The Sun's Financial Diary » Frugal living

Planning a Cheap Night Out

Yolander Prinzel — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:37:48 +0000

Apparently, I don’t get out much. This weekend, Hubby and I decided to go out with another couple for dinner and a movie. 4 hours and $70 later I was in the car on the way home with a stunned expression on my face trying to figure out where it all went wrong.

You know, I love a night out just as much as the next girl but to spend the equivalent of a week’s worth of groceries on just one night is, well, not very fiscally responsible. Of course, there are things that I could have done to make the night cheaper if I hadn’t been so short-sighted and, frankly, lazy.

Want to know what I will do differently next time I’m asked to enter the world of social beings? Here are a few ideas:

Make Dinner Cheaper

1. Eat before you leave home. If Hubby and I had eaten before meeting the other couple for dinner then we would not have needed to order so much food at the restaurant. This would have saved us money in both food costs and tip.

2. Don’t drink expensive drinks or alcohol at the restaurant. I gave in and ordered some kind of specialty tea with dinner. It was bottled, did not have refills and retailed somewhere around $3. This is excessive and unnecessary. Water with lemon would have been both satisfying and free.

3. Go out for lunch instead of dinner. Since we had plans to go out on Saturday there is no reason why we could not have met for lunch instead of dinner. Lunch options are often much cheaper at restaurants and afternoon matinees are also less expensive.

Cheap Entertainment

1. Go to a cheaper theater. Believe it or not, there are still dollar movie theaters in operation. We opted for the opening weekend of ‘Alice’ in 3-D, which was over $8 per person. If we had watched something else and gone to the dollar theater, we would have saved a worthwhile amount of money.

2. Rent a movie. There is no reason we could not have just gone back to one of our homes and watched a rented movie or a streaming movie from Netflix. Doing so wouldn’t have just saved us money on the movie tickets but also on the popcorn, soda and Raisinets.

3. Take a walk instead of a movie. ‘Alice’ in 3-D was impressive, but you know what else is impressive and available in 3 dimensions? The entire world. We could have skipped the expensive movie, burned some dinner calories and avoided movie theater popcorn if we had just taken a walk after dinner instead of going to the movie.

4. Don’t eat at the movies. Okay, I don’t even know why I’m putting this on the list because I think skipping movie theater popcorn is tantamount to cruel and unusual punishment; the smell of that salty, buttery popcorn wafting through the theater—and you, sitting on your hands to avoid stealing your neighbor’s. Unfortunately, we would have saved about $15 if we had skipped the popcorn, soda and candy which comes pretty close to being worth suffering through a movie without snacks.

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Planning a Cheap Night Out

Know When to Shop to Save Money

Shannon M. Medisky — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:47:41 +0000

The parallel between habits when it comes to food and money are significant. Many people reach for a cookie when they’re depressed, others for their credit card. Some celebrate with cake and sweets, still others by purchasing themselves tangible treats. If you’re an emotional spender, best for you – and your budget – to fess up now.

In this case, denial can lead you straight to the poorhouse. Owning up to it, however, and taking steps to control these spending tendencies can help you not only regain financial control, but will alleviate substantial stress as well. (No more looking around the house wondering, “What in the world have I done?!) Even if you don’t fall into the category of an emotional spender, everyone can learn from these tips and strategies for when to shop and when not to shop to maximize savings and improve their bottom line.

Down? Don’t go down the aisles. Depression isn’t good for anything, your money included. For many people, money slips more easily from their fingers when they’re not feeling at their best. Whether your defenses are down and you’re more easily swayed to purchase an impulse buy you ordinarily wouldn’t or you just don’t have the energy to adequately comparison shop (even right there at the store), skip spending money entirely. If you have to go out, do yourself and your bank account a favor, leave the cash and credit card at home.

Take a walk down memory lane and revisit the results of emotional spending past. If you have a relic from a past emotional spending spree, keep it. It can be a great reminder to not allow it to happen again. Just as unflattering photographs can spur one to diet, so can visual reminder of shopping mistakes from the past.

Search and replace the habit. Find yourself window shopping – or worse – reaching for your wallet whenever you’re feeling down? Look for activities to specifically substitute for the emotional spending instead. Start journaling to relax. Treat yourself to a bubble bath. Grab the phone and start to gab. Find something else that works for you and keep it at the ready for the next time you feel your financial defenses down.

Ask a friend for company. If you must venture out into the stores, seek strength in the company of a friend. Not only will his or her company likely help you feel better in general, but he or she can also help guard you from making purchases you might later regret both financially and otherwise. If you’re down, purchasing that yummy chocolate cake or super comfy flannel nightgown might seem like a very good idea, but your wallet wingman (or gal) can help you hold fast to your cash and make sure you leave the store unscathed.

Remind yourself that this won’t last forever. When life knocks us down, it’s easy to fall into a pity party. It’s key, however, to minimize the cost of these very pity parties. A strategy for doing this is to simply remind yourself that no matter how bad things or how down you feel now, it won’t last forever. And rebounding, after all, will be much easier if you don’t have financial regrets to deal on the other side.

(To download and print a worksheet of this topic, click here.)

