The Fine Line Between Frugality and Living Life

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I’m the first to admit that I can be more than frugal. I’m down right cheap in some regards. It’s usually when it pertains to me, like if I genuinely need something I will likely put it off as long as possible and take care of anything and everyone else first.

Maybe too much information, but I desperately need underwear right now, probably should have addressed this need ohhh….like three months ago, but I keep putting it off. I need to suck it up, spend the money and buy myself some new gonchies. There’s a fine line between being frugal to reach your financial goals, and understanding the need to spend money on necessities for life. I need to learn that I require certain items and that even though we’re in a hard core debt repayment mode, money will still need to be spent and even enjoyed sometimes.

In reading Jeremy’s post yesterday about the wicked mortgage rate he manged to get on his first home, I was a little taken aback when this comment was left for him:

Only thing I can tell you is two words:

PAY CASH

If you can’t do that then you can’t afford it.

Wait until you sign that paper that says that over 30 years you actually pay like 3 or 4 times the price of your house.

Your body looks at that and is like hold up this isn’t a good deal but you sign it anyway. You’ll find out later why you should have saved that down payment money and bought one of these auction properties for CASH. No mortgage = freedom.

If you knew better you would do better.

Like I said, I’m cheap, but really?! People honestly don’t buy houses until they can pay for the whole thing in cash?  Especially in this world of record low interest rates? I don’t think the commentor meant any harm by his words, but it certainly made me think. This is the fine line between being driven to pay debt off (or being debt free) and living life.

Through our debt repayment journey- which will last at least another four years- we will be living life. I refuse to be a miserable old cat lady who goes to work, comes home, takes care of family, goes to bed, repeat. I will lose my mind and become even more resentful of our debt and get burnt out with all our efforts.

There are certain things you can’t just give up entirely to pay off debt. Like underwear. If I need underwear I should go buy it dammit! I have to stop allowing my debt make me to feel guilty for spending money. Not just on necessities either, but on things I enjoy, like our upcoming family reunion. Everything in balance. I don’t believe I deserve to live the same life as someone who has attained debt freedom but I’m not going to totally constrict myself either. 

I’m going to do all that I can to make it possible so I can live life, buy my underwear and pay off debt. I want it all so I’m going to have to work my ass off to make it happen. 

How do you manage a balance between current (or past) debt and all that life entails?

Reaching Goal: Surround Yourself With the Right People

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My posts have been super scattered lately…kind of like my whole life. I’ll ask that you deal with my erratic posting for a little while longer!

A huge part to obtaining any goal in life is surrounding yourself with the right people. Especially when it comes to money. From getting out of debt, to early mortgage payoff, having the right people in your life will make your life ,and reaching your financial goal, much easier.

Romantic Relationships

Any person in a committed relationship, married or not, will tell you that both parties absolutely have to be on the same page if you’re going to be successful with your financial goals. I was lost when it came to our debt and what to do about it. I lived in denial for too long and did the worst thing anyone in debt can do. I accepted it as part of my life.

After years of trying to manage the finances I knew we needed to get serious about paying our debt off when I got pregnant. No more living in la la land. Life was about to change drastically and was no longer just about us. More than anything we knew we didn’t want our children to have the financial burden in their lives that we’ve endured as young adults starting out in life.

I knew this would only be possible if my husband and I both wanted the same goal and we worked together to make it happen. We now budget together, we talk about money, we decide how extra income will be spent and equally decide when and where sacrifices need to be made. If we weren’t on the same page we would be in a much different spot. If we didn’t take the time out of our busy lives and commit to each other that we would work together I don’t even want to think about how my life may be. This blog wouldn’t exist. Our finances would be a royal mess and we would be living a constant life of stress.

Friendship

Whether your in a relationship or working towards your goals solo, everyone has friends in their life and some friends, no mater how good their intentions may be, can be toxic to have in your life when working towards certain financial goals. That friend who convinces you to spend unnecessary money, stay for ‘one more drink’, have an unplanned outing, whatever it may be that they do, we’ve all met these people. That friend that’s able to twist our rubber arms and bust our newly minted ‘budget’ for the month.

