Saving Money: Tips for Trips

Saving money can be tedious. It can be a pain in the read. It can be confusing. Over the past 6 years or so, I have learned to channel my energy into saving, instead of random spending. It started out small- saving for a camping trip. That particular year included the added expense of camping gear.

 All of the photos were taken on various small vacations we took in the summer of 2012. Over the course of the summer, I spent $1700 on vacations. All of it came from saving.

 Here are my tips-

1. Know your trip. Plan it out, down to the smallest detail. Why? Because you need to know how much money is needed. If it's a trip that might include cost changes between planning and going, plan for them. For example- if I start planning my Summer 2014 vacation in September 2013, I know that the cost is going to be higher. I try to add in $50/day to account for increased costs. Later on, when it's getting closer, you can adjust your budget to reflect the actual prices. But to get started, you need to know your costs- everything from hotel down to gas money, souvenirs, and food.

2. Set a date. Make sure it's realistic. If you know your trip is going to cost $3,000 to go on, and you know you can save $300 a month, plan it for at least 10 months away. You may be able to save faster, but don't count on going sooner. That's when you get discouraged, and upset if it gets closer and doesn't look like it will happen. Take your time. Big trips take money, and money takes time.

3. Cut the Fat. Are you trying to take your family on a big vacation on a small budget? Trim out extras you don't need- either on the trip, or in your day to day life. The bonus of cutting out $40 in extra's a week in daily life, is that it add's up fast. Skip the morning coffee. When you get gas, pay at the pump- you won't be spending money on extra goodies. Pack a lunch of left overs. Call your cable company- see if you can trim out anything you don't need. Same with your phone- we recently realized we were over paying on our data plan by $20/month. It isn't much, but it adds up.

4. Learn to coupon. Coupons don't always fit every lifestyle, but they are helpful- whether it's saving $10 on your oil change, or getting a $20 gift card for getting a prescription at your grocery store pharmacy. That's $20 in groceries, and $20 you can stash in your trip fund. Check your weekly circulars. Sometimes you can snag free bath & body products. Every little bit saved is a little bit more into your trip fund.

5. Budget your weekly spending. Set a grocery budget, and stick to it. Try and get under it as often as possible. If you have a weekly budget of $100, and you only spend $60, put $40 in the trip fund. Budget your weekly gas- if you know it will cost $45 a week going to and from work, plan on $60 for gas- that $15 will cover the extra's- going to the school, stopping to get groceries. Every time your gas budget is under $60 for the week, stick the extra in the trip fund.

6. Pay yourself. On the last day before payday, we transfer everything in our checking over to our savings account. Sometimes, it's $100. Sometimes it $20. It depends on what all we have going on, but even $2 is $2 more than you had.

7. Work with cash. A card is easy to swipe. It's harder to keep track of each swipe, and before you know it, OOPS! With cash, you have tangible proof in your hand of what's left. Some people will split the money into envelopes for each purpose: Gas, Groceries, Bills, etc. You know immediately exactly what you have, and if you know you only have $5 in spending money left, you are far less likely to spend it on a latte with 6 days left until payday.

8. Stash the cash. On payday, take $20 and put it away. Out of site, out of mind. Don't keep track of how much you have stashed away. If you can afford to stash more than $20, then put away $40, or even $100. Every couple of months, collect the stash, and put it in the trip fund.

9. Cash Jar.  Several years ago, I planned to have a family trip to a big amusement park. Not Disney, but still out of our daily price range. I made a decision to start not just a change jar, but a cash jar. At the end of the day, I emptied my purse of all $1 bills, and all change. Sometimes, I would stash a $5 or a $10. At the end of 4 months, I had deposited over $900.

10. Earning Extra. Sometimes, you live paycheck to paycheck. We certainly have, and many others do as well. Having an extra $20 isn't always the case when you are just hoping to make it to payday this week. This is when it's time to figure out a plan for earning the extra money. Whether it's a yard sale, or baby sitting after school, or even finding a part time job on weekends. Use your resources- you can stash the extra money without hurting your daily budget at all. Personally, I design web graphics from home. Before that, I did advertising for shops on facebook. Before that, I made hair bows and necklaces. Before that, I worked lots of the survey websites for small amounts of money.





