10 Ways To Start Saving Money Now

If you're looking for ways to start saving money, look no further. This post will get you started on the right track with these 10 ways to save money.

Savings can make or break your financial stability. However, while saving money is a piece of financial advice that many people believe in, only a fraction of the total population practice it. Some people are blocked by not knowing where or how to start saving or by not having enough money to begin saving.

The truth is the hardest thing about setting aside a few dollars is getting started. Let’s talk about ways to start saving money to protect your financial future.

How Much Money Should You Set Aside?

Personal finance experts tend to advise setting aside 20 percent of your monthly income for savings. While this is ideal, not everyone has the same goals, financial situation, or priorities.

Maybe a better approach when figuring out how much you should save is by determining your goals for saving. For example, if you want to build an emergency fund, you should think about how much you can save in a year to cover at least six months of your living expenses.

On the other hand, if you’re saving up for short to medium term goals like traveling, getting married, or making a big purchase then it’s important to set your target savings amount as well as a deadline. This way, you can divide the amount by the number of months remaining before the deadline to determine your monthly savings requirements to meet your goals.

Finally, if you’re saving up for your retirement, financial experts advise that you set aside 10 to 15 percent of your income.

Best Ways to Start Saving Money

Set a Goal

As with anything worth doing, it’s important to have a goal. Identify why you’re saving money. Whether you want to save up for a European tour, you want to build an emergency fund, or you want to start with your retirement fund, having a clear goal helps to keep you motivated at all times.

Open a Separate Account for Savings

Having a separate bank account specifically for savings means you’ll have fewer chances of using your savings for other things.

Keep Track of Your Expenses

Before you can start saving money, you need to figure out how much you’re spending. List everything you spend money on. This includes gas, groceries, bills, mortgage, even your morning lattes.

When you really know what you’re spending your money on, it’s easier to figure out where you can cut back.

Establish a Budget

When we talk about ways to start saving money, most people star with a budget. Budgeting is the cornerstone of personal financial management and saving. It not only stops you from overspending but it also lets you gain a sense of control over your income. These days, there are many tools and apps that can help set a monthly budget but if you’re more of a traditionalist, you can opt for a simple pen and paper approach.

Avoid Temptations and Instant Gratification

If you’re an impulse buyer, you’re going to have to rein yourself in a bit if you want to start saving money. Avoid malls and sales, make homemade meals, or make your own coffee if you can so you don’t spend on unnecessary items.

Also, instead of buying things to make yourself feel better when you’re stressed, go for hobbies like working out, meditating, reading, or napping.

Make Shopping Lists and Stick to Them

Before heading to the store to pick up groceries, write down everything you need to buy. More importantly, stick to it and avoid unplanned purchases.

Do a Price Comparison

We all know that stores price differently for the same items. If you want to reel in real savings, check the price points at several stores and shop where they’re cheapest.

Take the DIY Route When You Can

A lot of things you tend to buy at the store can easily be made at home. This includes coffee, meals, bread, and even household cleaning products. Not only are these cheaper to make but they are also often healthier for you.

You might also like: 11 Homemade Cleaning Recipes! Includes Homemade Dishwasher Detergent!

Be on the Lookout for Coupons and Discounts

Coupons and discount codes are an excellent way to save money. There are apps and websites that offer coupons you can use both online and in stores.

You might also like: Grocery Savings Made Easy!

Try Off Brand Items

Name brand items tend to be more expensive than generic versions. However, they’re not necessarily better. When you can, opt for off-brand items. They cost less and are pretty much the same as the branded stuff.

The Importance of Saving Money

Just knowing you need to save is often not enough. If you want to be successful at saving money, you need to understand why this practice is so important.

First, saving money can give you flexibility and freedom in the future. While it may not look like it now, having funds set aside allows you to do more things down the line. You can buy your dream car or travel for months without being tied down to a paycheck.

You might also like: FREE 52 Week Reverse Savings Plan With Printable!

Second, saving provides you with financial security. Financial emergencies can happen to anyone. You or a family member could get sick or your refrigerator can break down. When times like this happen, having savings lets you have funds for unexpected expenses and emergencies.

Third, having savings allows you to explore new opportunities. Think about this, when you have money saved up in your bank account, you will be able to take more calculated risks. You can pursue your passions like starting your own business. It opens up your world to greater prospects that can change yours and your family’s lives for good.

Saving money lets you enjoy greater security in life. All you need to do is to get started.

Do you have ways to start saving money you’d like to share? Let me know in the comments below!

8 Ways To Save Money On Your Thanksgiving Meal!

by Dian Leave a Comment

8 Ways To Save Money On Your Thanksgiving Meal!

What comes to your mind when you think of Thanksgiving?
Pumpkin pie, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, dressing/stuffing, gravy, and of course, turkey!

For me, my kids come to mind. They are grown and on their own, but, they each have very definite favorite foods they want me to prepare. It’s funny that each likes a different pie, too! We have 4 kids, 1 girl and 3 boys. Our oldest is our daughter and she likes Pecan pie, the next 2 sons like Chocolate pie – my Mom’s recipe, and the youngest son likes Lemon Pie – Hubby’s Mom’s recipe!

In our house lunch is served pretty close to noon so that, by 2 we are done eating and can watch the Cowboy game and at halftime we eat pie! Hubby and I eat Keto so we make sugar-free pies and our daughter makes sugar-filled pies for the boys and her

Planning a Thanksgiving dinner takes time and coordination. It’s a time when families come together from near and far and enjoy each other. It’s a day to eat all your family’s favorites, but, it comes with a price, especially if you host Thanksgiving dinner at your house.

But, did you know that you can spend less than you think for your Thanksgiving dinner?

If you are hosting this year’s Thanksgiving dinner, you don’t need to agonize over the cost! To help keep you from having a panic attack before the turkey’s in the oven, here are 8 ways to save money when hosting a Thanksgiving dinner.

Serve What Your Family Likes

You don’t need to serve an entire King’s table feast, with every thing you can imagine on it. There are certain foods on the table that many people may skip over or eat just to be polite.

I remember one year my daughter wanted to make fish… the boys almost revolted! lol She was disappointed, but, they did let her make a few new things. But, we know what everyone at the table enjoys and that’s what we make. I don’t try new things because they look forward to the old favorites each year.

