Dollar Store Groceries

When you think about groceries at a dollar or discount store you may think of expired items and dented cans.  This is not the case in most instances.  There are various reasons that items end up at dollar or discount stores such as changing of packaging or discontinued items.

The above photo shows 10 items I recently purchased at a dollar store to show what can be found.  There are a variety of other items available.  Some stores are adding dairy and frozen food items.  Many of the frozen food items are processed items but some have frozen vegetables and other items.  Some also carry fresh bread and buns at certain times.

The items in the photo were each a dollar, I figured you could save more than $5 on these items compared to the prices at grocery stores.  Savings per item is between $0.30 to almost $1.00.  The sell by dates were between 2013 and 2015.  The tomato soup was 16 ounces instead of the 10.75 ounce can that is usually close to a dollar in the grocery store.

You will not have the selection that you have at a grocery store, but you may be able to save some money on items you need.

101 Crockpot Recipes

As I have posted previously, one way to save time and money is to use a crockpot to cook meals.
Here is a link to a blog post with 101 crockpot recipes.  The recipes cover main dishes & soups, side dishs, desserts and beverages.

Some people use crockpots in the summer so they don't heat up their kitchens.  I tend to use it more in the winter months for soups and other comfort foods.

Groceries without Coupons EBook

I have written an E-book about saving on groceries without using coupons, it is for sale on Amazon.  Even if you don't own a Kindle you can download a program to read Kindle books on your computer, IPad or mobile phone.

Some of the topics covered in the book are what to look for in the store, menu planning, freezer cooking and more.  It is $0.99 and currently can be borrowed for free if you have an Amazon Prime Membership.

My upcoming classes are based on this ebook.  The classes also include information for the Fargo Moorhead area stores.

Tips to Retire Rich

There is an article in the latest issue of Kiplinger magazine on how to retire rich.

Some of the ideas in the article are to participate in your company's 401k plan or invest in a Roth IRA, pay off student loans and don't cash out your 401k.

You may not think you can save much but just by starting by saving some you will have more than if you don't start at all.  Start with a small amount if you need to and gradually increase as you can.  

The MoneySmart family system

The MoneySmart family system was written by Steve & Annette Economides who are known as America’s Cheapest Family. 

The book covers the steps they used to teach their kids about money and finances.  One of the things they use is the 5/50/500 rule of life.  Each chapter ends with ideas to use the 5/50/500 rule in relation to the topic of the chapter.

There are five stages to the 5/50/500 money rule:

The $5 stage: ages 0 to 5

The $50 stage: ages 6 to 11

The $500 stage: ages 12 to 17

The $5,000 stage: ages 18 to 23

The $50,000 stage: ages 24 and beyond

Some of the other topics covered in the book are saving, spending, giving and sharing.  Instead of giving their children allowances they each have a Point System, where they get paid for each point they earned.

The 4 categories of their Point System are:

1)      Morning point – They earned a point they had to eat breakfast and get ready without complaining or procrastinating

2)      School point – a point was earned for following the instructions they were given from their teachers and parents.  It also included doing their homework. 

3)      Chore point – Each child had some daily age and ability appropriate chores. 

4)      Round-up point – Round-up time is at the end of the day where the kids and parents round-up all of the items they left out during the day.  They earned a point by helping with the round-up.

As with other books, all of the ideas may not work for you but there may be ideas you can use in your family.

Walmart Holiday Layaway

I realize school is just starting but it is also a great time to start your holiday planning if you haven’t already.  Here is a blog post I wrote last year about saving money and time by planning ahead for holiday expenses.

 One way to purchase items over a period of time is with layaway.  Walmart is offering holiday layaway beginning September 16 and running thru December 14.  Items that can be put on layaway include toys, electronics, small home appliances and select sporting goods such as trampolines and large exercise equipment.  Each item must be at least $15 and the total layaway purchase must be at least $50.

A down payment of 10 percent or $10, whichever is greater, is required and will be applied to the purchase.  There is also a $15 fee to open an account.  If the order is cancelled or not paid in full, the $15 is not refunded.  Shoppers who make their final layaway payment get a refund of the $15 fee in the form of a Wal-Mart gift card.

Layaway plans are also offered by Kmart, Sears and ToysRUs.

Even though with layaway programs you avoid credit card debt and fees, you still need to monitor what you are spending so you are able to make the payments as they are scheduled.

