How a family of 4 lives with $24,000 year.

I just went back to the work force its been hard because I still have 2 little ones but that gave us a raise on our budget. Recently I came across another blogger that same as me is a military wife and works hard to make ends meet month after month.  So my first tip is to start a weekly menu.


Weekly menu: I went to the dollar store and I got one of those dry erase weekly calendar magnet for the refrigerator. Once a week I write down what is on the menu based on what I have available in the house. I write Sunday thru Saturday and I try to keep an open mind. If I have to switch it up in the middle of the week its fine by me and my family. Our menu its not law.

My second it is to hit the groceries department once every 2-3 weeks: Over my house we only go groceries once every 2-3 weeks. Sometime we stretch to a whole month. I make sure to use up everything we have in the house before I hit the store.

Take a list with you to the store: Read  my words. Always write the items you have to buy before going to the store and try to avoid impulsive buys. I only buy items that are not on my list if they are on SALE and only if.

Before buying a new item ask yourself: "Do I need it and why? Is it worth my work hour labor? Thing tend to have a whole different meaning if that $40 item cost you 4 hours of hard work.

Well these are some of the tips that I use in own household. I'll be sharing more later.

Back to School.

Its that time of the year again.... Send our kids back to school. Yay :) The part that is not so fun is the long list of back to school items that we must buy. I want to share my favorite place to go but its probably yours as well.

Walmart sells great back to school items. From notebooks to summer reading books. Check it out.
Besides they match the advertised price of the competitors so if you find it cheaper somewhere else they will match that. What is to lose?

Check Walmart and Staples for good deals on back to school if your child is 8 or 18 going to college.

See you later...  :)

Thrift Store Deals

Thrift Stores can be a hit or a miss. It all depends on where you shop what type of shop it is. I personally had more luck in a private thrift shop than a Salvation Army/ Goodwill. Its a matter of opnion thats all.

When you walk into a thrift shop make sure that you dont have anything on your mind. Go open because you never know what you are gonna find. I know my likes and dislikes. When I walk into one I usually go straight for the aisle of my liking.

Thrift Shop can be a great deal for someone that starting a new home with low income or for someone that isnt about consumption. Buying new things and throwing things out. I am all about recycling and reusing. I dont believing in buying "dump" but if its in good conditions and still got some life left out of it. Then I am all for it.

Thrift stores can be good for finding expensive brand names items at cheap price. I once found a Coach bag for $7.99 and it turned out to be an original! Keep your eyes open.

I also like to buy my kids jeans from there. Specially because since they are small it doesnt show much wear. First thing I do its check the knee and the cuffs. I am a sucker for Disney Clothing and pretty much everything Disney but I have found great piece of clothing with barely any wear at the Thrift Store. I am spending less and creating less waste by reusing it.

Well here its my bit of advice Go for what you like look around and then explore the store. If the "IT" item of your dreams is there you wont lose it. I am not addicted to Thrift Stores but sometimes whenever I am looking for something different for my kids or vintage for myself and my house I shop there first.  :)

Cheap or Free Family Entertainment

Summer is here and we parents get faced with the extra "job" to entertain our kids during the vacation months. I am gonna share the few entertainment I am doing with my family this summer. They were all either free or low cost.

•  Take a trip to the Shore.

We live in NJ and the beaches are everywhere along the coast line. we took several trips down the shore with our little ones. Packed drinks and snacks for everyone and since they charge a fee to get into the sand. We walked the boardwalk or waited until 4 pm when the beach was free to go in. With small children it was perfect because the sun wasnt extremely hot anymore but we still had about 3 more hours of fun.

• Have a picnic at the park

Where we live there a plenty of parks to choose from. But one of our favorite one is a large park with a trail, field, playgrounds etc. We take the picnic basket full with goodies for  everyone and enjoy a day out in the park. Eating, walking around the trail, letting the kids enjoy the playground etc.

• Movies in the Park

Several towns offers movies in the park. They are free. Just bring your chair or blanket wait until sun is down and enjoy a movie. Our town offers face painting, ice cream and popcorn for the children before the movie starts. Check your area for features.

• Movies at the Library

Save as above. Several libraries offers movies during summer months. Check with your local library for days and times.

• $1 movies at the theater.

