Author Archives: Melissa

Melissa, a mom to three little ones (ages 7, 3 and 1), blogs at both Mom's Plans where she writes about living a fulfilling life on less and paying down debt, and Fiscal Phoenix where she writes about rising from the ashes of your financial mistakes.

Building and Securing a Stockpile of Food to Save Money

If you are looking to save money, in addition to cooking at home, one of the best ways to do so is to buy food when it is at the lowest price cycle and stock up.  That way, you are never paying the highest price for any of the ingredients.  However, once you find yourself…

Can Eating Out Save You Money?

If you embark on a journey to learn more about saving money and improving your financial situation, one of the first things you may hear is that you should stop dining out or limit your dining out excursions and use strategies like drinking water and ordering off the appetizer menu to go out as cheaply…

Save on Moving Costs by Selling Furniture

Moving can be very expensive.  In addition to the large expenses such as a security deposit if you are moving into a new apartment or the down payment and closing costs if you are moving into a house, there are other expenses that can quickly add up.   Another large expense can be the cost of…

5 Tips to Ease Into Cooking at Home

Do you hate to cook?  Do you seem to ruin every meal you make?  Is it just easier to go to the drive thru after a busy day?  If you answered yes to these questions, you are probably spending quite a bit of money eating out.  While there is nothing wrong with eating out, doing…

Why You Shouldn’t Get a Pet If You Have Consumer Debt

I grew up with pets.  We always had a cat and sometimes a dog.  I am particularly fond of cats, and without a cat, our house just feels lonelier.  Still, based on my experiences growing up and now, I don’t think people should have pets if they have consumer debt. Pets, though lovable companions, are…