11. Remember to budget for fun. You are budgeting to save money for something fun. But that doesn't mean you should never have some fun. Whether it's going to see a movie, or spending a day at the zoo, or even just renting a movie. If you aren't having ANY fun at all, and your money is just sitting there, you are more likely to want to spend it. 

12. You Can Do It. You really can. It may take 5 months. It could take 15 months. But if you keep your eye on the prize, and just keep adding to your trip fund, then you'll find out that you can do it.

Ways to Save: Vacation Style

As many of you know, we're going on vacation soon. Being the frugal momma that I am, I like to SAVE, SAVE, SAVE! Not just before hand, but also during.

Here are a few of my penny savers-

1. Skip buying soda, juice boxes, and the like. Bring a refillable water bottle. Fill it in bathrooms, in your room/cabin, etc. If you absolutely need flavor, get boxes of flavor packs. Dollar stores sell boxes with 8-12 packs in them for $1.00. 12 bottles of flavored water would cost you $12-18. Instead, it's gonna cost you just $1.00.
2. If you plan to site see, pack your lunch. Make sure it's filling, and include a few extra snacks for those times when you just HAVE to have something. A sack lunch can cost under a dollar. You can't even do that on the dollar menu at McDonalds.
3. If you do want a treat, give yourself a daily budget, per person. For instance, I budget out $3 per person, per day for snacks. If someone wants an ice cream cone, they can get it. If someone wants to snag a bag of chips and a candy bar, they can. It isn't as frugal as bringing your own, but at least you won't feel like a total miser the entire time.
4. Starving? Out on the road? Well, it happens- you get caught off guard, and need to eat NOW. Check around for places that are off the main drag. They're more likely to be less expensive than the flashy restaurants on the main drag, geared at tourists.
5. Check rates, and look for coupons. Some places offer coupons- use them! If you can save $20 on your room, why pay full price? That $20 is fun money!
6. If you do plan to eat out, do some research. Find a family restaurant- not a chain. You'll find wonderful food, and low costs. See if you can find coupons as well!
7. Plan meals ahead of time. What will you have each day? What will it require? What do you have on hand to cook with? Some hotels come with microwaves, some have an area where you can use a microwave and toaster. If you are in a cabin or camping, bring the items that will allow you the most versitility in cooking, without taking up a ton of space.
8. Consider cooking some things ahead- got a fridge and a toaster? Make pancakes and french toast. Pop it in the fridge, warm it in the toaster, and you are good to go, without the mess of cooking them. Got a sandwich maker? Research recipes- last time we went camping, I learned how to make pop overs and corn muffins in mine, to add to our meals. 
9. Consider local attractions wisely. Price them, call ahead, and ask if they publish coupons in brouchures, entertainment guides, the Sunday paper, or anywhere else. See about getting some sent to you! Again, why pay $5.00 per person, if you can save $1.50 off each person, and pay $3.50? A little bit of research is well worth it's weight in money saved.
10. Know your area- know where the things you want to see are located. You'll save money in gas alone, not to mention frustration and time spent trying to locate something!
11. Going to be gone for several nights? Save room on packing things. Pack light, and bring some laundry detergent, so you can wash items. This is good when you have very limited room to pack- we have a cavelier- plus a 9 year old, 12 year old, and 15 year old. To say that room is tight is an understatement. We get so creative in packing, that the kids sit on their blankets and pillows when they're in the car. 
12. Find out where the local grocery stores are- look their ad's up online. Are they more expensive or less expensive than your stores? If they're more expensive, consider packing your groceries to bring with you. Last time we went up north, I didn't consider how much more expensive the groceries would be, and over spent my budget by nearly $20- AFTER I dropped several items off the list. That's a costly mistake to make!
13. When it comes to souvenir shopping, it's hard to save money. A store selling shirts in a tourist town will easily want $20 for a shirt. Check for shops off the beaten path, look for mark down racks, and check if there's a department store in town.  Quite often, you'll find gear branded with the town name, or the tourist location name, but cheaper. And don't always assume that things might be more expensive in one location! We shopped the first day in Mackinaw City, and I got totally ripped off buying a sweatshirt- thanks to a very fast talking guy, who didn't explain HOW the items in the shop worked. Sure, I loved the sweatshirt I saw on the rack, but I didn't realize the price marked in big numbers were for un-decorated, plain sweatshirts. The designs cost extra. I also got sucked into the whole, "It's cheaper than the Island!" I paid almost $45 for a sweatshirt. I felt horrible the rest of the trip over that 1 splurge- then on the last day, we were on the island, and guess what I found? A very similar, embroidered zip up hoodie for $15.00. Yep, snatched it up, and still love it. And I wear both. But, bottom line? Price shop before you pull the cash out- and make sure you know what the bottom line price is before agreeing to anything!

