Jill Russo Foster

Tips for Successful Personal Finances

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Oh No, The Holidays Are Coming!

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The holidays are coming! The holidays are coming! Guard your budgets and hold onto your wallets. You might be thinking I’m crazy, but the retailers have positioned their holiday displays to disarm you of your cash, especially this year with fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and the Holidays.

Did you shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

Can you make this year different?  Can you stick to your list and not overspend?  You can if you make a detailed plan. Write down exactly what you will be buying and the dollar amount you plan to spend.

Here are some suggestions that should help you with your holiday budget list.

1. Gifts

  • How much for immediate family?
  • How much for extended family?
  • How much for friends and co-workers?
  • How much for people whose services you use?

2. Entertaining

  • How much will it cost when you host a gathering?
  • How much will you spend on hostess gifts when you attend a party?

3.  Travel

  • How much will it cost for local travel (gas, tolls, parking, etc)?
  • How much will it cost for long distance travel?
  • How much will it cost for vacation?

4. Traditions – this can be anything from an afternoon tea to a night on the town.

If you write it all down, you might realize you’re planning on spending $300-$500 on gifts for people who aren’t on your immediate family list. And hosting dinners can be expensive just because you want to put on a good appearance. Ever notice a big stain on the tablecloth and found yourself running to the store at the last minute to buy one full price?

Holiday fun can wreak havoc on your budget, but it doesn’t have to.  Now is the time to get a jump start on planning, and to put away money for the details that are important to you. Think of it as your own layaway plan. Take money out of each check, and spread out your spending, that way you won’t have buyer’s regret in January.

Doing this now may make January 2020 less stressful.

Savings – Doubling Up

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I love to save money and I am sure you do too.  I am even more thrilled when I am able to save even more – with two or more discounts on one purchase.

Just this past weekend, I was able to do this three separate times!  First we stopped for lunch at a local restaurant with a coupon – $15 off the purchase of $30.  That alone was a 50% savings.  Then we charged it on a credit card that offered $5 statement credit.  That’s a good deal.

We did the same at the drug store.  We had the store’s manufacturers coupon for $5 off allergy medicine, plus the stores 30% off your total purchase and the allergy medicine was on sale on top of the coupons.  I received an email from the store stating the special sale price of the allergy medicine.  Bottom line, we paid $9.76 for the medicine that had a shelf price of $23.49.  A 41% savings for another good deal.

On to grocery shopping, I pick the store that has the items we need on sale (based on the weekly flyer) and use manufacturer’s coupons to save more.  For this store trip, this particular store has a $10 off if you spend $50 or more.  We get a monthly postcard in the mail with weekly savings offers – soemtimes $10 off and other times a free / discounted product.  Another win for us.

Saving with multiple discounts is good for your budget / wallet.  To be honest, it does take some time to coordinate these deals to save.  But not as much as you might be thinking.  We do get the Sunday newspaper with the coupon inserts.  I am on a handful of companies email lists for discounts.  Lastly, we get physical mail from rewards programs we are a part of.  All this adds up to savings for us.

Life Without Chemicals Or Harmful Additives

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I am on a mission to remove hazardous chemicals from our lives.  There are so many that appear in our lives without even thinking about it.  There are additives in our foods.  There are chemicals in our cleaners in our personal care items and food.  This is too much for me and we are changing how we buy things.  Reading the labels for ingredients.  Yes, it takes time, but my health is more important.

I buy organic foods and do a lot of cooking myself versus buying prepared foods.  I grew up with a family that lived farm to table lifestyle with a garden in the back yard for some awesome vegetables.  I still garden to this day. in fact, we just planted this years garden.  There is nothing better to me than picking lettuce and making a salad or picking a vegetable for a meal based on what’s ready to pick.  You can’t beat the freshness or the taste without any additives or chemicals.

In addition, we have been eliminating chemicals in our home too.  All those chemicals in the cleaners we used to use.  Not to mention the chemicals in our personal care products. Ugh!  We use products such as vinegar, baking soda and essential oils to clean and sanitize our home.  Young Living’s Thieves is what we use for laundry, dishes / dish washer / household cleaner and more.

When is the last time that you read the label on a product you regularly use in your household? Take one out now and see what’s in it.  It might shock you.

