Unclaimed Money

Food can be a huge area of the family budget. After all, we all have to eat right? While food is a necessity, spending a lot of money on it is not. Here are a few quick tips to help trim the food budget.

1. Limit dining - Even the least expensive restaurants cost significantly more than you would pay to make the same food at home.

2. Put grocery shopping on a schedule - You will spend less if you only go to the store once or even every other week. The “quick trips for just one thing” usually turn into costly endeavors.

3. Make a shopping list - Keep a list of the things you keep on hand as you run low on them. Plan for the meals you will need between shopping trips, and add those things to your list.

4. Cook from scratch - Buying convenience food at the grocery store is certainly cheaper than going out to eat, but cooking from scratch will save you even more. You may be surprised at how easy some things you are accustomed to buying in the convenience form are to make from scratch. A few that come to mind; pancakes, macaroni and cheese, brownies, cornbread, and sloppy joes. Others may take a bit more time, but usually the taste is worth the effort.

5. Cut back on meat consumption - Meat often takes a lion’s share of the grocery budget. One of the best ways to help cut this cost is to use meat as an ingredient, not a stand alone dish. Make casseroles and stir fries that include sliced chicken instead of serving chicken breasts. Watch for sales on meat and stock up!

When looking to trim your budget, food is often one of the easiest places to start. Implement one or two changes at a time and soon you will notice the difference in the amount of your hard earned cash being consumed.

Summer is here, and with it lots of activities. It seems as though once summer arrives we all want to get out and go. Be careful though, those summer activities can take a toll on your budget. Here are some tips to help keep the costs down.
Research.
This doesn’t have to be a lot of work. Check the event calendars on your local park and library websites. The parks and libraries offer many free or low cost events for all ages. Check the newspapers too. Look for local festivals and events. Many local businesses offer free craft and do it your self classes. Keep your eyes open for free events.

If there is someplace you want to go check their website first. You can find coupons or times that are discounted. For example, by checking the website I found our local art museum is free on Tuesdays and offers free kids classes on Saturday. Another museum near us is free on Thursday nights.

Sometimes the website will have deals you can’t find anywhere else. I learned of a local theater’s free movie camp (children’s movies in the morning) from their web page. I hadn’t seen this advertised anywhere else, not even at the theater itself.

Go early. Go late. Don’t go on the weekends!
In other words go when it isn’t busy. Not only is it more enjoyable, (in my opinion!) it is cheaper. Movies offer matinees, restaurants early bird specials, some museums and amusement parks offer after 5 specials.

Many restaurants and amusements offer great specials during the week. They are busy on the weekends and trying to fill the place during the week. Check for weekday deals!
Buy the Membership.
To the museum, to the zoo or other places your family loves. The cost of the membership is often paid for with two visits. Buy the membership once and use it all year long.

When we lived near a zoo the family membership was $55. What a deal! For $55 we could go to our zoo anytime and as often as we wanted for a year. We could also go to lots of zoos all over the US for free or discounted admission. At the time we lived close enough to five zoos we could visit for a day trip. Other museums, like science museums, offer similar reciprical memberships.

What I really love about the memberships is that we can pick up and go whenever. We don’t have to plan it in the budget, or even plan to spend a whole day to get our money’s worth. We can go for an hour. We can go when the budget is tight, and there is no cash. By the way, memberships are great family gifts to give and receive!

Pack a lunch!
Now that you’ve found free or low cost entertainment, don’t ruin the savings by spending a fortune on food. The food at places like the zoo or amusement parks is so over priced! Save yourself a ton of cash, and pack your lunch and drinks! (or find a cheap place to eat later.)

Stay local.
Travel costs can add up quickly. Most of us don’t fully utilize the treasures found in our own local areas. Think like a tourist. If you were a visitor to the area where would you go? What would you want to see? Discover the gems that are right under your nose.

Enjoy your summer, but keep it in your budget. Research. Stay close to home. Go early or late, and go during the week. Buy the membership and pack your lunch! Fun to be had. Money to be saved.

Recently, my eight year old son got a lesson on this topic. We were getting ready to watch a movie and the children asked for popcorn. We went out to the kitchen. I went to the cupboard and grabbed a bag of the Aldi popcorn. Kellen grabbed a bag of Trail’s End popcorn. If you aren’t familiar with Trail’s End, it is sold as a fund raiser for the Boy Scouts and marketed as “gourmet.” We received a big box of this as a present, and I had put it up until we finished what we already had in the cupboard. My son really wanted the Trail’s End, so I let him get one out. This is what we were holding.

He took the outer wrapping off the Trail’s End popcorn, and I thought, “That is interesting.” I took the outer wrapping off the Aldi bag. This is what we saw.

“How can this be?” said my son, “They are the same bag!” I explained to him that often manufacturers and processors make the same product for different companies. They just use different packaging, according to what each company wants. You are paying for the name, the packaging, and marketing when you purchase the name brand at a higher price.

I am not sure how much the Trail’s End popcorn was since we received it as a gift. I can tell you the Aldi box of six bags was $1.39. I’m sure the Trail’s End was significantly more expensive. It is good popcorn, no matter how much you pay for it!

I really don’t mind paying a bit more for the Trail’s End because it is a fund raiser. I know I am paying for packaging, a name, and a good cause; not better popcorn! But what about other food items? Are the name brands really different from the store brands, or are they the same thing in a different package? Save yourself some money, buy the store brand!

If you still aren’t convinced, I challenge you to conduct your own blind taste test. Buy the brand and the generic. Have someone else (bet the kids would love to do this) open the container, and place a sample from each on a plate. Look at and taste both products. Are they the same? If not, which do you like better? Then have the other person tell you which was the name brand and which was the store brand. You may be surprised by the results.

On the practical side, as obviously you have to pay your debts, finding extra money to pay them faster can make your month. How to save for an extra payment on your credit card? Probably you are looking for some practical tips to get you started. There are some common sense steps you can take and some you probably are. Check the list to be sure your have a tick on each point and you are saving as much as you can.