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Know When to Shop to Save Money

Avoiding the Stock-Up Sale

Yolander Prinzel — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:19:35 +0000

I was once a big fan of stocking up on things when they were on sale. I used to think this was a great way to be frugal — buying things on sale before I needed them in anticipation of the time when I would. After a few years I accumulated so many unused items from this habit that I finally realized that being frugal doesn’t mean that you buy a bunch of stuff you will eventually need, it means using the stuff you have until it cannot be used any longer and then replacing it. Not only does this process give you time to actually earn some return on your money while you wait until the right time to spend it, it also creates an environment in which you become more judicious about whether or not you “need” to buy the replacement item — because if you already have replacement items on hand you are more likely to use them before they are actually needed.

Unless it’s a frequently used commodity like food or a household chemical you clean with weekly, if you really want to be frugal you should avoid buying the following items until they are absolutely necessary.

1. Linens. Avoid the white sale like the black plague. Sure, you will eventually need new towels, sheets and pillowcases, but the ones you have can probably last you a lot longer than you think and stocking up on something that needs to be replaced so infrequently is wasteful. In addition, who knows if you will even like the style or color that you’ve stocked up on by the time you are ready to use them. Wait until your linens become uncomfortable to use, ineffective or are on the edge of threadbare before you replace them and then, only replace like for like — don’t buy entirely new sets if only a fitted sheet is needed.

2. Underwear. When underwear goes on sale, men and women flock to the store in droves. But underwear has a surprisingly long life and doesn’t need to be replaced as often as there are underwear sales. Often, you can go a year without buying new underwear and still have completely intact pairs. So don’t buy underwear until the ones you have stop doing their job.

3. Wardrobe basics. Every time a store like Old Navy has a sale on t-shirts and tank tops, people go running — after all, you can’t go wrong with wardrobe basics like that, right? But many of the purchases from these sales end up packed away with still-tagged items from prior t-shirt and tank top sales. It may seem appealing to have 50 t-shirts, but it’s a waste of money if you aren’t actually wearing them. If you have a t-shirt or tank top that is stained, has holes or is otherwise unwearable it makes sense to replace it — but you don’t really need to plan ahead for it.

4. Make-up. When your favorite make-up goes on sale or is sold with an amazing free gift, you may be tempted to buy it before you actually need it. If you know exactly how quickly you’ll use your existing make-up, you may be able to get away with this. If not, you could be left with expired make-up or something that doesn’t suit your style by the time you are ready to actually use it. When your make-up products have a week or less left in them, buying replacement bottles makes sense. Before then, unless it is the same foundation you’ve been wearing for years, you could be throwing money away.

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Avoiding the Stock-Up Sale

7 Ways to Control Spending when You Have Out-of-Town Guests

Yolander Prinzel — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:45:33 +0000

When you live in a fun state to visit, like I do, you are frequently barraged with incoming guests. It starts with a simple phone call, “Hey, we’re on vacation in March and we are coming down to visit you . Mind if we bunk in the guest room?” Not wishing to ruin anyone’s great vacation or saddle them with the unnecessary expense of a hotel room you agree, but how can you make sure that playing host doesn’t cost you money? Luckily, I went through this very experience last week when my sister and her husband stayed in my home. Since we ended the trip all still speaking to each other and getting along, I figure I must have some good advice to share.

1. You know, you don’t actually have to be part of the vacation. Just because your out-of-town guests are on vacation doesn’t mean you have to be. If you are unable or unwilling to take time off of work or set aside gobs of cash for vacation-type expenses, then just make sure you make that clear to your visitors before they arrive.

2. Outline what they can expect from you while staying in your home. If you are not planning on providing food or drink to your guests, try to clean out a little room in your refrigerator and one of your cupboards and let them know that you will make room for their groceries. I tend to have some drinks and inexpensive snacks on hands but I leave them to provide their own meals.

3. Make specific plans with them. Chances are you don’t want to treat your guests like strange borders and you will want to spend some time with them. So find out what their itinerary for the trip looks like and choose one event or dinner that you can afford to go to with them. That way, they get to spend some time with you and you can control how much money you are spending.

4. Be careful what you loan them. Letting out-of-town house guests use your toothpaste is one thing, but letting them use your car is another. Your car could be damaged by your well-meaning visitor adding awkwardness and potential car insurance rate hikes to your budget.

5. If you want to spend more time with your guests, look for free entertainment. There are many tourist spots that do not cost any money to visit. Beaches, historic downtown areas, local merchandise makers — be creative and look for free activities.

6. Leave your spouse out of it. If it’s your family coming into town and you want to spend time with them without blowing your normal budget, leave your spouse at home. It is less expensive to pay only for your admission to a park or your meals and your spouse might appreciate the opportunity for some alone time.

7. Utilize your local library. If you want some entertainment at home for your visitors to keep them from getting bored, you can use your local library or thrift store as a resource. You can borrow books, DVDs, audio books and sometimes even puzzles from your local library. Just have them around the house for your family to use as they please. You can also get board games as well as DVDs, books and puzzles at your local thrift shop, often for next to nothing.

