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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 and www.swagbucks.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

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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

What You Can Do to Make the Holiday Season More Affordable

December 1, 2022 By Semify Leave a Comment

It’s that time again, and as the year 2022 approaches its end, we’re gearing up to celebrate the festive season. The festive time is exciting and wonderful, filled with magic and treats. Still, the holidays are expensive, and finding ways to save a penny is more worthwhile in the long run. Today we cover some great ways to save and enjoy spoiling your family during this festive season.

Everyone could use a break financially. What better way to catch your breath and get a financial boost without resorting to credit applications and loans than to save financially? For many people, immediate access to this cash is convenient. Still, paying the loan off increases installments and puts more strain on your finances. Why not save in advance for those holiday expenses?

Avoid Car Troubles

It may sound counterproductive, but avoiding motor vehicle troubles before heading on holiday is better than waiting for something to happen while you’re away. Make sure that before you’re heading out into the holiday sunset or snow you have serviced your motor vehicle. Yes, this will mean giving out some bucks, but think of it as a long-term investment for your peace of mind.

If you’re fortunate enough to enjoy driving a classic sports car that’s fantastic, but still, you need that car serviced. Fun fact about a classic sports car. Did you know that an AC Cobra Coup famously reached 186mph on one of Britain’s motorways in 1964?

Be A Savvy Shopper

Christmas time means gifts, holiday feasts, and traveling to family. Christmas is an expensive time that usually costs more money than other months. Start getting savvy with the way you shop and go for sales rather than paying full price. Sure the item you’re looking for might not be at a special price like its competition, but you can try alternatives at a sale price or less than what you usually pay.

Maintenance of Heating Services

HVAC systems are often handy for climate control indoors. Still, when the temperature is out of balance it leads to higher bills, and the indoor space becomes very uncomfortable. On average, 38% of heat escapes through doors and windows without sufficient insulation, this percentage can go up even to 50%. If you are planning on staying at home this winter, be sure to check your insulation to prevent having to pay even more when the colder days hit.

Plan Your Food Menus

When it comes to food throughout the festive season, it always tends to skyrocket your budget. A rule of thumb to curb some of the money loss is to plan the meals and menus ahead of time. By planning, you can already purchase and freeze the meats long before you need them. The food will be much cheaper if you buy it early than it would be if you wait.

Gifts and Money

It’s easy to get out of control spending during the festive season. This means you need to keep a budget. Some experts suggest withdrawing the total funding for gifts, and when it comes to buying presents, you should stick to the budget. This is something that you should plan for in advance. If you have a budget, it will be easier to get all of the gifts you need.

Overall Home Maintenance

Home maintenance is a great way to save money. This is because if you stay on top of it, you will avoid costly repairs down the line. For example, inefficient window glass accounts for 25% of a home’s energy bill. If you stay on top of this and maintain your windows, you will spend less money in the long run. Overall, this will give you a bigger budget.

Have you found your favorite of these tips? Next time the festive season looms, be sure to have those savings ready. If you follow these tips, you’re sure to have more money for the next year.

Filed Under: budget

The Benefits of Buying Only Necessary Groceries Each Week

November 14, 2022 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

Benefits of Buying ONly the Groceries You Need

For the last few years, I have had a higher grocery budget, so I’ve stocked up on food. I do this for two reasons. First, we have food intolerances—specifically, we can’t eat gluten or dairy—so we need specific foods in the house. Second, I find having a stocked pantry makes mealtime easier. I never need to go out to eat because I have everything to make several meals, depending on what we’re hungry for. However, I recently watched a YouTube video that intrigued me. Based on this video, I’ve experimented with buying only necessary groceries each week for the last few weeks.

Steps I Took to Implement This Change

During the last few weeks, I’ve set a grocery budget of $140 per week for my family of four, which is much less than the $215 a week I typically spend.

I make a menu plan and grocery list the night before I go to the grocery store, so I know what meals I’ll cook during the week. I also try to choose recipes that will utilize ALL of an ingredient. For instance, I needed to buy green cabbage for a stir fry. But I only needed to use half the head of cabbage, so I picked another recipe that would use the other half of the cabbage later in the week, so I used ALL of the cabbage up that week.

Benefits of Buying Only Necessary Groceries Each Week

While I never thought I would enjoy shopping this way, I did realize several benefits of buying only necessary groceries each week.

I Saved Money

We saved a lot of money shopping this way. Over two weeks, we saved $150! This was in part because we were not stocking up on food. However, we also saved because I had limited food in the house, and we HAD to utilize the food we bought.

We Had Less Food Waste

Benefits of Buying Only the Groceries You Need

We typically have very little food waste, but shopping this way eliminated food waste. As I mentioned, I was mindful of finding recipes that would use up ALL of an ingredient. Previously, that other half of the green cabbage might have lingered in the refrigerator for a while. We would use it. . .eventually, but when we did, we might have to cut out some bad spots because we let it sit too long before using it.

Final Thoughts

This way of shopping enhanced how I shop and menu plan. Even better, the benefits of only buying necessary groceries each week were that we saved money and reduced food waste.

However, even though this strategy worked for me, I like to have a stock of food at home in case we can’t shop due to bad weather or limited supplies. From now on, I plan to stock up occasionally to resupply my pantry. Still, for the foreseeable future, I plan to buy only what I need and continue with this experiment to see what other benefits I realize.

Read More

Our Favorite Ways to Combat High Meat Prices

5 Tips to Save on Groceries This Year

Feed a Hungry Teenager without Breaking Your Grocery Budget

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, Frugality, Saving, Shopping Tagged With: frugal groceries, frugal grocery, groceries, grocery, grocery budget, grocery shopping

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