I love coffee. Most days I drink one or two cups. Other days I may want three or four. I drink organic, fair trade coffee made from green beans I roast myself. I get my beans from U-Roast-Em. Now I did not go out and buy a fancy coffee roaster. I use a popcorn popper purchased from Walgreens. The catch is that the popper must have a solid bottom. If it has one of the mesh ones, the chaff from the beans will fall down in it and catch the popper on fire. I do not know this from personal experience. Reading about it was more than enough. The cost of the green, organic, fair trade beans is slightly more than your average supermarket coffee, but it is so very good. I also like knowing that the beans are fair trade. I hate to think of someone working in horrid conditions so I can have my caffeine fix.
My first money savings tip is that you can have luxury items on a budget. I consider roasting my own coffee a luxury. It sounds even more decadent than buying coffee at a coffee shop. I ordered a small pack of several different kinds to try so I would know what I liked best. My top three beans are Mexican, Guatamalen, and Nicaraguan. Once I knew what I liked I could order in bulk and save even more.
On the days when I drink the first two cups and decide I want a little more, I do not throw out the grounds from the first batch. Instead I add in only half of the grounds for a second batch on top of the old grounds. So if I used two Tablespoons for the first pot, I would add one Tablespoon on top of the previous grounds for pot number two. Make sense? You are not losing any flavor. The second pot will still taste just as good, but you have cut the cost in half. Try it for yourself!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Month of Savings - Day 7
This is a bit late, but I did not want to skip day seven. My reason - I was a little under the weather. The savings part of that was I had some over the counter medicines in my pantry. Now I was not sick when they were purchased on sale at CVS, Rite Aid or maybe Walgreens. I knew that the odds were excellent either I or someone I knew would get sick.
Yesterday it was much nicer to go to the pantry in my PJ's and pull out some medicine rather than get dressed and drive the 20 minutes into town. I also try to keep the pantry stocked with some "I don't feel well foods" such as soup, Gatorade, and crackers.
My stocking up had a double good effect as DH came home with a cold sore last night. I had a package of the Oral B overnight cold sore patches. He was able to wake up feeling a little better without having to wait until we could buy something for it.
I try to only buy items that I know I will use or can giveaway to someone. Stocking up on children's cough syrup would be silly since we have no children in the house. A good medicine or sick foods stockpile can be a sanity saver when you are not feeling your best. It makes good money sense to stock up when items are on sale before you need them rather than paying full price when you run out to the first store that is open regardless of the price.
Yesterday it was much nicer to go to the pantry in my PJ's and pull out some medicine rather than get dressed and drive the 20 minutes into town. I also try to keep the pantry stocked with some "I don't feel well foods" such as soup, Gatorade, and crackers.
My stocking up had a double good effect as DH came home with a cold sore last night. I had a package of the Oral B overnight cold sore patches. He was able to wake up feeling a little better without having to wait until we could buy something for it.
I try to only buy items that I know I will use or can giveaway to someone. Stocking up on children's cough syrup would be silly since we have no children in the house. A good medicine or sick foods stockpile can be a sanity saver when you are not feeling your best. It makes good money sense to stock up when items are on sale before you need them rather than paying full price when you run out to the first store that is open regardless of the price.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Month of Savings - Day 6
Today was a no spend day for me. One of the best ways to save money is simply not spend it. I do not know how many of these I have each month. That would be something good to keep up with one month. Most of them are not intentional. I am perfectly happy spending an entire day at home doing no shopping at all.
Aside from budgeted expenses, most spending is truly extra and a bit frivolous. I am not against having a little fun when it is within the budget. Some days it is nice to not spend. I do have plenty of stuff so a the no spending days only help my family's budget.
Do you keep up with your no spending days each month? If not, try setting a goal to see how many days you can have with no spending.
Aside from budgeted expenses, most spending is truly extra and a bit frivolous. I am not against having a little fun when it is within the budget. Some days it is nice to not spend. I do have plenty of stuff so a the no spending days only help my family's budget.
Do you keep up with your no spending days each month? If not, try setting a goal to see how many days you can have with no spending.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Month of Savings - Day 5
Increasing savings does not mean you need to increase your earnings. I focus on trying to living within or below our means. One area of the budget I try to keep under control is our electric bill. We do use CFLs in the rooms we spend the most of the time in. I shut my computer down at night.
