Master your money. Get organized. Take back your time.
The holiday season is upon us again! I love heading out to my mailbox this time of year to find happy Christmas wishes from family and friends.
But sending out those cards? That’s not quite as fun. You wind up tracking down missing addresses, fumbling through drawers for extra stamps, and nursing papercuts.
But what if you could get all of your holiday cards out without the hassle? Here’s how . . . [Read more…]
Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.
Turkey time is almost here! And this year, it’s you who’s doing the hosting.
Maybe it’s your turn in the family rotation. Maybe you love hosting! Or maybe, like me, it just feels easier to do the entertaining at home than to haul small children across great distances, skipping important naptimes, and hoping they’ll stay entertained through a long event.
Hosting Thanksgiving can be wildly stressful and expensive . . . but it doesn’t have to be! Let’s make this year’s turkey feast a relaxing, wallet-friendly celebration! Here’s how . . . [Read more…]
Imagine this: It’s Saturday night. You get dressed up and head out on the town with your lucky husband to enjoy a kid-free, romantic dinner at a great restaurant.
If you’re watching your spending, this kind of extravagance can be rare or even impossible. Dinners out come with a hefty markup, and arranging childcare can be challenging and expensive.
But what if you could create a restaurant date experience that was so easy and affordable that you could enjoy it over and over?
Try this four-step process for replicating the fancy dinner date experience right at home and on a budget: [Read more…]
If you haven’t already read it, check out Part 1 of this series!
Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.
Two weeks ago I shared three of my favorite kitchen tools for eating fresh, healthy foods without the hassle.
If you’ve got the right gear in your kitchen, it’s so easy to eat high-quality fruits, veggies, meats, cheeses, and more without paying the huge markup that comes with the pre-prepped, bagged and boxed stuff.
So let’s dive in to three more of the best kitchen gear you can get for enjoying good-for-you foods on a budget: [Read more…]
Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.
We all want to eat fresh and healthy foods. And we want to serve them to our spouses and kids too.
But eating junk is just so much easier! There’s none of the washing, prepping, slicing, cooking, and storing that you have to tackle with fresh produce, meats, cheeses, etc. Instead, you just grab and go.
And you pay a pretty penny for that convenience — not to mention the toll it takes on your health.
But what if you could enjoy fresh, healthy foods easily, conveniently, and at a great price?
Here are six of my all-time favorite kitchen tools for enjoying good-for-you foods on a budget: [Read more…]
There are some things you buy over and over again. And every time you buy them, you’re handing their manufacturer and your retailer a nice profit.
So it stands to reason that you can save a nice wad of cash by skipping the middle men and making those items yourself!
Think you can’t do it? These 8 everyday items are not only inexpensive but easy to make right at home! [Read more…]
Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.
In Part 1 of this series, we looked at how you can stop food waste — and money waste — by making a meal plan, being realistic about what you eat, and making your food visible.
I even recommended some food storage containers that not only allow you to see your food as it happily awaits your return to the fridge but also double as dishes for reheating. Speaking of which . . . [Read more…]
Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.
Is it refrigerator clean-out day at your house? You know that day . . . you dig through the recesses of your fridge, pull out forgotten-food-turned-moldy-science-experiment, and toss your unrecognizably icky food into the trash.
Most of us don’t like to handle stinky, bacteria-infested mystery foods . . . but we also hate to throw away money! That food in the dumpster was something you bought and possibly even something you spent time preparing.
Waste no more! It’s time to get serious about keeping your food — and your money — from winding up in the dump. Here’s how: [Read more…]
Photo courtesy of Amazon
Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.
How much money are you spending on return address labels?
Do you spend cash again and again to order customized labels online or from a mailer? Do you use free address labels sent to you by your alma mater or charities — even though you hate the design and your name is misspelled? Do you you spend hours hand-printing your return address on Christmas cards in lieu of spending for labels?
There’s a better way.
You can print your own address labels right at home.
For about 1¢ per label, you can create a peel-and-stick label with any font, color scheme, and image of your choosing. It’s cheap. It’s easy . . . and it’s fun! [Read more…]
The supermarket is ripping you off.
In less time than it takes you to drive to the store, pick up some staple food item, and return home, you could have done all of the prep work to make it yourself – and for a lot less. Some of these items (like croutons, baby food, and yogurt) may seem mysterious and difficult to create at home, but they are fast and near-foolproof to create in your own kitchen.
As a bonus, yours will probably be tastier than what you could pick up at the store . . . and you will save a ton of money without spending a ton of time.
Here are seven foods that you can make super-fast and easily at home on the cheap.
Read the rest of my recently published blog post on Money Pantry!