Deal With It, Simply!

In our community many are hurting right now. It is easy to see if you watch the news or read the paper. In  my hometown, Maumee there was a job fair yesterday and more then 5000 people showed up.

If you are beginner to the frugal lifestyle due to the loss of income, you may feel a little overwhelmed. I have been there and you will get through these struggles if we all work together. Here are my top 10 tips that are helping our family:

10. Budget plan for utilities-  then you can budget and plan each month the amount needed and not have a shock to your finances.

9.  Just because you have a coupon doesn’t mean you have to buy that particular product. It may be cheaper to buy a generic or you may find another product that is a better deal. Use your calculator and save.

8. Stockpile- buy at the lowest price and save for when you need it. This is a hard one when you have had a loss in income, but you can start a few items at a time. For our family we are getting creative in our hiding places so the kids won’t eat up the extra cereal, we freeze it and extra goodies are stored by our furnace.

7. Buy your non-grocery products at the dollar store and save.

6. Before a purchase,  learn to ask yourself one question;  Do I need it or do I want it? I can’t tell you how many times I don’t walk away without a new purchase.

5. $4  prescriptions have really helped when we have a sickie in our home.

4. Recycle cans for some extra cash or odd jobs.

3.  Meatless Monday- This helps saves our budget and none of the family think anything is odd, it’s just dinner.

2. Shop for loss leaders. We go to different stores we are by while working and look for the great prices. We have found quite a few bargains.

1. For our family I would say using leftovers and planning our meals has saved us the most money.

If you have a top money saving tip or frugal idea please share, I would love to hear!

I can’t tell you the sense of accomplishment you will get when you realize you can do it. With a little planning and faith it is possible. Have blessed day, Candy