It's finally finished! And I'm anxious to show you the room we created for our baby. Keep in mind that I like simple and minimal so it may be boring to some of you! I had a lot of fun doing this because I have a bit of an interior decorating background and hadn't really done any designing for a long time! Decorating to me these days, is about creating a comfortable room that is done on the cheap. That means I DIY'd and repurposed quite a few items to create our baby room on a budget! Oh, and since we didn't know the gender of our little one, I tried to make it as neutral as possible.
At the end of the post I'll have a source list with our approximate costs and links to my crafty projects đ
The curtain fabric that inspired the colours in the room:
I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. đ We obviously decided to forgo a rocking chair due to space restrictions since we have the single bed in there. We traded our double bed for a single bed my parents had since they couldn't store all the beds! I was going to buy one of those thick changing pads to put on top of the dresser, but decided that the bed could work just as well.
I’ve got a simple tip for you today that could help you save money on your grocery bill as well as precious time!
Keep a running grocery list on your fridge or in another handy spot to list items you’re running low on or have run out of. Not only will having a list help you to only buy the items you need but it will save you from making multiple trips to the store each week. Saving you money because you’re only buying what you need and you’re not using unnecessary gas to get to the store! Never mind the satisfaction of knowing you didn’t forget to buy anything important!
Have you attempted to live by a budget and failed? Maybe you forgot to factor in a few splurges? I personally think you're bound to fail, time and time again, if you leave out the "fun factor" of a budget. After all, no one likes boring! If you're realistic, no matter how much you want to keep within your budget and avoid spending on unnecessary things, you are bound to give in to your temptations and splurge at some point. Never mind the feeling of guilt if you spend some of your gas money on a night at the movies!
So even allotting a small amount of cash for splurges each month can actually encourage you to enjoy frugality and your budget to it's fullest because you may be forced to get creative with the activities you are able to afford. Being creative is always fun and quite often makes you think up brand new adventures!
Here are the three splurges I think you should include in your spending:
Entertainment
It would be unrealistic to think that you can have a budget and not factor in some form of entertainment. After all, we all crave some adventure and fun in our lives. Without an entertainment "allowance" you'll be setting yourself up for failure in the budgeting department. Whether or not you set aside $200 or $5 a month, as frugal people, we tend to come up with cheap and entertainment ideas anyways! I've got a big list of Cheap Family Activities for you to check out here!
Pampering
Having a budget and being frugal doesn't mean you have to deprive yourself. Give yourself a break and factor in some pampering. This could mean a trip to the "fancy" hair salon every 6 months or even a bi-weekly house cleaning service! Or, even if at this point in time your budget cannot allow much at all, check out my ideas for Beauty on a Budget.
Dining out
Unavoidably, there will be times each month when you find you have to eat out. Why not plan accordingly and have some money set aside in your budget for those occasions? If you're like my husband and I, you enjoy eating out. We set aside money so that we can enjoy a dinner out once a week...without feeling guilty! I even factor our weekly dinner out into our meal plans so I'm not buying extra food for that day, which could go to waste.
Of course, your income and expenses will determine how much can be set aside for splurges. But start off small, then increase as you can. The longer you stick to your budget, the more splurges you'll be able to fit in. Use your splurges as motivation and rewards to keep you working at your financial goals!
How do you work splurges into your budget? What are some of your ideas for cheap fun? Let us know in the comments!
I thought I would start posting some super simple Frugal Tips occasionally that you can read and glean from in a very short amount of time!
Let’s start with today’s tip:Â
Shop your home first. If you’re in need of something at home and you figure you’ll just pop into the store to grab it, try shopping your home first. Maybe it’s a baking ingredient. Is there a suitable replacement in your pantry already? I recently needed some breadcrumbs for meatballs I was making but didn’t have any on hand. I did, however, have oatmeal in my pantry that did the trick!
Or, maybe you want to freshen up your home decor for Spring. Rather than heading to the store, do you have something already that you could transform by getting a little crafty?
Do you shop your home? What are your favourite things to repurpose or products to use in place of certain ingredients?
Statistics Canada released its inflation numbers for the 12 months to March 2011. At that time the Consumer Price Index rose 3.3 per cent, the largest year-over-year increase since September 2008. If inflation continues to trend high and interest rates start to rise it will become even harder for people to make ends meet. The Bank of Canada has been advising Canadians to take control of their spending and start saving since the Fall of 2010.
One area Canadians need to take a more aggressive approach to reducing their spending is at the grocery store. Putting together a money-saving strategy for grocery shopping will have a positive impact on your finances and allow your savings to increase at a faster rate.
Focus on your household budget as if you owned a business and the bottom line is your savings. Every spending decision you make affects your householdâs bottom line.
Try to implement these strategies to save money at the grocery store:
Menu planning:Â
Save money by planning a weekly menu
Keep track of the staples in your larder; be careful not to over buy
Create a grocery list
Weekly Flyers
Review the flyers from the stores in your area
Match sale items to your grocery list
Look for key words â âsaveâ, â2 for 1â, âprice droppedâ, âprice matchâ
Use coupons on sale items to save even more money
Buy fruits and vegetables in season
Do it yourself
Bake your next birthday cake: a cake mix and tin of icing can save at least $10 over a store-bought cake-turn it into a family activity
Avoid unnecessary vegetable spoilage by:Â Washing lettuce and peeling carrots as you need them â the pre-washed, bagged vegetables spoil quicker once the bag is open
When ground beef is on sale make your own hamburger patties and freeze them for future use
Be a Price Conscience Shopper
Prices vary between grocery stores; make sure you are buying the sale item at the lowest price
Buy store brands instead of national brands especially if they are the same
Check the non-traditional stores, such as drug stores, for price comparisons
Buy in bulk when it makes sense
Donât use your credit card to pay if it means going further into debt
Donât invest so much – it leaves you short for other purchases
Purchase non-perishable items, ie paper products
For more everyday money-saving strategies Consolidated Credit has free PDF versions of their booklets available at: http://www.consolidatedcredit.ca/personal-finances/money-management/smart-spending
Jeffrey Schwartz is the Executive Director of Consolidated CreditCounseling Services of Canada and President of the Credit Association of Greater Toronto(CAGT). Consolidated Credit is a national non-profit credit counseling organization that teaches consumers about personal finance through web-based budget and debt analysis tools, financial literacy community outreach programs and in-person or telephone counseling. CAGT is a non-profit association with a mission to provide a dynamic forum in which members can share information and expertise.Â
