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.
Friday, February 1, 2013
SAVE MONEY ON ENERGY DURING ANY SEASON
Energy costs are one of the few things in life that you have some control over. There are limits to controlling these costs such as maintaining a level of warmth in your home so you don’t freeze or have to replace some burst pipes. However, just stepping back and looking around the house and seeing where you may save a little money on heat be able to save you at least a modest fortune.
Caulking around windows and doors is an obvious way to save on heating costs in the winter and cooling costs in the summer. Keeping doors shut and shutting them as soon as possible can be a valuable way of saving some hard earned dollars over a hot summer or very cold winter season. Another less costly way of controlling the temperature in your home is to open windows early in the morning to cool your house naturally during those horrible summer months. Not only will this give your air conditioner a break for a few hours but you will also get a little fresh air inside your home.
You can change the thermostat’s temperature settings depending on the time of day. This is another way you can save money without much difficulty. Keeping heat mainly in rooms you live in is another way to save some money. One house I owned had extra bedrooms that I seldom used so during the winter months I would close the heating vents into those rooms. Just make sure there are not pipes in the walls or floors in rooms that you shut the heat off. Otherwise you might be in for some expensive repairs.
Dressing appropriately for the season should help you stash some excess cash. Cool cloths in the summer and layered cloths in other seasons will allow you to personally adjust your body comfort without turning up the thermostat until you feel warm.
Over the past years I and many people I know have gone to rechargeable flashlights and outside lights as a means of saving a little bit of money on lighting. My solar lights are bright enough to light up the front porch for a few hours after the sun goes down. You might try adjusting outside lighting use depending on the moon and the clarity of the sky. When the moon is out and the sky is clear it is just like twilight all night long and I can see almost my entire front yard. The moon is a great natural security light and what I find best about it is that moonlight is free.
Rechargeable flashlights have been around for years. You can even find crank rechargeable flashlights, camp lights and radios in many sporting goods departments. I use a camp light as a night light in my bathroom and I always use crank lights when I get up and around at night. These flashlights do have to be cranked (recharged) often but the savings in battery costs alone more than makes up for the slight inconvenience of using a small amount of muscle energy to charge the flashlight.
Saving energy by using less electricity on lighting can be as easy as opening a window to let sunlight in instead of using artificial light. Even the use of a night light in your bedroom can be eliminated just by leaving your blinds open enough to see around your room. Finally, painting your rooms in lighter colors will make it easier to see at night. It’s all about that old physics thing again which tells us that dark colors are better at absorbing light and lighter colors will reflect light better.
Finally, there are many ways of saving money on energy as the seasons change. The most important thing is to plan for these changing seasons by making a list of things you can do to save some money when either the snow is blowing or the hot summer sun is beating down. All in all if you plan, you can save a fortune.
Caulking around windows and doors is an obvious way to save on heating costs in the winter and cooling costs in the summer. Keeping doors shut and shutting them as soon as possible can be a valuable way of saving some hard earned dollars over a hot summer or very cold winter season. Another less costly way of controlling the temperature in your home is to open windows early in the morning to cool your house naturally during those horrible summer months. Not only will this give your air conditioner a break for a few hours but you will also get a little fresh air inside your home.
You can change the thermostat’s temperature settings depending on the time of day. This is another way you can save money without much difficulty. Keeping heat mainly in rooms you live in is another way to save some money. One house I owned had extra bedrooms that I seldom used so during the winter months I would close the heating vents into those rooms. Just make sure there are not pipes in the walls or floors in rooms that you shut the heat off. Otherwise you might be in for some expensive repairs.
Dressing appropriately for the season should help you stash some excess cash. Cool cloths in the summer and layered cloths in other seasons will allow you to personally adjust your body comfort without turning up the thermostat until you feel warm.
Over the past years I and many people I know have gone to rechargeable flashlights and outside lights as a means of saving a little bit of money on lighting. My solar lights are bright enough to light up the front porch for a few hours after the sun goes down. You might try adjusting outside lighting use depending on the moon and the clarity of the sky. When the moon is out and the sky is clear it is just like twilight all night long and I can see almost my entire front yard. The moon is a great natural security light and what I find best about it is that moonlight is free.
Rechargeable flashlights have been around for years. You can even find crank rechargeable flashlights, camp lights and radios in many sporting goods departments. I use a camp light as a night light in my bathroom and I always use crank lights when I get up and around at night. These flashlights do have to be cranked (recharged) often but the savings in battery costs alone more than makes up for the slight inconvenience of using a small amount of muscle energy to charge the flashlight.
Saving energy by using less electricity on lighting can be as easy as opening a window to let sunlight in instead of using artificial light. Even the use of a night light in your bedroom can be eliminated just by leaving your blinds open enough to see around your room. Finally, painting your rooms in lighter colors will make it easier to see at night. It’s all about that old physics thing again which tells us that dark colors are better at absorbing light and lighter colors will reflect light better.
