The Frugal Free Gal

Summer is almost here, and this is the time most families go on their planned family vacations. Are you going to be traveling during the hot summer months to a fun location–maybe to the beach or to a theme park? Maybe you are going to be traveling across the country to visit a family member or a friend. No matter where you are going, you’ll want to make sure you can save as much money as you can when you travel. Here are a few ways that you can save money when you travel.

Skip the hotel, if possible. If you are traveling a long distance, be sure to call up an old friend or family member that may live around the area where you will be traveling. They may have a room available for you to get a good nights rest. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind having you stay over for one night. If you must get a hotel room, be sure to plan ahead and find the best deals online before you stop.

Plan ahead and pack plenty of food, drinks, and snacks. If you know that you are going to be traveling for a while, plan for the family to eat in the car or stop for a picnic and eat the food you packed. The last trip we went on, I had a large lapboard that we brought with us. I packed bread, peanut butter & jelly, turkey & cheese, chips, drinks, plastic ware, and paper plates with plenty of snacks. When it was time to eat, instead of stopping and while my husband was driving, I made everyone lunch and dinner on the lapboard. It worked out great and we didn’t have to stop and pay for overpriced food!

Make sure your car is serviced before you travel. You don’t want to find yourself buying replacement car parts or having to search for a mechanic during your trip. Get an oil change, check the air in your tires, and check the air filter. You may even want to get an inspection on your vehicle. We traveled to Asheville, North Carolina one year and we ended up shelling out a lot of money for a problem that could have been prevented if we would have had our car serviced before we left.

Bring plenty of entertainment for the kids. Create a bag of activities for the kids so that they will be entertained during the trip. It’s a great idea to bring the DVD player with movies to keep them entertained for a longer period of time. We usually take small books and toys along with crayons and coloring pads to keep our children entertained.

Pack an emergency kit. Bring a first aid kit, flashlight, and a cell phone plus a charger in case you break down. You may want to have a road assistance number saved onto your phone in case you need assistance during your trip. You will also want to make sure you have plenty of water available for all of the passengers in the car, along with items like diapers and medicine, too. Don’t forget the jumper cables!

These are just a few ways to save money when you travel by car this summer! Please leave a comment if you have more ways to save!

If you’re like me, you’re not only the mom of the house, you’re also the accountant. And if you’re the accountant, you’re well aware of the high cost of health care and health insurance. It’s an unavoidable part of life, but just because it’s expensive, that doesn’t mean you can’t save money on it. Below are six ways to do exactly that.

THE EMERGENCY ROOM IS FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY – Every illness and injury might seem like an emergency, but knowing the difference between an emergency and a non-emergency can save you plenty of time and money. Many minor injuries and other ailments can be fixed with a trip to your local urgent care center or a trip to a convenience care clinic at CVS.

APPEAL DENIED INSURANCE CLAIMS – Insurance companies are notorious for trying to wiggle their way out of paying for various things. If they deny payment on a service you think they should pay for, give them a call and get some answers. If that doesn’t work, it might be time to file an appeal.

CHECK YOUR BILLS FOR ERRORS – As many as one half of all healthcare bills contain errors that could end up costing you more than your fair share. For that reason, review all bills carefully. If you find an error, contact your healthcare provider and/or insurance company and get it fixed.

GET INSURANCE! – Imagine driving your car without insurance or owning a home without insurance. Besides being illegal (in the case of the car) or a violation of your mortgage (for your home), it’s also incredibly risky. The same is true of health insurance. Yes, you might be healthy and strong now, but you can’t predict illness or accidents. And all it takes is one trip to the hospital to set you back $10,000 or more. Suddenly that health insurance isn’t such a bad investment, isn’t it?

DO YOUR HOMEWORK WHEN SHOPPING FOR A HEALTHCARE PLAN – You wouldn’t skip the research when shopping for a car or any other high cost item, so don’t skip the research when shopping for a healthcare plan. Not only will that research help you get the best rate (which saves you money), it’ll also help you get the best health coverage for your family.

HIGH DEDUCTIBLE, LOWER RATES – Like any insurance plan, the higher your deductible is, the lower your premiums will be. Here’s the catch: You’ll have a higher deductible (obviously), but if you don’t visit the doctor that often, it might be worth it in the long run.

When most people think about reducing their spending, they generally think about their variable expenses such as their groceries, clothing or Starbucks addiction instead of their regular monthly bills such as their mortgage, electric bill or student loans. While your grocery and clothing costs are often the easiest to reduce quickly, if you really need to reduce your budget, you may need additional ways to save big. Here are five easy ways to significantly reduce the rest of your monthly budget that you may not have considered yet.

1. Make Your Home More Energy Efficient

Is your older home wasting you countless dollars due to poor energy efficiency? If so, there are plenty of ways to improve your home’s energy efficiency and save your hard-earned money. Seal any cracks around your doors and windows, add extra insulation in the attic, switch to CFLs, reduce the temperature on your hot water heater, and purchase energy efficient appliances when your old ones give out. These changes may seem small, but they can really add up to big savings.

2. Get Rid of Subscriptions and Memberships

Whether or not you use the subscriptions and memberships you have, you can probably get the same items for free or significantly cheaper elsewhere. Cancel your gym membership and go running outside instead. Cancel your magazine subscription and check out your favorite magazines from the library. Cancel cable and use Netflix or Hulu. Get rid of your home phone and just use your cell phone instead. You can still enjoy all of the benefits you had without the added expense.

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Need help with a budget? Read and learn more about personal budgets!

3. Call Your Credit Card Company

While having no credit card debt would be preferable, at least take steps to reduce your interest rate while you work to get your card balance paid off. If your card has a super high rate, call your company and ask them to lower it. Many will just because you asked! If your company won’t, shop around for a new card with a lower rate. A card with a 0% introductory rate might be just what you need to finally get your balance paid off once and for all. And always, always, always make sure you pay your bill on time to avoid interest rate hikes and fees!

