Budgeting – Page 39 – The LadyPrefers2Save

Non-Food Items I Freeze To Save Money!

Hello again, savvy savers! If your anything like me, you are always on the lookout for new ways to save! Today finds us with a new list of things I am currently freezing, all non-food items, to save money in 2015:

Pantyhose: Frozen pantyhose are less likely to develop runs as you are putting them on. The fibers are constricted by the cold and more resistant to handling, which is how many runs occur. Store your hose in the freezer until right before you need to wear a pair, and save $3-$10 a pair, by prolonging the life of your hose!
Batteries: All batteries can be helped by being placed in the freezer, especially rechargeable batteries, as their nickel-metal hydride can expect to see a life expectancy extension of 90% or greater! So be sure to store your batteries in the freezer until you need to use them.
Seeds: Seeds stay fresher in a frozen state and often will germinate more effectively after being frozen; please click here to see my seed store post!
Candles: Candles actually burn better, and for longer, if they are lit after being frozen, especially soy and beeswax candles. Store your candles in the freezer until you want to use them. If you will not use them for some time after a special occasion, place them back in the freezer until the next use. The thicker the candle width, the more freezing will extend burning life.
Moisturizers: Keep eye, face, and neck creams and moisturizers in the freezer. Remove them to get what you need, then place them back inside. Your creams and moisturizers last longer and work more effectively, for up to five years.
Dust Mites: If you or someone in your family has a dust mite allergy, put pillows, curtains, small rugs, pillowslips, stuffed animals, linens and other small mite-infested items into sealed plastic bags and then into the freezer for at least 24 hours, will kill those pesky little buggers. If your child has lice, you can put no-wash items in the freezer to kill the lice.
Denim: Don’t wash your raw, dark rinse denim pants, and instead freeze them for twenty-four hours to kill any bacteria or mites just as well as washing them can.
Hard Drives: If you experience a hard drive crash, place the hard drive into a sealed plastic bag, then place it in the freezer for 5 hours. Remove, replace, restart your computer and quickly back up your data; the low freezer temperatures allow heat damaged files to be accessed, only until the drives come to room temperature.
Sealed Envelopes: If you need to re-open sealed envelopes, place the sealed envelope in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Then gently insert your finger beneath a corner of the seal and open it. This method also allows stamps to be removed from mail, too!

Here’s to saving,

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Wednesday Ways to Save: What To Buy In January!

Hello again, savvy savers! For this weeks Wednesday Ways to Save, I wanted to share with you my list for the things to buy in January here at The LadyPrefers2Save!

Here’s what to be on the lookout for:

Laptops; online outlet stores are offering laptops and net-books as much as 60% off!
Office supplies, even if you do not have school-age children; remember that most office supply stores will also price match ads!
Summer apparel, with shorts and sleeveless shirts up to 70% off.
Patio furniture & grills, up to 75% off; check your store managers for items being tucked away in the back of stores on clearance only to be marked up come April!
Christmas, Hanukkah, and Autumnal Decor; many large and small retailers will start the season with 75% off savings, then go back up to 25% off for the holidays, especially craft stores!
Turkey, Lamb, and Ham; with the holidays now past now is the time to purchase them at under $0.10/lb at Walmart, for Easter and Summer Cookouts!
Holiday toys; All major retailers have already released their perspective top-ten lists for the must-have holiday toys, and many can be paired with manufacturer coupons, purchased now, and stored for priced half of what they will be Black Friday!
Cola; cola pricing will be lowered this month and will double in price for the upcoming Super Bowl party season!
Crawfish, Boudain, and Cajun-themed entree items; purchase items now for 2/3 less than they will be at the end of the month in preparation for Mardi Gras!
Baking Mixes; after holiday baking mixes, sets, decorations, cupcake liners, and the like will be up to 85% off at discount stores such as Dollar General.
Gym Memberships; chain gyms will slash prices for memberships to monopolize on Resolution List dieters. Be sure to price/contract shop before signing up for contracts.
Credit Cards; this month marks the month when creditors are more likely to grant credit and lower interest rates right before the start of tax season.
Tax Software: Prices will be half of what they will come the last week of this month! Plan ahead!
Linens: Winter flannels, thicker comforters, and down products will be marked down by as much as 75% off at mass retailers starting this week!
Journals, Planners, & Agendas: Expect to see prices at mass retailers, especially bookstore chains, up to 90% off!

What to Wait To Purchase:

Furniture: February is semi-annual furniture market and trade shows, and retailers will need to unload goods starting next month, which can mean savings for you up to 75% off!
Vehicles: February marks the annual start of all new cars on the market, and 2013 models and older will be further marked down by as much as an additional 25%!
TV’s: Wait for April to skip Super Bowl tv mark-ups!

