The Save Money Blog

Archive for January, 2010

I was at a wedding not too long ago and the bride gave an interesting speach about her new husband. He fancied himself a real DIY type fix it guy but she told a different story. She explained how it usually ended up costing her more paying a real contractor to fix everything that he usually screwed up.

I am a big fan of trying to fix things on my own but sometimes you have to give in to the fact that you are in over your head and hire a professional to do things right. I know nothing about spring plungers so why would I play around with them? I wouldn't. On the same token if I know nothing about plumbing or fixing a dryer then I shouldn't be messing around with them either. There are lots of instructions on how to do things on the internet but you have to ask yoruself if you are in over your head. Don't mess with things you know nothing about, it will end up costing you more in the long run.

Here are 55 frugal grocery shopping ideas to help reduce your grocery bills. Most of us have to grocery shop, but you don't need to spend a lot of money to feed yourself.

55 Frugal Grocery Shopping Ideas

1. Buy bulk quantities of non-perishables.

2. Get the big sale items that are advertised in fliers. You might have to do some extra driving, but if you can buy large quantities of the big sale items, it's worth the trip.

3. If you have a local food co-op available, check out what they have to offer.

4. Use fliers to compare prices before you go shopping

5. Buy more milk and freeze it. It will save trips to the store. Empty a bit out before you freeze it if you buy your milk in jugs.

6. To prevent unneeded grocery purchases, plan your meals before you go shopping and buy only what you need.

7. Get your meat from the “reduced” section and use it right away, or freeze it.

8. Go vegetarian. Or at least consider cutting back on meat. Meat is one of the most expensive grocery items in the store.

9. Check out your local farmer's market. They often offer great prices for fresh, local produce.

10. Grow your own food. Growing your own vegetable garden is a fun project and can save you quite a bit of money.

11. Buy a month of groceries at a time. You can do this by planning your meals one month at a time. This will save trips to the store.
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I spent most of the weekend inside. I had a few home projects I was working on but found myself in front of the computer quiet a bit. I caught myself on ebay more than a few times for no reason. Do I really need prenatal vitamins? Obviously not. No more than I need anything else I was looking at. I was just shopping because I was bored and had nothing better to do.

If you feel the urge to shop when you don't need anything. Fight it and save your money. There are lots of other things you can do to fight the feeling. You can go for a walk, put on a movie, call a friend on the phone or do anything else. I know too many people that just take off shopping because they have nothing better to do and spend money they don't have to spend. You can save money by simply not spending it.

I am a big tv watcher and usually get caught up watching the odd info commercial or paying attention to those commericals that are on over and over. Today they were playing one over and over about Mesothelioma cancer and how time is running out to get a claim in. It got me to thinking about insurance for some reason. Things change in people lives. One minute you are single and the next you are married with children. Is your insurance for your life, house and car enough for your current situation? It might be worth having a look over if your life has changed.

I just had my home energy audit completed and the one thing that was brought up was my furnace filter. The furnace filter help keep your air in your home clean and pollen free by trapping all of that dust and allergens before they get sent up through your heating ducts. That is the main benefit of having a filter. What many people don't know is that you have to change or clean that filter on a regular basis and that will help you save money.

When you filter becomes dirt and saturated with dirt, dust and things like pet hair it means that you furnace has to work harder to move the air through it. By replacing your old filter or cleaning your filter you are helping your furnace work more efficiently. I have read that you should be replacing your filter once a month. You can buy packs of them at your local hardware store.

There are many types. Disposable and reusable types that you can clean. I will leave it up to you to research which type you want to use but if you want to save money get in the habit of changing that furnace filter.

I had two friends and their families just go away on vacation over the past couple of weeks. Before they left I asked them if they had shopped around for their medical travel insurance. There are lots of options out there and different packages you can buy. Both of them didn't really put much thought into it and just bought what they were buying. It's an expense right? Why not shop around and see what kind of packages are available and try to get the best price possible. I think it's one thing peope take for granted, and you shouldn't.

Earlier this week I was hit with a computer problem. My laptop lost it's sound out of both the speakers and when using the headphones. I tried everything I could think of and could not get it fixed. What do you when something like this happens? Many people I know will simply just take their computer into a shop to have it looked and fixed probably paying $100. These days who has money like that to throw around? Nobody.

I simply sat for about an hour and googled and googled looking for solutions to my problem. I found lots of things that didn't work but finally I found the solution to my problem. I just had to plug my HDMI cable in and out a few times and reboot. Easy. Saved me the hassle and money of taking it into a shop to be fixed.

It doesn't matter what you have happening to your computer or laptop. The solution is on line somewhere, you just have to spend the time to search it out. It goes beyond just fixing. You can go out and buy memory, video cards or other hardware and find a website that will help you install them. That is if you are out of your warranty. Never mess with your computer if you are still under warranty. If you are out, look on line and I bet you can find all of the free help you want.

Obviously you have to pay your credit card off each month or you will suffer an intrest charge which is going to kill your bank book and plunge you farther into debt. Well, I missed a paymet by a couple of days over the holidays. I payed my card off in full as I said a couple of days past the deadline.

Today I got my bill and was tagged for a $30 interest charge. I called to find out why when I had payed it off in full a couple of days later. Here is how the conversation went:

Credit Card Girl: Why were you late?
Me: Why did I get out of bed today, I have no idea.
Credit Card Girl: You don't know why you missed a payment?
Me: It was in December, I don't recall how I got home Saturday night let alone what happend in December. You know what, cancel the card.
Credit Card Girl: Well sir, I am just trying to find out why you missed your payment.
Me: Little Grey men showed up in a ship and took me to their home planet and they didn't have an ATM. I had to wait until I got back to Earth to make a payment.
Credit Card Girl: I will reverse the charge sir. Make sure you make your payment each month.
Me: Thanks.

If you are missing payments every month then they aren't going to help you but if you miss one call and see if they reverse it for you. It's worked for me a couple of times.

Earlier this week I found myself in the extreme cold weather with a car that just wouldn't start. It's frustrating when you need your vehicle and it won't start. I had to resort to using my 24 hour towing company to get a boost and get back on the road. That prompted me to want to do a blog post about keeping your car running in the cold weather that seems to be gripping everyone right now.

1. If you aren't planning on using your car for an extended period of time take a few minutes and start it. I left mine for a week over the holidays and that was the reason why it wouldn't turn over. It was just too cold. Take a minute and fire it up each day and just let it run for a few minutes.

2. Make sure your battery is in good condition and the posts are clean. Even a bit of crud on the post may stop it from starting.

3. Keep your gas tank full over the winter time to prevent water build up. You can also add a bottle of gasoline anti-freeze.

4. Make sure your anti-freeze is at the proper level.

5. If you have a block heater and it is going to get really cold, use it.

6. Keep your winshield wiper fluid topped up.

It never hurts to throw an emergency kit in the trunk that includes flares, candles, matches, blankets and booster cables