Finances for Singles

I was included in this recent article on tips for Singles to handle their finances.  I feel one of the most important things for anyone to do is track your spending and know where your money is going.

Dave Ramsey 10 Days of Deals

Dave Ramsey is offering sale prices on many of his products during 10 Days of Deals.  Today's deal is the Graduate's Survive and Thrive bundle. 

You can also enter at DaveRamsey.com for a chance to win $6,576 that they will be giving away to one lucky winner on August 31.  He picked the amount of $6,576 since that is the amount of the average credit card debt.  The average monthly payment on that amount of credit card debt would be $197/month.  What could you do with an extra $197/month?

Money Saving Articles

Following are a few articles I have recently posted on another site.

 <a href=http://www.helium.com/items/2349780-5-money-habits-to-break>5 money habits to break

http://www.helium.com/items/2352521-small-changes-to-save-big-money>Small Changes to Save Big Money

http://www.helium.com/items/2354311-finding-deals-on-back-to-school-supplies>Finding deals on back to school supplies

Buying Smart Clothes on a Budget

Raising Financially Confident Kids

I recently read Raising Financially Confident Kids by Mary Hunt.  It is the story of the plan they used with their sons to teach them how to handle finances.  Their sons are in their 30s now so the numbers used are about 20 years old but it gives you an idea of how the plan works.

The plan they came up with that when each of their sons started sixth grade they would get a certain amount each month to pay for all extra expenses such as video games, friends birthday party gifts, etc.  The starting amount was $50 a month and each year that amount increased but the items they were responsible for also increased.  The only stipulation was that they had to put 10% away to give away and 10% into savings.

When their oldest son got the first salary, after taking money out for giving and saving he had $40 left.  He then wanted to go to ToysRUs and she was hoping he was buying a gift for a friend, but instead he bought a toy that came to $39.92.  That meant he had $0.08 left for the month.  It was difficult to not give him any extra money for the month, but by going without things he learned a lesson and the following months he was more careful with his money.

Both of their sons were able to buy their own cars when they were 16 with money they had saved over the years.  The way their plan was set up was that the “salary” would be over at the end of the summer after they graduated from high school.  Their sons are now in their 30s but with their savings plans they were both able to purchase homes when they were 25 years old.

The last few chapters have ideas of how to implement the plan with different age groups such as The preschool years, ages 6-9 and ages 10 thru teen. 

In addition to teaching their kids about money, they also were more conscious of their own spending.  She also figured they probably saved money because they gave their kids a certain amount of money each month that was usually less than the amount they would have given them if they had asked for money throughout the month like they used to.

Debt Proof Living.com was started by Mary Hunt in 1992 when she and her family were getting out of debt. According to the website its mission is to provide a plan that equips you with the best ways to get out of debt, a way of life that allows you to live below your means abd a  simple approach on how to save, give, and pay off credit card debt

A Trip to Sam's Club

This weekend, Friday - Sunday Sam's Club is having their free weekend, where non-members can get the same prices as members.

If you are a non-member you will need to go to the service desk and show your drivers license.  You will get a card with a temporary number to use that day when you check out.
I have been doing more baking lately and have seen on several blogs about yeast being considerably cheaper there than grocery stores.

I went to Sam's yesterday and got 4 POUNDS of yeast for the same price as a 4 OUNCE jar at the grocery store.  That's a savings of about $120 instead of buying the same amount in jars.
I also picked up a couple of other things spending about $30.  Although you may be tempted to buy things you may not necessarily need because it seems like a good price, you need to keep an eye on how much you are spending.

One time my brother in law was wondering why I don't have a Sam's membership.  I said living alone I don't usually need the large quantities like they sell there and many things I can get for less watching sales at the grocery stores.

So I better get baking to start using my yeast. 

Make Ahead Breakfasts

Mornings can be hectic for most families.
Jessica from GoodCheapEats has ideas for making Make Ahead Breakfasts.  Her ideas include a breakfast bar with ingredients for smoothies, cereal, etc.  Other ideas are oatmeal packets and baking mixes.

 I have also heard of some peole making up a bunch of pancakes and waffles and freezing the leftovers.  They can then be heated in the toaster or microwave on busy mornings.  There are also recipes online for breakfast burritos and homemade McMuffins.

Life Skills for Teens

Today is July 31 and I have completed my goal of writing a post each day of the month with financial or money saving tips.  I hope you have found the tips helpful.

