Work at Home Moms Articles – WAHM Articles

Saving money or becoming debt free is not easy for anyone. It’s hard to change the way you spend money and it’s even harder to put extra money into bills instead of going out for dinner or purchasing a dress or shoes, but the outcome will be worth it after a few months of doing this.

You need to stand strong and avoid purchasing things that are not necessary to your survival. While it would be nice to have a new pair of shoes or a new TV, it’s not necessary in order to live your day to day life. It’s purchases like that, that make us use credit cards, which in turn causes more debt.

Over time, when you begin to pay off your debt, you’ll be able to make those purchases, but when you’re first starting out with debt reduction it’s important to use as much of your money as possible to pay off the bills. When you get to a point where you have two or three bills paid off, you can use a small amount to purchase a little something. Maybe as a reward for your hard work, but it’s important that you don’t go overboard and put yourself right back into debt again.

Are you the head of the household of your family and need some tips on making your life a little simpler? Those that work, take care of the kids and pay the bills have a hard time keeping everything organized. Below are some tips to help budget your household and some maybe even have some fun doing it.

Keep your financial records current. Keep a filing system and create folders for items such as receipts, tax returns, billing statements, bank statements, credit reports, etc. Keep everything in one designated place so it is easy to find when you need it. For your mail, have one designated place to put it daily when you receive it. Most all of us have misplaced our mail at one time in our life. Misplaced mail could mean late payments, which means late charges. Set a specific time of the day or week to handle all of your bookkeeping and stick to it. When I speak of bookkeeping, I speak of paying bills, filing bills, going through your mail, etc.

If you have online banking with your bank, set it up. I cannot tell you how easy it is to pay my bills with my online banking. The day I receive a bill in the mail, I will log into my bank account and schedule the payment. The bank then sends the payment by mail or electronically and has it paid on the date that I scheduled it to be paid. This service is even free with my bank. It saves time writing out checks and I also save on the postage.

Get your kids involved in your budgeting. Pay your children an allowance. Have them use the allowance for things they want to buy like candy, movies, toys, games, etc instead of just giving them money when they need it. Having your children pay for their own stuff with their own money will teach them at an early age how to spend wisely.

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Paying off bills is something we all imagine and dream of on a regularly basis, but it’s not something that’s easy to do. You may find it’s easier to pay the minimum amount due each month and use the extra money you have fun and play a little. While that’s acceptable, it’s not a good idea due to the amount of money you’ll spend on interest charges.

The best thing to do is pay $10 or $20 extra a month on a bill that is close to being paid off or one that has a small amount of interest each month. Once that bill is paid off you need to add the monthly payment you were making to the next bill with the low interest or small balance. Continue this process untill all of your bills are paid off.

You may find at first it’s hard to put more money into a bill, but it can be done. You may need to give up some things for a short amount of time, but if you’re series enough about paying of your bills, you’ll find a way to make it happen. Here are a few suggestions for saving money so you can get the bills paid off quicker.

1. Go out to eat twice a month instead of four times.
2. Brew your coffee at home instead of going out to Starbucks each day.
3. Pack your lunch instead of going out to eat.
4. Buy your pop at the grocery store instead of going to the convenience store.

Think about the things you purchase on a regularly basis and then either stop purchasing them as often or stop purchasing them all together. Once you do that you’ll have the money from those purchases that you’ll be able to apply that to the bill each month.

Once your bills are paid off, you’ll be able to have the things you want and you’ll be able to do the things you want. You’ll be able feel relaxed and you won’t be stressed about it. Giving up a few things for a while will make it worth it when you have more money in the end.

Saving money is important when you’re short on funds, when you hate to pay full price, or if you’re trying to save for something you need or want, but can’t afford. Whatever your reason is for wanting to save money, you can make it happen when you buy used instead of new.

When my boys were little, I hated to pay full price for clothes because they grew so fast. I could buy a new outfit only to have them wear it two or three times and then it didn’t fit anymore. When this happens, it’s hard to spend money monthly on new clothes when you have to buy diapers, wipes, and food for them as well.

While there are still garage sales, in the winter time, they don’t have those. So what do you do? I found a fan page on Facebook called Casper Mama’s Upcycle. It’s the coolest thing ever. People post things they are either looking for or have for sale and people post if they have questions or if they are interested in purchasing.