People like this make reaching our goals so much more difficult because we watch them spend money and buy things we want but ”can’t” have. When we decide to sit down and focus on a financial goal we sometimes choose to give up or seriously cut out certain things temporarily, and it’s usually the fun stuff in life like eating out, shopping, trips or the movie network. All the things we see some of our friends continue to do. It’s too easy to turn off our goal oriented path and go back to old ways.

Keep Your Eye On The Goal

Keeping yourself focused is the only way you will reach your goal. Write your plan out on paper and hang it somewhere you can see it to constantly remind yourself. Put a countdown to ”goal day” on your phone so you can take a peek every few days to see the number decreasing. Start a blog and share your goals with hundreds of other people! Whatever you need to do to stay focused is KEY to success. If it means limiting the time spent with said people, do it! Ideally you’re able to find common ground and do other things with these people but it’s not always possible.

What are you doing to keep focus on reaching your goals?

If You Can’t Brush Your Teeth, You Likely Can’t Manage Money: Why Financial Literacy Is Important

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Image_1This blog wouldn’t exist if I didn’t have stories to share about the lessons I have learned when it comes to years of managing my money. I say my money but I should include my husband and call it our money.

This past year has been monumentally huge for us. Last June we had our baby girl and since then I have been on maternity leave (Thank you Canada for allowing me to be off for a year). Having our daughter was a huge wake-up call for us and our finances. Sure we always paid our bills on time but if I’m being honest we lived our lives with our heads in the sand. I talked previous about how not owning up to my debt was a huge mistake. It took bringing our daughter into the world to grow up in terms of our finances.

I’m not going to pass blame on anyone for my debt since I was an adult when the debt was accumulated. I accept that there was an onus on me to educate myself about anything and everything related to my money. From budgeting to investing, I should have known more than I did. Hindsight is 20/20 they say. I can honestly say that had I received financial education in high school, things would be different.

Need For Financial Literacy 

The argument about who should teach financial education continues to be discussed. Parents or school? People continue to argue that the curriculum in high schools is already too full, not enough teachers, more training for teachers blah,blah,blah. Here’s the thing. We don’t know what goes on in a child’s life outside of the protected brick walls of a school. They may not have someone to teach them. We send our children to school to learn all skills needed for life so upon graduation we can send them into this big bad (and down right terrifying) world with all the basic skills they need.

In my opinion, teaching financial skills like how to make a budget, organizing finances, basic investment knowledge, how to file a tax return and managing with debt is an absolute necessity. These are invaluable skills that need to be taught if we want to ensure the utmost success for our children.

If we don’t teach these skills, and kids have no one at home to teach them these skills, and they’re overwhelmed with LIFE (because let’s be honest, being a kid in today’s world is anything but easy) who will teach our children?

If you’re reading this blog you don’t count. The very fact that you care enough about money to read a personal finance blog puts you well above the average individual. As a university educated person, who is usually surrounded by well-educated friends and family, it is easy to forget the general public knowledge base. I see it everyday at work. Any job that deals with the public will ground you and you gain a new respect for how little people know. Just to put things into perspective, on more than one occasion I have had parents gasp in honest surprise when I instructed their child to brush all surfaces of their teeth. ”What do you mean Mrs?! You don’t just brush the top bits?!” This is the general public.

If they can’t properly brush their teeth, they likely can’t properly manage money. Let alone teach money management skills to their kids.
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Since it’s Required, Why Not Compare and Save on Auto Insurance With Kanetix?

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This is a guest post from Shirley Barnes, a freelance writer and finance enthusiast.

No matter what province you live in, carrying auto insurance is mandatory in Canada. Just because mandatory auto insurance laws require you to carry specific coverage options and minimum limits, it does not mean that you are required to carry your coverage through a specific insurer.