Finally, there are many ways of saving money on energy as the seasons change. The most important thing is to plan for these changing seasons by making a list of things you can do to save some money when either the snow is blowing or the hot summer sun is beating down. All in all if you plan, you can save a fortune.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON VEGETABLE GARDEN POISONS
The word ‘poison” does not really sound too good when applied to food out of your garden that you and your family are going to consume. In truth, poison is not something you really want to consume and as a practitioner of the gardening arts I avoid using poison like poison. For no matter how hard you may try to wash the poisons off of your vegetables it will be in the back of your mind that you might not be getting rid of all the poison.
I relegate poison to only those times when nothing else is helping. Then I use a mild and also less expensive poison like Sevin. There are many home remedies for treating disease and infestations of insects and they range in effectiveness at curbing diseases and insects from none to working as well or better than main stream garden center poisons. The main items I use to treat disease and control insects are lemon juice and dish soap. I have found that lemon is a repellant to most many insects (including mosquitoes’ b the way). I have also found that dish soap is fairly effective in getting rid of worm type insects and aiding in protecting your plants from bacterial diseases. Both of these remedies are much cheaper than purchasing standard anti-bacterial and insect killing chemicals. In fact, many garden chemical companies offer their own version of soap for organic gardeners and others who are concerned with the well being of their families. Note: I like to purchase lemon scented dish soap so I’m sort of getting a bigger bang for my buck.
Of course the cheapest way of avoiding the expense of high priced poisons is to be proactive in your garden. Many people remember that as children one of their first gardening experiences was being placed in charge of picking tomato worms off of the tomato plants. Certainly hand picking insects off of your plants is the cheapest way of pest control. Cutting infected fruits, leaves and, branches from your crops should always be done to help curb the spread of bacterial diseases. Again, this is the cheapest form of disease control.
Now when it comes to controlling weeds in my vegetable garden I never use any chemicals at all. I pull out weeds and if I can’t pull them out I use a hoe to chop them out. Depending on how often it rains, you many have to pull and/or hoe weeds every week or two. Using muscle instead of poison will always be the most inexpensive way to control weeds.
Overall, you can cut back or curtail altogether the use of chemicals on you vegetable garden. This might improve not only your financial situation but it could in the long run improve on your health costs. Either way, there are ways to garden and save a fortune.
I relegate poison to only those times when nothing else is helping. Then I use a mild and also less expensive poison like Sevin. There are many home remedies for treating disease and infestations of insects and they range in effectiveness at curbing diseases and insects from none to working as well or better than main stream garden center poisons. The main items I use to treat disease and control insects are lemon juice and dish soap. I have found that lemon is a repellant to most many insects (including mosquitoes’ b the way). I have also found that dish soap is fairly effective in getting rid of worm type insects and aiding in protecting your plants from bacterial diseases. Both of these remedies are much cheaper than purchasing standard anti-bacterial and insect killing chemicals. In fact, many garden chemical companies offer their own version of soap for organic gardeners and others who are concerned with the well being of their families. Note: I like to purchase lemon scented dish soap so I’m sort of getting a bigger bang for my buck.
Of course the cheapest way of avoiding the expense of high priced poisons is to be proactive in your garden. Many people remember that as children one of their first gardening experiences was being placed in charge of picking tomato worms off of the tomato plants. Certainly hand picking insects off of your plants is the cheapest way of pest control. Cutting infected fruits, leaves and, branches from your crops should always be done to help curb the spread of bacterial diseases. Again, this is the cheapest form of disease control.
Now when it comes to controlling weeds in my vegetable garden I never use any chemicals at all. I pull out weeds and if I can’t pull them out I use a hoe to chop them out. Depending on how often it rains, you many have to pull and/or hoe weeds every week or two. Using muscle instead of poison will always be the most inexpensive way to control weeds.
Overall, you can cut back or curtail altogether the use of chemicals on you vegetable garden. This might improve not only your financial situation but it could in the long run improve on your health costs. Either way, there are ways to garden and save a fortune.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
PICK A COIN AND SAVE A FORTUNE
The thing about saving money is you have to make it something that is fun. It’s not just the kids that need to have fun saving money but you personally need to have fun which means you have to get a kick out of what you have done. Saving money is all about finding personal satisfaction in what you have accomplished.
An easy way to have fun while saving money is just to pick a common coin that you get in change; a penny, nickel, dime or, quarter in the U.S. and every time you get home from work or a store you sort that coin out of your change and you save it. You can save that coin in a bottle, can or, piggy bank. The important thing is that you establish a habit for yourself to save that coin.
