Featured Writer

A Wedding Gift

By Rita Iversen

DIRECTORY

* General Guidelines
* Buying CD's, DVD's, Movies
* Buying Books
* Buying Clothes
* Time With Friends
* Entertainment for Less
* Vacations
* Groceries
* Washing Clothes Cheaper
* Household Maintenance

* General Guidelines

1. Pay in cash only -- it hurts more.
2. Use credit cards for emergency only.
3. Set a limit of the amount of money to spend on birthdays, Christmas, Valentine�s Day, anniversaries, etc. Stick to it.
4. If you need to use something -- borrow it -- don�t buy it.
5. If you need to use something just for one time -- rent it if you can�t borrow it.
6. Go to auctions to buy large items but know the new prices of the items you are interested in bidding on. Then you won�t get caught up in the bidding and over bid. Decide before the bidding starts how high you will go on the price.
7. Go to rummage sales and thrift shops and resale shops for good quality small items. Be careful of buying electrical appliances at used places, unless that is all they sell and have a guarantee.
8. At the end of each day put your change in a jar. Deposit it when the jar is full in a savings account or earmark it for a special purchase.
9. When shopping for any item that is more than $20, wait 24 hours to make sure that the item you are buying is something you really need and you have found the best price.
10. Only buy one new clothing item per season, especially if you are buying the latest �trend.� It will go out of style (especially women�s) by the end of the season.
11. Keep track of how much money you have in the bank. Check the amount before you go shopping for large purchases.
12. Always pay your credit card bill on time. Those interest fees can be deadly.
13. NEVER borrow money that you can�t pay back, especially from a business with high interest rates.

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* Buying CD�s, DVD�s, Movies

1. Go to used CD or movie stores.
2. Trade with friends.
3. Check in pawnshops.
4. Ask yourself if you will use the CD or DVD many times or if you are caught up in the moment of really liking it right now. If you won�t use it at least 10 times, it�s not worth buying it.
5. Give CD�s, DVD�s, movies that you don�t listen to or use as presents to other people when they fit that person�s life-style and likes. Use them for birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, etc.

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* Buying Books

1. Get books from the library -- you can get almost any book through interlibrary loan (the library borrows books for free from other libraries in the city and through out the state).
2. Only buy books that you will use again and again -- home, car, and personal improvement.
3. Go to the yearly library book sale -- prices are very cheap and you help the library. Set a limit of how much you will spend so you don�t get carried away and buy more than you need.
4. Check out half.com for used copies of books on-line. The books are listed by members willing to sell their copies.
5. Buy used books from Amazon.com or overstocks.com

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* Buying Clothes

1. Shop at Goodwill, Salvation Army, the Discovery Shop, Catholic Charities, etc. Your purchase is cheaper and you help a great cause.
2. Buy only one item of a trend -- �duster pants� or �mini skirts.�
3. Fads in clothing cycle around about every 10 years. Save 1 item from a fad in your closet or a box so you have it when the fad comes again.
4. Buy good quality slacks. Change blouses or sweaters for a completely new outfit.
5. Wear the same pair or pants for a week and just change to top. You will be amazed at the outfits you can come up with that you never thought of before.
6. Pick 2-3 colors that you often wear and purchase those. Some people look good in black. Others look good in white. Others choose red. That also cuts down on your impulsive shopping and helps you focus where to look in resale stores.
7. Use button down blouses as over-shirts or jackets.
8. Shop consignment shops -- their sales are really good deals. Drop by once a month as the merchandize changes.
9. Limit the number of pieces of clothing that you own. When you buy a new article of clothing, make a deal with yourself that you must get rid of one piece that you already own. It will make you think twice before buying something new.
10. Invoke the 24-hour rule. Wait 24 hours before buying any item over $20.
11. Try not to buy clothing that has to go to the dry cleaners. It will cost you more money in the long run.
12. If you buy leather, you will have to buy products to keep it safe and protected. Be sure to be vigilant about taking care of it.
13. Cut down the number of t-shirts you own to 5-7 good ones and 1-2 crummy ones to wear for painting or other dirty jobs. T-shirts seem to multiply.
14. Have one good pair of dress shoes, one good pair of tennis shoes, and one pair of casual shoes, and one good pair of sandals. That�s really all you need in shoes.
15. You really only need two coats. One heavy one for winter and one light one for spring. These can be bought at deep discount at Salvation Army or Goodwill.
16. You need about 10 days of underwear -- enough to make it past the washing day by a few pairs.
17. Invest in a good quality bra (actually two, so you have one if one is in the wash).

