Portion control

When I started this blog I promised a weekly post.  Epic fail.  I've found that I don't have enough info to pass on for a weekly blog.  Perhaps I am not confident enough for a weekly blog.  I was toying with the idea of posting information on how to save $5 a week on your water bill but kept thinking that's not exciting enough.  So we will discuss that at a later date.  I have invited my sister, Eileen, to share the blog with me. She is really good at saving money.  So, from time to time, you may see a posting signed by her.  Between the 2 of us we should be able to pass on ideas and tips more frequently.

If you've done your homework you know where your money is going and you should know what to do about that.  

Today I thought we would talk about food.  The first thing I want to say is I know you already know how inexpensive hot dogs and frozen burgers are so we won't talk about that.  There was a time not that long ago that I was faced with the ordeal of trying to buy groceries for a family of 5 for $87 a week.  By groceries I don't only mean food - it includes toilet paper, cat food, cat litter, cleaning products, etc.  All types of things necessary to run a household.  This meant that my actual food budget was something like $65 a week.  It can be done but not all at once.  I knew nothing about incorporating "in season" produce and sale items into my budget.  

We need to take this in baby steps.  The first step is portion control.  My daughter, Amy, would pick steak every night if given her choice of what to eat.  Well, either that or tacos.  Let's talk about steak.  Everyone loves a good ribeye but everyone does not need to eat 10 oz at a time.  When we are having steak night, which is probably 6 times a year - I buy approximately 12 oz of ribeye  (that's right - I said 12 oz and I am currently feeding a family of 4).  When most people buy steak, they purchase one per person - that's expensive and unnecessary.  Out steak is cooked medium-rare.  I slice it and put a 2-3 oz portion on each diner's plate.  The rest of the plate gets filled with veggies, salad, and a small portion of a starch.  

Understanding what a serving is is the first step toward portion control.  A serving size of red meat is 3 oz and chicken, fish, pork is 4 oz.  It is wise to invest in a kitchen scale until you get a feel for what a serving is. A great way to make sure everyone is eating a "serving" is to never serve your meal family style.  I very rarely do.  I place a serving of protein and starch on each person's plate and they can have the veggies family style.  Seconds of meat are normally not allowed at our house because it gets expensive and it's not good for you.

So, do your homework - figure out what a portion of meat is and get started.  If you work on portion control, you will save money.  It's difficult until you get the hang of it but you can do it.

Happy saving

Karen  

Your thermostat is set to WHAT???

In case you have not guessed, this discussion is about saving on your electric bill.  Today I am just talking about one way to save money on your electric bill.  There are many ways to save and we will visit those other ways at a later date.

Believe it or not, you can save 1-2 % on your electric bill for every one degree you change your thermostat for an 8 hour period.  I've done the research and see the results in my own bill. For example, if in the summer you currently run your AC at 72 degrees (I don't but I know a lot of you do) and you change that to 73 degrees you will save somewhere between $9 and $12 a month. We can also do this in the winter regarding heat - same rules apply.  If you set your heat to higher than 68 degrees - you are loosing money.  If you're cold, put on some sweats.  I live in Florida and it's only cold for a couple of months so we set the heater to 68 and don't run around the house in shorts and tank tops (like I know some of you do).

You may think to yourself "Karen, you've lost it".  I haven't   I think one of the biggest issues that stops us from turning up the temp is we like to sleep in a cool place under a big ole comforter.  STOP IT!  That's why sheets were invented.  Does it make any sense at all to sleep under a giant comforter/blanket and set your thermostat to 72 or 70?  Not if you want to save money. On the other hand - keep that big ole comforter around for the winter.

I know what you're thinking now.  Pish Posh Karen, what is a measly 2%?  I'll tell you what it is - it is 2% more in your pocket.  For every one degree you change on your thermostat (for only 8 hours per day) you will save $12.00 per month if your current average bill is $150.  If you switch it up 2 degrees you will save $24.00 and so on and so on.  

Your savings will vary based on what type of place you live in.  I will try to put this into some sort of perspective.  Dave and I moved the family from NY to Florida in the summer of 2001.  Our first residence was a brand new 4 bedroom apartment with 7 foot ceilings.  Back then, we set our thermostat to 72 degrees and the highest electric bill I can remember was $148.  We moved into a rented house in 2007 and that's where we live now.  Our house has vaulted ceilings and was somewhere around 14 years old when we moved in.  Our 4th bedroom is a garage that was converted into a bedroom (a/c vent in place).  We also have a back room that used to be the outdoor patio but was converted into a real room. We don't have much in that back room - it's the cat's play place.  Anyway, to make a long story short (or at least shorter) during our first summer month we kept the thermostat at 72 (which we were used to) and our first electric bill was $349.  I damn near fainted.  We were not prepared for the increase in electric.  So, we came up with the plan that is discussed above.

To put it in further perspective.  $12.00 a month does not seem like much but if you look at that over a 12 month period you are looking at a savings of $144 per year for every one degree you increase on your thermostat for 8 hours per day.  So, if you make a one degree increase for 24 hours everyday, you are looking at saving over $400 per year and that's a lot of money staying in  your pocket.

Happy saving.  See you later.
K

So, you want to save money . . .

Welcome to my new blog.  I will be talking about ways to save money.  Most tips will be based on my own experience and a few will probably be ideas that I have read about that I have not yet tried.  There may be times when you read my posts and think "DUH, everyone knows that".  Well if everyone knew "that" there would be no need to share information.  You will probably also at times get more information about me then you ever wanted to know.  I apologize in advance but you are here for a specific reason - to save money and if TMI helps you save - then I've done what I set out to do.  There is nothing "extreme" about what I will share with you.  Every tip is doable.  I don't promise to save you tens of thousands of dollars.  Perhaps over the long haul (12 months) you will save a few thousand.  It all depends on what you currently spend and how many tips/ideas you incorporate into your daily life.

There are many different reasons why people want to cut back on expenses.  Perhaps you are saving for a fantastic vacation, maybe you've decided it's time to start saving toward retirement, you may have a child who will be going to college in a few years, maybe you have recently bought a house and have to cut back, or you may have had a sudden loss of income.

In 2009, as many of you know, Dave (my husband) had a massive heart attack.  I came as close as I ever want to to loosing him.  We suddenly lost more than 1/2 our income and were not prepared for it.  I had to come up with a plan pretty damn quick.  So a lot of the things we will discuss come from our own personal experiences.

If you want to save money the first thing you need to know is where your money is going.  If you are serious about saving the first thing you need to do is get a notebook and write down every penny you spend.  I mean EVERY PENNY not just the big things like rent/mortgage and utilities.  If you buy a newspaper you need to write it down.  It is helpful to you to know where your money is going for a full month.  You will be surprised what you discover.  I have a friend who years ago was having financial difficulties.  She kept track of the family's spending for a month and discovered that they were spending something like $400 a month on eating out.  She was shocked and suddenly knew where the first cutback should be.

I will try to post something new on a weekly basis, perhaps more often.

Happy saving!  See you soon.
Karen