Life on a Budget

It’s the time of year where everyone starts to think about what they are going to do for this year’s vacation. Even though you live on a budget you still need to live your life, right? And that means taking a break from your job to relax and have some fun. I know many people feel they just can’t afford a vacation this year. But a week of rest and relaxation doesn’t need to ruin your budget.  Try taking your vacation close to home.

Take a week off and spend the entire week doing things that you wouldn’t normally do or never seem to find the time to do. Here are some ideas to have fun this summer while staying in a budget:

1. Go to the local zoo
2. Visit an aquarium.
3. Take a day and go to the local amusement park.
4. Check out what is going on in your local towns and try something new. Some towns have free concerts or movies in a local park.
5. Have ice cream for dinner
6. Set up a tent in the backyard and sleep under the stars
7. Go for a picnic
8. Create an “Olympic” day for your kids and their friends
9. Go for a hike
10. Go for a bike ride
11. Have a movie marathon day of your favorite movies or watch a trilogy (great if it’s raining)
12. Go to the beach/lake
13. Go to the town pool
14. Go fishing
15. Go bowling
16. Stay at a local hotel for one night
17. Go to a matinee
18. Go out to lunch
19. Order in take out
20. Volunteer
21. Sunbathe
22. Read
23. Roast marshmallows
24. Go to bed late
25. sleep late in the morning
26. Go to a flea market
27. Make a new recipe
28. Spend a day in the nearest big city
29. Go for a car ride to discover a place you haven’t been
30. Visit friends and family
31. Sit around a fire pit and tell stories
32. Take a factory tour
33. Mix up the meals - try breakfast foods for dinner
34. Have a slumber party in the living room - get out the sleeping bags!
35. Make crafts
36. Have a game night
37. Don’t watch any tv
38. Stay in your pajamas all day
39. Go to a minor league baseball game
40. Have a talent show
41. Learn to cook

What other ideas do you have?

Do you live on a budget? I mean literally track your finances and know where you spend your money every month? Do you know how much you spend on dining out? new clothes? food? Do you know how much money you bring in each month? save? invest? A lot of people say they live on a budget but I often wonder how many of these people actually track their finances and know where their money is going.

The best way to save money is to know how you are spending it

If you don’t already know the specifics of your spending and saving then now is a great time to start. Saying you live on a budget is one thing, it’s another thing to actually track your spending and analyze it on at least a monthly basis. Once you get your numbers into a program, whichever you choose to use, you will begin to see whether your spending is higher than your income. Or if you have any extra money that you could be investing or saving in an emergency fund?

What can I use?

Below are some software programs and websites that can help you keep track of your finances. Most of them provide the same basics of accessing your accounts, budget creation, analyzing, alerts and goal tracking.

Software

Examples: Microsoft Money, Quicken, Quickbooks

Pros: Safe and secure on your personal computer
Cons: There is ususally a cost associated with buying the software.

Websites

Examples: Mint.com, Quicken.com, rudder.com

Pros: Online, which means as long as you have access to the internet you have access to your finances. These sites are free to use.
Cons: Online. (yes, a pro and a con) These sites claim to be safe but of course, anything online has some sort of risk so use these sites with educated caution.

Spreadsheet

Another way to track your spending is to create something unique and personalized in a spreadsheet such as in Google Docs or Microsoft Excel. In addition to using a software program, I also have a spreadsheet to keep track of my budget. This is my personal favorite because when I look up numbers and type it in myself it sinks in more than if I were looking at a bunch of numbers, graphs and bar charts on a screen. By importing some of the data myself I also feel more accountable for keeping on top of my spending and I can easliy compare my month to month spending. It is also very easy to personalize and adjust to see what the overall impact would be if a fixed income or cost changes. The downside to this method is it takes a little more time every month to analyze and you need some basic knowledge of the spreadsheet program.

Overall, the most important thing is to have something. Anything. Whatever gets you to analyze your spending habits is a good thing. But remember, just making a budget is not going to help, you also need to look at your numbers, analyze them and make sure you know exactly what is going on.