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Dangers of Frugality

Yolander Prinzel — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:22:48 +0000

Sometimes in our quest to save money we make… well… bad decisions. We try to save money by doing repairs ourselves or we contract inexperienced workers to do work around our home for us. These decisions may seem smart when you see a full wallet after your repair or other service is done, but they inevitably turn out bad. Once you have made one of these mistakes, you have generally learned your lesson—but not before you spend a good deal of money to fix it.

There are some things that you should never take a chance on in order to get it for free. Here are a few suggestions.

Home Repairs

Your home is one of the most important investments you have. When your plumbing goes bad, your roof gets a leak, or your heat goes out, you don’t want to trust just any old repairman from Craigslist. You need to find a qualified and licensed professional to take care of your home. It is worth any added expense to have the peace of mind that a sound home brings.

Automobile repairs

If you need new tires, a tune up, brake repairs or any other work done on your automobile, you need to see a real mechanic and not a discount mechanic. Not only does your vehicle need the proper care to run a long life but it can also impair your safety if you dive around in a car that isn’t properly repaired. Find a certified, qualified, licensed mechanic or use your dealer so that you can avoid needing a whole new car.

Cosmetic Surgery

Okay, seriously? You are going to let someone do surgery on you who offers a “discount” and “coupons”? This is your actual body we are talking about here. Instead, check with The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) to find a qualified surgeon. Do not cut corners when asking someone to alter your appearance.

Hair Dye

If you want to give yourself some layers or cut your own bangs to save some money, you may mess it up but it will usually grow out pretty quickly. But if you dye your own hair, not only will it take a ridiculously long time to grow out, it could also result in chemical burns and permanent damage to your hair follicles. Instead, try to find a salon that has deals and go every eight weeks instead of every six. Also, your dye job will last longer if you use shampoo and conditioner designed to maintain your color.

Prescribed Medication

I know medications are cheaper in Canada than in the United States, and I know that you can get some herbal supplements that will supposedly help fight certain diseases and disorders. But that doesn’t mean that you should. You should get your medication from a local pharmacy. If your doctor prescribes a medication that you are going to have trouble affording, find out of there is a generic alternative or if your doctor can give you some samples.

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How to Save Money on Heating this Winter

Sun — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:21:46 +0000

This winter season is barely one month old, but we already had 3 snows, including a huge snow store, so far in this southern state of Virginia. It definitely fells colder this year than before when we lived in the northern state of New Jersey. As the weather gets colder, we want to stay warm and save money on heating bill at the same time. This time last year, our furnace in the old house broke down in the middle of the winter and we had to spend nearly $5,000 replace it in a hurry, but enjoyed it for a few months before we moved to VA in the summer. Actually, before that happened, we got suggestions to have a newer model every year when the technician came over for the annual maintenance early in the winter. But we never took the suggestion because the furnace, though old, was still working. Why replace it when it ain’t broken? Now it seemed that it would have been a wise decision had we replaced the furnace when we bought the house in 2004. Not only we could have enjoyed a quieter furnace for several years, but also have saved a lot of money since the newer model is much more energy efficient than the one built some 30 years ago.

Things are a little different this year because we are now living in an apartment, not a house any more. As the space we need to heat gets smaller, so does our heating bill. Nevertheless, we are still trying to keep the cost of staying warm down. If you are also looking ways to reduce heating bill, here are some tips that can help you save money this winter:

Schedule a maintenance: It’s not too late to have a checkup of your furnace to make sure it’s in good health. You don’t want your furnace to break down at the time when you need it the most.
Clean your furnace filter: This will make your furnace more efficient as it doesn’t have to push hot air through a clogged filter. Also getting the furnace tuned up at least once a year can further boost efficiency.
Seal up your home and upgrade your windows: Small air leaks can pad your home-heating bill. Install windows with the government-endorsed Energy Star label, both for efficiency and to take advantage of the tax credit.
Get a programmable thermostat: Let the thermostat control the temperature for you: reduce the heat when no one is home and turn it up before you get back.
Shop around for home-heating oil: Search for low-price suppliers in your area, ask for a senior citizen discount or join a fuel cooperative for locked-in, near-wholesale rates.
Turn down the hot water: Set the water temperature to 120 degrees instead of 140 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s safer and more energy efficient.
Take advantage of the sun: Open up the curtains on south-facing windows during the day, close all the curtains at night, and let the sun help naturally heat your home.
Block off unused rooms: The less space you need to heat, the lower your bill.
Turn on the fan: Use your fan’s reverse mechanism to keep warm air circulating through the room.

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Free is to Frugal as Clear is to Water

Yolander Prinzel — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:53:18 +0000

There is no more frugal activity than getting something for nothing. Nothing, in case you didn’t know, is less than anything and the more stuff you get for nothing … well … the less money you spend.

Of course, finding something for nothing that is actually worth having can be difficult and, I am not going to lie, time consuming. Like we discussed in our coupons post, the value of your time and resources must be considered when you are researching or working for discounts and free stuff. Of course, there is a way to streamline the process of getting free stuff and I’ve got a few convenient tricks up my sleeve that I will share with you, ironically, for nothing!

