Don't Buy That Insurance YET!

A lot of people really believe they need insurance for everything they own, but let's evaluate this.

Obviously you need auto and health insurance. It's even required by law. And, if you own your own home, you definitely want homeowner's insurance.



Now, let's look at a few other types of insurance.

Cell Phone Insurance: Perhaps you're the type of person who drops your phone constantly, or you have young kids, and you definitely need cell phone insurance. Consider paying your cell phone bill with a credit card that offers free coverage just for charging the phone bill to your card every month. (Of course, you'll want to be sure and pay the bill in full each month.)

Renter's Insurance: This one won't be the same for everyone. If you are a lifetime renter, and you have accumulated a lifetime worth of items, you probably will want to purchase renter's insurance. If you just moved out of your parent's home and everything you own is either curbside furniture or hand me downs, you might be just as well saving that money for your first home. Compare the annual cost with the amount you paid for your current assets.

Life Insurance: Obviously, if you are married with children, you will need to provide enough life insurance to not only pay for your funeral, but to provide the lifestyle your family is currently used to living. However, if you are single, you might want to consider planning your funeral and expenses in advance and skipping the monthly payment.

Life Insurance on a child: Put the money into a savings account for the kid instead!

Please consult a trusted financial advisor for assistance in any insurance decisions. I am not a professional in the industry, just someone trying to bring to light ideas to help you save some money and help with an inexpensive way of life!

Save on Laundry

There are a number of ways you can save money when it comes to laundry.

If you are in the market for a new washer and dryer, think big....The bigger the capacity laundry machines, the less often you have to do laundry.

Try to only do two or three loads of laundry a week.  This will be a little more difficult if you work in an industry where your clothes are completely soiled at the end of the day.  But if you can manage to get two days out of one set of clothes, you've just split your laundry bill in half.

Think about it, you get home from work, whether you work in an office or a factory, you want to get out of those work clothes right away.  So you put on your comfy pair of casual pants or jeans.  You wear them for two or three hours while sitting in your living room, or while having dinner.  Why not wear that same outfit later in the week, instead of tossing them into the laundry right away.

Buy whites, whites and lots of whites!  I'm talking about underclothes.  Sure, you're not going to like folding them.  But, if you only have to wash whites once every three weeks, it's not that big of a deal.  You shouldn't run out of skivvies before you have a full load.  If you do, you're wasting money running that washer and dryer.  So next time you want to splurge on yourself, take an extra ten bucks and buy yourself a pack of new bloomers.

The same with sheets.  You should own at least three sets.  It usually takes two to fill a nice size capacity washer, so why do them ahead of time.

Next, do your laundry at night!  Some people doubt it, but it is true.  Electricity costs less at night, between the hours of 9pm and 7am.  Try it for a month, and see if your power bill doesn't drop.

Finally, watch for sales on laundry detergent.  Not just any sale, because if you look at all of the weekly fliers, you'll find at least one store has laundry detergent on sale every week.  What you want to keep an eye out for is the best deal.  When you get that really good deal, keep that price in mind.  If you paid $10 for 100 ounces.  Refuse to pay more.  That's $5 for 50 ounces, or $15 for 150 ounces.  Just keep that figure in the back of your mind, and when you find that great deal, buy extra so that you're not running out and paying full retail when there's no need!

Quit Living Week to Week!

Follow these steps, and you'll see how easy it is to quit living week to week.

Stock Up While It's On Sale

All of us have certain items that we use on a regular basis, from your favorite soda or your favorite cereal, to your favorite laundry detergent.  These are items that are always in the house, or we need to pick up if we run out.

If you watch the ads close enough, you will find certain items go on sale at certain times of the year.

For example, my favorite soda is Mountain Dew.  It goes on sale frequently enough, but it's usually at it's lowest price for about two weeks before each holiday.

If I buy a case of Mountain Dew when it's on sale for $5 instead of the regular price of $7, I save $2 a case.  Considering I go through a case about every other week, that's a savings of $52 dollars a year!

If you do this with everything you buy, these savings add up!

Another example, canned vegetables usually go on sale in the fall, just before Thanksgiving.  It's September and I still have enough vegetables in my cupboard from last Thanksgiving, to do me until November. 

It may seem like a lot of money to put out, at first, but after a while it will be less than your normal grocery bill. 

Next you'll find yourself only going to the store to buy necessity items, unless there is a good sale. 

Do this with your meats, too.  Keep your freezer stocked so that you aren't running to the store two or three times a week to pick up something for dinner 'tonight'!

You'll find you are not only no longer living week to week, but you also have free time to spend with your kids.  Or you'll have the extra cash to go out for dinner and a movie without worrying about next month's rent!

 

Pay for your trip Gradually

I decided to pull one of my old tricks and pay for my vacation gradually. I'll explain. In April, I found a couple of tickets to a Cubs and Cardinals baseball game at a decent price. Then my search began.

I started looking for a hotel room in a good location at a decent price. If you have ever been to St. Louis, you know it is hard to find a nice hotel for under $150. However, I was bound and determined I was going to look until I found the best deal. I finally found a luxury hotel at a price cheaper than your average 3 star hotel. Plus, I received $25 Visa gift cards for each night just for booking the two nights on my Visa. I paid for hotel in May.

Finally, I wanted to do a little more than just see the game. Since I hadn't been to an amusement park in years, I decided to see what kind of discount tickets that I could find. In June, I received an email that Coldstone was offering tickets for only $31, that was about $15 off the regular price.

So, I paid for my trip that I took in August, from April to June. This really helped and allowed me to have a lot more to spend when I actualy went on the trip. Plus I found a lot of free things to do while I was there.

Here's an article titled How to Travel to St. Louis on a Budget. Hope you enjoy it!

Ideas from My Friends

I want to thank all of my friends for helping me come up with some new ideas this week. Here are some money saving or frugal ideas, that we came up with.

When you finish the end of a jar of jelly, peanut butter, etc., instead of throwing the jar away right away, save it. The next time you go for a snack, take a slice of bread and dip it in the jar to get that last little bit out instead of tossing it!

Again, at the end of a bag of pretzels. Don't toss that extra salt with the pretzel bag. Put it in a little container, maybe even a grinder, and save it for your popcorn or other snacks.

What about sunscreen? It will probably be expired if you save it from year to year. How about using the rest of the tube for shaving instead of tossing it? It will probably even help to soften your skin!

Another good idea....When you are getting the temperature set in your shower and the water is running before you get in, catch that water in a bucket. Use the water for your outdoor plants. This will especially be helpful in the summer.

Hope you have enjoyed these household tips from me and my friends!