Browsing Category

Money Saving Tips

Save Money & Bake Your Own Cookies

Have you ever noticed how the cookies you buy in grocery stores are not only expensive, but they aren’t nearly as good as homemade? Why not try baking your own instead? They are not as expensive and it doesn’t take that much of your time.

I have a weakness for peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. So, once in a while I make them and it takes less than 10 minutes to mix the ingredients together to make the dough. The next step is to form balls and place them on cookie sheets. Flatten them with a fork and bake them in the oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about 7 minutes. All it takes is about a half hour of your time and you can enjoy freshly baked delicious cookies. I’ve found they make a great snack for work when you are craving a chocolate bar. Freshly baked cookies also make a great gift for a neighbor or friend!

In case you want to try out the recipe, here it is:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

½ cup butter or margarine

½ cup peanut butter

½ cup white sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 ½ cups flour

1 egg

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

For more recipe ideas, no need to purchase a recipe book, just do a Google search for the type of recipes you are looking for and you can find all kinds of ideas for free. Print out the ones you like and make your own recipe book.

June 23, 2009

Money Saving Tips

8 Ways I Saved Money As A University Student

When I attended university I lived on a tight budget. Here are just a few of the things that I did to help me save money while studying:

1. I lived with roommates to share the rent and utility costs. Four of us girls all lived in a house and the rent was less than $200 each. Splitting the utility bills 4 ways made it a lot easier on the budget.

2. I did a lot of tutoring and then got a part time job that worked with my school schedule. Tutoring is great because when you are your own boss you can pick and choose when you work.

3. I took a bus rather than buying a car. Rather than spending money on gas, car maintenance, and insurance, I took advantage of the student rate for a monthly bus pass. Whenever possible, I also rode my bicycle or walked.

4. I packed my own lunches rather than buying food at the university cafeterias and shops. I also brought along snacks so I wouldn’t be tempted to buy junk food from the expensive vending machines.

5. For my English literature classes, rather than buying all of the required novels, I borrowed some of them from the library. Whenever possible I bought used textbooks from other students or from the Archive bookstore on campus. I also took as many full year classes as I could because it reduced the amount of textbooks I would have to purchase.

6. I informed my bank that I was a student and got great discounts, paying very few fees. I also took advantage of other student discounts at retail stores, etc. Students get a lot of great deals!

7. When we first moved into the house we were renting, we had almost no furniture. We went to a few yard sales and it didn’t take a lot of money to furnish our home. I still have the rocking chair I bought at a yard sale for $10!

8. I reused my binders and other supplies every year rather than buying new ones.

June 19, 2009

Money Saving Tips

8 Habits That Will Save You Money

Developing bad habits is easy, developing good ones can sometimes take some hard work. Below is a list of some good habits worth developing. They will save you a lot of money over time and help you on your journey to becoming financially free.

1. Keep on top of the economic news. Pay attention to how retail outlets are doing. If you hear of a store closing down, check out their clearance sales. If the media is reporting that sales have been sluggish recently, then you know it’s a good time to shop as the prices will be lower.

2. Fill out the consumer surveys that you get in the mail and within a few weeks you will receive coupons for various household products.

3. Pay attention to various advertisements both on TV and in your mailbox that offer special deals on cable TV, telephone, etc. Often they will offer you a deal if you call up your current provider and tell them you are thinking of switching to the competition. It’s worth a try, and if they aren’t willing to accommodate your request, you can always switch. Why pay more than you have to?

4. When making purchases, use credit cards that will give you rewards. Make sure to pay off your balance each month to avoid finance charges. If you have credit cards that don’t give you any rewards, cancel the cards as there are so many credit cards out there these days that offer benefits of all kinds.

June 5, 2009

Money Saving Tips

5 Computer Tips That Will Save You Money & Frustration

1. Consider buying a Macintosh computer. My husband and I have had the best experiences with Macintosh computers because they never seem to give us any trouble. I can’t recall even one time that we had to restart it due to an error. They are more expensive than PCs and at first I wasn’t sure it was worth spending the extra money, but based on our positive experiences with our Mac mini, I would highly recommend Apple computers to anyone. They are less likely to give you trouble with spyware or viruses and they will save you from a lot of grief and frustration.

2. If you use a PC, there are some simple things you can do to prevent paying hefty repair fees. If you are getting strange errors that you don’t understand, the best thing to do first is to simply restart your computer. Sometimes it works better if you shut it down completely for a few minutes. I’m not sure why, but often this fixes the problem.

3. If that doesn’t work, before calling the repair shop, try updating your operating system. Often that is the first thing the repair guy will do anyway, and it might fix your computer problem. Why pay someone the big bucks to update Windows when you can do it yourself? To update Windows, launch the Internet and open up your browser. Click on the “Tools” menu at the top of the page and click on “Windows update”. You will then see the Microsoft website which will check to see if your computer needs any updates. Follow the prompts to download the updates and hopefully your problem will be solved. If you use Windows XP, the computer can update automatically. All you need to do is go to Start, Control Panel, click on “Security Center” and then turn on “Automatic Upgrades”. If your computer still has problems, at least the repairman won’t have to spend extra time doing updates on your dime.

4. Keep your laptop battery healthy by letting it completely drain before recharging. If you keep it plugged into the charger all of the time it will weaken your battery.

5. Speed up your computer by removing programs you don’t use. If you use a Windows operating system, you can get rid of unused programs by going to the Control Panel and selecting “Add or Remove Programs”. Simply browse through the list and remove the programs you are sure you won’t need.

May 28, 2009

Money Saving Tips

Don’t Buy Clothes Just Because They’re On Sale

So often when I go shopping I am tempted to buy clothes that are on sale, even if I am not sure I will ever actually wear them. At the time, it seems perfectly logical. The clothes are cheap!!! 🙂 What I have come to realize is that I still need to force myself to consider the same criteria for clearance items that I would use for regular priced items. I have to ask myself: Do I really like this item? Where would I wear it? What could I wear it with? Does the color suit me? Do I really need it? If I can satisfactorily answer all of the above, then it truly is a good deal. If not, then no matter how cheap the item is, it is actually expensive because it means I spent money on something I will never use.

May 25, 2009

Older Posts

Newer Posts