Below is an excerpt from an article found at http://www.couponmom.com/ which talks about how strategic shoppers save money using some very simple principles.
I read this last year and started my own “price book” to educated myself on the best price of our family staples between Costco, Jewel, Dominick’s and (will be adding) Trader Joe. We now buy the majority of our household staples only at their lowest price. When we buy items at there lowest price we buy in quantities to last us several months. I added to CouponMom’s recommendation the following: make a list, reduce “snack items” and learn to cook/prepare more than one serving. You can eat the other serving(s) later in the week or freeze for those nights you do not have time to cook.
To date this has reduced our grocer bill by at least $200 a month vs. 2008 levels(that will mean $2,400 this year).
Strategic Shoppers know how to use simple principles that work in any city, at any store. You can use my free website (www.couponmom.com) to make it easy to save money on your favorite groceries, because it does all the work of researching grocery deals and coupons for you. You’ll save money on foods you like and you’ll save time. Strategic Shoppers know prices and they know how to find special promotions. They always buy their grocery items at their lowest sale price, and if they have a coupon they use it to knock the price down even further. They shop at the stores with the best coupon policy, such as a double coupon store, to save even more with coupons. It is not unusual for Strategic Shoppers to save 50% on their grocery bill every week by using this strategy. They may not get all of their items at 50% off, but they’ll save 70-80% on several of their items and that allows them to spend more on favorite items that do not have coupons available. By using Strategic Shopping strategies, they are able to save dramatically without depriving themselves of their favorite foods.
Know prices:
In order to get a handle on your grocery spending, you need to know what the high and low prices are of your favorite items. By tracking their price trends, you’ll learn what their lowest price points are. When they hit that point, you’ll know that’s the time to buy.
Start a simple price book (like a spiral notebook) to compare prices of your most common items at one or two stores for a few weeks. You can start with as few as your 10-20 most common items. Note prices during your regular shopping trips or you check the store flyers in your newspaper. Be sure to calculate the unit prices (per ounce or per pound) to compare actual costs if package sizes vary. After comparing prices for a few weeks, you will most likely see a wide fluctuation in the sale and regular prices of your common items and that will reveal—you guessed it—their lowest price.
When you are able to recognize when your items have hit their lowest prices, you would be wise to buy 3-6 weeks worth of them so you never have to pay full price. When you run out of an item, you simply “shop” from your own low-cost inventory. By the time you are running low on a favorite item, it will most likely be at its lowest price again so you can stock up again.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
No cards please
OK, at the risk of sounding insensitive, I don't buy and send sympathy cards any more. For that matter, I don't buy and send many birthday cards either ... or friendship cards, holiday cards, get well cards, etc. Truth is, these cards can be insanely expensive -- up to $3 or $4 a pop. They contain "canned" messages and are tossed as soon as they're read.
Instead, I write letters or short notes ... for birthdays, weddings, holidays and, yes, in sympathy. The notes and letters express my own sentiments exactly as I want to say them, they save me a trip to the store, and they are the cost of a piece of paper, an envelope and a stamp.
I think they're way better and much cheaper.
Bob Ray
Instead, I write letters or short notes ... for birthdays, weddings, holidays and, yes, in sympathy. The notes and letters express my own sentiments exactly as I want to say them, they save me a trip to the store, and they are the cost of a piece of paper, an envelope and a stamp.
I think they're way better and much cheaper.
Bob Ray
Saving Energy - Techno Items
For those who missed “The Drain Gang” article in the Home Section of the Chicago Tribune this past Sunday here are the highlights of a very informative article about “the mightiest of the energy slurpers in your home" being the techno products. Recommended actions to save electricy:
1) Turn the brightness down on the TV(s); cuts TV energy use by up to 25%. For newer TV the “standard” or “home” brightness is sufficient
2) Get rid of the screen saver. Can save $50 to $100 in electricity annually.
3) Turn “off” computers, printers, etc when not in use.
4) Put computers, printers, speakers, scanner on power strip/surge protector and then turn it off. There is “vampire power” that is being used up even when all the equipment is turned off. This could save $40 to $100 annually. There are new strips that allow you to turn off 6 and keep 2 live for things that do need to stay on 24/7; e.g. DVR boxes and networking equipment. And, this practice is also highly recommended for electronic games.
1) Turn the brightness down on the TV(s); cuts TV energy use by up to 25%. For newer TV the “standard” or “home” brightness is sufficient
2) Get rid of the screen saver. Can save $50 to $100 in electricity annually.
3) Turn “off” computers, printers, etc when not in use.
