Making Room for a Stockpile

-Invest in a Freezer Chest.  A separate freezer chest can be a great investment, but it is also expensive and can run $200 to $600 on average if bought new.  Buying a separate freezer seems to defeat the point of stockpiling since you are spending money to try to save money.  However, many grocery chains offer a special on freezer chests in the winter.  One popular chain where I live offers a small freezer chest for $150.  When you buy it, you get $150 worth of coupons for free food to stock the freezer.  If you combine these coupons with sales, you may even come out ahead.

If you can’t find a deal like this, try Craigslist or your local classified ads to see if a used one is available.

-Designate Stock Pile Zones.  If you aren’t fortunate enough to have a pantry, consider finding designated places for your stockpile.  The area under your bed can be a perfect place to store canned goods.  In fact, my husband and I did this for a few years when we lived in a tiny one bedroom apartment.  We simply put the canned goods in a large plastic tub with a lid that slid under out bed.  This made it easy to pull it out and get our food rather than chasing down each individual can under the bed.  Other areas you may consider include unused closets and even dresser drawers that you don’t use.

Protect Your Stockpile from Critters

Of course, if you have food that is in your stockpile that is not secured, you do run the risk of sharing your home with a host of pests including mice and ants, to name a few.  Make sure to take these steps to keep your food fresh and pest-free:

-Store flour in the refrigerator or freezer.  Flour can become a home to tiny little bugs if left in the bag at room temperature or if left open.  Always store it in the refrigerator or freezer.

-Utilize plastic containers.  Brown sugar can become hard and sugar of any kind can attract ants.  Store all opened sugar in a plastic or glass container with a secure lid.

-Refrigerate produce.  When possible, try to refrigerate most of your fruits and vegetables.  This helps to slow the ripening process and keeps your produce fresher longer.

Saving money by developing a food pantry stocked with foods bought at the lowest price is an excellent way to save money on groceries, especially if you have several members of the family to feed.  Another added bonus is that once the stockpile is big enough, you usually don’t have to worry about not having an ingredient when making a meal, eliminating those last minute runs to the grocery store.

Related posts:

1. How Frugal Living Can Save You Money
2. Spending Too Much? How to Save Money at the Grocery Store – Part 2
3. Spending Too Much? How to Save Money at the Grocery Store – Part 1

Building and Securing a Stockpile of Food to Save Money originally appeared on StupidCents on February 21, 2012.

1. California
2. Texas
3. New York
4. Florida
5. Pennsylvania
6. Ohio
7. Illinois
8. New Jersey
9. Washington
10. Arizona

Kiplinger based this list on net jobs expected to be added in 2012. So, the expectation is that these states will be hiring. For those still struggling while looking for a job in a current state of residence, picking up and moving to a new state might seem like an attractive idea.

What about Cost of Living?

Of course, one of the issues with moving to another state is that it might cost you more to live there. California and New York might be expected to add more jobs than other states this year, but both of those states are notorious for their high cost of living. If you find a job in one of those states, will it pay enough to allow you to meet your expenses?

Many people fail to consider cost of living when they look for work in other states. You might end up with a new job, and with a higher salary, but what about your standard of living? Do the costs involved with your new location offset — or even overwhelm — what you are earning? Cost of living has a lot to do with how “rich” you are, and how much discretionary income you have.

It’s also important to consider the costs involved in moving. If you have to pay to move, including paying for transport of your items, security deposits and more, the financial difficulty involved can increase quite a bit.

Create a Plan

While it might be tempting to just pick and move, in the hopes that you will find a good opportunity in a state where jobs are expected to increase, stop and create a plan. Maybe apply for jobs in that state before you leave. If you read the Kiplinger article, you will find that different states focus on different industries. In Arizona, health care jobs are expected to be on the rise. In Texas, though, a big job increase is supposed to come from a new Caterpillar plant, as well as from a new call center. If you aren’t qualified to work in the health care industry, it might not be worth it to move to Arizona; your skills won’t be in demand.

Before you pull up stakes, examine the job market, check out career websites and pinpoint growing industries. Figure out whether you have the qualifications to be seen as an attractive candidate for the available jobs. If you don’t, moving might be a fool’s errand that costs you money — but doesn’t provide you with a job. Put together a job search plan that takes into account your situation, including your family situation, and then base your efforts to find a new job in a new state on that.

No related posts.

Looking for a Job? Move to a New State! originally appeared on StupidCents on February 20, 2012.

Looking for a refresher on compound interest?  You’ll want to read The Simple Dollar’s post on Compound Interest, Compound Opportunity.

This week Free Money Finance writes about The Value of Early Career Investment.

Summer is coming soon and in case you’re planning a trip, you’ll want to see Fiscal Fizzle’s tips on Budgeting For Summer Vacation.

Foreclosure is a terrifying thought and so many people don’t know what to do.  This week Free From Broke shared some Alternatives to Foreclosure.

Gender wage inequality sadly still exists but the Financial Samurai discusses The Gender Wage Gap And A Solution To Income Inequality. 

