Window Shopper

Welcome back!

I realize that there will be repeats in the things that I list. Frankly, I do not always recall everything I write out and sometimes there isn’t enough time to go looking at all the posts so…I will do my best to come up with fresh ideas for you.

The biggest outgo of money that can be worked on is the food budget. This is a place where you can save a bundle if you shop in the right frame of mind and armed with some knowledge. I certainly wish I had had this when I was a lot younger. So, here are some more tips for the grocery store and your budget:

Tip: As always, arm yourself with a list of items you plan to buy and stick within that list. You will need to be strong because just about the time you have the list, six things you didn’t know you wanted are sitting there on the end of the aisle on sale. So, read the sale in the paper as you make that list. Although there will be sale items not in the paper, you want to stick with your list and your budget. However, budget in some of those sale items before you leave the house. Then, choose to get one or two of them.

Tip: One of the things that has saved us a lot of money is to buy in bulk. Bulk means simply buying at a lower price for a lot more of the product. When you do this, you do save an amazing amount of money. Buy at places like a Sav-a-lot, bulk warehouses where they sell only by the case or Aldi’s where the prices are great on generic or store brands that taste exactly like the name brands. There are so many things you can buy that way. Meat, canned goods, pet foods, cleaning supplies, toilet paper and much more. Try it and see how much you can save.

Tip: Speaking of off brands, whatever store you choose to buy from, go for the generic brands or store brands instead of the nationally known brands that cost sometimes twice as much.

Tip: Back to bulk buying…if you are unable to buy that much at a time (we know about that), find a friend or family member who is willing to split the cases with you. This way you still get the bargain of the bulk price but do not have to pay out quite as much. That works especially well if you have space problems. (you could split the tab on the gas used as well..This is win, win)

Tip: You will want to learn how to cook from scratch so that you don’t need prepared food packages. Those cost at least 2-10 times the price of what it would cost to make it yourself. We have homemade food almost all the time. We almost never use any type of packaged foods. When you are in a pince, maybe Hamburger Helper works but if you have all the ingredients or most of them, throw it all together with a few spices and it’s a treat for the family. (Spices make the difference here ..well that and freshly made food instead of out of a box)

Look for more tips from the Window Shopper. Happy Shopping!!

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Saving money starts with the person wanting more for their buck in a world where they all want to take that buck and give less and less product or service for it. You have to be able to outsmart the grabbers. Especially if you live on a fixed income or the income is in micro-check, you need to be smart, stay smart and win, win, win! To do that, you have to win the battles too. So, how do we do that? Here are some tips on what you can save money on. Uh, don’t be resistant to change. These are tried and true ways to help keep more cash in the pocket:

Tip: I dunno how many times I have to say this but…DO NOT go to the grocery store hungry. Cardinal rule. I have broken that one so many times, it is not funny and neither is the bill I paid when I pulled that stunt.

Tip: Try not to go to the store with the kids. Bringing the kids usually will add many dollars to the bill. However, if you must bring them (I do understand that sometimes there simply is no other way), teach them how to shop too. Give them a choice of one thing or another but not both. They can have a treat or a toy. The toy has to be cheap. Budget this into the the list so that it is not a surprise at the checkout counter. Under no circumstances do you allow your children to blackmail (with tears and/or screaming. I know. You feel like a child abuser when they get to screaming but you are the adult. Time to tell them NO!) you into buying something they threw into the cart now that you are already at the checkout. Tell the cashier that you do not want to buy the item. They will put it back.

Tip: Use cash when possible. Now, this does not mean that since you didn’t go to the bank, you need to use that credit card. No, that’s an excuse. Get money from the ATM until you learn to get cash before the store trip. Cash is your friend. You can see it leaving your hand. You do spend less when you use cash most of the time.

Tip: Keep a change jar. Put all change from using cash in the jar when you get home. It will add up fast. Uh uh. Do not use it. Save for a rainy day. If the day does not come within a fixed period of time, put it in the bank or whatever other savings plan you have.

Tip: Find products you love. Get the coupons for it online. When you have the product, call the company and sign on for their freebies and samples. Many companies do this to promote their products.

