April 28, 2014

Money Tip Monday - Grocery shop with cash!

Happy Monday to you all. I hope that everyone had a great weekend & feels recharged for the week ahead.

Here is today's Money Tip:

 
"Use cash to pay for groceries. You will stay on budget, avoid bad purchases & check out faster from the store"
 
My husband and I have loved shopping with cash at the grocery store. You really do stay on track & you carefully select items. We have found that shopping with cash keeps you focused on your grocery list so that you don't add random items to your cart & you don't overspend.
 
Do you grocery shop with cash? Feel free to comment below!
 
 


April 25, 2014

Frugal Friday Tip - Stay home and watch a movie!


Welcome to today's Frugal Friday Post. I hope that everyone has been having a wonderful week & enjoying our nicer Spring like weather finally. Here is today's Frugal Friday Tip:

"Sign out DVDs/Blue Ray's at the library & create your own movie theater experience at home. Make popcorn, turn down the lights & silent all electronic devices."

We have done this a lot and love it. Now that our son is starting to enjoy & sit through movies, we do this with him often. The best thing about signing out movies at the library and watching them at home is that it doesn't cost you a thing. You can't beat that!

Happy Friday All :)




April 14, 2014

Money Tip Monday - Just say NO!

Welcome to our Money Tip Monday segment. Firstly, I hope that you've all had a wonderful weekend & you were able to find some rest & enjoy some quality time with family or friends.

Today's money tip is about saying a two letter word....NO!


"Always say NO when being offered a store credit card. Don't give in to save an extra 10%."

Rachel Cruze explains it so well in her vlog about "What's So Bad About Store Credit Cards?"
I can tell you from experience as well that these "store credit cards" are just awful. I am happy that I no longer have one nor do I have a desire to ever get one again. When I think about the money I've wasted, it makes me sad and sick at the same time.  Thankfully that is all behind me and I have moved on. If you currently do have a store credit card do yourself a favour and pay it off quickly & cancel it. In fact, I would even go a step further and say cut it up now...like this second. Store credit cards are not your friend. Trust me!

I hope that today's tip was helpful for you. Don't be afraid to say no when these various stores ask you at the check out or approach you while your shopping in the store to sign up for one. Remember, you are the one in control and always say NO!

photo image: monsterpiggybank.com







April 11, 2014

Frugal Friday Tip - Use your crockpot!

 
Welcome to Frugal Friday on the blog. We are so happy to have you stop by for today's frugal tip.
 
"Use your crockpot often. Did you know that using it saves on electricity? It also saves you time in the kitchen."
 
I personally love the crockpot and think it's the greatest invention ever. You just dump the ingredients in and let it cook for you. Brilliant!  If you don't have one, I strongly encourage you to consider getting one. Or if you want to try it out first before making the purchase, I'm pretty sure you can ask to borrow one from a friend who may not be using it. There are tons of great recipes online too if you are new to the crockpot world. I hope that this little tip not only saves you time in the kitchen, but saves you money in the long run.
 
Have a great weekend and be sure to visit us again on Monday for our money tip Monday segment.
 
Do you have any frugal tips that you implement to save you
money? Comments below are welcomed!
 
 
photo image above: shopperstrategy.com



April 7, 2014

Money Tip Monday - Avoid banking fees!

 
Welcome to Money Tip Monday on the blog. Today's tip is about avoiding banking fees. My husband and I switched banks about 3 years ago and have saved greatly by not paying banking fees. Over time it is insane how much those bank fees add up. When we left our former bank we were paying $13.95 a month. In a year that adds up to $167.40. For some that's not a lot of money, but for us it just didn't make sense to continue paying this when we could fully be banking for free. Yes, for free. 
 
We love our new bank. We haven't had to pay any fees and we just love saving the money and using it towards other important things like paying off some left over debt!
 
Below is today's money tip:
 
 
"Canadians stop paying monthly bank fees. Don't think that exists? Check out this review & switch;
 
I hope that this money tip will at least inspire you to do a little research for yourself to see if you could save some money too in the area of banking. Switching was very simple and not as complicated as one may think.
 
Do you currently pay banking fees or have you gone the no banking fee route? 
 
photo credit above from: monsterpiggybank.com
 
 
 


 


April 4, 2014

Frugal Friday Tip!

 
 Life nowadays seems to be getting more and more expensive as the years go by. I'm always looking for ways to save and to do things that really don't "break the bank." Not everything that is "fun" has to cost loads of money.

On twitter I've started recently tweeting about frugal tips on Friday. The hashtag I use is #FrugalFridayTip. Hopefully the tips can help you out & save you money.

