The Frugal Free Gal

In August of 2015, my husband and I paid off our car. This was a time to celebrate! No more car payments! The only debt we currently owe is on a rental home in North Carolina. We were on our way to financial freedom because our income was freed up and we had an extra $450 a month to spend on other things. Around the same time that we paid off our car, we decided that it was time to put ourselves on a strict budget and find out where our money was going. My husband and I scheduled a time to sit down and go over our finances because we wanted to get back to aggressively saving for our future. We wanted to continue to put money away for our retirement, kid’s college funds, future cars and weddings, and other expenses that will come our way.

Starting a Budget:

We decided to toss the attitude of “we can afford it, so let’s buy it.” My husband and I started our first strict budget in September and started watching our finances closely, slashing some bills, and stopping any impulse buying. We even went through our food expenses in one month and found out we were spending about $1,500 on groceries and fast food! In one month after being smart about our money, we cut that expense from $1,500 to $600! Out of habit, we were just swiping our debit cards here and there. While we still had the money to buy these items, the truth is, we weren’t saving aggressively for our future and we weren’t saving enough for our kids.

Our Progress: 

In 5 months, we were amazed at how much money we were able to save because we were watching our finances closely. We continue to live with zero debt (except for the rental home) and we are putting away money for college, retirement, and giving to others all at the same time! We refuse to live paycheck to paycheck and continue to stay motivated to save and set ourselves up for financial freedom in the future.

The Statistics: 

If you’d like to take control of your finances, NOW is the time! Don’t wait — start today!

The tax filing deadline is a few months away! If you haven’t already filed your taxes, the first half of this entry will offer three tips to save a few bucks when it comes to tax preparation. And if you’re among the 75 percent of Americans who will get a tax refund (congrats!), the second half of this entry will offer ideas for three smarts ways to spend that extra cash.

How to Save on Tax Preparation

1. Shop Around – There are plenty of options when it comes to filing your taxes. Call several places to compare rates, and choose the most affordable option. In most cases, the best rate will be found at small town privately-owned tax preparers – often half the cost of the chain preparers.

2. File Your Own Taxes – For simple returns, it might make sense for you to prepare your own tax return. When tax time rolls around, there’s many options around where you can file for free.

3. Be Prepared – Whether you’re paying someone to do your taxes or you’re doing them yourself, having your paperwork in order will help save time and money … and probably a few headaches.

Try *E-file.com:

• Offers free federal tax returns for those who qualify for a 1040ez.
• Free Error Correction – Their software will automatically check your tax return for common errors. If their software finds any errors, it will prompt you to correct them.
• Get Your Refund Quick – Who doesn’t want their refund quickly? Filing online allows you to receive your refund quicker than off-line.
• Helpful Software – Our software will walk you through common deductions and credits that you may be eligible for with its easy and quick question & answer format.

Three Smart Ways to Spend Your Tax Return

1. Add to Your Emergency Fund – A good emergency fund includes enough savings to cover three month’s of mortgage, food and utility bills. If yours isn’t close to that, or even if it is, you might consider using part of your tax return to beef up the fund.

2. Pay Off a Credit Card – Credit card debt is a pain, especially if that debt carries a high interest rate. Pick your highest interest credit card and use your tax return to pay it off or at least make a nice dent in your debt.

3. Fix Something – If you’ve been putting off a car or home repair because of a lack of funds, now’s the perfect time to finally get it done. That includes that leaky roof, broken dishwasher or replacing those balding tires on your car.

Want to save money this year? Create a budget today!

How I Cut the Cable, added Hours to My Day, and Saved Almost $1,000/year

A guest post from Andrea at Single Working Mama

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I was a self-proclaimed Discovery Health addict. Despite my doctor’s recommendation to avoid the “baby shows”, I watched them religiously  — especially at the end of my pregnancy when I was placed on modified bed rest.

One of my greatest discoveries during that time was Netflix. At the time they had only recently introduced instant streaming, and the first movie I watched was The Business of Being Born. I was instantly hooked on watching movies right there on my computer. It made the time I spent staying off my feet go by much faster.

After Angelica’s birth, I became a newsaholic. I got hooked on MSNBC, and being a liberal during election season, I was able to stay on top of what was going on during the presidential primaries and election.  I also continued to channel-hop, watching Style network and all of my favorite baby shows (hello, Baby Week on Discovery Health)!

Fast forward to July of 2010. As part of our budget renovation, we decided to cut cable.  We started off with a trial run. We unhooked our cable boxes and configured our Playstation 3 so that it would run Hulu and Netflix. I also found a way to stream my beloved MSNBC on Justin.tv. After a month of having the cable boxes unhooked, we found that we didn’t really miss much.

Sure, I no longer had Discovery Health or Style, since they don’t put their shows online. But, I gained hours of my life back. My evenings were no longer spent channel hopping. We were limited to the shows that were available on Hulu the day after they aired on cable, and of course, our beloved movies on Netflix (which, by the way, is only about $10/month). Regular old Hulu is free and you can get almost any of the major network shows if you don’t mind waiting an extra day.

Looking for other ways to save on cable? Check out the Amazon Fire TV Stick or the Roku 4 Streaming Media Player!

The day we called to cancel cable was liberating. Our bill dropped about $85/month (since we kept our cable modem for internet access).  That equals about $1,020/year in savings.  Imagine what you can do with an extra grand each year!

Sure, sometimes I miss being able to just mindlessly channel surf. But on those days, I tell myself, “It’s JUST TV!” There really are much more important things in life. TV is just a luxury.

If your budget is tight, and you’re looking for ways to save money, just give it a try for a month – turn off your cable boxes and turn to other alternatives. Or don’t watch TV at all. You’ll be surprised at the time you get back and how little you actually feel that you’re missing.

Christmas seems so long ago, doesn’t it? It was actually only a few months ago, but to your kids, that’s like forever – especially when it comes to the “newness” of their toys. By now, they’ve probably grown tired of many of Santa’s gifts, which means you’re buying new toys for the spring and summer season.

Before you shell out a small fortune to refresh your children’s toy box, you might consider trying a few of these money-saving tips. And in case you missed it, feel free to check out the other entry about saving on toys, which was posted back in January.

Take a Trip Down Memory Lane – Today’s toys are all wires and technology, which means they’re a lot more expensive than toys were when we were kids. Ironically, the cheaper toys from our childhood were also a lot more durable. Revisit the good old days by investing in classic toys for your tots, including Mr. Potato Head, Lincoln Logs, and Legos.

Hit the Road – Just about every list of money-saving tips (saving on clothes, saving on furniture) includes a trip around your neighborhood in search of a good yard sale. Toys are no exception. As long as they’re in good condition and can be cleaned, it’s one of the easiest ways to save money on toys.

Get Crafty – Kids are pretty resourceful, and can find joy in all sorts of everyday objects. Put this resourcefulness to the test while also saving money, by transforming things around the house into “brand new” toys.

Swap with Friends – You can throw a toy party, which we talked about in our last toy entry, or you can just throw your child’s unwanted toys in a box, ask a friend to do the same, and swap boxes. Now wasn’t that easy?

Buy Fewer Toys – This one is easier said than done, but the simplest way to save money on anything is to buy less of it. Talk to your kids about consumerism (if they’re old enough to understand the lesson), and make a conscious effort to buy less and enjoy the toys they have a little more.