Party Planning on a Budget: Money Saving Tips August 6, 2007
Posted by Justin Golds in : Tips , add a commentI am posting this because here recently I have found myself hosting an inordinate amount of baby shower, birthday parties and college reunion parties for my friends and family.
When engaging in party planning one the first couple of times, it can be a scary time. One might wonder what it is going to cost or how can I ensure that my guests will have a fun time. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune and cutting financial corners does not mean you have to sacrifice the amount of fun your guest can have. As with most favored gifts, those that are most creative and personalized are most likely to be appreciated and reminisced. Break out the creative thinking to seek out ways to entertain your guests.
There are to key aspects that are critical to your party’s success. The first step is to set a theme for the party according to the holiday. It is usually best to have the guest of honor decide this factor. The second step is to ask for help. Spreading out the work load allows the guests to feel involved and appreciated and could quite possibly allow you to save some money. It is up to you to get creative. Invitations, decorations, Food and games are of your main concern.
Beginning with the invitations, cater to your party theme by making homemade cards (don’t worry; it will be worth your time!). Within each invitation specify if you would like the guests to participate in preparations by requesting a pot luck or costume requirement. This will take care of some of the financial burden as well as the decorations. What better decorations could exist than the guests themselves?
You shouldn’t have to rob the bank to afford entertainment either. Keep the games relevant to the holiday and mold the most common activities to your event to make them unique and memorable. The restriction to choosing a game is that the entertainment should sustain interactions between the guest of honor and guests. Naming word games for a baby shower, pin-the-patch on the pirate for a boy’s pirate birthday party, scary-looking food eating contests for Halloween parties and the list could go on and on. Your own personal thoughts of creativity will be your best ally in planning. With a bit of thought and creativity, you can have the best party anyone has ever thrown.
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Mrs. Party… Gail Leino is the internet’s leading authority on selecting the best possible party supplies (http://partysupplieshut.com), using proper etiquette, and living a healthy life while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. The Party Supplies Hut has lots of party ideas with hundreds of free coloring sheets, printable games, and free birthday party activities. Over 100 adorable Party Themes (PartyThemeShop.com) to fit your birthday celebration, holiday event, or “just because” parties is at the Party Theme Shop. Party themes include cartoon characters, sports, movie, TV shows, luau, western, holidays, and unique crazy fun theme ideas. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gail_Leino |
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8 Simple Money Saving Tips and Tactics August 6, 2007
Posted by Justin Golds in : Tips , add a commentI found this great little article by Brook Noel over at Ezine Articles.
Have a plan (and then follow it) at the grocery store. It’s ob-vious to have a list. In fact, I’m great at list-making. On my last dash to the store, my list contained the following items: Wheat Chex, toothpaste, gallon of milk, cheddar cheese, pretzels and Gatorade. The bill should have easily totaled less than $25.00. By the time I neared the check-out, my bill totaled close to $50.00. It seems a few extra items had crept into my cart. Make sure you have a plan and then follow it when you do your shopping. If you con-tinually overspend (like I have the tendency to do) leave the house with what you plan to spend plus a $5.00 lee-way.
Put kids to work clipping coupons. Single parents rarely have the time to clip coupons for savings. Give your children a list of products that you use regularly. Sit them down each Sunday with the paper and let them partake in a coupon hunt. For each coupon they find (and you use), they get to keep half of the coupon’s value. For example: if they find a $1.00 off coupon on Cheerios, they receive 50 cents when you use it and your grocery bill bottom line receives the other 50 cents.
Watch where you walk. Less expensive items are typically placed around the outside of the market, it’s those mid-dle aisles that hold the items that quickly add to your bill. When you do need to dash down one of those aisles, remember to look high and look low. Less expensive items are usually placed near the top or bottom of the shelves. The shelves that are eye-level are reserved for the more expensive items.
Buy in bulk when you can. Buying items, that don’t spoil, in bulk can save money and save trips to the store. For sta-ples and nonperishable goods, stock up at good sale prices or join a warehouse club. If warehouse quantities are too much for your own family, combine your list with a few other single parents and then split the food to maximize your savings.