Tip: Become a yard sale lover. (no, not the kind that gets women or men at yard sales. LOL!) Search out the yard sales in your area and attend. But, be sure to get there early. Most early birds are those who buy antiques and get the bargains at small prices because they deal with the person selling their stuff. Why do they get a bargain? First, they know what to look for. Second, they get there early and negotiate before others can be there. The seller then thinks this is the best deal and sells the item. Might not be true but the bargain buyer gets the bargain. It IS true..the early bird gets the worm…in this case..bargain.

More soon from the Window Shopper. Happy Shopping!

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One thing that I have found out over the years is that I am horrible at organizing anything..until I really think about it. Then, it can be somewhat easier. Frankly, I am not the most organized person on the face of the earth anyway. Yet, to save money and to have your house in order at the same time, organization is one of the keys to success.

What do I mean? Ah, let’s see. First, if you are already an organizer, it is unlikely that I will have news for you but for those who have no organizing skills at all, I can help a bit anyway. Do you see that pile of bills over there on the desk? That pile that grows every month but some do not get paid because you decided long ago that you wanted to pay them but the money ran out before the bills did? Do you see those kids’ toys scattered all over the room? See that pile of dishes in the sink? Am I calling you a slob? If you are a guy, maybe. HAHA! If a gal, probably not. She will have the excuse that she does not have time. The guy will simply look at it and say, ah, I can do that tomorrow. But then, tomorrow never comes. (Isn’t that a Bond movie?)

Okay, you have the piles of books, whatever. Now what? For the bills, it’s as easy as sorting them out by importance. The ones on the top are really important and must be addressed first. Now, a tip here? Your latest magazine subscription is NOT important. The cable bill isn’t either. Are the lights getting turned off soon? Really need that gas coming in to keep the stove going? How about water? Need that? Oh yes, I’m guessing the mortgage payment is there too. Think you might want to move soon? If not, it has to be a priority.

Now, if you have a filing cabinet use it to file bills by their type and so they do not get lost. (the companies really don’t care if you lost the bill. They want to be paid, no matter what.) The dividers can be set up so that it can be by any sort of system you want. That’s the beauty of this. You find things by what you want to do. But, bills do need to be paid in order of importance.

This will very likely make you scratch your head but the first person you pay is yourself. Put aside some dollars for that rainy day when the car breaks down or the kids are sick and need a doctor. Do not simply believe that somehow it will be okay. It only takes a few dollars put away each payday to accumulate to an impressive amount. But, DO NOT use that to buy what you have been wanting for the last six years. It is emergency money.

Then, pay the normal every month bills first. Prioritize by importance. If you have someone coming after you for a debt and it’s going to mean something going back, decide if it’s REALLY important or not. The TV isn’t as important as the car. Your newest sofa is not that important. We lived without furniture in our house for months before we could afford to have some. Believe me, I have been there. All the way from having nowhere to live to a nice house and a little bit of income that goes over and above the “have to haves” like food, clothes and shelter.

I know what some of you are thinking. “I don’t have enough to pay the big bills, let alone the extra bills.” Been there. You still must prioritize what you can pay and what can wait a little longer. If there are overdue bills, call the people and tell them your problem. Some of them are totally crappy about it but at least you tried. Be NICE. Nice goes a long way, believe me. I have had really overdue bills that they were going to shut stuff off. They were cranky and nasty to me. I stayed calm and tried to be as nice as possible. (not so easy with some people) Not always, but on several occasions I was given extra time because I was nice. They really are not used to that, you know. See if the place has a way to pay in installments. Be careful there. We have a light company that will do that BUT if we do, the company still wants their NEXT bill in full PLUS the overdue money, even in payments. (Light companies do what’s called levelized billing. That works for some people. It keeps the bill as an average instead of high bills here and low there. Try that if it works in your case. Not all households are suitable for this) So, be sure you know what they want before you agree.

The toys. Do you have somewhere the kids’ toys could go, like a toybox? If not, either find a good sturdy box and use that or get some type of wooden box. Teach the kids to play the “Mary Poppins game” of putting things away. When they learn this as a game, they will continue to do it. The kids will learn this if you stick with it. There might be resistance at first but if you make it fun, anything can be accomplished.