If no one likes your new creamed artichokes recipe (I just made that up…), why spend money and time away from the family preparing it?

If the green bean salad was nearly untouched last year, it might be the perfect time to remove it from the menu.

Always remember: Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks, spending time with our families, and good, simple home cooked comfort food. You don’t need try out new gourmet recipes to please your family and guests. If they love store-bought gravy, why bother making a fancier version, which is not only expensive, it takes a lot of time away from spending time with your family and them getting to spend time with you?

Serve Seasonal Food

Serving food made from ingredients that are in season is cheaper and fresher.

Who wouldn’t enjoy their turkey with fresh mashed potatoes or butternut squash? Yum!

Plus, if you like to garden, you can save even more by growing the ingredients in your own backyard!

Check Out This Article: How To Grow An Herb Garden! Growing Fresh Herbs For Your Family Is Simple & Healthy!

Plan Ahead For Left Overs

Don’t let the leftovers go to waste either. Re-purpose them in the next few days.

Create a plan ahead of time. Think about what recipes you can create that you and your family can enjoy for the whole week. Such as:

Ask For Help

Just because you’re the host it doesn’t mean you have to do it all.

Mix it up! Have your guests bring a dish to contribute. You might find a new favorite recipe when your guests bring a side dish, an appetizer, a dessert, or a drink.

Coordinate with everyone to make sure you don’t have 12 desserts and a turkey 🙂

Make The Most Of Apps And Coupons

When you go shopping for the ingredients, always use money saving apps such as Ibotta.

Always make sure you have your store’s rewards card when grocery shopping. Also choose to shop at places that give you the best deals and offer extra savings. The Target RED Card gives up to 5% savings on all purchases!

Don’t forget to stay alert for deals and FREEbies from us before you head out to shop!

Check Out This Article: 16 Best Ways To Save Money On Groceries!

Create Inexpensive Sides

To have your frugal Thanksgiving dinner, serving vegetables and casseroles is a must.

These sides are not only inexpensive, but they are also filling, too!

When you buy your ingredients, always check the frozen aisle for the cost per unit before you leave the store. Frozen goods like corn, green beans, mixed vegetables, and fruits are less expensive compared with the fresh ones.

Use Smaller Plates And Bowls

On Thanksgiving, the turkey is not the only thing that gets stuffed: People do too!

Most of the time people’s eyes are much bigger than their stomach (remember when your Mom told you that?). What happens is you end up with uneaten food because people couldn’t eat as much as they thought (or wanted to).

This can lead to a lot of wasted food.

To avoid this, choose small dinner plates and bowls. These can help in curbing your guest’s tendency to overindulge.

Lighten Up On The Beverages

Stop playing bartender! You don’t need to open up a whole bar and stock up with expensive drinks.

You only need a few bottles of wine and one or two signature drinks that the guests can choose from.

Make your signature drinks (like sangria or punch) in bulk. Guests can serve themselves from the pitcher. A mixed drink or fancy cocktail can make your guests feel more special.

A Thanksgiving dinner does not need to be expensive. Don’t force yourself to serve an expensive or traditional dish if no one really likes it.

Instead, serve food that you are 101% sure that your family and friends will like. To celebrate the season of giving, ask everyone to bring their favorite dish!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner!

What tips do you have a to make a more frugal yet festive holiday?

How Does Target’s Cartwheel App Work? Here’s A FREE Tutorial!

by Dian Leave a Comment

How Does Target’s Cartwheel App Work? Here’s A FREE Tutorial!

I am often asked what is Target Cartwheel, How does Target Cartwheel work, or I want to learn how to use Target Cartwheel. In this post we will cover the Cartwheel app and everything you need to know to make Target Cartwheel deals work for you!

Target’s Cartwheel app for Android and iOS is one of the most valuable and easy to use apps I have seen and I am growing to love it the more I use it. Of course with all apps you can use it without having to clip any coupons, but, with this one you can get percentage’s off on things you buy anyway! So, you’re able to save on your normal shopping just by using the app.

So, if you’ve never used it let’s start at the beginning:

What Is Target’s Cartwheel App?

I often am asked What Is Target Cartwheel? Target’s Cartwheel App is a FREE app that you can download on your mobile device OR (so nice) you can use it on your computer, too! Basically there are new offers all the time where you can get 5% to 50% off on certain items. You scroll through the offers and choose the ones you want and then when you shop you just show the bar code to your cashier and they will scan it and all of your Target Cartwheel deals are taken off there, right at checkout. So easy! I love coupons, but, wouldn’t it be so much nicer if you could do this with coupons? It would save everyone time – you choose them all and then just show one bar code to the cashier and they all come off at once?

You can sign up for Target’s Cartwheel savings program <—- here. Once you do every time you login it’s super simple – you can login with Facebook, or Google or your email, so signing in is super simple, too:

How Do I Use Target’s Cartwheel Savings Program Without A Smartphone?

You can easily use it on your computer and then print out your bar code before you head to the store. Once you have chosen your items and you see the bar code on your computer, just print it out and use it at the register. The cashier will just need to scan it, and not take it from you. Which is good BECAUSE the bar code doesn’t change! You’ll only need to print it out once. So, you can just keep it in your coupon binder, wallet, or whatever is handy for you! Again – so easy, right?! Every time you add new offers to your Cartwheel, it’s added to the bar code you have already printed out.

Can You Use Cartwheel Offers AND Coupons On The Same Item?

Yes and this is what makes this program probably the best I have ever seen. You can actually use a Cartwheel offer, a manufacturer coupons, AND a Target coupon all on the same item PLUS your Target REDcard!

Yes! This is one of the reasons why I love the Cartwheel program. Cartwheel offers can be stacked with a manufacturer coupon, a Target coupon, as well as your Target REDcard! The Cartwheel offer will discount after the value of the Target coupon is applied. Don’t forget my Favorite Money Saving Phone Apps, (I’ll be adding the Cartwheel to it, very soon!), these can be used WITH the Target Cartwheel, too!

How Many Times Can I Use A Cartwheel Offer?

