October 28th, 2009 · 2 Comments
Chicken can be a versatile component in a family’s menu plans. Less expensive than beef, I’ve found that using chicken as my main meat allows me to stretch my grocery budget much farther than I could otherwise stretch it. Using chicken a great deal, though, requires me to have a large arsenal of chicken recipes in my recipe box.
Fortunately, I have found many different recipes that my family loves. Some are traditional, all-American recipes. Others, however, are a little spicier. Rotating all of these recipes into my meal plans keeps me from ever having to hear my family groaning, “Ugh! Chicken, again?!”
Fried Chicken – My mom’s friend chicken was always one of my favorite foods growing up, so it’s no wonder that I prepare it for my own family. I simply coat the chicken in flour a fry at a low temperature. This meal does take some time to prepare, though, so I don’t recommend trying to cook it on a night filled with other activities.
Chicken Enchiladas – My husband loves spicy foods so coming home to find that it’s enchilada night totally makes his day. Add chili pepper, a sliced green onion, a chopped tomato, and shredded cheese to cooked chunks of chicken. Spoon the mixture into enchilada shells, roll the shells, and drizzle them with your favorite taco sauce. Add a little more cheese over the top and bake the entire creation in your oven until the cheese is melted.
Chicken Pot Pie – No food is as comforting to me as a chicken pot pie. You can make small ones for each member of your family or cookie one large to dish up cafeteria-style. Flour, salt and shortening are all you need to make a fluffy crust for the top of your entrée. Place a layer of crust into your pie pan and cover it with the yummy filling. Chicken chunks, two cups of mixed veggies, and salt and pepper are all great filling ingredients. Add anything else you like and cover with another layer of crust. Bake the entire thing at 425 degrees for around thirty-five minutes.
Asian Chicken Salad – For a totally different take on chicken, my family enjoys an Asian version of chicken salad. I begin by coating chunks of boneless, skinless chicken breast with a ginger-sesame dressing. A cup of Bisquick mixed with a quarter cup of coconut serves as a breading for the chicken. I pour the dry ingredients into a baggies, drop in a few of the coated chunks of chicken, and shake the bag until the pieces are coated. Continue in this manner until everything is coated. Next, you should cook the chicken chunks in a skillet until they are browned and cooked throughout. Finally, add the chicken to a mixture of salad greens, snowpeas, radishes, mandarin oranges, and anything else you like. Top the whole thing off with a sesame salad dressing.
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Tags: Saving Money
October 27th, 2009 · 3 Comments
Having good home organization tools in place is a huge part of what makes my household run smoothly. When clutter or messiness takes over the house, nothing seems to go right. Is that how it is in your home? Maybe you’re hoping to create a little more organization in your house with some new organization techniques.
Don’t rush to the nearest home organization store the next time you decide to organize all or part of your home. There’s no need to spend an exorbitant amount of money to make your home organized and attractive. With a little hard work, some creativity, and frugality (always!) you can keep the clutter at bay.
Purge the things you don’t need. De-cluttering your home is one of the most powerful things you can do to help you get it organized, and it doesn’t cost a dime. Clearing out the things you don’t use or want anymore will allow you to see and use the things you do want. Throw away things that aren’t useful to anyone. Sell things that others might want, and donate whatever is left.
Sort and display things where you can see them. Many of my unnecessary purchases have been caused by my inability to determine what I need. For instance, as a crafter, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bought a new bottle of craft glue simply because I wasn’t sure if I had any at home. Create attractive (and free) displays from your collections or supplies by sorting them and arranging them in groups together.
Use items you already have for storage. Ordinary items like glass jars and shoe boxes are like gold when it comes to home organization. Soak the labels off glass jars to create great display storage. Small items like paper clips, buttons, ribbon scraps, and even kitchen utensils can be attractively arranged within these stylish, classic containers. Shoe boxes fill in nicely for larger storage or storage that isn’t as attractive. You can always cover the boxes with fabric or paper to help them coordinate with your room’s décor.
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Tags: Frugal · Saving Money
October 26th, 2009 · 4 Comments
Everybody loves to get a bargain. I collect coupons for my favorite stores, shop clearance aisles regularly, and keep an eye on sales ads all the time just to save a little money on my purchases. Each of these ideas, though, doesn’t take advantage of the easiest way to save while shopping. If you want to save money while shopping, sometimes all you need to do is ask.