What I will be purchasing:

A Birthday cake… as I will be turning the big 3-2 on the 13th!

Here’s to Saving,

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Tutorial Tuesday: Weatherizing Your Stockpile!

Good afternoon, savvy savers! For this weeks Saving To Go, With A Cup of Joe series post, I want to discuss ways to properly winterize your stockpile! Why is this necessary? Well, if your stockpile is anything like my own, than your stockpile is a large investment in both your home and family, and deserves the proper amount of planning and preparation. So, in hopes of being able to preserve your precious goods, and hard earned dollars, here are my suggestions for winterizing and weatherizing your stockpiled goods:

Canned goods: Canned goods cannot be allowed to freeze. When canned goods freeze, they stand the chance of cans bulging, which can cause the seam and lid failure, which can cause food-borne illnesses, not to mention to fail, changes in product texture, flavor, nutrient factors, and product color. Most canned goods are packed in a solution of salt or sugar, which lowers their freezing point, but canned goods should not be stored below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Before temperatures freeze this season, avoid storing foods where the temperatures will reach below freezing.
Insecticides: Products in foam-based product cans should be stored in warmer climates.
Soft Drinks, Coking Oils, and Cleaners: Freezing can have adverse effects on liquids such as soda, cooking oil, soap or detergent. Basements are a great place to store these goods. Frozen detergents and cooking oils can be brought back to room temperature by placing them in trash bags, at room temperature, and then storing accordingly.
Dried Foods: Foods that are dehydrated or freeze-dried will actually last longer in the cold since there is no water in them to freeze, or can be frozen in deep freezes! This also applied for flower and plant seeds.
Paper Products: Household goods, such as paper towels, plastic cups and utensils, razors, floss and toothbrushes, can be kept in cooler climates in your home.
Produce: Some produce such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and apples will actually keep longer stored in bins in cooler climates or sheds; be sure to check produce weekly, and any sign of age the produce should be composed, especially potatoes, which can emit deadly gases if left to rot over several months.

So, I hope these tips will help you keep your stockpile in tip top shape this winter!

Here’s to saving,

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Saving To Go, With A Cup of Joe: Save With Online Billing Cycles

Good morning, savvy savers! This past holiday my husband and I spent some time discussing our financial goals for 2015, and one area we both agreed could use a little tweaking was our monthly budget, as we both opted to up our percentage of donations and to cut an additional 10% of our monthly spending to contribute to a new retirement fund. So, last week upon searching, researching, and looking over my monthly bill book, I realized that part of the amount needed for my new account was already in reach! Let me explain…

Three years ago, when I was first married I was given the opportunity to switch from working in my traditional office, to working my clerical position from home. With these new changes, came a new pay cycle, a cycle which was maligned with my current utility and housing bill cycles. My pay cycle had changed, which meant that my bills were now coming in during a time of the month when I had the least cash flow. I wasn’t prepared for this change, so I called up my major creditors and asked to change my billing cycle dates. To make sure I was keeping with my new pay cycle, I also decided to sign up for auto-pay instead of continuing to pay by mail.

Why auto-pay?

Changing my billing cycle to auto-pay forced me to pay my essential bills right away, and pay down debt.
I also contacted my local Credit Union and Employer, and had the remaining bulk of my paycheck directly deposited into my savings account.
These steps allowed me to know exactly how much money I had left over in my discretion fund every month.
I then immediately knew how much cash I would have left for my envelope savings system.

So here’s how these two simple changes will benefit your financial future:

Eases the impulse cash bind: When you align your billing cycle dates with your pay dates, you reduce the risk of impulse purchasing power, as your extra cash you have not needed for mortgage or rent, car payments, insurance, groceries, gas, etc., can be immediately used to fund your savings account.
How this helps: When your bills are paid as soon as your paycheck comes in you cut your ability to impulsively spend.
Saves money: If you send in payments through the mail, you’ll pay the cost of envelopes, stamps, paper, bank checks, and gas to drive to the post office; broken down you can except to pay around the following: $0.02 envelope + $0.49 stamp + $0.02 paper + $0.05 check + $0.32 gas = $0.90 per bill paid via U.S. mail. That’s about $0.90 per bill that you could be saving each month. Why should you be paying extra to pay your bills?
Keeps you safer: Auto-pay offers you the added layers of safety through data encryption and keeps sensitive data out of your trash can, where unscrupulous individuals could potentially use your statements and information in an effort to steal your identity.
Repair credit score: The more timely you are about paying bills, the better your credit score will become over time; you can increase your credit score by as much a few points each month!
Card rewards: I have two emergency family credit cards, two cards whose reward balances are used for hotel travel for my husband and I. Sending in your card payments by check doesn’t help you accrue any type of reward. Converting bills to auto-pay and choose a rewards credit card to pay with, you accrue reliable rewards each month. However, these rewards are only valuable if you don’t cancel them out with interest from carried balances.
Saves yourself time and stress: When you align your billing cycle dates with your pay dates, you only have to spend time paying bills once per month.
Helps you take control of your finances: When you are unaware of when your bills hit each month, you can prevent the hidden, unnecessary charges from overdraft or insufficient funds charges, which can range from $10 to $30 per transaction!