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* Time With Friends

It�s not necessary to spend loads of money to have a great time with friends. Here are some ideas for gatherings that don�t cost an arm and a leg on your part.

1. Share a �snack in a sack� party. Everyone brings their favorite chip, or snack mix in a bag or can. You provide pop and beer. Watch a movie or play games or hang out. People take home their leftovers or leave them with you.
2. Halloween pumpkin carving party. Everyone provides their own pumpkins. You provide popcorn and warm or cold cider and the carving tools. The carving tools are really cheap if you buy them after Halloween and store them for the next year.
3. Christmas Party -- everyone brings their own appetizer and favorite drink. You provide the place and an appetizer and drink. The party can be a sit and visit, caroling, a movie marathon, a game party (board or Trivia).
4. Reasonably priced dinner party. You provide the main dish -- turkey, ham, roast, etc. Other people provide the salads and desserts.
5. Build the chili party. Invite as many people as there are ingredients in your favorite chili recipe. Each person brings one of the ingredients. The chili cooks all afternoon while you go for a hike, cross country skiing, build a snowman, or have snowball fights. In several hours, when the chili is done, everyone chows down. You provide drinks and crackers.
6. Theme party -- you choose the theme and everyone brings an item for the table: Thailand Party -- host made stir fry, others brought rice, mangos, a pie for dessert, other fresh fruit. India Party -- host made Tandoori chicken, others brought, chutney, rice, fruit salad, mulligatawny soup, etc.
7. A party built around a color. Choose a color and each person brings a snack in that color: This works best if it is not a dinner but an evening appetizer party.
8. Inexpensive or free things to do with friends:
movie marathon (everyone brings their own movies)
go for a hike or walk
go for a bike ride
fly kites
go fishing
go camping
go rollerblading
go play Frisbee or catch or baseball or football

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* Entertainment for Less

1. Borrow things from you public or college library in town -- movies, CD�s, DVD�s, books. Often libraries have free internet access also.
2. Find out the cheapest movie theater in town.
3. Find out the cheapest times and days to go to the higher priced theaters. Often showings before 6 and weekdays are less expensive.
4. Dress rehearsals of local plays can be free or inexpensive.
5. Get a schedule of Parks and Recreation Events. Many are free. The others are often more less expensive than comparable events at Health Clubs or Fitness Centers.
6. If you have a community college in your town, get a catalogue and check out the classes offered. The evening classes in continuing education can often be inexpensive entertainment -- learn a new hobby, or how to dance salsa, or how to entertain, or ideas for any number of leisure activities.
7. Find local walking, hiking, and biking routes in your town. These activities are not only fun but good exercise also.
8. Go to games but investigate buying inexpensive seats by waiting until two hours before the game, or buying in bulk, or avoiding Ticketron, or sitting up high and bringing binoculars.
9. When dining out, consider just going for dessert at a fancy restaurant. They don�t know that you ate at home first.
10. When eating out with a significant other, consider sharing an entree and ordering an extra salad or soup. If you share a dessert you have eaten for just a little more than it would of cost for just one person.
11. Have a snack before going out to eat. It will curb your appetite and also help you make more reasonable decisions about what to order because you won�t be so ravenous.
12. If you have food left over at the end of a restaurant meal, take it home. It can be a snack or a part of the next day�s lunch.
13. If you notice that you often have food left over from restaurant meals, consider ordering a large appetizer instead of an entree.
14. Watch the newspaper for specials at restaurants in town. Use those coupons only if you were planning to go out to eat already.
15. Limit eating out to once a week.
16. The most economical meal to eat out is breakfast, lunch is second. Dinner is the most expensive meal to eat out.
17. Learn the early bird special times at nice restaurants. They are usually between 4-6. That is a reasonable time to begin a dinner and you get a discounted meal.
18. Consider joining iDinePrime (www.idine.com) It takes 20% off a restaurant bill and 15 % off hotels at 11,300 establishments. No membership fee is required, but iDinePrime takes the first $49 that you save. The listings, at this time, are for middle and upper priced restaurants and hotels. They are adding new establishments all the time.
19. Buy a drink and share with a friend (bottomless).
20. Order the special of the day at fast food restaurants.
21. Don�t order a combo meal unless you can eat all of it. Order a sandwich instead and small bottomless drink.
22. Compare costs at different restaurants of the same type of food (Mexican, steak house, Chinese, etc.). Ask around to see what other people have found out about quality and prices.
23. Have a monthly budget for eating out. Keep it in cash. When it�s gone -- you�re done eating out.
24. Eat dinner out but come home to have dessert. Ice cream is relatively inexpensive and an easy dessert.

