Category: saving money

August 8, 2013

How to Travel on a Budget

I am the queen of travelling on a budget. Take our recent trips to Mackinac Island, Door County and Chicago for examples. We were able to take these three exciting trips within a month of each other without robbing our regular monthly budget. I also happen to be a super resourceful person, so we get quite a lot more out of our trips than I suspect some others do. Let me clue you in to the tips and tricks I use to get every last drop out of our trips that we can:

1. Travel Sunday through Thursday: On our recent Mackinac Island trip, we did just that and the rates were significantly lower during the work week. We’ve done this before with trips to Wisconsin Dells as well, and ended up paying pennies for a week full of memories. Weekends are huge in the world of tourism, so travelling during the week can work to your advantage. If you’re taking a week off of work anyway, why not travel Sunday through Thursday? Hey, that even leaves you a full three-day weekend to take a vacation from your vacation.

2. Travel during the off-season: similar to #1 above, travelling just outside of the purported “high-season” will save you significantly. We got dirt cheap rates for a motel in Wisconsin Dells when we traveled in mid-June. It was still hot enough to enjoy all the water parks and outdoor attractions, but too early to be considered part of the high season. We got to enjoy the sites for cheaper and with far fewer other people clamoring for rides. Check to see if there is an off-season for your desired destination and plan your trip around that.

3. Stick with the envelope system: Prior to leaving for any of our trips, I always designate a certain amount of funds to fixed costs such as gas, motel, food and must-see sites. Then, I put away a little for “extras” like souvenirs, extra dinners out, parking costs and other things. We adhere strictly to this envelope system to keep our spending in check because it can be easy to get carried away with treats and unnecessary souvenirs. With my envelope system, we don’t end up with a bunch of extra junk in our luggage and really give thought to what we’re throwing money at. I’d much rather sacrifice an extra beach towel for an off-road ATV ride any day. Experiences always trump “things.” Your spending should reflect that.

4. Sacrifice a nicer hotel for more experiences: Really, we’re generally only in our hotel room to sleep. Therefore, we don’t need anything extravagant. Yes, we want something decent, but it doesn’t have to be much more than a clean bed, a hot shower and a microwave. That way, we can spare more expenses for memories and experiences. Those are much more important. You will save a significant amount of money if you can find a decent hotel with just the basics. With a little research, you can weed out the really awful places and find something just right. When we went to Chicago in June, our requirements were that we had parking, were within 15 miles of my NASM workshop, were in a decent neighborhood and had a pool to use. Know what you absolutely need and cut out the rest. With research, we ended up finding a decent, clean Best Western for a really good price and were able to spend more on museums and other excursions. You may even be able to score a hotel that is a step up by using travel discount sites like Priceline. This could be a bullet point of its own, but you should never pay full price for your hotel! Check out the prices on several travel sites before you make your final booking.

5. Find package deals. On our recent Mackinac Island trip, I was able to save a significant amount of money by packaging what we knew we needed with our hotel booking. We bought our ferry tickets and butterfly museum tickets along with our hotel room on the Chamber of Tourism website, saving us $7.50 per person. Hotels themselves often offer coupons and special deals, and some travel sites are equipped to do this for you too. If you know exactly what you’ll need for the trip, go ahead and buy tickets at a reduced price ahead of time.

6. Bring your own food. Eating out is definitely something we enjoy doing on vacation, but we try to limit it as much as we can because it can be really expensive when all added up. By bringing sandwiches, yogurt, granola bars, popcorn and other travel-friendly foods in a cooler, we always save a lot on food. We usually plan one or two special restaurant dinners out and enjoy the rest of our meals at picnics or in our room. Beach and boat picnics offer much more significant memories than another restaurant meal anyway. You will probably end up eating more healthy if you use this strategy too!

7. Take advantage of amenities: Our last hotel had one of the best free continental breakfasts I’ve ever experienced. We were able to eliminate some of our food expenses due to this. We filled up in the morning and only had to eat light lunches. There was also an on-site gym, outdoor playground and indoor water park at our disposal. Some of our food and entertainment was built right into the hotel cost! Factor in these amenities to your trip planning to reduce some of your costs.

