Something I learned early on, while working on a frugal lifestyle, is to plan ahead. It is the only sure fire method to ensure you are actually going to save money on everything you do. Planning ahead is the ticket to see whats in the future. Making lists, creating budgets and using coupons and shopping at sales are only a small piece of the overall puzzle. Planning ahead is the key.
Meals
Meal planning, which is planning ahead for meals, ensures that you spend only what you have set your mind to spend on food. Knowing what you will prepare each night, saves you time, energy and most of all – your hard earned cash because you are not purchasing things that you will not use.
Gift Giving
Having gifts on hand that have been purchased throughout the year is planning ahead. It means that you saw an opportunity to save, and you will not enter panic mode when the birthday or holiday occurs. We are always adding to our gift closet and we rarely have to purchase much before a special event.
Clothing and Accessories
Knowing when clothing will be discounted is the key to purchasing and saving money. Off season sales can be amazing. I just bought four pairs of women’s shorts at a department store for $4.50 each and they are really nice! I will still be the same size next year (maybe even thinner) so they will fit and I’m not worried. Children can be another issue, but if your children have been steady growers, you should have no problem estimating the size they will be the following summer or fall or winter. Not to mention, that even on the clearance racks at several stores recently, I have noticed tons of long sleeve shirts and pants. It’s not “off season” for those clothes, so you just have to be an aware shopper.
Seasonal Items
Purchasing them at the end of the season is always the best method, with the exception of school supplies. Stock up during the school supply stores and get what you can. We purchased 24 packs of crayons recently for .09 each. We wound up buying about 30 of them because they were worth it and we will have them for next year too. Same with glue sticks, glue, paper and other items. Christmas items are always discounted the day after Christmas and you can stock up for the following year either for yourself or for gift giving needs. Just avoid things with the date on them.
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