So I'm curious about how the comparisons for the housing sizes is made. Do they include finished basements, or strictly 'above-grade' square footage?
Our house was built in 1934, and started out as a 950 square foot, 2-bed, 1-bath, 1.5 story bungalow. Over the years, different owners finished the basement and the half story/attic, and now it is a 4-bed, 2-bath with 2,100 square feet of living space, without any building additions. It is about the same size as a lot of our friends' houses, though to be fair those are mostly 'starter' houses.
So my question is, how much of the extra square footage comes from building physically larger houses, and how much comes from finishing every possible interior space in new house construction?
Shop for produce through a wholesaler (company which supplies restaurants in your city, NOT a Costco style wholesale club) before you buy anything else.
If you front-load your fridge with fruits and veggies you're more inclined to eat the perishable produce rather than filling your fridge with more expensive goods such as cheese and meats. Has the added benefits of making you eat more veg.
Check the store you shop at for their weekly ad online, then plan your meals and particularly produce around what is on sale. Use coupons on top of those sales to increase your savings, if you have them. This strategy helps my large family (7 kids) get larger quantities (for example) of fruits and veggies, by buying loss leaders or buying the items that are on sale that week. For example, apples were on sale last week for a lower price per pound. So we had apples a few ways- whole, sliced with peanut butter, and sauteed with cinnamon for a fun dessert.
My current fave grocery shopping tip is to always check the clearance shelves. You never know when you'll discover at great deal or get the opportunity to try a brand/item you would never buy at full cost.
Retirement is when I'll lose my W2 income to live on my passive 1099 income alone. I've always spent far less than I earned, so I won't have to cut back at all on my living expenses. Instead, where I plan to make changes is in the composition of my investment portfolio. Up to now I've avoided limited partnerships, stocks that pay non-qualified dividends, and non-municipal bonds. Dropping my W2 income puts me in a lower tax bracket so I'll trade into these higher yielding issues, and I'll be gradually Rothifying my 401k in order to reduce my tax burden on forthcoming RMDs. So hopefully if I play my cards right, the only expense I'll cut back on is income tax payments!
I shop at Publix and LOVE to use their app to shop. I use it to make a list based on their currently weekly ad, use it to find mobile coupons - which are added to my account - and my favorite part? My list is automatically sorted by aisle based on the store I shop at. If I choose a different store to shop at, I just tell the app and it rearranges my list for me. I love it.
By far, my favorite grocery shopping tip is to plan menus and write a list. My boyfriend and I eat a mostly plant-based, vegan diet, so we purchase a lot of produce, but can still manage to plan and shop for 4-5 meals at a time without wasting much food. I stick pretty close to my list, but also purchase quick/easy meal items, like pasta and sauces or frozen foods, on occasion. Planning and shopping this way does take some extra time, but the ease of making meals and rarely needing to ask "what's for dinner?" more than makes up for the required effort. I also think planning meals keeps things fresh. We don't bore of our dinner ideas, because we have so many recipes that we've come to love! I've been planning and shopping this way for years and don't anticipate changing my ways.
We plan all of the upcoming week's meals every Saturday morning, then do all of our grocery shopping for that week's meals plus staples. As for recipes, we get them from the web or cookbooks checked out from the library. If we like something we cook, we write down the recipe on an index card, and save it in a recipe box. This means we have a wide variety of recipes to choose from every Saturday.
I like to keep a shopping list synced via Evernote. Also, I sometimes will force myself to carry a basket instead of using a cart so I don't get tempted to overload on unnecessary stuff!
"Buy ingredients" was the best tip we ever got years ago. It meant the elimination of processed stuff as our awareness kicked in. But wait, why is this a frugal idea? Because we're living proof one either pays the doctor or pays the grocer.
We take our time searching the sales ads then combine with coupons & app discounts every week. Our pantry is always full & we don't have to pay full price
I use a grocery store coupon on top of a manufacturer coupon to really save money at the grocery store. And I stockpile coupons and wait for a sale and use the coupon to save even more on sale items.
If your water is horrible tasting, (like ours is), sometimes setting it out in an open jug for a day dissipates the chlorine flavor. Since ours also has a ton of minerals and messes with our teapot, we've taken to a pitcher filtration system. No longer "free" water.
An alternative to paper napkins is cloth. They can be made at home simply, and thrown into your regular wash load.
Some live shows allow you to usher instead of paying for tickets. My dancer roomies used to do that often.
So I'm curious about how the comparisons for the housing sizes is made. Do they include finished basements, or strictly 'above-grade' square footage?
Our house was built in 1934, and started out as a 950 square foot, 2-bed, 1-bath, 1.5 story bungalow. Over the years, different owners finished the basement and the half story/attic, and now it is a 4-bed, 2-bath with 2,100 square feet of living space, without any building additions. It is about the same size as a lot of our friends' houses, though to be fair those are mostly 'starter' houses.
