facing window shades. Clean the windows to maximize heat gain and shut shades at night. Even W and E windows can give some heat.
Now is the time to fire up the oven, but do so wisely. I aim to cook enough for at least 2 meals. Typically I will bake and roast vegetables (throw a few potatoes in) or make a casserole and immediately follow that with a tray of muffins (my oven has 1 useable rack, everything on the bottom burns). When I do bake small scale, I have a convection toaster oven that uses half the energy of an electric stove.
Electricity in our area is about 18 cents once you figure out all the add ons to the base kWh price, depending on your electrical supplier. Gas is 69 cents/ therm in the plan we are in. Based on these figures, here is what your heat producing appliances are costing you:
Electric oven 36 cents/hour at 350F
Gas oven, 8 cents/hour, plus if electric ignition, 7 cents every time you start it.
Crockpot, 12 cents/hour
Microwave, 15 min on high is 6 cents
The variation changes based on kWh and gas prices for us, but looking at these details made me stop boiling water on the stove for tea (7 cents plus gas used) and instead use the microwave, which can boil my water for less than a penny. I have 3 cups a tea a day on average. In other words, I just saved $76.65 over the course of a year. Little changes add up to big savings and keep you on course. $76.65 is just shy of what I budget for a night at a hotel on vacation.
Now is the time to fire up the oven, but do so wisely. I aim to cook enough for at least 2 meals. Typically I will bake and roast vegetables (throw a few potatoes in) or make a casserole and immediately follow that with a tray of muffins (my oven has 1 useable rack, everything on the bottom burns). When I do bake small scale, I have a convection toaster oven that uses half the energy of an electric stove.
Electricity in our area is about 18 cents once you figure out all the add ons to the base kWh price, depending on your electrical supplier. Gas is 69 cents/ therm in the plan we are in. Based on these figures, here is what your heat producing appliances are costing you:
Electric oven 36 cents/hour at 350F
Gas oven, 8 cents/hour, plus if electric ignition, 7 cents every time you start it.
Crockpot, 12 cents/hour
Microwave, 15 min on high is 6 cents
The variation changes based on kWh and gas prices for us, but looking at these details made me stop boiling water on the stove for tea (7 cents plus gas used) and instead use the microwave, which can boil my water for less than a penny. I have 3 cups a tea a day on average. In other words, I just saved $76.65 over the course of a year. Little changes add up to big savings and keep you on course. $76.65 is just shy of what I budget for a night at a hotel on vacation.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
7th Generation Printable Coupons
These coupons have just reset. Sometimes these items go on sale, but not often. Not on sale, I've found the best price is usually at Target. Of course, best price is to make your own cleaners :) These are convenient:
http://www.seventhgeneration.com/products
http://www.seventhgeneration.com/products
Free Tom's of Maine Toothpaste
http://www.startsampling.com/sm/toms101470/main.iphtml?item=101470&source=&ss_id=&key=b41e1cb4df0c8f9f9b2ab605766c6894&friend_id=
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
A Coupon/Sale/Gas Deal Worth Your Time
If you shop at Giant, here is a great cheese/gas deal:
Print out this coupon two times:
http://brands.kraftfoods.com/kraftcheese/index.html
This gives you $10 off cheese.
Buy 12 units of Kraft cheese--Cracker Barrel, Shredded, whatever you like, all are on sale for $2.50. The great thing with this is that not only are they on sale, there are bonus gas points with them this week. So if you buy 12, you will get 300 gas points (every 4 units= 10 cents off per gallon of gas) and only spend $20 on cheese...and then you'll get 30 cents off per gallon at the pump. Now for me, that is only $2.70 on fumes (450 miles=9 gallons in the Prius), however, if you drive a thirstier car, this deal is even sweeter for you.
You will need a Giant store card to take part in this promotion and gas must be bought at Shell.
If you have multiple computers--at work, at home, or friends who don't eat cheese, utilize your resources, I do not think there is a limit to this promotion as far as quantity, but each computer will only print 2 coupons. I have been wondering if libraries allow coupon prints...anyone know?
Print out this coupon two times:
http://brands.kraftfoods.com/kraftcheese/index.html
This gives you $10 off cheese.