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* Vacations

1. Go out of town -- in town. Rent a hotel room fro the night. Swim, Jacuzzi, watch cable, etc. Than drive home after the complimentary breakfast.
2. Go out of town for a day -- to somewhere within an hour or so. Have lunch out. Gad about town and do what pleases you at the moment. Go home.
3. Always plan how much to spend on a vacation. Stick to your budget.
4. On long trips only eat out only one meal a day. Lunch at a buffet is your best deal.
5. Cheap breakfasts to take along -- granola bars, Grapenuts and yogurt (stir the Grapenuts into the yogurt), rolls and fruit.
6. Cheap dinners -- sandwiches, something that is frozen that can be micro waved if the motel has a microwave that you can use, popcorn and cheese.
7. Try to stay with friend or relatives at least some of the time on long trips.
8. Limit the amount of money you spend on souvenirs. Stick to it.
9. Keep a travel diary that includes expenses in a running tally. Then you will know if you can splurge or need to tighten your belt a little.
10. Shop for travel and hotel deals on line -- expeida.com, travelocity.com or orbitz.com.
11. Use budget travel books that can be found at the library. You can check them out and take them along on the trip. Research inexpensive motels and make your reservations in advance.
12. Consider staying in dorm rooms at colleges. Contact the college directly. They will let you know if they have a program of renting out rooms. Often the dorms are partly vacant in the summer.
13. Take food along on any vacation -- these foods travel well and will not spoil or melt -- granola bars, hard fruit like apples, trail mix of peanuts and raisins. You can also add a type of candy in the trail mix.
14. Carry silverware, paper plates, cups, and a tablecloth for picnics.
15. Take an electric coil on an electric chord to make soup in a cup.
16. Carry microwavable popcorn bags. Check with the motel manager to see if you can pop them. Otherwise, check at a convenience store that has microwavable food.

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* Groceries

1. Buy fruits in season (apples in fall; strawberries in spring; peaches, pears, plums, watermelon, cantaloupe in summer). Buy other fruits when they are on special.
2. Buy from local farmers at farmer�s markets, especially at the end of the day when they are getting ready to pack up. You can get good deals then.
3. Get grocery ads and compare prices (in Sioux City Fareway is the cheapest grocery store over-all; HyVee is one of the most expensive).
4. If a recipe calls for 1 lb. of ground meat -- you can get by with 3/4 pound. The butcher will make you any amount of meat that you request.
5. Buy house brands -- they are cheaper for soup, canned fruits, veggies than Del Monte or Campbells. You won�t be able to tell the difference most of the time.
6. Canned pieces of fruit and veggies are cheaper than whole or half. They are the same quality.
7. Buy all your bread from the day old bread store. It is 1/2 to 1/3 less. Buy extra bread and freeze it for later.
8. The more processed the product, the more expensive it will be. (Exception is boxed potatoes.)
9. If something you regularly eat is on sale -- buy extra and store it in cupboards or the basement. This is especially true of canned goods and meat (store meat in the freezer for up to three months).
10. Only buy things that you will eat. (Exception would be if you want to try something new, buy the smallest amount possible).
11. Don�t buy bakery or packaged cookies at the grocery store. Go to the day old bread store, instead.
12. If there is no more than 7 cents difference in prices of different sized eggs, buy the next size up. In general, medium is the best size for the money value.
13. Cook once (double the amount you need) and freeze 1/2 of the recipe. Eat it in 2-4 weeks for best results.
14. The more variety of food you eat -- the more you will save money as you can buy more items that are on special. Then there are always things on sale at the grocery store that you can and will eat.
15. Meat is the most expensive part of the meal. Use a small amount and build the meal up with bread, pasta, veggies and fruits.
16. Don�t go to the grocery store when you are hungry. You will buy more items than you need. Always go to the grocery store soon after eating a snack or meal.
17. Make a menu for the week. Shop for the items you need for that week. If you only go to the store once a week you can track what you spend on food and you will spend less.
18. Have a set amount to spend on groceries and stick to it (only exception is stocking up on items that you will store for future use -- canned goods and meat that are on sale).
19. Take a calculator to the grocery store. Three reasons: 1) price per ounce of different brands of the same item can be calculated; 2) price compare a large can of soup with a small can of soup, per ounce (you don�t always save money with large cans); 3) keep a running tally of what the cost will be of the total bill. Hint: if you are doing a lot of cost comparisons, you might take two calculators.
20. Buy the cheapest and largest amount of napkins, paper plates, and paper towels, as they have no shelf life (won�t break down).
21. Splurge once a month on a great meal at home. It is good to reward yourself in order to stay on a budget.
22. Cuts of meat: ground beef is the cheapest meat and the highest fat content will still be the cheapest in the long run.
23. If you do some of the work, you will save more on beef. Slice your own meat for stir-fry. Cut your own meat for stew.
24. Save money with chicken also. Buy a whole chicken and cut it yourself. You will save by the pound a great deal.