If you are in the process of buying a new vehicle, or you currently have coverage and you want to find lower premiums, it is important to use your time wisely and compare auto insurance rates through several different companies – one popular Canadian choice being Kanetix.ca, who has both an English and French version of their website, which makes comparing auto insurance, or comparer vos options de couverture, a snap.

In this article, find out why performing an auto insurance comparison is so important and how you can do your comparison in just minutes, and watch the savings add up.

Why You Must Take Time to Compare Auto Insurance Rates

As a consumer, it is your right to find the most value in whatever you are shopping for. No matter what you might be shopping for, chances are you will compare prices of several different manufacturers, the features and options offered, and the reputation of the manufacturers before making your purchase.

Just because you are purchasing a service and not a product when doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do the same kind of comparisons. You need to consider the insurer’s reputation, the cost of insurance, and the features that will benefit you when filing a claim.

What many drivers are not aware of is that some auto insurance companies cater to excellent drivers and others cater to high-risk drivers with blemishes on their driving record, regardless of the province. Insurance rates are calculated by assessing risk. If a driver presents more risk of filing a claim, the insurance company will assign a higher rate to that driver, which will drive up the overall rates of the policy.

Fortunately, some companies are willing to take on more risk than others and drivers who are classified as risky to a standard company may not be considered the same way by a sub-standard company. This is why comparing available rates through several different insurers in the province is so important.

Building a More Comprehensive Policy on a Budget

All provinces in Canada require drivers to carry compulsory third-party liability coverage. Some provinces also require policyholders to carry other options like Medical Payments, Funeral Expenses Benefits, and Disability Income.

While carrying the minimum requirements will afford you the coverage you need to satisfy compulsory laws, these minimum coverage requirements may not be adequate for you depending on your situation. When you take time to compare auto insurance rates, you can enter all of your personal information and select limits. You can then adjust these limits to purchase a more comprehensive policy.

How to Compare Quotes Quickly

Doing an auto insurance rate comparison does not have to be a time-consuming task. With all of the advanced tools that have been developed in the recent years, consumers now have access to the rates of several insurance companies in the province with a good reputation.

Consumers who truly want to save money no longer have to travel to each insurance office or call several different toll-free numbers to compare quotes. Comparing rates has never been easier or more convenient.

You can save money on your insurance and save time in the process by using rate comparison tools. Make sure you have your current auto insurance policy by your side, your vehicle information, and all of the information on each driver. By entering your information into the fields, the rate comparison tool will become your personal insurance broker.

Debt Management Success for the Average Joe

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To properly manage your debts, formulate a strategic plan that spans all areas of your financial life, from revenue and expense management to net worth planning and cash-flow tracking. You also would need to canvass the offices of professionals well versed in financial matters, to ensure your strategic blueprint is compatible with your current economic situation. These professionals include debt management experts, accountants, tax planners, and debt-management attorneys.

Expense Management 

Your debt management strategy should glom with your expense management aspiration – like macaroni and cheese. This is because you incurred the debt in the first place because you had to spend money on, say, a personal project, property or business initiative. Personal expenses include things like rent, utilities, travel and groceries. Financial specialists often use the terms “cost,” “expense” and “charge” interchangeably. Other costs you may incur in the normal course of life include interest and overdraft fees. When reviewing your expenses, give analytical importance to the total interest charges you incur on your debts. Debts, such as credit cards, with high interest rates may impede the implementation of your debt management plan – so make sure you pay them off first, before tackling low-interest liabilities. Proper debt management requires the help of experienced professionals like those on www.ConsolidatedCredit.org.

Revenue Management 

When business people talk about revenue management, they refer to techniques and procedures that an organization establishes to track sales, identify the largest customers, boost profits, and define what employees must do to improve customer service. You also can apply the same revenue management tactics to manage debts and reach economic stability. Write down all your income sources, specifying elements like frequency, amount and earnings probability. Earnings probability refers to the odds that you would be generating revenue in a specific area over the long term. Regular earnings include your pay – if you are employed – interest on savings accounts, and retirement money you may receive from the government, insurance companies or other financial institutions.

