Women’s Finance Blog

Impulse buys are the bread and butter (so to speak!) of the grocery store’s profits… all those things people don’t really need but buy on impulse anyway, especially because they have a prominent spot on the end cap or the middle shelf. But did you know that shoppers without a grocery shopping list spend 40% more on those pesky impusle things than those without a list?

Do you have an extra 40% you can add to your grocery budget? If not, it is one more reason to make sure that before you hit the grocery store, you have a list of exactly what you need to buy, and most importantly - stick to it.

And as an added bonus, when you have your list, you also won’t forget anything you were supposed to buy while at the store

Source

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Filed under: Shopping

I admit, I am a magazine junkie. I used to be bad with all the People & US Weekly type magazines, but right now it is all home decorating magazines. And at anywhere from $4-10 a pop, it can be an expensive habit. I read this post at Frugal Duchess and she has some great ideas on saving money on magazines, such as reading online or going for a magazine subscription to the ones you read religiously.

Here are some tips I can add along to this.

Instead of buying brand new novels, keep track of the ones you want, then check out eBay, Half.com or even local used bookstores. One of my local used bookstores must have several women who always buy the latest books brand new, then turn them in less than a week later, so I never have to wait. There is a book lover’s program for Palms that keeps track of books I want to get.

The only thing I find is that my local bookstore really doesn’t like it when you take magazines into the coffee shop area without having paid for them first, just to read them, with signs up all over the place about no unpaid merchandise for reading. Does everyone just ignore it in the “customer is always right” kind of mentality? Or do you squirrel yourself away in a corner of the store where hopefully no one will bother you as you read a stash of magazines?

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Filed under: Budget

I received an email from someone who was shocked she was paying so much interest on her credit cards and asked if our credit card payment calculator is right, which of course it was. Do you know how much interest you are paying on your credit card debt? Here are her rough numbers.

Credit card balance: $10000
Interest Rate: 10%
Monthly payment: $200

If she just paid the minimum balance each month and never charged an extra dime, she would take 65 months to pay it off (yes, nearly 5-1/2 years!) and she would have paid $2989.78 in interest… yes, just shy of $3000.00 just in interest.

Try yours out now.

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Filed under: Debt

I do. But many people I know don’t. Essentially, an emergency fund is money you have saved away for when you need it. And I mean REALLY need it. No, a new TV doesn’t count. I am talking about things like losing a job (or quitting one that is bad for your mental health), unforeseen medical expenses, unexpected travel expenses (such as to visit a seriously ill parent). It is a worst-case-scenario emergency fund.

How much should you have in your emergency fund? A minimum of three months living expenses, but preferably more. If you have up to a year’s worth, this would enable you the ability to quit a job and know you can live comfortable for quite some time before you would need to start panicking.

Easy ways to save are looking at ways you can cut down that budget a bit… every little bit counts.

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Filed under: Budget

Restaurant.com is a great site for finding coupons for restaurants in your city, or a city you will be travelling to. Usually they are things buying a $15 off coupon for only $3.

A couple of tips:

• There are often restrictions, such as the discount or coupon cannot be used for alcohol, and others require a one or two drink minimum.

• There is often a minimum order $ required, about $35 at many restaurants.
• Use the coupons within a reasonable amount of time incase the restaurant goes out of business or is sold.
• Many have menus available online so you can ensure there is something you will like when you go.
  
• Check on the status of your coupons before ordering, if money is a major issue. You don’t want to eat then find out they won’t take your coupon.

• Just like any restaurant, some will be fantastic, others will be less than fantastic.

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Filed under: Coupons