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* Washing Clothes Cheaper

1. If it calls for 1 cup of detergent, use 3/4 cup.
2. If it calls for 1/2-cup detergent , use 1/3 cup.
3. As much as possible, wash in cold water (less expensive and the clothes will last longer)
4. Buy a large container of detergent.
5. SKIP rinses and additions to the dryer. They just add cost at no real benefit to the clothes.
6. Remove spots with Woolite Carpet Cleaner (especially on cotton and polyester).
7. Wash towels every 2-4 weeks (you were clean when you used them to dry!!).
8. Wash sheets once a month in the winter. More in the summer if you are sweaty when you go to bed.
9. Wash clothes when they look or smell dirty -- not after one wearing.
10. Keep the lint trap clean in the dryer (clean it before each drying).
11. Only wash full large loads, if possible.
12. Buy clothes that do not need to be dry-cleaned.
13. Sometimes dry cleanable can be washed in cold water with Woolite. Lay them flat to dry.

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* Household Maintenance

1. Purchase a �Do It Yourself� Book and work to complete simple home replacement or repair projects.
2. Find out who is handy in your neighborhood and go to them for advice. If they have small children or love to help, you will probably find someone to work with you.
3. Offer to help a friend with your strength (computers, gardening, car repair) in exchange for their help and expertise in home repair or maintenance.
4. Ask relatives to help you, especially if they are good at projects.
5. Turn the winter thermostat down when you leave the house for work and up when you come home. It can be down to 50 during the day.
6. Turn the winter thermostat down when you go to bed. Try to keep it at 68 when you are awake and 55 when you go to sleep.
7. Turn the summer thermostat up when you leave for work. It can be up to 85 during the day.
8. Turn the summer thermostat down when you come home from work. Try to keep it at 78.
9. Keep the driveway cleared of snow and ice. Accidents during the snowy winter can be dangerous and costly.
10. Make sure your windows and doors have weather stripping. You shouldn�t be able to see any light around them. If you can slide a credit card between them, there isn�t enough of a seal.
11. Clean off the vent below the refrigerator. If it is dusty, the refer has to work harder and that costs more money.
12. If you leave a room, turn off the lights.
13. Painting is the least expensive, easiest, and most dramatic way to redecorate a room. Paint first and then decide if you need to do more.
14. Buy decorations at flea markets, garage sales, etc.
15. Always be looking for interesting furniture that would be ok with a little varnish or paint or new seat cover.
16. Know the times of year for annual sales (linens in Jan., swim suits in March, etc.)

--January, 2004

Rita Iversen is a nationally certified public school teacher. She and her spouse Gerald have two adult children. This helpful list was written as a wedding gift.