Learn to love your freezer, and you’ll discover that it’s a great way to save time and money! Here are 5 foods that you should be freezing…

1. Casseroles – Get in the habit of doubling and freezing casseroles. A casserole is best if you freeze it uncooked, thaw it in the refrigerator (usually 2 days) and bake as instructed. You’ll enjoy having a freezer full of “go to” meals!
2. Soups, Chili’s and Stews – This is another meal that freezes well, so double your recipes and freeze the leftovers. I often freeze soups in single serving microwavable containers.
3. Baked Goods – My freezer is always full of cookies, bar cookies, brownies and pies because they freeze well and thaw quickly. I’m always eager to bring dessert to meetings and parties! If you want to freeze frosted cakes here’s a great freezer tip – put the frosted cake on a plate, do not cover and put it in the freezer. Set your timer for an hour, and then wrap the cake in freezer paper. After an hour, the frosting will be solid, so you won’t mess it up! Just remember to unwrap the cake when it’s time to thaw.
4. Dairy – Yes…you can freeze dairy products, so stock up on cheese and butter when they’re on sale! Just put the entire package in the freezer, no special wrapping required.
5. Fruit – If your bananas are getting a bit too spotted for your taste, chop and freeze. If peaches or berries are on sale, do the same, and you’ll be ready to make Fruit Smoothies or my Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie!

Intrigued? Want to learn more about freezing foods? You’ll love this list of 31 Things You Can Freeze to Save Time and Money by Jillee.

Please leave a comment to let me know your favorite foods to freeze, and how your freezer helps you save both time and money.

~~~~~~~

Image courtesy of: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Living frugally is hard. There is always a temptation to buy something you really want, your spouse really wants or the kids want. Then there are all the unexpected expenses that pop up; car maintenance and repair costs, a bigger than usual heating or cooling bill, lawn care or new mower costs, the list goes on and on and on. If you’re sprinting to pay off debt or are managing off one income, then you already know you need to take any frugal tip you can get.

Sometimes, to really get ahead, you need think outside the box. Here are 4 frugal living tips that do just that, and that you likely haven’t already thought of.

1. Mystery Shopping for Free Eats
As a frugal person, you probably greatly limit your eating out expenses. However, no matter how most people try to limit restaurant expenses, we all cave once and a while (or more). However, if you just sign up for one of many legitimate mystery-shopping services that do business in your area, you can take your entire family out for free. You have to evaluate your server online afterward and upload a copy of your receipt but this isn’t that much work for a free meal ticket.

2. Cut Your Family’s Hair
If you have a big family and take them to the hair salon once a month, then you’re probably spending about $100 bucks or more each month, when you account for tips. As a frugal enthusiast you probably try to stretch this out too, meaning everyone goes around for a time with scruffy hair! Buy a shaver and a pair of scissors and watch an instructional YouTube video and eliminate this expense forever. You may face some resistance at first from wary family members, but after a few good cuts this will fade!

3. Consider Shopping for Groceries Online
If there is a service in your area (this is an expanding market), compare their prices and consider using their service. Most places will deliver groceries to your door for a very small fee ($5 to $10, usually). Yes, this is an extra expense but it saves you money in gas and the real kicker is it will cut down your overall grocery bill significantly. Grocery stores want you to buy more than you need and fall for the marketing. Plus if you have to take kids shopping with you, all your concentration and frugal meal planning usually flies out the door. I personally started using one of these services, and it’s so much easier to stay exactly within budget and get exactly what I need. I was able to shave off over $200 a month on my food bill just by switching to this method.

4. Petition for Lower Property Taxes
With the housing market having tanked tremendously over the past few years, it’s highly likely that your home is being taxes at a higher value than its current worth. Call your town hall and ask them how you can petition to have the property assessor appraise your home to see if the value has fallen since it was last assessed. This could save you a good amount of money each month.

~~~~~~~

written by: Jessica Drew

Jessica Drew is a freelance writer and editor who blogs about a variety of topics including frugal living, money management and personal loans.