Cash-Flow Tracking 

Cash-flow tracking is integral to an effective liability management blueprint, as are revenue management and expense administration. A statement of cash flows is a financial data summary that provides insight into a company’s cash flows, from operating activities to investing activities and financing activities. Cash inflows represent money coming in, while cash outflows track funds that were spent during a specific period. For an individual, cash inflows include money paid to settle debt, buy an automobile, finance a wedding and pay for a relative’s college tuition.

Net Worth Management 

If you are a cash-strapped borrower, you can successfully manage debt by formulating a plan to manage your net worth – which equals everything you own minus everything you owe. Revenue, expense and cash-flow management is essential, but you should add the net worth component to your over financial-stability plan. Talk to your banker about net worth planning, or seek the advise of a financial adviser. By slowing paying off your debts, you would have some leeway in increasing how much money is left over at the end of each period – say, a month or quarter – and how much of that fund you want to save.

About the Author:

This article is composed by Elaine McPartland who is associated with “Consolidated Credit” as their community writer. In the above article, She has mentioned worst dangerous signs that shows your debts are out of control. You can add her at her google+ profile.

 

Oral Care: More Than Just Teeth

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Image courtesy of adamr FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of adamr FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There is a huge disconnect between your mouth and the rest of your body. People don’t realize that not caring for your mouth will have systemic effects. Poor oral hygiene has been linked to everything from pre-term, low birth weight babies, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

If you’ve missed my past posts, be sure to check them out:

Oral Cancer

How often do you go to your family doctor and have them look in your mouth? Yeah, thought so. Seeing a dentist or hygienst regularly is the only way to ensure you’re having a good oral exam. Though not the highlight of my career, I’ve referred three patients to an oral pathologist for cases I thought were oral cancer. I’m sad to say I was right all three times. Only one of the three was a smoker too. One was an older lady who mentioned she had a cold core that just wouldn’t heal, though I can see how she thought it may be a cold sore, I was sure she needed a second opinion. All her gardening in the hot sun without protection was likely the cause. The third was an older lady from Greece whose son did all the translating. When he mentioned she was having trouble swallowing, I pressed the issue and did an introral and extraoral exam, something didn’t feel right to me and it turns out she had a large tumor around her voicebox.

Periodontal Disease 

Periodontal disease can range from gingivitis to sever disease (teeth falling out). I see it all. I have had patients with disease so bad their teeth have literally fallen out in my office doing an exam. It amazes me the pain people will go through before seeking professional help. If you’re at the stage of teeth starting to become mobile, your attachment tissues and bone have been affected. If you have an infection that sever in your mouth it will get into your blood stream…all blood pumps through your heart. Is this risk worth it?!

If you went to the bathroom and washed your hands in routine fashion and they bleed you would probably freak out, right? So why do so many people think bleeding gums from routine brushing and flossing is normal? Blood=problem.

I’m keeping it real here and 99.99999% of the population, me included, has a few trouble areas in their mouth and routine flossing or brushing may get a bit of bleeding. Bacteria sneaks its way into tiny nooks that get missed sometimes, we’re human. But if you’re getting bleeding every time you brush or floss, it’s an indication that there’s something going on or you’re doing it incorrectly. Most of the time bleeding is an indicator that the patient needs to change their technique and do it MORE often. Bleeding doesn’t mean stop.

Dentures Shouldn’t Be An Option

I hate hearing that people don’t care about their teeth because they will always have dentures as an option. No matter how much you may hate your teeth, YOUR teeth are always better than dentures. Ask anyone who wears them. They’re a pain in the ass. They need to be fit and adjusted often, can get infected underneath if not cared for properly, in the case of full dentures you loose so much of your ability to taste your food. Ask anyone who is in dentures if they would rather their real teeth and I’m sure they will all agree they would rather have natural teeth no matter how they may look.

