How To Get Started Meal Planning
Written by kristine · November 28, 2009
Meal planning may sound intimidating at first, but it’s really not that hard. The first thing you should do is to write down all of your family’s favorite dishes. This will be very handy when you just can’t think of anything for dinner 
Next, grab the grocery ads. If you don’t get these in the mail or in your weekly newspaper, just jump online and visit your favorite grocery store’s website. Most grocery stores have their weekly ads listed right on their websites now, and some are even interactive (allowing you to create a printable shopping list – very cool!). Once you have your grocery ads in hand, scan them for sale items that can be used for this week’s meals.
Before you get to deep into your menu plan, you might want to look at your calendar for the week. If you have family or work activities that will keep you from getting home at a decent hour, you will want to plan very simple meals or even leftovers for those particular nights.
Next, you should take an inventory of the items in your fridge and pantry. Do you have any food that needs to be eaten right away? This is one of the greatest benefits of meal planning. You waste much less food because you only buy what you plan on using that week.
Continue reading How To Get Started Meal Planning…
Related Posts
Free Holiday Spending Budget Worksheet
Written by kristine · November 4, 2008
In my “I’m Putting Christmas on a Budget” post, I talked about the importance of creating a budget to help you save money this holiday season. In addition to gifts, you need to figure out how much you want to spend on decorations, food, and supplies as well.
To help you plan your holiday spending budget, I’ve created a free worksheet, which you can download here.
Planning who you want to buy for, what you want to buy and how much you want to spend will help you save money by allowing you to shop around and get the best deals on gifts this year.
I hope you enjoy the holiday spending worksheet. Happy shopping!
Related Posts
I’m Putting Christmas on a Budget This Year!
Written by kristine · November 4, 2008
I’m doing something that is very out of character for me… I’m thinking about holiday shopping in the first week of November. Normally, I’m one of those last minute, barely get it there on time Christmas shoppers, so this is very unusual for me.
But like a lot of people, I want to save money this holiday season, and one of the best ways to do that is to start my Christmas shopping early.
For all of you who want to join me and put Christmas on a budget this year, here are some tips to get you started:
Start early – Perhaps the best tip this year will be to start early. It is expected that retailers will be offering deals far earlier this year than in previous years, and starting early will help you plan better and scope out those deals.
Make a list – Make a list of items you plan on buying this year, whether it’s gifts, decorations or food for the holiday entertaining. Having a list will allow you to snag items as they go on sale, and it will keep you from procrastinating til the last minute.
Set a budget – It’s easy to get excited and go overboard on gifts, especially if you don’t have a budget in place. Write down everyone you want to buy for this year, and set a specific dollar amount for each person. You’ll be surprised at how much this will help reduce your overall holiday spending!
Continue Reading I’m Putting Christmas on a Budget This Year!
Related Posts
It’s Not ALL Bad News…
Written by kristine · October 22, 2008
You’d never guess there was any good news in the economy based on the gloomy headlines and the lack of consumer confidence. The economy is definitely in turmoil right now, but I’ve always felt that the media focused on the negative news and buried any good news.
So I was thrilled to see ‘10 Things That Are Going Right’ on Kiplinger.com today.
According to the guys at Kiplinger, there are a few reasons to be optimistic about after all:
1. Oil prices have dropped 50% in the last three months. I have definitely noticed this at the gas pumps as gas prices have dropped from over $4 per gallon to $2.33 per gall earlier this week. This will definitely help the old pocket book each time we fill up.
2. Deals on new cars are abundant as carmakers have suffered double digit decline in sales. This is good news for consumers in the market for a new car. In addition, carmakers have finally started developing hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles which should have long-lasting benefits.
3. Interest rates are low and are expected to go lower. So again, consumers in the market for a new car or house should benefit.
4. Home prices are down significantly, which is good news for first time home buyers who were previously priced out of the market.
Continue Reading It’s Not ALL Bad News…
More Posts
Bailout Plan Includes Tax Breaks Too
Written by kristine · October 22, 2008
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about the $700 billion bailout plan that was passed recently in an attempt to rescue the housing market. What you may not know is that there were several tax relief provisions included in this bill.
Included in the bill were some new tax credits, and some other tax bills that were set to expire were extended.
Here’s a quick summary of the tax breaks found in the bailout bill:
Mortgage debt forgiveness – under previous tax law, if you had any debt forgiven, the cancelled debt was taxable income to you. The new law temporarily stops homeowners from owing tax on cancelled debt up to $2 million. The debt has to be related to your primary residence. This is actually an extension on a law that was set to expire; the new law will extend this provision until 2012.
Lower property taxes – homeowners who don’t itemize their deductions will be able to deduct up to $500 ($1,000 for joint taxpayers) of personal property taxes in addition to the standard deduction. This is effective for 2008 and 2009.
Continue Reading Bailout Plan Includes Tax Breaks Too
Recent Comments