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Setting Financial Goals

Living frugal doesn't mean you have to give up everything you like to do. For me it is centered around the financial goals we have set forth for our family. Setting financial goals is an important step to living more frugal and saving money. Having a goal in mind will keep you motivated to make little money saving changes every day.

There are two main types of financial goals, short term and long term. Or if you're like me, three types, mid term goals. Sit down and assess where you are at financially and where you want to be. This is a must to setting your goals. We started to look at ways to save money last summer when gas prices topped out around $4/gallon. And when the economy continued to tumble we decided to take a look at where we were at with our finances and set financial goals.

Our example is as follows:

Short Term Goal - Find ways to free up a little extra money each month so we could do something fun as a family. We like to take the kids to the zoo, a movie, go out to eat once or twice a month or even a fun scenic family train ride. Cutting back and saving money in some area's of our budget allows us to do one or two of these fun activities each month.

What I like to call Mid Term Goal - Become Debt Free! We realize that becoming debt free will make us more financially comfortable as well as help with our long term goal. I labeled this a mid term goal since it's not something we can achieve over night rather, it's a goal that will take many months and a lot of financial discipline.

Long Term Goal - Build a house or move to a newer one! This is a goal we have set for ourselves as a family and believe it will take 3-5 years to make a reality. Keeping this goal in mind is very motivating to work hard on the short term and mid term goals we have made and stick to them. Knowing there is a prize, so to speak, at the end of the road makes me want to find even more ways to save money.

Again, living frugal doesn't mean you have to give up living. Always keep your goals in mind and depending on how much you want to see those goals happen can help determine how much you want to save money. So make your plans, set your financial goals and find ways to make them happen. Frugal living won't seem like such a bad thing if you have a goal you are working for! Good Luck!

Online Movie Rentals !

Our closet movie rental store charges $2.99 for new movie releases each night. Renting movies online at Netflix allows us to pay a one time monthly fee of $8.99 and the movies are sent right to our home. Another alternative is those Red Box rentals. There is one at our local grocery store and they charge just $1.00 a night. The negative side to this is having to drive back and forth since the rentals are just for one night. To save even more money, borrow DVD's from the library! You may not always get the latest releases but it's free. Getting our kids DVD's at the library is definitely a good money saving tip!

Online Coupon Codes!

Saving money on your online shopping is very easy to do if you know how to find these deals. It amazes me when I talk to someone who doesn't realize these savings are out there. I have saved as much as 30% and gotten numerous free shipping codes while online shopping.

Simply type in the store you are shopping at into your internet search engine along with the words coupon codes. Example.... gap coupon codes is what you would type into your search engine. This will pull up dozens of sites that list the most current coupon and promotion codes. It pays to spend some time browsing these sites to find the best deal out there. Once you have found your coupon code head back to the store website and finish your shopping. During the checkout the site will prompt you for a coupon code, just enter your code and watch your savings add up. Every little bit helps, even if you are only able to find a free shipping code!

Dollar Store Deals

Economic times like these have more and more people turning to Dollar Stores more than ever. I am not always good about doing this myself but have been trying to get there more often as there really are some great deals to be found there.

For instance, cards...at 50 cents a card compared to at least $2 the savings will add up quickly. On your next visit have a list of upcoming birthday's and stock up. Another thing I like to get at the Dollar Store is gift bags, tissue paper and wrapping paper. I don't know about you but I am always shocked at the prices of the gift bags at major department stores. You can't go wrong grabbing several for $1. My kids get invited to quite a few friends birthday parties so this is something that adds up to savings for us.

Toothpaste, shampoo, plastic containers, picture frames...more great Dollar Store finds! As a mom, one of my favorite aisles is the kids aisle. I always find such great things...coloring books, crayons, books, cheap little toys to take on road trips even some cute gift items like jump ropes, sidewalk chalk and bubbles!

I am going to do a Dollar Store challenge soon and post my purchases on my blog and compare what these items would have cost elsewhere so we can see the savings.

So check out your local Dollar Store...take the time to browse around and see what goods you can find!

Save With Coupons

Frugal Tip Of The Day - Coupons

Clipping coupons is an excellent way to save hundreds of dollars on your groceries and more! It's been reported that coupon usage is once again on the rise. Many people are looking for ways to save money each month and turning to coupons. Your local paper and regional coupon ads are a great source to find coupons. But there are also many websites dedicated to compiling coupons making it easy for you to simply print them. Many grocery stores will even double your coupons up to a certain amount. Now is a great time to look into coupons to save some money.

I have included a few great coupon sites that I have come across:
www.couponmom.com www.coupons.com www.frugalcouponmom.com

These are just a few that I have found to be a great source. Also consider your favorite brand detergent or shampoo and go directly to their website. Often times they will offer coupons and you can sign on to their emailing lists to learn of more money saving offers.

