Here I am (again)…your FREE personal organizer with your checklist for February!

Check you calendar!
Any birthday gifts or birthday cards you need to send? How about anniversaries? Plan ahead for all those special events by putting together a Greeting Card Organizer!

Super Bowl Party?
What are you serving or what are you taking to your Super Bowl Party? I’ve put together a Super Bowl Party Menu (aka Man Food!) that’s full of frugalicious and fast favorites.

Valentine’s Day
Don’t let Valentine’s Day sneak up on you! Be a “Budget Cupid” and order discounted gift cards or Groupons now, so you can save at favorite stores and restaurants. How about saving on your Valentine’s dinner? As of today, Plastic Jungle has discounted gift cards for Macaroni Grill 10% off, Black Angus Steakhouse 12% off, Morton’s Steakhouse 12% off, Olive Garden 9% off and P.F. Chang’s 9% off. You’ll also find discounted gift cards to your favorite movie theaters, Bath & Body Works, Victoria’s Secret and more!

 
Spring Break Travel Plans?
It’s time to make Spring Break travel plans! In the spirit of budget travel, why don’t you take a good old-fashioned road trip? Have a family meeting, decide where to go, and let each family member plan a day of the trip (from meals to activities to lodging)! It’s a great way to please everyone and save money! You can even find Marriott Gift Cards for 10% off right now at Plastic Jungle! Another option, find a Groupon Getaway to cure your spring fever! Groupon Getaways update each Tuesday, and these great deals can always be found on the right side of this page.

February is a great time to buy…
Bicycles
Boats
Home Theatre & Big Screen TV’s
Video Games
Wedding – plan an off-peak wedding and save!
 
Thanks FreeShipping.org for sharing your Best Buy Guide!

According to The New York Times, nearly $5 billion in gift cards goes unused each year! That’s right, $5 BILLION! That’s a lot of wasted money!

So, if gift cards are supposed to be the perfect gift, why aren’t we using them? In a Time Magazine survey, 27% of people had an unused gift card because…

• They had no time to shop.
• They couldn’t find anything they wanted.
• They forgot about the gift card!

 
Maybe gift cards aren’t the perfect gift after all!

How much of that $5 billion is sitting around your house? I’ll wait while you take a moment to go dig through your drawers and go dig though your wallet because there’s money to be found!

Now that you’ve found a few lost and lonely gift cards, what are your options?

• Use the gift card! Plan a gift card only shopping spree!
• Regift the gift card if it’s never been used.
• Sell or trade the gift card! Sell your unwanted gift cards for cash today!It’s gift card selling season!

 
If you’re a bargain shopper, these unwanted gift cards are a treasure just waiting to be found! Get in the habit of checking Plastic Jungle each week and stock up on gift cards for your favorite stores. As of today, you could buy a Macy’s $25 gift card for $22.25 (11% savings) or how about a $50 Bath & Body Works card for $43.50 (13% savings).