Buy 12 units of Kraft cheese--Cracker Barrel, Shredded, whatever you like, all are on sale for $2.50. The great thing with this is that not only are they on sale, there are bonus gas points with them this week. So if you buy 12, you will get 300 gas points (every 4 units= 10 cents off per gallon of gas) and only spend $20 on cheese...and then you'll get 30 cents off per gallon at the pump. Now for me, that is only $2.70 on fumes (450 miles=9 gallons in the Prius), however, if you drive a thirstier car, this deal is even sweeter for you.
You will need a Giant store card to take part in this promotion and gas must be bought at Shell.
If you have multiple computers--at work, at home, or friends who don't eat cheese, utilize your resources, I do not think there is a limit to this promotion as far as quantity, but each computer will only print 2 coupons. I have been wondering if libraries allow coupon prints...anyone know?
Monday, October 25, 2010
Free food!
http://www.facebook.com/FoodShouldTasteGood?v=app_163836236969327#!/FoodShouldTasteGood?v=app_163836236969327
Freecycle...get rid of your stuff and find new treasures
If you haven't joined freecycle, yet, what are you waiting for?
We have shoes, bookshelves, a bench and clothes all from freecycle. We didn't pay a cent. We have given away useful, working things. What I like is that you leave it on your stoop and often the item is gone in an hour. We have given away carpet and padding, broken electronics (disclosing this fact, handy man picked them up), clothing, etc. What I like about freecycle vs. Simply donating to goodwill or Nesap is that the item instantly finds a home. Very efficient. Check it out!
http://www.freecycle.org/
We have shoes, bookshelves, a bench and clothes all from freecycle. We didn't pay a cent. We have given away useful, working things. What I like is that you leave it on your stoop and often the item is gone in an hour. We have given away carpet and padding, broken electronics (disclosing this fact, handy man picked them up), clothing, etc. What I like about freecycle vs. Simply donating to goodwill or Nesap is that the item instantly finds a home. Very efficient. Check it out!
http://www.freecycle.org/
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Favorite Healthy Meals
I would love for us to share some of our favorite frugal meals. Tonight we had Cauliflower Curry. So healthy and high- end, price-wise for us. I would love fresh frugal dinner ideas. Here is our go-to winter meal with cauliflower, roughly $4-7, depending on if from your garden, bought on sale, etc.
1 head cauliflower, diced
1 quart diced tomatoes (large can, if buying from store)
2-4 cups cooked white or sweet potatoes or pasta of any kind
2 tsp curry powder
1 cup peas
1/2 c raisins
Salt, to taste
Put cauliflower and raisins into pan with a bit of water. Steam for 5 min over high heat. Add tomatoes, curry powder and salt and cover, cook over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients and cook until heated through. Plain yogurt spooned on top is a nice addition.
1 head cauliflower, diced
1 quart diced tomatoes (large can, if buying from store)
2-4 cups cooked white or sweet potatoes or pasta of any kind
2 tsp curry powder
1 cup peas
1/2 c raisins
Salt, to taste
Put cauliflower and raisins into pan with a bit of water. Steam for 5 min over high heat. Add tomatoes, curry powder and salt and cover, cook over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients and cook until heated through. Plain yogurt spooned on top is a nice addition.
Friday, October 22, 2010
My Fake Car...Preparing for the Inevitable
We were so happy last year when I won a contest and was able to pay off my car early. If we hadn't won that, I would still be paying off my car until December of this year. Now we have been 18 mos or more without a car payment. Kevin's car is 10 years old and while mine only has 70,000 miles on it, I know the time will come when the dreaded thing will happen...another car payment. Today, I have done what I've been meaning to do for quite awhile.
Today I've created a fake car payment. It isn't nearly as much as a regular car payment, but it will prepare us with a downpayment when one of the cars needs to go or when it needs a giant repair. I decided to set this up as a separate account, as I need the disipline. We bank with etrade, entirely online, so this was easy to set up--it took less than 2 minutes. I plan to funnel $20 per week into this account. While this isn't much compared to a regular car payment, in one year (if no giant repairs come up), this will add up to $1,040, plus whatever measly interest is by that point, so maybe $1,050. But that is the beginning of a safety net with regards to transportation cost. Even $1/day and you'd have $365 by the end of the year. Every bit counts. The key is automating this. I will have $20 withdrawn from the checking account every week and put into the savings account I've titled "CAR PAYMENT."
