Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Budget 101: Thrifty Ideas For Stretching Your Money #budget101 (week 4)

This week in the budget series we are going to talk about some ideas to become Thrifty so that you can make the most of your spendable money.


Thrifty Ideas:

1.  Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping -

Meal planning is a simple way to stay on budget and maximize your spendable money.  Just by figuring out what you will eat each week and trying to make sure you have several thrifty meals you can really save money.

This week I am making two big dishes.  A chicken spaghetti from the Pioneer Woman and a pulled pork shoulder roast.  Those meals will be big so they will feed us for more meals than the additional dinner.  My plan looks like this:

M-
Lunch - lunchmeat sandwiches & fruit
Dinner - Chicken spaghetti and salad

T -
Lunch - leftover chicken spaghetti or sandwiches (personal choice)
Dinner - chicken cutlet, green beans and potatoes

W -
Lunch - salad or sandwiches
Dinner - pork tacos (with pork roast)

Th-
Lunch - leftovers, sandwich or salad
Dinner - ravioli, Cesar salad & garlic bread

Fri -
Lunch - leftovers, sandwiches or salad
Dinner - leftovers

I bet you noticed there is no breakfasts on there.  That is because typically none of us home during the day like to eat very early.  We tend to eat an early lunch (10:30 - 11:30) instead.  I do keep staples on hand to eat though in case.  We always have eggs, bread, yogurt, granola bars, milk and cereal - if anyone should want breakfast.

As for grocery shopping - one of the main things you can do to cut down cost is keep a list and shop your sales circular.  That will eliminate unnecessary spending.   If it is not on the list simply don't buy it! 

2.  Reselling -

Getting rid of your old stuff is a wonderful way of earning a little back into your budget.  There are so many ways to easily do it!

  • Craigslist
  • Ebay
  • Facebook local resale groups
  • Posting on your facebook page
  • Yard/Garage Sales

We have done really well in all of these areas.  Just be sure to price your items to sell!  No one will pay full price on a used item.

3.  Thrift Shopping -

This is probably one of my favorite ways to save money.  I simply love getting a good deal.  I like to go to stores like Target and shop clearance.  I also go to thrift stores like Good Will.  (Just be sure to check the quality of the item.)

I also check the local FB selling groups and Craigslist when I need something.

A great example was when I needed new chairs for my kitchen table.  We had bought new ones cheaply from Walmart last year and they fell apart quickly.  I knew I needed a good quality chair to last this time but could not afford to pay $150 a chair!

I started looking on Craigslist and finally a table and chair set for $50 came up!!  6 chairs and a big farm table!  I didn't need the table but I couldn't pass up that price.  Now it was about an hour away but that was still a significant saving.


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