EXISTING ECONOMICALLY

Harris Teeter. Oh how I love thee.

I have decided that from now on I am going to buy my groceries at Harris Teeter instead of Walmart.

Why? you ask.

Two reasons:
1. They offer a free 'membership' program (The VIC card) that gives you discounts and coupons for shopping with them.
2. They also offer a 10% student discount.

Today I save $8.00 on a $60.00 purchase just for being a student.

Could I have done that at walmart? NO.

At walmart, on average, each product costs me about $2.50-$3.00. Today I purchased 22 items. At walmart that would have ran me about $66.00, however today I only paid $52.00.



Another wonderful feature of Harris Teeter is, on certain days, they will double or even triple manufacturers coupons. Again, walmart will not do this.

I have not yet gotten into the habbit of clipping, saving, and using coupons but I know a woman who goes to the store, shops for an hour, checks out at the register, and by the end of it (after using every coupon she can) Harris Teeter ends up owing her about $5.00.

I want to be that woman!

Please bear with me while I delay my posts. This is the final week of this semester in college and I am swamped with final exams & papers.

Thank You!!!

Remember how each month I wanted to put whats remaining of the $400.00 into my savings account to build it up?

Well I've decided that it is much easier to save money when you have a purpose for doing so. Today I have decided that my purpose is grad school

How to Save Money for a Purpose:
Step 1: Set a short term goal.
It costs $60.00 to take the GRE and another $160.00 to apply to UNCW's graduate school for English. This $220.00 will be my short term goal, and the first step in getting into grad school.

Step 2: Set a long term goal.
On UNCW's website they list that graduate school for in-state students costs about $18,800 (including: Tuition, Room & Board, Books & Supplies, Transportation, Loan Fee, Misc., & Health Insurance). In about 1 1/2 years, this will probably increase, so I estimate my long term goal to be approximately $20,000.

Step 3: Decide how you will save.
I plan on putting away the rest of my money from my $400.00/month, into my graduate school account. Lets say I put away $100.00/month, by the fall of 2011 I will have saved $1,600. That still leaves $18,400.
Clearly I will have to start working to pay for school too. If I get a job that pays $8.00/hour and work from August to May, I would have to work 2,300 hours to have enough to pay for school, thats 23 hours a month, and about 6 hours a week. However, this does not include taxes, so lets say I will have to work atleast 10 hours a week for 10 months.
As long as I save that money and don't spend it on anything else, I can atleast make a dent in my graduate school payments
The next step would be to get a student loan. (My VERY last resort!)

Step 4: Start saving.
I need to get a job.

Step 5: Constantly remind yourself what you are working towards.
Make a savings calendar to document your progress. This will motivate you while informing you exactly what you have left to do.



Please feel free to leave any comments about grad school. Let me know if you've been, how it was, recommendations, what I should know etc.!

Bars and clubs are a really great place to socialize with friends, but if you're not careful they can be really expensive.

One night I was at my favorite bar with my credit card and decided to start a tab. I ended up getting pretty tipsy and buying shots for all of my friends and some of their friends.
My final tab was $50.00 and because I was very tipsy, I tipped the bartender $20.00.

After spending $70.00 at the bar, I decided to call it quits for a while.

Recently, my boyfriend, roommate and other close friends have been spending our Thursday nights back at my favorite bar. Every Thursday is $2.00 all you can drink beer, where you pay $2.00 to get in, get a cup and drink beer until the kegs run out. (If you want bottle beer or liquor drinks you have to pay separately.)

This got me thinking of ways to save money at bars on other nights, when the specials aren't so great.

You Have 2 Options:
1. You can pay with cash.
-The problem with paying in cash is you have to, or you should, tip the bartender every time you get a drink. This can add up if you're doing some serious drinking.

-The good thing about paying with cash is if you're on a budget (or you do not want to drink too much) you can limit yourself. If you only want to spend $20.00 that night, then you can only bring a $20.00 to the bar.

2. You can start a tab.
-The problem with starting a tab is most bars have a minimum. Usually $10.00. Which means, if you buy three beers that cost $2.00 each, you will be forced to buy more drinks than you want, spend more money than you want, and feel guilty to tip more than you want.

-Another problem with starting a tab is you're probably going to drink more than you wanted to. When you're not physically watching the cash dwindling down, it is harder to keep track of how much you've spent and how much you've had to drink.

-The good thing about starting a tab is if you're planning on drinking heavily, you don't have to tip the bartender everytime you get a drink which usually costs less in the end.


Conclusion: If you are looking for a crazy, alcohol filled night out, planning to drink a ton, and not remember what happened the night before, then starting a tab is for you.
However, if you just want to have a few beers with friends and not go over the limit, then paying with cash (and only bringing a specific amount) is the way to go.

When I moved in with my new roommate, we decided that we wanted to cook almost every night. Until the beginning of this week, we hadn't cooked too much...just grabbed a pizza on the way home from class, or some taco bell on the way home from the library.

This week, we have successfully managed to (so far) cook dinner every night. [Note: by we, I mean me...and I've cooked for the roommate and the boyfriend, which I'm pretty proud about because I'm a horrible cook].