Asking for a discount can be a little awkward at first. I know it took me quite a while to get comfortable with the idea. I always felt like I was being pushy or rude. That’s not true, though. I am always polite; I simply make a request and make my purchasing decisions based on the answer I get. Now that I’ve had some practice, I’m ready to share some tips with you.
Ask the right person. The person who is stocking the shelves at your favorite shop probably doesn’t have the authority to give you a discount on that pots and pans set you’re looking at. Instead, look for the store’s manager (or assistant manager) or someone working in the specific department that you’re shopping in. These are the people who are in a position to bargain with you.
Ask the store to price match. When my husband and I were shopping for furniture for our living room, we wanted to patronize a local furniture store rather than the big name store in our city. The local store’s prices, however, were much higher than the prices in the big name store. We selected the furniture we wanted at the big name store, noted its price, and paid a visit to the local store. After explaining that we really wanted to shop there, but couldn’t afford to pay extra, the local shop was more than willing to match the big name store’s price.
Point out defects. Purchasing floor models may require that you put up with a few blemishes or defects. If you don’t mind them, though, you can get a pretty hefty discount. Ask the salesperson if you can take the floor sample off their hands at a discounted price.
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Tags: Saving Money
October 23rd, 2009 · 3 Comments
Garage sale shopping can be an adventure. You’re never certain what you’re going to find. One sale might result in some fun toys for the kids. Another might allow you to buy a new dresser. I’ve even heard of people buying cars at estate sales. Garage sales rock!
If you’re reading this and wondering how I find great garage sale deals, you’re not alone. I know plenty of people who think that wading through the rubbish at garage sales completely ruins the experience for them. They don’t know how to find the deals that make garage sale shopping worthwhile. I can help with that, though.
Shop early. Truthfully, I’m a morning person, so it’s easy for me to say that you should get up and out of the house early. You really can find the best merchandise by being one of the first people at a sale. Your early arrival allows you to have your pick of everything available.
Know what you’re willing to pay. Finding an item at a garage sale doesn’t mean that it’s a good deal. You can try to make an offer for the item, but be willing to walk away if the seller can’t meet your needs. You can always stop by later in the day to see if the seller is more willing to make a deal.
Take a measuring tape with you. If you purchase something at a great price, bring it home to your house, and find that it doesn’t fit in the door, your purchase wasn’t a bargain. You can avoid this situation, however, by carrying a measuring tape with you when you’re garage sale shopping.
Look for multi-family sales. Sometimes you can get lucky and find a great deal at a small garage sale. The odds of finding the item you need at a price you like go up dramatically if you visit large sales with items from multiple families. Sales at churches and community centers are a wonderful place to start. Neighborhood garage sales are a strong alternative to multi-family sales, as well.
Can you guess where I will be tomorrow morning?
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Tags: Deals And Finds · Saving Money
October 22nd, 2009 · 4 Comments
The desire to collect “stuff” is responsible for a lot of overspending. You’ve seen it before, right? There are women who have more clothes than they could ever really wear, men who have tools that rival the workshops of professional mechanics or woodworkers, and even children who have as many toys as a daycare center. It’s the pursuit of all of this stuff that causes family to spend more than they should and get into all kinds of debt.
If we could all just let go of this stuff, we could lead much happier lives. We wouldn’t have to work so many hours. We wouldn’t stress ourselves out about trying to pay bills that we can’t afford. The problem is that letting go of stuff is easier said than done.
Are you fighting your own battle to get rid of stuff? What steps are you taking to try to exorcise the quest for stuff from your household? Although we are still battling this problem, I thought I would share some of the stuff that has worked for us.
Focus on experiences rather than material things. When we go on vacation, we try to focus on seeing things and collecting memories, rather than buying souvenirs. Likewise, we also skip gift shops at local activities.
Ponder purchases for at least fifteen minutes. If I pick up something in the store that wasn’t on my shopping list for the day, I put it back and promise myself that I’ll come back for it later. If I don’t remember to think of it when I’m finished with my shopping, then I assume I didn’t really need it.
