Tag Archives: save money

Ballin’ on a Budget Mini Tips Pt. 2

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I have a whole series on the blog that highlights strategies for BALLIN’ ON A BUDGET by way of ditching — ie) ditch the bare cupboards, ditch the gym membership, etc. Today, I’d like to build on this BALLIN’ ON A BUDGET theme with my new series — Ballin’ on a Budget Mini Tips (here’s post #1 from the series). The last series included posts that proposed something for all of us to ditch, in order to free up line items on our budgets, and offered a 4 week plan on how to implement. These mini tips are things you can implement RIGHT NOW. Like, straight away. As soon as you read them!

Whether you’re actively pinching pennies or simply want to re-direct some of those pennies to better serve you, this series is for you!

Here are 10 (more) MINI TIPS…

1. Break Down Your Meat

If you’re going to eat meat, consider buying options that require you to do a little butcherin’ for yourself. This is a great cost saver. Buy a whole ham and slice it. Get the full chicken and split it up yourself. If you see a pork loin for sale, nab it and turn it into pork chops for the freezer. I’m lucky enough to have a former butcher in the household, but there are tons of video tutorials online for just about everything these days. 

2. Ditch the Printer

Being super diligent with electronic organization drastically reduces the need to print out documents. Consider printing at work or the library instead of keeping up with the costs of a printer (they always seem to run out of ink at the least convenient times!).

3. Repair Your Wardrobe Pieces

I’ve talked about ditching fast fashion and I still think investing in higher quality pieces is the right thing to do. However, if you’ve plunked down a good amount of money on your capsule wardrobe, you have to be willing to fix rather than throw out. Shave sweaters, fix hems, patch up holes, take your shoes to a cobbler, take clothing pieces needing alteration to a seamstress, etc. 

4. Identify Impulse Shopping Triggers

We’re only human. If you have a specific impulse shopping trigger, what can you do to help curb it? This could be as easy as sticking to the U-Scan so you don’t add a bunch of last minute candy and soda. Maybe you have a tendency to drop a fortune when you hit up book stores. Can you work weekly trips to the library into your schedule to scratch that itch?

5. Clean Your House Once a Week

If you stay on top of your cleaning you’re less likely to need to do deeper cleaning with more expensive cleaning products. It also will keep you from over-buying things because everything is put away and organized so you know what you have and what you need. This goes for laundry, too. Have you ever bought a shirt for an event just because you didn’t have anything clean? I sure have. 

6. Diversify Grocery Shopping

Different supermarkets will have better deals on certain items as well as different “loss leaders.” Make it a habit to check circulars and sales. If there’s a store with a consistent lower price on an item you frequently use, buy it in bulk once a month or once a quarter. 

7. Suit Maintenance

If you have to wear business apparel (read: suits) to work, maintenance is key if you want to avoid sending it out to the dry cleaner after every wear. After you’ve worn the suit, hang it up straight away. Twenty-four hours on a hanger will help the light creases to fall out and hopefully you won’t have to iron between wears. Invest in a good umbrella and rain-coat to keep your suits dry in rainy weather. And if you really wanna stretch things, grab a pack of Dryel. 

8. Grow a Garden

Even if it is just a windowsill lined with pots of basil, cilantro, and rosemary! Any ingredient you can grow yourself will cut down on that grocery bill. Do a little research to see what would do well in your area and go for it!

9. DIY Your Cleaning Supplies

Keeping a collection of baking soda, white vinegar, borax, and Dr. Bronners will save you TONS of money on commercial cleaning supplies. Just mix up your own! Pinterest is a great resource if you’ve never done this before. Glass cleaner to carpet cleaner to stain removal. Just do a quick search and you’re well on your way.

10. Drink at Home

The mark-up on alcohol at restaurants and bars is ridiculous. If you’re trying to save but still want to indulge in a glass of wine or a cocktail now and then? Buy your own bottles and drink at home. Wanna save even more? Skip the elaborate mixers and go for something simple like a vodka and soda or a gin and tonic. And if you’re looking for a cheap bottle of wine that’s still somm-approved — go Old World!

