SavvySugar

Money Tip: Try These 5 Savvy Weekend Saving Tips

SavvySugar — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 04:00:00 -0800

Being smart with your money shouldn't stop on the weekend. Stay in control of your spending and still enjoy your free time without emptying your wallet. You'll be surprised how much you can save just by getting a little creative and staying mindful of your money.

Do something that doesn't require cash - Enjoy a little social time that doesn't break the bank. Instead of a big dinner out with friends, opt for a potluck at home. I'm all for getting out of the office and enjoying time with friends, but there are so many ways to have fun with friends that don't require your cash.
Shop for the best buys at warehouse clubs - When you hit the store to stock up on basics, head to the warehouse instead of your local grocery to score savings. No sense in spending a fortune on paper towels, right? This is an easy way to save.
Calculate a purchase in terms of hours worked - Keep yourself from giving in to excessive spending by making purchase prices resonate. Thinking about the item's worth in terms of hours worked will help you determine if it's really worth your money and time.

To get the rest of my weekend tips, just keep reading.

The Best Times to Buy, From Clothes to Cars

SavvySugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:45:57 -0800

The best times to make purchases aren't reserved for the moments when you need a little retail therapy. Sales and special promotions might seem sporadic to most of us, but retailers are relatively systematic operations. Mark these months on your calendar for the best time to buy everything, from clothes to cars.

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Reader Tips: 7 Realistic Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill

SavvySugar — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 06:00:26 -0800

SavvySugar reader Findingmyway recently asked for realistic tips for cutting her grocery bill in our How Do You Save? group and fellow shoppers offered up some standout advice. Here are seven of my favorites from the many smart suggestions:

Try researching food co-ops in your area. - benheld
Farmers markets are great. Buy in season and only what you need. - Anonymous
Go vegetarian a couple of times a week if you don't already. Meat can tend to cost the most at the store. It's a double-whammy of cheaper and healthier. - Deidre
Buy in bulk, especially beans, rice and pasta. Whole Foods' bulk bin is pretty cheap and you can base most meals around one of those three items. - beram1220
I think one of the best things my husband and I started doing was actually planning what we were going to eat for dinner and lunch for the week. We pick up the basics we need for the week plus ingredients for whatever we are going to make! - Lauren
Ethnic markets have great prices on produce. - Anonymous
What really saved me grocery money was using the store ads to plan my weekly menu (or to be honest - twice weekly) and sticking to my list. - mek123

Share your budget tips with SavvySugar readers. Create a PopSugar account or log in to your account. Then post your tips in the How Do You Save? group.

Money Tip: Try These 5 Savvy Weekend Saving Tips

SavvySugar — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 06:00:22 -0800

The weekend's here and we're all celebrating our well-deserved days off (and the Super Bowl!)- but we're not about to blow our budgets doing it. You've been savvy and smart all week long when it comes to spending, so keep it up over the weekend. Enjoy the big weekend with friends and family - you don't have to spend a fortune - just be sure to keep an eye on expenses with our saving tips.

Make this the weekend you quit an unnecessary expense - If you didn't cut an unnecessary discretionary expense at the start of the new year, it's not too late to do it now. If your budget could use some shaping up, or just a quick boost, kick one of your bad spending habits and say goodbye to the excess spending this weekend.
Opt for inexpensive entertainment - The Super Bowl is the perfect opportunity to lay low and hang home this weekend. Instead of heading out to a bar, host a potluck for the big game - Yum's got your recipes covered. Drinks are cheaper (especially when friends BYOB) and you're guaranteed a better view of the game at home.
Shop warehouse clubs for the best buys - If you're shopping for the big game, be sure you're getting your money's worth by hitting up discount warehouses for the best prices on items in bulk - and beyond.

Get the rest of my savvy weekend tips after the jump

Money Tip: The Best Time to Buy Sold Out Tickets

SavvySugar — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:05:54 -0700

Your scrapbooks scattered with ticket stubs from concerts and baseball games may give you the itch to get out and enjoy some live music or watch men in uniform, but it's a commitment to purchase tickets a few months in advance. The online marketplace for buying and selling tickets for sports events and concerts is continually growing and that's good news for consumers.

According to Sean Pate, a spokesman for StubHub, "The very best time to buy is four days before an event because that's the deadline for buyers' listings to expire. There will still be deals after that, but not the same supply." If you're dying to spend a fun day in the sun watching your favorite team get dirty, consider attending a game against a team that isn't the biggest rival. The game may not be as rowdy but you'll still have a grand old time.

Money Tip: Try These 5 Savvy Weekend Savings Tips

SavvySugar — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 06:00:09 -0800

If you spent the week carefully monitoring your spending and trying to be productive and efficient, don't be reckless on the weekend and blow all your efforts with a Saturday spending spree or pricey meal you can't afford. Consider these smart saving tips before you whip out your wallet.