Image courtesy of: nokhoog_buchachon / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

[Source: Daily Savings from All You]

GroceryCoupons.com is your one stop shop for savings. We have compiled the best deals on the web and brought them to one place. With 13 benefits to choose from, there is literally thousands of ways members can save. Our great benefits include:
Print Grocery Coupons – this benefit helps members save on groceries. Using our printable coupons, members can save $25, $30 or more each week at the supermarket. Those are savings that really add up. We’ve got hundreds of choices available daily from your favorite brands. Just select the grocery coupons you’d like, and follow the easy prompts to print them out. Then take them to the supermarket of your choice and save!
Print More Coupons – This is an extension off of our “Print Grocery Coupons” benefit. The nice thing about this benefit is that it has a lot of coupons for products you might put in your medicine closet. With coupons on items like vitamins and lotions, this is a great benefit to pair with the Print Grocery Coupons benefit.
Even More Coupons – This benefit offers an extensive collection of coupons on the latest hair products and body care. You are bound to find what you need when it comes to any kind nutritional savings.
Deal of the Day – (This is my personal favorite!) This benefit is powered by Groupon.com. Basically this benefit is filled with daily deals that have anywhere from 50-75% off. They are super cool and usually involve some kind of fun activity. For example, just the other day there was a deal of learning how to fence, and it was only a few miles from my home. Now that is some fun savings!
Order Coupons – With the Order Coupons benefit, members can save on things they user every day. Whether you are looking for Baby Products or you are looking for Dog Food, the Order Coupons benefit can help you save on the items that you buy the most!
Restaurant Certificates – Our members get discounts when they go out to eat as well! All you have to do is enter your Zip code and find a restaurant near you. It’s really that simple! There are over 18,000 restaurants that you can choose from (there has to be at least one place you want to eat!). Not to mention when you use GroceryCoupons.com, you can expect to get an additional 60-75% off your meal cost!
Shopping Discounts & Promo Codes – Why pay full price when you can get thousands of coupons to the stores you shop at most? We’ve collected coupons, deals, and discounts from your preferred nationwide retailers. Check out this benefit to find out how you can save more money, every day, on the things you’re buying anyway!
Everyday Deals – We’ve pulled together the day’s best deals for you. With these offers, you’ll find discounts, free shipping, two for one deals, and other great ways to save, sorted by category and rated by our savings specialists based on value. You can take advantage of as many deals as you want. Your savings are unlimited.
Cash Back Savings – This benefit PAYS you while you shop! You can earn 2% to 10% of all your purchases at participating retailers like iTunes, JCPenney, Gap, Victoria’s Secret, and hundreds more.. If you purchase something online from the participating retailers, you’ll earn cash back, which will be sent directly to you. Getting paid to shop – what could be better?
Local Deals – Finding deals on the items you need can sometimes be hard. Finding deals on the items you need, in your area can be even harder! With GroceryCoupons.com Find Local Deals benefit you are able to save on the items you need right in your hometown! Just search for a Zip code in your area and be amazed what deals you can find locally!
Get Great Savings – GroceryCoupons.com member save at their favorite stores. Why pay full price when you can get thousands of coupons to the stores you shop at most? We’ve collected coupons, deals, and discounts from your preferred nationwide retailers. Check out this benefit to find out how you can save more money, every day, on the things you’re buying anyway!
Prescription Savings – Everyone knows that health care costs are on the rise, especially the cost of prescriptions and medicines. Use the health savings finder and enter the medicines you take to see if we have a coupon that you can use at your pharmacy to save. We’ve got hundreds of coupons that can save you up to 75% off your prescription costs. Now that’s savings!
Samples and Freebies – Samples and Freebies is where members go to get free deals! What’s better than something being free? …I can’t think of anything! With new offers coming all the time you will always find something new with this benefit.

