Easy Ways to Save Using the Internet

May 9, 2013 By 1 Comment

We use the internet for all sorts of things including shopping (price comparisons) and purchasing. The World Wide Web is chock-full of money saving opportunities right there at your fingertips at any time of night or day. You do not need to wait for the Sunday paper or the next round of advertisements and junk mail, instead you can hop on any computer or smart device right now!

It’s easy and there’s no big secret, but many people still don’t know how many ways they can save or even what to look for.  Here are just a few ways to save using the Internet…

shopping-onlineNot So Extreme Couponing

Grocery stores rolled out their club cards years ago and as they data mine your digits they discount your ding dongs. Fair trade for most, but the new thing with grocery stores is their online coupons. You can log-in to their website and choose which coupons you want to use and they automatically load them onto your stores club card. When you check out and slide your card the coupon savings will automatically be calculated and removed from your total.

No more clipping coupons and trying to keep them organized. Nice!

Promo and Coupon Codes For Everything!

Have you noticed the little promo code box when you are ordering things online? It is quite amazing how wide a variety of products and services you can save money on just by seeking out and using promo or coupon codes. Whether you are looking for a Crate and Barrel coupon code or a rental car promo, you can save a ton of money looking for offers online, but you do need to look for them. Not everything comes to you automatically wrapped in a Groupon. Small businesses are looking for more and more ways to reach you and promo codes are hot right not.

Shipping Vs. Delivery Charges

For large item purchases ordered online, shipping can often be less expensive than if you were to make your purchase on-site and have it delivered. Another thing to consider, if you purchase a sofa at a furniture store and they do not carry it in stock they have to order it anyway. If you make the same purchase online, chances are you will get it much faster.

In addition – depending on the bulk of your online purchases in general, you can sometimes negotiate free shipping across the board. This comes in handy when you are doing holiday shopping for a lot of people. You can also have items sent directly to the receiver’s home versus have the additional cost of re-mailing it to them.

Saving Time & Gas Counts Too

The ease and speed with which you can find discounts or perks and make purchases online is incredible, but we often overlook how much time it saves us as well. You can get information on airports or flights, traffic updates, road closures and so much more which allows you to avoid things that cost you time. This kind of information is valuable.

In addition, think of the fuel savings you will rack up on when you don’t have to drive everywhere or get caught up and delayed in traffic.

Every dollar saved is another dollar towards tackling your bucket list or adding to the college fund. Make your every dollar count!

 

NOTE: Sam Peters backed and provided information for this post.

 

 

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Money: What’s It Good For?

November 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

We are excited to bring a guest post to you today from Joe John Duran!

Here’s the simple truth about money—it can really only help you do three things in your life:

1. Avoid pain—by protecting you and helping you to take care of what you’re afraid might cause pain in the future
2. Feel good—by getting you the things that provide you with happiness and satisfaction
3. Take care of the ones you love—by meeting your obligations to family, community, and society at large

So how do you unravel what money means to you in order to improve your financial life?

First, you need a desire to create lasting change. Second, you need a guide. The fact that you’re reading these words points to your motivation to bring about better outcomes, and as far as guidance is concerned, the goal of this book is to provide the lasting financial solutions you’ve been looking for.

With so much competing for your attention every day, determining where to direct your resources is a daunting task. No doubt, there are limitless ways to spend your time and energy. Unfortunately, you have a limited amount of both. In this regard, time is fair: Whether you’re the president of the United States or a newborn infant, your daily dose of 24 hours is the same. Therefore, to reach your goals, you must determine where you’ll direct your focus right now and what you’ll postpone until later. In this lesson, I’ll first describe what is competing for your time and resources when it comes to your financial life. From there, you can determine how to separate essential tasks from nonessential ones.

Each of us lives in two financial worlds: external and internal. Our external world includes taxes, inflation, the country’s economy, the stock market, and more. All of these will affect us, but we cannot control them. Meanwhile, our internal world consists of our job, salary, spouse, and family—in other words, things we can directly impact.

 

Joe John Duran is CEO and founding partner of United Capital, which consistently ranks as one of the nation’s fastest growing wealth counseling firms. He’s fueled by his passion to change the industry and improve lives by empowering people to make better, more informed financial decisions. From CNBC to CNN, Joe frequently provides commentary on TV. He has been profiled in numerous publications, including the New York Times and Smart Money.   Please check out the book at:  www.Mymoneycode.com

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Two Cents Tuesday: Freezing Corn

September 13, 2011 By 6 Comments

It’s corn season!  MMMMMM!  I love fresh corn.  Unfortunately, it all comes out at the same time.  Who wouldn’t like to have that fresh corn taste all year long?  Well, it’s really not that hard.  We have been freezing that fresh summer corn for years.  It takes a little bit of work, but really not much more than you would have spent preparing the corn for dinner in the first place.

It can also save you a lot of money.  We pay to join a CSA (community-supported agriculture) every year and we get baskets full of corn anyway.  This year we are getting our corn from Liberty Mills Farm in Orange, VA.  Even at the farmer’s market or supermarket, though, it can be ridiculously cheap.  We recently saw 2-pound bags of the store brand corn selling for $3 each.  To get the same amount of fresh corn will cost you less that $2 and a little bit of your time.   The best part, in my opinion, of freezing your own corn versus buying it from the freezer section is that you get to freeze the cobs too!  Those simple cobs that we normally throw out can make the most beautiful, comforting stock for soups, chowders, or risottos that can really bring a ray of sunshine to those winter doldrums.  Saving money and getting more for the money that you are saving.  I like the sound of that!

So, without any further ado, here is our simple process for freezing that yummy summer corn for the winter.

(1) Husk the corn and remove as much of the silk as possible.  (2) Place the corn into salted, boiling water for 2-3 minutes.  Fresh corn doesn’t need to be cooked much and it’s going to be reheated out of the freezer anyhow.  (3)  Pull the corn out of the water into a bowl to transfer it.  Admire just how gorgeous the corn is!

(4) Place the corn into ice water.  This will shock it to stop the cooking, keep the beautiful color, and cool it down so that you can handle it.  (5) Using a fork in the cob to keep your hands out of the way, place the corn into a deep bowl and slice the outer edge of the kernels with a sharp knife.  You are not looking to go all of the way into the cob; you just want the sweet tasty part.  If you go too deep, though, it’s ok, it’ll still taste good.  If you do not go deep enough, it’ll just make the stock that much better!  You want a deep bowl so that the kernels don’t cover your kitchen.  If you are doing a lot of corn, you might want a deep bowl for slicing and another bigger bowl to hold it all. (6) Admire all of your hard work and resist the temptation to add butter, salt, and pepper and dig in!

(7) Transfer the corn to zip top freezer bags and weigh into the desired portions.  10 oz is usually enough for me, Beth, and our three little ones.  As they get bigger, we are going to have to start adding more.  (8) The final result is over 3 pounds of cut corn and 11 corn cobs for the beautifully golden stock.

I hope that you all enjoy our simple little tip.  It’s easy, saves money, keeps your family a little healthier.  All in all, that’s Simply Budgeted!

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