With the gas prices, WELL above the "normal" range lately, I thought I'd give out some great saving gas tips I've collected from all over! Yes I do use these tips myself and it DOES work. I am driving up to 56 miles a day just for work, which does not include errands, children's appts, stores, friends houses, etc. It's costly right now because of gas prices, but this week I will try to give you some pointers on cutting down your gas costs.
Consider nontraditional fuel centers at grocery stores and wholesale clubs. Their gas prices are usually lower than the market average. Here are some money-saving ideas to use at these places:
Save money using store discount card. At some grocery stores and Wal-Mart stores, you can save 3 cents a gallon with discount cards. Use fuel discount offers and coupons issued by grocery stores at the cash register. These promotions are available at selected stores across the country. You can find information in store advertisements and on their Web sites. Also ask store personnel if they have special promotions available for their fuel centers.
We have a local gas station that runs a constant promotion. They are the same price as EVERY other gas station in the area - HOWEVER, if you pay by cash - it's .05 cheaper PER gallon! Look for discount gas stations. They often are the one's that sell cheap beer and wine too. LOL (I don't buy these, but this is typical of these types of stores).
Friday, July 15, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Recipes Can Save Money Too!
I want to tell you a little something.
Go into almost anyone's kitchen, and there in a drawer, or a cabinet or in the desk you will find a pile. A pile of what?
A pile of recipes that have been clipped and saved thinking that "someday I'm going to try this."
Yes, I'm guilty. Well, not anymore. Because I did something about it. I waited until we had a nice dinner one night. Where I had no cravings, I was full and content. And then I sat down in front of all my clipped recipes and began to sort. The first time I sorted them, I sorted them into two piles - Yummy, I know we'll try this, and DISGUSTING - what was I thinking? This made it easy. Because amazingly enough, when you are hungry, you will think something sounds good to you even when it won't.
Another way I sorted the disgusting one's was to think about my children and whether it was something I thought they'd try it or not. I don't make dinners for them. I make them for the family.
However, I keep their individual likes and dislikes in the back of my mind when I'm looking for new recipes. If it's something I know that they are really going to hate, then I usually can it (yep that would be the trash can). No reason to hold onto it if I'm not going to use it.
I saved ANY recipes that sounded good, or would be good for "adult only" meals though. After I had my two piles- the disgusting one's made their way to the trash.
But then I was forced to face a HUGE pile of recipes that I wasn't quite sure how to organize. Those would be the Yummy ones. So the next thing I did was sort through them in three piles - this time I sorted by my favorite cooking methods - freezer, crockpot & one dish meals.
Everything else went into a fourth pile of "different cooking methods". After I had my three piles of my favorite cooking methods, I organized them by category - main dish, side, appetizer, etc.
Then I had to deal with this fourth category - this was a lot more of a challenge. I made several piles (yours might differ), I created a pile for recipes with hard to find ingredients or ingredients that were pretty expensive - because I tend to avoid those types of meals most of the time (ie. some steak recipes calling for wines, etc), and then a pile for recipes containing ingredients I always seem to have on hand, and then my favorite pile of that sort - quick and easy meals. I had a few more piles, in which I cannot think of at the moment, but just use your judgement when you're doing it.
The pile with the "expensive ingredients" actually went to the trash. Why? Because I was looking for budget benders, and quick and easy meals to make for my family. Somehow spending $20 on ingredients for one meal, that most likely wouldn't be used on any OTHER meals, seemed silly to me. So into the trash for my family.
The piles I was left over with, I sorted them into their respective categories in a recipe box. In the front of the recipe box I had 3 tabs for my Freezer recipes, Crockpot Recipes, and One dish recipes already. (I also have a separate section for my home business recipes.
