Category: Frugality

Learn about a variety of ways to save money

Food

Five Cheap Meals That Cost Under $2.50 Per Serving

Let’s get right to the point here. Is there anything that you spend more on every week than food? It’s the number one thing that we all spend money on every week and it involves a lot of thought and care if you want to have money left over for other things you must take care of. That’s why cheap meals are such a good idea no matter your budget. There’s no avoiding food forever, skipping it entirely for a while, or thinking of it as the very “last thing” you need to concern yourself about. If you do that and it works for you, write to me and let me learn something new please. Having said that…

One of the great ways to save on your food budget is cheap meals. Today I'm sharing five cheap meals you can make for under $2.50 per person.

Today I’d like to talk about some great meals that you (and even I) can plan and prepare that don’t break the bank or budget. Yes, these are meals you can plan, cook, and enjoy on the cheap. I have tried them all and although I don’t want to eat all of them over and over every week, they can be mixed in with other food choices and help really cut your food bills. So let’s get right to it and begin: my top five money-saving meals that cost under $2.50 each!

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Cars, Food, Health

10 Must Buy Generics (And 5 Branded Items Worth the Price)

There is a challenge I go through every time I shop and it’s one that I am betting you think about, too. It’s the brand names versus the generics thing that is kind of the “Ali versus Frazier” matchup that we all go through regularly!

When it comes to saving, generics are a great way to reduce spending. Here are 10 generics you should buy, plus 5 branded items I believe are worth it.

There is often some fear in people when it comes to shopping and buying an item they may never have heard about or seen before, and that’s even truer when it comes to generics. Those are the items that are not national brands, but swear that they can still do the job to satisfy your needs and wants!

Loyalty usually is a great quality, but it can be costly when you shop. Sticking to just one brand rarely makes sense when the only meaningful difference between a national brand product and its generic version is the price.

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Frugality

Stop Throwing Money Away: 16 Ways You Are at High Risk

No one really would throw their money away on purpose, would they? I mean that would be just crazy. You work pretty hard for it and then just spend it on nonsense or literally just toss it away? Never right? Err, ah…wrong.

It's easy to be throwing money away without even realizing it. Here are 16 ways your money is slipping away and how to stop it.

It can totally happen, especially when you are unaware of some of the ways that your money is slipping through your fingers right now. Generally, the things I’m going to share with you here are not huge expenses when they stand alone. However, if you add all of these little things together, you can be throwing away hundreds and even thousands of dollars a year without even knowing.

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Travel

14 Tips That Help You Save on Travel

As summer hits its middle, it’s not too early to think about next year’s vacation and how to save on travel. This year we may just be lounging around the community swimming pool and having a few BBQ nights on the grill, but not next year.

When planning your vacation, follow these tips to save on travel. The more you think about it in advance, the less you'll worry on your trip.

My wife and I are in the process of planning a big vacation for 2020 right now and we’re getting pretty excited. Excited, but also a bit worried, too. After all, vacations these days have become a pretty hefty expense and because of that we have to use our “super saving” skills to limit the cost and to maximize the fun.

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More, Shopping

Not So “Pretty in Pink”: The Pink Tax

Here’s a very disturbing fact to still be talking about in the 21st century: Women are charged more when shopping for some items even when they are the same items as men’s. An actual 2015 study by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs Office found that women paid more for 42% of the nearly 800 products they surveyed! Let me repeat that one: 42%! And in 2019, it isn’t any different.

The pink tax, where women are charged more for products simply because they are women, is completely unfair. Here's what you need to know to fight back.

Even though the survey was four years ago, things have actually gotten worse. Manufacturers and retailers know that they can take advantage of this phenomenon and although it may seem like a silly little thing, the pink tax is very real.

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Frugality, Saving & Investing

Saving Money Doesn’t Mean You Have to Have No Life!

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I guess I have always been surrounded by the “aura” of saving money. It started for me as a kid, simply because I grew up in a family that didn’t have a lot of extra money and I was the child of parents who grew up during the Great Depression. I am pretty sure that experience shaped my Mom and Dad’s philosophy about money and the importance of saving for a rainy day. The rainy days of the 1930’s were pretty rainy, so I get it.

If you feel like you have to have no life in order to save money, it doesn't have to be that way. Here's how to save and still enjoy life.

Of course, my parents were also around for the post-war abundance and prosperity of the 1950’s and things got a lot better for them and for all Americans as the 20th century rolled on. But even with that, the art and skill of the “saving of money” (which really primarily fell on my Mom’s shoulders as the main shopper and budget keeper) was still upper-most in their minds. And yes, of course, since I was right there by their side, mine too. But despite the emphasis on the saving of money, it didn’t mean that we had to have no life!

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More, Shopping

Gen Z and the Retail Revolution

No, that’s not the name of a new rock band from across the pond. Rather it’s a description of what is happening in the world of retail these days, or should I say this decade. Yes, there is a retail revolution taking place and it’s something that we are all involved with no matter what letter is used to describe your GEN-eration—Z, X, Y or BB (that’s me, ha ha).

As the generations change, a massive retail revolution is occurring. Here's why the old retailers are closing and the new retailers are technology-driven.

Generation Z shoppers are a force to be reckoned with and are now a major influence on the retail market.

Generation Z (or Gen Z) is the demographic age that arrived after the Millennials (Gen Y). Demographers and researchers typically use the mid-1990s to late-2000s as birth years. That makes them somewhere between age 10 and 25 years old about now. Most of Generation Z have used the internet since birth and are comfortable with technology and social media. They really know no other way. That’s the reason for today’s post about Gen Z and the retail revolution and how it is affecting everyone!

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Debt, Frugality, Saving & Investing

Why Do You Diss All Those Valuable Pennies?

Chances are if you look around your house, your car, or any of your pockets, you will find a penny or three. Those little pennies really don’t get much respect in today’s world, do they? After all when you shop, if you start to dole them out at the cash register you might get some kind of dirty look like “What are you doing…just give them a damn nickel! Don’t look for the pennies!” Or after you pay with your cash you dump the two pennies you get in change into a little tip jar or charity collection (or is it?) on the counter.

Do you dismiss the value of pennies? Whether you're paying off debt or saving up money, pennies can be more powerful than you think.

Those orphan pennies are so small and insignificant, right? They seem to be more of a nuisance than anything of real value, and when you have them around you usually just ignore them. Why do you diss all these pennies?

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