Here's today's Frugal Friday Tip:

"Stop buying bottled water & use your free tap water. Don't like the taste of tap water? Boil the water, let it cool, then refrigerate."


What are some Frugal tips that you do to save you money?

photo image above: shopperstrategy.com



March 31, 2014

Money Tip Mondays

I recently started tweeting about money saving tips on Mondays.The hashtag I use is #MoneyTipMonday. I love to save money & pass along little tips I've learned along the way. Even if just one person picks up a new tip that is helpful, this makes me incredibly happy. Enjoy today's tip below:
photo from: monsterpiggybank.com

"Here's an easy way to save money that doesn't eat away at your budget. Try this simple challenge; http://militarymoneychica.com/the-52-week-savings-challenge/"


I can testify and say that the hubby and I are currently doing this. I started back on my birthday last year and I have to say that it is growing beautifully. We opened separate TSFA's to add even more to the savings. We are really excited as this grows week by week.

Do you have any money saving tips? Feel free to share them in the comments below!




January 20, 2014

Tis the Season to..... Start saving now for Christmas!!!!




I know we just finished the Christmas season and for many only now are those holiday bills being paid off. The last thing people want to think about is Christmas 2014 but let’s be realistic, like last Christmas the season will be upon us before you know it. Actually by September, I guarantee you will see decorations making an appearance in stores (Dollarama had stuff out this past September, I kid you not).

Wouldn’t it be great to be prepared in advance so that you are not overwhelmed when Christmas rolls around this year? I don’t know about you, but I want that more than anything.
Here are my top 3 reasons why you should start saving today:
     1. Time is on your side!
  • By starting today to save, you have months to put money away and watch it grow. It’s much easier to save little by little verses trying to save huge amounts of money in a very short time period.
      2.  Less Stress!
  • If you only start thinking about Christmas in December & you have a lot of people to buy for & you didn’t save for it, chances are you will become overwhelmed, stressed out, frustrated & will spend more money than you can afford.
    
        3. You will create a “smart” habit!
  • Once you start doing this new smart habit of saving up for Christmas, you will begin to see how easy it was to do. You may start to realize that you can actually save up for other purchases to pay for in cash. Example – saving up for a vacation, a computer, TV, car, etc..
I hope this gets you a little excited or even inspires you to start thinking ahead for the most wonderful/busiest/expensive time of the year. I know today Christmas seems so far away, but if you stay ahead of the game now you will be in good shape & dare I say be less stressed & financially prepared for when the Christmas season rolls around.

Tis the season to start saving now for Christmas!

Do you save up for the Christmas season early or do you wait until November/December to start saving or planning for Christmas?



















January 7, 2014

It's a New Year, Be Happy!

It's a New Year, be Happy!

This is my way of saying "Happy New Year" which I'm sure you've all heard over the past couple of days now from various family and friends.

So indeed it is a new year. There is always such excitement and great joy with the turn of a new calendar year. Perhaps because it means new possibilities, new careers & new goals to accomplish for many. I too love the new year & the freshness that January brings. I had started to compose a long list of things that I had wanted to do this year, but then I had to stop myself. Realistically my life is dictated these days by my 5 month old daughter & toddler son. In my mind I would love to do about 100 things, but that would mean sacrificing important things to me which is mothering these two precious gifts of God. Instead of focussing on many things, I am choosing to continue on with my priorities and "strive" to do even better with God's help & strength. Here are some of the things which I'll be focussing on once again;

1. Placing God 1st!
*I like to start my day off by praying and reading God's word giving Him my full attention*
(side note, there are many days when I do this while the children are awake. I would rather do this before they wake up, but it doesn't always work out that way. Plus I don't mind them seeing me read or pray. How else will they learn to do this?)

2. Loving & Respecting my husband.
(This will be pretty easy because I really do have a wonderful, caring, loving husband. Seriously :)

3.Spending time on the floor with the kids.
(These two are playful little souls & Missy is getting quite active now with reaching out & rolling around. Plus my toddler boy is 3....enough said, haha)

4. Having dinner ready, or at least started by the time the hubby gets home.
(Hello Crockpot :)

5. Having a clean kitchen before heading off to bed.
(I love going into a clean kitchen in the morning. Truth be told it doesn't happen often enough, but were working on it)

I know that everyday will bring about its new challenges & perhaps nothing will get done, but as long as I strive to do the very best that I can with the time I've been giving each day, I will be happy. It's all about trying and striving for this mamma.

I would like to take this time to wish you all the very best as we journey on in 2014. Good things are on the way for you. Just believe, trust God & stay focussed.

It's a New Year, be Happy!