Another source to save is online coupon codes. I love these! It also pays to sign up to be on the mailing lists at your favorite stores. I just got a coupon in my email yesterday for 30% off at The Gap!

Here are a few places to find online coupon codes:
www.retailmenot.com www.couponcabin.com www.couponcode.com

And lastly, sorry a shameless plug, you can find thousands of dollars of savings in The Entertainment Book. At an average cost of $15 a book depending on where you live this a great way to save money on Dining, Entertainment, Shopping, Travel, Movies and More! Click on the link at the top left hand corner of my blog and that will direct you to where you can purchase your Entertainment Book!

Entertainment Book Filled With Coupons

Looking to save hundreds if not thousands on Dining - Entertainment - Travel - Attractions - Shopping - Movies and Much More, then you need to purchase your copy of the coupon Entertainment Book! You don't need to sacrifice eating out as often and entertainment with these savings.

This is a fantastic way to save money on so much! And with people trying to save money as often as possible these days this coupon book would be a great help. We have gotten a copy for years and you get so much more than just dining coupons. The dining coupons are a great savings and a way to help take your family out to dinner a little more often. Many places will offer buy one get one 1/2 off dinners and much more in the coupon book. There are savings on bowling, movies, travel and so much more. Use your coupons for a great family day out...dinner and bowling with the kids or a movie!

You can find a link to purchase your copy of the Entertainment Book on the top left hand side of my blog....order your copy today and start saving!

Money Saving Tips For Dining Out

Frugal Tip Of The Day - Money Saving Tips For Dining Out

Many people enjoy going out to dinner but if you are on a tight budget this may seem like an impossible thing to do often or at all. I know many people are focusing on ways to save money in this tough economy but that doesn't mean you need to completely give up on dining out. If dining out is something you enjoy doing with family and friends then there are a few money saving strategies you can do to make it more affordable.

Limit the amount of times you eat out each month. Cutting back in other areas of your budget can allow for a meal or two out each month and you and your family will truly look forward to those times.

Here is a list of money saving dining out tips:

* Order water in place of soda, tea or alcoholic beverages. An average soda at a restaurant can cost $2.00 or more! An average family of 4 would save at least $8 on their bill ! So go ahead and order a glass of water...it's healthier for you too!

* Look for restaurants that offer early bird specials or coupons. Head out early and take advantage of these savings and enjoy smaller crowds!

* Buy an Entertainment Book of coupons online and save!. At an average cost of $15, depending on where you live, you can save hundreds if not more on dining out and entertainment. They often offer buy one get one 1/2 off dinners at many local and national restaurant chains. This is a fantastic way to keep your dining out bills lower. Just follow the link at the top left hand corner of my blog and you can find out where to purchase your Entertainment Book full of money saving coupons!

* Look for restaurants that offer free or reduced children's meals. Many restaurants offer birthday clubs. Sign your children up for free and they will receive a free meal coupon annually! What a great way to celebrate their birthday and have a budget meal out as a family. Two great sources are www.mykidseatfree.com and www.kidsmealdeals.com Check them out and start saving!

* Share a large meal. Portion sizes have increased and that is especially true at restaurants. Share a meal with someone else at the table and save some money. This is especially true if you have young children! Have two children share a meal or share your meal with your children. This can add up to a good savings on your bill.

* Take leftovers home! This won't save on your bill but you will have your lunch or dinner for the next day and this will save a little on your groceries.

* Skip the costly appetizers. More often than not you will receive a basket of bread or rolls along with a salad with your meal. Why pay for an appetizer when you will have more than enough to eat with your meal!

* Order from the special's board. Make sure to check them out as you walk into the restaurant and if you missed them just ask the waitress. Ordering the special of the day can save a few dollars!

There are several ways to save and still enjoy a meal out. For so many of us it's a nice day out with family. Finding ways to save can mean more treats like this each month. One last money saving tip related to eating out: Check your local grocery store for restaurant gift cards. Our grocery store offers a fuel perks program where for every $50 you spend (including gift cards!) you earn 10 cents off a gallon of gas. If you know you are going out to eat pick up a gift card or two while grocery shopping and earn extra savings on your fuel. Look for promotions on those fuel perks too....every so often our local store offers double fuel earnings on gift cards...good time to stock up and really save on fuel!

Energy Vampires!

Frugal Tip Of The Day - Energy Vampires!

Trying to focus more on green living I have been researching "energy vampires". Energy Vampires lurk in just about every home. Energy Vampire is the term given to those electronic devices that continue to draw energy even when turned off and not in use! The typical household has about 20 vampires draining power and adding an average of $200 annually to your electric bill.