Restorative dentistry has come a long way there are options beyond dentures for replacing missing teeth. Depending on how deep your pockets are you could get implants but when we’re talking about $3500-5000 per tooth not many people can afford a whole mouth!

Nothing is as good as you’re God given teeth. Take care of them and they should last a lifetime. It’s not rocket science. Eat well, brush and floss regularly and have regular dental exams and cleanings. If something isn’t working for you ask for help! If it’s something I can help with via e-mail I’d be glad to but you should see a dental professional regularly.

Do you have any crazy dental stories? 

A Closer Look at Electric Toothbrushes

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Please note that this post is 100% intended to be information based. Though I have opinions of certain brands I am not trying to promote anything through affiliation.

April is Oral Health month. As a dental hygienist I feel the need to share as much oral health information with as many people as possible, so this week I will do a few posts on the topic. I hope you all enjoy and learn something new!

I’ve already done a few posts related to dentistry. If you’ve missed them, be sure to check them out!

I like to think that I practice very conservative dentistry. I don’t use super fancy lasers available and never recommend products to patients just for the sake of promoting a brand. It’s just not my thing. I also rarely suggest something for a general population. Though we all have teeth that need proper care and maintenance, other than the standard ”brush and floss” I usually have individual plans for each patient. The only other thing I can think of that I would recommend for the general public is electric toothbrushes.

Why Electric?

Simply put, unless you’re brushing your teeth by perfect textbook technique (Yes, there is a proper technique) electric brushes are more effective than manual brushes. Few people care to put the effort into brushing their teeth as properly as they should. The electric toothbrush has proven over and over to remove more plaque/food/debris than manual toothbrushes.

What Type?

When looking for an electric toothbrush you want a head that is soft or ideally, extra soft, round and one that oscillates rather than vibrates back and forth. Like this:

Source: OralB

Source: OralB

Studies have shown, brushes that oscillate (spin in circles) are more effective than vibrating only brushes. Quite honestly, since I’m offering unsolicited advice, this is the only electric toothbrush type you should buy. If your prefer the other types that’s fine too but you’d probably be just as fine with a normal manual brush, save your money.

Gold Standard

The gold standard of electric toothbrushes would have to be the Oral B Triumph. At a pretty price of well over $100 you’re looking at an investment. Trying to maintain my honesty, though this is a fantastic product, I just can’t recommend anyone spend that money when the same company produces my personal favorite and most recommended, the Oral B Vitality.

The Vitality is rechargeable and uses the same heads as the Triumph…sort of seems like a no brainer huh? You have to be careful as some ”electric” brushes don’t even have batteries you change, once it dies you have to throw it out! For about $20 you can buy the Vitality with a few choice of head options (I prefer and recommend the ”sensitive” or ultra soft head for anyone), and you can buy refills.

Source: Amazon

Source: Amazon

I try to price dental products wherever I go so I can recommend the cheaper places for my patients. The best prices I find in store for electric toothbrushes and replacement heads are Walmart and Costco, sometimes Amazon is good too but I find them to be hit and miss.

Anyone Can Use Electric Toothbrushes 

A lot of people think because they have crowns, bridges, implants that they can’t use an electric brush, that it may somehow damage the porcelain or gold work. The opposite is true. If you want to prolong the length of your restoration using an electric brush will help maintain your tissues better and more effectively clean your restoration.

As you can see from the above picture, the Vitality even has an ortho option for those with braces.

When I have a patient who uses an electric brush it’s usually quite obvious. If I suspect one of my patients use an electric brush I ask and my hunch is almost always right. Sometimes electric brushes are used because kids think they’re cool or guys think they’re a neat gadget, I don’t care why you choose to use one, if it works for you and is the motivation you need to brush your teeth all the power to you!

Do you use an electric toothbrush? Did you learn anything new and dinner conversation worthy today?