I'm hoping you consider setting up an account like this, too. When you go to buy your next car, this will feel like free money! :)
Today I've created a fake car payment. It isn't nearly as much as a regular car payment, but it will prepare us with a downpayment when one of the cars needs to go or when it needs a giant repair. I decided to set this up as a separate account, as I need the disipline. We bank with etrade, entirely online, so this was easy to set up--it took less than 2 minutes. I plan to funnel $20 per week into this account. While this isn't much compared to a regular car payment, in one year (if no giant repairs come up), this will add up to $1,040, plus whatever measly interest is by that point, so maybe $1,050. But that is the beginning of a safety net with regards to transportation cost. Even $1/day and you'd have $365 by the end of the year. Every bit counts. The key is automating this. I will have $20 withdrawn from the checking account every week and put into the savings account I've titled "CAR PAYMENT."
I'm hoping you consider setting up an account like this, too. When you go to buy your next car, this will feel like free money! :)
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Compare Yourself, it Motivates
I just went to this interesting site that left me in shock and awe. Seriously.
https://www.ingcompareme.com/app/?returnURL=Public&appState=default&referrer=
Compare your financial situation with others in a similar situation. Completely anonymous.
We have been working on our finances for a few years now and the value of a good website---very eye opening. This is the first year we have hit our target (this week, actually) of saving 33% of Kevin's salary for retirement. And yet, this still has him working until he is 63. But with a few years of diligence, this was brought down from NEVER able to retire to 63. It can be done. Yes, beans and rice may be involved. But they are mighty tasty!
I highly recommend this calculator http://www3.troweprice.com/ric/ric/public/ric.do See where you are at, so you know what you need to do to meet your goals. Every dollar counts, as in retirement that dollar is ten to thirty times more than it is now. A dollar purchase today is $30 less in the future. Is a $5 coffee today worth $150 in retirement? Would you burn $150?! So much of this is changing your mindset.
https://www.ingcompareme.com/app/?returnURL=Public&appState=default&referrer=
Compare your financial situation with others in a similar situation. Completely anonymous.
We have been working on our finances for a few years now and the value of a good website---very eye opening. This is the first year we have hit our target (this week, actually) of saving 33% of Kevin's salary for retirement. And yet, this still has him working until he is 63. But with a few years of diligence, this was brought down from NEVER able to retire to 63. It can be done. Yes, beans and rice may be involved. But they are mighty tasty!
I highly recommend this calculator http://www3.troweprice.com/ric/ric/public/ric.do See where you are at, so you know what you need to do to meet your goals. Every dollar counts, as in retirement that dollar is ten to thirty times more than it is now. A dollar purchase today is $30 less in the future. Is a $5 coffee today worth $150 in retirement? Would you burn $150?! So much of this is changing your mindset.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Keep HALF for you: Homeowner's Insurance
Before I used the following tips, I paid more than double for homeowner's insurance. By reducing our insurance costs, our monthly mortgage payment fell rather dramatically, as in MD, insurance is rolled into a mortgage. Despite paying $50/year extra to have the co-op preschool at our house, our homeowner's insurance is only about $300/year. Here is how I did it (and in my mind, I had enough extra for half an international plane ticket!):
- Shop around. We ultimately went with USAA, however I looked around online and called various local insurance companies.
- Increase your deductible. This was the biggest savings for us. We decided to raise it to $6000. Look at the money you have in your emergency fund. I knew I wouldn't be comfortable with a five figure deductible, but I was okay with at 4 figure one, as we would still have several months left for our emergency fund (which took years to build), if we did have to use our deductible. If you don't have an emergency fund, use the cash you save here to build yourself an emergency fund. Online raise this deductible to the level with which YOU are comfortable. Some insurance companies set it at $250 or $500 if you don't ask for a higher deductible. Just increasing your deductible a bit will save you money. You can always raise it more later, as your emergency fund grows.
- When looking at how much homeowner's insurance to take out, make sure your home value is up-to-date on your policy. In some regions of the country, home values have fallen dramatically. I feel more comfortable taking out 10% above what www.zillow.com says.
- Combine policies--both of our cars and the house are with the same company. When I called to shop around for rates, I was shopping for home and cars (and raised car deductibles as well)--you will save 5-15% doing this, experts say. We saved 30% by combining Kevin's car policy with mine, before raising deductibles.
