There are plenty of money traps out there, but some are far more significant that others. Two biggies to watch out for include:

Assuming you’ll always be a two income family and not planning for survival as a one income family:

SO many things can happen to a two income family. Couples break up – yes even when you don’t see it coming, people get sick and can’t work, people get pregnant and make a decision not to work, layoffs occur, and sadly sometimes the worst happens and one of a couple dies. The problem is that too few people plan for one income living, when they should be planning now.

You should ALWAYS have a good emergency plan in place that includes many months of expenses saved up, life insurance in place for both mothers and fathers, and a general idea of what you could do to make more money or cut expenses should the worst happen. It’s not fun to think about this stuff, but if something does happen you’ll be glad you did.

Not being prepared for a medical emergency or crisis:

In general, most families are luckily healthy and doctor visits involve basic care only. However, if someone in your family did get seriously sick or injured could you afford it? Research out of Harvard found that 62% of all personal bankruptcies in the U.S. in 2007 were caused by health problems—and 78% of those filers had insurance. This partially plays into the trap above, not planning for one income, but there are other issues at stake as well.

If you want to manage medical emergencies you should splurge on health insurance above almost all else. Yes it can cost more on an on-going basis, but should something happen you’ll be super glad you did buy lots of insurance. However, it’s not enough to simply buy more health insurance, you also need to really read the fine print and choose plans that are right for your family.  You also should consider disability insurance so you’re protected ongoing should you be hurt and unable to work. Additionally prevention is one of the cheapest solution here. Stay healthy, exercise, eat well, and be smart – i.e. don’t drive drunk.

[image via stock.xchng]

Many of you will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner at your house this year. It doesn’t take long to figure out that this feast can break your food budget.  Here are some tips to help you to spend less and hang on to that money for upcoming Christmas expenses.

Prepare the foods yourself.  Don’t go out to the ham store and order a precooked ham or turkey.  I’ve heard of some people paying $30-40 for a precooked ham.  Yikes!
Shop the pre-Thanksgiving sales.  Some stores offer tremendous weekly specials to lure you in.  Look for buy 1 get 1 free specials on vegetables, …read more

Christmas is not only overly expensive but can be totally stressful too. In fact the issues usually go hand in hand. Really it’s time to end this stressful holiday nonsense and get back to holiday celebrations that actually matter and that are actually fun, don’t you think? Here are some ideas to cut your budget and your stress level this Christmas…

Stay put: Holiday travel is more expensive than traveling at other times of the year and bonus, it’s hyper stressful with long lines, crowds, and layovers due to nasty winter weather. Stay put. Call your family on the holidays to …read more

Sunday I attended a baby shower and they had some really cute pacifier favors and pink confetti decorating the table.  I thought the pacifier favors were so cute (and inexpensive) that I had to share them with you.  These are made using white peppermint lifesavers, mini jelly beans, melted white chocolate, and ribbon. 

Directions:

Unwrap your peppermint lifesavers and set aside.
Precut your ribbon and set aside. (You can use your craft store coupons to save money on ribbon.)  The ribbon should be about four inches long. 
Melt the chocolate.  Put a little dab of melted chocolate in the center of some of the peppermints.  …read more

There are more than 200 known diseases that are transmitted through food. The CDC reports that in the U.S. alone that “Foodborne diseases have been estimated to cause 6 million to 81 million illnesses and up to 9,000 deaths each year.” Many illnesses caused by food are the result of poor food handling which is likely to happen around the holidays when people are cooking new dishes they’re unfamiliar with and especially because they’re cooking large turkeys.

Not only are foodborne illnesses serious from a medical standpoint, but they take time away from your family, and can create costly medical bills. …read more

Your toilet is useful for sure, but if it has issue, and you’re not a renter with a handy paid for maintenance crew, your toilet can cost you big time. Don’t let the toilet get your down. Try the following…

Check for leaks: Although you hear horror stories about leaks, unless they’re insane leaks, they don’t cost you that much in cash. However, wasting water is never cool, not from a green-minded or budget minded standpoint so checking for leaks is smart. A major reason to look for leaks is because one little leak may be part of a larger, more …read more

Triple coupons started today at Harris Teeter.  This is an exciting time for couponers.  It’s a time to stock up on free or almost free groceries.  It’s a great way to feed our families, reduce our budgets, or use the money saved for another purchase. 
My coupon binder is so unorganized right now.  I haven’t clipped coupons in about a month.  This morning I spent about 30 minutes looking through coupons and clipping coupons.  Not a bad investment of time for the money saved.
Here’s a look at what I got today.  I spent about $21 but saved around $53.  That’s a savings …read more

We’ve officially been in our new home for two months now.  We’re pretty settled and it feels like home, however, we’re still working on finding a place for everything.  Today I tweeted saying, “Putting away more stuff and organizing a little more.  Will we ever be totally unpacked?”.
Finding a place for everything is definitely a challenge.  Another challenge we have faced is affording the organization supplies that we need. Here are some tips for saving.

1)  Plan out your purchases.  This month we bought closet organizers.  Next month, I’m hoping to purchase some shelving for one of the closets.  An extra …read more

No matter how you slice it, re-gifting is always a tricky topic. Some folks are super gung-ho to re-gift when necessary, others find it terribly tacky, and some people think it’s downright evil.
I however, do not think re-gifting is evil or even slightly bad. WHY hold onto something you’ll never, ever use? Why not give it to someone else who may like it. What’s evil is having all sorts of junk around your house just because you think you’ll hurt someone’s feelings or because you feel obligated to hold onto stuff. That said, one fun activity you can plan …read more

I can’t help but confess that I feel a bit hypocritical writing this post.  It’s because my inbox is always so filled with emails.  Right now I have over 700 emails.  Some days I think I need a secretary.  Since I can’t afford a secretary, I’ve decided I need to do some things to get a handle on all this inbox clutter.  It is time consuming and it needs to stop.  Here’s a few tips I have thought of to simplify our lives and receive less emails.

1)  Unsubscribe from unsolicited newsletters.  Somehow I am receiving several newsletters that I am …read more