Saving Money on Kids and Mommy's Clothes

I had this article about saving money on clothing purchases from Family Hack tucked away in my favorites list. I was weeding out my massive list of links today and I re-read it and found it perfect for today's budgeting use! It's a great guide to saving money on clothing by timing your purchases to the store sales system. Give it a looksie!

Feeding Your Family for Less

Why is my dog's photo attached to this article about saving food dollars...you'll see! I think we're all feeling the pinch of rising gas and food prices. I know we are. So from various sources, I've compiled some ways to save money and lower your grocery bill:

Coupons! Every Sunday get the paper and go through the coupons. The coupons alone will easily pay for the price of the Sunday paper. Match them up with the weekly food/grocery sale flyers and plan your shopping accordingly.

Dollar Store! My husband is living in temporary quarters on his own until we relocate. He has saved a bundle by dropping by the dollar store to get some necessary household items. There was an ABC News story recently that showed a chef's challenge to make a gourmet meal using only foods from the dollar store. She did it and saved over $100 on the meal over purchasing items at a high end market. Give it a try.

Wash Your Own Dog! Yes, technically, this isn't grocery shopping. But I save $32 to $40 every time I wash my own dog instead of taking him to the groomer. I buy Hartz Oatmeal dog shampoo for his sensitive skin at the grocery store and I use barber scissors to cut the little matts off. I even use an old hairbrush to groom him with. We have saved at least three grooms and he looks cuter now. Yes that's his handgroomed photo at the top!

Choose generic or store brands of healthy groceries, such as whole-grain cereal and frozen vegetables. Look high and low for them—the most costly options are shelved at eye level. Buy fresh produce in season. Try local farmers’ markets for fresher, less expensive options. Frozen vegetables are healthy and even more affordable than fresh produce, and you can get out-of-season vegetables less expensively.

Make larger batches of your favorite healthy meals. Store labeled leftovers in the refrigerator and take them for lunch the next day. Buy chicken, fish and meat in bulk, and put them in freezer bags in meal-size portions.

Begin a home or community garden so you that can grow your own fruits and vegetables. Or, have an herb garden at home, which is less expensive than buying fresh herbs in the grocery store. I know it's cheaper to buy a basil plant than to buy fresh basil at our grocery store.

Buy in bulk and make your own convenience sizes using ziplock bags.

Chase Has Sucky Credit Card Consumer Practices Afoot

Yes, I know my title could be better, but it's true! We just received a nasty little surprise from the Chase credit card folks. We've been cardholders for a number of years now, with never a late payment. We had been enjoying a very nice interest rate for a number of years and now they decided to increase it to the usurious level of 19.49%. In reading the notice mailed to us, it said they had used credit bureau information to increase our interest rate over 13% from it's prior level, effective in January 2008. I immediately checked our credit bureau and found nothing amiss. We have paid perfectly to everyone, every time.

I then went to Chase's website, hoping to find out more. That's where I found this little gem of a press release waiting:

"Chase Will No Longer Increase Rates Based on Credit-Bureau Information
WILMINGTON, DE (November 19, 2007) - Today, Chase Card Services announced the expansion of Chase Clear & Simple, an ongoing program designed to help Chase customers better understand and manage their accounts, with the adoption of new, clearer pricing practices.
Chase is eliminating a practice, commonly used in the industry, of increasing interest rates for individual cardholders when their credit-bureau scores decline. This change is effective on March 1, 2008."

Oh, really! I was shocked....here they are cleaning house, perhaps of people like us,with low interest rate cards, before their March 1st "consumer-friendly" lending practices begin. Could we be the only ones....I really doubt it. UPDATE - I am definitely not the only one - check out the various unhappy customers at the Chase Sucks discussion board. Also, Senator Carl Levin of Michigan has launched an inquiry this month (Dec 2007) into these unfair interest rate practices. I will be writing my letter to the Senator today.

Buyer Beware, the adage says, when the actions don't match the words, integrity is certainly not there! I recommend that you stay away from Chase Visa and Chase Mastercard, because their company doesn't stand behind what they are saying.

I'm Doing Only Online Christmas Shopping This Year

As I've written before, I really hate going to the malls to shop for Christmas presents. I totally avoided Black Friday by shopping exclusively online. I've never had any trouble returning items and I'm saving gas too. I've been shopping for tech bargains this year, as we are looking at getting a new computer for our online business soon. We've had our current one for over five years and I'm kind of worried about it failing unexpectedly - which has happened with a prior computer! We're like to look for the best deals and I really like techbargains.com because they do the searching for us. We've signed up for the email newsletter which will send us alerts for the items we want to buy. I liked that I can choose what deals

I'm also in need of a new digital camera and was pleased to use this service and the site to compare deals. They have a wonderful database with reviews and comparisons, so it has been really easy to choose between the models. They keep the site updated 24 hours per day, and they add new deals several times per day. I love finding coupons and they have tons of them, so check it out, save some gas and find what you need online this year!

Now My Kids Like to Clean Their Room

Whoa, I bet you think I'm lying, don't you? Well, anything can be done with the proper motivation. Our Chore Chart motivator is toys. Without motivation my children are basically slugs when it comes to cleaning. That's why we are starting to use the PAYjr allowance system.

