Saving Money Strategies

With heating costs as high as they are (and unfortunately, they are expected to get worse, as industries leaders try harder and harder to find a green, clean burning fuel source), one of the best ways you can save money is by inspecting what you have already.

Windows are frequently the culprit when you are inexplicably losing lots of heat — and lots of money.  Poorly sealed windows, loose panes, and any number of other, related problems can significantly push up your heating costs.

Make sure that no seals are broken, no locks are damaged, and never underestimate the power of plastic.  With special weather resistant plastic covering and a handy dandy hair dryer, you’ll be surprised at how much warmer your house will be this winter — and how much more affordable your heating costs will be, as well.

In recent winters, a lot of us have noticed that our heating costs are sky rocketing.  Unfortunately, it looks like this winter will follow suit with that.  Worse yet, there are suggests that the years to come may be even worse, as the economy wans and people struggle to produce a clean energy source.

The good news is that there are a number of ways you can save on the heating costs in your own home.  The first one is simple: do you have a fireplace?  Then use it, by all means!  Use it whenever possible.  Nothing is cozier than a wood burning fire and when you can heat your home with it, then it’s even better.  Granted, it may not be logical to use it at night, unless a member of the household doesn’t mind stoking the flames all night.  But during those cold days, why not?  At the very least, you can use a fire to heat the rooms you use the most, or even temporarily rearrange yourself so that you most use the rooms that are most affected by the warming flames.

You can save doubly when you cut down on all those one item stops — you know, you go to the store one day, forget something, remember that you forgot a few things more, and wind up having to stop the next day on your way home from work.  You’re losing money, losing time, and losing gas, which is like losing gold these days.

How can you best do that?  For one, buy things when they are on sale, stock up — but only if it’s something you’ll really use.  Don’t buy up a bunch of milk, cheese, yogurt, or things like that, if you aren’t going to go through everything by the time it expires.  However, drinks, cereals, pastas, dry goods, and canned goods are excellent things to stock up on when they’re on sale.

It has to be said that sometimes bulk buying in places like Costco and Sam’s can be extremely financially helpful as well.  Again, though, only bulk buy the stuff you’ll really need and really use.  Groceries aren’t the only thing you can save on here, either.  If you can get light bulbs in balk and at a good price, for example, then you’re really shopping smart.

You didn’t think we were done, did you?  No way, there are literally tons of ways to save when you shop.  For instance, even more than clipping coupons, you need to keep a look out for any specials.  Every store out there has specials offered every single week.  You can find evidence of them in your local papers and you can look for them when you are actually at the store, because there are often specials which haven’t been advertised.  Quick tip: you can usually find the real deals on the upper and lower shelves.  However, don’t buy anything just because it’s on sale; make sure you’re going to use it.  To that end, it never hurts to try the store brands either.  The generic alternative of any brand name is pretty much the same, and it’s at least worth giving a try, especially with canned and dry goods.

This week, we are going to talk about ways you can save in regards to your food itself.  First of all, think about buying frozen vegetables.  Sure, fresh ones are better, and do feel free to get those when you find some you want – but the key is to buy only as much as you and your family will eat.  With fresh vegetables, you can keep them in the freezer without worrying they are going to go bad before you cook them.  Another thing you can do is either cut back on meat by planning some vegetarian meals – or buy your meat when it is on sale, cool what you want to with it, and then freeze it yourself.  You can cook up big batches of things like meatloaf, lasagna, even hamburger patties, and then freeze it.  You can even freeze it in multiple portions, so that if anyone wants to just pop a plate of frozen spaghetti in the microwave, they can.  Hey, at that rate, you can cut down on Chef Boyardee and canned soups, too!

Let’s face it, folks.  It’s 2008.  Computers practically rule the world.  They make everything more convenient, especially shopping.  How many of us have shopped for clothes, furniture, books, movies, and music online?  The majority of us, most likely.  If you have, then you know how easy it is to save money that way.  So, it really only stands to reason that you can save a lot of money – not to mention time – by grocery shopping on the Internet as well.  I know what you may be thinking – I thought it myself: how long will it actually take to get your groceries?  And won’t the shipping charges eat up any money you’ve actually saved?  Well, that depends where you buy   Lots of places, such as Amazon, now have grocery stores.  Look into it, see how long it will take and how much the shipping charges cost.  Otherwise, it’s at least worth it to see if any of the stores near you offer online shopping – many of them do, and that way, you can be sure of same or next day delivery.

Hopefully, through the course of this series of money saving tips, we have all come to realize that we can save a lot of money just by being organized.  Think about it — we organize our finances in every other aspect of our lives.  We allot so much money for bills, so much for household necessities, et cetera.  Keeping an eye on what we have already spent is helpful as well — namely because it can help us save money in the future.

For instance, it is always a good idea to keep your grocery store receipts.  After all, you never know when you may have to take an item back.  The importance of receipts goes far beyond that, however.

What you need to do is transfer all the data onto a spreadsheet.  This will help you to know when buying bulk items would be a good idea.  It will also help you to see if you will get a better deal by buying all your meat at one store, but getting fruit and vegetables from another store.  Then, you can schedule your shopping days accordingly.  Spreadsheets are also helpful when it comes time to make up your grocery lists.

Lists are a good thing when it comes to grocery shopping.  You can benefit from having lists at home as well as taking one to the store with you.  For instance, make up a checklist for your pantry or larder – whatever you call it in your home!  Keep a list of the staples, those things you always need – sugar, cereal, canned goods, salt, pepper, things of that nature.  If you have two of an item, put a hash mark down for it.  When you use one of them – such as a can of chicken noodle soup – turn your hash mark into an X.  That way, the next time you go to the store, you will know exactly what you need!  The bonus is that doing so saves time as well as money.

The best, most important grocery shopping strategy you will ever know is one you’ve likely heard for years: never go shopping when you’re hungry.  Just don’t do it.  You’ll end up with an overflowing cart — or two — of food you don’t really want, but that you’re craving because you’re starving.  Odds are a lot of it will be snack food rather than actual substantial food.  Snack food’s fun — who doesn’t love a nice snack cake or candy bar from time to time?  And cookouts aren’t the same without potato chips — but you can’t have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  By not doing your grocery shopping on an empty subject, you’ll be surprised at how much money you can save, simply because you aren’t buying a lot of foods you won’t end up wanting after you’ve had a good meal.

As we saw the last time, if we can save money on food, we can end up with a pretty substantial pile of savings at the end of every month.  In addition to staying away from impulse buys, there are literally dozens of ways you can save money when shopping for groceries.  All it will really take is a little bit of planning on your part.

For instance, each week, perhaps on Sunday so you can go shopping on Monday, or on Saturday so you can shop during your day off, sit down and make out a menu for the rest of the week.  This way, you will always know exactly what kind of groceries, besides the stables, you will need each week.  What’s better is that your family can join in, which can help you to avoid any of those “But I don’t wanna eat THIS” showdowns with the kids.

It will also let you know exactly what items need to go on your shopping list.  You should always have a list when you go to the store.  That way, you know exactly what you need and it is right in front of you, so you will not forget something – so no more getting home, unpacking the groceries, and then running right back out because it was something important – and you will be much less vulnerable to phony sales and impulse buys.