Want to know what happened after all this? I actually started USING all those recipes I had collected up. I discovered things about my family, through trial and error and different recipes - my daughter will eat most seafood if properly presented to her, my son isn't a total meat and potato kid, he will actually eat veggies when they are seasoned and cooked to his liking. So it was fun, and I got them involved in cooking a lot! That also helped them try the foods they wouldn't normally have tried. After cooking a meal, who isn't going to at least TRY it! LOL
So my tip is to ORGANIZE those recipes you have all over! Pare down your cookbooks and magazines and really be honest about what you will or will not try. Get rid of the rest! No reason to clutter up your beautiful sparkling kitchen.
Go into almost anyone's kitchen, and there in a drawer, or a cabinet or in the desk you will find a pile. A pile of what?
A pile of recipes that have been clipped and saved thinking that "someday I'm going to try this."
Yes, I'm guilty. Well, not anymore. Because I did something about it. I waited until we had a nice dinner one night. Where I had no cravings, I was full and content. And then I sat down in front of all my clipped recipes and began to sort. The first time I sorted them, I sorted them into two piles - Yummy, I know we'll try this, and DISGUSTING - what was I thinking? This made it easy. Because amazingly enough, when you are hungry, you will think something sounds good to you even when it won't.
Another way I sorted the disgusting one's was to think about my children and whether it was something I thought they'd try it or not. I don't make dinners for them. I make them for the family.
However, I keep their individual likes and dislikes in the back of my mind when I'm looking for new recipes. If it's something I know that they are really going to hate, then I usually can it (yep that would be the trash can). No reason to hold onto it if I'm not going to use it.
I saved ANY recipes that sounded good, or would be good for "adult only" meals though. After I had my two piles- the disgusting one's made their way to the trash.
But then I was forced to face a HUGE pile of recipes that I wasn't quite sure how to organize. Those would be the Yummy ones. So the next thing I did was sort through them in three piles - this time I sorted by my favorite cooking methods - freezer, crockpot & one dish meals.
Everything else went into a fourth pile of "different cooking methods". After I had my three piles of my favorite cooking methods, I organized them by category - main dish, side, appetizer, etc.
Then I had to deal with this fourth category - this was a lot more of a challenge. I made several piles (yours might differ), I created a pile for recipes with hard to find ingredients or ingredients that were pretty expensive - because I tend to avoid those types of meals most of the time (ie. some steak recipes calling for wines, etc), and then a pile for recipes containing ingredients I always seem to have on hand, and then my favorite pile of that sort - quick and easy meals. I had a few more piles, in which I cannot think of at the moment, but just use your judgement when you're doing it.
The pile with the "expensive ingredients" actually went to the trash. Why? Because I was looking for budget benders, and quick and easy meals to make for my family. Somehow spending $20 on ingredients for one meal, that most likely wouldn't be used on any OTHER meals, seemed silly to me. So into the trash for my family.
The piles I was left over with, I sorted them into their respective categories in a recipe box. In the front of the recipe box I had 3 tabs for my Freezer recipes, Crockpot Recipes, and One dish recipes already. (I also have a separate section for my home business recipes.
Want to know what happened after all this? I actually started USING all those recipes I had collected up. I discovered things about my family, through trial and error and different recipes - my daughter will eat most seafood if properly presented to her, my son isn't a total meat and potato kid, he will actually eat veggies when they are seasoned and cooked to his liking. So it was fun, and I got them involved in cooking a lot! That also helped them try the foods they wouldn't normally have tried. After cooking a meal, who isn't going to at least TRY it! LOL
So my tip is to ORGANIZE those recipes you have all over! Pare down your cookbooks and magazines and really be honest about what you will or will not try. Get rid of the rest! No reason to clutter up your beautiful sparkling kitchen.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Keep it simple, and you'll save!
* Make sure you remember to put your gas cap back on securely after filling up.
* Take the highway to avoid stop-and-go traffic in the city if you can, but don't drive over 65 mph! Anything over that will eat up gas faster.
* Don't let your engine idle for very long, if it's going to be more than about a minute or so - turn the car off.
* Don't run the A/C if you don't really need it. Use your windows, the vent, etc.
