Budgeting Your Monthly Expenses

Budgeting your monthly expenses by categories is a surefire way to ensure that you will save money in the long run. Let’s talk about exactly what this means. In your household budget, you should have a list of categories. They might be set up on a spreadsheet or on a piece of lined paper.

At the top of the list of categories are the most essential payments that must be made every month. For example, you can place your mortgage payment, rent, groceries, insurance, daycare, and utilities at the top of the list. Underneath these major recurring expenses, you will have spots for other expenses that recur every month. These are secondary expenses that could be cut if you had a sudden change in income, such as a job loss or a reduction in work hours at your job. Examples of secondary expenses are a gym membership, a cell phone plan, a cable bill, and extracurricular activities for the kids.

At the bottom of all of these expenses are discretionary spending categories where you have some flexibility. You don’t have to take the kids to the Chuck E. Cheese every week and spend $30, and you don’t have to send the kids on every field trip with the Cub Scouts or the dance team. Also, sometimes the kids can take their lunch instead of buying school lunch. What you have to do is prioritize so that you have discretionary cash available when needed.

Mix and Match Fashion Cents

 

If you are on a tight budget during the fall and winter, it can be difficult to feel like you will be able to dress yourself and the kids in your family in the latest fashions during this cold season. What works best is to pick items that you can afford on your budget this year and use them to augment the pieces in your existing wardrobe. This sounds like great advice for you, but you might also be thinking it is less useful for kids because their sizes change often.

Try some of these tips for whomever you must buy for regardless of age. You will be surprised how mixing and matching can save you money.

Here are some ways to get the most out of your fashion dollars without breaking the bank:

1.      Buy one winter coat in a solid color such as black, navy blue, or brown. This can be used for almost any occasion. You can alternate sweaters and other kinds of winter wraps for different occasions.

 

2.      Buy at least one new pair of dress shoes and casual shoes for the season. This will require taking yourself and the kids to actually try shoes on, especially if you are looking for boots or dress shoes, which are difficult to fit without this important step.  

3.      Mix and match solid garments with print garments. For example, if you have some pieces of black in your wardrobe, you can mix them with any print. You can also use some of your fall, spring, and summer clothes to layer during the winter. It is about rotating items in the wardrobe to make fewer clothes count for more outfits.

Coupon Sharing

Some of you may already know that I have decided to join in on the coupon craze.  Yes, it takes some work and organization, but it is worth it in the long run.  I mean, why throw away your hard earned cash when you can save money by using coupons.  Heck, some items can even be had free!  To help you get started (or beef up your current couponing system), I have shared a couple of the sites that I use to acquire coupons. Please take advantage of the free sign ups.

Coupon Money

Recently, I have become smitten with the coupon craze.  I practically live for the Sunday paper to get my hands on the coupons that are stuffed neatly in the middle.  I pour a cup of coffee, get out my scissors, and commence filing through the Sunday paper coupons as if I were collecting candy. 

Other than the Sunday paper, I also search for coupons online. There are many sites offering free coupons on everyday products.  A simple Google search on “coupons” will return literally hundreds of sites. Beware, as I did run across a few sites that required a membership to access their coupons. Using online coupon sites will help you stick to your budget while saving money on your grocery bill.

If you are looking to save money on local activities, weekend outings, or an affordable way to treat the family out to dinner, try Groupon.com.  At Groupon.com, you can subscribe to receive offers from local merchants offering a special deal for a limited time, even an offer for only one day. For example, you may be able to treat your family with buy-one-get-one free (BOGO) coupons for the nearest pizzeria instead of going over budget by splurging on Carabbas or Olive Garden.

Use coupons to save money and stay on budget.  Try couponing today!

Fashion on a budget

With the recent recession, what do you do if you have this urge to go for the latest fashion? We can hardly go back to sack cloth and ashes, at the same time, it is not possible for us to dress up in the style and chic that the celebrities do. We simply lack their source of funds. That Jimmy Choo or the latest Christian Dior seems luring, but way out of our range. Or at least way out of my means. You can still dress yourself up in style, at a much lesser budget. There are certain blogs that will give you similar dresses at a very affordable cost. Some of the more popular ones are FrugalFashioista, DC Goodwill Fashion Blog, The Budget Babe, The Cheap Chica's, Shefinds.com, and many more. These blogs will provide you with designs similar to the original ones, along with price tag, where to get them and so on and so forth. You will get weekly deals, spotlights of retailers, bargains and steal prices. They will help you to budget a celebrity line get providing you with the costing of the total ensemble. Most of these blogs emphasize on celebrity looks and will give you fashion advise on how to get the same look at a much lower cost. They provide with pictures of the celebrity in her look, complete with accessories such as shoes, scarves, jewelry and handbags, and pictures of similar fashion items which will cost much less. You can choose your pick and order online, or visit the retailer and pick your own pieces. Some sites will provide you with screening areas and you can browse with ease if you are going for a particular look, such as sports, fashion jewelry under $10 and so on. Other sites specialize in designer label looks so if you are into any particular designer, you can visit these sites and get designs which carry their signature style. The good thing about these sites is they offer fashion tips and information on a budget without making you look cheap or imitative. You can retain your own style of dress while going for the latest fashion trend.