Search Results for: blog dealing with unexpected expenses

Dealing with Unexpected Expenses

Dealing with unexpected expenses isn’t often an easy thing to do, but with rising prices on everything these day, unexpected expenses can really put you in a crisis mode. How can you come up with more money when you are already stretched tightly? Here are some ideas. When an unexpected cost comes up, see if it is possible to delay the expense of it until you can save for it or be caught up. Sometimes certain expenses aren’t the crisis that we think they are, only very inconvenient. Let’s say that garage door opener dies. A new one might cost … Continue reading →

Getting Out of Debt: The Zero Based Budget and the CSA

Follow us as we get out of debt and be more purposeful with our money! This week, we are struggling with nailing down the zero-based budget and running into a couple of unexpected snags. Dave Ramsey recommends keeping track of your money with a zero based monthly budget. This means that you track every bit of income and expenses for the month, down to the penny so that there is nothing left over. This doesn’t mean that you spend everything, just that all of your money has a home, whether it is to pay off the electric bill or to … Continue reading →

The $800 Car Repair Bill

Give me one good reason why we should keep this car. Actually, give me at least three. I’m ready to call it done. On Monday, my husband called from work to tell me that the brakes on one of our cars went out. Fortunately, this occurred when he was pulling into the parking lot, so the problem didn’t cause an accident. It is a scary thing of course, and I wonder why our regular maintenance checks didn’t catch a potential problem. We expected the repair bill to be reasonable, about $100 or so. So, we were floored when the shop … Continue reading →

How to Save Money on Cooling Costs

Yes, I know it is spring, but despite that, we are going through a little heat wave here in Pennsylvania with temperatures in the 80s and 90s. So while the heat was pumping through the house last week and the plastic is still covering some of the windows, we’ve had to scramble a bit to keep things cool. If you want to cut your cooling costs, there is no way around it other than to cut the heat, or at least the heat that you feel. The secret to spending less is to make yourself comfortable with less energy. Here … Continue reading →

Save Money on Travel

Even in a budget-conscious economy, you can still travel and enjoy a family vacation. While “staycations” are a big trend right now (staying home for vacation instead of traveling), they may not be your thing. And in fact, with some proper planning, you may be able to save more than the people who load their staycation with expensive activities. Here are some tips on how you can save money on travel. Off Season Travel to your destination in the off season. This is the number one way to save some serious money on your travel. Off season travel can cut … Continue reading →

The Wii and Preschoolers

It may surprise you to know that I let my preschooler play video games. In fact, she is pretty good at them. Here is why we have made the Wii available to our four-year-old. When the Wii video game system came out, we thought the craziness surrounding it was completely ridiculous. Why would people practically kill each other trying to be one of the first ones to plunk down a lot of money for a Wii system and then even more money on the games themselves? Well, after much of the hoopla died down (and several friends of ours had … Continue reading →

Money Saving Steps to Take When You Are Laid Off

Unfortunately, many people I know are being laid off or forced to cut their work hours and income. And if the analysts are correct, things may just get worse with more people out of jobs or finding themselves with a reduced income. So what do you do if this happens to you? The first thing you need to do to save your money is to take stock of what you have. It is important to understand your finances. Make a budget. You can learn more about that by clicking here: How to Get Your Finances in Control. The next thing … Continue reading →

How to Save Money on Kids Pajamas

Do you want to cut down on your expenses? Every little bit counts, and the $50-$100 or more you’ll save every year on kids pajamas can go toward other things you need or just in savings to build up your emergency fund. With three kids, I’ve learned some tricks about saving money on pajamas. Here are my tips. Buy every other size Children grow quickly, so for pajamas, I always skip a size. because this is night time wear, the pajamas don’t have to fit perfectly. Also, most pajamas are pretty roomy width- wise, so even the smaller sizes aren’t … Continue reading →

Tuition-Free Colleges

One of the biggest expenses to a family is paying for college. I know that it has kept us up late at night, and our kids are still very young. If you are wondering how you are ever going to pay for higher education, take heart. More and more colleges and universities are offering students a chance to get a good education tuition free. And, these programs have nothing to do with the normal scholarship avenues. Tuition-free programs are closer to loan programs that don’t have to be paid back. There aren’t that many of these programs around, but the … Continue reading →

Pay for Your Gas with Your Scrap Metal

Would you like to earn some extra money? Prices paid for scrap metal have greatly increased, making a few pounds of scrap turn into enough money to fill up your tank. The price of scrap copper has increased from $1 to $3 a pound, while aluminum cans have gone up from 30 cents a pound to 80 cents a pound. Increasingly, frugal people are turning to scrap metal collection to put gas in their cars and pay for the increase in food prices. Collecting scrap metal and then selling it is not as hard as it sounds. You can simply … Continue reading →