Avoid Christmas Debt When Cash Is Tight

It seems like the older I get, the faster the Christmas holidays come around.  For me, I have taken care of avoiding the debt since I have not celebrated Christmas for a very long time since a lot of the people close to me have passed away.  I just don't feel it anymore.  However, it was a problem in the past.

The last seasons I celebrated, I cut way down on Christmas decorating.  It was once an obsession for me to decorate to the max.  It was beautiful, but expensive.  Anyway, that is where I started and just became very aware of where every penny was going.  Not being cheap, just frugal.

Another thing I cut out was the large open house Christmas celebration where we set up a large buffet of food that was outrageous now that I think about it.  It seems like we would invite everyone we knew.  It got out of hand fast and got bigger and bigger every year.  The smart thing would have been to make it a pot luck celebration where everyone brought a plate of food.  Well, it went away the last few seasons I celebrated.

Mary at Everyday Cheapskate has an excellent article with lots of tips on how to save money during the holidays.

Click here to go to the article.

I know it is early to start posting holiday stuff, but it takes time to start planning in order to save money.

Replacing your washer or dryer

 

One of the things I do as a frugalista is research high dollar purchases.  Educate yourself on various features of the item and how they affect the cost to start off.  Know exactly what you want before going into the store and purchasing the item that has features you don't need.  If possible, familiarize yourself with the brand and compare store prices.

Unfortunately I am currently in the market for a new washing machine and have no idea what I actually want.  So I was very happy to come across the following article from Mary Hunt of Everyday Cheapsake that goes into everything you need to know before making the purchase of a washer or dryer.

Click here to go to the article and check out her blog while you are there.

Thoughts from a frugalista!

 

Frugal people understand the value of their money and don't indulge in unnecessary spending.

Being frugal is not being cheap.  A simple explanation is possessing an awareness of being over indulgent in spending.  Ask yourself "do I really need this?" before making purchases.

I'm a serious frugalista!  Read on for some of my thinking on being frugal.

In the past, I would overwork myself to make more money.  For what?  So I could purchase more stuff?  Currently, after a lifetime of overindulgence in my purchases, my house is stacked with way too much stuff that I should never have bought.  Now I have to get rid of the unnecessary stuff so I can live an orderly life and be comfortable in my surroundings.  

I often laugh at my former self for foolishly spending money instead of realizing that retirement and a fixed income was in my future.  What was I thinking?  Or was I thinking at all about my crazy spending?

One of the most important things I do to make it easy to stay frugal is to keep a budget and stick to it.  

My favorite way to overindulge and spend too much money is ordering meals from Door Dash rather than having to cook a meal for one that I really don't like to do.  If I didn't keep a budget and track my spending throughout the month, it would be so easy for me to overindulge in placing those orders.

Set financial goals!

Tracking my spending throughout the month keeps me living within my means.  I am aware of the fact that I am living on a fixed income through Social Security and have to stretch those dollars and leave enough at the end of the month to go toward my savings to cover emergencies.

Don't spend more on name brands . . . buy generic!  You'd be surprised at the difference in cost.  From what I have found in my research, most items are made at the same factory.  The only difference is the label and the cost.

I could go on and on!  I've gone through some rough financial times and try so hard to not go back.  There are so many little things I do that I will discuss in future posts.

A great article on how to be a beginning frugalista . . . click here.

Best Ways to Store Strawberries

Two Flats of Strawberries.  Photo © Molly Watson

During strawberry season in my part of the world, you can pick up strawberries for surprisingly low prices, especially if you go directly to the you pick em fields and pick your own.  

My method of storing strawberries is washing, cleaning and freezing them.  But there are other ways.  Check out this article from About.com for some great tips on how to store strawberries so they will last longer.  

A bargain is no bargain if you have to throw it away!

Why you should have a well stocked pantry

The question to the why is, of course, to save money and stretch your budget to the limit.

The Captain and I are very blessed to have the privilege of having access to our local air force base commissary.  We always shop the seasonal case lot sales, take advantage of monthly sales and plan for our purchases with their listings of sales on the internet.  

Last year we bought a case of Kraft Mayonnaise that cost us 75 cents per bottle. Big savings and we didn't have to worry about buying mayo for over a year. 

My favorite case lot sale included Pepsi products that equated to a 2 liter bottle of soda for 35 cents each. We stocked up with massive quantity buys since we go through a fortune in Pepsi products.  Yes, we saved a ton of money on that one sale.

Although I have not been a member of Sam's Club type of store, I am sure similar savings can be found if you take the time to find those bargains.  Make sure those big purchases are for items you often use and won't just sit there in the pantry.

Click here for a well written, informative article titled "Why to Have a Well-Stocked Pantry."