Let children design greeting cards and wrapping paper using items found around the house. This makes a great rainy day project while providing savings for the family.
Shop year round. Instead of waiting for Christmas woes and stressing at a time that should be joyous for families, learn to shop and take advantage of sales year around. Have a small amount taken from each paycheck and put into a Christmas fund. Carry a Christmas list in your daily planner.
If you haven’t tried a thrift shop, now is the time. While the idea of thrift and resale shops once brought to mind pic-tures of dingy rooms with stained clothes – not so any-more! Thrift shop business is booming. If you haven’t tried a second-hand store, take a peek you could be pleasantly surprised!
Keep a spending diary. If you find that you are still scrimp-ing day-to-day, keep a detailed spending journal. It is of-ten amazing how little purchases add up to big expenses! Seeing expenses in black and white can be eye opening. Buying a quick cup of coffee at a drive-through each morning can easily cost you $20-$30 a month. Most peo-ple spend at least $5.00 each weekday on food related items at work. (Lunch, pop, coffee, snacks, etc.) Bringing lunches, treats and drinks from home could save your family $100 per month – or $1200 per year! Little ex-penses add up quickly.
When you find the areas in your life where the money is draining out, plug up the holes! Now that you are better equipped to handle your current finances, let’s take a look ahead to finances of the future.
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The Change Your Life Challenge Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brook_Noel |
Unnecessary Insurance Costs August 1, 2007
Posted by Justin Golds in : Saving Sense , add a commentInsurance is one of the necessary evils we face in this great country and we all surely pay too much for this service. There are hundreds of different combinations of insurance and each person needs to make sure that their policies are working in their best interest and not just making the insurance company a fortune.
The three main forms of insurance are health, automobile and homeowners. Each policy has different rules and procedures and you can get these three from thousands of insurance companies. The one thing they all have in common is that you are probably paying too much for your coverage.
Auto InsuranceCoverage You Need:
1. Liability- this covers bodily injury and property damage that may occur during an automobile accident that is your fault.2. Comprehensive- pays for any damage that may occur to your automobile that is not the result of an accident, i.e. fire, fallen tree.3. Collision- covers any damage to yours and any others vehicle in the result of an accident.
Coverage You Don’t Need:
- No fault (PIP)
- Medical Payments
- Uninsured Motorist
- Emergency Road Service
- Car Rental Expense
- Death/Dismemberment
- Specialty Coverage (glass, audio equipment)
You do not need the first three of these coverages because they are covered by your health insurance. Emergency road service and car rental expenses are rarely if ever used and are not worth paying the extra premium for. Death/Dismemberment are covered under your health and life insurance. Specialty coverage is not worth the extra premium as they are generally not costly to pay out of pocket.
Look at your current auto insurance policy and make sure you are not paying for these extra services you do not need.
Homeowner’s InsuranceDecline this additional coverage:
- Removal of Debris- In the event of a disaster involving your home, this will pay up to a certain amount to remove the debris. Unless you live in an area that is endangered often, this is an unnecessary addition to your premium.
- Damaged Property Removal- This coverage is pretty much the same as the first one and is really not necessary.
- Fire Department Surcharges- This coverage will pay the fire department bill in the event your house catches on fire. Unless you are planning on your house burning often, this extra is not needed.
- Temporary Repairs to Prevent Further Damage to Property- If a tree falls through your roof, this will pay for repairs to ensure your home will not be damaged further. Again this is coverage that will almost never be used but you continue to pay for each year.
- Trees, Shrubs and Plants- This will cover the cost of your landscaping in case of fire or disaster, however, this will not cover landscaping in the event of a natural disaster. So basically, your house would have to burn your plants and trees for this coverage to kick in.
- Stolen Credit Cards- With so much protection by credit card companies today it is unnecessary to protect your cards with insurance.
Make sure you look over all your insurance policies and find out if you are paying for all these useless coverages. You could easily reduce your yearly insurance bills by the hundreds just by knowing what coverage you need and what you don’t.
Mignon McLaughlin August 1, 2007
Posted by Justin Golds in : Quotations , add a comment“Too much money is as demoralizing as too little, and there’s no such thing as exactly enough.”
