While perusing another terrific site that I guest posted for, SaveUp, I came across a website called Spendster.org. Spendster wants you to confess all your dirty little shopping secrets in the safety of others. You can upload a confessional video telling what habits you indulge in, watch others videos (apparently so you can feel better about yourself!), or join in the discussion. Spendster also provides a nifty calculator that helps calculate how much money you could save if you weren’t spending it on all that stuff.

After you’ve figured out how much money you could be saving and the guilt sets in, click on over to their Litter Man blog to read ideas that could help you trim that spending urge. They also provide common-sense advice on how to trim particular habits in the “Your Stuff” page. Select the category you spend most of your money on and compare it to other Spendsters. (P.S. I’m in the 49% group! Wanna guess which category that is?!) Then select one of their helpful money tips documents (I could totally use these to teach that finance class that NO ONE signed up for! That’s a different story for another time.)

Another fun way to tighten that belt is to enter one of their contests. They recently hosted a video contest and gave away cash prizes for sharing all the useless stuff that a person seems to accumulate. Great incentive!

Here’s a sample of their Spendster calculator. I used my Starbucks coffee addiction as my sample:

Spendster.org; find out how much money you're wasting on stuff

My coffee habit could be saving me $1,095 per year. If I gave up coffee for one year, I could have $5,256 in 40-years. Good thing I don’t charge my coffee, it would cost me 3 times the amount!

Are you a Spendster?

Across the nation, teachers are preparing their classrooms, parents are purchasing school supplies, and kids are wishing summer would never end! But it always ends and gives way to the beginning of a new school year. The new school year means it’s time to purchase new school clothes since most kids outgrow or wear out last year’s duds. Without spending a fortune, or making your child go to school in burlap sacks, you can follow these tips below to save money on a new wardrobe:

Shop the Sales with Coupons

Frugal shopping means hitting the sales, and better yet, shopping them with a coupon. One of my favorite places to pick up the basics is Old Navy. The quality of their clothing isn’t the greatest, but depending on how quickly your child grows,  basic pieces should last most of the school year. What’s great about this store is they frequently host sales throughout the summer.

Money Saving Tip: Keep your Old Navy receipt. At the bottom there’s a coupon you can use if you return within 5 days to receive an additional percent off.  Buy one or two pieces and return a few days later to purchase the remainder of your child’s wardrobe. Or, take an online survey and receive an additional 10% off your next purchase at Old Navy.

Organize a Clothes Swap

Kids grow quickly, sometimes so quickly they barely have time to wear the clothing you’ve purchased. Friends, relatives, and neighbors with kids encounter this same problem. Before selling the clothes at a garage sale or donating it, compare clothing sizes with your friends. You might find that little Megan’s dress fits your friend’s daughter Trista perfectly. Organizing a clothes swap can be a small or large event; think neighbors, mommy and me groups, or even your child’s school. Picking up a few new-to-you pieces by swapping out the old ones is a win-win situation.

Money Saving Tip: Set some guidelines before getting together. Make sure it’s clear you only want to swap “like new” items, meaning no stained or torn clothing please.

Get Creative at the Thrift Store

Depending on your child’s age, they may or may not like the idea of having their clothes come from a thrift store. One way to work around this is to purchase a few new items on sale at department stores and a few lightly used pieces at a thrift store. If you sew or are crafty with iron-on’s and beads, your child might be more interested in picking out a pair of jeans or a shirt at a thrift store. For younger children, this may not be an issue at all. In that case, you might be able to purchase most of their wardrobe for a fraction of what it would cost buying these same items new.

Money Saving Tip: Jeans are a great bargain at thrift stores. Spruce them up using iron-on’s or sew-on’s and beads.

How do you save money on school clothes?