4) Put computers, printers, speakers, scanner on power strip/surge protector and then turn it off. There is “vampire power” that is being used up even when all the equipment is turned off. This could save $40 to $100 annually. There are new strips that allow you to turn off 6 and keep 2 live for things that do need to stay on 24/7; e.g. DVR boxes and networking equipment. And, this practice is also highly recommended for electronic games.
Friday, February 20, 2009
CATALOGS
I love and hate looking through catalogs.
I hate them for two reasons. First, catalogs make me “want things” that I did not want or need before I read the catalog. I end up buying a shirt here, a toy there, an outdoor or kitchen thing-a-bob and more. Each order is small, but they add up to hundreds annually. The second reason I hate catalogs is that if I am busy when the catalogs arrive I put them in a “to read” stack. The stack becomes a “thing I need to do and don’t have time for.” The bigger the stack gets the more I worry about finding time to “look through” the stack.
But, not any longer, as soon as a catalog comes into my house I call/email the company and get off their mail list. Now, I don’t spend money on things that would be nice to have but I do not need, the house is less cluttered, my “to do list” a little shorter, and a few more trees have been saved.
Annual savings for us about $400 over the prior year. For you it will depend on how much you order in catalogs that you do not "need."
I hate them for two reasons. First, catalogs make me “want things” that I did not want or need before I read the catalog. I end up buying a shirt here, a toy there, an outdoor or kitchen thing-a-bob and more. Each order is small, but they add up to hundreds annually. The second reason I hate catalogs is that if I am busy when the catalogs arrive I put them in a “to read” stack. The stack becomes a “thing I need to do and don’t have time for.” The bigger the stack gets the more I worry about finding time to “look through” the stack.
But, not any longer, as soon as a catalog comes into my house I call/email the company and get off their mail list. Now, I don’t spend money on things that would be nice to have but I do not need, the house is less cluttered, my “to do list” a little shorter, and a few more trees have been saved.
Annual savings for us about $400 over the prior year. For you it will depend on how much you order in catalogs that you do not "need."
Monday, February 16, 2009
Gas Bill
In 2007 we decided to participate in Nicor’s Budget Plan program where they supposedly evened out your monthly bills. They informed us, at the time, that it would be $220 per month. Their website says that every 4 months they re-evaluate this charge. Well, for 26 months we paid $220 never reading all the details on the bill nor trying to understand what they were for. So, the MoneySaver in an effort to understand and reduce our gas bill pulled all the bills for the past several years and what I found was --- Nicor owed us $861. Yes, $861 dollars that we had been overpaying.
After a long conversation with the customer service team they confirmed this fact and made no apologize for continuing to bill us at $220 since the budget program is volunteer. I am sorry to say that this took me 3 hours to explore/identify/cancel the service. Hopefully you won't find this same problem. If so, cancel the service.
There are other ways to save money on gas. The gas company’s website has a very user friendly outline description of each item on the bill. Educate yourself. http://www.nicor.com/en_us/residential/understanding_your_bill/features.htm
And, each bill has a blank meter on the back. I encourage you to use this to read your own meter every time a bill comes in. This way you can monitor that you are being changed for the amount of gas you use. I just started this last month and will report back should I find any savings in this action. You can also educate yourself on ways to use less gas. Be sure to review and do as much as you can; we picked up a few new tips.
http://www.nicor.com/en_us/residential/energy_efficiency_tips/default.htm
Program Savings ----- for us $861 annually. For you, the dollar savings will vary by how many of the gas savings tips you can institute to run your home more efficiently.
After a long conversation with the customer service team they confirmed this fact and made no apologize for continuing to bill us at $220 since the budget program is volunteer. I am sorry to say that this took me 3 hours to explore/identify/cancel the service. Hopefully you won't find this same problem. If so, cancel the service.
There are other ways to save money on gas. The gas company’s website has a very user friendly outline description of each item on the bill. Educate yourself. http://www.nicor.com/en_us/residential/understanding_your_bill/features.htm
And, each bill has a blank meter on the back. I encourage you to use this to read your own meter every time a bill comes in. This way you can monitor that you are being changed for the amount of gas you use. I just started this last month and will report back should I find any savings in this action. You can also educate yourself on ways to use less gas. Be sure to review and do as much as you can; we picked up a few new tips.
http://www.nicor.com/en_us/residential/energy_efficiency_tips/default.htm
Program Savings ----- for us $861 annually. For you, the dollar savings will vary by how many of the gas savings tips you can institute to run your home more efficiently.
Friday, February 13, 2009
PAY BILLS ONLINE
If you are not paying bills on line you are wasting money. At a minimum you can save the financial amount of stamps. But, for people like me, there is bigger savings.
