Health, Wealth and Wellness: Tips to Save $ on Groceries

Monday, April 6, 2009

Tips to Save $ on Groceries

Everyone is cutting corners these days, trying to save that extra dollar. However, its hard to know where to cut corners or how to save when it comes to something so essential as food. You don't have to change your diet or when you eat. Just use some more thoughtful planning when doing your weekly or monthly grocery shopping. This will allow you to spend less on groceries but still eat all of those same meals you love to cook and eat!

Tip #1. Shop Alone
Most of the time mom is the grocery shopper in the house. Moms try to find alone time to shop. This leaves less room for kids to sneak things into the cart when your not looking which can cause the total cost of your groceries to rise when your at the register. Plus if they aren't there they can't coerce you into buying junk food!

Tip #2. Stop buying single serving items
Now that your are by yourself you can cut out all those extra kid-friendly, single-serving foods that are so convenient. You know what I'm talking about. For kids its the pre-packaged chips, cookies and crackers that you send in their lunches. For adults its the single serving chips, candy or soda that they conveniently place right next to the register. You pay more for that one serving than you would if you bought the regular size package. Think about it. You are usually paying more for a 16oz soda than you are a 2 liter for example. The same goes for chips, cookies, and junk food. Think about the money you could be saving if you purchased the regular size package. In addition, you can re-package these items in zip lock bags or Tupperware containers for on-the-go servings or left overs. This is also a way of using portion control because people tend to overeat from the regular package of cookies, chips or junk food.

Tip #3 & 4. Buy What you Need & Don't Over Purchase
These two tips go hand in hand. The best thing to do before you go to the store is to plan ahead. Make a list throughout the week of items you need to purchase when you go to the store that way you don't get stuck wondering what you need to buy. Another way is to plan your meals a week in advance. This way you know exactly what you need to buy for each meal and you won't have to say that oh so infamous line " What do you want for dinner?"
Once at the store you cross each item off your list once you've picked it up. But be sure you actually make the list ahead of time because trying to remember a long list of grocery items in your head is impossible, your bound to forget one or two items that are crucial. Plus you are more apt to add items to your basket that weren't originally on your list. This can cause you to over purchase. Grocery stores have sales, specials and coupons for a reason. To entice the customer to purchase products that they were not originally going to purchase. When there are discounts we tend to over purchase. BE AWARE of specials. Although sales save you money on that specific product, limit yourself on how many you purchase. It is not always necessary to stock up on sale items because grocery stores have periodic sales on specific items throughout the year. Plus purchasing a surplus of sales items can be a waste if the item expires before you actually have a chance to use it.

Tip #5. Go Large with Meats
When buying cuts of meat you will get better prices when buy larger quantities. Ground meat in family size packages is usually cheaper and can be repackaged in the freezer to be used at a later time. Stock up on meat specials and freeze the unused cuts. Investing in a second freezer maybe a good option.

Tip #6. Coupons
Using coupons at the store can actually save you decent money at the grocery store. Cutting coupons used to be just for grandma but now a days everyone is doing it. With the internet the are quicker and easier ways to get coupons as well. Go to any search engine and type in grocery coupons and there will be multiple links to free coupons to print off. Also check out the daily paper for additional savings. Wednesday papers typically have the supermarket sales advertisement, but every paper is different.

Tip #7. Local Fresh Fruit & Vegetables
Living in Florida allows for fresh fruits and vegetables on a yearly basis, but depending on the season and the location can determine where you can buy locally. Buying fresh fruit and vegetables is not only a money saver you will actually get more product for your dollar. Here in Florida there are produce stands all over the place and the fruits and vegetables are delicious and cheap. We can buy triple the amount of produce than we could at the store. Plus this encourages local farmers.

Tip #8. Generic or Discount shopping
Going generic brand or discount store shopping is not necessarily worse off. Although a generic brand may not have a great name normally it is identical or similar to the name brand product. The cost can be as much as 30% less than the name brand.
Discount stores such as the Dollar store or Big Lots offer cut-price grocery items which are cheaper than the supermarket.