We are putting our money towards better options.  For more information check out these websites:

  • Environmental Working Group for a list of the dirty dozen and clean 15 fruits and vegetables.  Also, they have a list of skin care products with ratings to help you choose.
  • Food Babe – great information about what is in the food that we eat – it’s shocking.
  • Young Living – for non toxic cleaning and personal care products included the Thieves products in the photo*
  • Center for Food Safety – working to keep our food / environment safer

Once you read the labels, you will be shocked at what is in these products.  For me, it means making my own healthy versions for our home.  For example, condiments – we make our own from scratch.  I couldn’t find mayonnaise or salad dressing without partially hydrogenated oils and added sugar. Yes, it takes time, but my health is more important.

We are not perfect, but we are eliminating and replacing one product at a time.  It’s a journey and it will take time, but it’s one step at a time to a healthier lifestyle.

* We may receive a percentage of the purchase price if you chose to buy the linked products. There is no difference in price to you.

Off Season Shopping

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Now is the time to shop for your winter items – no, it’s not a typo.

You can get great deals on off season items now.  Think snowblowers, coats, heavy clothing, and so much more.

I saw a ski jacket I liked this winter. It was $200 – more than I wanted to spend.  I kept an eye on it.  In March it was reduced to $80 – not bad but I was hoping for more of a discount.  Well in May it was down to $60.  I was able to save $140 and get the coat I wanted for next season.  It pays to shop off season.  In addition, I will watch the price.  If it goes down more in the next 30 days, I will bring it back for a price adjustment for the difference.

This is just one example of shopping off season.  What are you thinking of buying?

Double (Sometimes Triple) Savings

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If you are like me you love to save.  Getting something for less makes my day.  So imagine if you could save even more.  Well I have done great this holiday time.

I have shopped online and in person and saved both ways.  Just yesterday, I found the item I have been looking for with double the savings.  I have been looking for a great multi purpose day tote / carry on.  It has to do double duty to carry all my items as a carry on (needs to be sturdy and have pockets) and it has to double as a day tote for shore excursions (to handle all that’s needed on shore) and zip closed.  I have been searching and looking for months – at the outlets, at the famous tent sale last week and found it online this weekend.

I tell you this because I wanted this and I wanted it at a bargain.  First, it was on sale for 40% off, then the site offered free shipping and easy returns – a must.  Then I found an additional discount with Honey to make the saving even greater.

Another example, I purchased windshield wiper blades with a discount coupon at the auto parts store.  They installed them for free which is also great.  I came home a found a rebate offer on the purchase of two blades and immediately completed the online rebate. I do this online so that I can keep track of the rebate status.

Yes, I do this with most of my shopping year round.  Double and sometimes triple savings with coupons, cash back /rebate offers and credit card rewards all add up to savings.  How are you saving with your shopping this holiday season?

Saving money daily – discounts

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I love getting a discount.  Don’t you?

When we grocery shop, we use coupons, meal plan and shop the sales.  We eat healthy with any organic products, so there aren’t as many coupons as in the past.  Yes, items do go on sale, but it can still be expensive.

Our grocery store gives us gas points.  For every dollar we spend, we get points – 100 points is 10¢ off per gallon.  Last weekend we saved 90¢ per gallon.  That certainly helps our budget and can helpful to you.

Are you getting all the rewards possible? Learn more on discounts and rewards.

Christmas Holidays in July!

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Christmas Holidays in July! You may think I am going crazy but I have a plan. Now is the time to start to think about the holidays. You are at the mid-point of the year, which means there are 21 weeks to save between now and Black Friday.

This year Black Friday is November 24, Chanukah is December 13 and Christmas is December 25.

To stop the January debt hangover, start to save now and have the money you need by automating this process! Set it up once and then you will be at your goal in no time.

First determine how much you want to save and when you get paid (weekly, every other week, etc.).  Calculate the amount you will need to save based on the paydays between now and Black Friday. Set up an automatic transfer from your checking to your savings account for the day after your direct deposit.

Do this now and you won’t be scrambling in November. You will be eating turkey for Thanksgiving knowing that you are all set with the cash for the holidays and won’t have to start January off with your holiday debt.

 

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Do apps and emails make you spend more?

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Are you often tempted to make purchases you hadn’t planned to?  Are you tempted by a sale that you were unaware of until you received an email?  Was there an offer you couldn’t refuse?

Email is a part of our lives.  But overspending doesn’t have to be.  Take action to protect yourself from spend money that you didn’t need to.  Unsubscribe from emails, deleted apps, don’t read sales flyers etc.  Take the temptation away from your daily life and save your money for what you really want to spend it on.

Did you spend money you weren’t planning to because of an email or app?

Are you missing out on these rewards?

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                                                                                                          We saved $1.50 per gallon with our grocery store’s gas rewards program.  Didn’t buy anything special, just our usual groceries.         Paid $105.9 / gallon!