A big money saver at my house is very (very) rarely using the dryer. I hang out all of my laundry outside if possible. Some days that means I forego doing a load if the weather is rainy. I do plan in advance so I am not behind on laundry during those days. Good clothes often get hung on a drying rack inside. Some nights I will hang clothes by the wood heater before I go to bed. I wake to dry clothes. Yes, it takes a little longer than throwing everything into my dryer but not much. I actually enjoy that chore and especially enjoy not having a higher than necessary electric bill.
A big money saver at my house is very (very) rarely using the dryer. I hang out all of my laundry outside if possible. Some days that means I forego doing a load if the weather is rainy. I do plan in advance so I am not behind on laundry during those days. Good clothes often get hung on a drying rack inside. Some nights I will hang clothes by the wood heater before I go to bed. I wake to dry clothes. Yes, it takes a little longer than throwing everything into my dryer but not much. I actually enjoy that chore and especially enjoy not having a higher than necessary electric bill.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Month of Savings - Day 4
I often joke that I am able to be a housewife because I use coupons. That is actually a semi-joke. It is not the only reason I am able to stay at home, but it is a serious contributing factor. Using coupons is a good way to stretch your budget if used correctly.
My first personal rule is to use coupons honestly. I do not think it is worth the guilt to my conscience to get a deal dishonetly. I find too many good honest deals to go after one that is not.
My second personal rule is that I do not buy something simply because I have a coupon. If it is something I know I will buy anyway (example: Dh's allergy medicine), I will try to combine the coupon with a sale to get the best deal. Otherwise I only use the coupon if I am getting the product free or nearly free.
Organization is the key for effective coupon use. I prepare my shopping lists prior to going to the stores. I clip all my coupons for each store together. On my list I make a note of the coupon to use with each item. I will refer to the coupon while I am shopping to make certain it is applicable for the item I am purchasing. The preparation takes a good bit of time so I want to cut my shopping time down as much as possible.
Here is what I purchased on a recent Wal-Mart shopping trip.
My first personal rule is to use coupons honestly. I do not think it is worth the guilt to my conscience to get a deal dishonetly. I find too many good honest deals to go after one that is not.
My second personal rule is that I do not buy something simply because I have a coupon. If it is something I know I will buy anyway (example: Dh's allergy medicine), I will try to combine the coupon with a sale to get the best deal. Otherwise I only use the coupon if I am getting the product free or nearly free.
Organization is the key for effective coupon use. I prepare my shopping lists prior to going to the stores. I clip all my coupons for each store together. On my list I make a note of the coupon to use with each item. I will refer to the coupon while I am shopping to make certain it is applicable for the item I am purchasing. The preparation takes a good bit of time so I want to cut my shopping time down as much as possible.
Here is what I purchased on a recent Wal-Mart shopping trip.
I got a 2 Ltr Diet Dr Pepper, three packs of Quaker rice snacks, large can of Planters nuts, three packs SeaPak shrimp, Jello rice pudding, and two packs of Schick razors. I got all of this for $1.92 with coupons.
Today I saved just over half of my food bill by shopping with coupons. I do stock up on items that my family uses. I have a bigger stockpile of non-food items than I do of food items. It is nice to be able to put together a gift basket or help someone out simply by shopping in my pantry. Coupon use allows me to do this.
I think with the current economic times that coupons are "in". Hopefully the sterotype that only "poor" people use coupons will fade away or at least diminish. Coupons are just good money sense.
I think with the current economic times that coupons are "in". Hopefully the sterotype that only "poor" people use coupons will fade away or at least diminish. Coupons are just good money sense.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Month of Savings - Day 3
One of the best ways I found for increasing my savings was to decrease my debt. In the case of my family we were able to eliminate it and plan to stay out of debt. We followed Dave Ramsey's Babystep Plan. One thing that really shocked us into being committed to living debt free was to total up the interest we were paying each month. That was basically money out of the window, and it was a bit sickening.
We looked for ways to cut our spending. We each have an allowance of money that is spent on whatever. This gave us the freedom to give in to our wants without having to feel guilty. Any extra money went toward the debts. It was so great to knock them off one by one. When we were finally debt free, it was exhilarating. That was better than the purchase of any "thing" could ever have been.
Since we are committed to being debt free, we did not put that extra money into the spending category. We have a vehicle account where we make payments to ourselves. Instead of paying interest we are earning it! When the time comes to purchase another vehicle, we hope to be able to pay cash. I always thought that only rich people paid for vehicles with cash, but we are going to do just that. If we cannot afford to pay for something, we do not buy it. That seems odd in our instant gratification society, but I have never been one to follow the crowd.