8. Do your research: Find as many free and low-cost forms of entertainment that you can. Don’t spare expenses for what you really want to do, but do be resourceful about things you can do and see without spending a mint. Check travel websites for what other people are saying and for what locals already know. You might find some hidden gems that others don’t know about or ways to get around certain costs. We’ve found countless free festivals, concerts, historical sites, lighthouses, beaches, museums, state parks and much more that leave us with amazing memories and no travel debt! I mean, swimming in the Great Lakes and catching that colorful awe-inspiring sunset under the Mackinaw Bridge cost us nothing, but those memories will last a lifetime.

9. Check your rewards and memberships: Our local EAA passes got us into the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago for free. In fact, there are hundreds of museums across the country that our passes will get us into for free, so we try to see if there are any nearby whenever we travel. Check with your credit cards, AAA membership, workplace and other places you belong to find discounts and cash in on those points. We also like to save our reward dollars from our credit card just for trips. My and Hubster’s workplaces even offer discounted tickets on places like water and theme parks. It really pays to check out what’s available to you through your various connections and memberships.

10. Use unconventional income sources: A good portion of our trip expenses are brought to us by the cash we get from a friend who rents a room in our house. Explore new ways to bring in extra cash and then dedicate that portion entirely to trips. If you didn’t miss that income before, you won’t miss it now. I have also worked on some freelance writing projects, cashed in our credit card reward dollars, saved our tax returns and sold some unnecessary items from our home online or at rummage sales to sweep together travel funds. You could also squirrel away 1% of your normal income automatically to a dedicated savings account or earmark work bonuses for special travel occasions. Find a way to bring in extra cash, be diligent about saving, and you just might be able to go on your dream vacation–or at least head out of town for the weekend.

11. Stay a little further down the road. Staying directly in the city you which to visit can sometimes be more pricey. For example, staying for a week on Mackinac Island would probably have cost us double what we paid to stay on the mainland. We were still able to enjoy all the pleasures of the island, but we were also even able to explore much more of the upper Michigan area this way. One day, we simply drove down the road until we hit a small town. We wouldn’t have been able to do as much on the Island. Same thing with our Door County trip. Staying right in Fish Creek or Bailey’s Harbor would have set us back more than our little cabin just a tad bit down the road. Staying in a tourist-driven city is notoriously more expensive than staying just a bit outside.

12. Take shorter, closer trips: as you can tell by my family’s travel experiences this year, we like to take vacation within a day’s drive of our home. There are so many places that feel like a whole different world that take no more than a five hour’s drive. Research places in your home state that you’ve never been before and I’m sure you’ll find enough worthwhile trips to last you decades. As a bonus, you won’t have the gas or flight costs associated with further travel. Likewise, we enjoy taking shorter, more frequent trips. If you’re staying close to home, your travel time doesn’t eat up your actual vacation time as much. Also, when you break the year up into smaller slices like that, you have so much more to look forward to, it’s easier to budget for trips, and hey, your work productivity might even surge.

I truly hope these 12 tips give you some useful tips for travelling on a budget. It really is possible to visit new places, even with lighter income streams. Please, don’t let that vacation time roll over into next year’s paycheck. Take some time today to plan your next trip. You’ll be glad you did. What are you top ways to save?

June 2, 2013

DIY Yoga Mat Holder Tutorial

If there’s one thing that makes me feel like I’m contributing to a more sustainable lifestyle, it’s by reusing and recycling items that I already have or have bought secondhand for new uses. One such project that was born from my recycling efforts is this DIY yoga mat strap.

I used the black holder that came with my yoga mat (from Target) as sort of a guide when designing my mat holder. The way the strap loops around itself inspired me to produce something similar with a more aesthetically pleasing piece of fabric.

A scarf is the perfect piece of long piece of finished fabric that you can use for this project, and you can usually find scarves in an array of colors and patterns at your local thrift store or your closet. Mine was from St. Vincent de Paul. If you wanted to use other fabric, simply stitch up the edges and then follow the steps below for the looping effect.

You’ll need a scarf, sewing machine (you could do this by hand), and thread that matches your scarf.

1. First, you’ll want to loop one end of your scarf around itself the way this black strap does.

First loop one end under the rest of the scarf:

Then, loop the end back over on top of the fabric and pin the short end in place.

Do the same with the other end and pin in place.