Craigslist

My all time favorite site for free stuff is Craigslist. First of all, the stuff listed in the Craigslist free section is right in your own neighborhood. Second, you don’t always have to communicate with the person getting rid of their stuff. Often, people place curbside notifications letting you know that they are putting stuff on the curb. They usually post lists of the items they have and sometimes they even post pictures. The first person to drive by and get it takes it. There are also many free things you can call for and arrange to pick up. This includes furniture, televisions, sewing machines and more.

Google Alerts

If you use the Google Reader, then you can set up keyword alerts. These alerts scour the web for articles, blog posts and any mention of the keywords you set up. I set up alerts for the keywords: free, freebie, cheap, free deal and free stuff and every day I get thousands of links to free things that I can sign up for, download or order. To set up alerts you’ll need to sign in to your Google account and set up Google alert.

RSS Feeds

It’s easy to find blogs and websites that list free stuff every day or week. They may come up through your Google alerts or you can just search for them using a search engine. But once you find one, don’t just bookmark it and think you’ll go back again. Instead, subscribe to the RSS feed for the site. That way, you can look in your feed reader everyday and see all the free stuff feeds you’ve subscribed to in one spot. You can even subscribe to the Craigslist free section’s RSS feed. I use the Google reader for this so that my alerts and feeds all come through in one place.

Walmart.com

Walmart has a special section of its website for stuff that is “In Stores Now.” This section is a treasure trove of name brand product freebies that they want you to try. You never know what you may find here and not only is it great because you get free stuff, but it’s also great because you can try out products that you might have been thinking about buying. This allows you to make sure you like the product before you invest any cash in it. You can access the free samples here.

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Frugal Gift Buying

Yolander Prinzel — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:40:05 +0000

In this last installment of our Frugal Holidays series, we’d like to talk about frugal gift buying (Part 1 Frugal Holiday Entertaining, Part 2 Frugal Holiday Food). Gift buying can be fun but during years when savings accounts are not as plush as we’d like, 401k balances are still struggling to make a comeback and jobless rates remain uncomfortably high, gift buying becomes a dreaded activity that hurts our wallets, self-esteem and holiday spirit.

That’s why committing to a frugal holiday is so important. Not only do you remove the Herculean weight of the stress that deep-pockets conformity brings but you also turn the holiday into a fun mission, an exercise in conservative spending, and a lesson in being grateful for what we have instead of obsessed with what we want. So here are just a few tips to keep your holiday gift buying fun AND frugal.

Buy Packaged Goods and Break Them up

You can buy big discount packages of body wash, candy, body sprays and many other products. If you buy these large packs and wrap each of the items inside individually you can save money and give great gifts to coworkers and family members.

Draw a Name

Instead of buying a present for every person in your family, you can each enter your name in a basket and then draw someone else’s name out. That way you can significantly reduce your spending, still buy a really great gift for one member of your family, and make sure no one is left out.

Buy Something Everyone NEEDS

Let’s face it, holiday presents are not usually about what you need—they are about what you want. Instead of rushing out to buy the newest gaming system, most expensive running shoes and latest designer purse for your loved ones, how about buying college textbook gift certificates, grocery store certificates, and practical necessities like batteries? Not only will you save money by setting a limited budget for these gifts but your gifts will be used long after the holiday is over.

Make Your Own Gifts

Shannon did a great post on creating your own holiday gifts this year. Not only are her ideas frugal, but a homemade gift really comes from the heart and can be more moving than the most expensive piece of store bought jewelry.

Use the Holiday as a Way to Set an Example

There are so many charities and people in need right now that you could halve your usual holiday gift budget and give the money to a charity instead of buying gifts. If you make an effort, you can also use that as a great lesson for your children. If you normally spend $500 on holiday gifts, instead just take $250 and bring your children grocery shopping for food to donate to the local soup kitchen, pet supplies to donate to your local animal shelter, or sleeping bags, blankets and clothes for the local homeless shelter. Bring your children with you when you make the donation and help them understand just how lucky they are—even without a Wii under the tree.

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Frugal Gift Buying

Great Homemade Gifts for Kids

Shannon M. Medisky — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:32:47 +0000

Home is where the heart is, so why not let more gifts come from your heart than your pocketbook? If you’re looking for some homespun inspiration and how-to’s, look no further.

Inspire (and supply) an art attack. An old fishing tackle box or even an ordinary shoe box can be quickly transformed into an art kit fit for any pint-sized Picasso. Consider including watercolor paints, washable markers, scissors, glue stick, crayons and paper. Make it extra special by including an artist’s smock (a.k.a. an old button down shirt). Really blow your child’s mind by gifting them some regular tempera paint, a paintbrush and permission to paint your sliding glass door or window. If you’re worried about the mess, don’t be. It cleans up quickly and easily with a bit of warm water and a sponge. (Just remember to protect the floor below!)

Brew up some fun with kitchen chemistry. Got a small scientist living under your roof? Encourage his or her scientific exploration without paying an arm and a leg for a store-bought chemistry set. Instead, create and give them their own kitchen chemistry set for a fraction of the cost. Make a volcano erupt, grow beautiful crystals or even create your own super, high-bounce ball. (Click here for a FREE printable list of supplies and directions – suitable for gift giving!)

