Wealthy Wednesdays is a post where you’ll find a piece of financial advice or two that we report on from around the Web. Continue reading “New! Wealthy Wednesdays’ Nugget of Financial Advice”
I’m sharing really cool frugal tidbits from around the Web spotted lately: Continue reading “New Frugal Tidbits from Around the Web”
Yeah. A money parent.
Maybe you think I’ve gone off the deep end, but I assure you, I (probably) haven’t. One of my absolute favorite authors of all time, as you may have read in another post, is Marilyn Jenett. She is a prosperity/money coach. Hey, we all need one! But I love her articles, her thinking, and her way of communicating about money and our feelings towards money. Continue reading “Are You a Good Money Parent? A Gift Inside…”
Since my All You article came out, I’ve received questions about why I teach workshops, mostly for free. (Many couponers teach workshops for free or for a small stipend.) Continue reading “Money Quote for Monday: A Classic Revisited…”
After this over-50-girl got past the annoying “supergroovy” and “trippy” vocabulary in the super-popular pop-culture book, “May Cause Miracles,” by Gabrielle Bernstein, I found a couple of memorable money quotes I’d love to share. Continue reading “Money Quote for Monday: Gabrielle Bernstein’s “May Cause Miracles””
It’s been a long time coming to use cash for food, gas, clothing, and entertainment. I’ve been religiously watching Gail Vaz-Oxlade’s show, “Till Debt Do Us Part,” and eyeing those money jars. It just makes sense. But, I never did anything about it.
But one day, I realized my grocery budget was creeping upward, even with couponing. What the heck was I doing wrong? Using a debit card and not using a solid budget–that’s what I was doing wrong.
I drew up a serious budget (much harder than it sounds, it takes t-i-m-e, but it’s essential). In my budget–$75 cash for groceries, $25 a week cash for gas in my car (my husband uses more, but I work from home), $20 miscellaneous or “blow money,” per Dave Ramsey. That’s only the cash part of the budget.
I didn’t use jars, but I did use basic envelopes, which proved too cumbersome as I went through my week. I ended up labeling two pockets of my wallet. One pocket says “Gas” and the other says “Groceries” and that’s where I keep the money.
Some highlights:
1. Week One: I was filmed for Channel 12 News (not aired as of yet) on a shopping trip at Stop & Shop in Fairfield–it was an extra shopping trip that week and I shelled out an extra $54.00. To balance the budget, I decided to reduce my grocery budget for two weeks.
2. Week Two: Did relatively well, was able to buy about four pounds of expensive organic ground beef because I used some Catalina coupons from ShopRite thanks to some great deals I put together. By week’s end, I spent an extra $10 at Whole Foods when I found a couple of extra deals. It’s only $10, you say, but you know how the psychology on this works … “it’s ONLY $10….” turns into “it’s ONLY $20 and so on…” But, it’s like a diet, you make peace with yourself and get back on the program.
3. Week Three: So, it’s now Saturday, one day into my third week of cash only, and I have spent my reduced cash budget. But, we have plenty of food and will only need some fruit and veggies–but it’s extra money.
But so far, it’s great, I love it, and I see where my money goes and it gives me great hope. I spent $200 so far in three weeks–not too terrible in an affluent town like Fairfield.
Stay tuned.
~Marilyn from TFF
Two Frugal Fairfielders 