Money Saving Monday

Freezing Food! 

Freezing food is a great way to help you save money!  Here are some of the ways that freezing food can help you save big:

• If you have fruits that are starting to ripen past their prime, clean them, slice them up and throw them in the freezer and use them in Smoothies.  Alternatively, buy extra fruit when you are able to get a great deal on it and freeze it to add to smoothies, pancakes, or oatmeal.  Frozen fruit is sometimes even more nutritious than fresh! 
• If you do not go through food very quickly, try freezing part of it!  Shredded cheese (a solid block of regular cheese does not freeze that well- if this is the kind of cheese you buy, shred it before you freeze it for better results), cream cheese, bread products, meat, and many different meals freeze extremely well.  For our family of three, we are never able to go through a full 8 pack of hamburger or hot dog buns.  We also don't eat these items often enough to use them up before they mold.  So after we make one meal of hamburgers, I stick the other buns into the freezer to make another meal later.  
• This can also save you a lot of money if you can buy these items (meat, cheese, ect..)when they are at their lowest prices and freeze them for later use.  Even if you expect to go through these items before they expire, it is a good idea to periodically go through your fridge and make sure nothing is approaching expiration- if it is, throw it in the freezer.
• If you plan ahead and cook extra food, or go all out and have an entire freezer cooking day, you can save money by buying less convenience foods, and eating out less.
• I also save money (and calories) by freezing products like cookie dough when I make a batch of cookies.  I mix up an entire batch of cookies, but I only bake up the amount of cookies that we need to eat at that time.  Then I scoop up the rest of the cookie dough with my food scoop (or ice cream scoop- but they have many purposes beyond ice cream) and put it on a paper plate covered with wax paper.  If you have a deep freeze then you could just put some wax paper on a cookie sheet- I only have a small freezer connected to my fridge.

• I then place the cookie dough in the freezer until it is hard.  (if your scoops are touching a little bit, they should easily break apart when hard).  Then I separate the frozen cookie dough and place it into a plastic freezer bag.  

• When we want some cookies, all I have to do is take out 3 or 4 pieces of dough and cook them in the oven.  I have found that they cook up almost the exact same as when the dough is freshly made and they save us from either wanting to eat an entire batch, or throwing away extra cookies that we don't eat.  I do hate to throw away food and find myself eating more than I want, just so I am not wasting it.  Freezing food helps keep me from doing this.  Freezing works well for many cookie and other dessert recipes.  Of course, if your cookie dough is really runny,  this probably won't work.  You could possibly put a cookie-sized amount of batter in cupcake papers in a muffin tin and freeze them like that if your dough is really runny.  I think that the cupcake papers would probably just peel off and you could throw them in plastic bags and into the freezer.  I make sure that if a cookie recipe calls for softened butter that it is not melted- that will make your cookie dough runnier.

Money Saving Monday

Consider Cutting Hair Yourself!

A long time ago before my husband and I were married, I tried cutting his hair myself with just a pair of scissors- let me just say the results were far from perfect!  He ended up having to go to a barber shop and get it re-cut, (lol).  Since then, I had kind of decided that cutting hair just wasn't my forte- to say the least.  Well, then my husband started a different job and it seemed like it was really hard to make time for him to go to the barber shop- it would always be closed by the time he would get home from work, and it was hard to work in the time for he and my son to make it their on Saturdays.  When they would go, or when I would take my son there myself, we would have to wait sometimes 45 minutes or more (they don't make appointments at our local barber shop- first come, first served), then it would cost $12 apiece (plus tip), even for my four-year-old.  

I started to reconsider cutting their hair myself- I mean the barber would just use electric clippers for their entire hair-cuts- why couldn't I figure this out?  So I convinced my husband to give me another shot (I told him we could go eat dinner out at Red Lobster for all the money that we would be saving if he would let me do it myself) and I got online and started doing some research.  I ended up purchasing these clippers from Amazon (plus I used gift cards that I earned through Swag Bucks to get them for almost free!  These clippers are actually at a great price right now, I paid about $29) and they have turned out to work really well for us!  