Let’s put an end to the gift card madness and save the billions of wasted dollars! Let’s find homes for all the unused gift cards in the world!

~~~~~~~

Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Here’s to an organized 2013!

Your FREE personal organizer (that’s me!) is here to help you get off to an organized start in 2013! If your new year’s resolution had anything to do with saving money or getting organized, The Budget Diet girl is here to help!

Save Money!

A new year is the perfect time to take a look at your financial situation, and update your budget! If you don’t have a written household budget, try my budget basics! It’s a simple fill in the blank worksheet, so you’ll know exactly how much you have left to spend on food and fun! If your new year’s resolution is to save money, you don’t want to miss these articles:

• Cut Your Spending By $11 a Day and Save $4000 a Year
• Cut Your Spending by $400 a Month
• Let’s Go on a Budget Diet
• If You Could Share Just One Money Saving Tip, What Would It Be?
• Resolution Solution – Reduce Your Bills
• Resolution Solution – Shop Smarter
• Resolution Solution – Cut Food Costs
• Resolution Solution – Have Fun for Less
• Resolution Solution – Travel More, Spend Less
• Resolution Solution – Go Green and Save Some Green
• Resolution Solution – Reduce Health and Fitness Expenses

 
Get Organized!

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could wave a magic wand, and all your Christmas decorations would be put away, nice and neat, labeled and ready for next year? There’s no magic wand, but you can save yourself a lot of time by organizing your decorations as you put them away. Follow these three simple rules for putting away Christmas decorations:

• Use clear plastic bins and label clearly!
• Roll each strand of lights and put in a plastic grocery bag to prevent tangling.
• Make a box of decorations that you no longer want and drop them off at Goodwill.

If you need tips to organize more than just your Christmas decorations, Organize My Life in 10 Short Days will get you off to a great start this new year!

Save Time and Money

Delegate, delegate, delegate! Let this be your motto for 2013, and you’ll enjoy more free time!

Let’s start by delegating some of your housework! Our family tradition is to hold a chore lottery on New Year’s day. I come up with a list of chores, write each one on a scrap of paper, put the scraps of paper in a jar & let the children choose their chores for the year. Here’s a list of chores that my children have been helping me with for years.

How would you like to take a night off from cooking? Let your children do the cooking (and cleaning) and enjoy your night off. It’s a great way for your kids to learn to cook!

Christmas Receipts and Instruction Books

Take a moment to staple your receipts to instruction books for toys, electronics or any gadget that has a warranty. Next, put them in your file cabinet in a folder labeled “warranties”, so you’ll know exactly where to find then when something is broken. If you need to tackle your file cabinet chaos, take a look at these file cabinet organization tips.

Check Your Calendar

Any birthdays, anniversaries or parties this month? If you plan ahead, you’ll save money!

Shopping Calendar

Thanks to the folks at FreeShipping.org for sharing their Best Time to Buy Guide! January is one of those months when retailers are clearing out, so take advantage of the savings if you need:

• Big Appliances
• Bicycles
• Calendars
• Carpet and Flooring
• Furniture
• Linens and Bedding
• Office Furniture
• Outdoor Gear
• Suits
• Video Games
• Wrapping Paper

 
January is also a great month to buy discounted gift cards or sell unwanted gift cards that you received for Christmas! Did you know that according to the USA Today, 30% of Americans still have gift cards that are over a year old? More and more people are discovering that they can sell their unwanted gift cards, and YOU CAN ENJOY THE SAVINGS! $100 gift cards for as low as $70 to purchase brand name products at your favorite stores! PlasticJungle -Buy, sell & trade gift cards

Your free personal organizer, aka The Budget Diet girl, is always at your service with tips to help you keep your new year’s resolution!

~~~~~~~

Image courtesy of FrameAngel / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How to Oragnize a Garage Sale

I had visions of a giant garage/moving sale, but those visions didn’t include 10 short days to get it together! I wasn’t procrastinating,
I just didn’t want to begin the cleaning out process until we had a contract on our house. After all, who wants to welcome prospective buyers with piles of junk gently used treasures.

So…I was thrilled when the contract arrived and panicked when I saw the closing date. Well, no time to panic, let the clean out begin!

Our new home has the same square footage, but it was built in 1925, so I’m going from a master closet that’s the size of a small bedroom to a closet that’s…well…the size of a closet. It’s time to purge!

Consider this your how to guide for organizing a garage sale.

1. Set a goal. For example, the money we make at the garage sale is going toward new den furniture or how about a new flat screen TV?
2. Adopt the mantra, if you haven’t used it or thought about it in the past year…get rid of it!
3. Tackle 1 room each day, including the closet.
4. If your children are old enough, have them clean out their own rooms, and remind them that the garage sale funds will be purchasing a new flat screen TV!
5. Each room will have 4 piles: garage sale, donations, garbage, recycling.
6. Once everything has been cleared out, begin taking the garage sale piles to the garage. Of course, you’re going to do this an organized fashion…think like a department store. The Budget Diet Girl highly recommends making signs for your tables. The signs obviously depend on your merchandise, but some suggestions are: $1 table, toys and games, books, household items and clothing (try to borrow a clothing rack). When possible, have set prices for all items on a table like hardback books $1, paperback books 50-cents. Some items are difficult to assign a set price, so get busy with those price stickers.
7. Have your husband or teens take care of the donations, garbage and recycling piles.
8. Make sure to advertise your garage sale in the local newspapers, and don’t forget Craigslist.com.
9. Have plenty of signage in your neighborhood directing shoppers to your sale.
10. Be prepared for the big day with plenty of change, and be prepared for the serious shoppers to arrive before opening time.
11. Line up a charity to come pick up all the remaining items and make sure to get a tax donation receipt.