Want to watch the Dave Ramsey show? It comes on the Fox Business Channel nightly. I love that his advice is simple to follow and down to earth.
We looked for ways to cut our spending. We each have an allowance of money that is spent on whatever. This gave us the freedom to give in to our wants without having to feel guilty. Any extra money went toward the debts. It was so great to knock them off one by one. When we were finally debt free, it was exhilarating. That was better than the purchase of any "thing" could ever have been.
Since we are committed to being debt free, we did not put that extra money into the spending category. We have a vehicle account where we make payments to ourselves. Instead of paying interest we are earning it! When the time comes to purchase another vehicle, we hope to be able to pay cash. I always thought that only rich people paid for vehicles with cash, but we are going to do just that. If we cannot afford to pay for something, we do not buy it. That seems odd in our instant gratification society, but I have never been one to follow the crowd.
Want to watch the Dave Ramsey show? It comes on the Fox Business Channel nightly. I love that his advice is simple to follow and down to earth.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Month of Savings - Day 2
My slow quiet day at home turned into a busy day of being gone. Don't you love it when than happens? It does however bring me to another way of saving money - Freezer Cooking! Now I imagine that many people are imagining yucky casseroles or boring frozen meals. We are having Brunswick Stew tonight. I took this out of the freezer this morning. It simply needs reheating. While I am doing that I will make some grilled cheese and we will have a nice, quick, cheap meal. Another option would have been a pizza that I made for the freezer.
Homemade frozen meals can be a budget saver on the days when life is too hectic to cook and you do not want to resort to the drive through. One of my favorite sites for freezer cooking information is 30 Day Gourmet. It offers bunches of free recipes for freezer meals that even my picky DH enjoys. Here is a link to the archived issues of the free newsletter. This goes way beyond casseroles.
Also consider making mealtime a bit easier. If you do not want to freeze the entire meal, cook and freeze parts of it. We eat brown rice, which takes 40 minutes to cook. That 40 minutes is for two servings or the entire bag. I good the whole bag at once, saving energy I might have used to cook four separate times. I package it in meal sized portions and pop it into the freezer. When I need brown rice, I simply thaw and serve. I have done this with pasta by simply undercooking it before freezing so it does not turn to mush when reheated.
Did you have a little leftover taco meat? Freeze it! I mix the leftovers which are not enough for a meal on their own with some black beans (also homecooked and frozen) to make beef and bean chimichangas. This keeps food waste to a minimum.
If you are making a meal your family enjoys, just double the recipe and freeze the second half. Do a test run of any new meals. You do not want 10 meals worth of chicken Parmesan only to discover that your family hates it. As much as possible I use freezer containers rather than freezer bags cutting out a bit more cost. I prefer making my own frozen meals. I know exactly what ingredients when into the dish, and I can control the amount of salt.
Say "NO" to fast food once a week and serve your own homemade fast food!
Homemade frozen meals can be a budget saver on the days when life is too hectic to cook and you do not want to resort to the drive through. One of my favorite sites for freezer cooking information is 30 Day Gourmet. It offers bunches of free recipes for freezer meals that even my picky DH enjoys. Here is a link to the archived issues of the free newsletter. This goes way beyond casseroles.
Also consider making mealtime a bit easier. If you do not want to freeze the entire meal, cook and freeze parts of it. We eat brown rice, which takes 40 minutes to cook. That 40 minutes is for two servings or the entire bag. I good the whole bag at once, saving energy I might have used to cook four separate times. I package it in meal sized portions and pop it into the freezer. When I need brown rice, I simply thaw and serve. I have done this with pasta by simply undercooking it before freezing so it does not turn to mush when reheated.
Did you have a little leftover taco meat? Freeze it! I mix the leftovers which are not enough for a meal on their own with some black beans (also homecooked and frozen) to make beef and bean chimichangas. This keeps food waste to a minimum.
If you are making a meal your family enjoys, just double the recipe and freeze the second half. Do a test run of any new meals. You do not want 10 meals worth of chicken Parmesan only to discover that your family hates it. As much as possible I use freezer containers rather than freezer bags cutting out a bit more cost. I prefer making my own frozen meals. I know exactly what ingredients when into the dish, and I can control the amount of salt.
Say "NO" to fast food once a week and serve your own homemade fast food!
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