So my question is, how much of the extra square footage comes from building physically larger houses, and how much comes from finishing every possible interior space in new house construction?
Shop for produce through a wholesaler (company which supplies restaurants in your city, NOT a Costco style wholesale club) before you buy anything else.
If you front-load your fridge with fruits and veggies you're more inclined to eat the perishable produce rather than filling your fridge with more expensive goods such as cheese and meats. Has the added benefits of making you eat more veg.
Check the store you shop at for their weekly ad online, then plan your meals and particularly produce around what is on sale. Use coupons on top of those sales to increase your savings, if you have them. This strategy helps my large family (7 kids) get larger quantities (for example) of fruits and veggies, by buying loss leaders or buying the items that are on sale that week. For example, apples were on sale last week for a lower price per pound. So we had apples a few ways- whole, sliced with peanut butter, and sauteed with cinnamon for a fun dessert.
I have a bad habit of impulse shopping so making a list and trying to stick to it helps save me money.
Great article.....you hit it right on all of them! Especially the Swing-A-Way can openers!
Check out clearance bins at Vons....you will find some good food for quite a bargain if you are willing to eat it same day or within a few days.
My current fave grocery shopping tip is to always check the clearance shelves. You never know when you'll discover at great deal or get the opportunity to try a brand/item you would never buy at full cost.
I always shop with a list. If I don't, I'll forget something and have to go back, and you know I won't buy just that one item!
Retirement is when I'll lose my W2 income to live on my passive 1099 income alone. I've always spent far less than I earned, so I won't have to cut back at all on my living expenses. Instead, where I plan to make changes is in the composition of my investment portfolio. Up to now I've avoided limited partnerships, stocks that pay non-qualified dividends, and non-municipal bonds. Dropping my W2 income puts me in a lower tax bracket so I'll trade into these higher yielding issues, and I'll be gradually Rothifying my 401k in order to reduce my tax burden on forthcoming RMDs. So hopefully if I play my cards right, the only expense I'll cut back on is income tax payments!
I shop at Publix and LOVE to use their app to shop. I use it to make a list based on their currently weekly ad, use it to find mobile coupons - which are added to my account - and my favorite part? My list is automatically sorted by aisle based on the store I shop at. If I choose a different store to shop at, I just tell the app and it rearranges my list for me. I love it.
Use receipthog
By far, my favorite grocery shopping tip is to plan menus and write a list. My boyfriend and I eat a mostly plant-based, vegan diet, so we purchase a lot of produce, but can still manage to plan and shop for 4-5 meals at a time without wasting much food. I stick pretty close to my list, but also purchase quick/easy meal items, like pasta and sauces or frozen foods, on occasion. Planning and shopping this way does take some extra time, but the ease of making meals and rarely needing to ask "what's for dinner?" more than makes up for the required effort. I also think planning meals keeps things fresh. We don't bore of our dinner ideas, because we have so many recipes that we've come to love! I've been planning and shopping this way for years and don't anticipate changing my ways.
We plan all of the upcoming week's meals every Saturday morning, then do all of our grocery shopping for that week's meals plus staples. As for recipes, we get them from the web or cookbooks checked out from the library. If we like something we cook, we write down the recipe on an index card, and save it in a recipe box. This means we have a wide variety of recipes to choose from every Saturday.
I like to keep a shopping list synced via Evernote. Also, I sometimes will force myself to carry a basket instead of using a cart so I don't get tempted to overload on unnecessary stuff!
"Buy ingredients" was the best tip we ever got years ago. It meant the elimination of processed stuff as our awareness kicked in. But wait, why is this a frugal idea? Because we're living proof one either pays the doctor or pays the grocer.
Always take a list, compare unit prices, and buy store brand whenever possible as long as it's cheaper.
Make a list and stock up when things are on sale!
I use the grocery store apps to load coupons directly onto my card.
bring coupons. always shop with coupons
We take our time searching the sales ads then combine with coupons & app discounts every week. Our pantry is always full & we don't have to pay full price
Match coupons up with sales and buy in bulk. Also buy clearance items - meat is often 50% off but must be cooked or frozen the same day.
My tip is to use coupons and shop sales
My favorite grocery shopping tip is to map out the store and make your shopping list in order of where the items are to save time.
I use a grocery store coupon on top of a manufacturer coupon to really save money at the grocery store. And I stockpile coupons and wait for a sale and use the coupon to save even more on sale items.
If your water is horrible tasting, (like ours is), sometimes setting it out in an open jug for a day dissipates the chlorine flavor. Since ours also has a ton of minerals and messes with our teapot, we've taken to a pitcher filtration system. No longer "free" water.
An alternative to paper napkins is cloth. They can be made at home simply, and thrown into your regular wash load.
Some live shows allow you to usher instead of paying for tickets. My dancer roomies used to do that often.