- Find out what discounts are offered for smoke alarms, security alarms, etc. Find out discounts available, so you can decide if you want to add those features to your home.
- Your FICO score will give you the best rates on insurance. If you haven't figured out how to improve your score, yet, look at the previous post.
- Be loyal. Once you find your best rate, companies reward loyalty. Stick with them and after 3 years, you are often rewarded with 5% off. After 6 years, it increases to 10 or 15%.
If you save big, please comment. I'd love to know!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Getting Your FREE FICO Score and Why this is Important
Do you know your number? If not, you most likely are overpaying for any loan you currently have or will overpay in the future. Optimally, your score should be above 760, with 800 or above your ultimate goal. These numbers will reward you with the best rates on mortgages, car loans, etc. You will have an easier time obtaining a loan or credit of some kind.
All truly free FICO scores come w/strings attached, however this strings are easy to snip. Go here for your free credit score. http://www.myfico.com/lp/free-score.aspx?AID=10816124&PID=1798975
After you get your free score and you confirm everything is accurate, see what areas need improvement and then you know where to target your efforts. Then, immediately, go and cancel the account. You have your free FICO score, your free credit report and your free advice on how to improve your score all in less than 10 min from start to finish.
MMM financial empowerment. Good Stuff.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Save Receipts for a Month and Save Yourself 30% or more!
Reading Amy Dacyczyn's compiled newsletters was a life-changing experience for me. http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Tightwad-Gazette-Amy-Dacyczyn/dp/0375752250/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287015048&sr=8-1 (do not buy it, libraries have it!)
Before this book, I hadn't realized how wasteful I was. Yes, some of this book is outdated and extreme. Much of it is laugh-out-loud funny. But the tips within--there are so many. Amy has transformed my life! I do not say this lightly!
One of the topics she talks about is managing your food spending. Food is essential, this is a need area, but we don't need to blow our budgets. We can eat well and spend less. Save your receipts for the month. You will notice patterns. We all tend to buy much of the same food week-to-week. I have a notebook and each page has a different section of the grocery store: Produce, Bulk Goods, Baking, etc. I record what I paid, for example $2. When I find the same item for $1, I record this in my book, cross out the $2, and note where I got the item for $1. I will never pay more than $1 for that item again. Sales always come around again. If I sometimes get coupons for the item, and I get the item for 25 cents instead of the original $2, I make note that on sale and with a coupon, I can get the item for 25 cents. That is my new standard price. And I will only stock up like mad if this is an often used item and I can get it for 25 cents. You can see how multiplied, this strategy could save you an insane amount of money per year. And it does not take long. Roughly 2 min post shopping trip to log. Now I have most regular purchases in my head, so I don't use my book.
Even if you don't have time to log everything, note where your largest spending happens. In our house, it is in Kevin's lunch meat-- $7.20/week simply to fill his sandwiches (starting point, we have brought that down to $3, most weeks). We also spend fairly heavily on dairy--sometimes $10/week. The areas you spend heaviest on are what you should focus on first.
Harness the power of coupons. I don't mean clipping in your weekend paper. You could do that, if you want. I mean searching Ebay. You will find you use the same brands over and over. Check to see if Ebay has coupons for your items. If they aren't currently being sold, do a saved search. Ebay will let you know when the coupons are listed again. This is particularly helpful for allergy friendly foods, flour and other items where coupons aren't usually as plentiful. You can buy packets of 10 to 40 coupons (typical price is 8 cents per $1 off) and really save. My favorite are the Marcal 100% recycled t.p. coupons. $1 off one 1000 sheet roll. Then you get toilet paper for less than 15 cents/roll and it is better for the environment than regular toilet paper. Who wants to waste money on toilet paper? NOT ME! I have trips to plan ;)
You don't have to sit around and wait for auctions either, thanks to http://www.auctionstealer.com/
They have a free version and you can have it bid on up to 3 auctions per week for you.
http://www.forthemommas.com/ Does coupon and sale matching for MD/S. PA stores like Weis, Giant PA, Giant, Safeway, SuperFresh--if you aren't in these areas, find a blog that does it for you.
http://www.mygrocerydeals.com/ For a personal touch, sign up for this free site, you put in your favorite grocery stores and you can search for what is on sale. I often look up these brands: (in parenthesis are the best sale/coupon deal I've found): Stonyfield ($2.49 half gallon milk), Organic Valley (Yo Baby 4 pack, 89 cents; 6 oz, less than 17 cents) and Kashi (now that I got organic cereal for 50 cents/box, I want to try to stick with paying that!!).
