Five Unconventional Ways to Save on Everyday Expenses

You use coupons at the grocery store, combine errands to save gas, and watch your spending to save money, but is there anything else that you can do to save on your everyday expenses? Probably. Take a look at the following unconventional ways to save. You just may be able to save hundreds in just a few hours. 1. Cut your property tax. With the economic downturn home values have decreased by thousands of dollars. However, your property tax assessment probably doesn’t reflect this new value, which means that you could be paying taxes on a home value that isn’t … Continue reading

Addressing the Rise in Prices

In an earlier article posted today: Food and Gas Price Report, I discussed the latest information from the U.S. Department of Labor about our rising cost of food, energy and other goods. Here, I will offer some strategies and ideas for addressing the rise in prices. Let’s first address the rising food prices. To combat these prices and continue to provide food to your family you can (be sure to check the links for more information): Find substitutes for more expensive items, such as using dry milk for baking or drinking, giving up organic milk, baking your own bread, consuming … Continue reading

How Much Are Food Prices Really Rising?

If you are wondering exactly how much food prices have been rising, let me share with you some U.S. federal date. Compared to last year, wholesale egg prices have risen 60 percent, pasta has risen 30 percent and fresh produce has risen by 20 percent. Unfortunately, this data is a little old. It doesn’t take into consideration recent months when food prices have really been soaring. Overall, prices for food have risen by 5.8 percent above last year. And, they are expected to increase by 7.5 percent every year for the next five years. Other resources report that baby formula, … Continue reading

Top Frugal Blogs of 2007

I hope your new year celebration was joyous and fun! Think of all of the good things that happened in your life in 2007 and look forward to all of the good things to come in 2008! Did you save a lot of money this year? Did you put into place some frugal practices that you can keep for life? The new year is always a time for a new start. So if you have a financial goal, such as paying for a vacation, becoming a stay at home parent or just using your resources wisely, the Frugal Living Blog … Continue reading

Five Bread Prices for Five Families

Bread is one of those great staples in life. And, despite all of the bad press that it has gotten in these low carb days, I still think bread is a wonder. I thought I would take a look five fictional families and see what each of them might spend on a loaf of bread. I’m going to assume that all of our pretend families like to be healthy, so they all eat a whole grain bread. None of them stockpile or freeze their bread, but they might purchase two loaves a week to get them through until their next … Continue reading

How to Save Money on Bread

In our house, bread really is the staple of life. We are huge carbohydrate freaks, even in a world where going low “carbs” is normal and expected. Of course, we try to eat mostly the good stuff, the most nutritionally dense, such as enriched pastas and whole grain breads. Perhaps it is my Italian heritage, but there is no way I could see a life without lots of bread. Don’t cringe, but we probably have some sort of bread at most every meal. One of my favorite things to have is a slice of french or italian bread with a … Continue reading

5 Frugal Practices That May Be Costing You Money

Sometimes even the best intentions to save money fail. Are you losing money while trying to be frugal? Here are five frugal practices that may be costing you money. • Stockpiling Do you still have cans of vegetables from 2001? Have the breadcrumbs gone stale? Stockpiling is a great way to save money and to be prepared for rising prices, but when you have half a pantry full of expired food then stockpiling is costing you money. To solve this problem, don’t give up on the stockpiling, just get a little more organized. Rotate your pantry items and keep track … Continue reading

Online Shopping Secrets: Seven Websites that Will Save You Money

Grab the lowest prices on everything you buy online by checking out the following seven websites before you make a purchase. Retailmenot.com and Fatwallet.com Check Retailmenot.com and Fatwallet.com for coupons and coupons codes that you can use to get discounts on the things that you buy online. There are coupon codes for both products and online stores. In some cases, you’ll also find rebates to redeem. Just search for the store or the product to see what might be available. Some coupon codes are straight forward, such as 10 percent off a purchase or free shipping, while others have specific … Continue reading

Are You Shopping at the Right Grocery Store? Four Steps to Save 20 Percent or More

Choosing the right grocery store can save you 20 percent or more on groceries before using coupons. If you were buying a big ticket item, such as a television or a new washer and dryer, you would do some research and shop around, right? Since food tends to be the biggest general family expense after housing, it just makes sense to do your research before you step foot in your grocery store. Just spending $225 a week on your groceries, adds up to almost $12,000 a year!Imagine shaving close to $2,400 off of that total food bill, doing nothing other … Continue reading

2012 Drought Stockpiling

The drought of 2012 is expected to have a huge effect on already high grocery prices. Expect your grocery budget to go up by the end of this year. Now is the time to start stocking up on certain food items and ingredients to get you through the price increase and minimize the impact the drought pricing will have on your family budget. What is the 2012 Drought? A scarcity of rain combined with higher than normal temperatures has lead to weak US crops. These crops have grown slow or have failed to grow at all. In some cases, the … Continue reading