Vacations can be expensive. But, there are still ways to save- it just takes a bit more work!

Craft Hacking Grandin Road

It all started with a message on Facebook from my mom. She found some wall art she really liked, but the price was just insane. She asked me to wrap my head around it, and see what we could do to recreate it.

It was very clear to me that we could indeed do it for much cheaper than Grandin Road wanted for it.

Here's a photo of the original art work she loved.

It's 3 canvases across, and 4 canvases down, for 12 total canvases. In this instance, it resembles a telephone pad. The canvases are sold separately, at a cost of $119 each for 16x16, and $159 each for 24x24.  To buy 1 each of the 16x16 canvases, you are looking at spending $1,428. Want to splurge on the larger size? $1908 in all.

Well, it was a no brainer to me. Obviously we could do it a LOT cheaper than that, and fully customize it while we were at it!

This weekend, I drove over to her neck of the woods with my older daughter Raegan, and we got started.

Telephone Pad Wall Art

You'll Need:

1. 12 Canvases- we went to Dollar Tree and picked up 12 of the bird printed 5x5 wall art picture, which are stretched like a canvas around a wooden frame, but the "canvas" is more of a plasticy feel.
2. Mod Podge
3. Scrapbook Paper or Fabric- We used 2-3 patterns for each canvas, but the scraps left over on most of them were large enough for some numbers or contrasting. I would recommend 12 sheets of 12x12, and 4-6 sheets of 12x12 for extra paper
4. Distress Ink
5. Stencils or computer print outs of numbers- we used stencils on some, free hand on some, and computer print outs on some
6. Paint brushes
7. Buttons- we used these for dots on the number 3 block, but this can easily be skipped.
8. Scissors

All in all, supply wise, we spent $12 on the canvases, and we spent roughly  $15 on scrapbook paper, with plenty left over. The buttons we found came in 3 packs, but only 1 large one per pack, so we bought 3 packs at $2.99 each. Split that down to what was used, and it was $1 per button- but this could easily be "On Hand" with buttons you have, or circles, or even just using the number 3.

We picked up the stencils for $3.50 after a 40% coupon, and they're totally reusable, so I'm not counting that as a cost necessary to this project. I had Mod Podge, but we also bought some, again with 40% coupons. I had everything else on hand that we needed.

So total costs:

Canvases- $12
Paper- $15
Buttons- $3

For a total of $30 spent, probably less when I subtract papers not used. $2.50 for each of 12 pieces for this large wall art. I -freaking- love it. We "saved" $116.50 on each piece we made, for a total savings of $1398. Almost $1400 saved by "Doing It Yourself!"

And now, for the tutorial.

