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My 20 favorite tips (that have saved us the most money!)

10 Jul

my logoI go through spurts of time where I am too busy to clip coupons or find new ways to save (and to blog!). However, there are some tried and true tips that have become part of our regular routines and daily life that help us save a lot of money!

Check out my favorites! How many do you do?

1) Keeping a price list – This is probably my favorite resource. I update it frequently and keep it in my purse to refer to when shopping. It helps me know when a price is right!

2) Rewards for shopping – With OfficeMax rewards we have saved hundreds of dollars! They have great clearance and sale items and coupons, too. It is one of my favorite stores!

3) My favorite find – swapping books – It used to be that you could make some money selling your used books on Amazon. One year I made a few hundred dollars selling old books. Now the market is saturated and books go for pennies. However, this site allows me to create a wish list of books I want and trade books I am done with. I have gotten many great books for my family and for teaching!

4) Preparing for gift giving = savings – My gift drawer has come in handy many times for birthday parties and teacher gifts! I always stock up on things when I spot a good deal.

5) Making your own challah – Since we got a bread machine this has gotten even easier. My husband also makes pizza crust and loaf bread in it. Between that and shopping at our local bread outlet, we spend so little on bread products!

6) Menu planning – We often get too busy to do this, but when we do, it helps so much! We make less trips to the store and eat better. Our family loves homemade meals better than pinch hit dinners like eggs and toast!

7) Brighter savings – I cannot remember the last time we had to buy light bulbs. Using fluorescent bulbs saves us a lot of money and we have to replace them so infrequently!

8) Staying on top of your kids’ clothing – We are so fortunate to have generous friends who give us their hand-me-down clothes when they are done with them. I love to go shopping in my basement for the next size clothes when my boys’ need it! I rarely have to buy things for them except for socks, underwear, and a few other items!

9) Become a member – Our zoo and science center memberships have more than paid off and give us other things to do at each place that we normally could not afford! I just wish they both weren’t up for renewal around the same time!

10) SodaStream soda makers! – I admit that I love soda, even though it is bad for me! However, SodaStream uses healthy artificial sweeteners and is much cheaper than canned and bottled sodas. It also makes a nice treat for Shabbos guests that we would normally not be able to afford!

11) The advantage of buying paper goods online – I try to limit our use of paper goods, but around the holidays (especially Pesach), they really come in handy. Buying them in the store (even Sam’s) can be so expensive. See my reasons for why shopping online is better!

12) Recycle your ink – earn money – OfficeMax offers $2 back now on each ink cartridge you recycle with them. It just gets added to your rewards. Simple way to earn a few bucks!

13) School Supply Shopping Strategy – With school supplies already out on the shelves, my shopping tips really help us spend very little on supplies each year. And with four kids, it can add up quickly!

14) Are “dollar stores” really a good deal? – I love Dollar Tree and frankly probably shop there too much! But, I find so many great deals there – teaching items, kitchen tools, containers, and more!

15) Why I love Target! – Target has so many ways for you to stack your savings – manufacturer’s coupons, Target printable coupons, Cartwheel mobile app, your Target Red Card, and gift card rewards. I always come out with a feeling of accomplishment and save at least $20 or more this way!

16) Printer ink can cost a fortune – I print a lot from home for teaching, so my tips for buying affordable ink are crucial! We also changed to a Brother printer, which has been much better than our HP printer.

17) Making the most of the whole bird – My husband is a master at using as much of a chicken as possible. We let very little go to waste and end up with several meals from one chicken!

18) Follow-up on ditching cable – we love our Roku! – This change has made the biggest difference in our monthly expenses. It was hard to do at first, but I cannot imagine going back and am so glad we are not wasting our money anymore!

19) Post-Christmas shopping success – I love after-holiday sales. I can always find good deals on special treats, snacks, items for my gift drawer, and more. You don’t have to celebrate the holiday to save from the special seasonal items!

20) Saving on Black Friday without spending much money! – I do not stand in line for hours, but I still save a ton each Black Friday. A little planning and knowing the right stores to go to make the difference!

Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think of my favorite tips and other posts!

Hope you are enjoying your summer!

