Thinking about Recycling

Your Wednesday savings challenge is to recycle as much as possible. Or, at least think of ways to recycle. Make a list to see how many tips for recycling you can come up with. Recycling not only saves money, it saves our resources and the environment. Everyone wins when you recycle. Recycling is not just for homemade kids crafts any more. Many items can recycled for everyday household uses. Don't throw anything away until you think of at least three alternative uses for recycling it. Here are a few recycling tips to get you started thinking about recycling.
Egg cartons. Both cardboard and styrofoam cartons are well known in craft making circles for a variety of craft needs. Styrofoam egg cartons also can be recycled to use as reserve ice cube trays. If you're having a party and need some extra ice, cut these in half and use the bottom for individual ice cubes. The top can even be used to make one large cube for a punch bowl. Or, leave top on to make for easier stacking of water filled bottoms. Just close the lid to stack one on top of the other. The separated little compartments are great for storing and organizing small items such as, Christmas ornaments, buttons, nuts and bolts, jewelry, coins, etc. Gardeners will love to use egg cartons as seed starters. There are many more recycle uses for egg cartons. See how many you can think of.
Coffee Cans. The newer, no can opener required, coffee cans are great for recycling. You don't have to worry anymore about dangerous sharp edges. Use for storage, make a piggy bank, bake perfectly round bread, make play instruments (drums and noise makers) for children, houseplant saucers, and much more. I'm sure you can think of a few more recycle uses for coffee cans right now!
Foam Food Trays. These make great toy airplanes. Cut out your own patterns and use cleaned foam food trays to cut out pieces and put together. Reuse as disposable serving platters for picnics, barbeques, or parties. Use to cut shapes for mini wreaths, Christmas ornaments, and a variety of other craft uses.
Magazines. Use the colorful pages for small gift wrapping. Roll up to make boot trees that help keep boots in shape during storage. Save for future use in kids crafts and collages.
Garden hose. Cover swing set chains. Protect saw blades or ice skate blades (slit lengthwise and fit over saw or skate blade). Make a play phone from a cut piece with funnels (or cans) attached to each end.
Each time you go to throw an item away, whether it be a can, carton, or box, stop and think of how many ways you can recycle it. Use it for that recycled purpose if it suits your needs. If not, just write it down on your recycling list. Thinking of recycling uses can be a fun game, too. Ask other family members to help. Make it a game. Have each person write down as many uses for an item that they can think of. Research books on recycling at your local library to learn more recycling tips. At the end of Waste Not Wednesday you'll surely have thought of some useful recycling ideas that suit your personal needs.

Track and record finances

You've created a great budget and have planned for current and future spending. You want your spending predictions and financial goals to stay on track, now that you have a practical plan to achieve them. Today's spending will directly effect the success of planned spending. After all, if you overspend on current needs, you won't have the funds available to keep your finances moving towards your goals. So, how can you assure yourself that your finances are moving in the right direction? Tracking spending accounts keeps you in control of your money!

Track your spending accounts and assign transactions to appropriate budget categories daily. Making this a daily "to-do" will give you the knowledge to keep your finances moving in the right direction. Tracking purchase transactions daily gives you a clear picture of how much you have left to spend in each category at any given time. You've set your limits based on your individual financial information. Now, track your spending to be sure you stay within those limits. If you skip this important part of a complete spending management system, you will inevitably overspend and be short the funds to apply to future spending and goals. Give your financial predictions the winning edge. Track spending daily.

Tracking in real time is an innovative method of tracking your money. Real time money management retrieves transactions from spending accounts in a timely, efficient, manner so you can stay on top of spending everyday. Assigning spending transactions to their appropriate categories, as soon as possible, gives you an up to date picture of how much you have spent, and how much you have left to spend, in each budget category. This technique eliminates month end spending surprises and puts you in total control of your money.
Finding out you've over spent after the fact doesn't leave you many options. You no longer have the option not to spend on that expense. You must adjust other spending goals to make up for the mistake. Usually, this adjustment will come from your planned future spending. Your funding for future financial goals will be neglected and your budget falls away from "the plan." It's too late to adjust your spending accordingly once the money is spent. That's why it's so important to track your spending as it occurs.

