Economics Finance

Printable grocery coupons are a convenient way to get the coupons you need without clipping the ones you don’t. Grocery coupons have been around for decades and most of us have fond memories of seeing our mothers sitting at the table every Sunday clipping away to help save on the household essentials. While, that is still the very image in millions of households across the country, there are other options for those who want the savings of coupons without the hassle of Sunday morning clipping. With the age of technology and the Internet coupons are now available online and can be printed on demand to give you the savings you are looking for right as you walk out the door for your weekly shopping.

Another convenience of printable coupons is that you never have to store and organize them, plus they will never expire because the sites that offer printable coupons only offer the most up to date coupons issued by the manufacturers or stores. This is a great way to find savings on the just the items on your list and print as you need them. No more storing and sorting or expired coupons that must be thrown away. Continue reading ‘How to Find Free Printable Online Grocery Coupons’ »

Coupons have been around for decades and while they started out as a promotion for consumers to shop brand names, they are used now to lower grocery bills and even offer discounts on almost any product you want to buy. Discount coupons come in many forms in the modern era including paper coupons, online coupons, printable coupons, loadable coupons and online coupon codes. Almost every industry and store offer coupons of some sort throughout the year to draw in more business and reward loyal customers. You can save on everything from groceries and household items to televisions and other big purchases with coupons if you know where to look and when to use the coupons for the best deals.

Big ticket items are generally placed on sale at different times than when coupons are issued. The two promotions are seen as different in the hard lines industry. However, in the grocery and household product industry coupons are often partnered with in-store and other promotions to help you get the best deals at the right times. This can help you save hundreds on your monthly grocery bill while still providing your family with the brands they love and the healthy choices they deserve. When you are looking for a way to save money, and who isn’t, you should take the time to find coupons every time you make a trip to the store to purchase anything in your home. The money saved may seem small at the time, but will add up to save you lots over the month and at the end of your shopping trips. Continue reading ‘How to Get Discounts – Use Coupons!’ »

Nobody likes to hear (or think about) the word “budget.” For some reason, the mere thought of this word sends most people into instant panic mode. But, in the wake of our current struggling economy, a budget can be a useful tool that you may want to learn how to use.

When you sit down to create a helpful budget, you are effectively finding a way to reduce financial stress. How? If you don’t know how much money you currently have, then you can bet paying everyday expenses will become stressful.

For example, if you want to go out to dinner tonight, but you don’t know if you have enough money to pay your bills, then dinner won’t be as enjoyable, right? Well, let’s look at this scenario another way: if you have created a budget (and now know exactly how much money you have to spend on dinner and bills), you won’t have to worry about ordering that second drink or buying an extra dessert to bring home.

See how helpful a budget can be? In addition to helping you spend money, a budget will also show you where you can cut back – without suffering. By keeping track of your spending habits, you can discover how you can save some extra money.

The only time that a budget doesn’t really work is if you are presently battling a large amount of debt. Why? It’s hard enough to pay massive bills every month – forget about having a little extra to spend. If this situation sounds like the present situation that you are in, then it may be time for a private loan. Continue reading ‘Why a Budget Makes Sense’ »

No guide to living cheap would be complete without stopping and examining your shopping habits. By that I mean never run to the store to buy one item. If you do it shows poor or no planning. Your savings will be the greatest if you shop one day a week and always keep a supply of staples on hand.

There is free money in your newspaper every Wednesday (some places Thursday) and every Sunday. I am talking about the stuff most throw away before doing the crossword. Do not let this be you. If you make checking prices and cutting out coupons a habit you will be armed with the information necessary to stretch your shopping dollar and buy in bulk for necessary items.

If you know what everyday items cost you will pounce on a good price to stock up and buy in bulk. By doing so you will never have to run to the store to buy toothpaste, toilet paper, shaving cream, blades or hygiene products. You will always have an inventory of the staples on hand. If you have to make these spur of the moment trips to replenish an item you will be paying the merchants price at that time, never at a good price either. Continue reading ‘Guide to Living Cheap – Plan Your Shopping Trips’ »

Among the easiest ways to save money is to use the cards that merchants, usually grocery stores, pass out for free to solidify shopper loyalty. At last count we had over 30, due to our travels living in an RV. You don’t have to be an RVer to use them, rare is the store that does not offer them.

