Your Money Archives - Page 11 of 14

7 Secrets for Saving Big on Your Baby

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

If you’re like most new parents, your first two emotions after a positive pregnancy test are excitement and paralyzing fear. You’re having a baby . . . but you have no idea what you’re doing! You’ve got just nine months to figure out not only how to keep your kid alive but also what gear you need to make that happen.

Before you find yourself in a frenzy buying everything at Babies“R”Us, check out these 7 tips for saving big bucks on your baby. [Read more…]

The 5 Things You Need to Do While Saving for a House

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

Saving for a house is both exhilarating and terrifying. Your home’s down payment will probably be the biggest check you ever write. How on earth do you save that kind of cash – month after month, year after year?

These five actions are essential to getting you the keys to your new place. [Read more…]

Your Money in the Trash: How to Stop Wasting Food (Part 2)

This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series Your Money in the Trash: How to Stop Wasting Food

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

In Part 1 of this series, we looked at how you can stop food waste — and money waste — by making a meal plan, being realistic about what you eat, and making your food visible.

I even recommended some food storage containers that not only allow you to see your food as it happily awaits your return to the fridge but also double as dishes for reheating. Speaking of which . . . [Read more…]

Your Money in the Trash: How to Stop Wasting Food (Part 1)

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Your Money in the Trash: How to Stop Wasting Food

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

Is it refrigerator clean-out day at your house? You know that day . . . you dig through the recesses of your fridge, pull out forgotten-food-turned-moldy-science-experiment, and toss your unrecognizably icky food into the trash.

Most of us don’t like to handle stinky, bacteria-infested mystery foods . . . but we also hate to throw away money! That food in the dumpster was something you bought and possibly even something you spent time preparing.

Waste no more! It’s time to get serious about keeping your food — and your money — from winding up in the dump. Here’s how: [Read more…]

Make It From Scratch: Address Labels

Photo courtesy of Amazon

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

How much money are you spending on return address labels?

Do you spend cash again and again to order customized labels online or from a mailer? Do you use free address labels sent to you by your alma mater or charities — even though you hate the design and your name is misspelled? Do you you spend hours hand-printing your return address on Christmas cards in lieu of spending for labels?

There’s a better way.

You can print your own address labels right at home.

For about 1¢ per label, you can create a peel-and-stick label with any font, color scheme, and image of your choosing. It’s cheap. It’s easy . . . and it’s fun! [Read more…]

Easy Ways to Save Thousands on Your Wedding

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

Buy anything that’s labeled “wedding” and you’ll get the marital markup.

Weddings are not cheap. Some people save for years. Some hit up well-to-do relatives. Others solicit donations or even go into debt to pay for the nuptials of their dreams.

Before you elope in frustration though, consider these areas where you can save thousands of dollars on the final bill. [Read more…]

9 Valuable Tips for Negotiating Down to a Part-Time Schedule

Before our son was born, my husband and I took a hard look at our schedules.

We thrived as a couple holding down full-time jobs, but we wanted to carve out more time together as a family of three. We wanted to find more balance than our busy schedules allowed while still enjoying the personal and financial benefits of employment in our chosen fields.

After weighing our options, my husband and I made the decision for me to seek a part-time schedule.

According to an article on WorkOptions.com, the quickest (and arguably the most reliable) way to get that coveted part-time, professional schedule is to get that arrangement in your current place of employment. Making that dream a reality means convincing your company of the merits of your part-time plan.

Here are some tips for navigating that corporate road: [Read more…]

Why Budgets Fail (Part 2)

This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series Why Budgets Fail

If you’re just tuning in, click here to read Part 1 of this series.

Your budget is too simple.

Does your budget have only a few items on it? Maybe housing, clothes, and food?

If your life is more complicated than a hermit’s, your budget needs to reflect that. You’ve got a kid in college, a gym membership, a family vacation, a newspaper subscription, vet bills — the list goes on and on.

Don’t gloss over the hidden and forgotten expenses in your life when you make your budget, or your budget’s simplicity will be your downfall. [Read more…]

Why Budgets Fail (Part 1)

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Why Budgets Fail

Are you hiding from your budget?

You’ve gone to the trouble of creating a financial plan for you or your family, but you’ve thrown it out in exasperation. It just doesn’t work! Why even bother?

Your budget may have failed you for one of these (fixable!) reasons: [Read more…]

Stop Buying These Money-Wasters: 7 Fast and Fool-Proof Foods You Can Make at Home

The supermarket is ripping you off.

In less time than it takes you to drive to the store, pick up some staple food item, and return home, you could have done all of the prep work to make it yourself – and for a lot less. Some of these items (like croutons, baby food, and yogurt) may seem mysterious and difficult to create at home, but they are fast and near-foolproof to create in your own kitchen.

As a bonus, yours will probably be tastier than what you could pick up at the store . . . and you will save a ton of money without spending a ton of time.

Here are seven foods that you can make super-fast and easily at home on the cheap.

Read the rest of my recently published blog post on Money Pantry!