2013, Here We Come
So I know Christmas has passed and the New Year is here to stay but I wanted to touch on a couple of saving tips for Christmas 2013. I also wanted to mention one way to get your finances in order, and start the year off on the right foot.
Kroger Gas Points
The first tip is to take advantage of Kroger gift card deals during the Christmas season. When you purchase gift cards during the holiday season you get 4x the fuel points. My husband and I live in a small town and don't have too many options so we had already decided on Lowe's for our Christmas tree. We bought a Lowe's gift card at Kroger, saved .40 cents on gas, and used the gift card to buy our tree.
A Costco Christmas
Secondly, if Lowe's isn't an option I found out this year that Costco sells awesome Christmas trees for really cheap. If we had a Costco's in town I would have saved $10 on our tree.
Tomato Trees
Lastly, as far as Christmas savings go, is an idea I read about in a magazine. This Spring/Summer we grew our own tomato plants. After the plants died off I just put the tomato cages in storage. I assumed they would take up space in our storage shed, until I read of an idea where you turn the cages up side down and wrap them with Christmas lights to look like Christmas trees. I thought this was an awesome cheap idea.
New Year, New Spending Habits
When my husband and I first got married finances always seemed to be an area of unnecessary conflict. I have a background in finance and had to know where every dollar was going. My husband, well lets just say felt almost the complete opposite of myself. We both realized we had to do something. One of my best friends and mentor suggested this website called www.mvelopes.com. It has radically changed our finances. I never thought I could ever say that I could let my husband manage our money and that is exactly the place I find myself today. It is so user friendly and has tutorials to help you figure out everything. It links with your bank account and pulls all your debits/credits over and then you place them into funded "envelopes". My husband funds every envelope with a percentage of everything we make. We both have a "fun" envelope, that allows us to spend without feeling guilty, and we have a folder set aside just for giving. It is nice to know there is money being saved up just to give away to others. Financial freedom has to be one of the best feelings in the world. Mvelopes has allowed me to completely hand over our finances to my husband and know that we are saving, both in the long and short term, and we are able to plan ahead. I can not recommend this website enough, it will change your life.
Tonight I enjoyed a basic black cup of coffee. Sometimes the simplest form is the best.
Make it Great!
- CTaylor
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