It’s garage sale season!

Have fun, make money!

P.S. – According to Cari Cucksey (HGTV’s Cash & Cari), “The average family has several thousand dollars worth of stuff lying around.”. Isn’t that enough to motivate you to clean out?

Did you know that planning ahead is an essential money saving tool? Planning ahead allows you to save time and money (and your sanity)!

The Budget Diet girl (a.k.a. your free personal organizer) is here again with a checklist to help you plan ahead for April.

Check Your Calendar
Check your calendar and start planning ahead for any big events this month like birthdays, anniversaries or weddings. Take a moment and order discounted gift cards to buy these gifts, and you’ll save up to 30%! Remember, discounted gift cards take about 1 week to arrive!


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Spring Cleaning?
What is it about April that makes us want to clean, organize and weed out? Get motivated to organize your closet by reading 5 Easy Steps to An Organized Closet or Weed Out Your Wardrobe (my personal favorite!) Cleaning out more than just closets? Learn how to clean out and make money!

Easter Decorations & Easter Treats
If you need some festive Easter decorations, my favorite stores for inexpensive holiday decor are Homegoods, T.J. Maxx or Marshalls! For even better deals, don’t miss Goodwill and thrift shops they’re always loaded with seasonal decor.

Click and print these coupons for savings on Easter Basket goodies:

$3.00 off Horton Hears a Who blu-ray & dvd

$3.00 off Dora the Explorer – Easter

$5.00 off the purchase of any Hot Wheels Toy

$5.00 off the purchase of any Barbie Toy

What are you serving for Easter dinner? Start planning ahead, so you have time to clip coupons…don’t forget coupons for Easter candy!

Vacation anyone?
If you’re ready to plan your summer vacation, now’s the time to check out Groupon Getaways! You’ll find savings of up to 70%, and the deals update each Tuesday.


 
Shopping Calendar: April is a great time to buy…

• cookware – perfect for college grads or newlyweds!
• electronics – most new models come out in the spring, so strike a bargain on last year’s model!
• sneakers
• office furniture
• snowblowers
• vacuums
• cruises – the weather is beautiful, & we’re in between spring break and summer vacations!
• fruits: sorry…this is not the best month for fruit!
• vegetables: artichokes, asparagus, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, greens, potatoes, sweet onions

 
Thanks to my friends at FreeShipping.org for keeping us up to date on the best buys each month!

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

Do you think you could go an entire week without paying full price for anything? Don’t pay full price for groceries, gas, clothes, haircuts, restaurants…you get the idea!

Of course, this money saving mom won’t leave you stranded, I’ll give you some tips to get started, and I’ll publish my savings each day. The challenge will officially begin next Monday, June 27th and end on Sunday, July 3rd.

Money Saving Tips

Buy Discounted Gift Cards – Think about what you need to buy next week, and then visit PlasticJungle.com to save up to 35%! . You can always find discounted gift cards for restaurants and retail stores, and if you’re lucky…you’ll find discounted gift cards that you can use for groceries and gas! Make sure to order these today because they take about 1 week to arrive in the mail.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Shopping Online? – The Budget Diet girl has a 3-step plan to save money whenever you shop online.

1. Start by doing an internet search for the item you’re shopping for and visit a few of the price comparison sites that pop up like Nextag and Yahoo. You’ll quickly discover which store has the best price.
2. Now, head over to Ebates and enter the name of the store where you found the lowest price, so you can save even more money. Ebates will give you coupon codes plus cash back at over 1200 stores!
3. This step is only necessary if the store you’re looking for is not listed on Ebates. The final money saving trick is to use RetailMeNot.com for finding coupon codes. You just won’t earn any cash back like you would with Ebates, but you will find money saving coupon codes like Old Navy 20% off & Free Shipping

 
Save on Groceries – if you’re not already clipping coupons and reading the sale ads, this might be a great week to start! Take a look at 2 ways to save money on groceries:

1. Buy Store Brands – As a general rule, if you buy store brands you will save about 25%! Try switching to store brands this week, and you’ll reduce your grocery bill without having to clip coupons!
2. Try The Grocery Game – If you have about an hour a week to plan meals and clip coupons, The Grocery Game will yield big savings. Sign-up for a free trial of The Grocery Game, Inc.

