Savings Reminder

Right now a lot of items from Spring are on sale. This is the time to buy the kids' rain boots for next year along with any spring planting items: spades, rakes, pots, etc.

I ran into some great deals at Target as well as Old Navy!

Happy Savings :)

No Spending...Can you do it?!....continued

I received an e-mail today from a friend about the NO SPENDING Challenge and she made a good point. Here's some of her e-mail:

...If I stay home for 2 days and don't spend, what about my husband who goes out and buys something.....

That's a really good point, I'm still mulling it over. I would like to think in a perfect world that I could pack my husband a lunch for work and then afterwards, he comes straight home to eat dinner here.....ya right.

So my thoughts are possibly a Saturday of no spending? Might be hard, but especially now with summer here there's a lot to do; each city has free things to offer if you know where to look. Free movies in the park, beach days, events at the Library, Community Center or City Hall, etc. I guess it will require some creativity.

So maybe a modification for some would be NO spending for two Saturdays (or Sundays) a month?! It requires us to think about what we really need and prioritize our lives.

For myself, I have to cut back on little runs to Starbucks or the drive thru. I wanted a tea today on my way home from the park and I knew I had tea at home, so I made myself go home. It wasn't really that hard, but it saved me a small amount of $.

Just remember every dollar is a seed, where are we going to invest or plant it?

Keep your comments and questions coming, this is good.

Stock up for 2010

I forgot to post this back on Monday, but I know it still applies.

Just a reminder to stock up on your Father's Day cards for next year. This is when they are 50 - 60% off.

Ties, men's clothing and apparel can usually be found on sale as well. Don't forget to check Best Buy, Circuit City and Fry's for electronics and DVD's that are on sale.

Happy savings!

No Spending...Can you do it?

A No Spending Challenge:

So here's something I heard on the radio as a way to save money and it actually sounds like a challenge to me.

Spend NO MONEY for two straight days. This includes gas and groceries - nothing. No spending. For many of us that may mean staying home (granted you do not work a 9 - 5 job); Or if you have kids and need to get out, possibly go to the park or the pool where you are removed from the temptation to spend.

I challenge you to try it. I was able to do for one day, but I had an appointment for the next day and had to pay a sitter. So I'm going to do it again in a few days.

Once you get good at two days a week of no spending, gradually increase it to three. The goal would be to get to a week and do that every other month if possible. Think of all the savings!

If you stop and think about it, most of us spend some amount of money every day, whether it's a coffee, snacks for the kids, gas, groceries, etc.- Our society is wired that way.

That's my new frugal goal:
Go two days a week spending ZERO dollars.  

If you try it please share your thoughts, tips, challenges and feedback with the rest of us!

Suze Orman's 5 Smart Money Moves

1. Live on Half
2. Stash Your Cash
3. Make the Stimulus Package Work for You
4. Make Your Home Affordable
5. Look at What You Have, Not What You Had

Is saving half our income reasonable? I must look into it and crunch some numbers.....

A Frugal Garden

Turn old muffin tins into Mini Gardens
Excerpt from Hillbilly Housewife

I thought this was a very frugal and fun idea!

I received some nice, new fancy muffin tins as a gift this Mother’s Day. Of course, I started to get rid of my old tins, but hesitated, and put them back in the cupboard with my new ones. You never know when you might need them.

That’s when it occurred to me that I have the perfect use for them. Out on my back porch, I have an old baker’s rack and kitchen chair. Just a cute little cozy vignette that’s perfect for a quiet sit… and a tray of sweet little “muffin” flowers!

I imagine a muffin tin full of tiny flowers sitting on a baker’s rack will be sort of perfect. Of course, the muffin tin could be placed on any table in your yard or garden. Or even set on the seat of an old chair to create a special colorful corner somewhere.

To read full article, go here.

Household Tips

Here are a few easy tips that can help
keep your house a little bit cleaner:

Start every morning with an empty Dishwasher! This way as soon as dishes get dirty during the the day, they go straight to the dishwasher. My habit now is to run and empty the dishwasher every other night.



Get a divided dirty clothes hamper (check craigslist or garage sales first, before you buy new). Print out labels onto cardstock or write on an index card and label each section: darks, lights, whites, etc. 1 less step when you have to do your laundry...and yes even a three year old can learn where their clothes go!



Organize your house cleaning into days. Every Monday is vacuuming and dusting. Every Tuesday is bathrooms and floors...etc. Print out your schedule and post it on the fridge!



Give the kids and hubby specific jobs to do on specific days. For the kids you can create a chores list (dtlk-kids or chores tracker) with pictures to help them!

Eco-Friendly Ant Reminder

So summer's here and so are the ants. A friend of mine FB me and asked if I knew of some natural remedies to get rid of them...my first thought was Vinegar. But I did my research just to make sure and low and behold I was right!

Ants navigate with their antennae by using chemical trails.
When you spray vinegar on the area, it removes the chemical trail.

Here are some great ways to get rid of them.

• Spray white vinegar any place you've seen ants
  
  
• Sprinkle Cinnamon at the site of the ant invasion.
  
  
• Leave Bay Leaves on your counters and preferably along the trail where they are coming in.
  
  
• Draw a line outside with white chalk at the place they're coming in they won't cross it.
  
  
• Mix sunlight liquid dish soap one to one with vinegar and pour on ant hill. The ants die and remainder move. Keep pouring on ant hills soon ants are gone.

Sources: The Frugal Life, Vinegar Tips

Save some $$

Here are a few ways my family and I save money,
it requires thinking outside the box! Please ad comments or email me of
ways you're saving money in a creative way!

• We canceled our Sirius Satellite Radio; instead we use the radio, or our iPods and we listen to Pandora when we're at home or on the computer! Pandora is completely free and creates a "radio station" according to your likes! Give it a try, also has an app. for iPhones!
  
  
• We're on the mailing lists of all our favorite restaurants or food chains, we get coupons and freebies in the mail or through email!
  
  
• We check on restraunts.com for amazing coupons and deals!
  
  
• We shop at Smart and Final instead of Costco, we don't need a membership and we can still get food in bulk at a great price!
  
  
• We cancelled our Sparklets subscription and take our 5 gallon water jug to the water coolers outside Stater Bros. It's only $1.25, so instead of $20 - $30 a month for water, we pay $5!
  
  
• We use cash only for gas, groceries and personal money. That way we keep ourselves in a tangible budget that's easy to track!
  
  
• How do you and your family save money???