I just cut my husband and son's hair for only the second time yesterday.  You can see my little boy's hair cut in the picture above.  It is definitely not perfect- but the little mistakes are barely discernible, and I figure that all I can do is improve from here.  Even if I had totally paid for the clippers set out of my own pocket, it already would have completely paid for itself!  

If you have a family with several males, you should definitely consider cutting hair yourself.  I don't give my guys buzz cuts (it may look like it in the picture but I actually use a shorter guide on the bottom part and fade it into the top), but if that if your guy's style, then cutting hair is definitely something you could do.  The clipper guides mostly keep you from messing up and going shorter than you would like.  

A couple pointers for cutting hair yourself the first time: 

• Make sure you read the directions that come with the kit you use.
• Look up videos on cutting hair on the internet (such as you tube) and watch a couple, or consider checking out a book about it at your local library.
• When you first start cutting, even if you know you want it pretty short, start with the longest guide until you get the hang of it and work your way down from there. 
• You may want to consider cutting hair outside to keep the mess under control, especially if you don't have a lot of room where you have hard floors.
• Re-check everything before you actually make the cuts.  Make sure you have the guide attached that you are meaning to use and re-check your directions before you make each cut.   

Money Saving Monday

Consider Making Your Own Packaged Food Mixes

 

Packaged food mixes available at the grocery store are often easy and conveinent, buy you are usually paying a premium price for that convenience.  You can easily make your own pre-made mixes for pennies on the dollar, and they often taste much better than store bought too.

An added bonus to making your own baking and cooking mixes is that you can make them a lot healthier as well.  If you so choose, you can reduce the sugar called for in a recipe or replace it with a substitute like Splenda, use whole wheat flour in place of white, eliminate or reduce the amount of salt in a dish, and make sure that your baking mixes don't contain hydrogenated oils.

For a long time, I always purchased a packaged pepper gravy mix when I would make biscuits and gravy.  Then one day I realized that I forgot to get some when I went to the store.  I really did not want to run to the store because it was already time to cook supper (we like breakfast for supper often).  Then all of a sudden it hit me- What Had I Been Thinking?  I could make gravy myself with a little butter, flour, and milk!  I quickly searched online at one of my favorite recipe sites:  allrecipes.com and ended up with an easier and tastier gravy than the mix I always used.  The mix that I used to buy required you to wisk the powdered ingredients into cold water, then separately boil water and cook the sasauge in different pots, then mix them together.  My new recipe lets you make everything -the sausage and the gravy all together in one skillet, which saves me time and requires less clean up.  Sometimes these packaged "convenience" mixes don't even really save you any time.  

Some mixes can save you tons of time and energy because you can make them up ahead of time in large batches and pull them out when it is dinner time, for quick and easy homemade meals.  Check out some of these mixes that you can make up ahead of time:

• Hot Cocoa Mix
• Homemade Pancake Mix
• Applesauce Muffin Mix
• Biscuit Mix
• Biscuit Baking Mix (like bisquick)
• Homemade Taco Seasoning

Pretty much any recipe that you use that calls for mixing a number of different dry ingredients together, can be made ahead.  Try this with your favorite homemade biscuit, cake, and muffin recipes.  Add together the dry ingredients and store them in an airtight container or plastic bag.  Clearly mark them with what type of mix it is as well as what other ingredients need to be added and the baking directions for the product.  Try making up multiple batches at the same time to make the most efficient use of your time.  Next time I have a freezer cooking day I am going to try making up a number of different mixes including biscuits, muffins, cornbread, and hot cocoa.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Money Saving Monday-Keeping More of Our Hard Earned Moolah in Our Pockets

Resisting Marketing Ploys

I believe that one way we can really save a lot of money is by educating ourselves about all the marketing schemes out there.  Millions and millions of dollars are spent every year trying to figure out ways to get more of our money.  As much as I could go on about this for hours, I will just go over a few of the countless Grocery and other marketing strategies that are out there:

•  All the usual Grocery marketing strategies:  
• Putting the basics that you might run into the store for, such as milk and eggs, at the back of the store so that you have to walk past lots of different products on your way there.
• Playing a certain type of music in a store to make you feel comfortable and want to stay longer and spend more money.
• Some grocery stores occasionally re-arrange their products so that you purposely won't be able to find what you are looking for, hoping that as a consequence you will look at more products and buy more, while trying to find what you came for.
• Placing Children's cereal at their eye-level so that they will see it and want you to buy it.
• Did you know that companies actually pay to have a certain spot on the shelves of grocery stores?  Companies with more money will have their products at your eye-level. 
• Sales where items are 10/$10.  Often you do not have to buy 10 items to get them for $1 each.  I do not know of any stores in my area, besides gas stations and occasionally Walgreen's, were you actually have to buy the advertised number of items to get the sale price.  Ask someone at your own store how their sales work.  
• Buy One, Get One Free sales.  Not all stores require you to actually buy both items.  Kroger stores give you each item for half price when they have a B1G1 free sale.  Many stores however, do charge you full price for the first item and the second item rings up as free.
• Putting "sale" items in fliers.  Just because something is in your local store's sale flier does not mean that it is a good price, or even that it is on sale for that matter.  Become familiar with your area's usual prices, to know if something is really a good price. 

• Coupons:  Coupons are a HUGE marketing strategy as you probably well know.  There is a good reason why companies offer coupons on products, they are hoping you will buy their product because you have a coupon for it.  Make sure you are not buying a product simply because you have a coupon for it.  Ask yourself:  "Would I be buying this product even if I didn't have a coupon for it?"  Even if something is only .25 or .50 after using a coupon, it really isn't saving you any money  if you don't need that product in the first place.  Make coupons work for you, instead of against you.
• "Better Value" Prices:  
• A lot of times, companies offer one item for say $1, then they will offer twice that amount for possibly only pennies more.  Sometimes this really is a great deal and can save you money, if you will use that additional amount of product.  But sometimes it is hard to resist that "better value" when you really don't need the additional amount.  One thing that immediately comes to mind is beverage prices at fast food places.  You can get a 20 oz. drink for $1.16 or a 32 oz drink for only $1.30.  Even though the larger size is a better value, if you really don't need 32 oz. of beverage, it is not saving you any money.  In fact it could potentially be hurting you, if you don't want to waste those extra 12 oz., so you end up consuming way more sugar and calories.
• Pay attention to the price per ounce of bulk items at grocery stores.  It amazes me that at my local Wal-Mart it is very often a better value to buy items in a smaller size.  They are counting on the fact that you will just assume that since something is in a larger size, that you are getting a better value.  Make sure you look at how much it costs per ounce for items when you are comparing sizes.  I think that sometimes companies put larger sized amounts in quantities that make it more difficult to calculate in your head.  You may want to bring a calculator with you or check and see if the price-per ounce is listed on the shelf tag.

• Outlet Malls:  I did not realize until a few months ago that outlet malls have their own whole set of marketing strategies:
• Outlet Malls are usually placed in a location (like a small town) that requires almost everyone going there, to drive some distance.  They do this because it makes you think that you have an investment in that trip with the gas money and time that you used to drive there and back.  You will think that you at least need to spend so much money in order to be saving enough to get back your investment. 
• Outlet Malls are counting on that you will buy stuff thinking that it is a good deal just because it is at an outlet mall.  Not everything at an outlet mall is a great price.
• Sometimes the "original" price is inflated even higher for outlet malls, so you will think you are saving even more money, when in reality you really aren't.

• Television Commercials:  Chances are if you turn on your television, you will be hit with a whole on-slaught of marketing strategies.  
• Watching television with commercials drives me crazy (just ask my husband :)  I feel like I am wasting valuable minutes of my life and giving them away to a company when I watch commercials.  Sometimes I find my self zoning out while watching the endless commercials on television, and I feel like I have been being almost brain-washed into thinking I need this or that.   In a sense I really do feel like companies are trying to brain wash you with commercials.  If commercials influence you or your children, just turn off the television.  I know that is more easily said than done.  We pay $9 per month to get on-demand Netflix for our Wii.  We have access to tons of movies and television shows and we aren't wasting time by watching commercials, because there are none! (Trust me though, this can get addictive as well, because you can watch television shows from season beginning to end with no wait.)
• When I think of television commercial marketing schemes, I always think of H&R Block.  If I didn't know any better, from watching commercials during tax time, I would think it was basically impossible for me to do my own income taxes and get back the amount that I am entitled to.  Of course, sometimes if you really don't have time, or have really complicated taxes, it may be in your best interest to take your taxes to a place that will prepare them for you.  I have started doing our taxes, and they are fairly complicated compared to some individual's, and it only takes me about 1-2 hours to prepare them start to finish, even without any tax software.  I guess that I am saving several hundred dollars every time I do our own taxes.  If you really don't know how to do your taxes, you really may be losing money by doing them yourself.  If you don't know much about taxes, it could save you money to buy some tax preparation software instead of doing them yourself.