 
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Posted by on July 10, 2015 in Email and online tips, Family ideas, Forms for everything, Grocery savings, Holidays, Other savings tips, Saving while keeping kosher

 

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Follow up on ditching cable – we love our Roku!

25 Dec

Roku

Several months ago I wrote about our ever-ending quest to find larger items to save money on. We finally “bit the bullet” and got rid of our cable. Even after reading about others who had done it, I thought we could never live without it. It was our one splurge – not eating out much, not spending much on clothing, makeup, recreation, etc. As my friend Mara (of Kosher on a Budget) calls it – there are no sacred cows. So we did it – but after some careful research! Here is my original post: Save big on your phone and cable!

The hookup of our Roku device was very easy – however, we first bought the wrong one. We didn’t realize that our TV would not work with the hookup of the newest Roku model. It said it worked with most HD TVs, so we just assumed it would be fine with ours. Wrong! Be sure to check what kind of hookup your TV requires and be sure that model of Roku has that connection! And be aware that the Roku devices do not always come with the cable you may need. Read reviews for this, too, so you know all the parts you may need to get.

So we returned the newer one and got the previous model (which did save us $50, by the way) and thanks to Amazon Prime, it came in just two days. The hookup was then quite fast and we were able to watch in a few minutes.

The hard part was figuring out the multitude of channels. I still do not know what they all are for and many have charges that are not specifically stated on those first home screens. We have stuck with using HuluPlus ($7.99/month), Netflix ($7.99/month), and Amazon Prime ($79/year or $39 if you are a student). My boys also like PBS Kids, which is free.

Here were my original worries about giving up our AT & T:

  • we wouldn’t be able to keep track of our favorite shows and when new episodes were available
  • we would get behind on our favorite shows
  • our favorite shows would not be available

So far 2 out of 3 of our worries were unfounded. HuluPlus lets you add shows to your Favorites list and then new episodes appear on your Queue as they are available. You can also manually select any episodes or shows to your Queue. The font size is a bit hard to read on HuluPlus on our smallish TV, but no biggie!

The last, that some of our favorite shows would not be available, was true. Neither HuluPlus, Netflix or Amazon Prime seem to have current episodes of Disney, ABC Family, Lifetime, USA or CBS shows – without an added fee. You can often buy one episode of a show for $1.99, but I am not about to pay that for one show!

So for now, we are watching older seasons on Netflix when we can find them (Disney, some ABC Family, and CBS are available). And we are waiting and hoping all of the above mentioned stations will work out some deal with these streaming providers soon! The other option is to watch them online, but that is not as convenient for us with my laptop which often overheats. A friend has mentioned hooking up our laptop to the TV screen, but that is for another day!

The boys love it and really have so much to watch. They are loving catching up on older episodes of their favorite shows, finding every superhero show imaginable, and the watching the PBS Kids channel, which has a large selection of great shows (Arthur, Magic School Bus, Wild Kratts, Dinosaur Train, Word Girl, and more).

Have you made the switch? Share your feedback below in the Comments section!

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Posted by on December 25, 2013 in Email and online tips, Family ideas, Other savings tips, Reviews

 

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Save big on your phone and cable!

08 Jul

Money

During my quest to save money, it has been much easier to find small ways to save. And those small ways can add up over the course of a year. Finding those big-ticket items can be more problematic. However, in the last two days I have found two new things that will together save us more than $1600 a year!

Phone service:

The first came from my friend, Mara, who writes the blog “Kosher on a Budget,” which I often refer to and link to. She did a post on an internet-based phone service. The Ooma system hooks up through your internet connection and you pay as little as $120 for the unit (yesterday’s price on Amazon). Then you pay less than $4 per month for fees (this may vary based on your area). Our current phone bill is up to $64 a month!

THE BOTTOM LINE:

ooma deviceFor one year that means we will pay $120 + $48 = $168 for Ooma. The unit would be paid off after three months compared to what we paid before.

In contrast, a year of AT & T is $64 x 12 = $768!

