lunch

Tuesday’s Tip: Take the Roadmap Challenge (Part 2)

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Well, it’s been a week since I introduced the first part of the challenge. Did you try it? How did it go? Did you notice anything about your spending habits? Were you surprised by anything? Many times we’re shocked by how much we spend. We don’t realize that those ‘little things’, the inexpensive items we buy on a whim, can actually add up to quite a bit when it happens on a regular basis. Think about what you saved in one week – and now imagine that on a slightly grander scale . . .

Which leads me to the next part of the challenge, in three steps.

Step 1: Take a good, hard look at your expense log from the past week. Is there anything you could stand to cut back on or do without? (Answer HONESTLY!!!) You may find that there are a couple of things on your list. That’s ok.

Step 2: Pick just ONE thing on your list and cut it out for the next 30 days. April 1 – 30. One month.

Step 3: Keep track of how much you save over the course of the next month.

I’m not asking you to give up every extra expense, just one. Pick one that’s the most frequent purchase. Or maybe one that’s the most unhealthy. Or the most expensive one. Whichever one you pick, do without it for the next month. On April 30, take the amount of money you saved and multiply it by 12 to see how much you can save in a year. Then ask yourself, What else could I do with that money? Pay down debt? Make an extra payment on something?? Pay something off???

Once you’ve done that, contact me and let me know what you cut out of your spending, how much you saved in a month, how much you’d save in a year, and what you learned from the experience. If you do, you’ll be entered into the contest and you could win a FREE consultation with me. You’ll get the Money Roadmap package which includes my book, a binder, and ledger paper, plus I will help you set up your own Roadmap and teach you how to use it.

There it is. The Roadmap Challenge. Try it. What do you have to lose? More importantly, what could you gain with good money management??

Good luck! I know you can do it! I can’t wait to hear from you!

Today is April 1st. Ready . . . set . . . GO!

Tuesday’s Tip: Break the Bad

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Everywhere I go, I hear new year’s resolutions being flung around as freely as candy from a parade float. People are vowing to make changes to better themselves, their lives, their communities, and even the world. However, the most common goal, by far, was to lead a healthier lifestyle, which encompasses a multitude of different options ranging from losing weight to exercising more to breaking bad habits. And that got me thinking . . .

Breaking a bad habit is tough to do. I know, first hand, how hard it is, but I also know how wonderful it feels to be successful – in more ways than one. I confess that I used to smoke. (There it is, folks.) I tried to quit several times, but always seemed to give in eventually. I was smoke-free for quite a long time before having kids and during my pregnancy, then started again when they were about 6 or 7 months old. It was easy to blame it on stress, of course. Then, when they were almost 2, I finally managed to quit altogether and have been rid of the habit for over ten years. Don’t get me wrong, there are days I seriously wonder why the heck I ever quit! Then I think about all the progress I’ve made as a runner, how much I love it, and how smoking would completely ruin it, and I decide it’s not worth it. So, you could say that I’m enjoying the health benefits of being a non-smoker.

Just recently, I noticed a sign at the corner gas station advertising a sale on cigarettes: $6.85 per pack. Wow! I couldn’t believe it. That’s a lot more than I used to spend over a decade ago. And that got me thinking about the cost of being a smoker now. What would I be paying if I were still smoking? When I got home, I grabbed a calculator and did a little experiment to find out the financial benefit of not smoking. I know the cost per pack varies depending on location, but I live in the Chicago suburbs, so I’m going to use the average for this area, which is about $7.50. Ok. Let’s see. I used to smoke about 10 cigarettes per day. That means it would cost me $3.75 per day . . . times 365 days . . . that comes to $1,368.75 per year. If I smoked a pack a day, then the cost rises to $2,737.50 per year. Really? I was amazed at the numbers starting at me from the calculator. I instantly thought of a few things I could do with an extra $2,700 per year. Then, just for kicks, I multiplied that number by 5 . . . $13,687.50 saved in 5 years. Holy cow! Then I took one step closer to ridiculous and calculated the savings for 10 years. I nearly fell off my chair! $27,375. Amazing! Do you know how much house you could pay off with that money? Or you could buy a nice little car! You could save it for a rainy day . . . or college . . . grad school . . . vacations . . . retirement . . . The list goes on and on.

And what about other costly habits? I could think of a couple. How much could people be saving by kicking those bad boys to the curb? They don’t even necessarily need to be bad for you, like smoking was, for me. What about that iced coffee on the way to work everyday? Or eating out for lunch everyday? Or even twice a week? How about takeout dinners? Shopping every weekend? Blah, ba-blah, ba-blah . . . Please understand that I’m not suggesting we all become hermits, eat ramen and rice for the rest of our lives, deprive ourselves of things we need, and never do anything fun – we gotta live, right?! The trick is to be sensible about it.

Moral of the story: breaking a bad habit, or any habit that drains your pocketbook, could potentially save you more money than you think. Don’t believe me? Pick a habit . . . do the math. See what happens. The truth lies in the numbers. Cutting out a habit, or at least scaling way back, could mean some serious extra cash in our pockets. I don’t know about you, but I like that!

Tuesday’s Tip: Find the Freebies

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The other day, someone mentioned my post about buying memberships, but hinted that it’s not exactly feasible for her and her family at the moment and asked me if there was something else I could recommend. There is one thing . . .

FREEBIES!

