View Sidebar

Archive for February, 2016

5 Simple Ways To Save Money

5 Simple Ways To Save Money

PiggyBank_saveMOney

If your family is anything like mine, you may have some months when your finances are tighter than others.  It might be due to a job loss, or you woke up and realized it was December and Christmas was around the corner.  Or simply, there were a lot of unforeseen budget items that came up that you had not planned for, like soccer registration, especially when you had no idea your kid could even kick a soccer ball!  Those little things add up and all a sudden your monthly finances are stressing you out and you realize – ouch – I need to either make our money stretch really far this month, or maybe make a few quick bucks.

This is exactly what happened to us this month – we did our monthly budget committee meeting, planned and spent all our money on paper and then the month started to play out.  Things were being added that we hadn’t planned, and we were left shuffling money around to accommodate.  There were a few things I wanted to purchase mid-month that unless I could make a little bit of extra money, I wasn’t going to be able to purchase them.  I didn’t worry though, I realized there were a few things I could do today to make a little bit of extra money and there were a few things I could do to save some money, so I got to work!  The best way to make some money is to get to work!

  1. Sell Some Stuff:  We all have stuff sitting around the house that we could sell and make some quick money off of.  If the weather is nice, have a garage sale!  Round up some old stuff that you don’t want or use and sell it!  Garage sales are not only done in your garage anymore – there are now online garage sale groups that might be right in your neighborhood.  All you do is post a picture and you wait for someone to buy it!  I’m part of a bunch of online groups local to my area through Facebook as well as a site called VarageSale and Wallapop.
  2. Shop From Your Own Pantry:  In our house, our grocery fund is one of the largest funds we have – when I want to save money, I know I can if I work extra hard at planning my meals ONLY with the stuff that is on sale that week, using my coupons (which I do every week no matter what), and shopping from my own pantry.  I have a stockpile for a reason, to buy items when they are at their cheapest amount and then use them —- so go and use them!  If you make a clear effort to plan meals using mainly what is already in your pantry, you can really cut your grocery budget.  You can’t do this every week, but it’s a great habit to put in place at least once a month.
  3. Swap Babysitting: In my house we try to make it a priority to have a date night at least once a month, and a lot of times this requires high babysitting fees.  When money is tight, it’s a lot easier to just forego the date night – but we all know it’s super important to have time alone with just our spouse.  Instead of paying for a babysitter, offer to do swap babysitting with a good friend.  You watch their kids one evening so they can have a date night, and then swap the next weekend where they watch your kids.  Saves you money and you might like the idea so much that you won’t ever have to pay a babysitter again!
  4. Use Coupon Apps:  I grocery shop once a week and although I save money when I use paper coupons, I love actually making  money – which I can do by using coupon apps. Coupons apps pay you a little bit extra for things you already buy.  Ibotta  (yes this is my referral link, so I thank you in advance for signing up!) is my favorite coupon app and every week I make extra money on top of the savings I get for using paper coupons, just for buying what I was already planning to buy.  It’s a win-win and after my account accumulates a decent amount I can redeem my savings for gift cards or cash!  I love to redeem my savings for movie gift cards for date nights!  Read a recent post I wrote all about using coupon apps to save money  - read now.
  5. Use Cashback Sites:  I use a cashback shopping site called Ebates.com to earn money on things I already buy!  One thing I buy consistently with Ebates is a water filter for my refrigerator – I buy it from Lowes or HomeDepot through Ebates and then go pick it up in the store in to save on shipping fees and I receive cashback from doing this!  It’s awesome actually!  If there are things you know you need, and can shop for and buy online, then why not use a cashback site to buy those things?!  This process works really great for essential things you need and it’s even better when you can pair it with sites that offer in-store pickup or free shipping!  Plus, if you refer other people to their site, they pay you for your referral!  You can sign up here - (yes this is my referral link, so I thank you in advance for signing up!) - SIGN UP NOW for Ebates.  You’ll be shocked how many stores you can shop at using Ebates and just think of the savings you will have!  Stores like, Old Navy, Amazon, Macy’s, etc!

PiggyBank_saveMOney

 

Share this post:
facebooktwitterpinterest
February 15, 20160 commentsRead More
Katrina’s Coupon Tip #13 – Buy In Bulk

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #13 – Buy In Bulk

KCouponTip_BuyInBulkWhen you come across an amazing deal on something that you use regularly – then go ahead and buy it in bulk!  Today is a perfect example – I found a GREAT deal on ground beef at my local grocery store.  This was a totally unexpected deal because I had not planned on buying meat at all.  I found 3lb rolls of ground beef for $3.79 total…not per pound – but per 3lb roll!  That’s just a little over $1 a pound!  Which is an awesome deal!  There were lots and lots and lots of rolls – so I went ahead and bought in bulk – 60lbs to be exact!  Yes, you heard me right – 60lbs of beef, 20 3lb rolls.groundbeef_300x800

My family loves ground beef, especially for tacos, which just so happens to be my husband’s favorite meal.  I know we will use our beef over the next year and we have a very large professional grade freezer in our garage for meats and frozen items we buy in bulk.  I’m super excited about our great deal today!  You can find great deals like this at your local grocery store by talking to the manager and asking when certain departments mark stuff down, and then be the first one there to get the great deal!

*** I can let you in on a little secret…a lot of grocery stores mark down perishables (like meat, dairy, and fruit) during the week to make room for fresh products to fill the shelves over the much busier weekends.  There are lots of great deals to be found during the week!

Share this post:
facebooktwitterpinterest
February 12, 20160 commentsRead More