Entertaining makes me feel all warm and holiday-spirited inside, and there's something priceless about seeing so many people you care about enjoying each other's company. However, hosting holiday parties can become pricey if we don't plan properly and have trouble editing our party vision to make it more economical.
Because so many of us have the tendency to go all-out in the name of the season,
The Wall Street Journal asked Sarah Carey, the food editor at Martha Stewart Living, for her advice on throwing a bash on a budget.
When Oprah announced there was
a twist to her famous favorite things episode this year, I was thrilled to learn the difference was in cost. It seems she is taking
a note from TeamSugar members this year and promoting several homemade gifts that are big on thought and easy on the wallet. Oprah said, "Bringing real meaning back to the holidays is my favorite thing."
Gas is now going for about half of what we paid at the pump through the Summer, and the reduced cost is a welcome retreat from the strain that filling up had been causing consumers. We can hope the days of gas price-induced desperation (remember the new dad who
named his baby boy after a radio show for a $100 gas card?!) are behind us, and before we go forgetting the
damage gas prices did to our budgets, let's take the opportunity to do something with the extra money we're saving.
We managed to make it when our money was going into the tank instead of staying in our bank accounts, which means we might not miss at least some of that disposable income if it was out of our reach.
The holiday season is officially on! We've been spreading the holiday spirit all over the
Sugar Network and you've all been chipping in with your creative
homemade gift ideas. Black Friday isn't until next week, but you might want to get started early on some of these fabulous gifts, made and assembled by you.
Your holiday spirit might be enough to get you through crowded airport security, but the
longer flight delays this season may require a little more than patience. The boredom of waiting can cause even the most budgeted traveler to find herself browsing the airport kiosks, bars, and boutiques. Prevent unnecessary airport spending by remembering to pack these 5 things — just start the slideshow.
As girlfriends, we have brunch together, ask each other for hair and wardrobe advice, dish about the latest on the dating scene, and get worked up together over world news — what's stopping us from helping each other save money? Taking a note from FitSugar's strategy
for working out with a buddy to stay motivated, recruiting a friend for pairing up to reach money saving goals could be just as effective in making us more accountable.
You don't need to have identical goals as your friend, maybe one of you is trying to pay off debt and the other wants to save up for a vacation, but both of you should have the main goal of getting your finances on track.
Buying lunch every day can really add up, so it makes good sense to bring your midday meal at least a few days each week. Did you bring or buy your lunch today?
Source
Visiting a stylist-in-training for your trim is a known trick for saving money on your beauty upkeep, but I hadn't thought of utilizing the same idea for other treatments until I came across the tip
in an article by The Frisky. In an article called "Five Ways to Stay Fabulous on a Budget," the author mentions that she can indulge on things like massage, pedicures, and facials by making an appointment with a massage or beauty school.
A student may or may not have the same polished touch of a full-fledged professional, but serious savings can be worth the slight sacrifice.
More often than not, store brands are priced lower than name brands and sometimes it's
difficult to differentiate between the two. Now that stretching our dollars is more of a priority, it appears that more consumers are catching on to the fact that buying store branded items can reduce your grocery bill.
According to a recent survey, 40 percent of primary household shoppers have started buying cheaper store-brand paper products.
We gave Halloween a nod this week with In-the-Black Week on Savvy, and hopefully the few simple tricks will help you treat yourself to a more stable financial life — even with the spendy holidays around the corner. After you've seen them all, tell me, which tip do you think is most helpful?
