If you are anything like me, you probably spend a lot of your time trying to save money. You buy used items, you buy the cheaper version of most everything (including food), or you just use something well past when it should have been tossed. But is that always the best choice? Is it always the most frugal choice? I've purchased jeans at Walmart for $18. I've also purchased a better brand at Kohl's, on sale for $25, usually $40. The $18 jeans lasted me about a year, year and a half. The … [Read more...]
Creating a Budget: 3 Simple Tips
With the new year upon us, many people are creating resolutions to save money or better control their finances. Unfortunately, many of those people don't know how to create a budget or even where to begin. If you are one of those people struggling with a starting point, here are three tips for creating a budget. Over the years, the categories and amounts have changed, but it is still the same basic budget. It is super simple, so no excuses! :) Decide on a Method I use Excel to track my … [Read more...]
Staying Frugal Through Life’s Emergencies
This month has been an incredibly tough month. First Abby started having some freaky health issues. Thankfully, manageable and not life threatening. Then I've been having some health issues they can't figure out. (I don't even want to admit how many times I've had to pee in a cup the last 10 days). Then...Matt's car is having major issues. The latest news from the mechanic is that it will cost more to fix it than it is worth. And of course, the wipers on my van like to only work sporadically, … [Read more...]
Ways I Saved in October
1. We stopped for dinner after a competition the very end of September. I ordered a $10 burger then discovered it was $5.99 burger night! (Yes, I know it isn't technically October but I'm counting it anyway!)2. I had a laptop issue this month. The power jack was having issues. I found a computer place where a friend works that only charged $50/hour. I also looked the part up myself before going so I knew it was a cheap part. I only paid $57 to get my laptop fix instead of hundreds of dollars … [Read more...]
Ways I Saved in September
1. I used my Fuel Rewards Network card to fuel up my van. It only saves 3 cents per gallon for me right now but all savings are good savings! 2. I packed our lunches for competition days. It can be a lot work to get everything ready ahead of time but considering an average fair food meal is about $10, I'm saving us close to $20 per competition. Since we had seven competitions this month, that is just under $140! 3. I was able to use some coupons combined with a sale to get six boxes of … [Read more...]
Why I Don’t Use a Cash Envelope System
If you spend any time at all reading frugal or debt-free blogs, you will know most of them encourage the use of a cash envelope system. The concept is simple. You have different envelopes for your different non-big bill expenses. So you would have one for groceries, clothes, eating out, etc. You either put the money budgeted for the month or for the week into their respective envelopes. When the cash is gone in one envelope, it is gone until the next week/month. You can't borrow from other … [Read more...]
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