You can use a Cartwheel offer up to four times per transaction. If there are other limits you’ll be able to see them stated on the offer. There’s also a limit of one Cartwheel bar code that can be used per transaction and six transactions per day in which you can use your Cartwheel bar code.

Can I Use More Than One Cartwheel Offer Per Transaction? How Many Can I Use At One Time?

When you first sign up for the Target Cartwheel savings program you’ll be able to save 10 offers at a time. But, as you begin to use it more and more you’ll earn more space to add to your list. Once you hit your limit, the app will tell you to remove some offers to free up more space. You’ll be able to unlock Cartwheel badges and earn more space on your list.

You can use all of the offers you have saved on your Cartwheel list at one time. So if you fill up your list with 10 offers you can redeem all 10 at the same time. You can do this 4 times in the same transaction and up to 6 different transactions a day.

How Does My Cartwheel Work With Target Store Coupons And Manufacturer Coupons?

After all of your purchases have been scanned by your cashier, you’ll then hand over your coupons, and after all of that you show the cashier your Cartwheel – at the very end.

Does the Target Cartwheel Savings Come Off Before Or After My Coupons?

When you use coupons with your Cartwheel remember the Cartwheel savings will come off AFTER any Target store coupons have been applied, but, BEFORE any manufacturer coupons. But, you still hand over all of your coupons before you show your Cartwheel.

Here’s what it looks like:

Huggies Diapers – $3.99
– Target Store coupon – $1.00
=$2.99
-5% Target Cartwheel offer
=$2.84
-$2.00 Huggies Diapers manufacturer coupon
Final cost after coupons and Cartwheel = $0.84 (don’t we wish! lol)
Now if you had a RedCard it would be deducted at the VERY end making those diapers just $2.80

That’s a stacking of 5 offers! A sale stacked with a Target store coupon, Target Cartwheel off, Manufacturer coupon, and a RedCard! If you found an offer on another app like my Favorite Money Saving Phone Apps that would make it even better!

When I Am At Target Shopping How Can I See If An Item Has A Cartwheel Offer?

The Target Cartwheel app has a scanner inside it and you can scan items in the store to know if they have an offer! Just open the scanner in the app and scan the item’s bar code to see if it has a Cartwheel offer! How easy is that?!

This is a great FREE tutorial on the Target Cartwheel app and how to use it! I am often asked what is Target Cartwheel, How does Target Cartwheel work, or I want to learn how to use Target Cartwheel. In this post we will cover the Cartwheel app and everything you need to know to make Target Cartwheel work for you!

What Do I Do If The App Doesn’t Work In My Target?

Sometimes the signal isn’t great in the store when we are shopping, but, Target offers FREE wi-fi in store. Just select the Target wi-fi in your settings on your mobile device to connect in store and that should fix the problem. Remember, you don’t have to use the Cartwheel bar code from your mobile device, you can print it out and keep it with you because it never changes.

How Often Does Cartwheel Update? And Does Everyone See The Same Offers?

Every Cartwheel user will see the same offers, Target coupons and most new Cartwheel offers are available on Sunday morning. Always check daily for any special offers, though, you don’t want to miss out. There are often high value offers tat appear randomly so, those are worth keeping an eye out for!

What If The Cartwheel Discount Didn’t Get Applied To My Purchase?

Sometimes the Cartwheel discount doesn’t come off at the register like it should. If this happens, just take your receipt to Guest Services and they’ll fix it for you. Also report any offers that didn’t come off to: cartwheelsupport.target.com/cartwheel.

I hope that answers your questions and makes you comfortable enough to start using this app – I have to say I LOVE it! If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask!

What is your favorite part about the Target Cartwheel App? Leave your comments below!

Six Simple Ways To Get Debt Free And Stay That Way

10 Consignment, Flea Market, And Neighborhood Yard Sale Shopping Hacks

by Dian 1 Comment

10 Consignment, Flea Market, And Neighborhood Yard Sale Shopping Hacks

I can’t speak for other parts of the country but, here in Texas, we have neighborhood yard sales, and consignment sales, as well as flea markets, of course. These huge sales offer some great finds and awesome prices, but, can be completely confusing and time consuming if you don’t have a plan.

Let’s take a look at 10 shopping tips that will help you get the most out of these types of sales the next time you attend.

In Dallas/Fort Worth we have a huge annual local consignment sale for children’s clothing, books and toys. It happens just in time for back to school clothing finds, tons of baby items, and even Halloween costumes!

These tips will also work for estate sales and individual yard sale shopping, too.

Let’s take a look at these Shopping Tips:

1. Get there first and check out the best stuff. You might even want to look into being a volunteer, that allows you to get in early and scope out the deals!

2. Hire a sitter! You’ll want plenty of time to peruse without potty breaks and melt downs. Well, you might need a potty break or two and hopefully you won’t have any melt downs 🙂

3. Take a wagon or some sort of small cart that maneuvers easily but, can hold your all your great finds!

4. Be prepared to take your time, these sales are huge and you want to be able to check out all of the things you’re after and get the best deal for you!

5. Have a plan, talk to someone who has been before and ask their advice. Know what you’re looking for and how much you want to spend on each purchase. Then work your plan, don’t get sidetracked.

6. Know the clothing and shoe sizes of the family members you’re purchasing for before you go. Plan to purchase items that will last, so be prepared to look for the next size up.

7. Make sure to inspect everything closely. Search for tears or snags, stains or loose seams.

8. Know ahead of time what payment forms will be accepted. You don’t want to be searching for an ATM.

9. Bring snacks and water to stay hydrated (Be sure food and drinks are allowed). The lines will be long and you don’t want to have to search for fountains or pay for drinks while you’re busy deal hunting!

10. Have fun, enjoy the time and know that you are saving your family money while providing what your they need, too!

Consignment sales and Flea Markets are also great places to pick up gently used Halloween costumes!

Have more tips? Please share them in the comments, we’d love to hear them!

How To Save Money On Back To School Shopping

by Dian Leave a Comment

How To Save Money On Back To School Shopping

Back to school can be a stressful expensive time, but there are easy ways to “lighten the load”. It’s the time of year to get all of those 2017 school supplies lists filled. It can be quite a chore and with multiple students it can be expensive. But, it doesn’t have to be either. You can find lists for all of the stores in one place <— right here, PLUS you can make a printable list of the best deals to make your shopping more efficient and much less expensive.