 
 
 
 
~~~~~~~

written by: Robert Murphy

Image courtesy of: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Good news…here’s a way you can save money at the grocery store – skip grocery shopping this week!

Bad news…you’re going to clean out and organize your pantry, refrigerator and freezer!

Consider this your challenge for the week!

As you clean out and organize your pantry, refrigerator and freezer…write down meal ideas using the items you have. Be creative! About a month ago, we learned that we would be moving from Houston to West Palm Beach, and my grocery bill has plummeted! Why? Simply because I’m making an effort to use up everything in my freezer, pantry and refrigerator before moving day. This challenge will certainly get you out of an menu rut and into trying new recipes!

Tips for Pantry Cleaning & Organizing:

• Tackle one shelf at a time – empty the shelf and make 3 piles (throw away, donate to a food pantry, save). Next, wipe down the shelf.
• Throw away any items that have expired.
• If you find an item, and you’re just not sure what to do with it…try a google search for recipes using ________. With the click of a mouse you’ll have more recipe ideas than you could possibly use! I just found a jar of baby food peaches that I bought for a recipe, but then decided the recipe was way too much work. When I did a google search for recipes using baby food peaches, 350,000 results popped up!
• If you find an item that you have no desire to ever use or you have way too many of…make a food pantry pile, so you’ll be ready for the next canned food drive.
• Give each shelf a “theme”. Suggestions: snacks, breakfast, baking, canned goods, starches, spices and flavorings.


the baking shelf and the breakfast shelf

• Use inexpensive plastic Lazy Susans to store spices & flavorings to save space. Go an extra step and alphabetize your spices.


organize spices and flavorings with inexpensive lazy susans

• Try a bucket or basket to store prepackaged lunch box snacks like granola bars, peanut butter crackers, chips and fruit snacks – you’ll save a bunch of space, and you’re children will know exactly where to look for lunch box treats.


bucket of snacks

• Make a basket of cookie and cake decorations like sprinkles, food coloring and birthday candles!

 
Tips for Refrigerator and Freezer Cleaning and Organizing:

• Tackle one shelf at a time.
• Throw away expired items.
• Wipe down each shelf.
• Many refrigerators and freezers already have labeled compartments which allow for instant organization!
• Consider making a leftover shelf in the refrigerator, so everyone in the family will know where to look for a quick meal.
• Group similar items together in the door shelves – salad dressings, condiments, assorted pickles and peppers, etc.

So, what do you think…was it worth taking a week off from grocery shopping to save money and get organized? How many meals did you create with your pantry, refrigerator and freezer cleaning project?

~~~~~~~

Image courtesy of: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You clip coupons, you organize coupons, and then you get to the cashier and realize that you forgot your coupons, again!

What’s the best way to remember your coupons?

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!

The reason most of us forget our coupons is we make unplanned trips to the grocery, we don’t have a list, and our coupons are comfy in a desk drawer at home.

Grocery shopping should be a 3-step process:

• Plan Your Meals – Meal planning tips: pay attention to what’s on sale, and keep your family schedule in mind. Don’t tackle an ambitious meal on a crazy busy night, instead opt for a simple soup and sandwich supper or a crock pot dinner.
• Make a Grocery List – If you shop without a list, you’ll end up wasting money on things you don’t need, and you’ll find yourself making multiple trips to the grocery each week. It may seem quicker to pick up what you need at the grocery each day, but don’t forget to factor in your driving time and gas expense.
• Gather Your Coupons – Attach any coupons that you need to your grocery list, and you’ll be ready to ring up the savings at check out!

 
You’ll need to dedicate about an hour each week to planning your meals, making your grocery list and gathering coupons. This may seem like a lot of time, but I’ll bet your multiple trips to the grocery store add up to much more than an hour. I use The Grocery Game to plan my meals and gather my coupons – they’ll let you know what’s on sale, where to find the coupon and then you print your grocery list!

When it comes to coupons for restaurants and stores, I always keep those in my car! I must admit there have been times when I’m standing in line at DSW, and I have to jump out of line to run to my car for the $10 coupon, but that’s easier than driving home for the coupling or just not using it at all.

