1)  Stop Tracking Your Expenses: If you stop tracking your expenses completely, you will most likely exceed one or more portions of your budget. A budget is better kept when you stay aware of how much you have left in a given category, or in some cases envelope.

Solution: Be diligent in tracking your expenses and checking your budget balances regularly. If you’re using an online software, it can be as simple as logging into a website for 3 minutes. Or, if you’re using the envelope method it takes 3 seconds to check your leftover cash.

2)  Impulse Purchases: Impulse purchases can bite into your budget with a vengeance. Whether you always pick up extra items on your grocery trip or your spouse made a large online purchase without asking first, impulse purchases add up quickly and if left unchecked can blow your budget.

Solution: Plan for some impulse purchases by budgeting for some impulse purchases. When you find yourself grabbing something that isn’t on the list, take a few minutes to step back and think about if you really need this item right now or if it can wait. And if you have the money in your budget to buy it. Sometimes slowing down to analyze is all you need to control impulse spending.

3)  Unrealistic Budgeting: If your actual budget is completely unrealistic, you will exceed your budget amount. While budgeting aggressively is a good thing, make sure your budget is realistic with a set of small decreases that step down instead of trying to cut too much too fast.

Solution: Double check your budget figures to make sure they are reasonable. If you find out mid-month that they are unreasonable, sit down and recalculate. Smaller, reachable steps are better than unreachable leaps.

4)  Poor Planning: If you are taking a day trip, car ride, or spending a long day running errands you will need to eat and drink during the day. If you don’t plan ahead, you can end up eating out which can quickly blow your budget.

Solution: The night before or morning of your new day, take a few minutes to plan ahead. Think about if you’ll need food or drinks with you and plan accordingly to avoid unnecessary purchases.

5)  Family Cooperation and Miscommunication: If your spouse isn’t on board with your budget plans, or there was a misunderstanding about your budget and planning purchases, your budget can be blown very quickly.

Solution: Talk with your spouse or family members calmly and candidly. Be sure to elicit feedback and participation so that everyone’s needs and wants are addressed. Most of all, be sure everyone understand and agrees to the expectations and why a budget is important.

No matter what the reason for your budget mishap: learn from it, fix it, and keep going! It’s an evolving process that works differently for everyone.

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1. Purchase a subscription to Netflix (or a similar service): My husband and I have the lowest Netflix at about $8.98 per month. This allows us unlimited streaming of whatever is available to stream, and one DVD out at a time. We stream almost everything, and cycle through the DVD’s at our own pace without worrying about late fees. We hook our T.V. Up to the desktop computer for family viewing, but we also use our computers individually if we want to watch different things.
2. Switch to using an Antenna with a Digital Converter Box (if needed): If you can get signal with an antenna, you can get your local channels and news, a few basic channels (like ABC and CW) and PBS, plus a few more depending on your locality. I am amazed at how many shows I like are on the free channels, and how much I don’t notice that I don’t have more channels available.
3. Use online free streaming T.V. : You can stream T.V. shows and some movies through sites like Hulu.com, CBS.com, cwtv.com and more. You can catch up on shows you miss and other shows you don’t get with an antenna. Best of all, it’s sort of like DVR. It doesn’t matter if I miss my regular show, I can stream it whenever I have time to watch! Who needs cable T.V. with the advent of decent (if sometimes stuttering) streaming T.V.? This is a great alternative to cable T.V.. Between Hulu and Netflix I have all the T.V. goodness I can stand.
4. If you don’t spend much time watching T.V. to begin with or you want to see a New Release, Rent from a Redbox: Redbox can be a great and cheap alternative for the occasional movie urge as long as you return it on time. Although generally Netflix has the same new releases as Redbox available within 1-2 days, with a few exceptions.
5. Visit your Public Library: Not only are libraries great places to get a book, read a magazine, and surf the web, but many libraries have a collection of DVD’s available also. It may not be the most up to date collection, but it’s free to borrow! It really doesn’t get much better than free.

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• How to Save Money by Buying in Bulk

Do you have an extra freezer ? If the answer to that is “No,” then you want to limit the amount of perishable foods you purchase in bulk. We only have a normal size freezer, so if I stock up on anything perishable it’s usually meat while it’s on sale. I also limit myself to no more than half of my freezer being bulk items. It can make sense to stock up on the current $2 per pound sale chicken breast but don’t go overboard or you might not have any room for dessert, literally.