Plan Inexpensive Things to Do This Weekend - More than half of you admit that spending more money on weekends is a given, but that doesn't always have to be the case. Challenging ourselves to occasionally be more mindful of our money on weekends may make us think twice before blowing our budgets on those days when watching our wallets isn't necessarily on our minds.
Save Big When You Eat Out - Tough times for consumers mean empty tables at restaurants - and to fill them, restaurants are making menu changes and slashing prices, or offering discounts. Take advantage of the deals by researching in advance.
Shop For the Best Buys at Warehouse Clubs - Almost every list of saving tips includes some mention of buying things in bulk. But if you’re not the Gosselins or the Duggars, are warehouse clubs (like Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s Wholesale) really that great of a deal? The answer is yes - if you know how to shop smart.

For the rest of my tips, read more.

Calculate a Purchase in Terms of Hours Worked - As much as we all promise ourselves that we'll only buy things we absolutely cannot live without, sometimes in the heat of the shopping moment that mentality is substituted by one of like, not love.
Take a Hands-Off Approach to Spending Less - Research shows that you don't necessarily have to stay out of stores altogether, but you should be mindful of where you put your hands if you want to refrain from spending.

Do you have a tip for readers? Join our How Do You Save? group and share your helpful suggestions. Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.

Savvy Tip: 3 Ways to Buy, Borrow, or "Steal" Travel Guidebooks

SavvySugar — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 06:00:58 -0800

You've booked transportation and accommodations, so now it's time for the fun stuff. Well, maybe research isn't always fun, but it definitely gets you excited for all the things to see and do once you arrive. In the spirit of smart shopping, I've gathered up three tips to get the best travel guidance for your trip and not waste money in the process.

Buy - Before opening that wallet, do your homework. When looking to purchase a guidebook, there are so many options it's hard to tell which is most worth your dollars. My tip: Check out the brand's book for your local city. If its suggestions seem spot-on for things you like there, and the tone is appealing, that can be a good source for any destination.

Get the final two tips when you read more.

Borrow - If you're going somewhere for a one-time deal or looking to gather a lot of information at a small cost, that's where the local library comes in. Check out books beforehand, choose ones to bring, and return when the trip's done. Simple as that.

"Steal" - I don't mean stealing per se (obviously), but if you just want a couple tidbits on a city or topic, your printer can come in handy. While copyright laws don't allow legal photocopying of these books, many companies (like Time Out and Lonely Planet), have equally exhaustive web resources available at the click of a mouse. Make double-sided printouts of any essential pages - along with your own personal notes, if wanted - and binder clip or hole-punch, and ring-clip them together. It takes up less room and can make you look less conspicuous if you need to consult it in public.

Source: Flickr User warrenski

6 Tips For Surviving the Holidays

SavvySugar — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:45:22 -0800

The holidays are a time for celebrating with friends, family, gifts, and plenty of delicious food. Unfortunately, they're also a time for spending way more than usual and fielding awkward questions from relatives you haven't seen all year. Follow my six holiday survival tips to make it through the next couple weeks relatively unscathed.

Be Prepared With Answers About Your Job - Relatives are bound to ask what you're up to these days, and not all of us have jobs that are universally understood. You want to be prepared with a response that is succinct and delivers a clear enough explanation of what it is that you do, exactly.
Agree on a Holiday Spending Cap - If you haven't already, contact the people on your long or short list and ask how they might feel about putting a cap on holiday spending this year.
Explain Why You Were Laid Off - Questions about what you're up to these days get even more uncomfortable if you're currently out of a job. You're probably sick of talking about why you were laid off and how your job search is going, but that won't keep your Uncle Ned from asking. Learn how to handle this sensitive question so that you're not left stuttering through an answer over your eggnog.

To see the rest of my survival tips, read more.

Savvy Links: Furniture and Scams: Adventures on Craigslist

SavvySugar — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:00:31 -0800

Furniture and scambags: adventures on Craigslist - Get Rich Slowly
How to stick to your budget - FiLife
Have you fallen for greenwashing? - Glamour
Five best outlining tools - Lifehacker
Amazon.com: The lazy, rich student's option for trading in textbooks - Walletpop
Best buys of Winter - Kiplinger
All most of us want for Christmas is cash? - Boston Gal's Open Wallet

Do You Book Holiday Tickets Early or Last Minute?

SavvySugar — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:00:22 -0800

Ahh, the age-old question: ~~to be or not to be~~ to book or not to book. No matter how much homework you do on research comparing apples to apples, it's nearly impossible to predict the ebbs and flows of ticket prices . . . especially during the holiday season.

This past week I've noticed a flood of fare alerts, not just on Cyber Monday, but the last couple of days, too. On the one hand, I'm not a risk taker when it comes to my money and prefer to book when the pricing gets good but when "good" is still a bit away from "better" and a couple hundred from the "best," it's tempting to take a gamble and hope the fares drop. Even knowing that you could end up paying more, when will (or did) you buy your tickets?