1. First, do as I say, not as I did- match each paper up with 1-2 contrasting papers for the numbers or design. Trust me. Once you've matched it, lay it all out in the order you want them in- rearrange so you don't have all orange on top, and all green on the bottom have the colors matched up where you want them. Take a photo, and number the backs of the paper in pencil. Trust me. 
2. Decide which paper will be the back ground. We decided to crumple some, and leave some flat. The crumpled paper got distressed immediatly. From there, start covering the canvases. You'll want to measure the paper out to about 1/4" wider than the canvas, give or take a bit.
3. Spread the top of the canvas with Mod Podge (we used Matte, and it turned out great), and smooth the paper on. From there, start folding and Mod Podging it around the edges. Take care to remember where the hanger is on the back, and don't podge over it.
4. As the canvases dry, distress them to your liking. We used 4 different colors, so some were more brown, some had a touch of black, some red, etc. 
5. Once all the canvases are papered, it's time to start cutting out your numbers. While we did do the phone pad, we didn't do a number, precisely, on each one. The 4, for instance, spells out FOUR in a square, instead of the number 4. The 5 is hash marks. The 3 resembles a dice with 3 dots. Be creative. Also- this is where you'll notice that while a large chunk of paper A stands out nicely against paper B, when cut to a thin number, it blends RIGHT in. Ugh. This is where chunks of scrap paper came in nicely to form blocks behind some of the numbers. I also took advantage of my distress ink to high light edges, or create square blocks behind numbers.
6. When you are satisfied, start to podge over the tops, adding the numbers. 
7. Seal the top with more podge.
8. Viola! You are done!

All in all, I was surprised at how quickly this project went. We made 12, and granted, there were 2 of us working on it, but the entire project only took about 2 hours from start to finish.  And without further ado, some photos.

A few of the paper covered canvases

Trying to figure out/remember what papers we picked to go with which papers. Oops- this is where my stressing of doing this first came in.

A few finished canvases

This one, we wound up going back and outlining the letters with a cranberry colored marker, because while the print stands out, the letters themselves blend in, and it was very hard to read the letters FOUR. I did not, however, get a photo of it outlined.

(I just LOVE the 2 with the circle around it!)

And finally... The whole thing!

The entire project, put together- isn't it fantastic? The awesome thing about this? Well, aside from being FRUGAL? It's totally customizable when you DIY. Don't like the colors? The fonts? Want letters instead of numbers? Totally doable. It came out great, and we had a lot of fun making it!

I'm hard pressed to pick an all out favorite, because I love the entire project. And I also love that I "saved" us almost $1400 with some ingenuity and craftiness. 

One last comparison:

Once my mom gets it hung, I'll get some photos of it, but I was too anxious to post this wicked awesome project to wait for them!

This post is linked up at the link parties listed here.

Grocery Savings

Tonight was that magical time where we are 3 days away from pay day, and we, of course, ran out of a few key items that would be needed before grocery day this weekend.

I checked out the blogs, and Savings Angel, found some coupon deals, and off I went.

I needed:

Bread
Trash Bags
Paper Towel
Lunch Baggies

I wanted:

Coffee mate Creamer
Spaghetti-o's

So, what all did I end up with?

Bread- $1.50 (ugh)
4 cans of Spaghetti-o's- $.50 each, plus a coupon for $1/4, so end price- $.25 each
3 liquid flavored Coffee Mate creamers- $.99 each, plus 2 coupons for $1/1, and 1 coupon for $1/2, for 3 FREE creamers
3 18-count boxes of Peppermint Candy Canes- $.39 each (these are for a Valentine's Day project, in which you melt two together into a heart shape, add a candy stick, and wrap them up as Valentine's Suckers)
1 2-Pack of Viva Paper Towel (My favorite!) on sale for $2.99 (this was cheaper than the store brand, and the rolls were bigger!)
1 box of lunch baggies- $1.50
1 box of trash bags- $2.99
Egg Nog- clearanced out at $1 for being close to the sell-by date (it won't last through tomorrow, let alone all weekend to the sell date)
Nutrigrain Yogurt bars- $1.49 on clearance
Yogos- $1.20 on clearance
Fruit by the Foot- $1.24 on clearance.
1 package of 6 sheets of Christmas Stickers for next year- $.37?

I wound up spending $18.21, and saving $19.96.

