Category Archives for "Living on $30000 or Less"
January 7, 2017
Preparedness is Key to Frugal Living
The most important qualities to living a purposely frugal life is to be prepared. Preparedness will always prevent an unnecessary struggle. I was born and raised in Florida, like many parts of the country we have our share of weather to worry about. Up North, you must be prepared for the winter weather. In the Midwest, you must be prepared for severe wind and storms. Out West, earthquakes are a part of the reality of choosing to live there. And down South and along the East Coast, hurricanes are an issue for over half of the year. Nothing can be worse than being in the situation where you could have been prepared (and often meant to be prepared) but did not “get around to it”.
Preparedness is Key to Frugal Living
Emergency kits can become extremely expensive, so you always need to keep in mind what your family needs is a disaster happens. In my family, everyone has their own bags, and then we have two family totes: one with important documents and your replaceable items, and another with everything else that can be generally used by the family. For the two totes, we use big plastic storage containers.
In each of the individual bags, what you put in depends on two factors. One factor is the needs of the person on a daily basis, the other factor is what type of emergency situation the bag is being used for. For our family, hurricane season is the main reason we pack emergency bags. Each of the kids bags are backpacks that I have found that consignment sales for very cheap. My husband and I each use old reusable shopping bags for ours.
There are three main categories to consider when putting together your kit: food, water, and supplies. Here is a full list of items to put on your emergency kit.
Most, if not all of the items on these lists can be purchased during sale cycles and with coupons. Make sure to pick one day a year (mark it on your calendar) that you go through your kits and refresh any expired goods. For our family, June 1st is the start of hurricane season and the day we go through our kits and go over our family plan on what to do in case of emergencies. Start building your families kits now. Do not wait until it is too late.
Read part 1 of Angie’s Living on $30,000 Best Frugal Tips on Thriving and (not just surviving) on $30,000 a year!
Part 2 – Basic Home Budgeting
Part 3 – How to Budget Monthly Finances Wisely
Part 4 – How to Not Spend Money
Part 5 – Smart Money Saving Tips to Control Your Debt
Part 6 – Money Management Skill
Part 7 – Why Couples Should Talk About Money?
How to Use Your Tax Refund to Build Wealth
How to Manage Food Budget for Family?
Angie Rumpf
I am a stay at home mom and happily married to my husband Tom. I have a five year old daughter and a two and a half year old son. I grew up in Orlando, but went to school in New York City and lived in Los Angeles before moving home to raise a family. I have worked in the film industry since the early nineties, and for over a decade with the Florida Film Festival. I also spent many years working in marketing with Glaceau and Honest Tea. But, I am happiest at home building my family.
For more Best Frugal Tips, read these:
How to get rich in 5 minutes a day
Frugal Ways to Save Money: Getting Out of Debts
November 20, 2016
Frugal living Tip: Christmas Tipping Guide
Frugal Living Tip: Christmas Tipping Guide
If you are living on a tight budget (or just generally frugally minded) the holidays can be a time of anxiety and worry as well as budget stretching triumph. I have found plenty of areas in which a dollar can be stretched or saved during the holidays, but one area where you should always be prepared to pay full price is when it comes to tipping. Showing thankfulness should be something that is never done less than over abundantly. Of course we all would love to shower those who have provided help or services for us throughout the year with gifts that surpass what is socially required, but realistically that is not always possible. Especially if time are lean and frugal living is less of a choice and more of a necessity.Continue reading
August 11, 2016
Why Do You Need an Emergency Fund?
Do you ever wonder Why Do You Need an Emergency Fund? It’s easy to wonder if this is important, but also how to make it happen. We have some tried and true reasons and tips here for you to understand more about why an emergency fund is a necessity no matter what your current financial situation may be.
Why Do You Need an Emergency Fund?
Why do you need an emergency fund (part 1) ?
As some of the readers may have noticed, my regular series “How to thrive and not just survive under $30,000 a year” has not been around for a few weeks. One of the major reasons is because of a hard financial lesson I just learned. Most of the information in my blog posts comes from my own personal experience and doing a lot of research to figure out how to run the “business” that is my family the best I can. I have always been of the opinion that you shouldn’t spend money that isn’t yours (i.e.. credit card debt). Over the years, I have learned that building credit is equally as important as paying your debts. For that reason, we have embraced using credit cards in a controlled way.Continue reading
August 10, 2016
How to Start Building an Emergency Fund?
After sharing with you about my own emergency fund needs, I am now ready to help you learn How To Start Building An Emergency Fund as soon as possible!
Last week I talked about creating an emergency fund and why it is so important. Now let’s talk about how to jump in and get started.
