Deal With It, Simply!

This week,  I cleaned out my cabinets and organized my stockpile. My husband have been working long days and evenings for 2 1/2 years. I needed to see what we actually have in our stockpile and this way I can plan our meals.

Why Stockpile?

• It really is a great resource to fall back on when money is tight.
• You know what you eat and you will have it on hand when you need that item.
• When items are on sale adding money to your budget on a later day.

How to Stockpile?

• Store the things you eat.
• Inventory the items you have
• Rotate- New items in back…older to front.

Where to store your stockpile?

• Beware of extreme heat or cold and an excess of light. Keep in a cool, dry and dark place. This may be your cabinets, under a bed in a box or under the stairs.

How can I stockpile when I am broke?

• You can start one or two can goods at a time.
•  Using your coupons
•  buy one get one free.

I stockpiling and am not hoarding. By stockpiling you have ingredients in your home and when you are really broke you can “shop in your cupboards” I have said many times when we are the most broke we eat the best. I prepare and plan our meals. When you really think about what you are going to eat you can save money.

If you have any stockpiling tips I would love to hear!  Have a great day, Candy

How can we stretch our grocery budget with everything on the rise? Here are a few to help.

• At least one meatless meal a week, Meatless Monday is an easy way to remember. My husband is a meat and potato kind of guy and he didn’t think he would like this idea….Now he is used to it!
• Cook at home and use or recreate your leftovers.
• Shop your cupboards and try to use what you have. I am always surprised what I find when I look in the cupboard and freezer.  Take an inventory you may be surprised.
• Just because you have a coupon for an item doesn’t mean it is the best deal. You will find if you take the time you will get the best deal.
• Use store loyalty cards if your store offers them. (Kroger’s is a good one)
• Make those Friday Night pizzas at home and save $10-$25
• When you would like to make an extra purchase ask yourself one question. Do I need it or do I want it? I would say most of the time I leave with the extra purchase.
• Use less of your products and make it last longer.
• Bartering- Swapping resources is a way to stay in control when money is tight.
• If you have a garden this will help your budget in the warm summer months. Plant things you like and when your produce is ready freeze or can.
• Plan your meals for a few reasons

1.      You are less likely to eat out if you have your meal planned.

2.      You have all the ingredients you need.

3.      If you plan for a month you are more likely to find a sale.

I would love to hear how you are stretching your grocery budget. Have a great day, Candy

Buckle your seat belts gas is on the rise!

1. Park in the first parking spot you see. The walk will do you good and you won’t waste as much gas driving around.
2. Take off slowly from a full stop. They call this jack rabbit starts. Will have dramatic effects on your gas mileage; move slowly, will help save you money at the pump.
3. Watch for gas trucks at the station- When there is new gas being pumped in this mixes up the sediment at the bottom and is very hard on your car and tank.
4. Don’t park close to the door of a store or you may be wasting gas idling and waiting for customer to pass before you can back up.
5. Slow down and at constant speed. Braking, speeding up and slowing down waste gas. Use your cruise control!
6. Keep all tires inflated to the pressure as recommended for your car. Learn to change a tire!
7. Combine errands and plan your route.
8. Walk between stops. Park in between locations and walk.
9. An idling car gets 0 miles to a gallon. If it is extremely cold we warm our car up for 10 or 15 minutes before we drive off. This will help the engine by not to run thick oil through it.
10. Use the lowest recommended octane for your car. Check your owner’s manual for recommended octane. Higher octane is more expensive and the wrong octane could damage your car.–Our work vehicle can use E85 which is cheaper but the mileage wasn’t as well. **
11. Some stations offer membership rewards. Look for deals
12. Look ahead to see the oncoming lights. Coast why be in a rush to stop.
13. Check your oil and get a tune up. This will extend the life of you engine.
14. Keep your car washed and cleaned. This will help in the resale of it.
15. Don’t speed this will save on gas and on tickets.
16. Typically gas is cheaper in the middle of the week.
17. Buy your gas from a busy station and get fresher gas and this is also better for your car.
18. Gas stations around exit ramps seem to have higher gas prices.
19. Tighten the gas cap and avoid fumes from releasing. I have had the check engine light come on because I didn’t have the cap on tight…..this may save on a mechanic call too!
20. Pull all the way through a parking spot, so you don’t have to back up and save money.
21. Hypermiling is where you are always looking ahead to not have to stop completely (be aware of your surrounding so you don’t have to make a lot of stop and starts). This saves gas.
22. Avoid luggage or trunk racks and you’ll get better gas mileage.
23. If you rest your hand on the gear shift, results in unnecessary wear on your transmission which could cost you money.
24. Right turns on red save gas because you aren’t idling.
25. Put you name and phone number on the inside of your hub caps and save money and time looking for them. Chances are someone will call you.
26. Lighter cars get better gas mileage. Empty that trunk out!
27. Fill up early in the morning, gas expands in the heat of the day and you’ll get less for your money.
28. Call ahead before you make an unfruitful trip and save gas.
29. Don’t top off your gas tank this when the pump stops you stop that extra gasoline will either be sucked into the vapor recovery tube or overflow. Either way you will end up paying for gas that you don’t get.
30. Car pool when you can.