All of these steps have helped to save my family $174.00 last year, and as I plan to continue this trend, will help me to come that much closer to recouping my 10% extra savings goal for 2015!

Here’s to saving,

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After Christmas Sales Tips!

Hello again, savvy savers! The holidays are almost over, and you know what that means, After-Christmas sales!

For anyone on a budget, after-Christmas sales are a perfect opportunity to get all the gifts that Santa forgot to bring, staples for next years get-togethers, school functions, and the like, often at 50 to 70% off. Unlike Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales which seek to mark the beginning of holiday shopping, the real savvy savers know that the true sales come after Old St. Nick!

However, not all bargains are made equally, and when your budget is tight and every penny counts.

Use these tips to spend as little as possible while getting the best and final bang for your buck this holiday season:

Look for luxury. The day after Christmas will find luxury home good, small appliances, linens, and coats drastically reduced; be sure to not return policies for these sales!
Plan A Strategy. After-Christmas sales are a great time to buy basics, especially for work. Stores are trying to clear out darker colors to make way for spring pastels. Before heading out to the store, look online for coupons, deals, apps, and try to match these deals with holiday gift cards.
Think Big. This is a good time to buy big ticket items, if that is what you really need, but it also a good time to go shopping at bigger stores. End-of-year deals on TVs, stereos, and tablets will be at low, low prices starting today for the next week!
Be Realistic. A bargain is only a bargain if you really needed it. Otherwise, it is just money you spent unnecessarily, and coupled with long lines and grumpy gooses abound, being realistic will be your lifesaver today! Keep this motto in mind!
Check online. Many stores, such as Overstock and Amazon, have started offering after-Christmas deals on Christmas Day itself. Check online to get an idea how the price will drop in your neck of the woods.
The Have-To-Have Items. Stores want to entice shoppers to come in to their shops in the hopes that you will see something you just “have to have” and spend more than you intended. Allow yourself one splurge item, and then go about your jolly way!
Newspapers. You will find significantly better coupons in your local sales circulars the day after Christmas than online for items such as holiday-themed paper products, ornaments, and the like. Be sure to buy the Friday edition that precedes Christmas, as well as the one for the day after Christmas.

As well, there will be numerous deals at local retailers, especially discount and drugstores, for everyday goods. Be sure to price match, coupon shop, and throw as many app deals as possible into the mix. While looking for these end of season deals, he sure to look for the following:

Winter Clothing; coats, robes, slippers, and pajamas will go as low at 90% off at many retailers, such as Sears!
Toys and Small Gifts; consider stocking up for gift closet staples for Easter and Mothers Day, especially on spa and gift sets.
Decorations; Christmas trees, lights, decor, wrapping paper and more will all be 50 to 75% off within a few weeks after Christmas.
Fitness Products; retailers will start capitalizing on the public’s needs for weight loss resolutions, and online retailers will capitalize on these items! Look for hot deals on yoga balls, yoga mats, treadmills, kettle bells, and the like!
Food; After Christmas is prime time to scoop up some serious deals in the grocery aisles. Baking supplies, wine, cheese and seasonal flavors of products are all on the way out, for as such as 90% off at discount stores such as Dollar General, Family Dollar, Big Lots, and even the Dollar Tree.
Consumer Electronics; Retailers want to stock store shelves with new 2015 models on the way, so they want to unload last year’s models and free up shelf space. Look out for great deals on washer and dryer sets, TV’s, gaming equipment, headphones, ear buds, and vacuums!

So, there are a few tips for after Christmas sales, shopping, and strategies!

Here’s to saving,

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Saving On The Go With A Cup Of Joe: How I Am Saving $1,344 by Cutting Cable!

Hello again, savvy savers! For this weeks Saving to go, With A Cup of Joe Series, I want to discuss one of the biggest topics floating around my home as of late, and that is that I cut my cable and home phone services last month, for good! You may wonder why the sudden decision? Well, here is the long and short of the decision:

I called Comcast Customer Service two weeks ago, to scale back my service package, as my family and I did not watch most of the channels, and it had been months since I used the home phone service.
Customer Service was very uncooperative.
I was placed on hold for 76 minutes.
The representative returned to the phone and said that they were not going to let me lower my plan, and they were doing me a favor in doing so.
In that moment, I spoke up and said, CUT IT OFF!

