Apple TV Fan! Since they have started serving network cable channels as pay per consume I completely dumped our cable company. Note that most new or current tv shows run 1.99 to 2.99 per episode with season passes getting upwards of 29.99. it still does not compare with cable as far as value but for those concerned with being able to pay only for what you want to watch, it is great! definitely a step in the right direction. thanks for the article Mikey.
Yes. My wife and I found that after our first Christmas together, if we didn't have a budget, we'd overspend. The main reason is because without a spending budget, we were trying to do calculations on the fly about how much we could afford to spend and naturally we would end up leaving something out.
Yes I have a holiday budget. I save all year for Christmas. And I always seem to overspend a little BUT going over budget a couple hundred dollars is easier to take than not budgeting at all and entering January a grand in the hole!
Oh, YES!! Holiday budgets are a must. We spend between $25 and $30 per person, so we have to be really careful with what we budget during the year and what we spend at holidays and birthdays. Let me tell you, you have to be creative with a limited amount to spend...but that can be half the fun!
I honestly don't have a holiday budget that I enforce but I have a general dollar amount per person that I would like to spend. I try my best to keep to that amount and not go over.
The budget is $1,000.00. That includes gifts for kids, spouse, nieces & nephews, parents, Christmas tree, assorted tip gifts (hairdresser, paper carrier, etc.), and some house party gifts (bottle of wine/spirits, etc.). I save throughout the year in an account at my credit union so when the holidays are here there is absolutely no stress about money for the special things we buy this time of year.
Regarding batteries, I shop at CVS for those. However, I buy them in bulk when they are on sale, and always have some coupons.
What I have found in general is that if you pay attention to prices, you can get just about anything at a reasonable price if you wait until they go on sale and then stock up.
I hate buying detergent these days because it is so expensive. I just bought a big chunk of turkey pastrami and am slicing it for sandwiches. It was a really good bargain!
I'll have to check that site out! I haven't made soda in a little while, but my boyfriend and I just brewed our first round of beer, and it's made me want to get back to soda experiments soon.
You can also use oatmeal for pest control. Mosquitoes really hate it and will not bite! If you add some oatmeal to your bath or lotion it will not only help to soften your skin but also leave you bug free!
i made a "money tree" as a housewarming gift. I bought a basic houseplant in a very pretty planter and rolled various denominations up so they looked like calla lillys. Using floral tape available at any craft store, taped them to wire "stems" (also from craft store) and stuck them in the planter. This was for a co-worker & by the time other people went in on it, the plant contained almost $1000!
Fee Fighters is actually one of a few organizations that have popped up as of late designed to help merchants, especially smaller businesses. The merchant service industry has been preying on business owners who are unfamiliar with payment processing, and there are a lot of reps out there that will take a business to the cleaners with long-term contracts, high mid and non qual tiers, etc.
Not to say they are all bad, but Fee Fighters is definitely taking a step in the right direction. They will not let anyone advertise through them that does not offer interchange pass through, an evil word for many reps these days.
I agree with most of the items on this list, and thinks they're all great things to be aware of, especially things like pre-sliced vegetables, meats, etc. (Cheese goes in this category, too: you pay a lot more when it's sliced for you.) The only pre-sliced thing I deliberately pay more for at the grocery store is lunch meat. I buy the pre-packaged, store-brand offerings in the cooler in front of the deli counter. My husband is the only one in our family who eats lunch meat, and if we buy more than that it spoils before we can use it. We save money in the long run by not wasting food.
I will say that Brand Name items, while most costly, do sometimes legitimately taste better. Everyone should make their own decisions about what they're willing to pay a little extra for. I have, at one point or another, bought the generic versions of every food my family eats. Where the generic is the same or better, we buy generic. Where the brand name is better, we use coupons and buy on sale. We eat brand name Crispix, for example, but we eat generic mac 'n' cheese.