If you have the bucks, go to a discount store and buy some bookshelves. Then, use those for books, DVDs, CDs or anything else that is not organized and in piles. Do you know that the way to teach a kid to be as messy as possible is to be disorganized and messy yourself? Hate to say it but…monkey see, monkey do. If your kids are sort of out of control in that area, maybe you need to look in the mirror. It’s an eye opener. Ask me how I know.

Speaking of fun, you might try that for yourself. When it’s time to do the chores, put on some great music from your teen years. I love that stuff and at my age too. When the kids are down for a nap, take that time for yourself to unwind. Get a good book out.

How does all this save money? Well, if you didn’t lose the bills, you pay them. Eventually, they go away. You start with the one that is the lowest bill. Pay it off or in as large a payment as possible. It gets paid off really soon. Then you put money on the next highest bill. When the debts are paid off, look at the money you now have for other needs and wants. Celebrate. You saved yourself some money. Oh yes, if you have money to spare, NOW you can buy that thing you have been wanting for the last six months. It’s a reward.

More organizational tips in the future. Happy Shopping!!!

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This has already been a really hot summer. (I should have put this up a month ago) There are ways that you can save at this time of year as well as in the winter when it gets incredibly cold. Probably hard to imagine right now, huh? So, here are some tips for that and a couple of stray tips too.

Tip: In the summer, put the thermostat up a couple of degrees from what you’re used to. It will save money and you will not really notice after a short while. And in the winter, put the thermostat down a couple of degrees for the same reason. Believe me, you won’t notice it after a while.

Tip: You will want to check your home to see if it is working at maximum efficency. If it leaks either cool or heat out, then you need to caulk the windows and insulate them. Be sure to check and change the filters on your air conditioner or furnace.

Tip: Call your local electric company to see if they have time-of-day rates. This is when customers are willing to shut things down at peak times to save money. Using electricity at peak times will raise your bill dramatically.

Now for the odd tips:

Tip: When you buy canned ham, slice it or cube it and then freeze it for when you need ham for sandwiches or soups, stews or casseroles.

Tip: The word is ORGANIZE. Put coupons in a file specifically for that. Don’t buy brand names of food products unless there is no other way.

Happy Shopping!!!

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I love finding new ways to save money. Some of them are so practical but I had never heard of them before. Some are tried and true ways to save. Some are in between but they all have one thing in common, a way to save money, time or effort. The first one is particularly great for me. I had no idea you could do this!!!

Tip: Have you ever heard of making your own powdered sugar? I could not believe this until I read it. So, you can put any amount of sugar (for instance, a cup) into a blender. It will double and become (2 cups) powdered sugar. Is that great or what.

Tip: If you buy cheese in bulk, you can do so many things with it. Buy the brick to slice and wrap your own for sandwiches. Individually wrapped slices of cheese is quite expensive. Buy the brick and shred your own, put in smaller packs for handy use. We buy 5 lbs. of shredded cheese at a wonderfully reduced price. Then, you can freeze any that you are not going to use right away.

Tip: There are so many of the fresh veggies that you can simply chop and freeze to keep for the times when they aren’t available. How about fresh chives or parsley? You can dry it, chop and freeze for when you need something fast.

Tip: If some of the veggies are starting to wilt a bit because they hung around the fridge too long…no problem. Simply chop and saute. There you have it! Soup and casserole material!

Tip: Speaking of saute, you can do that with mushrooms too. I love sauted mushrooms. Haven’t tried this tip yet but it sounds great. For those last leftover mushrooms, saute. Let them cool and put them into an ice cube tray to freeze. Then bag em up in freezer bags for soups and stews or casseroles. Not bad, huh?

Now for a couple of goodies for at the grocery store:

Tip: I cannot say this enough..watch for the sales!!! I do that and get some terrific bargains on things I was going to buy anyway. That would be the trick here. They need to be things you put on your list.

Tip: Grocery stores sometimes have a store card that will give you unadvertized specials.

That’s all for now from the Window Shopper. Happy Shopping!!!

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I know. That’s a shocker of a statement when you consider that I love to shop. However, the problem is that the bigger ticket items are not something I know about. Grrrrr. So, I started to look up some tips for buying things like appliances and cars. Needless to say, it would be great if I could save money on them. So, here are a few tips I found.

Tip: When you’re about to buy a large appliance, call your electric company and see if they have any rebates on the particular brand of appliance you want to buy. They are promoting energy efficency.

