Beating Broke

Personal Finance from the Broke Perspective

Is There a Best Way to Meal Plan?

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The price of groceries just seems to keep going up, and up, and up.  How much I’ve spent on groceries has nearly doubled in the last five years.  True, my kids are older and hungrier, but in general, the price of groceries themselves has increased.  In our household, groceries are our biggest monthly expense behind our mortgage.

If you’re like my family, you’re constantly looking for a way to cut your monthly grocery costs.

I’ve found that reducing grocery expenses largely comes down to making a plan and sticking to it.  There are several ways to do this.

Make a Monthly Meal Plan

Best Way to Meal Plan
How do you meal plan?

Some people lower their grocery costs by making a monthly meal plan and shopping once a month.  Of course, when I say shopping once a month, that doesn’t mean it’s the only time that they go to the store.  Rather, they have one large shopping trip at the beginning of the month, and then they go to the store 1 to 3 more times during the month to get fresh produce and milk as needed.

This technique can save money mainly because you keep yourself out of the stores and avoid impulse buys by doing so.  You’ve likely gone into the store to buy one or two items and found yourself walking out with a cartload of groceries.  Those impulse buys, even if there a good deal, can destroy your budget.  Those who shop once a month reduce their spending simply by reducing the number of times they allow themselves access to the grocery store and impulse buys.

Make a Menu Plan

Another technique is to make a weekly menu plan based on what you find on sale in the grocery store flyers.  Between the items that you see on sale and the items that you already have in your house, you make a menu plan and shop for the loss leaders and whatever other items you need to make your meals.

Shop First

Still others go to their favorite store first and scout out the good, unadvertised deals.  For instance, if pasta is on clearance, they may buy many bags of it and have several pasta meals that week.  If they find a great deal on beef, they may make a stroganoff using the beef and pasta for one meal, and a spaghetti bolognese for another meal.  These planners find the good sales and then make a menu plan.  Once they get home, they rely on Pinterest, the internet and sites like MyFridgeFood to help them decide what to serve based on the great sales they found.

For years I have debated about which method works best and which one saves the most money.  But, the bottom line is that you must choose the method that works best for you and your family.  In this season of our family life, method two works best for us.

However, it doesn’t matter which method works best for your family.  What really matters if you want to cut your grocery costs is that you have a plan and you utilize one of these three methods.

What is your favorite way to menu plan and save money?  Do you prefer one of these methods or a different one?

4 Simple Ways to Save: Medical Bills

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Every year, the price of medical care seems to go up.  We pay a hefty premium to be insured through my husband’s work, and then we have a $350 deductible and a $15 co-pay for any doctor’s visit, including wellness checks.

However, I know what we pay for medical care is not that much in the grand scheme of things; many Americans are paying much, much more for medical care than we are.

Yet, in my ongoing goal to continually lower our expenses, I’ve found a few strategies to reduce the high cost of medical care, and avoiding unpaid medical bills.

4 ways to save on medical bills
Cut those medical bills

Call the doctor before you go in.

One Saturday night, my youngest came down with a fever that started at 102.5 and climbed all the way to 104.5.  Luckily, we controlled the fever with over the counter medicine, and she was back to herself in two days.  And then it was time for my other daughter to get it.  Then, my son.  When my son got it, he was sick for three days and unable to keep down food.

Instead of bringing him to the doctor, I called the nurse.  The nurse recommended a wait and see attitude.  If he wasn’t better the next day, bring him in.  Well, he was on the mend the next day, and I saved myself the $15 co pay.

Wait to fill prescriptions.

I had a root canal a few months ago.  The doctor prescribed hydrocodone, and I promptly filled the prescription, which cost me $16 out of pocket.  I should have waited, though, because the little pain I had afterward was easily managed with aspirin.  If I hadn’t rushed to fill the prescription, I would have saved $16.

Of course, this advice does not apply to regular, monthly prescriptions need to control certain chronic conditions.