Give an imagination station. Any budding fashionista would enjoy her very own dress-up kit replete with handbags and costume jewelry. A quick trip to a thrift store or even your own closet can quickly help you stock it. Raid your recycle bin for various supplies that can be transformed into another purpose. You may not know what, but throw them in a box with some glue, masking tape and string, present it your child and watch the magic, fun and invention begin!

Help them mark and publish their word. An aspiring author will appreciate a notebook and pencil for rough drafts as well as a hardbound composition notebook and a new set of markers for “publishing” their manuscript. Create a pretty book cover by carefully gluing wrapping paper or construction paper to the front of the composition book. Don’t forget to proudly display the book’s title and author on the front, though!

Brew up some fun for your budding baker. Visit a dollar store for culinary supplies such as a large mixing bowl, plastic measuring cups, spoons and a rolling pin. Package together with an inexpensive cake mix or even just a few containers of Play Doh (for baking “play” outside of the kitchen).

Make marble chute fun without the price or floor space. Skip the hefty price and forget about giving up floor space. If you’ve got toilet paper, paper towel or empty wrapping paper rolls, then you’ve got the makings for a great wall-mounted marble chute! Start collecting them now and later package them up with a package of removable adhesive putty and a few marbles. Kids can work to mount the rolls to the wall and, using gravity to their advantage, create a marble chute that can used and redesigned over and over again. Up the fun by encouraging them to decorate their chutes prior to putting them to use!

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Great Homemade Holiday Gifts

Shannon M. Medisky — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:06:22 +0000

Home is where the heart is, so why not let more gifts come from your heart than your pocketbook? If you’re looking for some homespun inspiration and how-to’s, look no further.

Say “Season’s Greetings” with homemade sweets and treats. Nearly everyone enjoys a homemade dessert, but not everyone has the time or the ability to do the making or the baking. Make the edible gift even more special by presenting it on a beautiful plate, tray or dish as part of the gift. (Visit a local thrift store to go treasure hunting for just this purpose.) Friends and family on special diets will be even more touched by your gesture as they often get overlooked when it comes to holiday treats. Your willingness and creativity to whip up some homemade sweets that even they can enjoy (courtesy of a swap of Splenda for sugar, for example) shows not only that you care, but that their health is important to you, too.

Give the gift of “take-and-make.” Give something that’s great now and that keeps on giving. “Take-and-make” gifts provide recipients the ability to readily enjoy something now, as well as enable them to recreate it later on for future enjoyment. From cookie mix in a jar with beautifully layered dry ingredients to soup in a jar with a variety of colorful beans, pastas and spices, gift recipients of these gifts will always enjoy the added touch of getting their hands on a new, tried-and-true recipe to add to their own repertoire.

Homemade health and beauty. Want to give the gift of luxury without incurring the associated expense? Prepare homemade bath salts by mixing 1 cup of Epsom salt, 3 tablespoons of baking soda and 4 to 5 drops of essential oils. Beautify the mix by adding a few drops of food coloring or make it even more luxurious by adding 2 tablespoons of finely ground (regular, not quick cooking or instant) oatmeal.

Wouldn’t it be great to give yourself (not to mention friends and family) a gift that smelled just as yummy as a homemade sugar cookie, but without the calories? With holiday baking ingredients on sale, you can do just that for only pennies. To create a homemade sugar body scrub, combine 4 cups of white granulated sugar, 1 cup of vegetable oil (or unscented baby oil) and 4 teaspoons of imitation vanilla.

From the hands of babes. If you’ve got kids, than you’ve got pint-sized Picassos on your hands just waiting to get in on the gift giving (and creating) action! Put their creativity to good use by having them create all sorts of beautiful artwork. Scan it and burn it on a CD to give as creative, colorful computer “wallpaper” or shrink it down and print it onto cardstock, cut and fold and package with a few envelopes to create special stationary sets.

The gift of words to live by. Give a gift that keeps on giving, a gift of affirmations. Find a pretty jar or box and cut a variety of strips of paper on which to write a short sentence about the special person in your life. Pictures may be worth a thousand words, but straightforward words are pretty important, too.

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Serving Holiday Food Frugally

Yolander Prinzel — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:39:33 +0000

This is the second part of our Frugal Holiday series. In the first part last week, we talked about frugal holiday entertaining.

If you are cooking the big holiday meal in your family, you probably don’t want to forsake food quality for frugality… but you also don’t want to empty out your bank account for just one meal. Luckily, frugal food serving doesn’t have to be an either/ or proposition. You can serve a great meal complete with appetizers and dessert without breaking the bank—but you may have to break a bit of a sweat.

Appetizers

1. Keep it simple: There is no need to create complicated, multi-layered appetizers. Instead opt for simple foods like cheeses, olive assortments, raw vegetables, crackers and dips.

2. Make it fun: No one can resist a bowl full of assorted nuts in the shell and cute holiday nutcrackers. Nuts can get expensive, so it is important to not overbuy and make sure you buy the assorted bags instead of all one kind. Your guests can then choose those nuts they most enjoy and have fun trying the others.