Monday Night: Baked breaded chicken with a honey lemon glaze and carrots.
Total Estimated Cost: $3.00/person
Estimated Cost at a Restaurant: $9.00/person

Tuesday Night: Crock-pot mexican chicken with beans and rice
Total Estimated Cost: $3.00/person
Estimated Cost at a Restaurant: $6.00/person

Wednesday Night: Spaghetti with roasted garlic mashed potatoes
Total Estimated Cost: $3.00/person
Estimated Cost at a Restaurant: $8.00/person

For Thursday night, I'm planning on cooking breakfast for dinner & Friday I'm not sure what I'm going to cook yet (feel free to leave suggestions!).

Total Estimated Cost at a Restaurant: $23.00/person (for three days)
Total Estimated Cost at home: $9.00/person (for three days)
Total Estimated Savings: $14.00/person (for three days)

This may not seem like much, but if you change your habbits from eating out 7 days a week to eating out 4 days a week, in one month you can save roughly $56. That is $2,912/year.

Just something to think about :)

After my too high credit card statements, my parents decided to put $400.00 in my account on the first of each month.

If this sounds familiar, reading this post might be extremely helpful.

If you get an 'allowance' each month, the best thing to do first is calculate exactly how much money you are making per day.

For example, I make $13.33/day. (400/30=13.3333)

Today is the 12th of April. (This is the 1st month I have been given the $400.00) I have $55.70 left in my bank account (plus a $50 Easter check that I still have to deposit). Coming out to approximately $105 for the next 18 days. So $5.83/day for the rest of the month.

At the end of each month, I put what is left of my $400.00 into my savings account in order to build it up again.

I think this is a great way to manage money especially if you are on a budget.

The next few posts will be about budgeting and setting goals so keep an eye out for them.

If you're like me, shopping at Wal-mart is the easiest thing. They have virtually everything I need all packed in one store.

During the week I write a list of what I need grocery & bathroom wise and bring it with me to Wal-mart.

This Week On My List:
$. Bananas
$. Trash Can
$. Old Spice Deodorant
$. Dog Food

What I Ended Up Buying
$. Coffee Creamer - Hazelnut
$. Coffee Creamer - French Vanilla
$. Old Spice 3 Value Pack
$. Doritos
$. Bananas
$. Chocolate Chip Breakfast Muffins
$. Banana Hanger
$. Dog Food
$. Trash Can
$. Trash Bags
$. Lindt Chocolate Truffles

My list had 4 items, my receipt had 11.

Total Grocery Bill: $52.42
Original Grocery List: $22.43
What I Would Have Saved: $29.99

I could have saved almost $30.00 if I would have stuck to my list!

Currently, we are paying about $94.00 for Time Warner Cable TV & Internet. I have a friend, who pays $80.00 for the same deal.

Scott, my friend who pays less for cable & internet, is the type of guy who will rent a 2 bedroom apartment with 3 people living there and sleep on the couch to save money. Needless to say, he has a way of saving money on everything!

As far as cable & internet goes, all Scott needed to say was “Direct TV.” Those two little magic words will make Time Warner crazy. They will go digging around for any type of discount they can find. If you mention that you think you could get a better rate by switching to Direct TV, the lady on the other end of the phone will mysteriously find a discount for Friday callers wearing red t-shirts by the name of Jane.

So, don’t be afraid to get a little dirty with the cable company, even if you aren’t thinking of switching to Direct TV it can’t hurt to mention it.

Sorry for the absense :(
I just moved and do not have any internet until thursday night. I will post all my blogs then :)

My roommate-to-be has a motto that he likes to throw around a lot: "Talk is cheap, Supply exceeds demand."

Usually, when he says this, I laugh and shrug it off. When I think about it, however, he is right.

Take the internet for example, there are so many websites out there that offer free information. Think about the times when the internet did not exist. What were some major purchases or money spenders out there?

Buying A House:
I have never personally purchased a home, but I was always extra attentive when watching my parents buy their house after moving from Florida to NC.
Before the internet and all of its free information, homebuyers who wanted to purchase a house that fit their needs had to hire a realtor to show them around and pay their commission.

Today there are plenty of sites that offer homes, specific to your desires. In a matter of seconds, I found a website that offered pictures, floor plans, details and free brochures on various homes around my area.

Doctor Visits
WebMD offers information about all types of illnesses including what it is, what the symptoms are, medication options, and even where to seek medical help.


How To Books
Barnes & Nobles, Books-a-Million and other great bookstores always offer hundreds of 'How-To books.' However, almost all of this information can be found online and for free. eHow.com offers users written directions and videos to guide their creative projects or questions with everything from 'How to Develop an April Fools Day Prank' to 'How to Minimize the Risks of Cosmetic Surgery.'


Everything you could ever want to know is out there. Do not forget about that when you are about to purchase some sort of service or aid. Always ask yourself, is the purchase of this necessary? Can I find this for free?

[Note: be extra careful with medical advice. websites offering medical advice should never be used in place of doctors visits, they are simply there to help a person identify what could be wrong. if it's more than just the common cold, ask a professional!]