An example of some notorious energy vampires is:
TV's, DVD Players, VCR's, PVR's, Computer's, Cell Phone and Cordless Phone Chargers, MP3 Player's and Stereo's.

Fortunately there are a few VERY easy changes you can make to reduce this waste of energy and help save yourself some money in the process.

First, buy power strips and plug in as many energy vampires as possible. It's wise to make sure you have one around your tv area. You can plug in your TV, DVD Player, VCR, PVR. Have another to plug in your cell phone and cordless phone charges, MP3 player too! Don't forget your computer and printers!

Second, unplug as any of these appliances as you can and remember to turn the power strips off every night. Coffee Makers, Toasters and Microwaves are easy things to unplug each evening. Be sure to unplug as many as possible when you are away on vacation too!

So make these simple changes and you can see a annual savings of at least $200 while conserving energy in the process!

How Much Are You Saving on Phone, Internet and Cable

Frugal Tip For Today: How To Save Money on Your Phone, Internet and Cable

Whether you are looking to save money because of a job loss or just trying to cut costs to have some extra money each, it pays to look at your phone, internet and cable tv services.

Let's start by taking a look at your phone services...you have several options for savings here. If you are like me and rarely use your cell phone, I actually just like to have it for peace of mind while driving, then you should consider eliminating your monthly service and going to a pre-paid phone plan. Our cell phone plan had cost us $75 a month and one of those phones was a duplicate as my husband had a company paid cell phone for work. By not renewing our contract after it ended and going with a pre-paid phone we saved over $65 a month. We purchased pre-paid minutes at $30 for 3 months costing us $10 a month. That's quite a bit extra we were paying for something that simply wasn't used much.

On the flipside, if you are someone that does use your cell phone quite a bit then look at eliminating your land line and saving over $30 a month. Make sure you look at your cell phone plan to ensure you have enough minutes on the plan to cover what you'll need by going exclusively cellular.

At the very least look at your cell phone bill to find ways to save a few dollars each month. Consider skipping the texting and internet service. Look at how many minutes you are using and if you seem to have quite a few left each month, downgrade your plan to one with less minutes and is less expensive.

Bundle your services to save money and have them all on one bill each month. By combining cable, internet and phone with long distance through our cable company we saved over $30 a month and now only pay one bill. These plans typically average $100 a month but can vary by area. Switch to automatic online bill pay and save the postage....every bit helps.

Look at your cable bill...do you really need HD, Pay Per View and Premium Channels? Go back to basic cable and the savings will quickly add up here as well. Also, head to the library! You can borrow DVD's for free and save money on movie rentals. If you are really in a financial pinch you may want to eliminate your internet plan and use the free internet service at the library while you are there to borrow DVD's, Books and Magazines!

Saving money on these budget busters is easy to do by making just a few changes.

Brown Bag It

Brown bag your lunch instead of eating out or running through the drive thru. Not only will you add money to your wallet but chances are you may lose a few pounds by skipping the fast food. Consider this...if you spend an average of $6 a day on lunch you will save:

$30 a Week
$120 a Month
$1440 a Year !!!

WOW...with an extra $1440 a year you can put that money away in savings, pay down debt or take a vacation! And you will be eating healthier lunches for weight loss with this simple change in your lifestyle. Give it a try...your wallet and waistline will thank you!

The same concept applies to those of you who love to have their morning latte! Considering you spend $4 a day on your latte you can save:

$20 a Week
$80 a Month
$960 a Year !!!

Making your own coffee each morning or grabbing a cup at the office can also pay off big over the year.

Go Green To Save Some Green!

Save money on your energy with a small easy to make change...light bulbs! Yes, light bulbs. By switching from your incandescent bulbs to the compact fluorescents you can begin to save money on your energy bills. Yes, the compact fluorescents cost more initially at the store but they last longer which means you will need to purchase bulbs a lot less often and these energy saving bulbs use less energy adding up to even more savings! So on your next shopping trip, add compact fluorescent bulbs to your list.

These new CFL bulbs can save you 75% on your energy consumption and have a life span ten times that of your typical incandescent bulb. They also give off 75% less heat.
Consider this: If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an energy star bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs and prevent green house gases equivalent to to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars! Please check out this website www.energystar.gov I found a lot of great information for this tip from their website and they have many more ways to save energy posted on their site.

Welcome to my Frugal Mom's Guide to Saving Money

I am starting this blog as a way to share the money saving tips and ideas I have used over the years. In today's economy we can all use ideas about how to save money and make your dollar go further. This is especially true for mom's, both stay at home and those that work outside the house.
I would like this blog to be different in that I plan to post a daily "money saving tip" every day as well as new articles a few times a week.
So please keep watching as I get this blog set up. I will be adding to it frequently in the coming weeks.

Thanks!
Donna