Keep your predictions and goals on track. Track and record purchases in a timely, efficient, manner to maintain complete control of your money. This is an essential part of a complete spending management system. Know what your current financial picture looks like to give yourself more decision options. Keep the doors to your financial success open. Track your spending to keep your financial predictions and goals on track.
Next in this four part series - PART 3: Comparing Spending

Reduce your Grocery Costs

Monday, concentrate on saving money on your food budget. Miser Monday? The definition of a miser is "a saver." Today's savings challenge is to become a grocery miser. Once you start saving on groceries, you'll want to learn more ways to save on groceries. Few people realize that the grocery expense is the most flexible budget expense. You can easily reduce your grocery costs using some simple money saving strategies. Grocery savings can be substantial savings that can free up money for future financial goals. It's the first place to look for, and eliminate, overspending.

Plan your weeks menus around the sales flyer for the store where you frequently shop for groceries. If there's a great buy on ground beef, plan to have spaghetti, chili, meatloaf, or some other ground beef dishes. The same strategy applies if chicken is on sale. You can have two or three meals planned around the meat special for this week. Plan at least one, preferably two, meatless or reduced meat meals. Beans and rice or bean casseroles are a good meatless meal. Thinking ahead, and planning, is an important part of saving money.

Use your menus to make a grocery list. Purchase only the items on your list. You might need to use a great deal of self control but, you'll save time and money using a grocery list. Purchase only the grocery items needed to complete the week's menus. You might also want to consider stocking up on any leader sale items that you use on a regular basis.

Save even more using other money savings strategies. You don't have to clip coupons to save. The rule for coupons is to clip coupons for products you plan to buy. Don't buy a product simply because you have a coupon. You'll save just by planning your menus around sale items and sticking to your grocery list. But, using some other money saving strategies, you can save even more money.

Search for coupons for items on the list before going to the store. Compare pricing carefully. Larger quantities aren't always cheaper, especially if a smaller quantity of the same item is on sale. Pricing by unit (per pound, ounce, or quart, liter, etc.) is the best way to compare. Deception in packaging is a common food vendor practice. Learn not to be fooled.
Buy generic, if generic is lower cost. Many generic products are just as good as brand name items. Many grocery stores now offer a rebate program for even more savings. They make it very easy by providing online submission sites. No more mailing in receipts and filling out forms. Receipts are automatically tracked and rebate items credited to your account.
Using a combination of these saving strategies on your grocery purchases will result in maximum savings. Purchase sale items, and use coupons and rebates in combination whenever possible. If you've planned your menus correctly and followed your grocery list, you should not have to return to the grocery store until next week. That leads me to the next grocery saving strategy.......Stay out of the grocery store as much as possible.

Grocery stores use numerous consumer tactics to get you to buy more! They do a great deal of research in consumer habits to develop tactics that prompt you to spend more. Don't expose yourself to consumerism any more than is necessary. If you must run to the store for a forgotten item I have two suggestions. Send an older child into the store to purchase the item. They won't have the option to buy anything else. If that's not possible, take the most direct route to the product you need and head straight for the cashier. When you've saved all that you can save on your grocery bill, you've met your Miser Monday savings challenge.

Save Money Everyday

• Miser Monday
• Tightwad Tuesday
• Waste Not Wednesday
• Thrifty Thursday
• Frugal Friday
• Saturday Savings
• Sunday Sundaes

Track Your Results

All throughout this money saving journey you want to keep this process as organized and structured as possible. You'll find that a lack of organization will not only frustrate and make things more difficult for you, but it will be nearly impossible to track your results.
Tracking your results is one of the MOST important steps to the money saving process. If you do not track the results from your money saving efforts, the money you save will never be set aside and put towards your pre-established GOAL.
Believe me, I know how difficult it can be after researching and implementing money saving techniques to take additional time to track your results, but this is your "bread and butter"; the whole reason you're budgeting and conserving.
How will you ever accomplish your goal if you aren't tracking how much money you're saving? You won't, and more than likely you'll end up spending the money you were able to save.