Main Course

1. Cook it yourself: I know if can be tempting to call up a company that specializes in preparing holiday meats and buying a premade ham or turkey from them, but if you prepare the food yourself it will be much less expensive.

2. Buy enough but not too much: There is no point in having enough food to feed an army unless you are, actually, feeding an army. Instead, buy just as much bird or ham as you need. Remember, sending people home with leftovers is nice, but it increases your expenses and if you keep all the leftovers, you may end up wasting them.

Side Dishes

1. You can’t please everyone: Chances are that each member of your family loves a different traditional side dish and expects you to have all of them. It’s not practical to serve ten different side dishes when three is more than enough. Let everyone know which side dishes you plan to serve and that if they want one you are not preparing, you’d be happy to make a place for it on the table if they decide to bring it.

2. Everything is interchangeable: The more ingredients your meal needs, the more expensive it will be. Your gravy can be made from the turkey, your sweet potato casserole ingredients can be used in your sweet potato pie dessert, and your raw veggie appetizers can also be steamed for a healthy side dish. Try to plan your menu so that you have only a few main ingredients to stretch out over several parts of your meal and you don’t have a ton of left over ingredients sitting in your fridge untouched for a year.

Dessert

1. Pick one: You don’t need to have every variety of pie under the sun at your table. Choose one kind of pie and serve it.

2. Just one alternative: For those guests who don’t like pie or want something lighter, you might consider making some cookies. Not only will this make a nice and affordable alternative for non-pie eaters it will also offer something easier to snack on if your guests stay late.

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Serving Holiday Food Frugally

Frugal Holiday Entertaining

Yolander Prinzel — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:34:39 +0000

This is the first post in our frugal holiday series. Saving money during the holidays is no small feat and anyone who manages to accomplish it should be praised and envied. Our frugal holiday series is going to focus on saving money in three areas:

Frugal Holiday Entertaining
Serving Holiday Food Frugally
Frugal Gift Buying

Today we are kicking off the series with some tips about saving money while entertaining guests. Whether you are entertaining friends and family members for several days in your home or having them over for a simple dinner, there are a lot of expensive traps that you can avoid. Here are just a few tips to keep your guests comfortable and your wallet heavy.

Entertaining Dinner Guests

1. Natural table setting: It’s easy to get drawn into the expensive table setting trap when you are decorating for a holiday dinner. Instead of buying special gold plates, expensive table linens and fancy napkin rings, invest in plain white linens and plates that you can use for any occasion. Then, use Christmas ornaments, ribbons, decorative leaves and other simple, inexpensive items to decorate your table for the holiday at hand.

2. Drinking for one: When Uncle Charlie likes scotch, Cousin Rita enjoys vodka and Mom and Dad like their gin you could be facing a hefty bill at the liquor store. Instead of trying to indulge in everyone’s favorite drink, just create one holiday themed mixed drink for everyone to enjoy. You can find many alcoholic mixed drink recipes online. Not only will this simplify your hosting duties, but it will allow you to buy just one kind of liquor.

Entertaining Houseguests

1. Climate control: If you live frugally, it is likely that you keep your thermostat at a certain money saving, yet comfortable temperature for every season. When you have houseguests they may no be quite as comfortable with your temperature setting. Instead of heating or cooling the whole house to their specifications, simply make sure there is an electric blanket and a fan in the room they’ll be sleeping in. That way, they can heat or cool their area while they sleep with minimal added expense.

2. Have breakfast in: When you have guests it’s easy to get distracted by thoughts of gourmet coffee houses and breakfasts out, but it is much cheaper to make everything at home. Before your guests arrive, buy some of the coffee grounds sold at your local gourmet coffee shop. Get a couple of recipes for easy breakfast casseroles and cinnamon buns and help your guests enjoy a delicious and inexpensive breakfast at home.

3. Entertainment: If you leave entertainment to the last minute, you may end up spending a great deal of time at the local tourist traps. This can result in a lot of money spent on useless items that are highly marked up. Instead, get ready for your houseguests by borrowing board games from a friend or coworker. You can also get some movies that you all enjoy or, if the guests are family, get your home movies and photo albums out of storage.

Original Post on The Sun's Financial Diary

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Frugal Holiday Entertaining

The Argument against Frugality

Yolander Prinzel — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:53:43 +0000

Sometimes, the best way to convince a person that they need to do something is to show them what a bad decision it is to do the opposite. There are countless articles, blog posts, books and lectures about the power of being frugal. Since this line of content is still a booming business, that must mean that the message has not hit home for most people yet. So let’s try a different approach, shall we? Let’s talk about five reasons why we should NOT be frugal. Hopefully, the utter foolishness of these will make you realize how silly not being frugal really is.

1. You deserve to have whatever you want, even if you can’t afford it

You work hard, don’t you? Okay, well, even if you don’t work hard what does it matter? We are here to enjoy ourselves and withholding cool toys, cars, gadgets and handbags from our lives is not enjoyable. You are an adult now and, as such, you make the rules for your life. There are no more parents making you do stupid things like eat healthy, go to work on time, or save money. Don’t let your budget become a surrogate parent — show it who’s boss and get what you want — whether you can afford it or not.

