On Monday I described how I meal-plan and grocery shop once a week. Meal-Planning on a budget also requires making inexpensive choices for your meals. Here are some examples of what I have been cooking recently: Breakfast Oatmeal: I make oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins almost every day of the week. I haven’t found anything […]
Archive for the ‘Saving Money’ Category
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Meal-Planning on a Budget
October 15th, 2012 
Jessica One of the largest expenses for most families is their grocery bill. There are lots of ways to cut back on your grocery expenses, and one of those methods is meal-planning. Once a week I gather my grocery list, calendar, and a pen. Then I take stock of the contents of my pantry, refrigerator, freezer, […]
How to Save on Phone, Internet, & Cable Services
October 12th, 2012 Jessica Saving money on Phone, Internet, and Cable services is a common dilemma in the age of technology. One needs to keep up with the changing times and save money simultaneously. Here is how our family has resolved these issues: Phone: Ditch the Land Line. When we got married, Brad and I already had Cell-Phones. We […]
Refinancing? 10 Tips (Part 4)
October 10th, 2012 Jessica Click here to read “Refinancing? (Part 1)”, “Refinancing? (Part 2)”, “Refinancing? (Part 3)”. In the days since we finished refinancing our rental property in Maryland, I have had some time to reflect on the process of refinancing. I hope that these 10 tips will help you if you are in the process of refinancing your […]
Refinancing? (Part 3)
October 8th, 2012 Jessica Click here to read “Refinancing? (Part 1)” and “Refinancing? (Part 2)”. If you have been following my Facebook page, then you already know the good news: WE FINISHED REFINANCING OUR HOUSE!!! After much discussion, we decided to go with the 30-year-mortgage, hoping that we can put the extra money each month into paying off our […]
Celebrating Birthdays on a Budget
August 30th, 2012 Jessica Most of the birthdays in Brad’s and my families are during the winter or summer months. This means that we are buying a lot of gifts from June to August and December to February. When you’re trying to “live like no one else,” it can be difficult feeling like you cannot give gifts or throw […]
3 Ways We’ve Lowered Our Utility Bill
August 6th, 2012 Jessica In the past few months I’ve been working on lowering our utility bill. Here are some of the improvements we’ve made with the help of PG&E: A few months ago we qualified for the income-based CARE program which lowers our monthly bill. About a month ago we signed up for the Balanced Payment Plan which […]
Refinancing? (Part 2)
May 22nd, 2012 Jessica Click here to read “Refinancing? (Part 1).” When Brad and I were married in 2005, we bought a house in Maryland, thinking that we would live there for many years to come. As you know, life doesn’t always turn out the way you plan. 19 months after we moved in, we were moving out. We […]
Take the “Date Your Shampoo” Challenge!
December 4th, 2011 Jessica One of the ways that you can save money around your home is by using half the recommended amount of laundry detergent, dish soap, or shampoo. Our friend Dan (who admittedly has very short hair) takes this suggestion one step further. He uses a permanent marker to label his shampoo bottle with the date (i.e. […]
A Frightfully Frugal Halloween
October 31st, 2011 Jessica On Saturday evening our family got dressed-up for Trunk-Or-Treat at a local church. As usual, we tried our best to find creative ways to save money for the holiday. Naomi’s Cinderella Costume: Naomi’s dress was hand-me-down from another family, and the same dress she wore last year. I bought a $0.25 tiara at a yard-sale […]