Don’t forget to check the per unit cost of anything you’re considering buying in bulk. Whether you’re thinking about stocking up on the on-sale toilet paper at your local grocery store or buying it from Sam’s club, BJ’s, or Costco make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck. You can usually check online or just call and ask the pricing. If it’s not the lowest per unit cost, it’s not going to save money.

How much storage space do you have at home? My husband and I have a very small apartment and not a lot of space to keep bulk items. We stock up on toiletries when they are on sale (because they are relatively small), toilet paper, and certain pantry staples (like types of pasta, canned fruit and vegetables, tomato sauce, and certain spices). We also buy cat food and litter a month at a time: a large pet food container keeps the food fresh and sealed from air for long=term storage. If you don’t have space for what you want to stock up on, buying in bulk can be counterproductive.

Do you have friends or family that use some of the same perishable products you do? A co-op might be a great way to save money by buying in bulk. If there isn’t a local co-op near you, you can always start your own with family and friends. If you have a group of people to split large purchases of perishable items with (like meats, fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products, spices, and fresh breads), you can save a tremendous amount. This work great with other items you wouldn’t typically buy in bulk as well, like baby diapers, formula, paper towels, and cleaning supplies.

Buying in bulk is a great way to save money as long as you shop smartly, do your homework, and especially if you can share the savings by splitting the cost with others!

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1. Always Shop with a List: When you go grocery shopping, always have a list made and bring it with you. Sticking to your list will help you avoid unplanned expenses, help you stay in budget, and make your grocery trip faster. Shopping by yourself helps you stick to your list as well, which will save you more money and time.
2. Plan your Menu each Week: Plan what everyone will eat for every meal for the week, including snacks. It may sound tedious, but after a week or two it will take no more than 20 minutes and the benefits you will reap far outweigh the time spent planning. With a menu planned, you can plan to have leftovers, plan to eat out, and even plan convenience meals like frozen dinner night. Your menu is what you will create your shopping list from,  so don’t forget to check your pantry so you you use what you have first.
3. Use your coupons especially when the items are on sale: We all know we should clip coupons, but what you might not know is that most stores will honor manufacturer coupons in conjunction with sales and store specific coupons, and many stores even offer double or triple coupon days where you can increase the value of the coupons you do have. You save the most on smaller items, so buying bigger isn’t always more. If you forget the Sunday paper try getting free grocery store coupons online from places like coupons.com , valpak.com, or coolsavings.com.
4. Stretch your meats: Meat is one of the most expensive grocery items you can buy. A great way to save on groceries is to add one vegetarian meal (or more) per week. If you just can’t live without your meat, then watch your portion sizes! A single healthy serving of meat is about 4 ounces, or about the size of your palm or ¼ of your plated meal. Beef up your meal with a large dose of veggies, fruit and/or a bowl of soup to still feel full and save!
5. Pack Lunches and drinks: If you normally buy your lunch at work or your children buy their lunch at school every day, try packing lunches and drinks instead. If you are going on a road trip, going grocery shopping, or any other type of trip try packing drinks to prevent buying more expensive single serving drinks. Reusable water bottles are great for everything from water, Kool-aid, or portioning out soda from a 2 liter bottle.
6. Make it Yourself instead of buying it prepackaged: You can really cut grocery bill significantly by switching to making things like sauces, potato dishes, and even bread yourself from staples instead of buying it prepackaged. I can make a very large pot of homemade chicken noodle soup for about $7.38 with all store brand items. It makes about 8 large servings, which is about $0.93 a bowl. It takes me 20 minutes to make, and sounds (and tastes) much better than the $1-$2 per can of condensed and oily soup. Bonus: It’s often healthier and you get a bigger serving for less!
7. Watch for scanner errors: As much as we’d like to think scanner errors never happen, they do happen from time to time. Some stores will offer additional discounts if you are overcharged, and some stores have been known to offer the item free! I write down the amount of every item according to the shelf tag as I grocery shop so I can keep track of how much I’m spending and also compare prices to other stores. If I get overcharged, I take my notebook and receipt to customer service to have it corrected.