Seveal towns have movie theaters offering movies either free or $1. The only down was that our locations offered movies at 9-10 am and if anybody out there agrees with me. Its really hard to get little ones up early on a school day let alone when they are out on vacation. : /

• Playground Sprinklers

My town offers a great playground with Sprinklers. Again pack your picnic basket with tons of food to last you and you and your family can spend an entire day cooling off. Its cheaper than taking a trip down the shore and it saves on gas.

• Mall playground

Hey sometimes you just need to look at pretty things, bring a girlfriend order a cup of coffee (cheap) and enjoy a conversation while your kids have fun at the indoor playground.

Well here are a few things that we are doing this summer. If any more come up Ill update the list.
Enjoy your Summer XOXO

Save money on College.

I went to College at late age but when I did do it I was wiser and definitely had done a lot research on it.
College can be very expensive whether you are paying for yourself or your kids. It can easily cost $10,000 or more per semester. When I finally made sense of my life and decided that it was time to take things seriously I was overwhelmed.

After all the research I did I found out a way to let me save money with College. Its the CLEP or College Level Examination Program. It provides test on 33 subject that are usually required on your first 2 years of college if you are going for a typical 4 yr degree.

I hit the books self taught myself the subjects that I had to take for my Nursing Degree and went for the center to take the test. My local Community College allowes me to transfer up to 30 credits granted from the CLEP exams towards my degree. Each exam costs $77 plus a sitting fee at the test center. Check the website www.clep.collegeboard.org  for more information on the tests and test center locations based on your area.

I was able to take 4 tests thru the CLEP that awarded me 3-6 credits towards my degree. Each credit would  have costed me $130 at my local Community College!!! You do the math. Before you decide to learn for yourself the subjects of study hit your local library gather as many books as you can and study, study hard.

Make sure you are prepared before you take the test and dont rush into it. The test centers usually hold the tests about once a month. If you are not 100% to go take another month because if you dont pass you might have to wait another 6 months to retake the test. ( The minimum score its 50)

It saved me money in the long run and it will save you and your kids as well. ( Check with your college first to make sure that they accept transfer CLEP credits). ;)

Chunky Black Beans Chili

I love my Slow Cooker. The other day I was craving some Chili so I decided to put my good ol' slow cooker to use. Well this is my own version of Chili  it is delicious.

Chunky Black Beans Chili.

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs of turkey ground meat
• 2 cans of black beans
• 1 small jar of Chunky mild salsa
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 1 dash of Cayenne pepper
• 1 dash of Salt
• 1 dash of Adobo seasoning
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1 envelope of Sazon garlic and onions ( you can use powder garlic and onions )

Spray the slow cooker with olive oil or some type of non sticking spray. Put the ground meat on the bottom. Pour the black beans from the can with the juice. The salsa and the tomato sauce. Add all of the seasonings. Cook on high for 4-5 hours. Mix half way thru the cooking to break up the meat.

Its delicious. Enjoy it!!!!

Wealth Watchers way to save money.

A couple days ago I read an article on how a couple was able to save $10,000 dollars in 1 year and pay up debts. I was mesmerized by how they did it and I wanted to share in this blog so maybe others can follow in their footsteps.

Save money and budget comes hand in hand. Honestly its a pain to calculate budget and then self sacrifice in order to save some money in the end. I read how they did it and I found it very easy to follow.

You calculate how much of fixated bills you have to pay up in a month (rent/morgage, utilities, phone bill, etc) then you subtract that amount with how much you bring to the table at the end of the month (after taxes). Once you have that number divide it by 30 (which are days of the month) the number you have its the amount you have available to spend daily. It puts a cap on how much you can spend and in order to save money always spend less than your daily cap.

Let put in writing as an example so you can have an idea:

ex: John Smith makes $3000 monthly after taxes
His monthly expenses run to about $1500 (rent/ cable/ phone/ utilities)
$3000 / $1500 = $1500 (left to spend on other things such as gas/ groceries/etc)

John Smith has $1500 left in his pocket to make ends meet till the end of the month but he wants to save money for his retirement/ debt etc. Now divide $1500 by 30 and in the end the result will be $50.
John Smith has a $50 daily cap to spend. If he wants to save he go strive to spend less than what his daily allowance is.

Now lets put this example in my real life. I can spend easily $200 on a trip to the supermarket. Well if you go over your daily allowance make sure to spend less in the next following days.

I am excited to start this method of saving. Are you???