Budgeting

Good morning, savvy savers! I hope you are all well rested and ready for a new No-Spend Month daily challenge! 

Today I want to focus on one of the most neglected areas in my home, and perhaps yours, my couponed stockpile. Yes, the cave of Frugal Wonders! My stockpile, housed in my homes basement, though it’s well lit, houses many built-in shelving features, the area still seems to always be in need of rearranging, sorting, and cleaning! The one saving grace of this area, the exhilarating feeling I get each time I am able to gaze over my shelves, from the bins filled with shampoo to the well stocked baskets of paper products, and then proceed to “shop from my home!”  

My stockpile, though hard earned, is an immense blessing to my home. And as they say, to whom much is given, much is asked, and this rule equally applies to my stockpile! My stockpile saves my family thousands of dollars a year, allows me to give generously to my local food pantry and women’s shelter…but I must admit is one of the most neglected area in my home. So, in order for me to be able to adequately access all that I have within in my home, singling out what I will not need to purchase this month, I will be giving my stockpile a much needed Spring Cleaning this afternoon. 

Here are a few tips to get you started:

1) Rotate your stockpile. “Rotating your stockpile” means rotating your stockpile per season. You will need to place goods in order of expiration date, my seasonal usage, as well as keeping climate into consideration; you may need to start storing it in one location for summer and another location for winter, in terms of baking tools, cans, chemicals, etc.

2) Long Term Storage: If you plan to store any item for longer than a week or two, you need to know its long-term storage requirements. Some items will only last months or longer if stored in a cool, dry place. Some items must be stored in a refrigerated or frozen environment in order to last longer. Make lists, and create sub-areas in your stockpile; examples are canned goods, cosmetics, paper products, etc.

3) Take Note of Patterns: Start a list of your product usage, this will allow you to see what you need, will use in a years time, and what should be donated accordingly. Unused goods are cash wasted.

4) Last Forever Items: Nothing lasts forever. Even goods such as bottled water, start to have an altered taste after a decade, so keep this in mind.

5) Canned and Preserved Goods: Keep inventory and note the dates of home-preserved items; a rule of thumbs is to only keep items no longer than two years. 

6) Pests: Pests love your stockpile, almost as much as you do! Be sure to check goods monthly, especially in Summer, and any goods that look altered, chuck immediately! 

7) Dehumidifier: Humidity can alter and mold many goods, so consider running a dehumidifier twice weekly. 

So, today I challenge you to check your shelves, inventory your goods, and make a point of donating all goods that you will not be able to consume, as a family, within one year! For as any couponer knows, cyclical sales, like the tides of the shore, just keep on a comin’! 

Be sure to check back tomorrow for today’s recap, and tomorrow’s new challenge! 

Here’s to saving,

Hello again, savvy savers! As we are nearing the end of another month, I thought I’d share my favorite cyclical purchases for this coming June!

Things to keep a look out for:

• Televisions: The Japanese fiscal year ends in March, which means Japanese-made goods—like tv’s, blueray players and the like—are going to be on sale as they try to get rid of old stock. 
• Cookware & Kitchen Accessories: As graduation season draws closer, you’ll see a lot of sales for common graduation gifts. So be sure to take advantage of the graduation-centric sales.
• Vacuum Cleaners: New vacuums usually don’t come out until June, so older models, 2012-2014, are now starting to be on sale for as much as 75% off!
• Dishware: Wedding season hits its peak in the early summer, and dishware companies respond by slashing prices for all those young lovebirds that have it on their registries. You can find savings of 25 to 50% off!
• Gym Memberships: Summer isn’t the best time for gyms. Everyone’s forgotten their New Year’s resolutions, and those that haven’t are exercising outside in the nice weather, so now is a good time to haggle on a membership, or seek out equipment for a discount.
• Tools: Whether you’re buying for dad or not, take this opportunity to stock up on power tools at a discount, upwards of as much as half off at larger box store, like Lowe’s and Home Depot. 
• Charcoal: Post-Memorial Day Sales will be at rock bottom prices until mid month, before 4th of July cycles begin! 

Food To Buy in June (By Mid Month):

• Soda
• Bottled Water
• Ice Tea Mixes and Lemonade
• Ice Cream 
• Cool Whip
• Peaches
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Watermelon
• Kiwi
• Cherries
• Swiss Chard
• Lettuce
• Zucchini
• Summer Squash
• Pasta Salad Kits
• Hot Dogs 
• Hamburg
• Chicken; thighs and drumsticks
• Condiments
• Chips

What Not To Buy:

• Air Conditioners; New Year’s Day Sales will find portable ac’s and water coolers reduced by half, or more!
• Grills; wait until Labor Day for grill deals at Lowe’s and Home Depot!
• Deep Fryers; November will find deep fryers reduced for Turkey-Day sales!
• Homes; in winter prices can drop by as much as 1/4 in many markets!
• Patio Furniture; patio sets will drop by 3/4 at retailers, such as Walmart, during post-Labor Day Sales drives!
• Sandals; this should be a given, but always buy shoes out of season!
• Bicycles; Summer weather brings cyclists out and about, but come Black Friday bike prices will slash by 3/4!
• European Trips or Vacations; trips will lower by half come August! 

Here’s to saving,

Hello again, savvy savers! It’s a new day, and time for a new challenge! Did you know that you can request from your utility companies, your gas, water, and power companies, an itemized summary of your peak and non-peak hours and service pricing? Did you also know that you could be saving as much as 1/4 off of your bills monthly? Well, you can! Here’s an example…

Starting last Spring, my water bill went up by 20% in a months time! Not that it was a lot of money, but in a year’s time it would have amounted to $400.00! I set out to figure out how to reduce this amount!

 Here’s what I did:

1) I started by calling my city water department, who did not return my call.

2) I then called my city managers office, and was informed by a kind gentleman there, that water, like electricity has a variable cost, and there are peak and non-peak times of the month, season, and year when water charges are higher, so countries and cities can offset the cost of public works projects in many areas. He also said, that you can request in writing, that your city water department tell of you of current charges, pending spikes for everyone, etc.

3) When I found this out last summer, I noticed that charges were higher the last week of the month, so I implemented new water usage strategies in my home; I purchased rain barrel systems to attach to my gutters, which I now use for watering my garden the final week of the month, I also do not wash during that week, making sure all of my wash is prepped before that time, for example.

4) I also checked all of my toilets, plumbing, and water lines for any leaks or pipes that needed to be replaced; luckily they did not!

5) Just these two changes saved me $38.10 monthly on my subsequent water bills!

6) What’s better? I then went on to repeat this process for all of my other services, too! I found out that every county seat in this country must provide customers that opportunity to learn what are peak and non-peak hours for consumption.

7) I then requested this from my local power co-op, and was then able to see that later in the week, from 7-12 am nightly power premiums were less in price, so I adjusted my washing, drying, dish-washing, and vacuuming to this time. I also found out the same schedule from my city managers office, in terms of out city water department, and adjusted watering for my garden to Sunday’s and Wednesday’s, as the water was nearly 20% less in premiums on non-peak times.

With just these seven changes, I was able to save over $400.00 last year!

 So today, I challenge you to pull out your paper and e-print utility statements, check out your peak and non-peak hours, and then write your companies and request an itemized usage statement so that you too can reduce your overall gas, power, and water consumption rates in your neck of the woods! 

So today I challenge you to start the process of seeing where you can save on your utilities, too! Be sure to come back this evening to see today’s recap!

Here’s to saving,