How to Save Money in the Kitchen | Part 2: Eating & Living Well

I hope ya'll picked up some good tips from the Part I: Grocery Shopping and from my post on eating healthy at an affordable price. Today for Part II of saving money in the kitchen, I'm here to talk about eating and living well on a budget. One of the easiest ways to save money, is to use your kitchen! My dear friend (wishful thinking), Carrie, from Sex & The City not only eats out for every meal, but she uses her oven for storage – do not be Carrie Bradshaw in the kitchen! The last time I used an oven for "storage", I was a toddler and melted my brother's Hot Wheels car. Now that I'm an adult, I've discovered that kitchens aren't just for destroying toys and eating spoonfuls of sugar.

How To: Save Money at the Movie Theater

You know that feeling you get when you see an awesome movie trailer that you've been dying to see? 

In the heat of the moment, I dash online to check out the showtimes and before I know it, the hefty ticket prices smack me in the face, forfeiting my desire. Depending on how bad my husband and I want to see a movie, we "rate it's worth" on the "scale" of: redbox rental (est. $1.35), video store rental (est. $3) or movie theater (est. $9.50). While it's always cheaper to watch at home, it's fun to have a movie date night out every so often! In this post, you'll learn how to affordably go to the movies and get your popcorn too. And by that, I don't mean smuggling it in your purse…

How to: Eat Healthy at an Affordable Price

Recently I went on my big grocery shopping trip to fill the kitchen with good food and to take advantage of sales. I always love loading up my cart with good deals, but I will tell ya, nothing will get you out of a grocery store faster than a 16 year old boy behind the meat counter hitting on ya. I'm sure my face turned as red as the raw meat and I ducked out of there so fast that I missed out on the $1.99/pound chicken breast sale. I would trade a compliment for a good deal any day. ;)

How To Save Money in the Kitchen | Part 1: Grocery Shopping

Saving money in the kitchen can be one of the easiest ways to make room in your budget. I'm not going to just tell you to stop eating out all the time like most money saving articles, but I will tell you how to save money each month by grocery shopping smart, cooking efficiently, while eating healthy and living well. The things we do in the kitchen are so normal to our daily or weekly chores, it's oftentimes something that we don't even think about. Once you have "saving money in the kitchen" on your mind, you will realize how much money you can actually save every month just by making conscious choices! Personally as a bonus, I have started eating healthier as well – fruits and veggies are SO much cheaper than processed food.  

While the cost of living varies wildly from area to area, every single one of these tips apply to anyone who's looking to save money in the kitchen each month. Soon enough, you'll be eating steak and asparagus (insert your favorite meal) on a rice and beans budget. Just because you can afford to spend $10+ per steak at the grocery store, doesn't mean you need to! Put your savings to good use elsewhere!

How to Save Money Post Wedding :: The 5 R's

REGISTRY, REBATE, RETURN, REWORK & REGIFT

REGISTRY

Did you know that most stores offer a registration completion discount? All of the things you wanted or needed off your registry, that you did not receive as a gift – you can purchase with a discount! We found that the average discount was about 10% off everything. Beware though, some stores may offer this on only one transaction, so pile up everything you need and get it in one shot! (It's even more fun, when you get to pay for it in all gift cards.) 

Save Money :: Weekly Ad Coupon Match-Up

Today I unexpectedly came upon a handy page on the Hy-Vee website, called Helpful Ideas. I originally thought that perhaps it was something like a suggestion box or had meal plan ideas, but to my surprise it was something better. This "Helpful Ideas" page pairs their weekly deals with current coupons on the same product – how awesome! Who doesn't like double savings? 

How to :: Save on Vehicle Maintenance!

After dragging my feet for about 100 miles over the 3,000 mile marker, I finally took my car in for it's well-due oil change. While sitting there, bored, I was thinking that there's a bazillion more things that I would rather be doing than sitting in a dirty chair in a cold waiting room listening to country singers wail through the radio. Even worse, I knew they'd try to sell me on replacing every wiper, belt and filter in my car, but I understand business is business. And the only business I'm interested in is saving money!

10 Black Friday Shopping Tips

You know you're a grown adult when vacuum sales excite you. Why do I want a Dyson Vac sooo bad? Seriously you'd think that someone who is in the advertising industry, wouldn't be so taken by marketing techniques, on vacuums, of all things. I saw one in an ad and started to get giddy at the thought that I'll be Black Friday shopping in a week. It's not my fault I love it so much, it's practically in my family's genetic code. Every year, my mom, sister, aunt, cousin and I all make the trek to the "big city" to do some damage on the wallet. Oddly enough, we find it fun running through crowds, fighting for parking spots and waiting in line for 20 minutes to get a humungo slice of pizza – totally worth it. Like the Doomsday Preppers, you must prepare for this day and with my 15+ years of experience, I will lead you to the light at the end of the tunnel…aka the checkout line.

How to Bargain for Your Wedding

After a summer full of friends, gaining the sophisticated title of "fiancé" and the shiny new ring to prove it, the initial excitement is settling down and it is time to get to work! By "get to work," I do not mean, "get in a Pinterest-coma and re-pin everything that sparkles." The work I'm talking about is, learning how to get the biggest bang for your buck and how to bargain with vendors - Rosie knows what I'm talkin' bout! Oh yea and grab your man for this one, because this is where he will want to get involved! 

Still not convinced your fiancé would be interested in reading a blog about wedding planning? Make him a sandwich because food (aka beer) opens up all sorts of realms with men – marriage advice #1. 

Wedding Advice from a Newlywed

Images by Sweet Light Studio

Congratulations, you're engaged (or simply just love weddings)! You're in the whirlwind of fluffy dresses, outrageous price tags and bridal shows galore, things can be quite overwhelming. As a newlywed, as of almost 2 months, I wanted to offer a little insight as to what I think are the most important things to remember during the engagement process. Especially, from my personal experience, where I think it's important to spend and where I think it's worth saving. While we may all have different insight on this, we cannot deny the fact that either way weddings are outrageously expensive! The current national average, according to the Huffington Post, is $27,021.

Fall Boots: Spendy vs. Cheap Lookalikes

Images from amazon.com and kohls.com

Can you tell which pair is more expensive?

For 2 years now, I have been wanting a pair of Steve Madden "Troopa" boots in Cognac or Brown Leather (get them here). Last year, in Von Maur, I tried a pair on and walked around in them for about 15 minutes, trying to decide whether the $99 dollars were worth it. As soon as I stepped off the carpeted shoe area and onto the white marble floors in them, I knew that they weren't reasonable. Despite their good looks and name brand, the designer failed to realize that real women would be wearing these boots in the fall and winter…and with winter comes snow and ice. The sole of the shoes were so slick! I could only imagine walking into work, only to face plant in the parking lot…yet, I still desired these shoes. They were real leather and could be worn with skinny jeans, leggings, worn under flare jeans or even with a dress and tights – they are so versatile. 

Fashion

King of Coupons