I am embarrassed to say that last year I paid over $150 in late fees and interest for not paying credit cards and other bills on time. The reason was a bad system. Bills would come in and I would put them in the “to read mail” stack… and then I would move the bills to the “to be paid” stack…and then (when I had the time) I would pay my bills all at one time just to realize that at least one had slipped past the payment due date. Then next month there would be a $15 or maybe $35 charge for “late fee” and additional interest.
Today, I do my banking online. It is very easy to do and takes just 15 minutes to set up. As bills come in they do not go into any stacks. They go on my keyboard and the next time I am online the first thing I do is register this bill to be paid (less than a minute). I select the date for the payment to be transferred, I select the amount. No more late fees. Plus, my money stays in an interest bearing account allowing me to make as much as I can on my money for as long as I can. And there is a wonderful side benefit – Peace of Mind! I no longer have to worry about when I will find time to pay my bills.
For the few bills I can not pay online I use the same process and just write the check.
Program Savings depends on how efficient you are now at paying your bills on time. At a minimum you could save $30 annually in stamps and a lot of Peace of Mind.
I am embarrassed to say that last year I paid over $150 in late fees and interest for not paying credit cards and other bills on time. The reason was a bad system. Bills would come in and I would put them in the “to read mail” stack… and then I would move the bills to the “to be paid” stack…and then (when I had the time) I would pay my bills all at one time just to realize that at least one had slipped past the payment due date. Then next month there would be a $15 or maybe $35 charge for “late fee” and additional interest.
Today, I do my banking online. It is very easy to do and takes just 15 minutes to set up. As bills come in they do not go into any stacks. They go on my keyboard and the next time I am online the first thing I do is register this bill to be paid (less than a minute). I select the date for the payment to be transferred, I select the amount. No more late fees. Plus, my money stays in an interest bearing account allowing me to make as much as I can on my money for as long as I can. And there is a wonderful side benefit – Peace of Mind! I no longer have to worry about when I will find time to pay my bills.
For the few bills I can not pay online I use the same process and just write the check.
Program Savings depends on how efficient you are now at paying your bills on time. At a minimum you could save $30 annually in stamps and a lot of Peace of Mind.
Monday, February 9, 2009
THE 2nd STEP TO SAVING
The 2nd Step to Savings is Setting the Goal.
(note: Please read step one first)
You need to set specific targets and goals for saving money, or you will NOT make any significant progress.
Step 1: List all the areas where you spend money. (See Getting Started)
Step 2: Write down next to each how much you spend annually (or guestimate how much).
Step 3: For each entry write down as many things you can think of that would allow you to reduce that expense. You should include all members of your family on this discussion, even the kids. (Don’t get caught up if you really will do it at this point, just write). You can take an hour and do this all at once, or take one area a day.
Step 4: Sort each list of thoughts into “do able” and “possible.”
Step 5: Take one “do able” each week and do it! Or delegate it to your partner or spouse to do. Start with biggest financial savings opportunity, or start with easiest. The key is to start.
Step 6: Once you have done the “do able” then move to “possible.” Studying what you need to make each of these “do able.” If a purchase of something else or time will make it “do able” then take that action. For example, to lower food cost we need to buy a freezer. We had limited space but found a small size freezer on sale at Sears. The $125 investment paid back in food cost savings in 4 months. To save $1,200 in dry cleaning we moved 5 minutes of each day toward ironing vs. something else.
(note: Please read step one first)
You need to set specific targets and goals for saving money, or you will NOT make any significant progress.
Step 1: List all the areas where you spend money. (See Getting Started)
Step 2: Write down next to each how much you spend annually (or guestimate how much).
Step 3: For each entry write down as many things you can think of that would allow you to reduce that expense. You should include all members of your family on this discussion, even the kids. (Don’t get caught up if you really will do it at this point, just write). You can take an hour and do this all at once, or take one area a day.
Step 4: Sort each list of thoughts into “do able” and “possible.”
Step 5: Take one “do able” each week and do it! Or delegate it to your partner or spouse to do. Start with biggest financial savings opportunity, or start with easiest. The key is to start.
Step 6: Once you have done the “do able” then move to “possible.” Studying what you need to make each of these “do able.” If a purchase of something else or time will make it “do able” then take that action. For example, to lower food cost we need to buy a freezer. We had limited space but found a small size freezer on sale at Sears. The $125 investment paid back in food cost savings in 4 months. To save $1,200 in dry cleaning we moved 5 minutes of each day toward ironing vs. something else.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)