Thanks so much for reading! What small change have you implemented recently to save money? In mini tips that you think pack a huge punch? Share below!

P.S. How to have unique clothing style on a budget.

If you enjoy my blog content, please consider supporting what I do (and keeping me caffeinated). Thank you! xoxo ☕

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Ballin’ on a Budget Mini Tips

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ten ballin' on a budget mini tips

I have a whole series on the blog that highlights strategies for BALLIN’ ON A BUDGET by way of ditching — ie) ditch the bare cupboards, ditch the gym membership, etc. Today, I’d like to build on this BALLIN’ ON A BUDGET theme with a new series. My favorite budget mini tips. The last series included posts that proposed something for all of us to ditch, in order to free up line items on our budgets, and offered a 4 week plan on how to implement. These mini tips are things you can implement RIGHT NOW. Like, straight away, as soon as you read them!

Whether you’re actively pinching pennies or simply want to re-direct some of those pennies to better serve you, this series is for you!

Here are the first 10 MINI TIPS…

1. Automate Payments and Savings Whenever Possible

You KNOW I love a “set it and forget it” option. If you’re able, schedule your bills so that payments are automated. This will save you time, but it will also save you from accidentally incurring any late fees. Similarly, set up a fixed amount that will come out of your paychecks and get whisked away right into your savings account.

2. Price Compare with Amazon

A lot of household and personal care items are available on Amazon. Before impulse purchasing at the grocery or drug store, pop on that smart phone and check out pricing on Amazon. It’s a 30 second search that could save you quite a few bucks. And if you have Prime, you’ll have your items lickety-split anyways.

3. Find Ways to Winterize Your Home

If you live in an area that actually sees seasons, do a little research about how to best keep the heat in and the cold out. Every house and apartment is different so do a quick walk around your space looking for ways to winterize. Performing an audit on your home each Autumn can help you devise a plan for the coming Winter and allow you to purchase certain items before it gets too chilly.

4. Incorporate Affordable Recipes You Love to Eat 

If you stumble upon a meal you’ve made yourself that was both, super budget friendly AND delicious, don’t just leave it as a one off! Work that sucker into your meal rotation. Even if you don’t meal plan (which if you’re trying to save money you totally should!), you can still choose to have the meal every week or every other week. That is, until you get sick of it and have to find a new “cheap meets yummy” favorite…

5. Shop the Produce Section

Everyone knows, if you’re trying to eat healthy, you’ve gotta focus your grocery shopping efforts on the periphery of the store. If you’re ballin’ on a budget, you need to spend the majority of your time in the produce section. Start in this section, get all the deals you can, and then build out your buggy from the rest of the departments.

6. Ask for Cheaper Rates

My belief is that it never hurts to ask for what you want. And if you’re ballin’ on a budget, you want things to be cheaper. Ask for student rates, AAA discounts, special deals, etc. When your cell phone bill goes up, call and see what can be done. The worst that can happen is you get told no.

7. Have a “Buy Price”

Create a little cheat sheet listing food and household items that you like to have in stock. Then, do some research to determine the best sale prices for these items in your area. These are their buy prices. Then, when you’re checking out a store’s circular or see an item on sale, you can refer back to your sheet to see if it’s the right price to stock up.

8. Use Open Source Software

There are so many options out there. If a software isn’t necessary for your work, look into the free versions before plunking down your credit card.

9. Feed Your Freezer

If you double one meal a week and stick the extra servings in the freezer, you will have a plethora of ready-to-go options in no time! These “defrost and heat” meals are perfect for busy (or lazy) nights and will keep you from hitting up a restaurant or take out option.

10. Buy Only What You Need at the Grocery

This hearkens back to the importance of a meal plan, but at the very least, attack your grocery shopping with a PLAN. Make a list, check it twice, and STICK TO IT.