Make up your book, take advantage of these free services, hoard your coupons (I just shove mine in a quart ziploc in my purse--lean and mean!) and pounce on a sale. I prefer to save at least 65% per shopping trip. But when buying bulk goods (often the cheapest), sometimes it is only 30%. I'll take it, because buying with my own containers is not only environmentally friendly, it is usually as cheap as you can get. I can't wait to hear how much less you are spending on groceries!!!
Before this book, I hadn't realized how wasteful I was. Yes, some of this book is outdated and extreme. Much of it is laugh-out-loud funny. But the tips within--there are so many. Amy has transformed my life! I do not say this lightly!
One of the topics she talks about is managing your food spending. Food is essential, this is a need area, but we don't need to blow our budgets. We can eat well and spend less. Save your receipts for the month. You will notice patterns. We all tend to buy much of the same food week-to-week. I have a notebook and each page has a different section of the grocery store: Produce, Bulk Goods, Baking, etc. I record what I paid, for example $2. When I find the same item for $1, I record this in my book, cross out the $2, and note where I got the item for $1. I will never pay more than $1 for that item again. Sales always come around again. If I sometimes get coupons for the item, and I get the item for 25 cents instead of the original $2, I make note that on sale and with a coupon, I can get the item for 25 cents. That is my new standard price. And I will only stock up like mad if this is an often used item and I can get it for 25 cents. You can see how multiplied, this strategy could save you an insane amount of money per year. And it does not take long. Roughly 2 min post shopping trip to log. Now I have most regular purchases in my head, so I don't use my book.
Even if you don't have time to log everything, note where your largest spending happens. In our house, it is in Kevin's lunch meat-- $7.20/week simply to fill his sandwiches (starting point, we have brought that down to $3, most weeks). We also spend fairly heavily on dairy--sometimes $10/week. The areas you spend heaviest on are what you should focus on first.
Harness the power of coupons. I don't mean clipping in your weekend paper. You could do that, if you want. I mean searching Ebay. You will find you use the same brands over and over. Check to see if Ebay has coupons for your items. If they aren't currently being sold, do a saved search. Ebay will let you know when the coupons are listed again. This is particularly helpful for allergy friendly foods, flour and other items where coupons aren't usually as plentiful. You can buy packets of 10 to 40 coupons (typical price is 8 cents per $1 off) and really save. My favorite are the Marcal 100% recycled t.p. coupons. $1 off one 1000 sheet roll. Then you get toilet paper for less than 15 cents/roll and it is better for the environment than regular toilet paper. Who wants to waste money on toilet paper? NOT ME! I have trips to plan ;)
You don't have to sit around and wait for auctions either, thanks to http://www.auctionstealer.com/
They have a free version and you can have it bid on up to 3 auctions per week for you.
http://www.forthemommas.com/ Does coupon and sale matching for MD/S. PA stores like Weis, Giant PA, Giant, Safeway, SuperFresh--if you aren't in these areas, find a blog that does it for you.
http://www.mygrocerydeals.com/ For a personal touch, sign up for this free site, you put in your favorite grocery stores and you can search for what is on sale. I often look up these brands: (in parenthesis are the best sale/coupon deal I've found): Stonyfield ($2.49 half gallon milk), Organic Valley (Yo Baby 4 pack, 89 cents; 6 oz, less than 17 cents) and Kashi (now that I got organic cereal for 50 cents/box, I want to try to stick with paying that!!).
Make up your book, take advantage of these free services, hoard your coupons (I just shove mine in a quart ziploc in my purse--lean and mean!) and pounce on a sale. I prefer to save at least 65% per shopping trip. But when buying bulk goods (often the cheapest), sometimes it is only 30%. I'll take it, because buying with my own containers is not only environmentally friendly, it is usually as cheap as you can get. I can't wait to hear how much less you are spending on groceries!!!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Taming Impulse Purchases...Staying on Course Toward Your Goal
I love Amazon for many reasons. I love their one day manager specials (I still remember my best deals, like organic lollipops for less than 3 cents each, for last Halloween!), I love subscribe &save and the deals they have on organic and allergy-friendly foods. But more than anything, I love them for taming impulse spending.