Money Saving Tips. Maximize Savings on Everyday Items! July 31, 2007
Posted by Justin Golds in : Links, Saving Sense , add a commentFound this great little article by Cheryl Johnson and wanted to share her personal view on money saving tips.
| Money Saving Tips. Maximize Savings on Everyday Items! By Cheryl Johnson |
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www.EmigrantDirect.comAdvertise on this SiteFrugal living is more than a lifestyle. It’s a passion. Call Me Crazy! I love It!Why, who wouldn’t love getting paid to buy products that they use everyday?Here’s how I do it.I purchase an item that has a rebate offer (either a store or manufacturer rebate) while it is on sale and use a coupon during purchase. That’s it! Using this formula I almost always come out ahead. When all is done, I’ve gotten back more than I actually paid for the item.Even when I do have to pay for the items like deodorant, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes it’s about 50 cents for a item that would cost up to $2 -$4 originally.Am I the only one out there that gets excited about this? I doubt it! At least I hope not. That would make me “Crazy”, wouldn’t it? But a lot of folks just don’t know how to combine money saving measures to maximize savings.My local drugstore (which by the way is a national chain) often advertises items free after rebate. Hey, that cuts down on a lot of work for me. Easy Money! I e an also lucky enough to have a grocery store in my area that offers rebates and offers double coupons (sometimes even doubling $1 coupons as a special promotion). Needless to say, with six mouths to feed (myself, my husband, and four kids) I’m lovin’ that idea!As the editor of www.simpledebtfreeliving.com, I’m always looking for new ways to save money. Visit us and follow one of the e-mail links to share your ideas or just let us know how excited you get about frugal living! Let me know I’m not the only one. Then we can put my family’s worries to rest. They think I’m really crazy.Here are a couple other ways that I save on items we use everyday:1. Always use items that are reusable rather than throw awayFor example: Reusable coffee filters, cups and plates, and my favorite pet peeve -The great sandwich bag conspiracyThe major manufacturers of sandwich bags would lead us to believe that it takes rocket science to keep a sandwich fresh. Ask yourself this, How long do you need to keep that sandwich fresh anyway? It’s not like it’s going to the moon. It’s just going to the office or school for a few hours.The most practical way to approach this is to purchase reusable sandwich size containers. This is also very environmentally friendly reducing a great deal of waste. If however, these have trouble finding there way back home ( which is likely if you have children), you can save substantially if you purchase the plain old pleated sandwich bag that cost a mere fraction of the razzle dazzle zipper kind. Your mother used these for years and years with great success. I have used both methods for years and have never received a complaint of a stale sandwich!You’ll find that doing these little things like, using real cups and plates instead of paper or plastic throw away, and recycling containers for storage or even to use in craft projects, can save a lot of money. Each by itself may seem minor, but when put together amount to tremendous savings over time.2. Don’t buy it if you won’t use it. Things like small kitchen appliances, repair tools, and gardening tools are good examples. We know they’ll make our life easier if we just had the opportunity to use them.There are 101+ small countertop kitchen appliances available to chop it, grind it, mix it, open it, bake it, grill it..well you get the message.Simplify your life and narrow it down to a couple you just can’t live without. For me it’s my blender and my food processor. Although, I’m seriously considering a bread maker. Not quite sure if it’s worth the money yet. Especially when I’m so close to a bread outlet. But, you can’t beat the taste of fresh baked bread. I’m not counting the coffer maker it’s kind of standard equipment these days. I wouldn?t dare ask you to give that up! What am I crazy? Well , maybe..It’s little things like the example above that identify frugal living.3. Always get the best value for your money. Shop around. If this is a major purchase you will want to know what to look for. Research and compare products on the internet or in sale flyers. There’s nothing more challenging to the retailer than an informed consumer. That’s what you want to be. An informed consumer knows when it’s a good value! Informed Consumer - More Savings
| Cheryl Johnson mother of four helping myself and others become and stay debt free. Publisher of Simple Debt Free Living at http://www.simpledebtfreeliving.com - a self-help plan, ideas, and resources for personal budgeting, debt management, frugal living, and extra income opportunities. Money saving tips help balance your budget and maximize everyday savings. |