Today I am sharing 10 life skills teens should learn before they leave home.

1)      Paying bills – know to check statements for errors, pay attention to due dates so they are not charged late fees.  Now with auto banking it may be easier to pay bills but you need to make sure you have enough in your bank account to cover them.

2)      Budgeting – It is important to know how much income you have coming and how much you need for expenses.

3)      Scheduling – As it is important to budget your money, it’s also important to manage your time.

4)      Meal planning – If you have something planned it may be less tempting to stop for takeout.

5)      Grocery shopping -  

6)      Cooking – With the convenience of dining out I believe cooking is becoming a lost art.  But when you consider the cost of dining out you can save a lot of money by cooking at home.  Many grocery stores have items available that are partially ready to make meal preparation easier (i.e. rotisserie chicken).

7)      Laundry -

8)      Car Care

9)      Computer skills

10)  Voting

Click here for previous posts.

Rising Grocery Prices

Here are a couple of articles about grocery prices to continue increasing.  An article about http://blogs.smartmoney.com/advice/2012/07/18/rising-corn-prices-and-your-grocery-bill>corn prices affecting grocery prices and http://money.msn.com/saving-money-tips/post.aspx?post=df42bc46-2d04-4c5c-aaa1-6f3627613e35>the heat wave could mean higher prices.

So it might be a wise decision to stock up on non perishable items now if it fit into your budget.

Pays to Have Cash on Hand

This is a Facebook post from Mary Hunt from Debt Proof Living.

Last evening we stopped by Home Depot to pick up a couple of items. Got to the check out area only to see a complete standstill--customers pacing and employees completely befuddled. Turns out that store's entire electronic payment system went down.

They made an announcement that they could only accept cash payments until it could be fixed. Yep, you guessed it. We were the only customers out of the pretty big group who could make a purchase and get out of there.

Couldn't help but think about the kind of chaos that would result if such an outage were more widespread
.
Cash rules.

Homeowner Costs

One of my goals for the next month is to post each day of July about a List of 10 dealing with a personal finance or money saving idea topic.

For many, the “American Dream” is to own a home of their own.  For others renting is a better fit.  Here are 10 expenses to keep in mind when shopping for a house.  When determining how much you can afford to pay each month it is important to keep these things in mind.  Some think if they can afford a certain amount of rent, they can afford that much in mortgage payments.  As you can see below there are additional expenses besides the mortgage payment.

1)      Mortgage payment – will include payment towards the principal, interest, and in many cases insurance costs and taxes.

2)      In most cases you will need a down payment and will need money at the time of closing for closing costs such as appraisal fee and other mortgage costs.

3)      Before you start looking for a home, consider how much you can afford.  Even if your are preapproved for a certain amount, decide if you are comfortable spending that much.

4)      Homeowners insurance – if you were renting, you probably had renters insurance to cover your personal possessions but now you will need to have homeowners insurance to also cover the structure.

5)      Utilities – when you were renting you may have had some utilities covered in your rent.  Now you will have electric/gas, water, garbage service, etc.  It is important to keep in mind your utility expenses may vary from month to month depending on heating and air conditioning costs.

6)      Repairs  – If something breaks instead of calling the landlord you will either need to fix it or hire someone to fix it.

7)      Updates - You may also need money for updates or to replace appliances.

8)      Lawn care and snow removal – you will either need to buy a lawnmower, snow blower, etc or hire someone.

9)      If you are moving into a larger home you may need to buy more furniture.  Or as in many cases, think you need new furniture for your new home

10)  If you purchase a condominium or a home in a development you may have monthly condo or Homeowners Association fees.  These may cover lawn care, snow removal and other items.

Click here for previous posts.

Other Uses for Crockpots

One of my goals for the next month is to post each day of July about a List of 10 dealing with a personal finance or money saving idea topic.

Crockpots are a great way to save time and money on meals.  Now with the heat wave we are having, they are also a great way to cook meals without heating up your house more by using the oven.  There are numerous cookbooks and blogs with recipes for crockpot meals.  One of which is 365 days of crockpot.

Besides cooking meals there are other uses for crockpots.  Here are 10 ideas of other ways to use crockpots. 

1) You can make yogurt in a crockpot.

