May 9 2019

Coffee Confessions

There are several ways books and professionals tell you to save money or cut your spending to pay off debt or save for retirement. The one that really burns me is when they tell you to stop getting fancy coffee or breakfast on your way to work. Give up your latte and all your money troubles will be solved, they say.

Why does it bother me so much? Because I don’t drink coffee, at all, ever. I don’t feel like that is realistic advice because I feel like if you are struggling financially you never had the money to do something that extravagant to begin with. Then, as I was talking it over with someone else who has struggled with money (an also doesn’t drink coffee), it hit me that while I never have lattes, there might be other little extravagances in my life (or your life) that could be given up or cut back a bit to free up some cash flow.

Coffee/Latte Substitutes:

It seems I am better at finding the little things that eat away at a budget for other people than I am for myself so I will point out a few that I have noticed in hopes it will help some of you save some money for whatever it is you feel the need to save for.

  • Manicures
  • Pedicures
  • Hair Treatments (color, perm, extensions, expensive hair products, etc)
  • Pets (the more you have the more the costs add up for food, bedding, treats, clothes, vet bills, replacing the carpet, bedding, vacuums and other things that get stained, ruined or worn out by having pets)
  • Car Washes (do you pay the monthly fee to come as often as you like?)
  • Car Upgrades (spoiler, shiny wheels, leather seats, etc)
  • Shoes
  • Clothes (I get that you get tired of wearing the same thing all the time, buy used)
  • Purses and other accessories
  • Makeup (God made us all beautiful, without it)
  • Jewelry
  • Fast Food (your body will thank you)
  • Fancy bottled drinks (especially water)
  • Meal Kits delivered to your door
  • Grocery delivery
  • Uber Eats/Door Dash (if you are trying to save money eating out is already more than you need to spend, so go pick it up yourself)
  • Subscriptions to boxes delivered to your door monthly (StitchFix, Ipsy, etc)
  • Books, Videos, Music that you could get free from the library
  • Prepackaged small portion packs (Chips, pudding cups, applesauce, etc)
  • Paper Plates, Cups, Plastic Cutlery (you probably already have a dishwasher, so use the real stuff)
  • Eating out more than twice a week
  • Signing kids up for every sport or activity (which makes you so busy you end up eating out, not to mention the fees and cost of uniforms, lessons, team photos, etc)

Coffee Confessions:

Now that I have found a few ideas for where you might be able to cut back, I should share some ways I have found to cut back. Here are some ways I save a little extra regularly (my coffee confessions):

  • Cutting veggies for snacking, even carrots
  • Packaging your own mini bags of chips/pretzels
  • Using various snack sized bags (did you know there are 3 shapes?)
  • Not eating lunch out (I work hard I deserve it)
  • Basic clothes then mix and match
  • Shop for more unique clothes second hand (Goodwill 1st Saturday sale)
  • Generic Brands
  • Refill bottles with my own drink from home
  • Bring your lunch to school or work with you
  • Cook at home (if you can read and follow instructions, you CAN do it)
  • Batch cook (this can be as easy as making a big pot of something on the weekend and eating it up during the busy weeknights) Try these recipes
  • Buy things you use often in bulk when they are on sale (toilet paper, paper towels, meats, soups, etc)
  • I use the library constantly (who has money to buy all the books and space to store them)
  • Use vinegar and microfiber cloths to clean instead of various specific use cleaners and paper towels)
  • Use vinegar instead of liquid fabric softener
  • Buy generic on everything I can (laundry detergent, paper goods, over the counter meds, foods, you name it)

Do you have some things that might be your “coffee or latte”? What are the little extravagances you allow yourself? How could you save some extra money without depriving yourself? The books tell you to give your coffee or latte up, I say just make do with a cheaper version and save the difference. You might appreciate the “real” thing more if you don’t get it very often. Tell us your top tricks and how much they have saved you in the comments below.

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August 3 2017

Back To School $ Savers

When the month of July comes to an end, it can only mean one thing. It is time to take advantage of all those great back to school sales. Now, some of you may be saying to yourself that you don’t have school age children. That’s fine. There are some really great deals to be had if you watch the ads. We used to buy the limit when we found ten cent spiral notebooks or fifty cent filler paper and composition notebooks.

Glue is another one of those things they like to put on ridiculously low sales. I thought we would never use those four bottles of Elmer’s Glue All that I had gotten super cheap, but then a project would come up where paper mache was called for and then it was the glue to the rescue. You’ll be happy to shop from your personal stash of supplies that you got for pennies on the dollar instead of full price at the grocery or drug store in the middle of the night when your child comes to you in a panic because the project is due tomorrow and they forgot all about it until they were almost asleep.

So my friend, even if you really don’t see yourself using these supplies, consider getting the super cheap ones and donate them to the local elementary school. There will always be students who don’t have the proper supplies and these often end up being purchased by the underpaid teacher. Often times an organization will put together themed baskets for a fundraiser silent auction. There is almost always a basket of school supplies. You can also make a coloring basket with twenty-five cent sale boxes of crayons and dollar store coloring books. The same idea can work with colored pencils and adult coloring books. Perhaps some erasable ink pens and crossword puzzle books would make another nice basket. A nursing home might have some residents who would love to have coloring books and crayons in the activities room for the residents to use. A homeless shelter would most likely be happy to take those unused school supplies off your hands. You may have to think outside the crayon box, but I’m quite sure you will be able to either put the supplies to use in your home or office and if not, then there are countless numbers of places that would be happy to have your few dollars worth of supplies.

Once school is in full swing, maybe September or October, keep your eyes open for clearance sales. We have gotten some wire shelves meant for inside school lockers, notebooks, binders, label makers and all sorts of great stuff that rarely goes on those super low sales at unheard of prices. Many of the things you might use to decorate a dorm room or send your college student off with will be on sale then too. Think about things like twin sized sheet sets, blankets, organizing bins, cork and dry erase boards and that sort of thing. Not typical school supplies, but very useful in many places that are not college dorm rooms or student apartments.

So, have I gotten you motivated to at least look at the sales flyers with a more careful eye to savings even if you don’t have students at your house?

Feel free to tell us about the best deals you have found on “school supplies” in the comments below.

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January 26 2017

​Top 5 Money Saving Tips

Let’s face it, we could all stand to save a little more money. If nothing else, use the money you save to treat yourself to something that you’d feel guilty spending the money on otherwise. Perhaps you could save up for a trip, a new computer, dinner out, ice cream after work or any other treat that motivates you. Maybe you want to pay down debt extra fast or build up an emergency fund. Give some of these tips a try and let me know how much you saved.
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