 
Save on Gas – With the price of gas at over $4 a gallon, it’s time to get serious about gas savings! If your grocery store offers a gas rewards program make sure you’re taking advantage of it! At Kroger, for every $100 you spend, you’ll earn 10¢ off per gallon for 1 fill-up. Another great gas savings option is GasBuddy.com. Simply enter your zip code to locate the cheapest gas in your area.

Save at Restaurants – There is no reason to ever pay full price for a restaurant meal! Discounted gift cards are always available for restaurants and sites like Groupon frequently offer restaurant deals.

Prescriptions – If you don’t ask your doctor if there is a cheaper option, you’ll never know! Learn about the 5 Ways to Save Money on Prescriptions.

Save on Pet Supplies - Pet treats, pet food, pet prescriptions can add up fast! If you’re still buying your pet prescriptions at the vet, you’re paying way too much!

 
 
 
 
 
Save on Clothes – The Budget Diet girl always suggests starting your clothes shopping spree at Goodwill or a thrift store, but if you must make a visit to the mall…please follow my 3 rules to save money!

Save on Home Improvement – Rarely does a week go by that I don’t have to make a trip to Lowes or Home Depot for something. Discounted gift cards are always available for home improvement stores, so make sure you always have one in your wallet for a quick 7% savings!
Home Depot – $50.00 gift card for just $46.50

This challenge will not be easy, and there will be times when you just have to do without. If you can’t find a discounted Starbuck’s gift card then you might just have to brew your own! Remember, patience pays – STOP, THINK, SHOP!

Consider the category list on the left side of this page your money saving “cheat sheet”. If you’re having a birthday party this week, click on the party index and discover how to throw a party for less. If you need to buy a gift this week, click on gifts and save! The Budget Diet girl can show you how to save money on just about anything!

Good luck and please click on the title of this article to share your money saving success stories!

A visit from my Uncle Moto proved to be a lesson in living a simple life. Let me first introduce you to my Uncle, and then I’ll share his philosophy on life!

Single White Male (never married)
Age: 74
Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada
Occupation: retired

Got the picture? Now here’s how he lives a simple life:

No Cell Phone
Our first glimpse into his simple life was when he arrived at the airport, and we remembered that he didn’t have a cell phone. Moto’s philosophy, how important can it really be?
 
 
No Car
His cowboy boots are made for walkin’, and that’s exactly how he gets around. He’s not worried about rising gas prices!

No Cable TV or Satellite Dish
He believes in keeping his mind active by reading books and newspapers.

Computer?
He says he has one, but I’m guessing it’s barely used and still runs Windows 98!

Stress Level?
Happy, stress-free and debt free!

Moto’s life is like a scene from the 1950′s! Life in the 1950′s did not include cell phones or cable TV, and most families got by with just one car. Life was cheaper then, and Moto is on a mission to keep it that way!

Have you ever really thought about how much your family spends on electronics every month? Your weekly challenge is to add up your cell phone bill, cable or satellite bill and internet bill. If you are in debt and need to save money, maybe you should simplify your life and take a break from our wired world. Currently, we pay $250 a month for those luxuries vs. $57 in 1990 – makes me wish for a retro budget!

I’m not advocating that we all give up our cars, cell phones and cable tv, but there is something to be said for living a simple life!

Aren’t there days when you yearn for peace and quiet? Sadly, it takes a power outage to really get a break! We live in a wired world. Our lives are constantly interrupted by e-mails, phone calls and text messages. We’re lured by the computer to check the latest new happenings, sports scores, weather updates and e-mails. Although it’s nice to have access to constant information and instant updates, we’ve added to our stress level by never having a moment of rest and relaxation.

Remember when a vacation really used to be a vacation? You would give family and friends the phone number of the hotel for emergency purposes!

Don’t you have moments when you wish you were June Cleaver?