That is a savings of $600! Now, I do have to add one more expense to this. I bought the Ooma wireless adapter to make sure the unit would work with my wireless internet, because I wasn’t sure we had all the parts to do it using cords. That was an additional $40. However, even adding that in we save $560 the first year! After that we save $720 a year! That is quite a savings. I can’t wait to get the unit and try it out (and tell AT & T goodbye!).

I have heard of other internet-based options out there, but none as cheap as this. The Straight Talk unit from Wal-Mart costs $100 for the unit and $15 a month for service, which adds up to $280 a year.

Cable:

After the excitement of yesterday’s find, I started looking into other ways we might cut some of our biggest expenses, one of which is cable. We got suckered into getting AT & T U-verse a few years back when they first came to our neighborhood. They offered to upgrade our internet service to fiber-optic cabling and we could try out U-verse for a month for free. The cost for the Internet was not much higher than what we were paying them for DSL and I was glad to have a faster connection.

Then I got hooked on the DVR. We had previously used our VCR or DVD player to tape our favorite shows to watch after the kids went to bed. However, there were many times we would forget to program something, the time would change, or the tape or disc was full. The DVR offered a way to not have to deal with all of that. Plus, we were enjoying getting to watch the Disney Channel and a few other cable networks.

Our financial situation has changed for the worse again and this seems like a luxury that we should adjust. I also hate that I am paying so much to the cable company when we really only watch a few channels. So I think we are going to make the leap one of the new streaming device offerings.

Roku unitI did some research today and there seems to be a lot of evidence out there that the Roku device is best. It hooks up to your TV via the internet and allows you to watch tons of free programming and have access to a variety of streaming channels, the most popular being Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Instant Video. Through some research I have found that Netflix offers many Disney shows and Hulu Plus allows you to be fairly current with the regular timely offerings on TV.

I am no expert on any of this and have been reading many articles on the different channels, their programming, and the pros and cons. But for me, the bottom line is that I can still watch my favorite shows and my kids can still see the Disney Channel. We will be able to use our Netflix account or Amazon Prime right on the TV (currently my husband used Netflix on his iPod and our Amazon Prime was mainly for the free two-day shipping).

The unit costs about $100 across the board at various retailers. However, Amazon has it right now for $99. I had thought Target might be a good place to get it with my 5% Red Card discount, but the tax eats that discount up and you end up paying more than $100. Netflix and Hulu Plus are about $7.99 each per month.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Even if we add Netflix and Hulu Plus on top of the cost of the unit, our yearly cost for this first year using Roku will be $100 + $192 = $292.

Our U-verse cost (taking out our Internet fee which we will still to pay) = $90 + $10 (bundle discount we will lose) per month. That means $1200 a year!

That is a savings of $908 a year.

In two days, I have figured out how to save us $1628! I would say not bad for a few days work!

Please let me know your experience with phone systems and cable so that we can all learn from each other. I will be excited to share our results with you after we install both. However, from what I have read of reviews online, both seem like great options to save a bundle and take advantage of some great new technological options.

Related articles:

Some other ways we save significantly:

 
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Posted by on July 8, 2013 in Email and online tips, Other savings tips, Reviews

 

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Printer ink can cost a fortune!

18 Feb

This image shows an opened Canon S520 ink jet ...Our printer recently died and HP told us that it could not be fixed. They offered us an upgrade at a lower price. I checked out Amazon and it was a lower price than they could offer. Our new printer came very fast and I was excited that I can scan, copy, and print from one device. But who knew that the ink would run out so quickly. I have been buying ink every few weeks! Here are my tips for saving as much as you can on printer ink.

1) Print in draft mode as much as possible. This will limit the amount of ink used on each printout. Print your coupons in black ink instead of color to limit your color usage, too.

2) Buy ink online whenever you can and be sure to compare prices with your local stores so you know when you have found a good deal. I often can find my ink for $5 – $10 cheaper than in stores. I mostly purchase through Amazon, so that if I need to return the ink, I have a reputable company to make sure the return goes well.

3) Buy remanufactured ink when you can, but be sure to check the reviews for that company and product. Some remanufactured inks are not as good as others. I have read many reviews of products that did not last long or didn’t even work when they were first opened.

