If you are a festive girl, decorate your home in general autumn decor that can be used for both Halloween AND
Thanksgiving.
Small pumpkins along with red and orange colored autumn leaves make great table centerpieces. You can use the leaves from your lawn or purchase leaves from the craft store and save them to be reused for next year. Door reefs of colorful dried corn and leaves are also beautiful for both October and November.
To add a more creepy feel for Halloween, you can add homemade craved jack-o-lanterns or record your family making scary noises to play for trick-or-treaters. Otherwise, recycle the same decorations for both holidays and save time and money.
Are you a hot breakfast person? If so, then you probably already know how the cost of going to the McDonald’s Drive-Thru or an Einstein bagel sandwich can slowly eat away at your wallet.
If you crave a hot breakfast in the morning then consider freezing large batches of the breakfast items you make at home on the weekends. That way you can cut calories AND cost….my favorite combination!
Below are Michelle’s (Budget Girl) favorite breakfast items that freeze and reheat very well:
- Breakfast Burritos: This delicious quick and easy meal is simply a soft flour tortilla with pre-cooked breakfast foods wrapped inside. Feel free to play around with different recipes. After you are done making your batch, place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet or dish and freeze them completely. After they are frozen solid, place them in a freezer zip-loc baggie. Just reheat in the microwave when you are ready to eat.
- Homemade Silver Dollar Pancakes, waffles and French toast: I love to make dozens on silver dollar pancakes for my family on Sunday morning. I freeze any left-overs in a freezer baggie to eat later in the week. Just place them in the toaster and add syrup, nuts, fruit or whip-cream to add some variety. Much cheaper than buying boxes of Eggo Waffles.
- Breakfast sandwiches: Use scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, or cheese to assemble your sandwiches ahead of time and freeze. Feel free to experiment with using you use english muffins, bread, bagels or pancakes to assemble your sandwich.
- Quiches: Just grab a pie shell and fill with your favorite breakfast items like eggs, bacon, sausage and onion. Bake it and after it is cool, wrap it in place wrap or foil to freeze.
When freezing foods, I suggest using the Reynold’s Handi-Vac or the Zip-loc vacuum bags. They are fairly inexpensive and sucks out any air in the bag to prevent freezer burn.
Don’t feel like cooking tonight? Thinking about take-out? Don’t be afraid of picking up ready-to-eat dinners from the deli of your local grocery store. Yes, the grocery store makes a higher margin on prepared/deli items compared to other grocery items, but it will be less expensive then picking up take-out at a restaurant.
For example, a fried chicken dinner bought from the grocery store is at least 30% less than the Kentucky Fried Chicken. The same goes for ready to bake pizza at Safeway versus getting a more expensive version from Papa Murphy’s or ordering from Pizza hut.
One great way to cook a healthy meal is to pick up a rotisserie-baked chicken and a bag of salad from the grocery store. That is a enough to make a tasty chicken salad for a family of four and will be way cheaper than buying a baked chicken dinner from Boston Market for the same amount of food.
Better yet, if you find yourself falling behind one weeknight and are forced to make dinner a little later than usual, you can save even more money. Since prepared dinners are made fresh daily, most grocery stores will start adding “managers coupons” for prepared dinners that haven’t sold by 7pm.
I just recently bought a rotisserie chicken that was marked down by $4 because it was past 6:30. I picked up a bag of salad (which was also on managers special for only $1.50) and some side dishes. I was able to make a take-out dinner for under $8 for a family of four. (Please note that “manager specials” are only worth it if you plan to eat it that day, since they are priced down near the expiration date to make a “quick-sale.)
Save time AND money – that’s my motto!
If you are looking for a new toaster-oven or George Foreman Grill, now is a great time. Bankrupt Linens’ n Things is having their liquidation sale that started last Friday.
In the midst of the slowing economy, there were many negative factors that working against Linens’ n Things. With the rising foreclosures, there are now less homes for people to buy “things” for and the growing competition against Bed Bath & Beyond, Target and Wal-mart didn’t help either. Unfortunately, my guess is that there will be more liquidation sales to come.
This may be a good opportunity to buy some cheap Christmas items ahead of time. But before you do, refer back to my earlier post on liquidation sales, - Be sure to determine whether the price is really worth your buck. Don’t just buy things because they are on clearance. Look for items that you would normally need or gifts that you know people can really use. Happy shopping!
For frugal beauty news and tips, visit my “Beauty on a Budget Examiner” page at: www.beautyexaminer.com
You can still look beautiful without going broke. Stop wasting cash away to these top money wasting culprits:
-
Buying Department Store Mascaras – Mascaras only last a couple of months and drugstore mascara perform just as well. If you are in a mood to splurge on a dramatic lash look, invest in
eye lash extensions instead.