I am continually amazed at some people’s reluctance to get these cards. They are free and take about a minute to get from customer service. Perhaps it is the reluctance to give out information, I don’t know.

I do know that you leave big bucks at the checkout stand without using them. It is automatic at our house to first hand over the card to the checker.

For instance when you buy a nice bottle of wine for say $10 you are probably going to save $2 by using the card…some can’t be bothered…me I’ll take the savings. Continue reading ‘Easiest Ways to Save Money – Use Merchant Cards’ »

We’ve all been there. That time of the month when you begin to realize that your bank statement is due, and you purposefully avoid bringing the mail in so that you don’t have to face up to how little is left in your account this month. Buying those six DVDs just seemed like such a good idea at the time! Why does everything have to cost so much?

Well, we all like to buy stuff, there’s no denying that. But there are ways to get at least some of the things you want without using over and above your available resources each month. So formulating a spending plan doesn’t sound like your idea of fun but don’t you want that feeling of freedom that comes with accurately estimating how much money you have to spend, by planning your purchases, and not being afraid of your finances? A frugal budget can help more than you think it’s going to hurt!

Okay, So Tell Me Again How This Isn’t Going To Hurt. Continue reading ‘A Frugal Budget – Make Friends With Your Bank Statement’ »

Commodity prices have increased over the last year and several major manufacturers of grocery products both food and beverage are increasing their wholesale prices to grocery retailers. That means the prices at your local grocer will be rising as well. Since your income is not going up and maybe has been reduced due to voluntary salary reductions or involuntary layoffs how do you keep your food costs within your budgeted limits? Here are several ways how to get free grocery coupons. You can turn to private label store brands or you can start clipping coupons. Many grocers offer to double manufacturers’ coupons to fifty cents.

Giant Eagle is an exception and offers double manufacturers’ coupons to ninety nine cents. If you can combine your local grocery shopping to items on sale and with coupons you can keep your grocery expenditures to a minimum. By signing up for their rewards card and using manufacturers’ coupons not only will you save on your grocery bill but you will get twenty ($0.20) cents of a gallon of gas for every $50 you spend at Giant Eagle stores.

There are a number of sites that you can sign up for that will notify you when new grocery coupons like couponmom.com, coolsavings.com and others. One – coupons.smartsource.com is the online version of the coupon tab that comes with the Sunday paper. Instead of having to flip through all the pages and clip which coupons you want to keep, you can view them online and print only the coupons you want to use. Continue reading ‘How to Get Free Grocery Coupons’ »

In hard economic times such as these everything is just becoming more and more expensive. Things that were previously not given much thought such as how much you spend at the supermarket now can make or break your budget. If you now find that you are having to shop on a budget then you are not alone. Here are some tips that will make it a bit simpler.

1) Make A Grocery List Beforehand

Making a grocery list before you go to the store is probably the most important thing. If you make a list before hand it will make the trip to the grocery store faster and make it easier to stick to your budget.

2) Avoid Going Down Every Single Aisle To Avoid Temptation

This is a common mistake that many people make. When at the supermarket it is hard not to go up and down every single aisle. The problem with that is that it leads to temptation and possibly buying things that you do not need and most importantly cannot afford Continue reading ‘Grocery Shopping on a Budget – Tips to Help You Save Time and Money’ »

Using a strategy I call priority-based budgeting will eliminate the number one excuse used by entrepreneurs and sales people for not having a budget. You know the excuse I’m talking about–the one that says, “I can’t possibly live on a budget. I never know what I’m going to bring in from month to month.”

Here’s how priority-based budgeting works:

* determine what your spending priorities are–for most people the top of the list will include rent or mortgage, food, auto fuel, and utilities; everything else is secondary to food and shelter
* make a chronological list of your expenses from the most important to the least.
* when you get paid, pay as far down that list as you can
* if you didn’t get all the way down the list, pick up where you left off (unless those top priority bills are due again before you get paid again)
* If you’ve started a new cycle of bills, start at the top and pay as far down the list as you can. Continue reading ‘Tips on Budgeting For People With Irregular Incomes’ »