Think about the sacrifices that are required to get stuff. This habit is useful whenever I feel like I want something that I see a friend or neighbor has. Maybe my sister gets a new gadget for her craft room that I wish I had. Rather than rush out and buy one of my own, I think to myself, “How much stress is she under trying to pay off her debts due to purchases like this?” I would rather have my peace of mind than her gadget. (You know a part of me is thinking that she’ll let me borrow her new tool, though.)
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Tags: Personal Finance
October 21st, 2009 · 2 Comments
I love the fall months. The colors of the flowers and trees, the pleasant weather, and even school activities with the family combine to create my favorite time of year. The coming of fall brings more than good times and pretty sights, though. Fall is the perfect time to start looking to the end of another year’s finances.
“What is there to think about,” you ask? Trust me there are plenty of things to consider. Spending a little time now to analyze your finances will allow you to make choices before the year is over and take advantage of any opportunities you can.
Taxes – Before December is here, you should take a look at your income tax withholding (if you’re employed) and the payments you’ve made on your own (if you’re self-employed). Have you paid in enough money to meet your tax liabilities? If you haven’t, plan to make those payments in the next couple of months. The last thing you want to do is to cause your tax bill to go up with an underpayment penalty.
Retirement Contributions – The IRS has very specific rules regarding how much money you’re allowed to contribute to IRA’s or 401(k)’s each year. Keep an eye on those rules and any contributions you’ve been planning to make as the end of the year approaches.
Flexible Spending Accounts – If you’ve used a flexible spending account to save for medical or childcare expenses, you’ll want to make sure that you’re on track to using those dollars before the end of the year. Schedule your purchases to ensure that you use your account’s balance in the allotted time. In many cases, if you don’t use your money, you will lose it.
Medical Insurance – Deductibles for medical insurance re-sets for most insurance carriers on January 1. If you’ve already met your deductible for this year, you should try to fit any other planned procedures into this year to avoid having to meet another deductible next year. This could be as simple as scheduling your next appointment at the end of December rather than at the beginning of January. The same principle applies to dental insurance, too.
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Tags: Personal Finance
October 20th, 2009 · 7 Comments
Although the holiday season is a magical time of year, the frivolity that goes along with it can wreak havoc on your financial plan. No one wants to deny themselves or their families the fun and celebration that goes along with the season, right? Before you know it, you find yourself spending more money than you intended to spend, charging purchases you can’t afford on credit cards, and spending the months after the holidays staring at the pile of debt you’ve added to your life.
This year, though, you could stop the holiday spending hangover by pledging to get through the holidays without incurring any new debt. I know it will be tough, but I think you can do it if you follow these steps.
Write up a holiday list. Begin by determining how much money you can spend on your holiday festivities this year. Next you’ll need to list everything that you plan to buy this year. Don’t forget to account for special family dinners or travel plans. Finally, you should assign a dollar amount to each item on your list. Take care, though, that your list doesn’t add up to be more than the budget you set in the beginning of this step.
Pay with cash for everything. Paying with cash serves two purposes. For one thing, paying with cash keeps you from charging something with your credit card (with the promise to pay your statement in full) and, then, getting sidetracked when the bill comes. Secondly, paying with cash encourages you to get the most for your holiday dollars. There’s just something about handing over your hard-earned cash that makes you think twice about each purchase.
Share entertaining costs with friends and family. Don’t feel like you have to prepare and pay for a huge meal for your holiday celebration all by yourself. Instead, why not go potluck? Sharing the expenses of your get-togethers will keep the cost of entertaining from being to burdensome for anyone and allow you to skip some of the stress of preparing for the party.
Don’t fall victim to panic purchases. The most carefully-planned holiday budget can get totally trashed by panic purchases. You know what I mean, right? Maybe your neighbor surprises you with a Christmas gift, so you feel like you have to get him one. The problem is that you didn’t plan to get him a gift, and there’s no room in your budget. Instead of rushing out with your credit card to get him “something,” offer him a sincere thank you and let the matter go. If you really feel like you have to reciprocate in some way, you could always take him a plate of goodies from your holiday baking later.
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Tags: Personal Finance · Saving Money