Then, sew along the edge where you pinned the scarf together. Be sure that the wrong sides of the fabric are facing each other when you sew. Repeat on both ends. You could definitely do this simple sewing by hand.

That’s all you have to do, and you have a handy little carrying strap for your mat. Pretty easy, right?

I do think I would’ve liked a little bit longer scarf to create a longer shoulder strip. I can fit this one around my arm, but it really is more the length of a hand strap. I will surely take a trip back to the thrift store for some more scarves. This makes a great gift for the health nut or yoga enthusiast on your list. And it literally takes only a few minutes to put together, once you get that looping thing down.

I’m thinking about doing a giveaway with one of these. Let me know what you think in the comments. If you do use this tutorial, leave a link for me so I can see what you made. Happy sewing!

July 5, 2012

A Thrifting Guide for Mommas on a Budget (Part Two)

Welcome to Part Two of my guide to thrift shopping, filled with tips and tricks to navigate those beautiful, dusty aisles. If you haven’t already, check out Part One.

6. Think unconventionally. I’ve been known to buy large plaid men’s shirts to turn into toddler pants. Women’s nightgowns provide great yardage of satin material (because it can get expensive at the fabric store). Board games missing their pieces are perfect for recycling into wall art or jewelry. Those tacky wreaths can be deconstructed and remade into modern spring door decorations. Items do not need to serve their intended purposes—they can be made to serve yours!

For example, this vintage sewing basket makes a great corral for takeout menus and phone books.

7. Don’t judge the bed by its coverlet. Similarly to the above, you can make almost anything suit your taste with a fresh coat of paint. Don’t dismiss furniture because of a few nicks and scratches or metal baskets because of an ugly shade of pastel. It’s amazing what sandpaper, a half-hour, and a small can of spray paint can do!

8. Schedule the dates. Almost every thrift store has a special sale day of the week or month. Find out when they are and you might enjoy a ½-price discount. You may also benefit from knowing which days the store tends to stock up for fresh pickings. Be prepared to battle for personal space if you go on Saturday mornings.

9. Make sure you have a truck lined up. And make sure said truck actually has working brakes. Ha! This is especially true for rummage saling and flea market shopping. When you buy new patio furniture for $5, you need to find a good way to bring it home that won’t put anyone’s life in jeopardy. But seriously, this is your warning to have proper transportation at the ready when you find an amazing vintage dining room table for $50 that you can’t live without.

10. Iffy items. Now, I know some people who are completely creeped out by thrift stores. I think they think vintage stores are just teeming with all sorts of unsavory things and characters. The truth is, there are lots of everyday people participating in the equivalent of an indoor rummage sale. It’s not taboo anymore! That being said, there are some things you just can’t buy used (underwear, really???), and we all have our limits and that’s ok! Mine are shoes (unless they still have tags), underthings, anything with holes/pills/stains, pillows, and stuffed animals. I especially stay away from things that can’t easily be sanitized or washed.

Thrift shopping isn’t the only way to nab unique deals. Other places to find one-of-a-kind steals: rummage sales, consignment shops, flea markets, antique stores, estate sales, and Etsy Vintage. I have barely bought a single article of clothing for my son for full price at a retail store. I mostly go rummage saling or get clothes from other people I know with boys. It seems illogical to me to spend $20 for an outfit that might be worn three times before it doesn’t fit anymore when I can buy a barely-used outfit for $1. We’ll leave those prices to the boy’s grandmas who like to spoil him, right?

I’m not a natural-born mall shopper, so I too like to buy my clothes on consignment or secondhand. That way, my style isn’t a regurgitated version of everyone else’s. I love the thrill of the unexpected, unusual and extra-special. And I loved these longs long before it became popular to pick through the thrift stores and resell items for a giant upcharge. To me, it’s more about clothing my family in a truly unique style on a shoestring budget. After all, that is exactly what those stores were created for.

I hope you are inspired to hit up the thrift store this weekend. What is your favorite secondhand treasure?

If you’re interested in learning even more, here are some other great vintage shopping articles that I’ve come across:

*An amazing post with sizing tips for vintage clothing
*Elsie also has a great list of thrift shopping tips.
*The Girls with Glasses have an inside-Goodwill video series to guide you through the aisles.
*Great comprehensive mother of all thrifting guide from a professional, Freckle Wonder: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.

