Now it is time for some specific ideas to help you save lots of money over the holidays. I will start by talking about shopping. The first thing you need to do is to draw up a complete list of the people you will need and might need to buy for over the holidays and, place by each name a dollar amount of what you will spend on this person. Also, jot down some ideas as to what this person might want for a gift. After you have your list of potential persons to buy for separate the people into two lists. One will be those you have to buy for (relatives) and the other are those you may have to buy for (co-workers, friends, and neighbors).
To be specific, people you might have to buy for are those that show up with gift either at work or at your doorstep. These people you will hand you a gift and then you can say, “Oh I have something for you too.” The best thing to do in this situation is to have one or too really generic gifts like a box of candy or nuts. The generic gifts should be something you can use as a stocking stuffer for family members should you not need to come up with a gift for your neighbors, co-workers etc.
Once you have the list of people you have to buy for and have a targeted amount of money to spend on each person, add up the amounts of money to get an idea of how much money you will need for Christmas. If you think the total amount will be too much, start going through your list and eliminating a dollar or two from each persons allotment. Do this until you have a total gift expense that will keep you from going into debt. It is a good idea to include what you think you may have to spend on people you might have to buy for. Now you have a total amount of money that you can spend for gifts.
Next, you must figure out how much money you will need to spend for entertaining. This cost will in most cases be primarily for food. Here you will have to use your knowledge of food prices. You may need to look around the local grocery store to see what the prices are for holiday items like hams, turkeys, cheese etc. You should be able to get many of these items on sale right before the holidays but, don’t count on it. Instead use the normal prices to come up with your entertainment budget.
When it comes to entertaining for the holidays, use what you have in storage first. Then, perhaps in the case of parties at least, you might be able to borrow say, a fancy dish for the mashed potatoes or a punch bowl. Many times parents can help out with these items. Do not go out and buy such items for a one time use unless you have no other choice and you cannot find a substitute item. Remember, there are places where you can rent a lot of items such as large coffee pots for parties or chocolate fountains.
Decorating for the holidays should not be expensive. Use what you have first. Borrow from others if you have to and of course, try to make your own decorations. I will soon have a new blog on this site dedicated just to saving money on decorating for the holidays. Until then, try to have a really small budget dedicated for decorations. Maybe you could make up a list of must have decorations and go from there. I would include table settings and napkins with decorations so, you might want to just budget $10.00 for such items and shop early at the dollar stores. Decorations are items most stores only order in once or twice during the holiday season so, if you don’t buy them early, you might not have much choice and what I think is worse, it may cost you more money. The cheaper items always sell out first.
Overall, make budgets for gifts and entertaining over the holidays. Add up your budgets to see if you can afford what you have budgeted and cut a few dollars here and there until your overall budget does not put you into debt. You might also budget some money for travel expenses. Whipping out the credit card at the last minute because you forgot to allot funds for that trip to Wisconsin, will definitely keep you from saving a fortune.
Monday, October 2, 2017
Friday, June 2, 2017
GRILL OUTSIDE AND SAVE BIG BUCKS
I have just gotten done with a delicious lunch featuring ground chuck burgers. They were spectacular. Not only did they taste delicious but, the cost of cooking them was free.
In the past week I have had the local electric utility company come out to my home twice to try to figure out why my electrical use is so low. In other words they are trying to figure out why I am not paying them a lot more money. One thing I do to save money is that on nasty days I eat sandwiches, fruit etc., and on nice days I cook outside. Not heating up the stove on hot days keeps fan and air conditioning costs down which saves a tremendous amount of money.
This all gets back to grilling outdoors and saving money. I do not own a fancy gas grill. I bought a small grill called a hibachi at Rite Aid for $1.99 on clearance a few years ago. It is a very efficient grill and will cook up to 8-10 hamburgers or hot dogs at a time. That is more than most parties need at a time. The only problems that there is no top to keep flies off the food but guess what, someone invented aluminum foil so for a few cents you can easily keep little monster insects off your food and not pay extra dollars for an outdoor stove with a top.
I hate using gas to grill with. That costs more than grilling on the stove and you loose all the outdoor flavors and textures of grilling outside. My little hibachi is a very efficient cooking machine. All I have to provide it with is fuel. Of course many people dabble in buying expensive charcoal or other wood products to heat their food and of course, I never spend even a penny in such endeavors because, all the fuel I use for my hibachi grill I can find in my own backyard.
Fruit trees make some of the best wood to use in your grill although, wood from almost any bush or tree can be used as fuel for your grill. If you have trees like maple, oak etc, you might think about finding a place to set aside your trimmings for a future outdoors party. I have lots of trees on my property so when I am cutting wood I chunk up wood like apple and maple into 2-4 inch chunks. I then let them cure for about two years and then they are better and more efficient at holding a fire for grilling than anything you can buy
In the past week I have had the local electric utility company come out to my home twice to try to figure out why my electrical use is so low. In other words they are trying to figure out why I am not paying them a lot more money. One thing I do to save money is that on nasty days I eat sandwiches, fruit etc., and on nice days I cook outside. Not heating up the stove on hot days keeps fan and air conditioning costs down which saves a tremendous amount of money.
This all gets back to grilling outdoors and saving money. I do not own a fancy gas grill. I bought a small grill called a hibachi at Rite Aid for $1.99 on clearance a few years ago. It is a very efficient grill and will cook up to 8-10 hamburgers or hot dogs at a time. That is more than most parties need at a time. The only problems that there is no top to keep flies off the food but guess what, someone invented aluminum foil so for a few cents you can easily keep little monster insects off your food and not pay extra dollars for an outdoor stove with a top.
