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Start the New Year by Finding Money

December 26, 2022 By MelissaB 1 Comment

Start the New Year by Finding Money

The last few years have been difficult for most people. First, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of the country, causing many people to lose their incomes and livelihoods. Then, when the country opened up again, inflation took hold. The United States, and much of the world, battled inflation in 2022. As a result, money is tight for most people. If this is the case for you, I invite you to join me; I plan to start the new year by finding money.

Why Find Money in the New Year?

Like many Americans, I am struggling to stay within our grocery budget. Looking at the USDA’s cost of food, I see why I’m struggling. Grocery prices increased sharply in 2022.

In addition, fuel costs and interest rates on loans are up. Everything is expensive.

To give our family a little breathing room, I plan to start the new year by finding money.

How to Find Money?

You can find or reclaim money in your budget in various ways. For example, I found money in these ways:

Cell Phone Expenses

My husband and I use Ting to keep our cell phone expenses down. The monthly bill for the two of us combined averaged $40 to $45. Then we added our teenage son to the plan, and suddenly our bill shot up to $100 to $120 a month. After some sleuthing, I discovered I could limit how much data he uses a month. Once I added that limit, our bill dropped to our average amount, saving us $50 to $75 a month.

Cutting Streaming Services

We have several streaming services including Hulu, Paramount+, Disney+, Netflix, Peacock, and Discovery+. I have ended or paused them all except Netflix and Hulu, which I’m temporarily keeping to watch Kindred. When we finish that, I’m pausing it again. With this action, I save $35 a month.

In the new year, we’ll only have one streaming service at a time. So, after we watch every show we want on Netflix, we’ll end the subscription and subscribe to a different one for a few weeks or months. By rotating streaming services, we’ll pay no more than $6 to $18 a month.

Pausing Services

I have a monthly Audible subscription that costs $14.99. I have several books I haven’t listened to yet, and I have nine credits. Therefore, I’m going to redeem my credits and pause my subscription. I have plenty to listen to for the next few months, so why keep paying? I can pause the subscription for at least six months before I run out of new audiobooks to listen to, so I’ll save myself $90.

I also have a $26 monthly fee to Ancestry.com. Genealogy is one of my hobbies, but there are some months, especially in the summer and fall, when I don’t have time to warrant the expense. So, my plan going forward is to gift myself a six-month subscription in November when they go on sale. Then, at the end of the six months, I’ll cancel my membership until next November. That gives me the winter and spring months to do my research. Using this technique, I’ll save approximately $150 a year.

Evaluating Memberships

Likewise, I’m evaluating memberships to see if we should keep them or let them go, including the following:

Amazon Prime

Start the New Year by Finding Money

We’ve been Amazon Prime members for years, but the price increases each year. We’ll need to pay $139 in February to renew our subscription. We’ve been members for so long I’m not sure what perks we’re benefiting from. In the new year, I will spend some time researching how much we spent on Prime, what savings we reaped (especially from Whole Foods as Prime members), and what we would miss if we let the membership go.

Life360

Life360 costs $20 per month. I like this because it’s on all of our phones, so if someone needs help, we know exactly where they are. In addition, Life360 offers emergency roadside service. I’ll likely keep this service for now.

Other Places to Find Money

There are two other places to look to find money. One applies to us, and one doesn’t:

Refinancing Our Home

I don’t know if 2023 will be the year for this, but as soon as interest rates drop, we’re refinancing our home. We bought our new home in September, and our interest rate is 5.375 percent. However, I’m not sure if 2023 will be the year. We might have to wait until 2024 to do this.

Negotiating with Credit Card Companies

My husband and I don’t have credit card debt, but if we did, I would call up the credit card company and make two requests:

Can They Drop the Annual Fee?

When I did have credit card debt, they couldn’t drop my annual fee, but they did offer to give me enough points that I could redeem them to pay the annual fee. This essentially made the annual fee free. It’s worth asking if they can waive the fee or make you a similar offer.

Can They Reduce the Interest Rate?

Start the New Year by Finding Money

Interest rates are so high now that paying down the balance is difficult because so much money goes to interest. If you call the credit card company t*o ask to reduce the interest rate, remind them what a loyal customer you’ve been. They may say no, but if they say yes and drop your interest rate a few percentage points, you have more money to apply to the balance or to add to your budget.

Using Cash Back Sites

Another way to save money that a lot of people don’t consider is using cash back sites.  Cash back sites are older, web 2.0 technology, but they work reliably to save money.  How they work is you open an account with the site, and click through the site when you’re shopping online.  If you buy something, the retailer send a commission to the site, who splits it with you.  Its a reliable way to slash 1% to 3% off your budget.   Good sites to check out are: www.rebatefanatic.com, www.swagbucks.com and www.dollardig.com.

Refinancing Our Home

I don’t know if 2023 will be the year for this, but as soon as interest rates drop, we’re refinancing our home. We bought our new home in September, and our interest rate is 5.375 percent. However, I’m not sure if 2023 will be the year. We might have to wait until 2024 to do this.

Final Thoughts

Inflation is hitting most Americans. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about the high grocery prices besides altering your diet to eat cheaper foods. However, you can start the new year by finding money and eliminating services and subscriptions you no longer need or use. Doing so will give you extra cash to increase the grocery budget, pay down debt, or give yourself extra wiggle room.