June 29, 2012

A Thrifting Guide for Mommas on a Budget (Part One)

Thrift shopping is a great way to find cheap vintage clothing, housewares and other secondhand treasures.

My thrifting romance was nurtured from a very young age. Tagging along to the thrift store with my grandma was better than taking fistfuls of cash into the toy store. I never knew what sort of secondhand treasures I might find on any given day. My thrift shopping adventures have given me a keen eye for adorable vintage apparel and home goods on the cheap. I have also always felt like I was doing something humanitarian and eco-friendly by supporting thrift stores. I would say a good 75% of my wardrobe is of the secondhand nature, but you’d never guess. The best part is—I get to enjoy things that no one else has!

In this thrift shopping series, I will share my best tips for shopping secondhand on a budget:

1. Shop alone. Unless you can find someone who is just as content as you are with spending several hours rifling, examining, digging and scouring in a secondhand store, I suggest going it alone. I would also recommend leaving the kids at home unless they love it too. Forcing them is not good for anyone involved. However, in the unlikely event that you bring a toddler (because they’re screaming, holding your ankles, insisting on coming along), make the experience a fun, interactive (and short!) one, and make sure they’re well-fed and well-rested beforehand.

I recently had the best time with my Peanut lately at the local thrift store. Every time I tried on a leather jacket, he tried it on too, looking like a goofy mini Sherlock Holmes. I pointed out all sorts of things throughout the store and let him touch and hold some non-breakable items. Then, as a reward for being an angel child, we explored the toy section and even went home with a new little doctor kit. I’ve had my blood pressure checked a million times since then.

2. Clear your schedule. If I’m going to scavenge the thrift store, I know that I’ll need to block off a good hour or two—and I better have a meal beforehand! There’s just no easy way to comb the clothing racks without enough time set aside. I know it will never work if I just decide to drop in for a quick 15 minutes. Do you know how unnerving it feels to think you might be missing something in all the aisles you didn’t have time to check? On the same vein, you need to be patient. You need the extra time to comb through racks and racks of distasteful nick-nacks to find those hidden gems. It really takes patience–and it’s not for everyone. It is not uncommon to only find one or two notable items for each 1-hour trip.

3. Start a list. The back page of my agenda book contains a constantly-changing list of things I’m looking for at the moment. If they happen to be items I can pick up secondhand for pennies, I’m always grateful. At the secondhand shop, in particular, I’m always on the lookout for craft supplies, vintage dresses, beautifully-illustrated children’s books, and pretty printed sheets to repurpose. But I might set out for a silky scarf for a project or dainty plates and mugs to turn into a tiered display. It’s helpful to have ideas of what you need for your home, so your attention stays focused. By bits and pieces, you’ll eventually craft some well-curated spaces in your home.

4. Expect the unexpected. You probably won’t find anything on the list above on your first try. Always keep the list in the back of your mind, but keep your mind open. Most of the things I take away from the thrift store are things I never had on my mind. This is especially true for clothes. You cannot approach the racks hoping to find one specific item, but you might find three new things you would just die to have. And you probably won’t have to die for them at $1.00 each!

5. Give and take. Every time I plan on visiting the thrift store, I take along a box of donations. I try to donate more than I buy to avoid the packrat trap and to keep the supply steady and flowing for others. Our needs and tastes are always changing, and this ebb and flow allows us to change things out of rotation every once in awhile without breaking the bank.

I hope this article is sparking some great ideas for you or just giving you that itch. I know that itch all to well. Even writing this article is making me itch for a trip to Vinnies.

Check back next week for Part Two of this thrift shopping guide for even more tips on browsing and unearthing some real treasures.

November 4, 2011

DIY Envelope System

I needed an envelope system for the cash I regularly carry in my purse that was:

Not bulky–a girl’s purse is already a shoulder breaker
Organized–trying to keep all the money straight isn’t easy for a girl on a budget
Cute–has to fit the whole aesthetic of the purse, wallet, etc.
Easy to grab and go

I was concerned that the prevalent cloth versions on Etsy would get bulky and beat up in a purse. I was thinking, what could I use that has multiple pockets, doesn’t bend and is super-slim? Ah-ha, a pocket picture album! Dollar bills fit in 4×6 album pages perfectly. Keeping in line with said budget, the project is also super low-cost. Even a few friends have even adopted this great idea.