During certain times of the year, including summer, holidays, and slow months, there can be a multitude of specials the whole family can enjoy. Here are a few tips:

1) Check out coupon sites online. There are lots of sites that have things like buy 1 Get 1 sales or free products and services – just be sure to do a little research first and pick the sites that offer things you like to do.

2) Check websites of your favorite museums. Many times they’ll offer free admission on certain days of the week. Usually it’s midweek, or a day that’s typically slow for them. If you can manage a day off, it’s worth it. There’s less traffic and smaller crowds to deal with!

3) Many communities are now offering events like ‘Movies in the Park’ or summer festivals that offer free admission. Sometimes you can even bring your own food and picnic there.

4) Research places that offer free things for students. You’d be surprised how many places will give kids a price break if they bring their student ID!

5) Last, but not least, check out websites for free things to do in your area or a closer, major city. Type something like free things to do in fill in the city name here and see what happens.

The point is, you can have a good time without completely emptying your wallet. If a membership isn’t in the cards for you right now, that’s ok. But you don’t have to stay at home everyday wondering what to do to keep your kids from murdering each other. Yes, it takes a little bit of effort, but here’s another tip: if you’re part of a social network, see what you’re friends are up to, what they’re doing, and where they’re going. You might find some good ideas and great deals.

Happy summer!

Tuesday’s Tip: Master Your Menu

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Last week I wrote about including all your family members in the menu-making process. It not only helps you plan for the week, but also aids in eliminating the moaning and groaning that may drive you completely insane. This week, I’d like to expand on that topic a bit and show you how planning a menu in advance can save you money in a couple of different ways . . .

First, creating a menu for the week will give you the building blocks for an efficient shopping list. When you come up with a menu, you can then make a shopping list that includes everything you need to make the meals. To begin, you’ll need to see what you already have in your cupboard, fridge, or freezer. For example, I keep things like pasta, tomato paste, canned tomatoes, rice, beans, cooking soups (you know, cream of chicken, etc.), bread crumbs, oils, broth, frozen and/or fresh veggies, spices, and the like on hand all the time. I buy these kinds of staples when they’re on sale, or when I have coupons, and they’re there whenever I need them. But these items are also common in lots of recipes, so it’s easy to base your menus on them as well. I even buy things like beef, pork, or chicken when they’re on sale, then freeze them for later use. Next, you’ll write down whatever you need to buy at the store. By doing this, you’ll cut down on extra trips to the store because you forgot something while you were there the first time. This saves more money than you think, because you may go to the store “for just a couple things”, but you almost always leave with more than what you went for in the first place. (You know it’s true . . .)

Second, having a complete shopping list cuts down on extra spending by cutting down on impulse buying. Grocery stores play the soothing music and count on you to take your time perusing the shelves, meandering up and down every aisle, and picking up more than you really need. The key is to have a list that is complete so that you can get what you need and get out without spending an arm and a leg. I’m not saying that you’ll never make that extra trip, but you’ll make them a lot less often. By only buying what you need, plus reducing the number of times you make extra trips to the store, you save a lot of money. Make sure you know which aisles to navigate, then skip the ones you don’t need to visit, and voila! – you’ll smile when you see the total savings on your receipt!

So there you have it. One of my little secrets to saving money on groceries. I recently told my sister about it, and she laughed, telling me that I was “so completely organized it’s unbelievable”. Well, I can’t afford NOT to be organized and shopper savvy. LOL 😉

Oh! And if you want to save even more money . . . have a snack or a meal before you go to the grocery store so that you’re not hungry when you’re looking at all that luscious food! Confession: I once looked at register receipts from two trips to the store – one when I was hungry and one when I wasn’t – and was completely flabbergasted to find that I’d spent almost $60 more than I needed to just because I was hungry! Oh, ugh!

Tuesday’s Tip: BYOL

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Bring Your Own Lunch! It only takes a few minutes to throw a lunch together and you can make it hearty and healthy so it fills you up for the rest of your day. If you’re short on time in the morning, try making it in the evening. Hubby will sometimes make his lunch for the next day as we’re cleaning up from dinner. He packs the leftovers, then puts it in the fridge. Done.

You may also want to consider buying a “lunch system”. I’ve seen them sold as a whole system, but you can put your own together based on what you like to eat and what kind of food containers you may already have in your cabinet. (You know, the booby-trapped one where all your plastic ware falls out when you open the door.) A lunch system consists of a thermal lunchbox or tote, a small bottle for a drink, a plastic sandwich container, and one or two other plastic containers for snacks and fruit. I even send my kids to school with a lunch system and just wash it – including the plastic spoons. I bought an all-in-one salad system that has a covered bowl complete with a snap-in dressing container and a snap-on fork. Pretty nifty for $2.50.

While you may spend a little money up front by buying some of these things (unless, of course, you have these things already!), you’ll be saving money in the long run because you won’t constantly be buying paper or plastic bags that you throw away every day. You can just wash and reuse your system. And with no daily waste, you’ll be helping the environment, too! You’ll also save money by not paying for take-out one, two, or (EEK!) five days a week. Even if you buy the cheapest things on the menu, you’ll be paying at least a few bucks, and over the course of a year, you’re spending $250, $500, $750 or more! Go to a sit-down place, and you could spend twice that much! Yikes!

So, before you order from another menu, grab a calculator. Estimate how many times per week you eat out and how much you spend on lunch. Then multiply that number by, say, 48 to 50 (depending on how many weeks of vacation you get) and see what your take-out number is. Once you’re over the shock, ask yourself, “What else could I be doing with that (fill in the number here)?”