Here are some other posts about back to school that might be helpful:

11 Back To School Shopping Tips To Save Your Money And Your Sanity

Top College Bound Dorm Student Study Necessities

Top 11 Dorm Room Storage And Organization Ideas

Let’s talk about backpacks, first, which can be one of the more expensive items on the list. You want to make sure you get one that is the right size for your student and durable, you don’t want to have to buy another one mid-year.

Your student’s backpack should be easy to clean, have compartments that are easy to open AND that close securely. The back to school backpack should also be comfortable and let’s not forget to make sure it’s cute… I mean no one wants to have an ugly backpack! lol

Where can you find an inexpensive, comfortable, right sized, easy to clean, durable, adorable backpack?! Lots of places! Here are some ideas on where to find cheap backpacks, school supplies, and affordable clothing for that awesomely cool back to school look that won’t leave you in the poorhouse.

The first thing you want to do is to watch all of the school supplies sales at all of the stores to get the best deals. Luckily we have the perfect place you can go that will provide you with the best school supplies deals all in one place.

Here are some online and offline ideas for making the most of your back to school shopping:

Walmart is a great place to start your back to school shopping, they always have great backpack deals as well as great school supply deals. PLUS, you can ad match other online retailers if you find a better deal! Also, if you’re shopping Walmart online you can get 2 day free shipping on eligible purchases or have them shipped for free to your local store so that you don’t have to pay any shipping fees!

Target is another great place to check out for backpack deals and school supply items as well as cute back to school clothes for girls and boys and school uniforms.

If you like shopping on Amazon, they also have great deals and sales on backpacks and school supply items. Don’t forget you can sign up for a free trial of Amazon Prime to have your purchase shipped for free.

ThredUp is a great place to look, as well. Thredup is an online consignment store that you can shop right from home in your jammies! How easy is that?! They have high quality gently used items that start at just $5.

PLUS, you can earn referral money just by telling friends and family about Thredup! Whenever they make a purchase you get $10 in referral cash to spend on the site! That referral money can be used to get your purchases for less, and even free. You can also sign up to sell your items to Thredup, too, making even more money!

Schoola is another great online consignment store. They have a huge selection of clothes, shoes, purses, and more. They used to just sell kids clothing, but, now they sell adult clothing as well. Schoola also has a great referral program! When you tell people about them and they make a purchase – you get $20 in credit to spend at Schoola! PLUS, Schoola gives 40% back to schools in need! So your purchases help other students, too.

You can also find great backpack deals and clothing deals at local consignment shops and sales. Just Between Friends is a great HUGE consignment sale you can look for in your area, too.

Get together with other parents from your church or school and host a back to school exchange to find backpacks! I went to a church once where all of the ladies brought clothes they wanted to get rid of and we all shopped through and exchanged clothes! It was a fun afternoon, you can do the same things with back to school supplies!

Check with friends and family, too, they might have slightly used backpacks that they can give you or trade.

Here are some local places you can also check out for backpacks and clothing:

Can you think of any we missed? If you have other ideas, please leave them in the comments below.

Printable Yard Sale Checklist

by Dian 1 Comment

Printable Yard Sale Checklist

I have had many garage sales or yard sales in my life. I have raised money for my family, for my kids to go to youth camp, for the youth group to go on trips. I have raised a lot of money with all sorts of sales. So, that left me with a lot of yard sale tips.

If you’re holding your own garage sale to make extra cash, you might like to budget that money. Click here to get your own free printable Monthly Budget Worksheet.

Here are some of the tips I have found helpful when holding my own garage sales or yard sales. I have made you a FREE Printable Garage Sale Checklist to go along with this post, too!

Print your Yard Sale Checklist <— Click here

Set Goal

Whether you’re just needing to do a thorough clean out of the attic or you need some extra cash. You need to set a goal as t how much you need or want to earn.

Choose Date(s) & Time(s)

Choose the best date(s) and time(s) for your sale. If you want to run it for 2 -3 days in a row, or 2 consecutive weekends. Maybe you want to run it Thursday through Sunday, choose what works best for you.

Check With City On Any Needed Permits

Many cities have rules governing yard/garage sales. Be sure you know if you need to get a permit and what the rules at for when and how you can run it and when and how you can post signs for your sale.

Gather Items For Sale

Now it’s time to gather your items. Go through the kids clothes and pull out any that they have outgrown, toys, books, and movies, too. Look through your kitchen and garage and your own closet. Be sure to ask family, friends, and neighbors if they have things they’d like you to sell for them.

Clean/Repair Items

Next check your items and make sure they are sparkling clean and ready to be sold. Plug everything in and make sure they work, makes sure they have all of their parts, repair any items that you can.

Sort Items By Type

Make sure to sort everything prior to the sale so it’s easier on the morning of to put all like items together.

Gather Tables, Containers, Extension Cords

You may need to borrow folding tables from friends, and family to put your items on. Gather some boxes or bins to hold items, make sure you have extensions cords ready and plugged in for your buyers to see that your items work prior to purchasing them.

Choose What To Collect Your Earnings In

Whether you’d prefer a money box, money bag, or a fanny pack you can wear the entire time, be sure to have this figured out and available ahead of time.

Make Yard Sale Signs

You can purchase whiteboard or poster board at the dollar store along with markers and make some great signs. Think about investing in a few signs, instead of the cardboard that gets blown away or ripped. Check out some of the best yard sale signs here.

Gather Plastic Sacks And Boxes

Start collecting plastic grocery sacks and boxes for people to carry MORE of your treasures home in.

Get Markers, Notebooks, Price Stickers, Calculator

If you are pricing things you’ll need markers and price stickers, also keep a notebook handy to keep track of any notes you may need ie: you’re selling things for friends and family and need to write down what they sold for, or the lowest price they will accept. Also don’t forget the calculator which will come in handy for those multiple purchase sales.

Get Paper To Wrap Breakables In

Gather newspaper, used tissue and wrapping paper to wrap breakables in for your buyers.