Consider an alternative to drug stores for your prescriptions.

I have to take thyroid medications.  For years, I went to Walgreen’s to fill the prescription every month.  Then I found out I could get a three month refill from Costco for a price 1/3 less than Walgreen’s.  Yes, please.

If you have a Costco or Sam’s Club near you, checking the prices for prescriptions is worth your while.  Even better, you don’t have to be a warehouse club member to use their pharmacy.

Ask for a different billing code.

My daughter had her regular wellness check in the spring when she turned 5.  This past fall, we switched doctors.  The new doctor required a new patient visit before she would start seeing my daughter regularly.  The problem?  The doctor’s office billed this visit as an annual wellness check, and my insurance provider refused to pay for any of the appointment, leaving me with a $125 bill.

I called the billing office, explained the situation, and after the billing office looked into the situation, they used a different billing code so I was only charged our typical $15 co-pay.

Insurance premiums, deductibles, and co-pays can be expensive.  Using these tips and tricks, you can shave anywhere from a few dollars to several hundred or even thousand dollars off your medical bills each year.

What are your favorite ways to save on medical expenses?

When Your Frugal Life Can Cost You More Money

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One of the tenets of a frugal life is learning impulse control.

Are you running errands and want to drink a soda?  Just wait until you get home.  Instead of paying $1.00 for a can, you can have one that you bought in bulk for .10 a can.

Are you excited to see the latest movie by your favorite actor?  Don’t pay $10 or more per ticket; just wait until it comes to DVD and check it out from the library.  Or watch it on Netflix or Amazon.

Often, when it comes to frugal living, simply waiting can save you money—a lot of money.

Your frugal life can cost you money
Your Frugal Life can Cost You Money

However, the same impulse that prompts frugal people to wait can also end up costing them a lot of money, if they’re not careful.  The key is knowing when it’s good to wait vs. when you need to take action.

Car Repairs

When it comes to mechanical car repairs, waiting will almost always cost you money.  For instance, a few years ago, I heard a squeak when I pushed on the brakes.  However, we didn’t have the money for a costly repair, so we put off the repair while we tried to generate more money.  While we waited, the brakes continued to deteriorate, so a repair that would have only cost a few hundred dollars had we taken care of it quickly, turned into a repair that cost several hundred more.  Ouch.  Lesson learned.

However, for non-mechanical repairs, waiting or just not fixing them can save you money.  Our electronic sliding door on our minivan has been broken for a few years now.  (The cable is frayed.)  Repairing it would have cost $1,000+.  Since the van has nearly 200,000 miles on it and is 13 years old, we opted not to make that repair.

Home Repairs

Some home repairs can be put off, but most of them, like car repairs, need to be attended to promptly. If they are, they will cost much less money. Case in point? We disliked our kitchen faucet. It was very low, and it was hard to use when washing pots and pans. We wanted to replace it but didn’t have the money. Well, this summer, we learned that the faucet had been leaking. There were actually three leaks dripping under the sink because the previous owner had duct-taped (!) one of the pipes under the sink. The plumber replaced the faucet and changed the pipes under the sink. We would have had that expense regardless of when we replaced the faucet, but had we taken care of the faucet earlier, we would have saved ourselves the cost of water damage repair underneath the sink.

Similarly, proper gutter supplies prevent costly home repairs by effectively diverting rainwater away from the foundation and walls, mitigating potential water damage and structural issues. Neglecting gutter maintenance can lead to expensive repairs stemming from water-related damages. Just as addressing a leaky faucet early can prevent extensive damage, timely gutter maintenance can safeguard your home’s foundation and structure, mitigating any potential costly repairs in the long run.

Living a frugal life and waiting for most things in life can save you thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of dollars over your lifetime, in some cases, waiting will just cost you more.

Do you tend to put off home and car repairs because of your frugal life, or do you attend to them promptly, knowing they will likely cost more money if you don’t?