How much should you save? This is an easy, yet highly individual question. Depending on how out of out of debt you already are and what the job market is in your field and area. Generally I would say 3-6 months is a safe bet, but 6-9 is probably best. Take a hard look at your budget and decide what your needs in an emergency savings fund. What could you drop? What would be added in? Now figure out how many months you are saving and start planning! For our family, we have to repay our “emergency” emergency loan from family first, then start in on building a future fund so we aren’t stuck again.
How to Start Building an Emergency Fund?
August 1, 2016
Frugal Back to School Shopping Ideas
Frugal Back to School Shopping Ideas
Back to school shopping frugally
Right now you may be wondering why it is important to start thinking now about next years start of the school year, but if you’re thinking frugally, you already know the answer. Buying during sales cycles always save you money. I purchase a lot of supplies for the next school year well in advance. The only things I don’t purchase in advance are our backpacks and lunch boxes (if you have kids you know how quickly their opinion on those things change). Pencils, hand sanitizer, and filler paper never change.
Frugal Back to School Shopping Ideas
What to buy and when-
January:
This is a good time year to stock up on things like disinfecting wipes, Kleenex, and cold remedies because it is after cold and flu. It is also good time to check out after Christmas special sales in hopes of finding things like pencils and craft supplies very cheap.
February:
After Valentine’s Day sales will be a good time to also stock up on things like pencils, markers, crayons, and stickers.
March:
This is a good time to pick up things like Ziploc bags and storage containers because spring cleaning is in full effect.
April:
This would be a good month to find things that are reusable and/or biodegradable because of it’s proximity to Earth Day. Also, after Easter sales are going to provide plenty of opportunities to find supplies as well.
May:
Between Mother’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, and Memorial Day there will be plenty of themed items that will go on sale after holidays. In particular, look out for lots of snack items that can be used in lunches in the fall (fruit gummies, granola bars, chips, and cookie packs).
June:
After Father’s Day you will find a lot of deals on office supplies. Otherwise, not many of the sales will apply to back-to-school.
July:
This is when you will start to see a lot of the traditional back-to-school sales starting. Start keeping an eye out for coupons that can be used next month to coincide with the sales.
August:
This is when the sales should be starting in full force. You’ll be able to find a lot of the clearance sales starting at the end of this month because believe it or not, most retailers are starting to look toward Halloween. This is a great time to stock up for the following year.
September:
This is a great time of year to stock up on breakfast items. Also, this is when the last of the school supplies will be on clearance for the best prices. There will not be much selection, but you can definitely get the most amazing deals.
October:
Because Halloween is a big time to buy things in bulk to hand out as treats, you can often find snack packs a really great deals during Halloween sales. Also the last of the summer clearance items will be at their rock-bottom prices during this month.
November:
As the holidays are getting into full swing, so is Black Friday. This would be a good time to look for electronics for the upcoming school year. Laptops and calculators will be at their cheapest.
Click on the image above to print this back to school shopping list
I know back-to-school time can be overwhelming for a lot of reasons, but preparedness will help it from getting out of control and breaking too much in your budget. There is no reason to break The bank I’m back to school supplies if you plan ahead.
Read part 1 of Angie’s Living on $30,000 Best Frugal Tips on Thriving and (not just surviving) on $30,000 a year!
Part 2 – Basic Home Budgeting
Part 3 – How to Budget Monthly Finances Wisely
Part 4 – How to Not Spend Money
Part 5 – Smart Money Saving Tips to Control Your Debt
Part 6 – Money Management Skill
Part 7 – Why Couples Should Talk About Money?
How to Use Your Tax Refund to Build Wealth
How to Manage Food Budget for Family?
Angie Rumpf
I am a stay at home mom and happily married to my husband Tom. I have a five year old daughter and a two and a half year old son. I grew up in Orlando, but went to school in New York City and lived in Los Angeles before moving home to raise a family. I have worked in the film industry since the early nineties, and for over a decade with the Florida Film Festival. I also spent many years working in marketing with Glaceau and Honest Tea. But, I am happiest at home building my family.
For more Best Frugal Tips, read these:
How to get rich in 5 minutes a day
Frugal Ways to Save Money: Getting Out of Debts
How to Save Up Money: Tips for Living on $30000 or Less
July 1, 2016
Hosting a Cookout on a Budget
Hosting a Cookout on a Budget
rong>Hosting a Cookout on a Budget-I love that the weather it’s starting to get warm, that means it’s time for flip flops, swimming, and cookouts! What is better than rounding up some friends and throwing some burgers on the grill? Nothing! You get to enjoy being outside in the fresh air, and the clean up is much easier! Cookouts are a great way to spend your summer days, and here are some tips for hosting a cookout on a budget to make it even better!