Get Change

Make sure you have plenty of money to start with so you can make change. Be sure to have ones, fives, and a few tens and twenties, as well as coins, too. Tip: If you’re going to take large bills you might want to grab these pens to check to make sure the bills aren’t counterfeit. I actually had a lady pass 5 twenties off to me that weren’t real :/

Rope Off Areas Off Limits

For some reason buyers often like to wander off into areas where things aren’t for sale… so make sure you rope off areas that are off limits and keep an eye on those areas, as well.

Put Signs On Things That Are NOT For Sale

If something has been sold and not picked up, yet, or something in the yard or garage is NOT for sale, be sure to put a sign in clear view that the item is not for sale. This one will save your sanity when the 50th person in the first 2 hours asks you how much the not for sale item is.

If You’re Pricing Add Price Tags

If you have chosen to price everything or some things make sure to use price stickers and mark them all with the same color ink and make the stickers visible. The same color ink ensures no one tries to change one of your stickers.

Put Out Signs, Smile, Collect Your Earnings

Time for the sale to begin, get those signs out, put on your best buyer friendly smile, and collect your earnings! Good luck and have fun meeting new people!

I hope these tips help with your future yard sales. I have hosted many yard sales to date and most of these tips and the Printable Yard Sale Checklist I made for you comes from the experience I got from sales I have done.

Keep Your Money Safe While Shopping

by Dian Leave a Comment

Keep Your Money Safe While Shopping

It’s funny I think often about how I did things as a kid or young adult and how different things are now. I used to love going to the mall and window shopping. But, all of that has changed since I discovered shopping in my pj’s! lol

It is just so convenient. I know for me, I am sitting at my desk working and I think of something I want or need and I immediately look it up online and sometimes go right ahead and purchase it then.

We are all so into instant gratification, we love the companies who deliver to our homes and if it’s in the same day, even better! Last year our baby granddaughter was sick and we needed to take her temperature and we didn’t have a thermometer. I pulled up my Amazon PrimeNOW app, found one, ordered it, and it was here in less than 2 hours! Could I have gotten dressed, gotten on makeup, fixed my hair, and driven to the store I’m less time? Probably…. but, that’s not how we do things in this Jetson’s world we live in now! lol

For some time shopping online didn’t really gain a lot of momentum because so many people were afraid to give out info and their credit and/or debit card numbers online. Most were afraid their identity or credit card info would be stolen. That has turned out to be a valid concern as many people have had that happen.

But, unfortunately that doesn’t just happen online – more than once I had my card info stolen from eating out. One time a young man bought a tank full of gas and one time my bank caught it as someone in NY tried to order 60 pizzas with my info! lol

The police suggested I “follow my card”, so when we eat out – I don’t hand the card to my server, I go with them and watch them slide it. The Police told me that a server may drop your card right at your table and they have a card reader strapped at their ankle hidden by their pants leg and they will slide your card when they “pick it up” and hand it back to you.

Consumers are expected to do so much of their shopping online this year that delivery companies like UPS and FedEx are projecting increases of deliveries of at least 10 percent and will hire record numbers of seasonal employees.

Some apartment complexes expect to be so overwhelmed by deliveries they have informed residents that they will no longer be accepting packages at the office and boxes will be left at apartment doors. During the holiday season online shopping can be incredibly convenient not having to go to multiple stores searching for gifts, and it gives consumers the opportunity to cash in on exclusive savings. However…. hackers are also planning for an influx of online orders.

Before swiping a card at a store or hitting enter to place an online order, ensure your online shopping safety by following these tips:

Go Digital

Using a digital wallet such a Google Wallet or Apple’s Wallet in stores can protect you from having your credit card information stolen by a skimmer or other device and allow for safe online shopping.

Use Pre-Paid Cards

Online bargains can be hard to pass up when so many sites are offering such great deals and often with FREE shipping. Avoiding driving in unfavorable weather and long lines at the registers also equal a good day, but only if precautions are taken to help prevent that good day from turning to a bad day when the bill arrives. Using pre-paid credit cards that are not linked to your bank account or credit history can stop thieves from accessing and using your financial information if the site you shop on ends up being hacked.

Avoid Links

If a smoking deal for a television, smartphone or other must-have item arrives in your inbox, do not click on it (unless it’s my from my FREE daily email newsletter – it is safe 🙂 ). Instead, open your web browser and type in the direct URL for that store. Or, call a nearby location to verify the offer is real and not a spoof a criminal made to look like a real offer.

Create Unique Usernames

Just like it is a bad idea to use the same password for all your online accounts, using the same username for each store’s online shopping cart can also be a big mistake, especially if you use that same log in for email and social media. To keep your online history private from criminals, create a unique username for each website on which you shop. For example, YourName+StoreName is a better username than your name plus a few numbers.

Read The Privacy Statement

Or, just skip online shopping altogether. Simply scrolling through and accepting the terms and conditions of every website you shop on without reading the details could mean you are signing away your right to privacy. You could be agreeing for retailers to sell your information without you realizing that’s what you’re doing.

Sharing Your Personal Email Address

If you use one email address you are making it easy for cyber criminals to hack into every online account you have ever created. From bank accounts to credit cards, social media and online shopping accounts – if your one email address is attached to every account you use online, hackers can track that address to find all of your accounts and attempt to access them. Rather than leaving a trail of breadcrumbs revealing to thieves all of your online activities, its time to start creating dozens of email addresses.

Some email providers including Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo allow users to alter their email address into infinite number of disposable addresses. For example if your email address is [email protected]gmail.com and you want to sign up for a new deal website you can alter your email address just for that site by adding an identifier to it. Your new email address for that site could be DianFarmer[email protected]. This keeps your actual email address private and can help stop criminals from being able to track your online history simply by searching for one of your email addresses.

In addition to not using your unaltered email address as a username for online accounts, the following common mistakes should also be avoided.

Including All Or Part Of Your Name

Business professionals and students often use a variation of their full name as an email address, on social media and other online forums. While people might be able to easily search for and follow or friend you, you are also making it easier for criminals to do the same.

Revealing Details About Your Location

Whether it is the city you reside in now or where you were born including a meaningful location in your username is never a good idea. Not only is it one more tool criminals can use to narrow their search for your personal details, it is also a common password security question.