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Article: The Budget – The Ultimate Financial Management Tool

The Budget – The Ultimate Financial Management Tool
A carpenter uses a set of house plans to build a house. If he didn’t the bathroom might get overlooked altogether.
Rocket Scientists would never begin construction on a new booster rocket without a detailed set of design specifications. Yet most of us go blindly out into the world without an inkling of an idea about finances and without any plan at all.
Not very smart of us, is it?
A money plan is called a budget and it is crucial to get us to our desired financial goals.
Without a plan we will drift without direction and end up marooned on a distant financial reef.
If you have a spouse or a significant other, you should make this budget together. Sit down and figure out what your joint financial goals are…long term and short term.
Then plan your route to get to those goals. Every journey begins with one step and the first step to attaining your goals is to make a realistic budget that both of you can live with.
A budget should never be a financial starvation diet. That won’t work for the long haul. Make reasonable allocations for food, clothing, shelter, utilities and insurance and set aside a reasonable amount for entertainment and the occasional luxury item. Savings should always come first before any spending.
Even a small amount saved will help you reach your long term and short term financial goals. You can find many budget forms on the internet. Just use any search engine you choose and type in “free budget forms”.
You’ll get lots of hits. Print one out and work on it with your spouse or significant other. Both of you will need to be happy with the final result and feel like it’s something you can stick to.

Saving Your Home's Energy

Do you dread looking at your electric or gas bill every month seeing numbers that are larger and larger each time you see it? Do you wish there was something you could do about this dreaded monthly bill? Well, there is and it is easy to remedy. You just have to check your home to make sure that it is the most energy and cost efficient that it can possibly be.
It might be shocking to you that most people do not even know that because of lack of efficiency they are loosing 25 % or more of the energy used in their home.
Did you know that there are some common every day things that you can do to save energy and money around your home. Doing it yourself can save you both time and money that you might invest in someone else’s promises to save you money. I don’t know about you, but I trust myself more than someone else’s empty promise any day. All it takes is a few calculations, some common sense and you can be on the road to savings and increasing your home’s use of energy.
Some of these steps include:
1. Calculating your energy cost. Do you know how much fuel your home is taking to run and how much that cost you? You need to know this before you can determine if you can lower those costs.2. What will it cost you to save. What things must you put into practice in order to save on your energy monthly? This is where you have to determine the balance. 3. Determine your largest needs. Some practices will save you far greater in the future than others. You must first determine your area of largest need and go from there. 4. Developing new habits. Many of us have habits that cost us energy every day. We must realize those bad habits and begin putting new habits in place in order to save energy, time and money.
These are only a few of the ways that you can begin to save money on your energy bill and have a more cost efficient home. There are many more ways to save and you will love how easy those savings come to you.

Adopting The Frugal Living Lifestyle

Having trouble making ends meet? Have more month left than money? Many people struggle with this issue. One of the best ways to save money and truly stretch your dollars all the way to the end of the month is to live a more frugal lifestyle.
Yes, frugality is key. Being frugal with one’s life does not mean that you will live a life, doing without and hoarded away. Frugal living is actually very freeing. Frugal living frees up your finances to work harder and smarter for you so that you in turn do not have to work so hard to actually bring in an income.
In a time where 40% of Americans live beyond their means, meaning they spend more monthly than they make, finding ways to save and learning to be more frugal sounds like a winning idea. There are a few key concepts that one must adopt in order to begin living a more frugal lifestyle.
Smarter money management. A person must begin to not only spend less money, but also manage the money they have in a smarter way. This can take some time and discipline but will truly pay off in the end. Spending less. A person must also learn how to spend less than they make. This can be a difficult process for some who have spent more than their paycheck for a long time, however if they adopt some frugal living ideas they can be doing this in no time.Saving. With the money that they save through not spending as much, they can begin to put away money into savings; another key to frugal living that will help a person to get ahead. Continuing the process. Continuing to spend more and save less is key.
Adopting some key concepts to frugal living can truly change the way you live your life, and the way that your money works for you. Become different from the norm and begin a smarter, more frugal lifestyle today.