UPDATE: Download an example Spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel 2007)

As if I needed another reason to love Upromise, I was informed of the following contest in which you can win $10,000 for college! Here’s how…

The Tuition Tales video contest (http://www.tuition-tales.com) runs through May 3^rd and encourages people to upload a 30-second video entry to the site. The videos will be judged on creativity, quality, and a demonstrated need for college aid in three categories: Saving for College, In College Now and Paying it Back. Upromise will grant three grand prize winners – one from each category – $10,000 each to use for college.

So check out the site, get out your video camera, choose your category and start filming! Remember you have until May 3^rd.

Good luck!

With summer creeping up on us, now is a great time to think about starting your own vegetable garden. Whether you decide to plant a small or a large sized garden, it can provide some fun and is a great money saver for the summer.

You will have to choose an area that gets plenty of sunshine. If you don’t want to take away from your yard, you can get extra large planters and grow herbs and certain veggies on your deck. I don’t get a ton of sun in my yard so I plant a very small area that gets adequate sun with a couple of zucchini and summer squash plants and put cherry tomatoes and all my herbs in planters. It works great.

Seeds are generally very inexpensive (usually $1 - $2 a packet) and can usually last a summer producing vegetables if taken care of properly. If you do plant a large garden and produce more than you and your family can consume then consider freezing and/or canning your veggies for the winter months.

A couple of good articles on getting a garden started:
How to: Start a Garden
Sunset.com - Short on space? Grow veggies anyway!

Share a Garden

I’ve also heard of, but have never tried, community or shared gardening. Each member pays a low fee and/or helps tend to a “public” garden. It’s a great way to get fresh veggies if you don’t have the time or space for one of your own.

How much money can you save?

Depending on the size of your garden you can save anywhere from the cost of a few tomatoes and zucchini to the cost of all or most of your veggies for the summer and even possibly the entire year.

I know many financial gurus that discourage the use of credit cards. I agree that using them can make for a quick trip to Debtville, but I also believe credit cards have gotten a bad rap due to those that misuse and abuse them. I believe that if you understand how credit cards work and you are responsible in paying them off each month, then they can be a fantastic and easy way to save money.

Why do I love my credit card?

The rewards. There are tons of different programs available for your card. I use the World Rewards program. What does that mean? I get 1% back on all my purchases. Which in turn means I get a whole lot of free money. The money I receive back can be in the form of gift cards or cash. 1% may not sound like very much but I use my credit card for every purchase and every bill that I can. (I wish I could pay my mortgage on a credit card.) By doing this the rewards add up fast! The key to this system is you MUST be able to pay your card off every single month. So you have to be disciplined in your spending.

Saving even more…

One thing that I do to save even more money is I always get the cash back. This way when I spend that money again, for example on groceries or gas, I use my credit card and get my 1% back. Not a bad deal. If I were to get the gift cards I wouldn’t get 1% back when I use them to pay for my purchase. Another “trick” is if your job has you traveling a lot, ask your employer if you can use your credit card to book airfare, rental car, hotel, meals, etc. You will get reimbursed for all the costs of your trip and you’ll still get the 1% back to spend as you like.

Remember to watch out for credit cards that have an annual fee. I recommend choosing a credit card/program that doesn’t have one.

So how much money can you save?

Well, it depends on how much money you can charge on your credit card. If you spend on average $24,000 a year (or $2000 a month) on your card, 1% would be about $240. Completely free money.

e-Rewards is a great program I discovered through Upromise. e-Rewards is a site that asks you to fill out surveys to get your opinion on various topics based on a profile you fill out. Most survey sites charge you, but this one is free. You get $2 directly into your Upromise account just for signing up and taking one survey. After that you can dictate how many surveys you would like to participate in. They range from a few minutes to 20 minutes and the value can be anywhere from $.05 to $15 in e-Rewards money.

Once you start accumulating e-Rewards money you can transfer that to Upromise to pay off student loans or save for college.

Conversion chart:

$25 e-Rewards currency = $5 in Upromise savings
$50 e-Rewards currency = $20 in Upromise savings
$100 e-Rewards currency = $50 in Upromise savings

How much money can you save?

It completely depends on how many surveys you fill out. I started this early last year and have already transferred $60 into my Upromise account.

Try it out and let me know what you think.