How Can I Be Rich? Retraining Your Mind to Think Like a Capitalist

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The following post is a contribution from MyMoneyDesign.com, a blog that is all about figuring out how to make your money work for you so that you can spend your time the way you want.

gold coinsWhen it comes to personal finance, one of the most common frustrations I hear people express is “how can I be rich?”  When you live paycheck-to-paycheck or are swimming in debt, how are you supposed to stash any money?  Or more importantly, even if you are able to save some money, what are you supposed to do with it once you finally have it?

The first thing you need to ask yourself is what it means to actually “be rich”?  Is wealth measured by how much money you have in the bank or by the size of the paycheck you bring home?

Or does it have more to do with something else.  Can you be rich by simply handling your money just a little bit differently than you are now?

In my opinion, YES, of course you can.  Becoming rich is all about what you do with your money to make it work as hard as it can for YOU.

The Mentality of a Capitalist:

One of my favorite quotes about money comes from the book “Your Money Ratios” by Charles Farrell.  Within the Introduction, he gives the reader a great mantra to live by:

“All decisions you make should help move you from being a laborer to being a capitalist (p. 11)”

Farrell defines being a “laborer” as being someone who works for money and a “capitalist” as being someone who makes their money work for them.

Read that quote twice and let it sink in.  Which one would you rather be?

But yet we tell ourselves the same old excuses:

  • My job doesn’t pay enough
  • The bills are too high
  • There’s no way I can save for retirement
  • I’ll start later …

When you make excuses, YOU keep yourself from being a capitalist.  Not your job.  Not your bills.  YOU.  Believe it or not, you are in control of your own decisions, and what you choose do with your money is up to you.

Becoming rich is not a question of how, it’s a question of how badly you want to do it.

How Can I Be Rich Also?

If you accept that building wealth and becoming a capitalist is your choice, then you’re off to a good start.  But you will need to go beyond simply restraining yourself from making needless purchases and being extremely frugal.  This means that you will need to open your eyes and start looking for things to buy that will make you more money.

Where might you ask?  How about instead of buying the latest Apple product, why not buy Apple stock?  The Apple product is certain to decrease in value and be sold on eBay in a few years for a fraction of the cost.  The stock however gives you the opportunity to own a piece of one of the top companies in the world.  So which one sounds better to you?

Sometimes being a capitalist means simply being financially educated.  For example, knowing the ins and outs between an IRA vs 401k (or RRSP for my Canadian friends) can result in you leveraging them to their maximum benefit.  Consider:

  • Instead of stuffing $10,000 away in your regular savings account every year for the next 30 years and collecting almost nothing in interest, why not harness the power of compound interest and grow that $300,000 into a potential $1,132,832 (assuming an 8% annual return).  That’s 3.8 times more!
  • Instead of waiting a few years to start a Roth IRA, start one now!  Suppose you got a 10 year late start.  If you were able to reach the maximum contribution of $5,500 per year and achieve an 8% annual return, that’s a difference of $623,058 (30 years) as opposed to $251,691 (20 years) if you had waited.
  • Instead of waiting to receive the maximum 401k matching contribution from your employer, you need to jump all over than opportunity right from the start.  Assuming your employer pays 2% on your salary of $60,000, that could potentially result in an extra $135,940 by the end of 30 years (assuming an 8% return).

And finally, being a capitalist means going above and beyond to do what others are not willing to do.   You could take advantage of any one of the passive income ideas that are out there and start making money on the side while you keep your day job and work.   This means making money from a blog, rental income, eProduct, dividend stocks, freelancing, or even your hobby.  The choice is yours how you want to do it.  Click on the link to my page and pick one that you think will work the best for you.

It Starts With You:

Each of us is entitled to rich in our own way.  There are many free tips and tools out there at our disposal.  But the push needs to come from you.  There is no one out there than cares about your money the way you do.  I can never stress this enough.