Saving money with coupons is not saving money, if coupons drive you to buy things you would not normally buy or spend money on. When a coupon lures you in for something you didn't need before, you have been had. I look at coupons as affording my family luxury items that I would love for us to have, but realistically we don't need (yogurt, frozen organic vegetables, whole grain crackers, cold cereal, cheese). If we bought wholly unprocessed food, well, there are very few coupons for those types of foods and our grocery bill would be within our budget without any trying.
I try to do most of my shopping just one day per week. This cuts down on overall purchasing and lessens the gimmes if shopping with children. The gimmes add up. Especially if you participate in them while going shopping hungry. This one day shopping doesn't always work, but this is my goal. Piper knows this as my "coupon shop day" and she knows that excellent behavior from myself and her results in an extra special visit to a bounce play (with a coupon, $3), a playground we don't normally visit or something along those lines. She is an active participant in finding the matching item on the coupon, reading numbers on the coupon and we talk about prices. She knows luxury items (i.e. all processed food) ideally should be on sale with a coupon or at least with a coupon or we delay a purchase. She does enjoy this and often instructs her stuffed animals on how to save money while shopping. I think doing this more than once a week would ruin the novelty.
Every time you enter a store, you have a chance to waste money, detracting you from your goal. Mine, typically, is travel. Pre-child and husband, I spent more than 50% of my salary on travel and yet was still able to save money and live comfortably, debt-free. In Peace Corps, I banked 2/3 of my living allowance for travel. If I recall correctly, it was roughly $6-7/day. Realistically, we won't spend 50% of Kevin's salary on travel. We can't! But every bit we save brings us closer to a new and exciting destination.
Amazon's wish list feature is one of my favorite tools for curbing impulse spending. Every time I feel I want a book, something for Piper, something for Kevin, something for the house, something as a present for someone...I simply put it in our wishlist (you can add things from any website--while I'm out, I'll make a note of what I want and add it once I come home). When a holiday comes up, I can look at the list and decide what we can afford, what still looks good, what would be a perfect present or what I can delete. And typically I can delete (or get from the libary) half the things on the list. If I've done well that month with spending, and we have saved an appropriate amount, if extra bills haven't crept up (car repair, tree limb trimming, etc), then I will look over my list and might consider a few things, but typically by then, the urge has passed and we have banked more in savings. I urge you to try this wish list feature. Try buying only what you truly need and wish list the rest this month. It is shocking how much you can save. And you are that much closer to your goal.
Saving money with coupons is not saving money, if coupons drive you to buy things you would not normally buy or spend money on. When a coupon lures you in for something you didn't need before, you have been had. I look at coupons as affording my family luxury items that I would love for us to have, but realistically we don't need (yogurt, frozen organic vegetables, whole grain crackers, cold cereal, cheese). If we bought wholly unprocessed food, well, there are very few coupons for those types of foods and our grocery bill would be within our budget without any trying.
I try to do most of my shopping just one day per week. This cuts down on overall purchasing and lessens the gimmes if shopping with children. The gimmes add up. Especially if you participate in them while going shopping hungry. This one day shopping doesn't always work, but this is my goal. Piper knows this as my "coupon shop day" and she knows that excellent behavior from myself and her results in an extra special visit to a bounce play (with a coupon, $3), a playground we don't normally visit or something along those lines. She is an active participant in finding the matching item on the coupon, reading numbers on the coupon and we talk about prices. She knows luxury items (i.e. all processed food) ideally should be on sale with a coupon or at least with a coupon or we delay a purchase. She does enjoy this and often instructs her stuffed animals on how to save money while shopping. I think doing this more than once a week would ruin the novelty.
Every time you enter a store, you have a chance to waste money, detracting you from your goal. Mine, typically, is travel. Pre-child and husband, I spent more than 50% of my salary on travel and yet was still able to save money and live comfortably, debt-free. In Peace Corps, I banked 2/3 of my living allowance for travel. If I recall correctly, it was roughly $6-7/day. Realistically, we won't spend 50% of Kevin's salary on travel. We can't! But every bit we save brings us closer to a new and exciting destination.