• A couple suggestions for avoiding marketing ploys:
• Prepare a shopping list before you go to the grocery store.  It will be easier to know what you really need and help you avoid making impulse buys.
• Ask yourself if you really need that item that you are considering buying.  Ask yourself when considering larger purchases:  WHY do I want this item?  Is it helping me achieve my financial goals?  If you really truly just want something for fun for yourself, then don't make yourself feel guilty for buying it.  It is no fun saving money, if you never get to enjoy it.  Just be aware of marketing, and don't let a company make you think you really want something when you don't.

Money Saving Monday-Keeping More of Our Hard Earned Moolah in Our Pockets

Stockpiling

One way to start significantly lowering your grocery budget is to stock up on food and any other items you or your family regularly uses, when they are at their lowest price.

If you are new to couponing and bargain shopping, and you start to observe your local stores circulars, you will see that sale prices on many items are on a cycle.  Sometimes sale prices are seasonal (such as:  spices, canned goods, and baking supplies are always great prices starting now, and lasting for the next 3-5 months on and off), and sometimes sale prices are on a regular schedule.  Different stores and different items may be on a different schedule.  If you want to start saving lots of money on your groceries- begin to watch your local stores sales prices, especially on items that your family uses regularly.  If you pay attention, and learn what the lowest prices are on your family's favorite products, you can plan ahead and buy all that your family will use before that sale price comes around again.  Here are two different examples of different sale schedules for two items that my family uses often:

• #1:  Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts.  My local Walmart's regular price for this item is $3.30 per pound.  I never buy it for that price however, because a number of local stores have it for $2.00 per pound at least every other week.  I ad-match it when it is at this price, and only buy what I will need over the next 2 weeks, because I know it will be on sale again for that price within that amount of time.  About once per year, my area may see a sale price on boneless skinless chicken breast for around $1.49-$1.69 per pound.  This is the rock-bottom price for my area, and it this case, I may buy 20 pounds and freeze them if I have room in my freezer, because I know this price won't come around for another year.
• #2:  Swanson Canned Chicken Broth.  My family uses chicken broth regularly for a variety of different soups, so I like to stock up on it when it is at a great price.  In my area, our favorite brand of chicken broth is at a great price around the winter holidays.  When it hits it's rock-bottom price(usually around .50 per can), I may buy enough to last me through the coming year.  I know that the rest of the year it will cost around $1.50 per can, and canned chicken broth is usually good for several years.

You need to be careful not to buy more than what you or your family can reasonably use before an item expires.  Even if something was an incredible price, it is not saving you any money to end up throwing it out.

With observance of your area's sale prices, and a little bit of planning, you will probably never have to buy your regular items for full-price again.  

In order to stockpile effectively, you need to have a plan.  Some years ago, I did stockpile occasionally, but I felt ridiculous buying 5 canisters of coffee at the grocery store.  And in reality-it was ridiculous because I had no plan for the items I stocked up on.  Now, when I see coffee for it's rock-bottom price, I may buy 15-20 canisters (if I have room for it), because I know it will be used up before it expires.

If you want to start stockpiling food and other items, you may need to think creatively about your storage solutions.  Think about places other than your usual cabinets for storing it, such as in plastic containers under your bed, or in your closets.

Once you start to build up your stockpile, you can start to only buy items at the store each week that are at their lowest prices.  Is what I buy each week what I am feeding my family that week?  No, not at all, with the exception of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Each week, when I plan my menus, I first "shop" in my pantry, taking into account any items that may need to be used sooner if they are nearing their expiration dates.  This is one of the biggest ways I save money and am able to feed my family nutritious food for $50 per week.