If there is one idea you take from this last section, remember that tracking your results allows you to get an exact dollar amount that has been physically set apart from your regular checking and savings accounts designated solely toward your predetermined goal.
Since it will be much easier for this process, and your conscious, it is recommended that you open a special savings account just for the money you save.
With this "special" savings account, you can easily tell how much you have saved by simply looking at your monthly statement. This account will also help prevent you from accidentally spending the money since it is not directly linked to your regular checking or savings accounts.
*Suggestion: do not get an ATM card linked to this account so again, you won't be able to simply withdraw money and spend it needlessly. Be firm and only spend the money on your GOAL.
Of course you can always keep the money in a shoe box under the bed, but think how easy it would be for you to simply reach in that box and spend that money. With a special savings account, not only will you treat this money with more respect, but you will also get a monthly bank statement you can use to help track your results.
*Note: make sure you sign up for a free savings or checking account devoid of monthly fees regardless of the amount you maintain. Check with the different banks in your area for the most accommodating

Final Thought

You now have in your possession eight steps to effectively combat the money saving process. Your success is entirely up to you and how devoted you are to this task. If you dedicate yourself wholeheartedly and refuse to accept defeat you will achieve your goal(s).

The Three R's - Review, Revise, Retry

Anyone who has tasted success, has in some way or another taken into account the "three R's" - Review, Revise, Retry.
How do I know this? Reason being, nobody is perfect, so no one will be able to do a perfect, flawless job on the first attempt in anything whether it's for work or pleasure. This is nothing to be ashamed of, it's just a fact. We as humans have flaws and are imperfect. But our determination, creativity, and willingness to adapt, allow us to achieve the things we set our minds on.
What will determine your success in this budgeting/money saving journey will be directly related to the three R's: Review, Revise, Retry.

Purpose of Reviewing

Once you have designed and implemented your money-saving agenda for a couple weeks, take a moment to reflect on your progress. Ask yourself these questions: What seems to be working best right now? Is there something I know is definitely NOT working? What was the most positive result from my efforts? Do I have new ideas I'd like to incorporate into my plan?
The purpose of this reflection process is to analyze your efforts to date, and decide what has been positive, and what may need revision. You will then be able to continue doing what works, and at the same time get rid of the techniques that are not working.
It is imperative that you reflect on your progress to find what is working for you, and not waste precious time on ineffective, useless practices.

Purpose of Revising

Once you have reviewed your progress, you may have a few ideas you would like to revise or start using. You may find that some techniques simply need to be adjusted so that they become more effective for you.
The revision process allows you to take mediocre techniques and turn them into effective money-saving methods.
This could be comparable to a writer who has just finished the first draft of a new book. This author is not about to ask a publisher to put this book "on the shelves" in stores. It has to be revised, edited, proofed, re-written, and finalized, in order to get the book as solid as possible.
Same thing goes for the money-saving process. You'll want to revise your plan discarding ineffective ideas, and altering semi-effective techniques in hopes of improving their results.

Purpose of Retrying

Now that you have reviewed and revised your agenda and have a few different ideas you want to try out, it is now time to put those ideas into effect, hence the title RETRY. It is now time to retry your efforts and see if these changes make any difference and improve your situation.

You should be able to tell rather quickly if your revisions are helpful.

Conclusion

Keep in mind that these money saving exercises are ALL new to you. Budgeting, saving money, lowering bills, nothing will be perfect the first time, so don't expect it to be.
Do you think Thomas Edison invented the light bulb on his first attempt? Of course not! There were dozens of failed attempts, but this learning process gave way to his success. He revised his methods and adapted to the new found ideas and information. He was also not afraid to change his theory and models to make way for new beliefs and opportunities. Same goes for you.
Don't be afraid to make mistakes or be unsuccessful with certain money saving techniques. It's OK. It will happen. Point is, it's important to Review Revise, and Retry whenever necessary. If something does not work, make the necessary revisions and try it again. This process is expected and it is a sign of someone striving for success.