-
Impulsive Shopping Mistakes – Just because an outfit is on sale or clearance, doesn’t make it a good deal. Here’s a general rule when shopping the clearance racks: If the item isn’t good enough where you would pay full price for it, then skip it.
-
Gym Memberships – If you not going to your gym at least twice a week, this is a waste of money. Purchase workout videos or used workout equipment to exercise in the convenience of your own home. Or meet up with a friend to go walking or jogging outside.
-
Dry Cleaning certain clothing items you could hand wash yourself.Certain items like evening tops/shirts can be easily hand washed yourself. Coats, suits and evening dresses are more price-appropriate items to send to the dry cleaners.
- Manicures – A weekly manicure can cost between $12 - $40 a week. If you wear natural nails, manicures are VERY simple to do yourself. It’s generally more sanitary and will save you money. If you must go to the nail salon, I recommend going for your pedicure (as they are a little more cumbersome) and doing your own manicures at home.
- Buying brand names for basic skin care/beauty products. According to smartmoney.com is it better to buy generic for your basic skin care needs. (The exception would be anti-aging products that contain exotic or complex ingredients. In this case, always buy the premium brand.) Review their chart belo
The prices for new halloween customes can get a little scary, but there are tons of ways you can save money on costumes.
Make sure to check out thirft store or consignment shops for ideas. Many costumes can be made from regular items around the house. Here are some ideas are that easy to make for less money:
- Scarecrow - a flannel shirt, ragged jeans, straw hat and raffia
- Hobo - go for the dirty look
- A ancient greek or Roman Caeser - “toga party!” white sheets anyone?
- Soldier - camouglage clothing with green and brown face paint
- Ghost- A sheet, black marker, and an old chain to drag around on the floor
- A bug or a fairy - wear a monocrome outfit with a pair of wings
- Mummy - wear an all white suit and wrap yourself with surgical gauze from the dollar store
- An athlete - Put on your football jersey and add some black face paint or eyeliner under your eyes.
As you can see the possibilites of making your own costume for cheap is endless……Happy Halloween!
As we look foward to colder months, you may be worrying about the heating bills that wil coming soon. Before it starts to get real cold, visit your energy company’s website for money saving tips including any assistance services they offer for families who struggle to pay thier heating bill.
Many energy companies are now offering “Average Monthly Payment” services to help you budget energy costs. This is an option to set your energy bill at a fixed monthly price over the course of the year. That way, you will never get suprised by unexpected seasonal usage jumps during the summer or winter. If you end up paying more than what you used, you will either get a refund or credit to next years bill.
According to Xcel Energy, they explain that the program “spreads your heating and cooling costs over the entire year. At no cost to you, we’ll take into account your energy costs, historical usage and seasonal fluctuations in energy use to give you a more predictable bill each month.”
With the slowing economy, many consumer are looking to cut back on their retail spending. If and they do go shopping, they are always interested in the best deals. Well, before you head to the mall or start shopping online, make sure you get any applicable coupons or promotional discount codes that could help you save money.
Go to websites like retailmenot.com or zwaggle.com to get any possible discounts before spending your money. Watch this video tutorial on how you can save money by visiting retailmenot.com
To save money on fresh produce from the grocery store, it helps to pick items that are plentiful during the current season. Below is a list of food items that you will usually find on sale or at a low price during the month of October. Keep these great picks in mind when planning your dinners this month:
- Pumpkins
- cranberries
- oranges
- sweet potatoes and yams
According to Mary Schroeder, a health and nutrition educator at the University of Minnesota:
Orange vegetables are good sources of beta carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, potassium and fiber. Sweet potatoes are one of the few non-fat foods that contain vitamin E. These nutrients are important for vision, bone growth, healthy skin and cardiovascular health. Orange vegetables also contain antioxidants and phytochemicals that can reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer.”
So eat and up!
There are tons of errors that occur at the check-lanes and, more often than not, they are in the favor of the grocery store. Between the cashier and pricing system errors, you got to keep your eye out in order to protect your pocket book.
Whenever possible, make sure you watch the register as the clerk scans each item. Sometimes, this may be hard to do, especially if you have small children at the check-lane with you. If this is the case, as soon as you get the receipt, audit it before you leave the store. If you wait to check it when you get home, chances are that you won’t drive back to get a refund of $3.00 - not to mention gas wasted.
Check for any price errors or anything that may have been ringed up twice. If you audit the receipt each time you shop, you will be surprised on how often errors occur. If you find a mistake, the Customer Service Clerk will be more than happy to refund you for the overcharge.
Thanksgiving. 