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1) The first part to any budget is knowing why you are budgeting. Are you trying to save up for a down payment on a house? Save for your child’s education? Or perhaps simply live within your income? Whatever the reason, knowing what you want to accomplish helps you set up your budget accordingly and gives you motivation to continue watching what you spend. If you’re just starting out, I would suggest picking a short term goal (6 months to 1 year) so that you can see progress fairly quickly. It can help you stay motivated, which is essential!

2) In order to plan your budget, you need to know how much you are currently spending in different categories (bills and other fixed expenses; groceries; entertainment; clothes; medical and pharmacy; pet food and veterinary, etc.). You also need to know how much money you make in a month. There are a few different ways to track this. The time honored tradition involves going through your bank account and manually calculating expenses per category for about one month. If you’re anything like me, this sounds about as fun as having your teeth drilled. Try using an online budgeting program that will sync to your bank account and do most of it for you, like Mint.com.

3) Once you know how much you are currently spending, you can find areas to cut expenses. You need to look at your spending habits for at least one month, although preferably about 3 months. When I did my budget 3 months after getting married, I realized we were spending $250+ a month on fast food, eating out, evil work vending machines, and other unnecessary entertainment items. That was our major area to cut costs, with the second major area being groceries.  Realizing how much we were spending allowed us to reduce it to about $50 per month, and we were able to pay off our used car purchase in full 6+ months earlier than we were set to pay it off in full.

4) Setting up your Budget is the easiest part. Write down fixed expenses: Utilities, Rent/Mortgage, Car payments, Car insurance, Pharmacy, etc. Then write down how much you think you should be spending on other categories like: pharmacy/medical, pet food and vet, groceries and household goods, clothes and misc. shopping, gas, and any other categories you need. Then look at how much you spent for the last month and make sure it’s a reachable goal. You can always tweak your budget monthly. Going from $200 a month on fast food to $50 doesn’t happen all at once, so plan for success by using smaller goals over a longer period of time. Check to make sure your budget is *less* than your monthly income!

5) If you have trouble keeping track of your money once you set up your budget, there are a few options to help you on your way. If you normally use a credit/debit card, consider switching to mostly cash for a few months to keep better track. The time honored envelope method will force you to stay on track, and there’s something about parting with all that green that still makes you want to cling to it like cat hair on white clothing. (On the downside, this method would mean you need to save your receipts and track expenses by hand.) Alternatively, online budgeting software can keep track of it all for you, even sending you alerts when you’re getting close to your budgeted amount or when you’ve exceeded it.

Budgeting isn’t an overnight miracle, but if you are persistent you will see a difference after just a month. Resist your impulse purchasing urges by remembering why you are budgeting in the first place and don’t forget to reward yourself for being good! I find that time to myself, a day without chores,  or a massage from my husband are all very effective rewards that don’t cost a penny.

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I’ve always been a DIY kind of girl, so naturally I’m very excited to share with you a (not so) secret doorway to getting really good at life and enjoying the significant economical benefits that ensue- not just by saving money on an overpriced education from an archaic institution but through learning do-it-yourself skills that we so often pay others to do for us.

Recently, I’ve been caught up in the cold weather blues and have found myself, mid-twenties, with the sudden urge to learn how to knit.  A not-so bizarre and evidently achievable feat, you may presume, but I quickly became shattered by the realization that

1. I don’t really know how to knit

2. My mother is on the other side of the world and

3. I’m not really in a position to enter a nursing home just yet.

In my quest to surmount the stitches, I spent hours scouring the Internet one afternoon struggling to grasp the basic concepts but found myself throwing the needles in dismay after countless failed attempts at recreating the obscure diagrams and details in front of me.  After finally almost accepting that I should let it go, I found my eyes glaze over a video tutorial offered on youtube. Intrigued by it, I watched and in minutes had perfected the ostensibly tricky cast-on.  This was four months ago.

Since then, I have found myself inadvertently advocating Youtube and Videojug [videojug.com] to anybody who will listen and have found myself quickly conquering seemingly difficult tasks on a regular basis. I have begged my friends to ask me about an odd job that needs doing around the home before ringing up that local tradesman.