* No matter how frustrated you get, avoid gunning the engine when ticked off at bad drivers.
* Park ‘n Ride. If you live in a city that has public transportation you can park your car at the nearest stop on the bus line and then ride the bus the rest of the way to and from work, for a fraction of what it might cost to fill your tank up every week.
* Take the highway to avoid stop-and-go traffic in the city if you can, but don't drive over 65 mph! Anything over that will eat up gas faster.
* Don't let your engine idle for very long, if it's going to be more than about a minute or so - turn the car off.
* Don't run the A/C if you don't really need it. Use your windows, the vent, etc.
* No matter how frustrated you get, avoid gunning the engine when ticked off at bad drivers.
* Park ‘n Ride. If you live in a city that has public transportation you can park your car at the nearest stop on the bus line and then ride the bus the rest of the way to and from work, for a fraction of what it might cost to fill your tank up every week.
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Save, Save, Save - Conserve that gas!
* And if you have children who ride the bus to school make sure they are ready on time in the morning so they don't miss their free ride!
* If your children forget their homework or lunch at home and the school is quite a drive... well, I'll leave that one up to you. But if you DO run it up to school, consider running additional errands while you're out!
* Movie tickets are already pretty high, but now we’ve got to consider the added cost of traveling there and back. Consider renting video's or even buying them from Blockbuster and Hollywood video! Hollywood Video in my area has these awesome deals where you can get 3 DVD's for $25 (and they are almost ALL new releases), and then the older ones are usually 5 for $20 - you can't beat that! Watch for those specials, and you can save that way!
* If your family has two or more cars you might want to consider sizing down, as long as the extra trips won't end up costing you even more than maintaining the additional cars.
* If you’re a double-income working couple and are commuting to work in two separate cars, have the one who’s job is the furthest away drive whichever car gets better gas mileage.
* If you’re not sure what your car’s gas mileage is… you can calculate that by writing down the odometer reading when you fill up your tank or resetting the trip meter to zero. Then, the next time you get gas, make a note of the mileage and how many gallons it takes to fill the tank back up. Take the difference in mileage (which is how many miles you drove on the trip meter), and divide it by how many gallons of gas it takes to fill up. For example, if you drove 100 miles and it takes 5 gallons of gas to fill your tank back up, you're getting 20 mpg. My Ford Explorer ('97) has a digital read-out for me of how many gallons I got every time I fill up. Remember to check it and you can figure out how to cut costs that way too! (plus you can keep track of how good you're doing!)
* Your gas mileage may also vary just a bit with each fill up depending on traffic and how you're driving, but you'll have a good idea of what your average is by continuing to keep track of your mileage over several weeks or months (a small notebook would be handy). Once you have at least several weeks of figures to use, add the mpg averages together and divide them by how many there are. For example, if you've got averages of 20, 21, 19, 22, and 25, your total would be 107 and you would divide that figure by 5, bringing your average to 21.4 mpg.
* If your car gets less than 20 mpg you might consider trading it in for one that's more efficient. SUVs may be great cars, and I truly love mine, but right now it kinda sucks LOL
You might also want to consider a hybrid car if that's in the budget. Upon research I found that not only do they get 77mpg (yep that's NOT a typo!) they are relatively easy to use and OWN!
Plus in 2004 they had a tax discount for hybrid car owners:
"Under the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004, the deduction amount is limited to $2,000 for cars first put into use in 2004 and 2005. The deduction will be limited to $500 for vehicles placed in service in 2006, and no deduction will be allowed after that year..." http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=107766,00.html Hurry up and buy one LOL
* If your children forget their homework or lunch at home and the school is quite a drive... well, I'll leave that one up to you. But if you DO run it up to school, consider running additional errands while you're out!
* Movie tickets are already pretty high, but now we’ve got to consider the added cost of traveling there and back. Consider renting video's or even buying them from Blockbuster and Hollywood video! Hollywood Video in my area has these awesome deals where you can get 3 DVD's for $25 (and they are almost ALL new releases), and then the older ones are usually 5 for $20 - you can't beat that! Watch for those specials, and you can save that way!