Please leave a comment to share your tips for remembering to use coupons.

~~~~~~~

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If you are looking to save money when buying groceries or drugstore items, did you know being brand loyal could be a budget buster?

Consider this, when you are shopping for, let’s say canned tuna. Do you always buy the same brand just out of habit? Would you buy an alternative brand if it was on sale and you could save $.50 a can? Or better yet, what if you were able to pair up a sale and a coupon and get that item FREE. Would you then be willing to try another brand then?

Before I really started using coupons and sales to my advantage I often bought specific products that I had always used and many of them were typically less expensive brands. But after I started couponing I got to try a variety of high dollar name brand products that I wouldn’t have purchased otherwise. In most cases, I was able to get these products either free or almost free.

For example: I primarily used to purchase Suave haircare products because they were not only good but reasonably priced. I can now by haircare items from John Frieda , Herbal Essence, Finesse and the like. Getting them all for next to nothing, which is cheaper than the cost of the “less expensive” brand.

Having an open mind to trying other brands (and to save money) have allowed me to find products that really work well for me and my family. And it can work for you, too. With all that being said however, I realize there are definitely certain items you absolutely love and aren’t willing to compromise on and that is fine. But if for most of your shopping you are willing to get the best deal regardless of brand, you can and will save a ton of dough, which in turn will keep your budget intact.

Want more info? Learn My Top Ten Couponing Tips on how to get the best deals around.

~~~~~~~

Written by: Amy Fields, ManyMoneySaversBlog.com

Amy is a full-time work-outside-the-home wife and mother of two, who loves to find great deals and share them with anyone who will listen. She is also the author and publisher of Many Money Savers Blog. A place to find freebies, specials and deals as well as great money saving & money making tips.

What’s for dinner? It’s a question our families ask us everyday, and if meal planning is stressing you out here’s a solution! I call it Meal Planning Made Simple – 7 Days, 7 Ways. It’s simply 7 ways to come up with dinner ideas, so you’ll add some variety to your meals and save money.

Did you know that meal planning and making a grocery list are two of the most important steps you can take to save time and money? Those everyday trips to the grocery waste time, gas and money. It may seem like just a quick 30 minute grocery trip, but if you’re doing it everyday…that’s 3 1/2 hours of grocery shopping a week!

Meal Planning Made Simple – 7 days, 7 ways!

• Check Your Calendar – each week before you plan your meals. Don’t try to plan an elaborate meal on a night when everyone is coming and going! How about crock pot dinner night? Try The Budget Diet’s recipes for Crock Pot BBQ or Crock Pot Red Beans & Rice

 

• Organize Your Recipes – take time to organize your recipes and revisit some old favorites! Maybe you want to make a list of your favorite recipes, so you can refer to it each week when your planning meals! It’s a menu planning cheat sheet!

 

• Try New Recipes – commit to trying 1 new recipe each week! If you’re a Food Network fan or you’re forever clipping recipes out of magazines…get cooking!

 

• Make Freezer Meals – get in the habit of doubling and freezing some of your recipes like casseroles and soups. At least once a week, you can look to the freezer for dinner and take a night off from kitchen duty! Freezer meals are especially good on busy nights, and if you’d like to learn more about freezer cooking check out these articles: Freezer Cooking aka Super Mom’s Dirty Little Secret and Season & Freeze Ground Beef

 

• Look at the Grocery Ads – the Wednesday newspaper is filled with grocery inserts, use these sale ads to spark dinner ideas and save money. If you notice that ground beef is on sale, maybe you should make chili! Try The Budget Diet’s Chili recipe

 

• Let Your Kids Do the Meal Planning – let each child plan dinner 1 night per week. They’ll love planning a meal with all their favorites! Even better, if they are old enough…check out my plan to let your kids do the cooking!
   
• Grill It – just because you’re in charge of meal planning, doesn’t mean you have to do all the cooking. Declare Saturday night grilling night, and let your husband do the cooking!

 

So, the next time you kids ask you what’s for dinner…impress them by pulling out the menu for the week!

~~~~~~~

Image courtesy of: chawalitpix / FreeDigitalPhotos.net