I hate using gas to grill with. That costs more than grilling on the stove and you loose all the outdoor flavors and textures of grilling outside. My little hibachi is a very efficient cooking machine. All I have to provide it with is fuel. Of course many people dabble in buying expensive charcoal or other wood products to heat their food and of course, I never spend even a penny in such endeavors because, all the fuel I use for my hibachi grill I can find in my own backyard.
Fruit trees make some of the best wood to use in your grill although, wood from almost any bush or tree can be used as fuel for your grill. If you have trees like maple, oak etc, you might think about finding a place to set aside your trimmings for a future outdoors party. I have lots of trees on my property so when I am cutting wood I chunk up wood like apple and maple into 2-4 inch chunks. I then let them cure for about two years and then they are better and more efficient at holding a fire for grilling than anything you can buy
Thursday, March 2, 2017
CONSULT EXPERTS BEFORE MAKING ANY LARGE PURCHASES
Before committing any of your hard earned money to any purchase, make sure that you have some advice from an objective third party expert. By objective third party expert I mean that said expert will not be paid based upon whether or not you purchase the item. In short, salesmen do not count as objective third party experts even though, they should be an expert on the item they are trying to sell to you.
Accountants, lawyers, mechanics, building inspectors and financial managers are examples of some of the people you may need to talk to before you make your decision. Do not allow anyone to push or bully you into making commitments before your expert has looked at the situation. In fact, if someone is insistent that you act without advice that is a sign that your salesperson might be trying to cover something up.
The major investments most people make are: housing, automobiles, life insurance and, investments. For housing you will need to hire a building inspector to make sure your property is both safe and is free of hidden structural problems. You should also consult an attorney to make sure that there are no liens, back taxes or, other legal problems with your property. The attorney can also look over the paperwork of the closing organization. You would be surprised how many foolish errors are made by companies and people who have spent decades handling closings. Unfortunately, these errors can cost the purchaser a lot of time and money to fix once the closing is over.
Most people know that when they are purchasing an automobile that has a limited or no warranty on it then, a mechanic should look the vehicle over to find any hidden problems that might cost you a lot of money in the near future. Having a mechanic look over your vehicle might seem expensive but, if the mechanic finds any problems you can insist that the problem be fixed at the seller’s expense or you are going to walk away and look for something else. Either way you will more than recoup the cost of the mechanic.
Life insurance is something that most people need to cover debts when they die and/or to take care of dependents. To determine the proper amount of life insurance you should consult a financial councilor and pay them for the service they render and not for any insurance product they may offer to sell to you. They will also give you an idea of the proper amount of insurance you will need and how long you will need to carry it. As you grow older you generally need less life insurance because you have fewer dependents.
Finally, you will need to consult a CPA before you make any major investments. Many investments may have tax ramifications that might haunt you the entire time you own the investment. The tax code is very complicated and changes every year. Limited partnerships, apartment buildings and, commercial real estate are among some of the investments that can easily become tax nightmares both in terms of ease of filing taxes and, ease in which you can sell the property.
Overall, get advice when making large purchases. Don’t be afraid to hire an expert for a few hundred dollars when you could potentially lose tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. Sometimes you do have to spend a little money in order to save a fortune.
Accountants, lawyers, mechanics, building inspectors and financial managers are examples of some of the people you may need to talk to before you make your decision. Do not allow anyone to push or bully you into making commitments before your expert has looked at the situation. In fact, if someone is insistent that you act without advice that is a sign that your salesperson might be trying to cover something up.
The major investments most people make are: housing, automobiles, life insurance and, investments. For housing you will need to hire a building inspector to make sure your property is both safe and is free of hidden structural problems. You should also consult an attorney to make sure that there are no liens, back taxes or, other legal problems with your property. The attorney can also look over the paperwork of the closing organization. You would be surprised how many foolish errors are made by companies and people who have spent decades handling closings. Unfortunately, these errors can cost the purchaser a lot of time and money to fix once the closing is over.
Most people know that when they are purchasing an automobile that has a limited or no warranty on it then, a mechanic should look the vehicle over to find any hidden problems that might cost you a lot of money in the near future. Having a mechanic look over your vehicle might seem expensive but, if the mechanic finds any problems you can insist that the problem be fixed at the seller’s expense or you are going to walk away and look for something else. Either way you will more than recoup the cost of the mechanic.
Life insurance is something that most people need to cover debts when they die and/or to take care of dependents. To determine the proper amount of life insurance you should consult a financial councilor and pay them for the service they render and not for any insurance product they may offer to sell to you. They will also give you an idea of the proper amount of insurance you will need and how long you will need to carry it. As you grow older you generally need less life insurance because you have fewer dependents.
Finally, you will need to consult a CPA before you make any major investments. Many investments may have tax ramifications that might haunt you the entire time you own the investment. The tax code is very complicated and changes every year. Limited partnerships, apartment buildings and, commercial real estate are among some of the investments that can easily become tax nightmares both in terms of ease of filing taxes and, ease in which you can sell the property.
Overall, get advice when making large purchases. Don’t be afraid to hire an expert for a few hundred dollars when you could potentially lose tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. Sometimes you do have to spend a little money in order to save a fortune.
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