Supplies: heavy-duty scissors, contact paper/adhesive drawer liner, a 4×6 picture album, embellishments, 1 standard sheet of 12×12 scrapbook paper cut into six 4×6 sheets.

1. Cut a piece of contact paper slightly smaller than the width/height of the album cover. Fold it in half about three times.

2. Cut the contact paper like those snowflakes you made as a child. You will need the heavy-duty scissors to cut through those thick layers.

3. Apply the resulting paper design to the cover. If you’ve found a vintage photo album that already has a beautiful cover, feel free to skip these first three steps!

4. Insert the scrapbook paper into six pages of the album. Feel free to use more if you need to.

5. I used some leftover scraps of contact paper and a felt-tip marker to label each envelope: EAT, DUDS, POST, ENTERTAIN, SUNDAY, and SPEND. Be sure to label the outside of the picture sleeve or your greenbacks will cover up the label and you’ll waste time trying to figure out which pocket is which.

6. Embellish as desired. I didn’t want to add any sort of money symbols to the front cover so I could keep the wallet more “covert.” I didn’t want to make it very inviting for sticky fingers.

This project is a great way to prepare for all those upcoming New Years’ Resolutions or to keep tabs on your Christmas budget. I’ve heard it said (from financial professionals) that the envelope system is one of the best methods for keeping a budget, so I’m sticking to it. When the “out to eat” money is gone, it’s gone. But hey, I feel so excited that we even have an “out to eat” category in our budget now.

Featured on the Made By You Monday link party at:

March 2, 2010

Will Eat for Free!

I’ve identified more dangerous triggers that cause me to eat when I don’t need to. It all comes down to the value of the dollar.

The first trigger is free food. When I see a spread of fruit, dips, and other indulgences, I see something I could never afford to have all at once at home. I see dollar signs in the drink mixes and shiny gold glazing on the meat slabs and it’s hard to resist the temptation when posed against the lackluster frozen meals at our house. Along the same vein is the value of my time. The free homemade cake offered at work, that I don’t have to slave over, is doubly tempting. (And I will NEVER pass up a slice of cake!) I figure as long as it’s only one indulgence every other week or so, maybe I throw a few bites away, and I only take a partial serving, I should just enjoy the frosting, guilt-free. And there can’t be much harm in filling my plate with mostly fruits and vegetables first.

The second downfall is the incredulous idea of wasted food. Knowing how much our weekly grocery budget has grown makes me want to sip, soak up, suck on, swallow, and chew every last penny’s worth that I can. The downfall of this is that those extra bites end up taking up residence in my fat cells, which is worse than living in the garbage can. I guess the easy solution to this is to buy less calorie-laden foods and serve smaller portions. Also limiting the indulgences would help, so that when I eat every last bite, it’s more likely to be broccoli and brown rice than greasy prepackaged burritos.

My third downfall is when food is offered that I wasn’t prepared for. Identifying the cost and amount of time and love spent by mommy making a double batch of cookies makes it impossible to refuse. The gooey heaven is laden with guilt from many different angles. Next time, I’ll ask for my treat to-go, fully enjoy just a few bites, and get rid of the rest or share the bounty with others. Mommy will never know.

The fourth downfall is how going out to eat has become a “treat.” My husband and I are at odds over this. My family of 5 used to go out to eat on $20 total, a rare treat. We’d share meals; scour flyers, newspapers and circulars for coupons; skip extras like drinks (only water), dessert, sides and appetizers; and memorize where the deals were. (We once had lunch at a furniture store because they were giving out free hot dogs). My husband’s family set no limits on food or cost and ate out as a convenience, versus a rare splurge. So as we combine our families, we have a habit of going out for a “rare treat” sometimes twice a week or more. Not good. I’ve bought a few quick healthy recipe books that will hopefully deflate this ballooning eating-out budget. We are in need of some variety and much more enjoyable bites at home so we don’t crave going out. After all, I’d much rather save for memorable vacations than watch money drain away on food, with nothing left to show for it.

Who knew money was so inextricably linked to diet?