Amazon's wish list feature is one of my favorite tools for curbing impulse spending. Every time I feel I want a book, something for Piper, something for Kevin, something for the house, something as a present for someone...I simply put it in our wishlist (you can add things from any website--while I'm out, I'll make a note of what I want and add it once I come home). When a holiday comes up, I can look at the list and decide what we can afford, what still looks good, what would be a perfect present or what I can delete. And typically I can delete (or get from the libary) half the things on the list. If I've done well that month with spending, and we have saved an appropriate amount, if extra bills haven't crept up (car repair, tree limb trimming, etc), then I will look over my list and might consider a few things, but typically by then, the urge has passed and we have banked more in savings. I urge you to try this wish list feature. Try buying only what you truly need and wish list the rest this month. It is shocking how much you can save. And you are that much closer to your goal.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Save Money Every Month with this FREE Service
If you haven't had your home checked by BGE, yet (for free, as long as you let them improve 3 things), this should be high on you to-do list, as you will effortlessly save money every month:
http://www.bgesmartenergy.com/residential/quick-home-energy-check
We had BGE come out last December and do a basic check for air leaks and other areas of inefficiency in our home. It was less than an hour, we got 12 free cfl lightbulbs out of the deal, and a prioritized list of home improvements. We decided to upgrade our insulation to R60 in the attic and had spray in foam put in along the sill in the basement. It has made a huge difference in the comfort level of our home. They typically offer free low flow faucets, showerheads and CFL lightbulbs. Using 60w or higher lightbulbs is like throwing money out the window!
When Kevin and I think of home improvements, we try to think of improvements that will save us money first, before doing cosmetic improvements. The way we see it, if we upgrade something now that will save us money in the long term, those long term savings will pay for cosmetic improvements later. If you are out of BGE's area, check your local utility. Most offer simliar, often even better, plans.
http://www.bgesmartenergy.com/residential/quick-home-energy-check
We had BGE come out last December and do a basic check for air leaks and other areas of inefficiency in our home. It was less than an hour, we got 12 free cfl lightbulbs out of the deal, and a prioritized list of home improvements. We decided to upgrade our insulation to R60 in the attic and had spray in foam put in along the sill in the basement. It has made a huge difference in the comfort level of our home. They typically offer free low flow faucets, showerheads and CFL lightbulbs. Using 60w or higher lightbulbs is like throwing money out the window!
When Kevin and I think of home improvements, we try to think of improvements that will save us money first, before doing cosmetic improvements. The way we see it, if we upgrade something now that will save us money in the long term, those long term savings will pay for cosmetic improvements later. If you are out of BGE's area, check your local utility. Most offer simliar, often even better, plans.
Finding Your Purpose
Why do you try to save money? You should? You must? You want to? You need a tangible goal. Something that excites you. What is something you -really- want to do that you feel you simply don't have the money to do? Make it something good. Make it realistic, but a stretch. This will light your tightwad fire.
I'm hoping this blog will inspire you to find the room in your budget to do what your heart desires. It will take discipline, however discipline will be heartily rewarded. Think about your goal and feel free to share. Most often, my goal is travel. It is indulgent, a want and not a need...and one of the things I love most. But it lights my fire and keeps me on track in my spending. Everyone's priorities will be different. I'd rather wear clothes full of holes and be able to travel the world than have a closet full of new clothes. I'd rather buy organic and local food, but I know I need to keep within my $100/week food budget, so I do the best I can within that. Yes, life's needs can get us sidetracked, but with an eye on a goal, we can adjust our timeline and still make it happen.
I hope that we will be able to share here ways to:
I'm hoping this blog will inspire you to find the room in your budget to do what your heart desires. It will take discipline, however discipline will be heartily rewarded. Think about your goal and feel free to share. Most often, my goal is travel. It is indulgent, a want and not a need...and one of the things I love most. But it lights my fire and keeps me on track in my spending. Everyone's priorities will be different. I'd rather wear clothes full of holes and be able to travel the world than have a closet full of new clothes. I'd rather buy organic and local food, but I know I need to keep within my $100/week food budget, so I do the best I can within that. Yes, life's needs can get us sidetracked, but with an eye on a goal, we can adjust our timeline and still make it happen.
I hope that we will be able to share here ways to:
- Save Money
- Do Without (and feel awesome about it)
- Fulfill our dreams, while being financially secure and responsible
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