I have one word to describe Upromise - spectacular. This is the first program that I’ve used in a long time that does so much for it’s customer, that is easy to use, that continues to add new (and easy to use) features and is literally everywhere.

So what is Upromise?

For those of you not familiar with Upromise, it’s a program that earns you money for college through your everyday buying. All your earnings go directly into your Upromise college savings account. Then, you decide if you’d like to grow them tax-free in a 529 plan to pay for college, use them to pay down a Sallie Mae student loan, or receive a check for college expenses.

Here are some of the features that I love about this program:

1. Use your existing credit card.

Sign up your existing credit card and anytime you shop at a store or eat at a restaurant or buy gas etc. that supports the program you will automatically earn a percentage of your purchase—without doing a thing. You don’t even need to know that the store was a contributing store. Or you can get a Upromise credit card which will help you save even more.

2. Online shopping has never been so much fun.

Not only does a percentage of your purchase go towards your loan/account, but many of the stores have additional online saving coupons which can be an additional percentage off your purchase, a free gift or free shipping. Another nice benefit to shopping online is you don’t need a credit card to take part in the savings. As long as you go to the website you are shopping at through Upromise first, and enter the coupon code at checkout, then you get the savings and you can pay however you like. It’s that simple.

3. Huge selection.

Upromise makes it so easy to use the program because it is everywhere. So even if you don’t shop online, if you buy gas or groceries then you can use this program. Ways to save money are in the following categories: online stores, eCoupons, grocery, restaurants, travel, credit card, finance, auto, home, and more.

4. Family members can help you out.

Ask your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends - whoever you feel comfortable asking to help you save for college, pay off your college loan or help contribute to your children’s college fund. When they join, their savings automatically transfer to you. They can even decide what percent of their savings to share. Better yet, if you don’t have a college loan/savings account, help a loved one that does. You can also offer to be a guest shopper.

5. Upromise eCoupons.

Select which eCoupons you want, activate your list and earn savings for college when you buy those products at participating stores. You will need to get and activate a special card from your participating store but it’s free and easy.

6. Upromise manages everything for you.

You associate your education account or loan to your Upromise account and it tracks all your earnings and applies it to your account/loan.

7. Support a school.

All or a percentage of your earnings can go towards your favorite K-12 school. How cool is that?

8. It’s free.

How much money can you save?

I set up an account about a year ago to help pay down my college loan. Without knowing too much about the program, I paid off about $100 on my loan. Not bad. But I have to say, I think this year will be a whole lot more. I am suddenly more aware of the little blue and yellow Upromise logo and it seems to be everywhere I look. I’m really having a lot of fun with this program. I highly encourage you to see what the program is all about.

As if you needed another reason to quit smoking, the government imposed it’s single largest tax increase on cigarettes and tobacco today. The $0.62 increase per pack can definitely have an impact on your budget. I personally don’t smoke, but if you do, now might be a little extra incentive to kick the habit.

How much money can you save?

Well, it depends on how much you smoke but figuring a pack a day…

An extra $0.62 a day X 365 days a year = $226

Add that to what a pack of cigarettes sells for… let’s say on average $6

$6 x 365 days a year = $2190

for a grand total of $2416 a year.

wow.

Saving money isn’t always fun and it means not always making popular choices. I was catching up on my Oprah shows this morning and there was a story that particularly peaked my interest. The episode had to do with families that only last year were living middle class lifestyles and today are homeless living on the street. They highlighted a mother and her 3 teen/pre-teenage kids going from one shelter to the next while carrying all they own in a black garbage bag. At one point the soon-to-be 11 year boy was asked what would make his birthday great. He simply responded “Maybe a cake and lots of love.” A great answer from an 11 year old boy. My heart just went out to him and I couldn’t help but wonder if he could have learned to appreciate less without being homeless. It was mentioned that a year earlier he received a Nintendo Wii system for his birthday and the family drove around in a Lincoln Navigator.

I’m not judging the parents in this situation as we have all made bad decision in our lives. I just believe that this situation could have been avoided or at least postponed. It just takes the adults in the home to make some responsible and sometimes difficult decisions, especially when it comes to buying “stuff”. It may even require parents to say “NO” to their children when they ask for something they cannot afford. Some might argue that when they bought all the “stuff” they could afford it - both parents were working and everything was good. In my opinion, if you are living paycheck to paycheck and not putting any money in savings “for a rainy day” then you cannot afford the “extras” in life - the video games, the lattes, the expensive cars, etc.