2. It’s fun to always get what you want immediately upon wanting it

If you want something, you should have it immediately, almost as if there is a genie in a bottle on your living room table just waiting to answer your call. If you think about it, waiting to get something until you have saved enough money is always very uncomfortable. There is no fun in the whole process because you spend all that waiting time NOT enjoying the cool new item. When you get everything you want immediately, your life is filled with fun experiences that you never have to earn and whose novelty NEVER runs out.

3. Working for things is boring and makes you feel used

Earning the things you want is for suckers. There is no reason why you should have to go out and earn money to buy the things you want—you should just put them on a credit card. This isn’t the third grade and you don’t need any gold stars to show what a good little worker you are. After all if you don’t pay the credit card bill, who cares? They’ll just charge it off or…something…

4. Stress over finances can’t be as unhealthy as everyone says it is

You’ve heard it all — ulcers, high blood pressure, insomnia, weight gain — sheesh, is there any medical illness that isn’t attributed to stress over finances? It can’t be all that bad. Look, millions of people live paycheck to paycheck each week and just skate by on what they are earning and they don’t all end up sick all the time…or at least…they don’t talk about it if they are. They don’t worry about boring stuff like emergencies, retirement and college savings — why should you?

5. You CAN have everything you want if you just rationalize it enough

There are about a million ways you can make yourself think you can afford something. You can tell yourself that you won’t go out to eat next month (even though you know it’s not true). You can tell yourself that this is the last splurge you’ll have until Christmas (even though you already plan on splurging again next week). You can tell yourself that your budget will be back on track in a couple more weeks, so this won’t be a big deal (even though you have been telling yourself for the past year or two but it never seems to actually get, “back on track”). Just tell yourself whatever you need to hear to make it okay and then spend!

photo credit: ladybugbkt

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The Argument against Frugality

Deal: P4400 Kill-A-Watt Electricity Detector & Monitor for $19

Sun — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 03:12:55 +0000

According to Dealsea.com, SuperMediaStore now has P4400 Kill-A-Watt Electricity Detector for $23.99. Use coupon code silverbells to get a $5 discount of the listed price and the shipping is free. According to the production description:

The Electricity Detector and Electricity Monitor can reduce your monthly electric bill and help you save a lot of money. Electricity bills can be murder. But now with Kill a Watt you can cut down on costs and find out what machines are actually worth keeping plugged in. Simply connect your appliances to the Kill A Watt and Kill a Watt will assess how efficient they really are.

It seems to be a nice gauge to have and the review on the SuperMediaStore website is positive (though only three reviews so far). If it can indeed help me save on electric bill, as it claims it can, then it is worth the $19 cost. Jonathan at MyMoneyBlog.com has a nice discussion on this product back in October.

Original Post on The Sun's Financial Diary

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Deal: P4400 Kill-A-Watt Electricity Detector & Monitor for $19

CNNMoney: Six Ways to Save on Heating This Winter

Sun — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 19:41:07 +0000

As we entered the winter heating season, our focus shifted from gasoline to heating oil. Though the oil prices have dropped nearly 30% since July, don’t expect any significant decline going forward as the demand is still strong, especially if your house depends on heating oil. Being energy efficient is still the way to go in order to save on heating this winter. Today, CNNMoney has a piece on how to cut heating bill:

Clean your furnace filter: This will make your furnace more efficient as it doesn’t have to push hot air through a clogged filter. Also getting the furnace tuned up at least once a year can further boost efficiency.
Get a programmable thermostat: Let the thermostat control the temperature for you: reduce the heat when no one is home and turn it up before you get back.
Take advantage of the sun: Open up the curtains on south-facing windows during the day, close all the curtains at night, and let the sun help naturally heat your home.
Turn down the hot water: Set the water temperature to 120 degrees instead of 140 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s safer and more energy efficient.
Insulate and seal: Adding an extra layer of insulation to your roof or walls and sealing cracks around windows can save you on energy and get you a tax break as well.
Upgrade your windows: Install windows with the government-endorsed Energy Star label, both for efficiency and to take advantage of the tax credit.

More tips on cutting heating costs can be found here. Information on energy efficiency related tax credits is available here.

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CNNMoney: Six Ways to Save on Heating This Winter

27 Gallons of Oil for 5+ Months

Sun — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 18:53:18 +0000

When I got back home from work last night, there was a heating oil bill waiting for me. The first of this season.

However, what really surprised me wasn't the unit price at $2.459/gallon, but the volume for the latest fill-up.

27 gallons! Yes, 27 gallons!

I couldn't believe the number when I saw the bill and it seemed as if the previous delivery was last month. But when I pulled out the record, I was almost shocked. The last delivery wasn't in September, but in May! That's more than five months and we only used 27 gallons? True the past five months were summer times and the oil was only for hot water, not heating, but still 27-gallon was a unbelievably small number.

