Take Control and Master Your Kitchen
Those who keep a watchful eye on where their money is spent, have long conquered the kitchen woes. No last minute panic trips to the market. No longer needing the "give-the-kids-$20-for-fast-food" solution. This is no longer a problem or even a concern for the "Kitchen Master". You too can be a 'Master Of Your Kitchen'. All it takes is a little time and planning! Now you might be saying "I don't have time to plan meals, let alone control my kitchen!" That's fine. Wait until you do have some time. All you need is just a couple of hours some Saturday or Sunday where you can really "dive" into your kitchen. Where To Start
~~~~~~~~~~~ Start from scratch. Clean out ALL those cupboards, shelves, racks, pantries, etc.... At some point, you'll want to do the same to your refrigerator and freezer. You must! This is VALUABLE storage space that will save you hundreds off your grocery bills if they are properly put to use. Kitchens were designed to act as 'mini-supermarkets'. Everything you need to prepare meals your family can enjoy morning, noon, and night. Once it is setup, you can accommodate quite a number of meals, without having to go to the market every other day! Once The Cleaning Is Done
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now that everything is cleaned and your current supplies organized, you'll need to inventory what you have. What this means is to list out what you have, and what you need to get. Ideally, you should have at least 2-4 weeks of meals available at your disposal. Why? This will reduce the number of trips to the market and help minimize overspending and impulse buying. What helps is if you list foods and meals you know your family likes (and would) eat. These are the items you need to stock your kitchen pantry and frig with. With this approach, you use your cupboards, pantries, and shelves to your advantage. Whenever you come across great bargains on items you use, buy more than usual, and store the rest. Cans of tuna for 40 cents each, buy a lot. Boxes of macaroni and cheese for 50 cents each, buy a lot. Sugar, cheese, spaghetti, rice, pasta, bread, meat, cereal, fruit, chicken, sauces, canned foods, vegetables, boxed foods. These are just a few examples of items than can be stored in your pantry, refrigerator, or freezer (depending on what it is) for a reasonable amount of time. You know you are running low on an item by simply opening your well organized pantry and determining what needs to be restocked. Planning Your Meals
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now that your kitchen has been cleaned and well stocked, it's time to put it to use. It works best if you plan the following days meals, the night before. This is not hard or very time consuming. Five minutes before going to bed, simply open your cupboards and see what you can plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the following day. Start off just planning one day at a time. Later, as you adjust to this style of living, you'll be able to plan the whole week just by looking at the contents within your kitchen. What also is a must is creativity. Try to steer away from traditional hamburger and hot dog meals. Get creative with your meals. There are literally hundreds of different combinations that can be made to give you and your family the variety they need. For example, think of all the combinations you can put together with rice or potatoes (ie: rice and vegetables, rice and beans, rice with chicken, rice and soup, rice with eggrolls, etc...) And that's just with rice! You have a ton of options. Take the time to think of, or search for some. Here are a few websites that offer a number of recipes and cooking ideas: http://www.notjustbeans.com
http://www.recessionrecipes.com
http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/twarda/home.html Conclusion
~~~~~~~~ The whole goal of this exercise is to eliminate unnecessary trips and excessive spending at the market in addition to creatively using what you have in your kitchen to prepare meals for the week/month.The more times you go to the market, the more chances you have of spending your money on foods you may not need. Organize and master your kitchen, plan out your meals, stock your storage areas, and you can save $100-$400 a month (depending on your spending habits ;-) Best of luck mastering your kitchen! Gregory Thomas has been writing effective money-saving tips for SavingSecrets.com for over six years. Hop on over and you'll find FREE money-saving articles, a monthly newsletter, and even a FREE Ebook download just for stopping by! http://www.SavingSecrets.com
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
UK Graduates Looking Short-Term At Their Long-Term Financial Responsibilities
With almost two thirds of university entrants from England and Wales who applied for maintenance grants for this year being unsuccessful, and the average graduate owing 13,501 when they leave, according to Barclays, combined with a survey by High Fliers Research showing that only 21% of students were confident of managing to enter a graduate-level job this year, it is not surprising that there is a feeling of gloom hanging over many UK university entrants.
Budgets And Eating - Can They Co-Exist?
Whatever your reason for having a tight budget, the
truth is that going to the grocery store without a plan
is a BIG budget breaker. And sadly all that cash ends
up vanishing into our stomachs and then...well, you
know what comes next.
I Want to Buy a Home - Now What?
If you were to ask 100 women "What would you like to achieve financially?" Buying a home or apartment is usually one of the answers. Some women think that they can never own a home - which is not true! In fact, there are so many success stories of home buyers who never thought they would get there. In addition, homeowners tend to have greater financial success in the other areas of their finances life. I've seen it over and over.
Are You Ready To Be Fired?
Your boss has just informed you that your department is being reduced by two and you are fired. After he leaves, what are you going to do?
This is not about finding a job it's about being prepared for financial change. How you prepare for employment change is different for everyone. Being prepared for financial change is the same person to person.