I would also add this cautionary note about bulk laundry detergent: make sure you have somewhere to save it. Sure you'll use it, but if you can't store it, is it really worth the lower price?
OMG, YES to the Costco membership. Also, and I've probably said this before, but one Christmas, my mom gave me a bunch of car wash gift certificates in my stocking, and I washed my car religiously for a whole year. It's funny, because even though washing your car isn't expensive, it's something that I always avoid doing because I keep thinking "Thirteen BUCKS??!! I could do this at home on the lawn!"
I don't have a lawn, but I don't tell myself that.
I imagine that the acne tip has to do with the sulfur compounds in onions. Sulfur has bacteria-killing properties, and can be found in some face masks.
I personally like onions, even though the strong taste can be a bit much sometimes (I come from a Slavic background, and my grandmother used to eat raw onions like an apple so maybe I have a higher tolerance for them than some people). Onions are known to have many beneficial health properties, but I've also read that they can contribute to migraine headaches.
I buy all of my spices at our local Indian store. Their selection is RIDICULOUS, taking up three or four times the space that my Safeway's spice aisle does. And the prices are incredibly cheap. I'll never go back to standard grocery store spices.
Evan cheaper than cereal is oatmeal or toast. Whole wheat toast with peanut butter has more protein than cereal, is quick, and is pretty inexpensive. We buy whole wheat bread at Sam's Club for a good price, but you could also get high quality wheat bread at a day-old bread store. Just put any extra loaves in the freezer if you won't be using it right away. We keep a loaf in the refrigerator to keep it fresh.
Apple TV Fan! Since they have started serving network cable channels as pay per consume I completely dumped our cable company. Note that most new or current tv shows run 1.99 to 2.99 per episode with season passes getting upwards of 29.99. it still does not compare with cable as far as value but for those concerned with being able to pay only for what you want to watch, it is great! definitely a step in the right direction. thanks for the article Mikey.
J, San Francisco
I don't really have a holiday shopping budget but I generally keep it reasonable. It helps that I don't have many people that I need to buy gifts for.
Yes. My wife and I found that after our first Christmas together, if we didn't have a budget, we'd overspend. The main reason is because without a spending budget, we were trying to do calculations on the fly about how much we could afford to spend and naturally we would end up leaving something out.
Yes I have a holiday budget. I save all year for Christmas. And I always seem to overspend a little BUT going over budget a couple hundred dollars is easier to take than not budgeting at all and entering January a grand in the hole!
Oh, YES!! Holiday budgets are a must. We spend between $25 and $30 per person, so we have to be really careful with what we budget during the year and what we spend at holidays and birthdays. Let me tell you, you have to be creative with a limited amount to spend...but that can be half the fun!
I honestly don't have a holiday budget that I enforce but I have a general dollar amount per person that I would like to spend. I try my best to keep to that amount and not go over.
I don't have a set budget, but I usually go in with an idea of what I want to spend. I'm usually pretty good about staying close to it.
And I liked you on Facebook.
I'm trying to buy everything for under $500, which is proving to be difficult :)
The budget is $1,000.00. That includes gifts for kids, spouse, nieces & nephews, parents, Christmas tree, assorted tip gifts (hairdresser, paper carrier, etc.), and some house party gifts (bottle of wine/spirits, etc.). I save throughout the year in an account at my credit union so when the holidays are here there is absolutely no stress about money for the special things we buy this time of year.
That is a great tip on the spices, I had no idea.
Regarding batteries, I shop at CVS for those. However, I buy them in bulk when they are on sale, and always have some coupons.
What I have found in general is that if you pay attention to prices, you can get just about anything at a reasonable price if you wait until they go on sale and then stock up.
Completely agree. Plus, I can definitely taste the difference!
I hate buying detergent these days because it is so expensive. I just bought a big chunk of turkey pastrami and am slicing it for sandwiches. It was a really good bargain!
I'm a big fan of to-do lists, but I never think about making checklists. I'll have to try that.