* If your family has two or more cars you might want to consider sizing down, as long as the extra trips won't end up costing you even more than maintaining the additional cars.
* If you’re a double-income working couple and are commuting to work in two separate cars, have the one who’s job is the furthest away drive whichever car gets better gas mileage.
* If you’re not sure what your car’s gas mileage is… you can calculate that by writing down the odometer reading when you fill up your tank or resetting the trip meter to zero. Then, the next time you get gas, make a note of the mileage and how many gallons it takes to fill the tank back up. Take the difference in mileage (which is how many miles you drove on the trip meter), and divide it by how many gallons of gas it takes to fill up. For example, if you drove 100 miles and it takes 5 gallons of gas to fill your tank back up, you're getting 20 mpg. My Ford Explorer ('97) has a digital read-out for me of how many gallons I got every time I fill up. Remember to check it and you can figure out how to cut costs that way too! (plus you can keep track of how good you're doing!)
* Your gas mileage may also vary just a bit with each fill up depending on traffic and how you're driving, but you'll have a good idea of what your average is by continuing to keep track of your mileage over several weeks or months (a small notebook would be handy). Once you have at least several weeks of figures to use, add the mpg averages together and divide them by how many there are. For example, if you've got averages of 20, 21, 19, 22, and 25, your total would be 107 and you would divide that figure by 5, bringing your average to 21.4 mpg.
* If your car gets less than 20 mpg you might consider trading it in for one that's more efficient. SUVs may be great cars, and I truly love mine, but right now it kinda sucks LOL
You might also want to consider a hybrid car if that's in the budget. Upon research I found that not only do they get 77mpg (yep that's NOT a typo!) they are relatively easy to use and OWN!
Plus in 2004 they had a tax discount for hybrid car owners:
"Under the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004, the deduction amount is limited to $2,000 for cars first put into use in 2004 and 2005. The deduction will be limited to $500 for vehicles placed in service in 2006, and no deduction will be allowed after that year..." http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=107766,00.html Hurry up and buy one LOL
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Got that credit card?
USE IT! If you have a Gas Credit Card use it!
Gas rebate credit cards are lucrative now, but read the fine print. You can research cards on www.cardweb.com. There are station-specific rebate cards, general rebate cards and grocery store rebate cards that give rebates ranging from 2 percent to 10 percent on gas. Read the fine print. Lucrative rebates of 5 percent to 10 percent on gas may only apply under certain terms. Know the rules to play your card right for the biggest savings. Some things to consider:
• Are there spending limits for the high gas rebate? For example (in the case of one gas rebate card), once annual card spending reaches $3,000 per year, then the gas rebate goes down from 5 percent to 1 percent. The trick: Only put your gas spending on this card to maintain the high gas rebate.
• Is there a limited time period for the high rebate and/or low interest rate?
• Is the high gas rebate available at all fuel centers or only selected stations?
• If you expect to carry a balance on the card, is the interest rate competitive with other options?
Gas rebate credit cards are lucrative now, but read the fine print. You can research cards on www.cardweb.com. There are station-specific rebate cards, general rebate cards and grocery store rebate cards that give rebates ranging from 2 percent to 10 percent on gas. Read the fine print. Lucrative rebates of 5 percent to 10 percent on gas may only apply under certain terms. Know the rules to play your card right for the biggest savings. Some things to consider:
• Are there spending limits for the high gas rebate? For example (in the case of one gas rebate card), once annual card spending reaches $3,000 per year, then the gas rebate goes down from 5 percent to 1 percent. The trick: Only put your gas spending on this card to maintain the high gas rebate.
• Is there a limited time period for the high rebate and/or low interest rate?
• Is the high gas rebate available at all fuel centers or only selected stations?
• If you expect to carry a balance on the card, is the interest rate competitive with other options?