Article for Time Management: Scheduling for Sanity

Scheduling For Sanity
Having a schedule is a fundamental part of time management. You can imagine your schedule as a road-map. It provides important information about where you are going and how you can get there.
Without it, you may take a wrong turn somewhere and find yourself lost. Once someone is lost, it may take some time before they get back on track, and they usually arrive to their destination a bit later than they would have liked.
When you have a schedule, you can look at it and see what you need to do each day. You’ll know if you are on track, and if you aren’t, what you need to do to get back on course.
How To Make a Schedule One of the first things to do when making a schedule is to write down all the things you have to do on a piece of paper. Some people keep separate work and family schedules, and if you decide that would work best for you, you can divvy those tasks up later. For now, simply write out everything that needs to be done on a monthly, weekly, and daily basis.
Once you have everything written out and in front of you, it’s time to start sorting between the common themes. You can do this by assigning a highlighter color to each theme (such as family, work, daily, monthly, weekly) or by taking out another piece of paper and writing those columns on it, and rewriting all the tasks into the appropriate column.
Now that you have all of your tasks sorted out, try to give a time estimate to each one. You may even want to time yourself for a week or two on these tasks, as you may be very surprised at how long some things take.
For instance, you may think it only takes 45 minutes to go to the grocery store, but in reality it could take an hour and 15 minutes. You may think it only takes 15 minutes to run up to the school and pick up the kids, but may find it actually takes 25 minutes.
In many cases, people underestimate the time it takes to do things, and this is one of the reasons they think they aren’t getting enough done. By timing yourself, you will get a visual picture of your time. When you see how long it really takes to accomplish your regular tasks, you will be able to see how many things you can fit into a normal day. You won’t constantly be trying to push yourself to do more.
Once you have written down your tasks and estimated the time it takes to accomplish them, you can start planning your schedule. Some people like to have a daily schedule that is very organized with certain tasks assigned to certain times and others prefer to keep a weekly schedule that is more flexible.

The Reasons Why Becoming Organized Is So Important

The Reasons Why Becoming Organized Is So Important
As you know, being “organized” is a very popular topic. There are even whole stores, such as The Container Store and Hold Everything, which are devoted to the idea of becoming organized. It seems that everyone is always trying to find a way to become more organized.
Many people mistakenly believe that being organized requires too much effort. Sometimes people think that the only people who can actually become organized are uptight. That is not true! If you have ever wondered what the fuss about being organized is, here are some reasons as to why this is such a popular topic:
Being organized reduces stress. When someone is disorganized, they often feel a lot of stress, anxiety, and generally overwhelmed. They may not be able to locate missing items, they may find their selves constantly running late or forgetting things, and they may be prone to missing work deadlines.
When someone is organized they will be able to find what they are looking for, will be less likely to forget things, and will find that will be more likely to arrive for meetings on time and turn work in before the due date. An organized person will feel more confident because of those things and their stress levels will go down.
As we mentioned before, many people feel that organized people are uptight. Being organized can actually help you to relax. Instead of worrying about things you didn’t have time to do or couldn’t find, an organized person can actually sit back at the end of the day and know that they achieved the things that needed to be done.
Another great reason to get organized is that being organized increases your productivity, and therefore, can increase your bank account. When you are organized, you will be able to get more work done. Depending on the type of job you have, the more work that gets done can generally lead to bigger paychecks and a bigger bank account.
Being organized can help you create a sense of calm and peace in all aspects of your life. Once you have organized one area of your life, you will start to notice that things seem to run more smoothly in all areas of your life.
For Step by Step directions on getting your home organized,

Health, Wealth and Wellness