Search Results for: budget

Simple Ways to Save Even When Money Is Tight

February 20, 2018 By MelissaB 4 Comments

For the 15 years my husband and I have been married, we’ve always shared just one car. Actually, most of the time I’ve been the one with the car—first because I had to drive to work while he could easily take the train, and, once I became a stay-at-home mom, because I usually had the kids that I needed to transport while he could commute by public transportation.

While he’s been a good sport about this situation, the time has come to finally buy another car that he can use.

The problem? We don’t want to take out a car loan because doing so would create a serious strain on our budget. We want to pay cash instead.

But how do you save money for a car when you feel like there’s absolutely NO wiggle room in your budget? Here are the strategies we’re using.

Save Cash Back from Credit Cards

Our credit card regularly gives us cash back. For the first three months of 2016, we’ve earned just shy of $150 in cash back. If we continue at this pace, we’ll have an extra $600 in cash back thanks to using, and paying off, our credit card each month for as many purchases as we can.

Save Whenever You Receive Discounts on Regular Expenses

This is my favorite way to save because there are so many opportunities to save this way!

For instance, at Christmas, we received a postcard from our car repair shop offering 10% off our next car repair. I held onto that, and just last week we had a $284 car repair. We saved $28 thanks to the postcard, and that money went right in our car fund.

We took a vacation recently and stopped by Denny’s on our last day when we had eaten up all the food we had brought with us in the cooler. Our total was $39, but for some reason, the cashier decided to give us a $6 discount. I put that money right in our car fund.

Our grocery store gives fuel rewards points for shopping. For every $100 spent in groceries, you get 10 cents off your next gallon of gas. If you buy a gift card, your reward points are for double that amount. I send any of those savings to our car fund. Just today I put 19 gallons in my tank, and I got 20 cents off per gallon. I put that $3.80 into our car fund.

Save Change or a Specific Bill

I don’t use this strategy anymore because we typically use credit cards for our purchases, but when I was using cash a lot, I never spent the change and earmarked it all for a specific fund. One time, I went several months saving all of the $5 bills I got and used them to pay down debt.

To be sure, none of these savings strategies is growing our car fund at an impressive rate. However, we ARE saving something using ways we save in our everyday lives. We’re consciously, physically setting aside our savings, which is a great way to save when your budget is tight and you feel like you have no wiggle room.

Do you save like this? If so, what are your favorite strategies?

Frugal Sack Lunch Ideas for Kids

October 29, 2017 By MelissaB 2 Comments

When we send our kids to school, we want them to receive the best education. Having a healthy lunch to eat is a big part of that. But, if you choose to buy convenience packages of snacks and desserts as well as lunch meat, sack lunches can quickly become an expensive endeavor over the course of a year. Especially if you’ve got a hungry teenager. If you’re looking to curb costs, consider some of these frugal sack lunch ideas. Mix and match to make tasty, healthy, low cost lunches for your kids all day long.

Protein

Hard boiled egg(s)
Peanut butter (Use it on celery sticks, as a dip for veggies, or on a sandwich.)
Cheese (Make a cheese sandwich, or serve separately.)
Hummus (Use as a dip for veggies and crackers.)
Yogurt (Try yogurt covered frozen blueberries for a less messy option.)
Leftovers (Use leftover meat from dinners to supply protein like chicken, beef, etc.)

Frugal sack lunches — Good food = good students

Fruit

Apple slices (Slice your own apples and dip them in a bowl with water and a bit of salt. They won’t brown and you’ll save a lot of money compared to buying already sliced apples.)
Clementines (These can be put in whole or peeled and separated for younger kids. Their small size makes them a perfect lunch box fit.)
Grapes
Dehydrated fruit such as berries, cherries, etc. (A little goes a long way here, so you’ll only need a few.)

Veggies

Carrot sticks (Don’t buy baby carrots at the store; buy carrots in bulk and peel and cut them yourself.)
Celery (Serve plain or with hummus or a nut butter.)
Cucumbers

Grains

Tortilla chips. (These are an excellent frugal option, and they can be more filling than regular chips.)
Homemade granola bars. (Make them yourself and fill them will healthful ingredients like nut butters, oats, and dried fruit.)
Muffins. (Muffins can be a sugar trap, so focus on the healthier recipes that are naturally sweetened with fruits.)

Where to Buy Your Ingredients

We’ve found that the best place to buy lunch ingredients is at big warehouse clubs like Sam’s or Costco. For instance, at Costco, you can buy a 10 lb. bag of organic carrots for $5! Or, you can buy a big bag of potato chips for less than $4, which is much less than you’d pay at the grocery store. You just need to take the time to bag these items in individual portion sizes.

Save Time By Preparing Ahead

If you look at the suggestions above and think there’s no way you’d have time to prepare a lunch from scratch every day, especially if you have multiple kids, you’re probably right. Most of us don’t have that kind of time early in the morning.

Instead, prep all of the lunch ingredients for the week on the weekend. Have them all packed and ready to go in the pantry and the refrigerator so you or your kids just simply have to grab them and pack them in the early morning rush. Or, to be safe, prep on the weekend and prepare the lunches every night so you just need to grab them from the refrigerator in the morning.

Feeding your kids a brown bag lunch can be affordable. . .if you choose the right ingredients, and use these frugal sack lunch ideas.

How do you save money on your kids’ sack lunches?

How I Plan to Have a Low-Cost Christmas

November 29, 2016 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

Every year, more Christmas expenses seem to crop up than I have budgeted for. Typically, our budget can handle the extra strain, but this year is different. This year, our central air conditioner unit needed to be replaced, and we’re on a mission to pay off the loan as soon as possible. That means this Christmas I have to be smarter with my spending, and I have to spend less than I usually do.

I have a plan to reduce my Christmas expenses without skimping on my kids’ gifts, but to be successful, I have already started my holiday shopping even though Christmas is months away. Here’s my plan:

Take advantage of coupons. I am on several e-mail lists for different stores. This weekend, Michael’s sent out a coupon for 70% off one regular price item. I will be going to Michael’s and using this coupon to purchase a Christmas gift that I’ll tuck away. Any time from now until Christmas that I see high value coupons, I’ll take advantage of them to buy a Christmas present at a fraction of the cost.

I’m making some gifts. Last year, when fleece was on clearance after Christmas, I bought some to make blankets for each of my kids. I have made one blanket, and I’ll be making two more in the next few weeks. These will be one of their presents. I also plan to make some doll accessories for my daughters with fabric I already have in the closet.

I’m saving credit card rewards. Starting in August, I let my credit card rewards accrue. Right now, I have enough for $50 cash. By the end of next month, I will have enough for $100 cash. By Christmas, I hope to have $150 cash. I’ll save that money and use it in December, especially close to Christmas when retailers discount products that they’d like to sell for the holiday.

Entering giveaways. When I have time, I’m entering giveaways for prizes my kids would like for Christmas. I’m not really banking on this strategy, but if I do win, that helps me round out my Christmas stash. Last year I won a game for one of my children, and a craft set for another.

Using Swagbucks. If you are a member of Swagbucks and you sign up for all of the different programs and offers, you can accumulate Swagbucks quickly. However, I just use Swagbucks for Internet searches and answering the daily poll and getting secret codes, so I earn a bit more slowly. Still, I expect to have enough Swagbucks to redeem for $50 in Amazon gift cards by Christmas.

If you plan to use this strategy, you’ll need to strategize because you can only get one gift card per month. You’ll have to plan ahead and cash out month-by-month so you’ll be able to access your points.

What strategies do you use to save money on holiday gifts? Do you also start buying Christmas presents in the fall to save money?