4) Check reviews online for your printer ink. I almost bought a set of three colors and black ink together. By reading the reviews I found out that the four-packs for that ink number are only available as the setup packs that the printer comes with.

5) Buy XL inks when you can. These have more ink for the cost. However, be sure to read the specifications for these. You printer may take that number model of ink, but not the XL version, as mine does not.

6) Get your ink refilled at an office supply store when possible. Many inks can be refilled for a minimal cost instead of being replaced. See what your local store provides.

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Posted by on February 18, 2013 in Email and online tips, Other savings tips, Protecting the environment, Reviews

 

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Superhero kids’ party on a budget

13 Sep

For weeks I had been trying to figure out what to do for my triplets’ 5th birthday party. I wanted to make it special for them and perhaps have it outside the house. We have always done their parties at home or at one of my best friends’ houses. However, after calling around and getting prices, I realized that having the party somewhere else was not going to be financially feasible. Even reserving a park pavilion was a minimum of $50!

So home it was. I then went online to get some ideas for what to do. How did we ever plan parties before Family Fun magazine and Pinterest!? My boys kept changing their minds as to what theme they wanted and I couldn’t really get agreement between them. However, I knew that were currently enjoying playing anything superhero-related. So I figured they would enjoy anything I planned that involved this.

I found so many great ideas and found some amazing people out there who are extremely creative (and have much more time than I do). I made a trip to Michaels’ for supplies and then set to work. My supply list included: t-shirts (These were on sale for $3, but still my most expensive item. However, considering we weren’t doing other party favors, that was fine.), felt, felt glue, icing, fabric paint, foam brushes, and blank stencils. I already had elastic and glow bracelets at home.

My first project was to make masks for the kids. I had wanted it to be something they could make on their own, but decorated masks didn’t seem to fit with how superheroes look. Plus, plastic (which would be the easiest to decorate) is also the easiest to break, which we found out last Purim.

The finished products.

One of my boys with his new mask and his cape (Chanukah gift last year).

Instead, online I found a cute idea for making felt masks. I traced, cut, and glued with felt glue to make these double-layered masks. The instructions say to sew them, but I do not have a sewing machine and hand stitches would have taken forever! I tied my boys’ masks that morning to make sure they fit right and then did the guests’ as they arrived. The boys had fun wearing them and climbing in our tent pretending to be superheroes.

For crafts, I had coloring pages out on the table when they arrived. There are tons of websites offering free coloring pages on any topic you can imagine. Thanks Lori for this great idea!

For the main craft project, I thought it would be nice to have the kids make their own superhero shirts. I bought blank stencils and my husband drew out the diamond-shaped background and then the first letter of each child’s name. (We had three diamond-shaped stencils for everyone to share and then each child got their own letter = 2 steps.) I then traced these on the stencils and cut them out. This was no easy task – who knew making a stencil to have the paint go in the right place would be so hard! Luckily Brent found some stencil letters online to use as a guide, but drawing them was quite tedious!

The kids then used them with fabric paint and foam brushes to create their superhero emblem. Luckily, my smart sister reminded me to put cardboard between the shirt’s front and back before we started painting! (Thank goodness for all my leftover Creative Memories cardboard from their packages.) We also decided to dry the paint a bit with a hair dryer in between the two steps, just to deter any smearing.

The kids and moms had a great time and they came out great, if I do say so!

For our other activity, we wanted to do an obstacle course outside. However, it rained the night before and was very humid. So on to plan B. My older son and I created a spider web in the kids’ bedroom. The object was to climb through the web to the windowsill, where the kids would find a prize (a glow bracelet). They then had to find their way back, going a different direction. The boys loved it! We ended up doing this activity while my sister and aunt dried the first paint layer on the shirts.

After we finished the shirts, it was lunch of hot dogs, beans, corn, pickles, chips, and cupcakes. We had decorated the cupcakes with plain vanilla icing and then drew on shields with each of the birthday boys’ initials (with decorating icing). Thanks Michelle and Brent (daddy) for collaborating on this.

