Money Saving Tips

Here are some quick tips to help you manage your finances:

-Make Multiple Meals at a time to Freeze:  When you just don’t know what to make for dinner, instead of going out, you can pull out a meal, defrost, and eat at home for a fraction of the cost.

-Keep track of your savings and spending.  Once you realize how much you are saving, you will be motivated to continue.

-Plan your shopping trips – Create an ongoing list of items you need to purchase at each store.  That way when you go, you aren’t picking up unnecessary items.

-Don’t buy what you don’t need.  If you pick something up because it’s a “great deal” and then you end up throwing it away or never using it – it instantly becomes a bad deal.  The point is to save money on those items that you would normally purchase or items that you would like to purchase and will use.   If you do find that you have overbought – donate it!  There are many people out there in need of a helping hand.  Contact your church and they will be glad to take any donation that you have.

-Build up your supply of coupons.  You’ll be surprised at how quickly your stash will grow.   Pick up your Sunday paper (check your local dollar store to see if they sell it – I know Dollar Tree does),  print out online coupons that you need, save your peelies, and before you know it you’ll have tons of coupons to use.  Now make sure that keep your stock updated.  Try to go through your coupons every two weeks and removed expired coupons.  If you notice that you are throwing away a lot of your internet coupons – think about it and maybe you shouldn’t be printing so many.  It’s easy  to get caught up in all the madness of the coupon world.  Just use your common sense.

-Cash vs Credit – To keep it simple – if you have a running balance on your credit card that you do not pay off each month, it is best to purchase your groceries with cash.  If you pay off your credit card each month and you actually earn rewards, go ahead and use it but still keep track of your expenditures.