I am now receiving weekly ukulele lessons, with my teacher from the States posting new songs and chords weekly with clear instructions- fuelling my poor musical abilities but reviving my aspirations. I am passing this knowledge on to my equally unmusical neighbour, who chooses to frequently cook dinner as payment. My niece has also learnt how to get good at fake crying (for a school play) and taken a series of wonderful confidence-boosting drama classes. I’ve learnt from one of the top Indian chefs how to make a beautiful mango chutney. My brother ripped up his carpet and sanded, painted and polished his floorboards in two days on his own. My dad has perfected his golf swing with the help from international golfing greats.  Sick of my regular gym visits that convince me chocolate buns are better than tight ones, I now ‘Zumba’ regularly at home, fattening up the piggy bank by feeding it, instead of parting with my pennies all in the name of a hefty gym membership.

It’s so hard to fathom the amount of money I have saved in this month alone. Complimentary guitar lessons, cooking lessons, have done unthinkable maintenance on my new bike and have made my own bookcase – all of this taking place in the comfort of my own apartment. And did I mention free? Ridiculously cool.  Ridiculously smart. Never again will I flick through a phonebook and hire the skills of another person before consulting Youtube. Ever.

Youtube is a wonderful source for endless learning, yet a lot of the videos don’t aim to be instructive at all. Videojug is an alternative video community that has recently emerged dedicated at providing instructional videos solely on the premise of helping the world ‘get better at life’. The search bar on the website asks – ‘what do you want to get good at today?’ and provides instant and free education on everything from learning a language, to servicing your own car, to kitchen appliance maintenance, to learning how to decorate your home, learning how to coach your son’s baseball team, and even lessons on what to do if you’re at the scene of a crime.

I’ve never been very good at learning through words. Maybe it’s my inability to sit still for long periods of time, or my constantly wondering mind- but I’ve always absolutely deplored study. Even reminiscing on my school days, I was often bored and disillusioned by un-engaging and disinterested teachers. Learning via video is so effective and it is even easier than ever with these emerging websites designed to instruct you to quickly become the good kind of know-it-all.

It is such a satisfying concept to know that millions of people from all around the world are imparting their help and wisdom to the world, sharing a wealth of knowledge, at no cost. Viva le Revolution – Free and informed education is not an ideal – it’s now just a click away!

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An interesting article by BizJournal says that 83.5% of Americans live in major metropolitans. With 65% of those living in very large cities of more than 1 million people. Yet only 8% of people say they want to live in the city after they retire. So 92% of people are planning on relocating either in smaller towns or rural areas.
Further research showed that 40% chose small towns as the best place to live, while 27% picked suburbs and 21% picked big cities. And when asked where they would build a house 2/3 of respondents said outside of a big city.

The article goes on to list 10 “dreamtowns”, the best places to live with the least hassle. I thought it really amazing. I would love to live a smaller town like what I grew up in. Probably why DH and I aren’t into living in the city even now. The noise and bustle aren’t our things. Both of us grew up in suburbs for DH and smaller town living for myself. I can definitely see the pros and cons of both.

Living in a large city there typically is more job security in the sense that when you lose a job you are less likely to need to relocated to find another comparable job. I think that the security of knowing there are other oppotunities for employment is what draws people to big cities. But often times the pay is lower because the city knows it’s job are desirable. That some people like the hustle and bustle, and there is a constant stream of employable workers. But the cons are of course the cost of living can make it seem a struggle to survive.

Yet in small towns everybody knows your name. You may live in a much nicer home, in a safer neighborhood. You might have closer, longer term friends, than a constant flux of friends from switching jobs. You might have a shorter commute. But the cons are if you lose your job are you willing to relocate? Or would you be willing to retrain in a different field? There is no easy answer I think.

Whatever you choose to do, has ramifications. I like to dream of moving home, but the reality is it will never happen. Anyway here’s the list of the dreamtowns. And perhaps that’s why this is a list of “dream” places to live.

1. Torrington, CT
2. Bozeman, MT
3. Lexington Park, MD
4. Lebanon, VT
5. Helena , MT
6. Kalispell, MT
7. Mankato, MN
8. Oak Harbour, WA
9. Stevens Point, WI
10. Concord, NH

What do you think of this list? And would do you dream of moving to a small town?

Jill aka LivingAlmostLarge www.livingalmostlarge.com

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