How Meal Planning Can Save You Hundreds

Meal planning is a simple and effective way to save a lot of money each month, not to mention cut down on pricey (and unhealthy) dining out.  Serving home-cooked meals to your family not only reduces your grocery budget, it's a healthy alternative to fast food.  Here are a few tips and ideas to get you started:

1. Decide how you want to do your meal planning.  Some people like to do bi-weekly, some weekly and a few will plan out monthly meal schedules.  If you're just starting out with this concept, start with weekly planning until you get the hang of it.

2. Make a list of your family's regular and favorite meals, including side dishes to go along with entrees; for example, spaghetti and meatballs with salad and garlic bread, or tacos and beans.


3. Print our (or buy) a calendar.  Sit down with it and the list of meals that you made.  Start by designating each day a specific meal (Monday - meatless, Tuesday - casserole, etc.), to make it easier to plan your meals around certain days.  But don't be too set on the plan, make sure you can switch around dinners if schedules change and unexpected meetings come up.

4. Create your grocery list around your set meal plan.  Check your pantry and freezer to make sure you don't place duplicate items on your list if you already have them on hand.  Scout your grocery store ads for sales on the items you need.

Be sure to check back each month for inexpensive (and yummy) recipes to add to your meal plan.

Fake N Bake Fried Chicken

Fake it till you make it with this quick, oven baked “fried” chicken. Try other dressings for variety.

Why Budget?

Creamy Crockpot Mexican Chicken

This recipe is easy, low cost and tasty.

Ingredients:

• 2.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 2 15 oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups salsa
• 1 can corn, drained (optional)
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• cooked rice (optional)
• shredded cheese (optional)

Preparation:

Dump all ingredients into crockpot. Cook on high for 2 ½ to 3 hours. Shred chicken and serve over cooked rice or use as tortilla filling. Top with shredded cheese if desired.

 

 

How Students Can Get Discounts And Savings Just By Being a Student

There’s no doubting it; college is expensive. For most students, the cost is worthwhile because of the earnings potential that exists on the other side, but what about the here and now? Did you know being a college student could get you all kinds of discounts? Here are three excellent places to save with your college ID.

1.) Save big on Amazon Prime
Amazon offers a specialized Amazon Prime discount that’s just for college students. For those unfamiliar, Amazon Prime is a membership program that offers free shipping on most products sold on Amazon. Just by providing them with a .edu email address, you get 50% off a yearly Prime subscription. Since you can share Prime with up to four other people, you could split the cost with roommates or family to get the cost even lower.
Amazon Prime also includes its own music streaming service (so you can stop paying for Spotify), its own online video service (goodbye Netflix), and even some free before-market e-books! With that range of services, plus free shipping, Amazon Prime for students might be your budget’s best friend.

2.) Trim the travel costs
Visiting home, going on spring break trips and traveling to potential employers can really eat through your budget. Fortunately, there are several programs designed just for college students that can help you out. The Student Advantage, ISIC and ISE cards can all help keep the costs down at least a little bit.
The Student Advantage is the highlight for domestic travelers. These cards costs $22.50 and require verification of enrollment. In return, you get a 10% discount on Amtrak, a 20% discount on Greyhound and discounts on some hotel bookings. These are far from luxurious ways to travel, but the prices can’t be beat!
The International Student ID Card (ISIC) offers lots of benefits for student tourism. Educational excursions, like guided tours of historic European sites, are deeply discounted, as are domestic and international train travel. The ISIC card also includes discounts on Amtrak and Greyhound, along with some online and local retailer discounts. These cards cost $25 and require proof of enrollment. A photocopy of your ID will do.
The ISE card is another option for the international traveler. It costs $1.99 for a mobile card, but requires both proof of full-time student enrollment (a transcript) and proof of identification (the information page of your passport). This card includes many more deeply discounted tourist destinations as well as savings on airfare, rail travel and other modes of transportation.

3.) Save on software
Colleges tend to be all about sharing (or software piracy, depending on your perspective). Major publishers, recognizing this trend, have gone on the offensive by offering discounted versions of their signature products to college students at phenomenal discounts.
You can find Microsoft’s Office Suite or new versions of Windows for a fraction of retail prices. Adobe’s Creative Cloud software (which includes Photoshop) can be had for nearly 70% off the retail price. Norton offers a seriously reduced fee for antivirus software and computer security, too. These are programs you’ll need anyway, and with a student email address, you can get them at a price you can afford.

SOURCES:
https://www.isecard.com/5_1.php
https://www.myisic.com/isic-card/
https://www.studentadvantage.com/enrollment/?promoCode=SAMHOME02
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/60-awesome-student-discounts-on-clothes-tech-travel-and-more/

31 Days to Radically Reduce Your Expenses

Author: Kalyn Brooke

The Chores Checkbook

One of the most difficult things to get kids to do with an allowance is save it. If you give your kids their money in cash, it’s really easy for that cash to go in one pocket and out the other in the form of candy, movie tickets and impulse items at any store checkout line. Trying to get them a real-life checking account is another no-go, even though managing a draft account is one of the most fundamental personal finance skills kids need to learn.