Search Results for: blog get organized financially

Save Money and Time by Staying Organized

Did you know that being disorganized can actually cost you money? It’s true. If the information that you keep regarding your finances is not organized and kept in a dedicated place, there are a few ways in which you can lose money. By taking the time to organize your financial information, you can stop losing money and even save time too. One important tool for keeping your finances organized is a calendar. You can choose to write financial information on your regular calendar or on a separate calendar that is dedicated to money related items. Writing down when all of … Continue reading →

Getting a Handle on the Stresses of Being a Single Parent

Everyone knows that being a single parent is stressful. Face it, you’ve got a lot on your plate and no one to help you balance it all. Stress is just a way of life when you are parenting on your own. And for those of us that get overwhelmed easy, it can be a nightmare. Trying to get finances worked out, dealing with the ex, getting kids ready for school, taking them to all their appointments, making sure that dinner is on the table, making sure the house is in order. There’s a lot to deal with. Here are a … Continue reading →

Reality Budgets

A common budgeting mistake is not basing your budget on reality. We all want to be able to set aside $200 a month to save for a down payment on a home or our children’s college education. But, if you have to cut your food budget in half to afford to do so… you may find you come up short each month. The key in budgeting is avoiding this common mistake. In order for a budget to actually work, it needs to be first based in reality. During your budget planning, realize that certain things just aren’t in your budget, … Continue reading →

Get Organized Financially

It can be difficult to get ahead financial if you are not organized when it comes to money matters. This is one of the most important areas of your life to become organized in. It is easy to become overwhelmed with tracking the daily spending, as well as paying the monthly bills. Here are five tips to help you get organized. 1) You should have a place where you store your unpaid bills. When you receive a bill or an account statement, you should put it in a specific place. In order for this to work you need to go … Continue reading →

Eating Organic and Local For Less: Part Two

Do you want to go green in the kitchen? Cost can be a big factor that prevents families from eating organic and local food. Here are more ideas to help you eat healthy, local food and support local farmers! Get local! Food deserts are a rising concern. In these places, it’s hard to find any sort of healthy food aside from a convenience store. If you have a hard time getting to a store to shop for healthy food, you may be living in a food desert. In this case, programs like Farm to School programs or mini seasonal markets … Continue reading →

Coupons and Me – We are Not Meant to Be

You may remember that a few months ago, I decided to give couponing a try. In case you are wondering how that all worked out, I must confess that I have stopped couponing. For about a month, I faithfully got the newspaper every Sunday and clipped and sorted the coupons. I had them all organized in envelopes, and I scanned three area grocery store flyers to see whether I could use any coupons along with sale prices to get great deals. While I did get some excellent prices on a few things, there were things that I noticed along the … Continue reading →

Family Reunion Season

Love them or hate them, summer is prime time for family reunions. My extended clan gets together for a huge gathering every year. And by huge I mean an entire weekend full of family-friendly events, including picnics, sit down dinners, brunch buffets, scavenger hunts, golf outings, fishing derbies, bowling contests, and group picture-taking sessions that can take almost the entire afternoon. Both of my parents come from large families. My father is one of 10 children whose siblings each have at least four children each. Those kids went on to reproduce more than 50 additional children, and counting. Needless to … Continue reading →

Birth Order and Your Frugal Style

Numerous studies have determined that the order in which you are born into your family can affect your personality. While there have to be some exceptions, these typical personality traits can affect your frugal style. One personality type might be really good at saving with coupons, while another is better off negotiating for goods and services to save money. Where do you fall? Only Child I’m going to start with this one, since that is who I am. Only children tend to be big perfectionists and very responsible. They also get along well with people who are older than they … Continue reading →

Frugal Month in Review: October 2008

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” – George Eliot October has come and gone, but we can still enjoy fall and the celebration of Thanksgiving and all of the great joys of the season. Take a look back at all of the ways to save money that were featured last month. October 1st Frugal Halloween Costumes It is fall and Halloween is approaching fast, are you ready? What do the kids want to be? You can make some great homemade costumes … Continue reading →

When You Really Need a Boost

Okay, no matter how amazingly confident and secure you are—no matter how organized, happy, and financially secure you are, there are going to be those days as a single parent when you are pretty worn down. For the rest of us, those of us who are managing along and would not qualify ourselves as amazingly confident or rolling in financial security, we can really have those overwhelming days when we wonder how we are going to face one more half-empty refrigerator or make it through another parent-teacher conference without losing our minds, what can WE do when we really need … Continue reading →