Anyway, as I went through the record, I also calculated how much we spent last heating season. The first delivery of last winter was on November 9th, 2005 and the price as $2.479/gallon only 2 cents above what we got yesterday, thanks to the sharp decline of oil prices in recent months. For that delivery, we paid $162.74 total. Then we had another one on January 2nd, 2006, for $2.549/gallon and total $361.36. The last was on February 23rd, 2006, for $2.499/gallon and total $339.19. All together, we only spent $863.29 on heating oil last winter which wasn't bad at all. Actually, there were a couple of factors that I think helped us lowering the bill:

Use programmable thermostat to control the temperature: Since nobody is at home from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, I set the temperature at 60 degrees when we leave home in the morning and at 5:30 pm, the heat will be turned on and remains on until the temperature reaches 68 degrees. From 10:00 pm to 6:30 am, I set the thermostat at 62 degrees and the heat is on again when we wake up in the morning at 6:30 with the temperature set at 68 degrees.
In the weekend, if we leave home for several hours, I use the Temporary feature on the thermostat to overwrite the programmed settings so the heat won't be on all the time when we are not at home.
Use a radiator in the bedroom. We have a Delonghi oil radiator in our bedroom and it is on throughout the night, from 9:00 pm to 6:30 am, so I can set temperature else where at 62 degrees, reducing the use of heating oil.

For more winter energy saving tips, click here.

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Reduce Your Heating Bill: Six Tips from SmartMoney

Sun — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 18:32:32 +0000

The recent decline of oil prices may make us breath a little easier when we turn on the heat this winter. However, if you are among the 32% households in the Northeast that depend on heating oil, you can expect to pay 7% more this winter to heat your house. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, for natural gas:

Nationwide, 58 percent of all households depend on natural gas as their primary heating fuel. Despite increased natural gas consumption this winter, households in all regions will pay significantly less for natural gas this winter due to lower prices. For example, in the Midwest, about 79 percent of households rely on natural gas to heat their homes, and this upcoming winter, these households can expect to pay nearly 14 percent less in natural gas expenditures relative to last winter. Lower expenditures in this region are the result of a projected 18-percent decline in price compared with last winter, even as Midwest natural gas consumption is expected to grow by 4 percent. In the West, about 66 percent of all households rely on natural gas, and these households can expect to pay 10 percent less for natural gas this winter, even though consumption is expected to increase by 2 percent.

For heating oil:

Nationwide, only 7 percent of U.S. households depend on heating oil for winter fuel. However, most of those households that do heat with heating oil are in the Northeast, where 32 percent of households use heating oil as their primary heating fuel. In this region, households are projected to pay about 7 percent more in heating oil expenditures compared to last winter. Midwest households relying on heating oil can expect to pay 6 percent more than last winter, but relatively few households in the Midwest (3 percent) use heating oil as their primary fuel.

There's an article today on SmartMondy.com that offers some money-saving tips to get you prepared for a cold winter.

Schedule a home-heating inspection: The system should be checked out every year for safety and efficiency.
Seal up your home: Small air leaks can pad your home-heating bill.
Use that thermostat: Using a programmable thermostat saves money.
Shop around for home-heating oil: Search for low-price suppliers in your area, ask for a senior citizen discount or join a fuel cooperative for locked-in, near-wholesale rates.
Block off unused rooms: The less space you need to heat, the lower your bill.
Turn on the fan: Use your fan's reverse mechanism to keep warm air circulating through the room.

And don't forget to check the battery, breaks, and fluids of your car as well.

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Reduce Your Heating Bill: Six Tips from SmartMoney

Get Ready to Pay More for Your Starbucks Coffee

Sun — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 14:35:59 +0000

if you drink it at all.

According to a story in USAToday, effective October 3, Starbucks will raise prices of its lattes, cappuccinos, drip coffee and other drinks 5 cents, or an average 1.9%.

Time to give up your cappuccinos? Since I got coffee in my office for free, this won't affect me that much. At home, I brew my own coffee with coffee beans I bought at Dunkin Donuts (two 1-lb bags for $7.99 with coupon).

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I Didn’t Realized Today Is the Last Day of the Summer

Sun — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 02:33:16 +0000

until I heard it on the radio on my way back home.

So the summer is over? So I don't have to turn on the AC again for the next, what, nine months? Actually, this summer was quite good though we didn't even barbeque once. Except two weeks in July and August when the mercury craked the 100-degree mark, the temperatue was in the comfortable zone of 80s for the most of the time. And whatelse did this nice summer give us? Low electricity bills of course.

When I checked our electricity bills for the past three months tonight, I found the highest amount we paid was $65 in August. $55 for July and $35 for June. That's unbelievably low, isn't it? Well, we didn't have a big house and there was nobody at home during the day, so there was almost no consumption. In addition, we also took some steps to lower our bills:

If we did have to run the AC, we set the temperature at 78 degrees instead of 76;
We closed all windows before leaving for work in the morning to keep the heat out;
I usually stayed late in the evening. So if the outside temperature dropped below the room temperature, I opened the windows before I went to bed to let cool air get in.

For the past three months, there were only a copule of times we let the AC run over night. Yes, it wasn't very nice and comfortable in some nights, but I won't call that sacrifice.

Oh, by the way, we used a lot the thermal cooker I bought in July. Maybe that also helped a little bit.

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I Didn’t Realized Today Is the Last Day of the Summer