Using Your Birthday Or Other Meaningful Numbers

While a string of four to eight numbers might seem random a criminal will be able to use a birthday or street address to verify if the information they are accumulating is all for the same person.

I hope these tips help you as we move each year more and more into the virtual world.

What tips would you share with us? Please leave them in the comments below!

How To Save Money. Simply. Every Day.

by Dian 1 Comment

How To Save Money. Simply. Every Day.

How to save money is always on our mind from the grocery store to the gas station to restaurants we want to save money on everything, after all we work hard for it.

There is no limit to the ways you can cut costs and save yourself and your household money. We know there are ways we CAN do it, but, it’s kind of like losing weight – we often don’t DO the things we need to do to get us to that goal until we have to because we like to be comfortable. Losing weight or cutting bills all bring about thoughts and images of not being comfortable and having to give up things we like.

Budgeting is a good place to start click here to get your own free printable Monthly Budget Worksheet.

I have found over the years that often when we do things to cut the bills down (or lose weight) we don’t actually miss the things we change.

The ways you can save money start with cutting out bills, changing plans and contracts, eating at home more often, using less, reusing more. There is just no limit to the ways we can save money and make our lives a little easier financially.

Let’s take a look at some these ways to save money you might not have thought about or looked at in this way before.

Buy Meat In Bulk

This is one of the best ways to save money I have found so we’ll start here. Most people find one of the most expensive portions of their grocery bills is the meat. Find out when your store marks their meat down. We call it the “cheap meat section” and generally on the same day each week they go through and fill that section up with meat that needs to be purchased and either eaten or frozen right away. We buy most of our meat from that section. We buy as much as we can and we separate it and freeze it in portions we’ll need for each meal.

Supplement Your Dog’s Food

(Not sure if you can do this for cats as we don’t have one 🙂 )Dog food can be expensive. Our dog Molly does have a sensitive stomach and store bought food didn’t always sit well with her. Last summer she developed Bell’s Palsy and we decided to cook for her and it went away completely, we feel it was due to how we were feeding her. Long store, I’ll share another time :).

I feed her our scraps and we come out better at the store buying meat from the cheap meat section as mentioned above, plus veggies that are marked way down. I cook those up for her and portion it in baggies. She used to eat every few days boycotting the store bought food until she was starving… but, now she can’t wait for us to feed her. She is much healthier and is more active and happy.

Reuse Those Coffee Filters

This is simple, but, also one of this list’s easy ways to save money. Now, I know there are many uses for leftover coffee filters, (as well as leftover coffee grounds) but one way I save is to reuse them. I can’t see just using them one time, I rinse them off and reuse them until they get worn out. I have done this for years and I don’t think anything about it anymore. I know they don’t cost a lot, but every little bit counts! Also, you could consider purchasing a permanent filter. We now have a Ninja Coffee Bar and it came with a permanent filter and I love it.

Buy Shampoo & Conditioner In Bulk

I buy gallon bottles of shampoo and conditioner at the beauty supply. When you go to the salon it’s the same shampoo they use on you. I fill the bottles half with shampoo and half with water and mix – per the instructions. I don’t dilute the conditioner. But, with a big family it lasts a long time and you’re not spending a ton on expensive small bottles of shampoos and conditioners.

Keep Coupons In The Car

I have a binder with photo pages in it that I keep in the car. I put restaurant coupons, oil change, tune-up, and hair salon coupons to be used when we are out and about. I HATE being out and deciding to go somewhere knowing I have a coupon at home for it!

Use A Recycling Bin Instead Of Trash Bags

I used to fight the whole idea of recycling. The thought of separating trash was beyond anything I ever wanted to do. Now, I see a value in getting a lot of the trash out of the trash can and into a recycling bin and how much that saves me in trash bags!

I can fill up a huge recycling bin to almost overflowing each week and even if I broke all of the boxes and stuff down small that would take up more room in the trash bag. Milk cartons, juice bottles/boxes, cans, jars, all sorts of things that take up a ton of room! So really use your recycling bin to its fullest and save money on your trash bags (they are so expensive anyway).

Learn How To Coupon

If you’re really just getting serious and want to learn how to start saving money right away in a way you can see quickly, this one is pretty self explanatory – learn to coupon. It’s not hard, you can learn to coupon in no time and save thousands for your family every year. I have many free resources to teach you how —> here.

Learn How To Meal Plan

Planning your meals and strategizing your shopping trips will not only save you money it will save your sanity. No more “what am I gonna cook for dinner”, or “I forgot to defrost anything” (that was one I said all the time). Once you learn how to meal plan, you’ll never want to go back, you’ll wonder how you ever survived before.

Use Your Mobile Device

There are a TON of great apps to help you save money. There are rebate apps that give you cash back from buying everyday necessities like milk! Most stores and restaurants have apps, too and they often have special sales or coupons just for users of their app, here are some of my favorite money saving apps.

Make Your Own

Mayo <— Click here to learn how.

I love to make my own mayo, it takes me a couple of minutes, I know what’s in it, it’s super fresh, it’s cheaper than store bought and tastes great! Plus, when you run out it takes seconds to make more!

Butter <— Click here to learn how.

Again, I love making my own butter – first of all, who doesn’t love real butter? But, it’s expensive! You can make it in just a few minutes and know just what’s in it.

See What Free Services Your Favorite Stores Offer

Most stores offer their customers free services, from tours, to special cuts of meat, to recipes for preparing what you purchased and much more! Here’s a list of 10 Little Known Free Grocery Store Services.

Read Your Bills

This one is so important and has saved me a ton of money and cost me money when I didn’t do it.

Make sure to read your bills each time you receive them, in detail, to make sure you aren’t charged for something new. You can find out more about that in this post entitled: How To Save Money On Your Bills NOW! <— just click here.

Everyone has their own money saving tips, so please share yours with us and we can all benefit!

6 Ways To Start A Successful Budget Plan!

by Dian 5 Comments

6 Ways To Start A Successful Budget Plan!

How many times in your adult life have you said you needed a financial budget? How many times have you tried and just not been able to follow through with a personal budget? I think we can all agree we have been there, done that.