I’m not sure if there are other communities that have these, but it’s definitely something you should check out. No matter if you have baby clothes to get rid of or if you’re looking for furniture for your home, this is the type of fan page or site you need to check out. It’s awesome!

If you’ve ever found yourself with a lot of fruits or vegetables, you know how quickly they can go bad. It doesn’t take much at all for them to turn to mold or get to a point where you can’t use them. That’s a waste of money and I don’t know about you, but I can’t be throwing away my money.

Certain fruits and vegetables can be frozen, but you can also can them. Freezing things can take up a lot of room and if you don’t have the room or if you’re limited on space in your freezer this may not be a good option. If you have a shelving unit or cupboard area to store items, canning is the way to go.

Canning is a lengthy process, but worth it in the end when you don’t lose your fruits or vegetables. There are two methods to use and either will work fine. The first method is to use a pressure cooker and the second is to use a pot.

Click here to read through Jackie Clay’s Canning 101. She shares a lot of information about the things you’ll need to begin your canning adventure. She also talks about a couple different processes to make it happen.

So the next time you find your refrigerator is full of fruits or vegetables, consider canning them so they keep. It’s a good way to save money and have fruits or vegetables whenever you need them.

Whether you’re trying to save money so you can go on vacation or you’re trying to stop living pay check to pay check, using coupons and store matching can help make it happen. It does take some time and you must learn some things in order for it to work, but if you put your mind to it, you can make it happen.

Here are some tips for you to use to make this happen.

1. Coupons

Coupons are a good way to save money at the grocery store. You can get coupons from your local paper, store websites, Facebook fan pages, and websites online. You should consider using them all because it’s virtually impossible to find coupons on your own. There are sites like AFullCup.com and TheKrazyCouponLady.com that offer help when it comes to coupons.

The best thing to do is find coupons for the things you know you’ll be purchasing. Things like dog food, shampoo, crackers, and cereal are just a few of the things you can regularly find coupons for either in the paper or online. It may take a bit of time to find them, but it will be worth it when you can save money on those items.

2. Price Matching

Some stores offer price matching and this is a great way to save money. The first thing you need to do is ask the store you plan to go to if they offer price matching. There is no point in spending the time doing it if the store you go to doesn’t offer this option. If the store does offer this option you need to make sure you know the rules so you do it the correct way.

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There has been a ton of talk in the past few months regarding saving money. With the economy the way it is and people that are still without work or they’ve had to take a cut in pay to continue to have a job, there is a bigger need then ever to save money.

One of the best and easiest ways to save money is to use coupons when you make your purchases. There are coupons for all sorts of food and health and beauty items along with baby and pet items. You can also get coupons for restaurants and many other places. There are also a number of ways to get those coupons.

The first way to get coupons is to cut them from the Sunday newspaper. Now you can purchase the paper yourself or you can ask for the coupons from people you know like your neighbors or friends and family. The best thing to do is think about the options you have and ask around so you get the coupons you need and want.

Another way is to print coupons online. One of the best places to go online for them is Afullcup.com. This site gives you a one stop shop when it comes to ways to print them. They have some of the most popular sites like RedPlum and SmartSource. Another way to get coupons online is to go to the specific website for the products you want. For example you could go to Dove or Dole to print coupons if they have them available.

The other option is to purchase coupons. Now there are several ways to go about doing these purchases. You can bid on coupon auctions online at eBay.com or you can go to Coupon Clippers and purchase the coupons you want. This option is good if you don’t have time to search online and clip them yourself.

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Summer is upon us and now is the time when many of us hit the mountains or water to go camping. If you have limited funds, but still want to go camping, it is possible even when you’re trying to stay frugal with your funds.

Here are a few tips for you to take into consideration when you’re trying to save money while camping.

Consider what you really need when you go camping. If you have a trailer do you really need electricity and water hookup or could you do without for a few days?

Think about the food you bring. Do you really need steaks and potatoes for dinner? Would sandwiches and chips work for lunch and hamburgers and chips work for dinner?

Is it possible for you to go to a place that’s an hour away rather than a place that’s three or four hours away?