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Pantry Inventory
When something you use is on sale, STOCK UP!
Your first grocery trip on the road to saving money is actually to spend a little more than you are used to. Items that are staples in your pantry should be purchased in large quantity if possible. These include items such as flour, sugar, pasta, dry beans, rice, oatmeal, canned goods, etc. I have a nice little "should have" pantry list I will share.
Now, I have added and pared down multiple lists to come up with this list. If you are not cooking from scratch, some of these items might not be necessary to you, but some I don't have listed might be must have's!
Dry BulkGoods
•Flour(white,wholewheat,and bread)
•Sugar(white,brown and powdered)
•Cornmeal
•Dried beans (kidney,black,split peas,white navy, garbanzo)
•Oatmeal
•Pasta
•Rice
•Soups (cream of chicken, cream of mushroom)
•salt
•baking soda
•baking powder
•Yeast
•Vanilla Extract
•Maple syrup
•shortening
•spices
•dry milk
•dry eggs
•cocoa
•Vinegar
•Olive oil
•Canola oil
•Canned veggies (green beans, corn, tomatoes,tomato sauce,tomato paste)
•Home canned veggies(variety)
•Canned beans
•Canned Fruit(pears, peaches,applesauce,pineapple)
•Canned Meats
•Mac and cheese
•Peanutbutter
•Jellies
•Ketchup, mustard, mayo
•Crackers
•Ramen noodles
•Pasta Noodles
•Popcorn (stick with the kernels, not the "boxed variety") - its cheaper and healthier!
•Pretzels
•Coffee
•Tea
•Raisins
•Nuts (peanuts,walnuts, almonds)
•Grains-barley, wheat
•Cereals
and many, many more!
So these are the items you should try to stock up on as much as possible! There are many more I can add to this list but for now, this is a basic starter set. You have these, and you can whip up meals, even when you think you have nothing to cook!
Your first grocery trip on the road to saving money is actually to spend a little more than you are used to. Items that are staples in your pantry should be purchased in large quantity if possible. These include items such as flour, sugar, pasta, dry beans, rice, oatmeal, canned goods, etc. I have a nice little "should have" pantry list I will share.
Now, I have added and pared down multiple lists to come up with this list. If you are not cooking from scratch, some of these items might not be necessary to you, but some I don't have listed might be must have's!
Dry BulkGoods
•Flour(white,wholewheat,and bread)
•Sugar(white,brown and powdered)
•Cornmeal
•Dried beans (kidney,black,split peas,white navy, garbanzo)
•Oatmeal
•Pasta
•Rice
•Soups (cream of chicken, cream of mushroom)
•salt
•baking soda
•baking powder
•Yeast
•Vanilla Extract
•Maple syrup
•shortening
•spices
•dry milk
•dry eggs
•cocoa
•Vinegar
•Olive oil
•Canola oil
•Canned veggies (green beans, corn, tomatoes,tomato sauce,tomato paste)
•Home canned veggies(variety)
•Canned beans
•Canned Fruit(pears, peaches,applesauce,pineapple)
•Canned Meats
•Mac and cheese
•Peanutbutter
•Jellies
•Ketchup, mustard, mayo
•Crackers
•Ramen noodles
•Pasta Noodles
•Popcorn (stick with the kernels, not the "boxed variety") - its cheaper and healthier!
•Pretzels
•Coffee
•Tea
•Raisins
•Nuts (peanuts,walnuts, almonds)
•Grains-barley, wheat
•Cereals
and many, many more!
So these are the items you should try to stock up on as much as possible! There are many more I can add to this list but for now, this is a basic starter set. You have these, and you can whip up meals, even when you think you have nothing to cook!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Games, Games and More Games!
Finding party games can be a challenge, so I've made the work a little easier. Here are a few FRUGAL ideas for games. (that's the great part of games - most ARE frugal!) LOL
For 100's more, check out that e-book I mentioned yesterday!