I think we sometimes don’t wrap our head around creating a budget plan, it seems hard, we don’t know how to get started. For years I wanted to learn to coupon and never did, until one day someone explained all of the secrets and made couponing simple for me!

This post is going to make creating a budget simple for you. We’ll talk about the different ways we can budget and when we’re done you should be able to choose one that works for you or be able to fashion a few together to make it work for you!

We’ll discuss:

Budget Worksheets
Budget Plans
Budget Apps
Budget Templates
Budget Tools
Monthly Budget Spreadsheets
And more

I remember when I first set out on my journey to lose over 100 lbs and lose Type 2 Diabetes. I KNEW beyond a shadow of a doubt that I had to do it in a way that would work for me forever, a way that was easy for me and fit into my lifestyle. Otherwise, I knew I would fail and fall right back in it, in days, months or even years. Here it is over 5 years later and the weight is still gone as well as the Type 2 Diabetes, my lifestyle is still working for me!

That’s the way it has to be with any major life decision, and budgeting is definitely a life decision, so find what works for you and your family comfortably and it will continue to work. Make sure you don’t set yourself up for failure, be sure you can do what you put in your budget.

If you are spending $1500 a month on groceries and you put in that you’re going to drop that to $1300, great! But, if you’re spending $1000 a month on groceries and decide to cut it down to $500 a month, that may be setting yourself up to fail. Be smart and cautious and you’ll get there!

Let’s look at some of the ways you can start making a budget:

Family Budget Planner

We’ll start with a family budget planner, some might call a household budget planner. All this is is what you currently spend and/or the amount you want to shoot for spending. Like we said above, if you find that you spend $1500 a month on groceries and feel like you want or you can cut that down, then “budget” or plan for that amount.

How do you find out what you spend on things like gas and groceries? Just look back over the last month or two in your bank records where you used your debit card(s) and you’ll be able to tell.

Also you want to make sure you know how much things cost. At the grocery store especially – prices rise and fall but, they do so in a pattern that you can watch for. There is a high and low for every product and it runs through those prices in a 6-12 week cycle, generally. So, you need to know what the high price is for the products you use on a regular basis (and never buy at that price) and what the low price is for them and when you find that low price you can add a coupon, or app to the deal and buy a few so that you don’t run out when it’s at the high price.

You can watch my FREE video and download my free price book sheets to be able to track it find find out those best prices to help you save at the grocery store.

I made a printable Family Budget Planner you can use to start taking control of your family finances. This budget template is simple to use and free so you can get started right away.

Print your Family Budget Planner <— Click here

Household Budget Worksheet

Once you have a budget laid out and plan then you might find a household budget worksheet helpful. With a worksheet you’ll use a new one every month and not only right down what you expect to make, spend, and save for the month, but, you’ll also be able to track what you actually made, spent, and saved for the month and if there was a difference in what you expected and what actually happened and use that to determine where you can save. Maybe you’ll see you pay more for eating out than you thought or you see that the TV bill looks higher than you like and maybe you can look for ways to cut it down.

The worksheets will help you throughout the year, too, as you look back and see how far you’ve come or maybe you fallen a little short and can track how that happened and fix it.

I made a printable Household Budget Worksheet you can use to start tracking your finances and find ways to get on top of it all.

Get your Household Budget Worksheet <— Click here

Monthly Budget Spreadsheet

Some people like paper and pencil and some are more tech oriented. That’s why there’s value to both a printable budget and an online budget spreadsheet. With a budget spreadsheet you can easily make changes and corrections as well as have it set up to do the math for you. If you tend to make mistakes balancing your checkbook – we’ve all been there – then a spreadsheet online may make more sense for you.

You can make one in Excel or I prefer Google Sheets because it does pretty much all the same stuff and it’s free… I do love me some free! But, if you have Excel and can use it… I’m just saying I know some people who have it but, have no idea how to use it… lol you can absolutely make one in Excel that works for you and your budget.

Another great thing about the online spreadsheet budget is you can adapt it and change it along the way to make it perfect for your needs! All of the months are in the same file, too, you just have to change the month name on the tab at the bottom and then you can switch between them.

Here’s one I made to help get you started. Online Budget Spreadsheet <— click here to download it. This will work in Excel or you can download the file and then drag it into Google Drive to open it in Google Sheets (which is free)

To Download The Online Budget Spreadsheet <— Click here

Cash Envelope System

This is simple way of budgeting that helps you stay on track. You may want to start this way of budgeting and then move on to another that works for you once you get used to having a budget.

Basically with this method you set up envelopes with all of your expenses. You would have an envelope for rent, electricity, gas, groceries, etc. Then you take your income and put the actual cash in each envelope for each expense.

You know how much your basic bills are or you should. Your rent, car payment, insurance are all the same each month, you know exactly how much to put in those envelopes. As your bills come in place the bill amount in cash in that envelope. When it comes time to pay your bills you use what’s in the envelope. If you have $200 in your envelope for groceries you need to stay within that budget – once the money in the envelope is gone it’s gone until next month or week. With this system you do not borrow from one envelope to help with another. It’s very strict, but, it’s a great way to get started and get your feet wet.

Apps & Budget Tools

There are lots of apps for everything, we know that – well, there are lots of apps for budgeting, too. If you’re serious about starting to get your finances in order – clear out those games and download a few apps that will help you financially. These budget tools are just a few out there,

Here are some suggestions:

13 Must Have Money Saving Apps
These apps will give you cash back at the store and often they make things free and you can actually make a little money, too.

Dave Ramsey’s Every Dollar App
Budgeting in EveryDollar is easy — it takes less than 10 minutes to create your first budget!

Mvelopes App

Envelope Budgeting on the go!
Track your bills, manage your budget, plan ahead, and more… instantly, from anywhere!
Real Time Budget Updates
Capture receipts in real time so you can update your budget at the point of purchase.
Not Just A Budgeting App
Mvelopes is part of a bigger home financial program that can make the most of the money you make.
Personal Finances, Made Easy
Make informed decisions as you go by always knowing what you have left to spend.

Buxfer
Buxfer helps you see all your accounts at one place, understand where your money goes, reduce unwanted spending, and save for future goals.

