budget

High food bills? The Grocery Budget Makeover can help.

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Erin Chase, the woman who proved that $5 meals can be  both healthy and appealing (even to kids), is at it again. To promote another session of her five-week “Grocery Budget Makeover” online course, Chase is offering a free video workshop.

The entrepreneur is mom to four boys and also the creator of (among other things) the $5 Dinners concept, a class on Instant Pot cooking and a series of cookbooks. The goal of her Grocery Budget Makeover is to teach consumers how to cut their food spending in half.

Specifically, she wants to “change the way you shop for groceries – forever.”

The free workshop – actually a handful of short videos – is designed to give you a taste (so to speak) of the course.

 

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Can’t get ahead? Try a “savings challenge.”

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th(I’ve decided to re-publish articles now and again in honor of what the kids call Throwback Thursday. Given that some of us can expect higher-than-usual credit card bills in January, these savings options might help.)

Years ago I moderated MSN Money’s Smart Spending message board, on which people would post frugal hacks, recipes and other tips to stretch a buck.

The boards went away some years before the Smart Spending blog did; when that happened, some of the most loyal commenters created an alternative universe.

“Not MSN Money Proboards” is a place for veterans of Smart Spending and other message boards to stay in touch and keep sharing the wealth. Or, rather, the road to wealth. (Edited to add: The Not MSN Money Proboards has morphed into something called Your Money and More, which includes money, lifestyle and other board options.)

One post I checked in on today, “2014 Savings Strategies,” brought up the old custom of “savings challenges.” Those were popular during the worst of the recent recession; you couldn’t swing a virtual cat in the PF blogosphere without running into someone’s post on challenges.

Stuff like:

  • Spare Change Challenge – Every night put all your coins in a jar
  • Dollar Bill Challenge – Like the above, except with paper instead of specie
  • Five-Dollar Bill Challenge – Pretty ambitious, but a little too rich for some bloods
  • Random Number Challenge – Pick a number and every night check the bills in your wallet; if one has a serial number ending in the chosen digit, into the jar it goes

But the Proboards posting also mentioned a couple of new ones.

 

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A life-changing holiday gift: Personal finance books.

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th(Note: This is an update of an article that ran in 2016, with some new books to go along with ones I feel confident re-recommending.)

Some people are into experiences rather than gifts. Physical presents take up space and need to be dusted, whereas a massage or a theater ticket is a one-and-done event.

I suggest that a personal finance book is both a gift and an experience. Sure, it takes up a little space – but it can lead to life-altering changes and literal enrichment. And if you get the Kindle or PDF version, it doesn’t take up any room in your domicile.

When you give the gift of personal finance, you’re giving people tools that can get them out of current money troubles and/or help them build the lives they want. Doesn’t that beat the heck out of a scented candle or a cheese log?

 

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What’s your splurge?

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A woman I know spent part of the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend payout ($1,100 this year) on herself. She described it as a “splurge,” but we’re not talking mani-pedis, airline tickets or high-octane chocolate.

Instead, she plunked down some of those annual bucks for a pair of items that are simultaneously sensible and self-indulgent:

A new set of flannel sheets, and

One of those Instant Pot* cookers.

Both are useful and both were on sale (with in-store coupons to boot), making each splurge doubly sensible. Yet they’re also supremely self-indulgent because they’ll make the winter so much cozier.

 

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‘The secrets of super savers,’ revealed.

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Think coupons aren’t worth it? Not if you’re doing them right – and it doesn’t have to eat up hours of your life. A new book from the authors of the Living On The Cheap website shows why.

“The Ultimate Guide to Coupons: How to Save More Money in Less Time and Get The Best Deals” shares what authors Teresa Mears and Laura Daily call the “secrets of super savers.”

Specifically, “the smart way to use coupons, investing just minutes to save dollars.” They’ve produced a book that stays true to the LOTC mission: to help people live their best lives without breaking the bank.

 

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“Your Money, Live!”: An event for YOU at FinCon17.

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The night before the 2016 Financial Blogger Conference began, members of the public were invited to a free program called “The Money Meetup.” This evening of short inspirational speeches plus a meet-and-greet with personal finance folks was very well received. I hoped that this would become an annual event.

Conference founder Phil Taylor has expanded the public reception into an eight-hour event called “Your Money, Live!” It will take place beginning at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27 at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel – during FinCon17, rather than the night before.

In other words, you’ll probably run into a lot of people whose work you read and/or listen to regularly. (Including me, I hope.)

“Your Money, Live!” attendees can attend their choice of four workshops (more on that in a minute), listen to money experts (including keynote speaker David Bach), and attend the Ignite FinCon event, which is TEDx style speaking followed by a networking party where you can meet personal finance writers, bloggers and podcasters.

 

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Credit or debit? Here’s what consumers say.

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Recently the NerdWallet blog did a survey of more than 2,000 adults in the United States with regard to their use of plastic. Turns out that younger people prefer debit to credit.

The findings didn’t surprise me. But they did concern me.

Without credit use, you can’t build a good credit history. Without a good credit history, you will likely pay more interest than those without decent credit scores – that is, if you can get a loan at all.

This probably isn’t something people want to hear right after the Equifax data breach. But it’s something they need to know.

 

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In your 40s? Do these things or risk dying broke.

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Your fifth decade can be swell, since that’s when you’re in your prime earning years and when your kids (if any) are likely to be adults or nearly so.

If you were careful (and lucky) in your 20s and 30s, you’ll start to see some real rewards in your 40s.

Not every life is lucky, of course. Issues like un- or underemployment, divorce, chronic illness and a lack of financial education can derail your dreams. Nearly 30 percent of Gen Xers, who are currently in their 40s and early 50s, have zero retirement savings.

 

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Coupon ethics.

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A couple of young women in Williston, North Dakota were recently busted for fraud after running a coupon scam in the Albertson’s supermarket where they both worked.

They managed to get at least $21,000 in “overage,” or money owed to them for having coupons that were worth more than the on-sale product (in this case, Tide detergent).

These chumps give couponing a bad name.

Worse, when people indulge in fraudulent behavior it winds up costing all of us.

So tempting to think, “Giant Corporation makes billions a year – it’ll never be noticed.” Don’t think that way, unless you’d also be fine with taking money out of a store’s cash register when the clerk’s back was turned. Coupon fraud steals from the retailers (which may not be reimbursed for fake Qs) and from the manufacturers (if they pay out unwittingly).

The money that retailers and maunfacturers lose translates to price increases for consumers. Everybody loses, except the cheaters – and they might, too, if they get caught.

For those who are new to the Q, I’m offering a coupon ethics primer on how to do it right – and also how not to mess it up for everyone else.

 

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Back to school without breaking the bank.

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Fun fact: According to the National Retail Federation, families in the U.S. will spend $10.2 billion on back to school shopping this year.

That fact may not be fun to parents on tight budgets. It’s not much fun to me, either, since I’ve long believed this kind of shopping has gotten out of hand.

Understand: I’m not saying your kids should get on the bus wearing clothes that are ill-fitting or in tatters, or that they shouldn’t have the tools they need for education. But to judge from the ads, our kids need all-new everything.

Hint: They probably don’t.

Obviously if a kid has outgrown his shoes (and they will do that!) then you’ll need to replace the footwear. Ditto jeans that are high-watery or a jacket whose sleeves stop a few inches short of the wrist. But it’s easy to fall down the rabbit-hole of overbuying.

 

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