I got a coupon for $1 off 2 packs of fruit snacks. When I go back this weekend, I'll grab more of the clearance one's if I can. If I buy 3, I'll get a catalina for $1.50 off my next shopping trip. I've currently got 2 $1 coupons like that. So, if I buy 3 of them at $1.20-$1.24, save $1 off the immediate price, plus the 2 $1 coupons I have, I'll get 3 for the price of $.60-.72 total, and still have $1.50 off my next purchase. 

It pays to look around before going in to the store. I wouldn't have picked up the creamer or the Spaghetti-o's if I hadn't seen the sale price, and found the printable coupons. But, for $1, I got 4 cans of spaghetti-o's and 3 containers of creamer, which Nick goes through pretty quickly. It's expensive, though, for how fast it gets emptied out, so it's a treat.

Now, I spend $20 a month on my Savings Angel membership, but I saved $20 in just 1 visit, and it wasn't even my big visit. On top of that, I earn a $10/month commission because I have had 2 people sign up for SA under me. So, really, I spend $10/month is all. And, when the referral signs up and pays for their membership, you earn a $10 commission, so I was given $20 this month for those two members- so this month was free!

What deals have YOU found lately on groceries?

Saving Money on Groceries

Groceries can add up to being a huge expense, and the more people in the house, the bigger the expense. I really miss the days when our 3 kids would barely finish a box of mac n cheese. Now, making mac n cheese requires 2 boxes for just those 3, or 3 boxes if we are all eating it.

One of the ways I save both time and money on groceries, is by using Savings Angel. I scoffed at the site for a few years. After all, I knew what they were doing, and knew I could do it for free on my own. What Savings Angel does, is finds the sale ad for YOUR area, and they go down the list, item by item, matching the sales with coupons from the Sunday paper, or coupons found online.

The hardest part of doing this on your own, is knowing where to find the online coupons, and taking the time out of your hectic schedule to do it. It is time consuming! Especially if you you have to sort through all your coupons each week, to see what you have.

Then there's the mess of removing expired coupons, and clipping all the new ones, and putting them in their place. It can be a total pain. In fact, it can down right wear a person out. I was an avid coupon clipper and shopper for a long time, but as the kids got older, and my time got shorter, I just let it fall to the side.

Recently, I decided I can't afford to shop the way I was, not anymore. I needed to save more money, and get more bang for our bucks. So, I sucked it up, and started to try again. I quickly remembered why I had stopped- all the work put into it, the time spent pouring over ads, sorting through the coupons, it was too much stress for me to be able to get it going.

About that time, a good friend of mine and my brother both signed up for Savings Angel. After talking with my brother about all the tips I had for coupon clipping (I had a lot, I realized!), I decided maybe Savings Angel would be a kick in the fanny to get me going on saving money again.

Savings Angel is a pay to use site, and there are similar sites out there that do the same service for free. However, what I found, was when I compared the SA site to the free sites, very few of the free sites listed had all the deals listed. Most of them missed coupons along the way, some missed the entire deal along the way. They just did not compare once I started looking at both.

Savings Angel is $19.95 per month. When you buy the first month, the second month is free, so up front, it's $19.95 for 2 months of service. There is a forum for help, and "mentors" who can also help people one on one. The site has coupons to print, and points out coupons found all over the web to print. When they list a sale item, they list all the non-expired coupons that were in the Sunday paper or online, AND, they tell you what week that coupon was in, or if it was in a magazine, or they show a link on where to print it.

Now, $20 a month is a big deal, I get that. For me, I look at what I'm saving on groceries that I wasn't saving before. My first 3 trips to the grocery store resulted in just over $100 worth of groceries. I paid just under $20 total for all 3 trips, saving me $80 off my grocery bill!

$80 is a lot of money saved. With a teenager, a preteen, and a school aged child in the house, we go through food a lot more quickly now. Getting the freezer filled is a big deal for us, because of how quickly we can deplete it.

Anyway, I highly recommend Savings Angel for anyone who needs the extra help saving money, like I did. It's been a very helpful site so far. Just click the banner above, or the image below to check the site out!