2005- What's Your Frugal New Year's Resolution?

[sandieluvsbears]

HI everyone, I actually started being more "frugal" last year and I know we saved money in the long run. One of the things Idid was when shopping for groceries I went to more than one store and went there for their "loss leader" items. Loss leader items are items stores offer at a loss to get you into the store to buy their regular priced items.Now gas wise it might not seem frugal to do that but I stayed within a 5mile radius of grocery stores.
Another thing is when things were on sale I stocked up on that item (ex. country style ribs were 99 lb.,so I bought 30 lbs of them and did the same with chicken, bnless chickenthighs were 1.19 lb and I bought 30 lbs of them also.I bascially try to never have to pay full price for anything, and I actually did accomplish that.
Dollar tree stores come in handy for certain items to, like air fresheners,cleaning supplies etc. you dont have to pay a ton of money for cleaning supplies.I also made alot of my own mixes like hot cocoa mix, instead of buying the 12pk boxes I made my own by using2 cups nonfat dry milk
1 cup sugar or the 1 cup eqivalent of Sugar subst.
1/2 cup dry cocoa(unsweetened
1/2 cup non dairy creamer,
You get 4 full cups that way . and need only 1-2 Tablesp
One more thing was I used coupons and 1 store I shop at has "triple" coupn day so I go there on that day.
Also unstead of renting movies for 2.99 apiece we joined the movie club on our cable service and pay 99cents a month for that and get to watch and TAPE movies for 2.99 Which is a savings instead of going out and buying the DVD.
Now if I can be that successful at losing 20 lbs Ill be happy.

Hugs Sandie

[ajrsmom]

Wow Sandie, Great Job!!!


I wish that our cable company had a movie club like that.

Im hitting the loss leaders of one store tomorrow and then heading to Aldi's and Walmart to finish my list.

[Liza44]

Stardust 12, The best book I have found so far for the crockpot is the "Fix It and Forget It" one. I have also recommended to friends and family and they all love it. I use it quite often.Definitely one you will want to purchase. Comes in hard and soft covers. Check it out from the library, I am sure you will want it in your permanent collection in the end.
Off to the land of ice, still dealing with the ice storm of Saturday night. Sidewalks are sooo fun right now, wish I had my ice skates of youth.

[jjoj]

Thanks for the cocoa recipe, Sandie. I definitely will be trying that. Also, I love the bear picture. Take care and good luck to everyone on their goals.

[AnnaInOhio]

Wow! Lots of good resolutions on here, lets all try to encourage each other to keep them this year. I think all are reasonable and can be accomplished.

Anna

[AnnaInOhio]

I'd also like to take this oppurtunity to welcome our new members to the frugal living section and hope you will stop back in often.

Anna

[sandieluvsbears]

Most of you know this, but those of you who dont this is intereresting
Why is My $20 Bill Only Worth $5 Bucks?
Credit Card Management
© Leslie Sausage

Keep this in mind next time you're tempted to "put the pizza on plastic".

The following information is based on an interest rate of 16.99% to 18.99%:

If your balance is $1000.00 and your minimum required payment is $20.00, then $15.00 of the payment goes to interest and only a small portion pays down the principal. If during the next month you charge $15.00 or $20.00 on that card the same thing happens again.

Here's a common scenario for many credit card users...

With a $1000.00 balance on your card and $20.00 minimum payment due ($15.00 will be for interest. Only $5.00 will be for the principal to actually pay down the balance. Your new balance is $995.00.

Yep! You paid $20.00, but it was only worth $5.00

By only paying the minimum due, you'll not be able to get off this merry-go-round for years!!

Hugs Sandie

[WGDad]

One of my biggest goals this year is to really make an effort to eat out less with friends and family, and instead invite people over for dinner or suggest eating in when we all can. The month of December was terrible for me and eating out. I can really see it adding up to, now that I'm looking at our account. Not good.

[Catwoman]

I have a few frugal goals that some other folks have mentioned. I am working to better organize our home and business bills to make sure things get paid more timely. I am siiiick of paying late charges- even 5.00 a month adds up when it gets applied to several bills. I have also been paying more attention to what I buy at the grocery store and how often. So far, I have for sure spent less money, and we're starting to eat better. I'm reminding myself that with a little effort, it's not much more difficult or time-consuming to cook things from scratch, and it's better for you.

I do have another goal in sight- I want to take our savings and set it aside for a down payment for a car next year. Our two trucks are not quite on their last legs yet, but they will be soon, and if we need to buy a new car soon I want to be better prepared for it.

[AnnaInOhio]

Catwoman

Your goal for a new vehicle is a good idea. The more you pay upfront, the less time it'll take to pay it off, lower payments and possibly a lower interest rate.

Anna