Calendar Budget
CalendarBudget is web-based online personal finance software that runs in your browser or mobile device. It is designed to be easy to use and to allow you to both TRACK and PLAN your money in the past and future. It’s an easy to use online money planner with no complicated system that takes weeks to get used to – just walk up and use!

Mint
At last, your bills and money are together in one place and easier than ever to manage. Just add your bills to see how helpful we can be.

Now you have choices and help, there’s no reason you can’t or shouldn’t start budgeting now. With all of the tools available to you and all of the different ways to do it, there’s no way to fail. Get started now.

Do you have a creative way of budgeting you’d like to share? We’d love to hear it! Just leave it in the comments below.

Save Money On Groceries! 10 Easy Tips To Lower Your Grocery Bill!

by Dian 2 Comments

Save Money On Groceries! 10 Easy Tips To Lower Your Grocery Bill!

Our grocery bill can be the biggest financial challenge we face month to month or even week to week! Many times I have had people ask me “How can I lower my bills?” I think the best way to start and the easiest is to tackle the grocery bill.

There are many ways to save on groceries. You can coupon shop, you can buy store brands, you can watch the sales and only buy things on sale. Much of which can be overwhelming and who has time for all of that?

There are still ways to lower your bills and get cheap groceries. This post will explain how to save money on groceries to help get your finances back in check. Click here to get your own free printable Monthly Budget Worksheet.

Here are 10 easy tips to lower your grocery bill:

Use Smartphone apps

I LOVE smartphone apps! They are free to download to your phone and free to use – but, what’s more they make YOU money! Basically most of them are cash back apps where you choose what you’re going to purchase and when you have done so, you just scan your receipt into your phone and the app checks it and gives you money back! No coupons needed! Here is a list of 13 FREE Must Have Money Saving Apps!

Don’t Pay The Grocery Store To Do The Work For You

I remember the first time I went to the grocery store and saw already chopped onions prepared for me to purchase. I thought that was the coolest thing ever! Then I thought about the fact that it probably costs more, and it does. So, then you have to weigh that out. Here’s part of the issue: normally when you buy a product already prepared, ie: chopped onions, shredded carrots, shredded cheese, you are getting less and paying more. There is less than a normal sized onion in the container, yet you pay for at least a full sized onion, same with all of the others. So, don’t pay the grocery store to do your work. It is more convenient, but, think about how convenience stores started and how much more everything there costs, it’s the same thing.

Check Unit Prices

Always check the tags on the shelf. Look at that unit price, are 2 of the smaller ones less than the larger one? Most of the time we think that the larger one holds more and is less than buying 2. Sometimes that’s the case, but often it’s not. By the same token, the larger one will cost more usually (I have seen that not be the case, too) and we may opt for the smaller one, but, when we look at the unit price we may just find that the larger is less expensive after all for the amount we are receiving. So, make sure you know how much you are paying per ounce or unit before you opt for the larger OR the smaller item.

Don’t Shop At Eye Level

Do you know how many things go into the making of a grocery store? There is an actual science behind it. Did you know that there are small bumps that you don’t even feel that slow down your cart in certain areas of the store? Did you know that most people go into a store and turn right? That’s not coincidence they WANT you to do that! Try going the other way around once, you’ll see a whole different store. Did you know that often the most expensive brand items are at eye level on the shelves? If you venture to look higher or lower, you’ll often find better prices and deals.

Buy In Bulk

This is where a couponer lives. They wait for a great deal, match it with a coupon, and buy as many as it takes to get through until that next great sale. A couponer doesn’t have to buy to the high price, they can wait for that next great sale and coupon to come together because they bought enough to wait out the sale and coupon during the last sale. So, when you find a good deal, take advantage of it. No, you don’t have to buy 68 bags of cat food. But, (if you have a cat) buy enough during that great deal to get you to the next great deal.

Buy Store Brands

There are certain items I am brand loyal about: Ruffles (no other chip holds up), Diet Coke, Starbucks coffee. But, there are other items I don’t really care too much about: mustard, salt, milk, beans, rice, toothpaste, etc. For the things that you aren’t brand loyal to, consider buying the store brand, which is almost always less expensive.

Meal Plan Or Just Make A List

It’s better if we make a plan and make a list. Stick to the plan and list. Meal planning is easy and so convenient. You never have to worry what you’re making for dinner tonight – it’s in the plan and you already bought everything you needed and have it all available because you made a plan and a list! There’s nothing more frustrating, time consuming, and expensive, than having to stop what you’re preparing to run to the store and buy an ingredient that you are out of or you forgot. Both of which can be remedied by having a plan and making a list. (Did I mention having a plan and making a list enough? It’s important! lol)

Price Match

Most of the larger stores (Walmart, Target, etc) offer price matching of local stores. So, there is no need to run around to 7 different stores to get the best deals. Just get the circulars from the paper, find the best deals on what you have on your list and use those to get the same price at your store. That’s it, so easy.

Shop At The Best Times

Once a week your store will move meat to a special area I call “the cheap meat section”. Find out when that happens at your store, ask the butcher, and shop that day. Stock up on good deals you know your family will eat and then freeze them. Sometimes we can get a month’s worth very inexpensively by checking that section and stocking up!

Pay Attention To Prices

This is a couponers trick. Couponers use a price book to track prices week to week so they know that there is a cycle of prices for any particular item. The price starts high and dips and may go back up and then way down. When you know what the “buy price” of an item is, you don’t buy it unless it hits that price or lower. When it does hit that price or lower you might have a coupon ready and you can strike!

This is when you buy plenty to last – now you know the cycle because you’ve have been using your price book, so you know about when that price will drop again and how many you’ll need to buy to last until then. Just pay attention to the prices of the things you buy on a regular basis and you will begin to see that cycle and you’ll know what the “buy price” is and you’ll know that’s the time to buy!

So, those are the 10 tips to lower your grocery bill and save money on groceries – do you have some you’d like to share? We’d love to hear them!

Interested in couponing or learning to coupon?

When I hear people tell me that they don’t have time to coupon, I hear “I don’t want to coupon.”. It can be an overwhelming undertaking if you don’t know how to get started. I completely understand that, which is why I have put together so many free resources to help you get started: