#Money saving

[foyiiwae]

It's that time of year I talk about work outside of work. I give money advice to people on a low income (in the UK so I can't help with other countries unfortunately, but I can give general information and guidance).

It's getting colder, and energy bills are still quite high. For those in the UK you'll be familiar with Martin Lewis, for those outside of the UK he's a public figure who gives general money advice to the masses without it costing an arm and a leg.

Oh his website he has a guide on heating the human, not the home. Ways to save money on energy bills when it comes to it. While it's UK centric there's some good tips to help others as well.

I always find it important to share this time of year. Stay warm friends ❤️

[heydrangeas]

hey. hey. did you know if you buy a rotisserie chicken ($5-10 depending on where you get it) you can dig into it like a rat, then strip and save the rest of the meat, then make as much stock as you can fit in your largest pot by simply simmering the bones with herbs and veggies or veggie scraps for 6-8 hours, thereby easily doubling the value of your purchase and making the best soup base ever?

[dank-meme-my-gf-sends-me]

[isi567]

One special thing I like is that Optimus help me save money. I have this poster of him from magazine and behind it I hide money, no one suspects a thing and every time I want to spend it I look at his eyes he was like "No, don't touch it" and I give up. I mean if he can save matrix from Megatron he can save money from me.

@invadergia @knockout-starscream @justasilly-goober @numbbrainstrorm

[thereadmind]

- credit @realalexclark on YouTube

Don’t pay your kids to do chores, reward them for creativity and effort to create value.

[mistyhollowcottage]

Saving Money as a Homemaker 🧺

I’ve posted before that we’re anxiously awaiting and preparing for our second baby and with that we’re focusing heavily on saving money! We have high hopes of buying first cars, paying for college, etc etc for both of our girls and despite the fact one is 18 months old and the other is still in utero, we know that the saving and preparing starts now. I do not bring in an income in our home but I do help manage the money my husband brings in and I work hard at making every dollar go as far as possible, so here are some things that make our money go further:

1. Eating at home - everyone gives this advice and it’s because it’s 100% true. You are literally throwing away money eating out and more and more the food that you buy at restaurants isn’t even that good. An easy way to make the switch is by making crockpot meals. Many are “dump and go” meals that require no skill and 9/10 you’ll even have leftovers for lunch the next day. Plus a crock pot is like $20-25 and they last forever.

2. Pay off existing debt - I’m not talking just your monthly minimums. If you have an extra $100 without a job in your monthly budget, it should go towards debt. Any extra you pay on your principal now is money you don’t have to pay in interest later. If you need more motivation for paying off your debt early, pull up a debt calculator and see how much in interest you’ll be paying before it’s all said and done. I promise you’ll get motivated real quick.

3. Create a budget!!! - if you are just floating through life, spending money willy nilly, I promise you don’t even realize how much money you’re just throwing away every month. I remember after I graduated from college and met my husband, we sat down to look at my finances together and I was legitimately embarrassed to see how much money I spent just getting coffee. I was spending a car payments worth on coffee every month and I literally was a barista. I could make that ish at home!! side note - "fun money" is a category you should have in your budget. You are bound to stumble if you aren't ever allowed to spend any money on yourself.

4. Determine what’s worth investing in and what’s not - for us this is list is pretty short. We invest in food and “clean” products. We eat and feel good on a high protein diet so we prioritize meat within our budget. Yes, there are plenty of cheaper plant protein sources, but that is not how we choose to fuel our bodies and it’s not how we feel best. But, more than just choosing to prioritize this financially, we prioritize the time it takes for my husband to go hunting to help save money on this as well. As far as “clean” products, I’m talking fragrance/toxin free shampoos, conditioners, cleaning supplies, etc. We’ll shop sales if one becomes available but we will not skimp with a $1 bottle of shampoo that will irritate my husbands skin or leave me with a migraine. This list will and should look different for every family but if you have your priorities clearly laid out there’s no room for convincing yourself that something not on this list is worth spending extra money on.

5. If you can make it at home, you should make it at home - cleaning products, food, gifts, home decor, all of it.

6. Thrift! But not as a hobby - I love thrifting and there’s a heck of a thrill in finding a beautiful ceramic mug or stumbling upon a cute sweater, but you’re not saving money like that. You should thrift for the things you need first and make sure to have a clear idea of what you’re looking for before going in. The thrift store should ideally be your first stop when looking to buy, but if you can’t find it after a bit of time looking, you’re not less than for having to buy new.

7. Borrow borrow borrow - sure, it’s kinda annoying to borrow other peoples stuff, but there’s really no reason to buy something you only need once or twice.

8. Learn to sew- I’ve had so many pieces of clothing rip at a seam and if I didn’t know how to stitch that back together, I’d have to throw it away and probably replace it (I’m looking you pockets on jackets). Instead, a five minute YouTube video has saved me, idk, probably at least $100.

9. Order your groceries online - this is probably very dependent on which grocers you have close to you, but ours still has online coupons and sales and it is an excellent way to make sure that you're sticking to your list. Plus, it's a godsend with little kids.

10. Finally, identify yours and your spouse's strengths and weaknesses - by this I mean, can you not help yourself from buying something if you go "just to look around" at your favorite shop? Does your husband add 47 unnecessary items to the grocery order anytime it's his turn to do the shopping? Whatever your individual money spending weakness are, identify those and help keep each other accountable or hand off the things that the other excels in so the temptation is just never there.

Happy money saving!

[albertayebisackey]

“Save money, and money will save you.” – Anonymous

[libraryofva]

Recent Acquisition - Ephemera Collection

Christmas Club, Mechanics and Merchants Bank, Richmond, Virginia. 1951

[solopiediegambes-blog]

[secretlifeofesma]

if u can't afford something

go to the sale section of a store and put the sale barcode over the original. then go pay for it. it's not stealing and a better alternative if u do have money.

[fabledfoxglove]

Friendly reminder to check your local dollar stores for witchy finds/decor in general. I found these star-shaped LED tea lights there today

[angelangelangelx]

Genuine post for my UK friends!!!

Join plum money saving app it's literally the best thing I ever got 😂 I've had it coming up to 6 years now and my lifetime deposits (savings) are over 17k purely just from using this app 🥰🥰🥰

It just takes little bits of money here and there and you can move it into "pockets" that you can't instantly withdraw from so it reduces my impulse spending 😂

Sign up with my referral link pls 🥰🖤

[auntiepasto]

Save Money, Cut Your Own Meat

This is half of an 8.8 pound pork roast from Costco. It cost me $20.22.

Yes, you read that right. Under $3/pound. In 2023, where even breathing the air is expensive.

It’s a whopping big chunk of meat, and Costco pork is decent. (Would I love to be indulging in small-farm meat? Of course. Does the budget permit? Not always.)

Pork loin is incredibly forgiving to a first-time butcher. All you do is cut it straight down, as shown above.

You’ll notice I’ve started cutting it into pork chops. I’d already cut the other half into a mix of chops and larger pieces that I’ll probably cut up smaller later and use for stir-fry or pork jun.

Do you need to be meticulous about your sizing? Nope. You can see where I slashed the fat to indicate roughly a pound of meat (8ish pounds divided in half, then divided by 4). I then divided each pound that I was planning to use for chops in four, and cut those.

I did end up deciding to use the last two pounds as a roast, so there’s a nick in the fat cap on that. Oh well, that’s fine.

Bag up your meat in freezer bags. Choose to store it in sizes that you’ll eat, so if it’s just for one, I’d store it in either half-pound or pound increments — so one meal fresh and one meal of leftovers out of a half-pound. If it’s for two or more, you’ll probably want to start with a pound per bag, and you might want to do two, depending on how many people you’re feeding.

Weigh it up (optional, but I like to know), label and date, squish all the air out, and toss it in your freezer. Voilá, you have meat for months. Even if you eat a pound of pork (four chops) a week, you’ve got two months worth of meat and it cost you only $20-some and a bit of your time.

[thereadmind]

[lily-james17]

Money-Saving + Sustainability Hack

Instead of buying fabric softener, which is continual spending and not very good for the environment, let me introduce you to these fabulous little fuckers:

These are wool dryer balls. Instead of fabric softener in your wash cycle, put one or two of these into your dryer. They'll dry your clothes faster, don't come with any harmful or harsh chemicals, and only need to be replaced every few years (or roughly 1,000 loads of laundry)-- which is much longer lasting that fabric softener or drying sheets. Not only are they sustainable and non-toxic, they are safe to use for people with sensitive skin, since there are no chemicals or fragrances that can trigger agitation or allergies.

As a bonus tip-- if you would like fragrance in your laundry, just add a few drops of the essential oil of your choice to your dryer ball(s) before starting the drying cycle. And while the dryer balls are made simply of wool, you can also choose to get them in all sorts of colors, or even make your own!