Tip: Don’t buy new. Find almost new items. They will likely still have the warranty on the item. Very often, the barely used appliance will be what you want and not have much wear at all.

Tip: Research your choice and get the best price possible. Print that out and take it with you. Ask your dealer to match the price.

Tip: New cars. Before you go to the sales lot, check out the market value (what customers are paying) of the car and the invoice price (what the dealer pays for the car). Armed with that information, you can then pick out and negotiate a good price for you instead of them.

Tip: Speaking of new car, when you get the insurance on that car…increase the normal deductible. It does hurt a bit at first but in the long run, it will save you a lot of money.

Now a couple of reality check tips:

Tip: When doing the bills, pay yourself first. If you don’t, you will never save any money. There will always be something that will take the last dime you have. Ask me how I know.

Tip: Decide the difference between want and need. Too many things are really wants. Yes, They are!!! Things come to mind like cable tv, cell phones, gym memberships, preschool, salon goodies like manicures, eating out, vacations, hair coloring, new cars, big houses, computers you are not using for working at home. These are actually wants no matter what you have told yourself. If you are stretching to save a dollar, these are some things that can be given up.

Tip: Eliminate debt…cut up those credit cards..stop maxing them out. Put money away for a future emergency…(eating out is not an emergency). Make sure you plan ahead for everything. Anytime there is a plan, then little things will not bother you nor will big things if you have the emergency covered.

Tip: When paying off the bills, especially medical, pay each a small amount (as much as you can afford without keeping yourself out of back up money). When one of them gets paid off, use that money on the next lowest amount. Take the smallest bill and pay it off. Next month, use that money to start paying off the next lowest bill. After a while, you will notice that most of the bills are getting paid off. All are getting something. At some point, you will be paying out almost all the money to pay the largest bill but you will have already paid off the others.

More from the Window Shopper soon!! Happy Shopping!

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In an effort to spread around the idea of saving money, especially for those of us who really don’t have much, once again, I will give some tips and ideas of what to do at the stores and car dealerships. There are a few tricks of the trade, so to speak. Here are a few more:

Tip: When buying a car, never..never..ever decide on the car based on the monthly payment. Uh uh. If you do that, they gotcha! They can tack on all sorts of extra fees and costs that they…opps…forgot to mention when you agreed to the deal.

Tip: Call several dealerships who have the car you want. Get them to fax or mail you the price sheet on that particular car. Then, armed with the information, go to the dealership and deal with them. The word is NEGOTIATE. That sticker price is NOT the final deal, no matter what they say. If they tell you it’s rock bottom, go out the door. Find another place that will deal with you.

Tip: Do some research on what car you want to buy. Then research the interest rates at which loaning institutions. When you know what and where, get pre-approved for your loan. This way, you control what and where, not the sales person.

Tip: If you want to go out and buy the latest fashions, find the place that has loyalty promotions for their store. Get to know your salesperson and glean info. Sign up for their store promotion mailers. Use their store credit cards, if you are willing to get them. They often give sales and promotions to the card holders only. If that particular store does coupons, grab them. If the store is nationwide or very large regional, go online and find the coupons.

Tip: Getting insurance can be somewhat troubling but it does not have to be. Get competitive quotes. Do not assume that the only insurance company that you can use is the one that came with the car or house. Shop for the best prices with the best options. Most people stay with the insurance company they had when they bought the house or the car. People do not tend to change. They lose a bundle of money that way.

Tip: Call the insurance agent and see if they have discounts available. Sometimes, when you have a great driving record or no accidents, don’t smoke, keep the house up or renovate, pay your premiums on time all the time, there might be discounts. Just because you asked a few months ago does not mean you can’t call again. New discounts and offers show up all the time.

There will be more from the Window Shopper sometime soon. Happy Shopping!!!

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I have already given a number of tips for saving money at the store. Some will be repeats. I’m sorry. They are for those who haven’t looked back into my archive. Others are ones that I have been told or found. So, here are more tips for saving money at the store.

Tip: Before you shop, clip coupons and get others online. (this works for everything, not just food) There are several sites that give coupons for name brand items, some free. Be sure you need the item you have a coupon for. It’s not going to save you money if you find that this is the right time to splurge on something you have wanted for a long time.