Bank On It: Places to Hide and Invest Money
Today I passed a thermometer at a bank that read 110 degrees, but I am not telling you that to show you how hot it was. I am telling you that because this bank really needs to fix their thermometer. According to their thermometer, it was also 110 degrees in December. There are a lot of people, places and things that can be more accurate with the weather, and as I've never said (but have always wanted to), "Whatever I trust with the weather is what I also trust with my money." Here are some examples:
More Money? My Cup Runneth Over...But Im Still Thirsty
Most of us, especially those of us who have debtor's disease (if you have it you know what it is!), have commented or at least thought, "If I could just win the lottery, or sweepstakes, everything would be better." Unfortunately, even if that big dream did come true things probably would get worse instead of better.
Ways to Save Energy and Slash Electricity Bills
1. Lighting & Light Bulbs
Install low energy light bulbs in rooms you use regularly ? they last up to 15 times longer than a normal light bulb and provide the same lighting for a quarter of the running cost. Turn off the lights when you leave a room for a long period and don't use several light bulbs where one will do the job. Teach all family members to turn off lights when leaving a room.
Strategies for Success
Holy Shenanigans! More STUFF?
Know Thy Finances
The first step to financial success lies in knowing your financial situation at any given time. There is an anecdote attributed to John D. Rockefeller--that as a child he was given a monthly allowance from his parents, but upon stipulation that he had to save 10% of it, give away 10% to charity, and account for the rest of it. While his parents required that he record down to the penny where he spent it--you can be a bit more lenient on yourself!
How to Save for A Down Payment
Saving for a Down Payment is hard work, so it's a good idea to really want to own your own home by the time you begin your Savings Account. It's difficult to turn down a weekend in the Bahamas (or Downtown at the Clubs!) when you don't have a definite goal.
Should You Borrow From Your 401(k) Account?
If you have a 401(k) account, it can be very tempting to borrow from your account especially when your balance is very high and a loan could easily pay off existing debt, fund a home purchase, or pay for college tuition. Before you make the decision to borrow money, there are several things you must keep in mind to avoid risking your funds.
Budgeting is Essential for a Single Mothers Success
Today many women are struggling with debt and it's even harder if you are a single mother trying to support your family. According to the Census Bureau single mothers far outweigh single fathers. In 2003 there was a total of 2,260,000 one parent family groups maintained by the father and 10,142,000 one parent family groups maintained by the mother. This is also why many single mothers find themselves diving into debt.
Organizing Your Finances - Thinking Outside the (Shoe) Box
If you're like most people, your personal financial records are most probably kept in less than "Good Accounting Practices" standards. For example, stashing old ATM receipts and hanging on to a stub showing what you paid for a pack of mints two years ago (cash, of course), might be filed with your paycheck stubs, credit card statements ? paid and unpaid alike ? as well as a few tax forms, a stray paper clip and a penny. Anything from an old shoebox to a toolbox would do you for this method of personal financial tracking but you can do better than that.
Budgeting is Bothersome
It doesn't take much for you to get behind on monthly bills, but it sure takes some time to catch up. The comparison in my mind is to weight gain. A one-week vacation can easily pack on 5 to 7 pounds. Losing that weight however, can take a good month of cardio. That's no fun, and neither is trying to find the extra cash to pay last month's credit card payment.
Creating A Household Budget
Creating a budget can be a very difficult task. Although we as consumers know that we need to pay our bills, buy our necessities, and put money away for savings, we don't really know how to start.
Learning the Basics of Handling Money
With prices increasing all the time, saving money can be harder and harder to do. Here are some solutions for saving a little so that you can still meet your needs and still find ways to trim off a little for the future.
Personal Finance - Have Consumers Had a Belly Full of Personal Debt?
For months, we were trigger-swipe happy, putting our groceries, clothes, holidays and service charges on our credit cards. We wanted mortgages, we took out loans, we watched Property Ladder and What Not To Wear. Whether you were born middle class, had middle class aspirations, you became middle class through your spending. Debt united people around the UK, we sympathised with each other on what we couldn't afford ? but it didn't matter, we still bought it. Soon everybody had a bottle of Jacob's Creek in their kitchen and olives and humous in the fridge.
How Electronic Checks Work ? Will Paper Checks Eventually Go Away?
Traditional checks probably won't disappear anytime soon, but processing checks electronically is sure to continue! Have you ever been asked to fill out your account and routing number when paying for something online or over the phone ? or have you provided a paper check to pay for something and it is given back to you after it is run through a machine? Did you scratch your head like I did the first time that happened?
Vacations Made Easy: Buying a Florida Investment Property
Vacations Made Easy: Buying a Florida Investment Property
The Wonderful World Of Address Labels
Ever wonder where address labels come from? Avery is perhaps one of the most well-known manufacturers of address labels. Rightly so in some respects. Avery contributed much to the world of professional labels. Stan Avery, founder of the company started the company in 1935. During that time the company, named Kum-Kleen Products, produced self-adhesive labels for many purposes.
|