PAYjr, the leading online allowance and chore program for kids, has launched a new partnership with Target. Now, allowances can be loaded directly, electronically, and automatically to a free and reloadable Target Gift Card. The perfect program to teach kids 12 and under how to manage money.

We have set up an online Chore Chart for each child, which was easy to do. When each kid completes an assigned chore, we review it and approve payment which will be allocated to that child's Target Card. We have always found it difficult to keep a regular chore chart going and slipped up with tracking - this solves all the problems and makes rewarding them easier.

The children love Target, and they are looking forward to earning more to pay for their toy purchases.

Grandparents Plan Financial Security for Kids' Holiday Gift

As we countdown to the holiday and plan our gifts for the season, I am asking that everyone, parents and grandparents, other family and more, take a look at a gift of financial security for the kids.

Our children have more toys than they ever play with. We have weeded and tossed, especially with the toy recalls. They still have easily 200 plus items crowding the room. I hate to do the math as to what the dollars "invested" in toys would have added up to put instead into their college fund. Countless thousands. I am not advocating a toyless Christmas, just a more moderate one.

AARP did a survey of grandparents about gift giving. Some of the key findings were that gift giving is mostly tied to key events, like Christmas and birthdays, not a surprise. 83% say they give because it makes them happy. But some answers were revealing about what they might really wish would happen regarding the gifts.

• A small financial gift can grow to huge amounts with the power of compounding. Yet only 22% of respondents have opened a savings or investment account for grandchildren. Those that did were most likely to put money in the lower return accounts, like bank savings accounts.
• On average, grandparents spent a median total of $600 in gifts or cash on all their grandchildren last year.
• Less than one in five (19%) have given money and/or gifts worth $1,000 to a grandchild for a single occasion or at one time.

Just imagine if only a portion of that was invested in a 529 College Savings plan. How much further along would your kids be in college preparation?

Just think about buying one less toy and giving that amount to the college savings plan your family has in place or create one - everyone will thank you later when they are debt free upon graduation.

North Carolina Coupon Site Saves You Money!

At NCNatural's Adventure site they have a wonderful list of national Online Coupons where you can save money on national brands, while supporting a great North Carolina website. You can get money saving coupons for your favorite retailers, like Lillian Vernon and Franklin Covey, two of my favorites for gift giving opportunities.

The are growing, and updating the site everyday to add new offers from hundreds of merchants. This is great way to find money saving deals and to do your Christmas shopping ahead of time and online to save gas money.

It's really easy to find the merchants you love. So take a look and don't pay retail this holiday season!

Common Home Insurance Mistakes

I found this list of common home insurance coverage mistakes. It's very relevant given the supposed increase in potential hurricanes starting on August 1st. So take a look, Moms and Dads! Don't be crying and scratching your heads when something bad happens! My BIL's house nearly caught fire and burned down last week due to some frayed wiring in the attic. Things can happen! Oh, and check your fire alarms in your home - the batteries were out of theirs cause they had beeped too much!

1: Flooding Not Included
About 33 percent of policy holders still think flood damage is covered by a standard homeowners or property and liability policy, according to the study. To get flood insurance you need to get it through the government. Here's your first move: Go to floodsmart.gov. You'll be able to gauge your risk of flood and get price estimates for your home. If you live in a flood zone, you don't want to be without this coverage.

2: Prevent Mold
34 percent of homeowners think mold damage is covered. But mold, like rot and termite infestation, is generally not covered by a homeowners insurance policy. There is no separate mold policy you can buy. But there are steps you can do to minimize your risk. Keep the humidity level in your home between 30 percent and 60 percent by using air conditioners or dehumidifiers. Put exhaust fans in kitchens and bathrooms. And don't install carpets in damp areas such as basements or bathrooms.

3: Sewer Backups Are Your Responsibility
37 percent of homeowners think damages from a sewer line break on their property that connects to their sewer system are covered. But homeowners are responsible for the maintenance and repair of their house and the pipeline between the city sanitary sewer main, usually located under the street, and the building. The cost for coverage is about $50 a month according to the Insurance Information Institute. Water-starved tree roots may be a big factor in sewer blockage. These tree roots make their way into sewer line cracks and grow over time. So, if you have a lot of trees in your area, you may want to investigate these policies.

4: Get Earthquake Coverage
Just like flooding, Earthquake coverage is not covered under a standard homeowners policy. You can get coverage from private insurance companies. Deductibles can range anywhere from 2 percent to 20 percent of the replacement value of the structure. In California, homeowners can also get coverage from the California Earthquake Authority (CEA), a privately funded, publicly managed organization. Did you know that Charleston, SC had the largest earthquake in the southeastern United States and that it will happen again one day?

5: Cash Value vs. Replacement Cost
We just want to mention one more misconception: the difference between actual cash value and replacement cost. 12 percent of people surveyed didn't know which kind of coverage they had. Remember, actual cash value is the amount it would take to repair or replace damage to a home and its contents AFTER depreciation. Replacement cost is the amount it would take to replace or rebuild a home or repair damages without deducting for depreciation. An actual cash value payout could be thousands of dollars lower than a benefit calculated at the replacement cost according to the NAIC.