We did have to buy food and the craft supplies, but overall our costs were low. The boys said they had a great time and slept well that afternoon! Not fancy, but it worked out and was fun! We are so grateful to our friend, Michelle, who helped decorate the cupcakes and took pictures, and to my sister, Amy, and my aunt, JoAnn, who helped at the party!

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Posted by on September 13, 2012 in Email and online tips, Family ideas, Holidays, Other savings tips, Saving while keeping kosher

 

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September is the time to buy… (2012 update)

11 Sep

Certain times of the year are the best times to buy various things based on sales and availability. Here is your tip sheet for this month:

∞ Cars: September is when new cars begin arriving at the dealers. They will then discount their older models to make room for new inventory. RV deals are common in the fall, too.

∞ Certain fruits: September is the time to buy apples, blueberries, cantaloupe, cranberries, honeydew melons, nectarines, peaches, Bartlett pears, and plums.

∞ Certain vegetables: September is the time to buy cauliflower, corn, eggplants, peppers, and spinach.

∞ Charcoal grill: After Labor Day retailers offer sales of as much of 30 percent off from now and until December. The best selection is available in the fall.

∞ Furnaces: Contractors and heating/cooling companies are not busy with emergency calls during this season, so they frequently will offer deals to sell appliances during their non-busy time.

∞ Jewelry: September (along with January, March, April, July and August) are non-gift giving months. Retailers are more likely to offer sales during these months to help promote business.

∞ Lawn mowers: To make room for their leaf machines and snowblowers, retailers will put their lawn mowers on sale. The closer to late fall, the more the discounts, but the less selection, too.

∞ MP3 players: Companies sometimes put older models on sale during this time to make way for the newer models they will introduce in the fall. Consumers can then try them out and then give then as gifts for the holidays.

∞ Plants, trees, and shrubs: Nurseries often drop their prices on these items in the fall to clear out their plentiful summer inventory. Now is the time to buy bulbs, too. Store them in the winter and then plant them in spring. Independent nurseries will often have larger markdowns and a wider selection than national retailers (big-box stores).

∞ Ranges, stoves, and dishwashers: New models arrive around this time of year, which means older ones will often be discounted. Cooking-related appliances also go on sale now for Labor Day.

∞ School supplies: Check local retailers for the last of their school supplies that they want to get rid of.

∞ Swimsuits: This is the time that stores badly want to get rid of swimsuits and other summer items they have left.

∞ Tires: To prepare your car for better traction in rain, snow and ice (winter), buy new tires now.

Sources:

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Posted by on September 11, 2012 in Email and online tips, Family ideas, Grocery savings, Other savings tips, Saving while keeping kosher

 

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New series: Highlights from my favorite cookbook

24 Aug

This week I was very excited to get in touch with my favorite cookbook author, Sarah Fritschner. She has written many cookbooks and worked as a food writer for several newspapers, most recently as the food editor for the Louisville Times and Courier-Journal. Since 2009, she has served as the coordinator for the Louisville Farm to Table, created to bring together area farmers and their locally-grown foods with Louisville consumers in their homes, schools, restaurants, and workplaces, bolstering the local food economy.

My favorite cookbook of hers is “Vegetarian Express Lane Cookbook,” We use it several times a week and love the simple, easy-to-prepare recipes that involve 10 ingredients or less. The cookbook includes recipes for main dishes, sides, desserts, soups, pizzas, and more. We eat vegetarian on most weekdays (due to cost mostly, but it does benefit our health, too) and so this cookbook has become indispensable!

I originally bought this cookbook back in college when I had often thought about going vegetarian. Who would have guessed it would be my favorite cookbook for my family of six? We have had this book so long and used it so often, that the pages are turning yellow and we have many post-it flags to mark our favorites! Unfortunately, it is out-of-print. However, you can get it used from various sellers on Amazon, or possibly from your local library.

Since starting this blog, I have wanted to share some of the recipes from this cookbook. Thankfully, I got permission this week from the author to do this! So starting next week, I hope to feature one recipe a week from this great cookbook. I will include pictures of the finished recipes, too!

For more ideas on menu planning and great recipes, check out my posts:

 
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Posted by on August 24, 2012 in Email and online tips, Family ideas, Grocery savings, Reviews, Saving while keeping kosher

 

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