Are you prepared for the worst?

Nobody thinks that they will lose their job, or a spouse, or their house or everything that they own. But you must plan as though you might. I learned in 2001 when I was laid off from my high paying tech job that nothing in this world is guaranteed, especially your job. The whole situation taught me that I need to be prepared financially if things take a turn for the worst. Are you prepared? Not sure? How would you answer the following questions?

1. Do you have at least 6 months (or more) of your monthly expenses saved?
2. Do you have adequate life insurance in addition to what your employer might provide?
3. Do you have a retirement account that you are actively contributing to?
4. Do you know how much money you have and how your money is spent each month?
5. Do you have health insurance for every member in your family?

If you’ve answered “no” to any of the above questions then you may want to think about living on a budget. It doesn’t mean you have to give up everything good in life - it just means that you need to be knowledgeable and responsible with where you are spending your money. I’ve heard parents say that “the children shouldn’t have to suffer because of bad decisions that they made” and continue to give their kids an expensive Christmas or birthday. This logic never made any sense to me. I’m sure if these same kids where given the choice of a home or a Wii system almost every single child would pick a home. And those that don’t, well, their parents should choose it for them.

On our local news tonight there was a story on how a family was eating McDonalds and junk food because that was all they thought they could afford in these hard economic times. They claimed healthy food such as fresh fruits and vegetables are too expensive. I couldn’t figure out the rationale when I was listening to the story so I thought about it for awhile but it still didn’t add up to me. I understand that fresh fruits and vegetables can be on the expensive side but I don’t see how it’s more expensive than a $1.00 small bag of chips or a $6.00 fast food meal. Especially when you weigh in the effects and costs of obesity and diabetes - especially in young children.

So I thought I would take a closer look and give some tips on how to still fit fruits and vegetables into your diet while trying to save money.

1. Buy canned vegetables

Canned veggies range from about $0.50 for a small can to about $1.00 or less for the larger cans. You can choose from a good selection too - corn, green beans, beets, peas, mixed vegetables and more. Look for the generic brand to save even more. Another positive to canned is it’s long shelf life so you are less likely to waste anything that you buy and you can stock up. Canned veggies tend to have a little more salt than fresh or frozen equivalents but regardless, it’s still healthier than any fast food or junk food.

2. Buy frozen fruits and vegetables

A frozen bag of veggies cost around $1.00 - $1.50 and again have a great selection including green beans, corn, peppers, mixed vegetables, peas and more. One bag is enough for a serving for me and my husband for dinner and we always have some left over to add into a leftover lunch. So I would think a bag would be enough for a family of four. Personally, our favorite is the Birds Eye Steamfresh. It’s about $1.50 a bag and the veggies are really fresh and delicious. You can also find a good selection of frozen fruit. Fruit can be on the more expensive side but, liked the canned, frozen items will last longer than fresh so you are less likely to waste anything you buy.

3. Buy fresh fruits and vegetables

Fresh food does tend to be more expensive but that doesn’t mean all fresh fruits and vegetables are expensive. A 1lb. bag of carrots is about $0.99. That would make a bunch of snacks to bring to work or to add to your child’s lunch. A bag of potatoes is about $2.99 and is a great way to make homemade french fries as a side to your dinner. A bag of onions is about $1.99 and, for us, will take us at least a week or two to use. A head of iceberg lettuce is about $.99 and is enough for a bunch of side salads with your meals. Again, fresh fruit tends to be a little more expensive so try to get what is in season and on sale. Bananas are usually a good cheaper option.

4. Grow your own vegetables

Start a garden and grow what you like for a fraction of the cost. I realize growing your own vegetables isn’t going to help you right now, but it is a great way to save money going forward. Many vegetables can be canned and therefore available through the winter months.

How much money can you save?

Well, this post wasn’t exactly about how much money you can save but I do hope I at least showed that fruits and vegetables can still remain in your diet even if you are living on a budget. Try to shop the sales and don’t forget to use coupons to make fruits and veggies even more affordable.