Don’t wait around for someone else to tell you how or what to do.  Look for the answer, listen to the advice, and decide for yourself if what you’re hearing is right for you.  You’ll run into a few challenges and you’ll run into a few dead ends.  But don’t ever let a bump in the road stop you.  As long as you never stop asking yourself how can I be rich, then you’ll always have the fuel you need to get to where you want to go!

Budget Savvy Costco Shopping

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Source: Wikipedia

Source: Wikipedia

I love me a good shopping trip to Costco. I had only been to Costco a handful of times growing up since my mom didn’t have a membership, but my memories of Costco were grand. The lights, the large aisles with so.much.stuff, the extra wide parking spots, the FREE SAMPLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I’m only slightly making fun of people who plan their entire meals around Costco sample day), seriously though, I loved it all. Yet I knew you could only shop there if you had the room to store your purchases, something our apartment lacked so the week hubby and I closed on our house we went to the brand spankin’ new Costco in town and signed on the dotted line for our annual membership.

Say What?!

You’re telling us we could buy over-sized bags of chips?! A year’s supply worth of granola bars for a family of two in one box?! Buy five pounds of rice or eight liters of ketchup at once?! We were over the moon with excitement, until we hit the cash register.

Every time we went to Costco we filled our cart with more food and ‘stuff’ than we needed, especially for our small family of two. Yet, after every trip we found ourselves planning our next. It was like a drug. Don’t get me wrong, Costco has some good deals even for our small family but if I’m being honest our cart was always full of stuff we didn’t need.

Helpful Shopping Tips

Here are a few tips I’ve learned from many trips and shopping mistakes that help us from not overspending at Costco and maximizing on our shopping experiance:

  1. Give up the membership. If you know someone else who has one, shop with them. Hubby and I would often end up in the store just because we were ‘in the neighborhood’. Having to go with someone else (the in-laws) requires us to plan the trip, saving us from crazy impulse shopping. If you can’t give up the membership, maybe share your membership with another family. To do this you may have to temporarily ”marry” your best friend/co-worker/whoever since Costco requires you live in the same household for membership, anything for a deal though ;)
  2. Do a ”dry shop”. Leave you wallet at home and do a good walk-through at your local Costco to price things out. Check out the prices, package sizes and quantities before buying. Some things are a great deal but not necessarily for every family size.
  3. Share the cost with friends or family. Sometimes there are good deals but again for a larger group. Recently we found a double pack of a salad dressing that we really like but knew we’d never go through two extra-large bottles before it expired, so we split the cost with someone else who wanted to try it as well.
  4. Keep a running list of things you know Costco sells (on a regular basis) and prefer to buy from them. This may help you from overspending at other stores. For us it’s cereal and bananas. It kills me to buy bananas anywhere else knowing I can get a ginormous bag of 10-12 bananas for $1.69, not per pound but $1.69 total. It’s one of the best deals in town. Same with cereal, I can buy a Costco size box of cereal for less than $6.00 or pay $6.99 for a regular size box of cereal at the grocery store.
  5. If you find you consume a lot of any one thing, check to see if it’s something Costco sells it and price it out. We eat a lot of broccoli. The best price I can get at our local grocery stores for frozen broccoli is $2.50 for a 500gm bag and this is an infrequent sale price. I just bought 2kg bag of some of the best looking broccoli at Costco I’ve ever purchased for $6.00. We’re set for a while.
  6. If you’re an infrequent shopper like us, shop with a list as well as a ”Costco contingency fund”. Costco often carries one-off items, their stock is constantly changing. Rather than allowing your budget to get busted by one shopping trip, try sticking to your list and bring what I like to call a Costco contingency fund; a set amount of money you’ll allow yourself to spend if you decide there’s an item you need and may not be at the store during your next trip.

Costco is a great store if used correctly. It’s easy to go overboard and just buy stuff because it’s a good deal and end up tying hundreds of dollars up in food and ”stuff”.

Do you shop at Costco? Any money-saving tips to share?

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