Free Fribbles today!

New year: new spending habits

According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, the median household debt is estimated at more than $200,000. How did we get there? As it turns out, school loans and houses are quite expensive...but the third biggest reason for debt is credit card spending. We, as Americans, have a LOT of credit card debt.

When you're shopping, how much easier is to buy something if you whip out your plastic? A 2000 MIT study showed that people at an auction were willing to pay twice as much for something when they use a credit card instead of cash.

If you want to cut back on your spending in the new year, here's something to try. Use cash when you shop. Instead of making most of your purchases using your credit card or even your debit card, get your weekly budgeted money out in cash and put it in your wallet. 

There is something more real about handing over dollar bills and coins; you have a baseline for how much you have and how much you have left. With a credit card you are spending imaginary money that you can't see or even have...it only lives in your card. It's easier to spend that imaginary money, so much so that we can easily forget that we don't even have it at all.

Just a note - this is my 100th Thrift World post! Thank you to all my readers for your eyes and support. And hey, don't be afraid to leave a comment every once in a while.  I know so many of you have thrifting tips of your own that could benefit many others, so if you have some, please share:)

Extreme Christmas saving ideas

Maybe it's just a trend in my family but we have loads of gifts laying around even before we go Christmas shopping. My mom has books, picture frames, body lotions, crafty items, and tons more that she's gathered all year long. It's during the Christmas season that she finally breaks them out and wraps them up.

Sure, lots of stuff is on sale during the holiday season...or at least stores want you to THINK everything is deeply discounted. They just want you to buy stuff, so they'll do pretty much anything to convince you to grab everything in site while it's so cheap. But the truth is, the best time to buy gifts isn't between Black Friday and Christmas Day.

Special sales and deals happen throughout the year, and if you think ahead, you can save a bundle by shopping during each season's discounts. My mom starts Christmas shopping generally around yard sale season. I don't care what anyone says, you can find amazing gifts, new and used, right in people's back yards. We do it every year. Why should it matter if I spend $2 on your gift? If you love it, that's all that matters.

We don't just have to talk about yard sales either. If we want to get really crazy and save money, we can buy Christmas gifts from Dec. 25-30. Yep, that's when EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE goes way on sale. All those gifts that were $10, they'll all now $5. Every piece of electronics that was crazy cheap before Christmas, well guess what, it's even cheaper now.

If you want to get even crazier, I mean crazy like your friends and relatives might consider putting you away somewhere,  consider moving Christmas. ::gasp:: I know, I know. I went a little far but let me just explain. If you moved your Christmas party until a few days after Christmas, everyone could buy everything deeply discounted those couple days after Dec. 25. You would save so much money, you could either (a) buy everyone twice as many gifts or (b) save a boatload of cash...probably a little of both.

With any of these options, wouldn't it be nice to have lots of your gifts ahead of time? Then the holidays might not seem as absolutely nuts as they already are with everything going on.

I have lots of posts about savings during the holiday season, be sure to click through and see my past articles on the topic. You can click "holidays" in the Thrifty by Category section.

10 Money-saving options for the unemployed

Guest post: Written by Ellie Smith

‎10 Money-saving options I've explored since becoming unemployed:

1. "if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down"

2. working in the semi-dark loaded down with blankets to save energy

3. home haircuts

4. going without deodorant and showering every other day (hey, it's winter!)

5. eating popcorn for at least one meal a day

6. baking my own bread and cookies

7. not leaving the house except to walk the dogs

8. making one trip to PriceRite last two weeks

9. cancelling my Netflix subscription and relying on network tv for entertainment

10. banning all Christmas-related expenditures

Estimated savings: $1,892.56

I realize it sounds really sad when you lay it all out there, but I gotta admit I'm kind of proud of myself. Now if only I could put all that energy into finding a job...
For more writings by Ellie, visit her blog: elliesmith.wordpress.com

Gobble up the savings!

If there's one thing November is good for, it's turkey. And you don't just have to eat turkey on Thanksgiving. It just so happens that this time of year, turkeys cost only about 58 cents a pound, making it the best time to buy them...and freeze them. Compare those prices to chicken, and you've got yourself pounds and pounds of savings.

Save on food costs, by buying a couple turkeys for your freezer to stock up for the year and then enjoy them for special occasions, group dinners, or just have and eat leftovers!