Now that I’m willing to visit a few different stores for my produce, meat, cheese, and frozen goods, I’m even more impressed with Vallarta Market.They offer some of the best prices for produce and meats. Oh, and Bud Light beer.   Here’s a sample of my receipt:

1. 1 white onion = .09 cents (Their white onions were on sale for 7 pounds for $1.00!)
2. one bunch of cilantro = .25 cents (or 4 bunches for $1.00)
3. one bunch of green onions = .25 cents (again, 4 bunches for $1.00)
4. .29 pounds of limes = .15 cents (limes were on sale for 2 pounds for $1.00)
5. 1 green pepper = .75 cents
6. 1 head of iceberg lettuce = .69 cents
7. 4 bananas = $1.26
8. 1 pound of 85% lean ground beef = $4.59 ( I know that in other parts of the country, ground beef is a lot less, but here this is a good deal.)
9. 30 pack of Bud Light = $17.99

Making time to shop around saves me quite a bit of money. Vallarta’s produce is local, but I need to carefully select the items since they save money on not having additional labor weeding out the bruised fruits and vegetables, which I’m just fine with.

With a stocked refrigerator and enough food for meals to last 14 days, the $156 that I spent in groceries (including my local chain market) is a great deal for my area.

How have you been saving money on groceries?

Are you shopping today? According to this MSN.com article, some people are choosing to shop instead of dine on turkey today. Let me be the first to say, I’m definitely not! Of course, I don’t really like shopping anyway so why would I be out on one of the busiest shopping days of the year?!

To each his own, I suppose. Though I do feel empathy for the retail clerks who must forgo their own holiday in lieu of checking out the uber consumer. And who else would be out scanning the sales instead of eating turkey and pumpkin pie but an over zealous shopper? I suppose I should appreciate their gusto to stimulate the economy by dropping wads of cash instead of spending it at the dining table. I don’t necessarily agree with the point the MSN article makes; that not spending Thanksgiving traditionally at the dinner table with family is ruining table etiquette. I’m pretty sure table etiquette was lost long ago when families began eating dinner in front of the television as the cobwebs grew around the dining table.

I know that today I will be spending it at the dinner table with my family in a traditional manner. That includes never being able to finish a complete sentence, enjoying my mother’s delicious cooking while wondering how old the yams are (they are stock pilers when it comes to groceries), becoming keenly aware of my husband’s anxiety to get the heck out of there, and listening to my family talk on top of each other making it practically impossible to figure out what they’re saying. Ahh, family. I suppose it’s a good thing Thanksgiving only comes around once a year.

If you aren’t shopping or spending this Thanksgiving with family, be sure to check out my article over at Wise Bread on alternatives to a traditional Thanksgiving Feast.

What are your Thanksgiving plans this year?

Looking to save money on groceries, I’ve been clipping coupons and purchasing items on sale. Last night, I ran to the grocery store to catch up on my weekly shopping. My local grocery store is currently under construction, so many of their items are deeply discounted to encourage shoppers to remain loyal during their rearranging of aisles. I purchased a total of 60 grocery items for an average of $1.15 per item, and it wasn’t just packets of Kool-Aid!

I started out with coupons totaling $17.00 in savings;  I  had a pile of Gatorade coupons, a dollar off Jennie-O ground turkey coupon, and a dollar off any cereal coupon. I also had a $10 off grocery store coupon if I spent more than $25.00 (more incentives to keep shopping during their construction phase). Because I made a point to only purchase items that were on sale, many of the items I purchased were reduced in price by 30% or more. My grocery list is always pretty consistent:

• cereal
• oranges
• Gatorade
• bread
• Jennie-O ground turkey
• Easy Mac
• applesauce
• Pepperidge Farms Goldfish crackers
• beer
• canned spaghetti-o’s and ravioli
• chili
• pudding cups
• diet soda

Okay, so I’m not a model for healthy eating (not like those on a slow carb diet), but these items aren’t too bad if you don’t count the carbs! During checkout, I noticed my bill shrinking dollar by dollar. Reviewing my receipt showed I saved a total of $62.00, that’s almost the amount I ended up spending. My grocery items cover a week of breakfast, lunches, and a few dinners using the ground turkey.

My coupon organizer has also been helpful during shopping. As I check off my grocery list, I quickly look through my categories to see if  I have a coupon for a similar item. If I do, I move it to the front of the pouch so I don’t forget to give it to the cashier during the checkout process. This has helped me use those soon to expire coupons. I find I’m not throwing away expired coupons as often. If I can continue saving money on groceries, I will find more money for savings! Now if only I could save money on my utilities I’d be golden.