Read More

Our Favorite Small Ways to Save Money

Save Money with Buy Nothing Groups

How We Save Money with Ting as Our Cell Phone Provider

4 Ways to Find Extra Money to Put on Debt

MelissaB
MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.

www.momsplans.com/

Filed Under: budget Tagged With: budget, frugal, grocery budget, saving money, tight budget

Our Two Large Financial Goals for 2023

December 12, 2022 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

Our Two Large Financial Goals for 2023

I’m a goal-setter. If I don’t set goals, I meander through life, often wasting time and money. Goal setting gives me direction and purpose. I have an objective to work toward, and since I dislike not achieving my goals, I work hard. My husband and I recently sat down to discuss our plans for next year, and we settled on two large financial goals for 2023.

We’re in a Good Financial Place Going Into 2023

Thankfully, we’re in a good financial place going into 2023. We have paid off all our debts in the last few years, except for my husband’s student loans and our house. We’re not paying anything on the student loans until the pandemic pause ends.

Since we’re not focused on getting out of debt, we can focus on enjoying life and strengthening our financial position.

Our Two Large Financial Goals for 2023

This year’s goals are ones we’ve never tackled throughout our 20-plus-year marriage.

Save/Plan for Domestic and International Travel

My husband and I love to travel, but we’ve struggled with low-paying jobs and raising kids while paying off debt for most of our marriage. Now, we’re more secure financially, the kids are older, and the debts paid off. So we’ve decided to prioritize travel while we’re still young enough to enjoy it.

Take a Trip to Maine

Two Large Financial Goals for 2023

I have wanted to go to Maine since I was a teenager. The closest I got was Vermont. However, since our recent move to New York, we’re only eight hours away. Our goal this year is to travel to Maine for a vacation.

Save for a Trip to a European Country

We would also like to travel internationally. I have had the privilege of traveling to Canada, Ireland, China, Japan, and Switzerland. However, we haven’t traveled internationally for 20 years! So, it’s time to get back at it.

While we do plan to save for travel, we also plan to research travel hacking so we can go sooner than if we relied on savings alone.

Buy a New Car for (Mostly) Cash

We bought our Toyota Sienna 18 years ago. We financed almost the entire thing and paid it off in 4.5 years. We’re still driving that car, though, as you can imagine, we should replace it soon. (It currently has 238,000 miles on it.)

We bought my husband’s 2013 Subaru Outback used and again financed almost the entire thing. We paid it off in five years. It currently has 113,000 miles on it.

For the last few years, we’ve been saving to pay cash for a replacement for the Toyota Sienna. We currently have $20,000 saved. The goal is to buy the car with cash and, if necessary, a loan for no more than $10,000. If we can achieve this, it will be a huge financial victory because we’ve never been able to mostly pay for our vehicle in cash. Now, we need to decide what car we want.

Final Thoughts

Having financial goals, especially large financial goals for 2023 motivates us to stay on track financially. We tend to want to fund the goals instead of wasting money on small, unimportant items.

What are your financial goals for 2023?

Read More

Why Buying a Toyota Sienna Was One of Our Best Decisions

Why We Have a Costco Card Even Though There Isn’t a Costco Nearby

Our Favorite Small Ways to Save Money

MelissaB
MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.

www.momsplans.com/

Filed Under: Married Money Tagged With: 2023 goals, car payment, financial goals, goals, new car, travel

How to Decorate for the Holidays on a Budget

November 28, 2022 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

Decorate for the Holidays on a Budget

My husband and I were married at the beginning of December. Unfortunately, we were broke college students. He was in graduate school full-time, and I had just started my first full-time job as a teacher. As you would expect for a novice teacher, the pay was low, and we were living in a high-cost-of-living area. Despite this, I wanted to make our new (apartment) home cozy, so I quickly learned how to decorate for the holidays on a budget.

Get Married During the Holidays

Okay, not everyone will do this, but because our wedding was so close to Christmas, many guests bought us holiday décor. We got a snowman Christmas cookie jar, some keepsake ornaments, and holiday plates and towels. Those items weren’t on our registry, but we loved them because they gave us things to decorate the apartment.

Shop Garage Sales

Shopping garage sales is the best way to decorate for the holidays on a budget. People are ALWAYS selling their used holiday items. I bought many of my Halloween and Christmas decorations this way, each costing me less than $1.

Shop Black Friday Sales

For big-ticket items like holiday comforters, Christmas trees, and outdoor lights, research the list price. Then, wait for Black Friday sales, and you may find items up to 50 percent off or more. These items usually sell out, so if you get them at 40 or 50 percent off, you’re getting a good deal.

Shop Clearance AFTER the Holidays

This tip won’t help you with decorating this year, but if you have patience, you can get holiday decorations for 70 to 80 percent off if you shop AFTER the holidays. You will see the steepest discounts the first five days after Christmas. Then, next year, you’ll have decorations for your home, and you’ll know that you got them at rock-bottom prices.

Shop Michael’s

If you sign up for Michael’s email list, the company will regularly send you coupons, often for 40 percent off the price of one full-price item or 20 percent off all items, including items on sale. You can use these coupons to buy holiday decorations or supplies needed to make your holiday decorations, which is what I did.

Make Your Own Holiday Decorations

Decorate for the holidays on a budget

I made some of my holiday decorations using the supplies I bought at Michael’s for a discount. For instance, I made a garland wreath to hang on our front door at a fraction of the price of a pre-made wreath.

Final Thoughts

With patience, you can easily decorate for the holidays on a budget. Finding all the decorations you want, whether large or small, may take you a few years. However, waiting is worthwhile, especially when your budget is tight and you need to save money. My husband and I have accumulated our decorations through the years, and we’ve spent very little money doing so.

Read More

6 Items You Should Never Pay Full Price For

5 Reasons Why You Should Declutter Your Home Once a Year

Looking for More Ways to Save? Try Asking for Discounts

MelissaB
MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.

www.momsplans.com/

Filed Under: Home Tagged With: Christmas decorations, frugal, holidays

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