Thanks so much for reading! I know tons of you have your own favorite budget tips – what other advice can you share? On the other end, what aspects of budgeting do you find most difficult? 

P.S. My top tips on getting control of debt.

A fun planner hack!

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Here’s a fun hack if decorating your planner brings you joy —

1) Buy a package of sticker paper.

2) Search Pinterest for free planner printables. (Click HERE for the one pictured above. i ❤ Pusheen!!!)

3) Print, cut them out, and stick ’em wherever you like.

Stickers designed especially for planners are awesome for keeping track of to-do’s, marking tasks as important, and habit tracking. However, they can become a costly habit pretty quick. Luckily, there are a TON of super, adorable designs for ABSOLUTELY FREE!

Go ahead…TAKE A LOOK! Here are some show-stoppers: keep track of your fill-ups, for the baking obsessed, sweet little icons to remind you of chores, and SLOTHS! (heehee!)

P.S. My favorite planner is the Bob’s Your Uncle 8-Days-A-Week Planner Journal. You can find those Erin Condren Dual-Tip Markers HERE.

How to make cold brew coffee.

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Once upon a time, my little sister worked at Starbucks. It was a magical time due to the bevvy of comped beverages tossed my way. (Thanks Katie!) But it was also around this time when I took a pretty strong liking to iced coffee. Prior to that I’d been a hot coffee or iced chai sort of gal. Fast forward to this summer, Katie off being an actress full-time and I’m craving cold brew nearly every day. And compounding this craving with Chet’s similar affinity for the sweet siren‘s nectar? Let’s just say we were getting a little too cute and comfortable with our local baristas. Curious to see if we could copycat a Grande Venti just as delicious, we did our research and brewed a batch. I think blind taste tests would prove what we have since concluded…you can make Starbucks cold brew coffee at home!!! Your pocket books will thank you. (Do people still say pocket books? IDK.) Here’s how ya do it…

First things first, I recommend getting Starbucks Kenya blend coffee as this is the closest blend to what Starbucks uses for their cold brew in-store. And by “I recommend” I mean my sister recommends…but po-tay-to, po-TAH-to ya know. If you have a grinder, give the beans a course grind. If you don’t have a grinder, get a barista to do it in the store. They’ll probably be inwardly annoyed but OUTWARDLY very cheerful. : )

Next, grab some sort of a vessel that your coffee can hang out in for 8-12 hours. We used a plastic water jug. Scoop in 1/3 Lb. of your ground coffee. You can fashion a funnel out of paper if this process seems like a disaster waiting to happen (We did!). Then pour in a 1/2 gallon of water. I would recommend using filtered. Now you just have to wait.

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Not pretty but effective. Once your coffee is done hanging out you’ll have to strain out the grounds. Find something to keep the sweet nectar in–like a pitcher, drink dispenser or even a large tupperware. Set up a fine mesh strainer over top of the chosen container, line the strainer with a cheese cloth and get to pourin’.

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Make sure to pour EVERYTHING out–even all the grounds. You can use a big wooden spoon to SMOOSH the dregs down into the strainer and make sure you’re getting every last bit of liquid.

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Once you’ve gotten all the liquid into your container, put the top on and stow it in your fridge. Now you’re all set to pour it in your very own cup (with ice, almond milk and stevia if that’s your jam) and enjoy from the comfort of your own home or on the go!

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What have you done to save money this Summer? Have you ever tried cold brewing at home? 

The Case for Chromebooks

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A few months back, as I twisted my laptop’s charger round and round for ten minutes patiently waiting to hear the beep letting me know it was actually charging, propping a pillow under the cord JUST. SO., and trying to work as motionlessly as possible to not upset this careful balance –I succumbed to the idea that it might be time for a new lappy. Putting old lappy out to pasture was a stressful notion…mainly because I feel hopelessly clueless about all things technology and have a terrible time making decisions (especially when they involve spending money). I didn’t want to live lappy-less for weeks on end as I waited to make up my mind. I also never necessarily believe that more expensive is better…surely there was a better option than dropping a few G’s on a machine. Thankfully, I received some much needed tech advice. And because I think the words of wisdom I received could be valuable advice for all of my budget conscious readers, I asked Chet Breaux to share it with y’all, too! It’s great to have a tech guru on speed dial. ; ) Enjoy!