If you have any to add I would love to hear. Have a blessed day, Candy

Use your leftovers- a money saver right under your nose!

Even the Bible talks about leftovers “when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” John 6:12

I don’t know about you, wasting food just seems like wasting money. I feel like a total frugal fraud if I throw away leftovers. Here are a few things that will help so we don’t throw our leftovers away.

1. I used to save all the little containers like cottage cheese and cool whip to save money on little buying leftover containers, but now I use a coupon when I need leftover containers. Why because the leftover containers store-bought are see-through and I am less likely to throw them away because I can see what is in them.
2. when you plan a meal plan for those leftovers. This week we had leftover chicken breast the next day we had wok and used it up. You can do this with any kind of meat.
3. We seem to always have an extra plate of food with our teenagers coming and going. If we do have an extra plate of food it is a great lunch the next day.
4. leftover vegetables go into a leftover container in the freezer. I drain the juice and just add the vegetables and when I make a soup or a pot pie I add the those vegetables.
5. Leftover cereal, crackers or chips you know not enough for a full serving, but you hate to throw it out. Crunch them up and add them to a meatloaf we have add all of them to one meatloaf and it turned out great…..
6. leftover bread- make bread crumbs. You have just have a few pieces or the bag was left open and they are drying out. put them on a cookie sheet and after you have cook dinner and shut the oven off slide the cookie sheet in the over and use the leftover heat to dry them out. Here are directions I have found. I keep our bread crumbs in a jar.

What are some ways you use your leftovers?  I would love to hear. Have a blessed day, Candy

When I was a kid an emergency fund was called a rainy day fund. Saving money for someday when you really need it. Emergency funds are to help when unexpected crisis that arrive . Dave Ramsey talks about Murphy’s law which states “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong” Dave also speaks about when you have an emergency fund ….”what used to seem like an emergency isn’t such an emergency”. Dave Ramsey and the $1000 saved for emergency…..What do you do when you don’t think you have the extra to start an emergency fund?

My thinking anything is better than nothing. Start by putting away $10 or $20 here or there. Here are some ideas to come up with some extra to get started.

• Garage sale- the weather is getting better start marking items to sell now.
• Recycle- Cans, scrap metal the price is higher now
• Resale shops- We have many kids resale shops…. you don’t make a lot of money, but if they aren’t wearing it and it’s just hanging around it could be some extra cash.
• Extra work- Babysitting, baking, laundry, shopping- people are busy maybe you could pick up some of their slack and make some extra cash.

Evaluate what you can do without….

1. Maybe the newspaper….do you need daily maybe just Sunday for coupons
2. Cable- We did and got an antenna and are saving $68 a month
3. Look at your cell phone plan and see if there are ways to save.
4. Car insurance- we had the same insurance for years and never shopped around. You can really find some great rates if you just look.

Your emergency fund has to be for emergency only and you can’t touch it unless it is an emergency….I think that is the hardest thing to remember

Brr….It’s cold outside! How do you keep warm? Yesterday, we were without electricity for about 10 hours. I am grateful because many in our area are still without. Here are some things that keep us warm.

• Last year,  I bought some curtains at the dollar general….I liked the green color and thought they would look great in our living room. They are called blackout curtains. I have noticed they keep our room warmer. Close your curtains in the evening and open them when the sun is shining!
• I keep a small throw blanket on the back of each chair and the couch.  We just throw it over our shoulders.
• We have a Gas stove so we could light the burner and I boiled some water throughout the day to keep some heat in the room.Please be sure to not leave it unattended.  Moist heat feels warmer then dry heat.
• Shut the rooms up you aren’t using and shut closet doors….
• When the family needed to go outside they used the back door only…. so we could keep the living space warm.

I have to say it was nice playing games with my boys and we made the best of it. It is sad how addicted to electronics we have become. How do you stay warm?

God’s blessings, Candy