4. Consolidate Your Student Loans

While student loan interest rates are generally lower than credit card interest rates, that doesn’t mean that paying them every month is enjoyable. If your loans are higher than they should be, see if you can consolidate them for a better rate. Alternately, see if you can get a discount for paying on time every month or for signing up for monthly auto-debits. Even a savings of 0.25% can really add up if your balances are high.

5. Refinance Your Home

For many people, their mortgage is their biggest expense. If yours is too big, see if you can refinance for less. If interest rates have gone down, if your credit has improved or if you have passed the 20% equity mark, you probably can. Some companies will even allow you to include your closing expenses in the cost of your new mortgage so refinancing doesn’t have to be expensive, and this one-time process can really save you big over the life of your loan.

Do you need to reduce your monthly budget or have you already? Which of these tips do you think will work best for you? Do you have other tips to add? Share them below!

Dip in the economy has made many to reconsider their grocery budgets to save some bucks. What you must understand is that cutting on your food bill doesn’t suggest that you have to compromise on the nutritional needs for your family. Be the smart consumer and follow the given tips to know how you can save on your groceries while ensuring healthy eating for your family just as perfectly:

1.       Avail Cash Back

Credit cards often have bonus points or cash back schemes associated with various purchases, including groceries. If you are lucky to own such reward cards, be sure to get those instant savings on checkout. But you must be mindful of paying your monthly credit card bills on time, else built up debt can nullify all your attempts to save due to the interest accrued on it.

2.       Make Your Grocery List and Stick to It

Having a handy list of grocery items you need saves you time and helps you avoid overbuying.  Stick to your list and move past anything that you may want but don’t need. Manufacturers are shrewd in making attractive packaging as well as healthy claims of their products but you can still live without them if you do not have them on your list.

In case you really feel like getting your hands on that extra item, write it down in your list to buy it the next time. There is a good possibility that the lure to buy it may vanish after you are out of the supermarket. Another important thing is to not go grocery shopping when you are hungry. This often causes you to surrender to the call of your belly and spend unnecessarily on extra items you can definitely do without.

3.       Use Coupons

Sunday newspapers always have some good money saving coupons. Or, you can always check popular websites, like Coupons.com and SmartSource.com, to print coupons. Sure, coupons are a great way to save some bucks but make sure you do not end up buying items only because you have a coupon to save some money on it. Stick to what you need! It is a wise move to arrange your coupons in the order of their expiration to ensure that you make the most of what coupons you have

4.       Buy in Bulk

Invest in a chest freezer to cook and freeze large batches for later use. Buying in bulk reduces your per unit price of the item considerably and is also a more convenient option to get the food on the table. Make sure you calculate per unit pricing when buying in bulk. Try to stay away from processed and frozen foods as much as you can, and buy seasonal vegetables and fruits instead

5.       Try Store Brands

Get rid of your biased opinion of the superiority of products in name-brands. Store brands are often more cheaper and usually equally good when compared with their name-brand counterparts. According to Phil Lempert, a supermarket guru, store brands are usually cheaper because they spend less on packaging of products and advertising of store, passing on their savings to consumers. In some cases, savings can be as huge as 50 percent.

You can compare ingredient list of your name-brand and store-brand product to take the best pick. You need not be afraid to try anything new as supermarkets normally have 100 percent satisfaction guarantee. So, you can always return something you don’t like. Who knows…you may like store brand better and even save some bucks?

Whether you are finally realizing how much financial trouble you are in or you are suffering because of an unforeseen circumstance such as a job loss or injury, there are times in your life when you may need to cut back on expenses right away. While measures like refinancing your mortgage and couponing can save you big bucks in the long run, they usually take some time to go into effect. Here are five things you trim from your budget right NOW.

1. Overdraft and Late Fees

With overdraft fees and late fees, you pay money and get absolutely nothing in return. Even if these fees are small, if you are paying them regularly, they can really add up. Banish overdraft fees from your life for good by switching to a cash system. Banish late fees by leaving books and movies by the door where you will remember to take them back or by marking important due dates for bills on a calendar that you check regularly.

Learn more about budgeting!

2. Cleaning Products

Because of the ease and availability of store-bought cleaning products, many people don’t even ever consider making their own. Making your own cleaning products is actually incredibly easy, however, and it is way cheaper too, especially since you probably already have many of the ingredients on hand. Plus, they work great and they are better for the environment as well.

3. Meals Out

While there is nothing wrong with the occasional celebratory dinner, if you are making a habit out of grabbing lunches out or hitting the drive-through, you are spending way more on convenience food than you need to. Start making your own lunches to bring to work, and prep meals ahead of time so they are already ready for you by the time you get home from work. Crock-Pot meals are fabulous for this.

4. New Clothes

While clothes are a necessary expense, new clothes are not. Instead of buying your children tons of new clothes every time they grow out of their old ones, come up with a more creative solution. Buy clothes from secondhand stores, consignment shops, garage sales, Ebay or Craigslist, or organize a kids’ clothing swap with all of your friends. You can do the same thing with your clothes as well.

5. Childcare

Paying for a sitter doesn’t have to be a necessary part of date night. Instead of paying someone, arrange to swap childcare with a family friend. For example, you could watch all of the kids one Friday; she can watch all of them the next. This allows both sets of parents some time to go out for date nights or to get errands done, and the kids will have a ball playing together too.

So many of our daily expenses are unnecessary, but we don’t realize it until we take the time to find good alternatives.

Do you have any items you’ve successfully cut out of your budget!? Do you think you could cut any of these five items out?