So, within hours I had pulled cords, taken off adapters, removed boxes, and had returned all of the companies apparatuses pertaining to the home phone and cable to the local Comcast office. On the way home from this errand, it dawned on me… I needed to tell my husband when he got home, and how would I do that? How shall I tell him that the Saints and the Whodat Nation will no longer be on television? Simple, we would be saving money, and lot of it!

So, in the four hours until my husband came home, here’s the plan I came up with:

By cutting cable and home phone service, I would save $1344.00 annually.
I would be able to watch as many of the shows my family enjoyed, minus sports channels using Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime; I am already a member of all three.
I would be able to put the money I would spent on cable to pay for season tickets to my husbands Alma Mater, the University of Southern Mississippi.
I would no longer pay for channels we didn’t watch.

The plan sounded rock solid! My husband took it rather well, and after a month of cutting my services here are some other insights I can share with how anyone can make this switch as well:

1. Investigate internet service providers:

When I made the rash decision to drop my cable bundled deal, I did not take into consideration that my internet plan would now cost me more per month; my monthly internet plan went from $45.00 per month to $58.00 a month. As I work from home, the internet, unlike a home phone, is a necessity (we have cell service for our main phone services), and though I am looking at other options, currently Comcast is my only service provider in my area, and so I am okay with the charge. If you live in an area with several providers, please call your current company’s customer retention department and try to make a deal!

2. Choose a video streaming service:

We were already members of Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime. We chose to retain all services, especially Amazon Prime because along with video streaming, free two-day shipping, and the Kindle Lending Library were also included in the $79 yearly fee; we pay for our Amazon Prime membership out of our annual tax returns, and so it doesn’t come out of the monthly pot, per se. As for my Netflix and Hulu Plus services, I use Ibotta, Checkout51, and Shopmium (using code GMYMMYPT) to pay for these services, and so there are no additional costs out-of-pocket for our family, as well; if you are like me and have a small but loyal following list of weekly or seasonal shows, than go with Hulu Plus, it’s been my favorite go-to for the past season!

3. Meet My New Friend, Roku:

Roku is a small, plug-and-play device which allows users to stream videos via your subscription service straight to your TV; the service also includes additional free programming as well. We purchased our unit through Amazon, using earned survey gift cards, for only $48.00, refurbished! This service is really awesome! The unit I purchased is here! Our Roku is currently being used with our living room television, as we moved our PS4 to our den, as the gaming system already came prepared with downloadable streaming apps; for those without gaming systems, Roku is the way to go!

4. Get a Leaf for local/sports channels:

I have also been able to purchase the Mohu Leaf, a flat antenna mounted to our TV in our den, which picks up local stations in HD; this feature gave my husband sports channels, which is a plus! I used money from surveys to purchase a unit for $42.00!

5. Re-Think How You Watch TV:

Consider this, by cutting cable you may be cutting your package and the way you watch programming, but that just means you need to think outside the box. My family watches the same shows as before, just a day, perhaps two days later, for upper channels, and using the Leaf, the same as before. Also, I have began to explore programming online that I had not seen before, such as the Youtube Wigs series, watching shows using network apps such as Lifetime, MTV, Bravo, and the like! I now watch what I want to watch, as opposed to simple channel surfing! Its a win-win!

So, this past month I was able to save $112.00 a month, nearly three-quarters of my grocery budget! Was the process simple, no. Was the way we now watch tv easy, yes! Do I recommend this switch, absolutely! So, that’s just a new way I now save money at home!

Here’s to saving!

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Savings On The Go, With A Cup Of Joe: How to Save With Itemized Bill Books!

Good morning, savvy savers! For this weeks Savings On The Go With A Cup of Joe series post, I wanted to discuss one of the easiest ways I have found to save my family money, an itemized savings book. Many bloggers will tell you that you need an expansive home management books, a series of expensive, embellished printable savings packets, or a series of blog-themed e-books and seminars in order to keep your finances in order. For me, for my family, I simply do not believe that these items are necessary.

In order to keep all of my bills, expenditures, savings account goals and deposits, as well as retirement savings projects in one place, I used an old-school, $2.99 4-column pad, from the Office Depot, to keep a log of my monthly expenses!

The book holds all my expenses at a glance. I divide the book as follows:

Space 1: Expenses Named
Column 1: Amount Owed, Per Month
Column 2: Amount Paid, Per Month
Column 3: Interest Accumulated
Column 4: Balance Owed

I find that having an actual book helps keep me accountable for my expenses. For me, physically writing down what I owe each month, seeing how much interest I pay, helps me keep not only my finances in order, but to have a piece of mind in knowing that my financial house of cards is in tip-top shape!

This is one method that has helped me stay financially responsible, and I hope it might help you as well.

Here’s to saving!

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