Tip: Always try to buy generic or store brand. Not every time, but most of the time, the store brand or the generic are exactly the same as the name brand and equally good. I have a hard time tasting the difference on most of the items we buy that way.

Tip: Since this is still summer time and when fall approaches, there are places and stands that sell fresh produce. Buy in bulk, chop and freeze or can. These things will always be available to you then. Green beans, corn, mushrooms, onions and tomatoes are especially good to fix that way. Put them in a ziplock baggie in amounts that you use regularly. Then when you decide on soup or casseroles, half the work is already done.

Tip: Buy fresh herbs at sale prices. Fresh herbs can last longer if you put them in a jar or other container in some water with stems still on. Put them into the fridge. It keeps them fresh a lot longer. If they start to wilt..chop and freeze.

There will be more tips from the Window Shopper soon. Happy Shopping!!!

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Each time I think of what else I can say to help someone save money, there are more and more ways. Just in my life alone, I see ways to save at the grocery store, appliance stores, discount stores, online stores and auctions. It IS easy if you are watching and learning each time you try it. Some of these things are so easy, others a bit harder. The one thing you have to decide is…do I want to save money? If I do, then I have to cut corners on some things. Each thing I cut will help save more money. Now, do not get obcessive about this, just get smart.

Here are a few more ways to save money in a couple of areas.

Tip: Find forums that deal in saving money and coupons. Trade ideas with others. All ideas are workable for someone.

Tip: There are opportunities online that will allow you to stay home and work. That saves a bunch of money on pre-school and daycare fees for those who have small children. It saves on work clothes too. Not a bad thing.

Tip: Speaking of clothes, sometimes you can find a second hand store that sells barely used clothing. Buy things from there at an incredibly reduced rate. I bought 6 items (blue jeans and shirts) for about $12. They were practically new and showed no wear at all. The kids get new (for them) clothes at dramatically reduced rates so that I can buy them at least a few items that are brand new.

Tip: Buy name brand shoes online. You can actually get new ones for a fraction of the price in the stores. Our family bought Nike shoes for $30 that normally cost over $100.

Tip: Ladies, if you are having problems with saving money, try buying just a couple of pairs of pants with neutral colors or black. Then buy several tunics, shirts, blouses of a variety of colors. Match them up with the neutral pants. You have outfits for all year. Make sure your shoes are neutral colors too. Black is very basic.

Tip: When buying a car..new or used…find out what the invoiced price (what the dealer pays) and the market value (what people are actually paying for the same car) before you go to the dealership. Arm yourself with information, lots of it. Show the dealer what you already know. The price will drop if you negotiate. Don’t assume the sticker price is all you have.

Tip: I guess I put this in all the tips but it is more than worth it to remember…do NOT go grocery shopping hungry. Find a way to have even a small something to eat before you walk in the door. If you don’t, you will find yourself buying all sorts of things not on your list, which you should have planned out ahead of time and have in your hand. Stick to the plan.

More tips will come soon. Happy Shopping!!

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One of the ways I have found to save a lot of money is to buy ground turkey. Now, I know that there are some tried and true blue ground beef eaters out there. I was one of them. I still am at times. However, when heading out to the store, I find that the price of ground beef is jus too high most of the time anymore.

Ground turkey is a wonderful substitute for ground beef in so many recipes. We use it in spaghetti, casseroles, slow cooker meals and so many other things. The taste is not that different and it is so much cheaper that we decided that if the ground beef was not under a dollar a pound, we would buy the ground turkey instead. For years, I was paying almost $1 a pound for ground turkey. Then I found the ALDI’S store in Missouri, just north of where we live about 50 miles. That is not a long way to go to save so much money.

The current price of ground beef around here goes anywhere from about $1.19 a pound to well over $1.79 a pound. That is far too much to pay for ground beef. It’s HAMBURGER, for crying out loud. So, we get our ground turkey at that store and save money. The turkey is currently at 89 cents a pound. We have paid as little as 59 cents a pound at times.

So, try something new. Get the ground turkey and give it a try in some of those dishes that were using beef. You might just be surprised to see that it does not matter so much about the beef and you will save a whole lot of money in the process.

Happy Shopping!!

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