Search Results for: blog should you pay yourself in coupon savings

How Being a Stay-at-Home Parent Saves Money

Are you a stay-at-home parent or want to be? Good news! While you may not be earning and income, chances are you are saving a ton of money. Here is how. Child Care Fees Let us start with the obvious, child care fees. If you aren’t staying home with your children, you will probably need to pay for child care. The cost of child care can be high, sometimes wiping out any income you are gaining by working. Obviously this depends on your position and income level, but it is the first expense you should allow for in your budget. … Continue reading →

Every Little Thing Counts

Many times when we think of saving money, we think in terms of the biggest impact. This can be a good strategy. If you can find a way to save hundreds of dollars per month, say by paying off debt, you can get on top of your finances much faster. At the same time, we shouldn’t neglect the little things. They can really help you to save money and get ahead. For example, if you spend just ten minutes each morning (or the night before) making homemade lunches, you can easily save $30 to $50 or more per week, which … Continue reading →

How to Control Your Spending

Saving money is easy, the experts will tell you. It is just a matter of spending less than you make. But this simple explanation doesn’t take into account real life. Controlling your spending can be hard work. Here are some tips. Track your “no spending” days Challenge yourself, your relatives, your friends on Facebook, your friends here in the Families.com forums to no spending days. Basically, you see how far you can go without spending anything. Sometimes the days will be easy, such as when the weather is bad and you stay home. Other days will be harder, such as … Continue reading →

Frugal Month in Review: October 2008

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” – George Eliot October has come and gone, but we can still enjoy fall and the celebration of Thanksgiving and all of the great joys of the season. Take a look back at all of the ways to save money that were featured last month. October 1st Frugal Halloween Costumes It is fall and Halloween is approaching fast, are you ready? What do the kids want to be? You can make some great homemade costumes … Continue reading →

Things to Do with Expired Coupons

Coupons are a great way to save money on your grocery bill and contribute to your frugal lifestyle. But one issue is all of those expired coupons that you are left with. Generally, I find that I have to purge expired coupons about every two, sometimes three months. My coupons are organized, so it is just a matter of tossing a file folder full. But, there has got to be a better use for them instead of the garbage or recycling pail, right? Of course! Probably the best use for expired coupons is to donate them to military families. Military … Continue reading →

Frugal Living Week in Review for August 20th-26th, 2007

As summer is slowly drawing to a close and school is finally back in session for most children including the homeschooling families, it is the perfect time to take a look at your frugal habits. Evaluate what is going well for your family, and what might not actually be working. Some things you cannot save money on year-round. Some seasons are better than others for certain savings. Just evaluate where you are and look forward into new ways and methods to save money. Look what great ways we showed you how to save money in the frugal living blog this … Continue reading →

Frugal Living Week in Review for August 12th-19th, 2007

Today’s families are always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to save money. With the help of the Frugal Living blog, every family should be able to find ways to save money and articles and ideas for stretching their budget. Here is a great review of the articles in the frugal living blog just in case you missed any. Fun and Frugal Uses for Leftover Balloons My son’s birthday was on Friday, and of course we had balloons. I use balloons a lot around my house in various ways, and until I was reminded this weekend, I almost … Continue reading →

The Cons of “Paying Yourself” in Coupon Savings

In this third article in the series, we will explore the darker side of paying yourself with the savings that you earn from using coupons. If you haven’t read the previous two articles, yet, you might want to do so now. Should You “Pay Yourself” in Coupon Savings tells you all about the process of this frugal practice: what it is, and the two different ways to do it. In The Pros of “Paying Yourself” in Coupon Savings, I shared all of the great positive reasons that this can work for you. Of course, there are also reasons that paying … Continue reading →

The Pros of “Paying Yourself” in Coupon Savings

Did you catch yesterday’s article, Should You “Pay Yourself” in Coupon Savings? It introduced the concept of paying yourself with money that you save from clipping coupons and taking advantage of bonus card savings. I talked about what “paying yourself” means, as well as different ways of doing it. But, paying yourself with your coupon savings might not make sense for everyone. And so, I’m going to examine the ways in which it can be a positive practice, and then later, in another article, how it can actually negatively affect your frugal lifestyle. Wanting to start out on a positive … Continue reading →