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Chet: I’m writing this post using a Chromebook. What’s a Chromebook? You may have seen them advertised recently and thought “that’s just a tiny laptop!” You would be correct, but not necessarily about the tiny part. Chromebooks are a new kind of computer that runs the Chrome operating system. If you’ve ever used Google’s Chrome browser, the setup of a Chromebook will look remarkably similar. So what’s the big deal? Why should you care?

First, Chromebooks are inexpensive. They aren’t “cheap” as many tech bloggers have been quick to claim. My machine, an Acer A7, set me back just under 200 dollars. It has an 11.6 inch screen (small, yes), an Intel processor with Haswell architecture (more on this later), and a 16 gigabyte internal hard drive (tiny right?). How can I get anything done on this thing? It’s actually easier than you might think.

Google launched this project because they know a thing or two about the internet, and, more specifically, how people use the internet. Their analysis of Chrome browser users indicated that people were spending a whopping 90% of their time on a computer in the browser. Suddenly, a machine built around a web browser makes much more sense.

Let’s go back to my Chromebook, which seems to have very limited specifications. First, the size. It’s small. Is it a problem? Not really. I have very large hands, but I’m still able to type normally. The small size also means light weight, clocking in at about 2 pounds. This machine is perfect to travel with (no more super heavy bag). The Intel processor is slow, but that’s not important. Most desktop processors, and even many laptop processors, are overkill for what most people actually need a computer to do. The processor in my machine can easily run high def video and keep up with quite a few open browser tabs. Oh, and the small internal storage? Google will automatically give you a huge amount of cloud storage for free for a couple of years (don’t worry, that storage doesn’t cost much after your trial expires, and you are essentially paying for cloud backup, which everyone should have). You’re also getting a solid state hard drive. That means instant wake from sleep and about 20 seconds to boot.

Should you consider getting a Chromebook as your next laptop? Absolutely! Unfortunately, a lot of people in the tech industry have taken to bashing these machines and comparing them to netbooks. Dan Ackerman recently reviewed a new Chromebook manufactured by Toshiba. He’s making a lot of the same complaints I see in other Chromebook reviews. Yes, you have to be connected to the Internet, but so what? I’m not sure who they are speaking to with comments like these. I work at a University and have a home Internet connection. I don’t work in the middle of a field. Yes, it’s made of plastic. So is every other laptop under 1000 dollars. Yes, it has limited on-board storage, but that’s kind of a moot point in the streaming age.

What can Chromebooks do for you? Just about whatever you need in a laptop. Google has a suite of services that can easily take the place of word, powerpoint, and excel (plus all of your work is safe in the cloud and can be accessed from any web browser on any computer!) It runs Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, Pandora….In short, I’m not seeing any limitations with my machine, just convenience.

Why do I care so much about Chromebooks? As an educator, I often see students that don’t have easy access to technology, and, I’m sorry- college students NEED a laptop. A 200 dollar Chromebook is a lot easier to afford than an overloaded, overpriced machine that Best Buy normally tries to sell to the parents of college students.  They can succeed with a Chromebook in front of them. I’ve seen it happen. Oh, and if something happens to it, don’t worry. All of your work is safe, and once you can afford a new one, all that it takes is a Google sign in to restore your machine.

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I purchased my Chromebook with Chet’s help and couldn’t be happier with it–all of my work is seamlessly saved through my Google account which allows me to pick up where I left off right from my work computer with no hassle, I’ve yet to find anything I CAN’T do on it, and it didn’t break the bank. Perfect lil bloggin’ machine, in my opinion. What do you think? Do you have a Chromebook? Would you buy one?