I love more traditional games, so that's what I'm sharing!
PIN THE TAIL ON THE DONKEY
Change the donkey and the tail to match your theme!
Examples:
- Pin the petal on the flower
- Pin the handle on the teapot
- Pin the tail on the T-Rex
- Pin the wheel on the truck
You get the idea. Then each child is blindfolded and gets a try at placing the tail as close as possible to where it supposed to go. The closest is the winner.
LIMBO
Fun for kids of all ages! Set up a bar that can be raised or lowered, we usually have two people hold the bar, but it has posed a problem before because sometimes they like to move it down "too soon". Play some music in the background and have everyone take a turn going under the bar. You go under the bar facing forward and leaning back! The person who can go the lowest is the winner!
MUSICAL CHAIRS
A traditional favorite! Set up a line of chairs, one less than the number of players and start the music. Everyone walks around the chairs and sits down once the music stops. Whoever is left standing is "out" and we usually have a "booby" prize for them. Take away one chair and start the music again. This continues until there is only one chair. The final two people begin to walk around the chair. Whoever sits when the music stops is the winner!
CAKE-WALK
Set up a bunch of numbers on the floor. Traditionally it's a circle, but we play around with it sometimes and make them zizag and other funny methods. Begin playing music and have everyone walk from one number to the next. Stop the music and allow everyone to get fixed on their number. Draw a number from a hat and then call out the number. Whoever is standing on that number when the music stops is the winner! Obviously at school carnivals and such, the winner usually get's a cake or other goodie, but, you can give away something different.
SIMON SAYS
Get everyone to stand at one end of a large room or out in the yard (yards work better). Simon stands at the other end. Simon gives commands starting with "Simon Says" - "Simon Says take two giant steps forward". "Simon Says pat your head". "Simon Says Sit Down". Affter a few of these you command them to do something without saying "Simon Says" and anyone who does it is out. Whoever follows only Simon's orders and is left at the end of the game wins!
For 100's more, check out that e-book I mentioned yesterday!
I love more traditional games, so that's what I'm sharing!
PIN THE TAIL ON THE DONKEY
Change the donkey and the tail to match your theme!
Examples:
- Pin the petal on the flower
- Pin the handle on the teapot
- Pin the tail on the T-Rex
- Pin the wheel on the truck
You get the idea. Then each child is blindfolded and gets a try at placing the tail as close as possible to where it supposed to go. The closest is the winner.
LIMBO
Fun for kids of all ages! Set up a bar that can be raised or lowered, we usually have two people hold the bar, but it has posed a problem before because sometimes they like to move it down "too soon". Play some music in the background and have everyone take a turn going under the bar. You go under the bar facing forward and leaning back! The person who can go the lowest is the winner!
MUSICAL CHAIRS
A traditional favorite! Set up a line of chairs, one less than the number of players and start the music. Everyone walks around the chairs and sits down once the music stops. Whoever is left standing is "out" and we usually have a "booby" prize for them. Take away one chair and start the music again. This continues until there is only one chair. The final two people begin to walk around the chair. Whoever sits when the music stops is the winner!
CAKE-WALK
Set up a bunch of numbers on the floor. Traditionally it's a circle, but we play around with it sometimes and make them zizag and other funny methods. Begin playing music and have everyone walk from one number to the next. Stop the music and allow everyone to get fixed on their number. Draw a number from a hat and then call out the number. Whoever is standing on that number when the music stops is the winner! Obviously at school carnivals and such, the winner usually get's a cake or other goodie, but, you can give away something different.
SIMON SAYS
Get everyone to stand at one end of a large room or out in the yard (yards work better). Simon stands at the other end. Simon gives commands starting with "Simon Says" - "Simon Says take two giant steps forward". "Simon Says pat your head". "Simon Says Sit Down". Affter a few of these you command them to do something without saying "Simon Says" and anyone who does it is out. Whoever follows only Simon's orders and is left at the end of the game wins!
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