I'll have to check that site out! I haven't made soda in a little while, but my boyfriend and I just brewed our first round of beer, and it's made me want to get back to soda experiments soon.
The winners, chosen at random, are BudgetorFudget, Rebekah, and Carmen. Congratulations! Look for an email soon about your prize.
Thanks for entering, everybody!
So jealous that you get to visit Tess in her studio! I had the chance to meet her at FinCon and she was indeed awesome. =)
Great interview Meg. Now I'm afraid to give you the fake Santa Beard I made you for X'mas. :p
You can also use oatmeal for pest control. Mosquitoes really hate it and will not bite! If you add some oatmeal to your bath or lotion it will not only help to soften your skin but also leave you bug free!
i made a "money tree" as a housewarming gift. I bought a basic houseplant in a very pretty planter and rolled various denominations up so they looked like calla lillys. Using floral tape available at any craft store, taped them to wire "stems" (also from craft store) and stuck them in the planter. This was for a co-worker & by the time other people went in on it, the plant contained almost $1000!
Fee Fighters is actually one of a few organizations that have popped up as of late designed to help merchants, especially smaller businesses. The merchant service industry has been preying on business owners who are unfamiliar with payment processing, and there are a lot of reps out there that will take a business to the cleaners with long-term contracts, high mid and non qual tiers, etc.
Not to say they are all bad, but Fee Fighters is definitely taking a step in the right direction. They will not let anyone advertise through them that does not offer interchange pass through, an evil word for many reps these days.
Keep fighting the good fight.
I agree with most of the items on this list, and thinks they're all great things to be aware of, especially things like pre-sliced vegetables, meats, etc. (Cheese goes in this category, too: you pay a lot more when it's sliced for you.) The only pre-sliced thing I deliberately pay more for at the grocery store is lunch meat. I buy the pre-packaged, store-brand offerings in the cooler in front of the deli counter. My husband is the only one in our family who eats lunch meat, and if we buy more than that it spoils before we can use it. We save money in the long run by not wasting food.
I will say that Brand Name items, while most costly, do sometimes legitimately taste better. Everyone should make their own decisions about what they're willing to pay a little extra for. I have, at one point or another, bought the generic versions of every food my family eats. Where the generic is the same or better, we buy generic. Where the brand name is better, we use coupons and buy on sale. We eat brand name Crispix, for example, but we eat generic mac 'n' cheese.
I would also add this cautionary note about bulk laundry detergent: make sure you have somewhere to save it. Sure you'll use it, but if you can't store it, is it really worth the lower price?
OMG, YES to the Costco membership. Also, and I've probably said this before, but one Christmas, my mom gave me a bunch of car wash gift certificates in my stocking, and I washed my car religiously for a whole year. It's funny, because even though washing your car isn't expensive, it's something that I always avoid doing because I keep thinking "Thirteen BUCKS??!! I could do this at home on the lawn!"
I don't have a lawn, but I don't tell myself that.
I imagine that the acne tip has to do with the sulfur compounds in onions. Sulfur has bacteria-killing properties, and can be found in some face masks.
I personally like onions, even though the strong taste can be a bit much sometimes (I come from a Slavic background, and my grandmother used to eat raw onions like an apple so maybe I have a higher tolerance for them than some people). Onions are known to have many beneficial health properties, but I've also read that they can contribute to migraine headaches.
I buy all of my spices at our local Indian store. Their selection is RIDICULOUS, taking up three or four times the space that my Safeway's spice aisle does. And the prices are incredibly cheap. I'll never go back to standard grocery store spices.
Evan cheaper than cereal is oatmeal or toast. Whole wheat toast with peanut butter has more protein than cereal, is quick, and is pretty inexpensive. We buy whole wheat bread at Sam's Club for a good price, but you could also get high quality wheat bread at a day-old bread store. Just put any extra loaves in the freezer if you won't be using it right away. We keep a loaf in the refrigerator to keep it fresh.