This week the Digerati Life investigated Should You Invest Pre-Tax Or After-Tax Dollars?  401K vs. Roth IRA.

Smart On Money delves into a touchy subject and states, Here’s Why You Should Shred Those Credit Card Convenience Cards.

Taxes are difficult to file but thankfully Saving to Invest answers When Can I Make Catch-Up Contributions to 401K, IRA, 403b And SIMPLE IRA Retirement Plans.

This week the Dough Roller shares some tips to help you tell When To Refinance Your Mortgage.

• Money Q&A included us in the Carnival of Personal Finance.
• Family Money Values included us in the Totally Money Blog Carnival.

Related posts:

1. Weekly Common Cents
2. Weekly Common Cents
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Weekly Common Cents originally appeared on StupidCents on February 17, 2012.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that dining out can always help you stretch your grocery budget.  If you order a plate of sushi and spend $25, you will probably eat it all in one meal.  While it may be an enjoyable dining out experience, it is definitely not budget conscious.

One Strategy to Make Dining Out Affordable

However, if you head out to a Chinese restaurant and order a stir-fry dish for $7.95 and order water, you may be able to make a budget-conscious choice.  I find many meals are so large they easily make two or three meals for me.  If I get beef and broccoli and turn it into three meals for myself, one at the restaurant and two at home or at work, I am now paying $2.66 per serving.  That is not a bad price.  In fact, many famous chefs such as Melissa d’Arabian, who is the host of Ten Dollar Dinners, make names for themselves by creating meals that break down to $2.50 to $5 per person per meal.  Actually, with the current price of beef, making beef and broccoli at home may cost as much as, or slightly less than, the restaurant cost.

Of course, this strategy only works if you eat smaller meals.  My husband, no matter where we go or how hungry he is, always finishes his restaurant meal.  For him, eating out is a social experience, and he definitely doesn’t save money while doing it.  Yet, if you can stretch your meal, you don’t need to feel so guilty about spending money dining out.

Cost-Effective Doesn’t Mean You Should Go Out All the Time

Let me be clear, though, I am not advocating dining out as an alternative to cooking.  Dining out exclusively or frequently can be hard on the budget, even when you are stretching the meal to serve you two or three times.  In addition, eating out frequently can take a toll on your health.  With so many strategies to make basic cooking easy, there is no reason why you shouldn’t cook some meals at home.

If you are trying to tighten your budget to save more or pay down debt, contrary to what many may say, you don’t have to completely abandon dining out.  If you are willing to dine out at modest restaurants and are able to stretch your meal into two or even three meals, you can easily fit dining out once a week or so into your budget without negatively affecting your monetary goals or your social life.

Related posts:

1. Spending Too Much? How to Save Money at the Grocery Store – Part 1
2. How Frugal Living Can Save You Money
3. 5 Tips to Ease Into Cooking at Home

Can Eating Out Save You Money? originally appeared on StupidCents on February 14, 2012.

What’s the Most Important Thing Right Now?

Before you go crazy trying to get everything done, prioritize your task list. What is the most important thing for you to do right now? Consider which business items you want to accomplish first. Whether it’s putting together a social media campaign, answering emails, or writing a blog post, try to figure out what the most pressing thing to do right now is.

In some cases, you won’t be able to accomplish some tasks until preliminary objectives are met. Recognize that this is the case, and order your task list so that it flows naturally. (Prioritizing your tasks is the thing to do right now.)

Once you know what your priority is, focus on that one thing first. If you have more than one big project you are working on, break it down into bite-sized tasks, and devote a certain amount of time each day to it. The important thing is to block out a certain amount of time in which you are only doing one thing.

Once you finish an item on your list, move to the next important item and focus on it. You don’t need to be doing multiple things at once. By narrowing your focus in this way, you will be more effective at getting things done.

Fighting Distractions

It’s tough to fight distractions. They’re all around us. However, there are ways that you can minimize distractions. Some of these strategies include:

• Set a timer and work exclusively for that time period. When the timer goes off, allow yourself a small break to stretch your legs, meditate, get a snack, or engage in some other activity.
• Use full-screen view: In some cases, it’s possible to use a full-screen view on your computer. Switch your screen to this mode, and the only thing on your screen will be what you’re supposed to be working on.
• Choose ideal times of the day: Pay attention to when you are most productive. Then, focus on working during that time period. It can also help to work when natural distractions, such as children or a significant other, aren’t present. Do as much work as you can when you have minimal distractions.
• Assign times for social media and email: Rather than answering your email as it comes in, or flitting off to Facebook or Pinterest periodically, choose regular times to engage in these activities, and stay away otherwise.

Trying to do too much at once as a solopreneur can backfire on you. Multitasking doesn’t help you accomplish more. Instead, it divides your focus and results often results doing a poor job on most of your projects. Narrow your focus, and you are likely to increase your productivity — and your work is likely to improve as well.

Related posts:

1. 10 Work Productivity Systems

Solopreneur? Increase Your Productivity by Narrowing Your Focus originally appeared on StupidCents on February 13, 2012.