Of course before you start saving you should set some goals or reasons why you are saving a particular coin out of your change. Otherwise without goals you will be tempted to raid your piggy bank of coins whenever you go to the store. This will destroy the discipline of saving money and in the end, you will end up with a bunch of stuff you bought not because you needed to but such stuff but, because you could buy such stuff and it made you feel good to spend the money.
So the coin(s) you save should be designated for a particular purchase. It could be for Christmas or Hanukah gifts or it could be for an appliance or maybe a trip. The thing is whatever you designate the saving of a particular coin for, it should be more important to you than just stuffing your change into a piggy bank. Otherwise, your saved coins will be spent on lunch or groceries.
Getting your kids to pick a coin and save might lead to astronomical savings for yourself and teach your children that stuff is not free. Have them save a particular coin to buy a video game they want or to buy the latest very cloths that all the other kids are wearing. Rather than hitting mom and dad up for $10, $20 or, $50 for whatever a kid thinks they need immediately it will force him/her to maybe think ahead of the moment and perhaps evaluate whether or not they really want something. Letting kids save for what is really important to them will empower them in the long run to be better consumers. Making choices as to how money is spent (a scarce resource for most people) is perhaps the most important life lesson that anyone can learn.
An easy way to have fun while saving money is just to pick a common coin that you get in change; a penny, nickel, dime or, quarter in the U.S. and every time you get home from work or a store you sort that coin out of your change and you save it. You can save that coin in a bottle, can or, piggy bank. The important thing is that you establish a habit for yourself to save that coin.
Of course before you start saving you should set some goals or reasons why you are saving a particular coin out of your change. Otherwise without goals you will be tempted to raid your piggy bank of coins whenever you go to the store. This will destroy the discipline of saving money and in the end, you will end up with a bunch of stuff you bought not because you needed to but such stuff but, because you could buy such stuff and it made you feel good to spend the money.
So the coin(s) you save should be designated for a particular purchase. It could be for Christmas or Hanukah gifts or it could be for an appliance or maybe a trip. The thing is whatever you designate the saving of a particular coin for, it should be more important to you than just stuffing your change into a piggy bank. Otherwise, your saved coins will be spent on lunch or groceries.
Getting your kids to pick a coin and save might lead to astronomical savings for yourself and teach your children that stuff is not free. Have them save a particular coin to buy a video game they want or to buy the latest very cloths that all the other kids are wearing. Rather than hitting mom and dad up for $10, $20 or, $50 for whatever a kid thinks they need immediately it will force him/her to maybe think ahead of the moment and perhaps evaluate whether or not they really want something. Letting kids save for what is really important to them will empower them in the long run to be better consumers. Making choices as to how money is spent (a scarce resource for most people) is perhaps the most important life lesson that anyone can learn.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
ALWAYS GET MULTIPLE ESTIMATES BEFORE YOU COMMIT! FOR A PRODUCT OR SERVICE
Even though we intuitively know that it is wrong, for convince we often agree for a product or service with the first person we’ve come into contact with that offers that product or service. We must always keep in the back of our mind that when we purchase products or services (particularly expensive ones) that we live in a competitive society and that there might be someone out there that can provide a product or service cheaper or even of higher quality then the first person we talk to.
It can be quite astounding the differences in prices given by various individuals. Of course some of that occurs because of overhead differences. For instance a drywall contractor who pays most of his employee’s health benefits might have to charge more than one that pays the minimum benefits he is required by law or contract to provide.
Now there is something to be said for using that first person you talk to about providing a service or product if they come either highly recommended by trusted others or you’ve done business with them before. Still, seeking competitive bids from others could help to keep the person you want to handle the service or job stay competitive in his or her prices. Should the person you want to do the job be somewhat higher on their price then others then tell that person the prices quoted by others. Although that person you want may only lower his price a small amount if anything thing at all that seller of a product or service should offer you a plausible explanation as to why the prices are different. If that seller cannot then perhaps you should cross that person off the list of persons you will do business with.
It can be quite astounding the differences in prices given by various individuals. Of course some of that occurs because of overhead differences. For instance a drywall contractor who pays most of his employee’s health benefits might have to charge more than one that pays the minimum benefits he is required by law or contract to provide.
Now there is something to be said for using that first person you talk to about providing a service or product if they come either highly recommended by trusted others or you’ve done business with them before. Still, seeking competitive bids from others could help to keep the person you want to handle the service or job stay competitive in his or her prices. Should the person you want to do the job be somewhat higher on their price then others then tell that person the prices quoted by others. Although that person you want may only lower his price a small amount if anything thing at all that seller of a product or service should offer you a plausible explanation as to why the prices are different. If that seller cannot then perhaps you should cross that person off the list of persons you will do business with.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)