If there is a group of you going to the same place, consider sharing a camp space and slitting the cost of the lot rent for the weekend.

As you can see there are a number of different ways to save money during a weekend when you decide to go camping. Think about what you do and how you do it and then think about ways to make it less expensive.

Camping is a lot of fun no matter if you plan to do it in a camp trailer or pitch a tent. One thing to remember is you don’t have to spend a lot of money to save money.

Spending money at the grocery store can make for a sad day. At times you may wonder why things cost so much when you don’t get a lot for what you spend. It’s just terrible to say the least. Especially when you find yourself spending $250 or $300 on what you feel is very little.

There are several ways to decrease your bill without the number of items you are purchasing. One of the easiest ways to do this is to use coupons. You’ll get money off of items you would be purchasing anyway so why not take a little bit of extra time to make it happen.

Another way to save money is to use coupons and the store ads. Purchase items that are on sale and then add a coupon and save even more money. When the store you shop at offers in-store coupons, you can use manufacturers coupons to go with it. This is called stacking coupons and it works perfectly.

Coupons come in the Sunday paper or you can print them from websites online. You need to check the coupon rules for the stores you plan to shop at because each store may have different rules.

When you use coupons you’ll save money and have the ability to live a frugal life. You’ll have more money to spend on the things you need and you’ll find you have plenty of food in your home.

When looking for ways to save money and live a more frugal or simpler life, doing your best to save money on health insurance can leave a lot more cash in your bank account. Here are some ways you can cut your medical expenses dramatically.

1. Watch your deductible. Prior to his going on Medicare, my husband (who is self-employed) picked up an independent insurance plan. In order to save money, or so we thought, we put a $3,000 deductible on the policy. But we failed to put that money in the bank. When he was forced to claim some expensive medical tests on his insurance, we were left with $3,000 in medical bills to pay off. That was a hard lesson learned, but now we are very cautious about how much deductible we choose. It’s better to pay a higher monthly premium than to try to come up with a huge amount of money all at once. Or have to pay monthly bills for years to come.

2. Stay healthy. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Sadly, so few Americans are truly healthy. We eat too much. We eat the wrong foods. We don’t exercise. We smoke. Or drink. All of these things, especially when combined, work to diminish our overall health and cost us millions of dollars every year in medical expenses that we shouldn’t have to pay. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle by eating right, refraining from unhealthy practices and getting enough exercise can do more to help us save on medical expenses than practically anything else we can do.

3. Shop around for the lowest priced insurance policy. If you’re responsible for providing your own health insurance, as those of us who are self-employed are, look around for the best policy with the best benefits for the best price. You can literally save thousands of dollars every year just by comparing rates from various companies. And don’t rely solely on online prices. Call a local agent and discuss rates, too. There may be discounts for buying locally that you won’t receive when shopping online.

4. Shop around for the lowest priced care. Doctors charge different rates just like anyone else does. If you’re uninsured, in particular, shop around when you’re looking for a new doctor. Ask how much a typical office visit costs, if the practice offers discounts for those with no insurance, or if they can work with you on payments. If you have insurance, stay within your network, if applicable. That can save you money on everything from office visits to blood work and other tests.

5. Cut the cost of prescriptions. Begin by asking your doctor to prescribe lower priced drugs, if they’re available. And always choose generics when possible. Also ask about over the counter choices that may be just as effective. And be sure any drug prescribed is really necessary. Doctors often feel they have to prescribe a medication to make a patient feel that they’ve been treated and helped. If you can get over your illness or injury in about the same time without the meds, opt out of taking them. In addition, if you need a medication but money is short, most pharmacies will let you get half a prescription instead of buying the entire dosage. Ask if this is an option when you go to get the medication filled or refilled.

There are many ways to save money on medical expenses, but these five will help you develop a more frugal mindset and help you understand that while medical professionals may act as if costs are uniform, and set in stone, that simply isn’t the case. By shopping around and being aware of the costs you can save a tremendous amount of money each year on the cost of staying healthy.

Darlene ‘Dee’ Bishop is a professional writer whose work has been published in hundreds of places online and in print. She is the publisher of Just Write for Business, a free weekly newsletter filled with original articles, tips, ideas, inspiration and advice to help you write like a pro and make money writing.