2) Bread and banana bread

3) Crockpot Caramel can be made with just a can of sweetened condensed milk

4) You can put ingredients in a small crockpot as an air freshener

5) Shrinky dinks can be made in a crockpot instead of the oven.

6) Hotdogs for a crowd

7)

Dried beans. By cooking dried beans and keeping in the freezer, you may be able to save money compared to buying canned beans.

8) Crockpot Cake

9) Candles

10) Homemade soap

Click here for previous posts.

Student Loan Websites

One of my goals for the next month is to post each day of July about a List of 10 dealing with a personal finance or money saving idea topic.

On a recent airing of the Suze Orman Show, Suze stated that student loan debt in America has topped $1 trillion.  In many cases, it may be necessary to go to college and obtain student loans.  One guideline she suggests is not to take out more in loans than the amount you think you will earn in salary your first year of employment.

Following are  10 websites with information on student loans.

1)      FAFSA is the site to apply for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and information on it.

2)      FinAid is the Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid.

3)      Saving For College is a guide to 529 plans.

4)      Staffordloan.com has information about Stafford loans and other student debt.

5)      Department of Education Direct Loan homepage has information about Direct Loans.

6)      Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a guide of what to know before borrowing money.

7)      Loan Consolidation has information if you need to consolidate your federal loans.

8)      Federal Student Aid has information to help you resolve your loan dispute.

9)      Student Loan Network has resources about student loans.

10)  FinAid Calculator estimates how much your monthly payments will be and what salary you should have to be able to make payments on your student loan.

Click here for previous posts.

Money Lessons in Everyday Life

One of my goals for the next month is to post each day of July about a List of 10 dealing with a personal finance or money saving idea topic.

Use real world experiences to teach your kids about money, such as trips to the bank, store and dining out.

1)      At the bank explain to your children how to make a deposit, set up a savings account and checking account and explain about interest rates.

2)      At a store, explain that when using a check or debit card, you need to have the money in your bank account to cover the expenses.

3)      At store or restaurant explain that taxes and tips are added to the cost of the item

4)      For teenagers, determine how much you are planning on spending on clothes and other items and give them that amount of money once or twice a year.  Let them make decisions and see how far the money will go.They will see that they will need to make decisions on what they can afford to buy.

5)      Explain how credit cards work and that you are charged interest each month on the amount that is owed.  On a recent TV show an 18 year old had $15,000 of credit card debt.  She said she thought it was “free” money and could be paid back any time she wanted to.

6)      Explain taxes that are withheld from paychecks.  Some think they will have the amount of their salary to spend.

7)      Tell them what activities they want to participate in cost and determine if you need to cut some out. 

8)      Make savings goals for things they want to buy.

9)      Determine the differences between wants and needs.  Encourage them to think about spending decisions and to avoid making impulse purchases.

10)   Have them separate the money they receive into different categories for saving, spending and giving.

 Click here for previous posts.

Thrift Store Finds

One of my goals for the next month is to post each day of July about a List of 10 dealing with a personal finance or money saving idea topic.

Yesterday, I discussed things you can find at Dollar stores, today I will list some things you can find at thrift stores.

When you hear the word thrift store or second hand store, the first thing you probably think of is used clothes.  Most thrift stores have many more things than just clothes.

Here are 10 things you may be able to find at thrift stores.  Part of the fun of thrift store shopping is discovering what surprises you can find.

1)      Books

2)      Frames and mirrors

3)      Home décor (I have found items such as Mikasa candle holders and Partylite items still new in the box for only a few dollars each)

4)      Kitchen gadgets (it is a great way to try out items for less than paying retail price for them)  The last time I was in one store there were at least 10 bread machines for about $10 to $15 each and they looked brand new.

5)      Kitchen items – especially for stocking a college apartment.  Also, items that you will not use a lot.  I purchased my angel food cake pan and bundt cake pan at thrift stores several years ago.

6)      Party supplies – if you need serving bowls, trays and other items.

7)      Glass ware and silverware – you can usually find glasses and silverware for very little if you need to replace broken and lost pieces.

8)      Fabric and craft supplies

9)      Toys and games

10)  Clothing and shoes – Some retailers donate brand new items to thrift stores

Here are some ideas I found online to use items you may find at a thrift store.

Some stores run bag sales where you can fill a bag of clothing for a certain price.  The Fargo/Moorhead area Dakota Boys Ranch stores and holding bag sales in the upcoming weeks.

 Click here for previous posts.