Category: Save Money

raincheck

What’s the Heck is a Raincheck?

Posted on by kaitlyntessmer

How many times has this scenario happened to you? You’re all ready to go shopping, see a great deal on a store’s website or were mailed a great promotional offer. You get in your car, head to the store to purchase the item that is on a great sale, only to find it’s sold out. As a bargain hunter, that happens to me more often than you would expect. It’s annoying, it’s frustrating, and a pain in the hiney! The next time you walk into a store and an item on sale is completely sold out, ask for a raincheck.

What is a Raincheck?

A raincheck is a store’s version of an I Owe You (IOU). If an item is advertised at a discounted price and sold out, you don’t have to leave the store empty-handed. You can find a store employee or store manager and ask for a raincheck. The raincheck will allow you to purchase the item at the discounted price once the item comes back into stock.

How Do I Get a Raincheck?

This happened to me earlier this week. I was shopping at my local Sprouts Farmers Market and saw that almond milk was on sale for $1.99. A great deal! When I went back to the milk section to the store only to find they were completely sold out. Bummer! After asking an employee if they had any more in the back, I was disappointed to find they were completely sold out. As I was checking out I asked the cashier for a raincheck. Without hesitation, he wrote one up for me. The next time I’m at Sprouts I’ll be able to snag my discounted almond milk.

Do Stores Have to Give Me a Raincheck?

The short answer is, it depends. Some states require retailers to provide rainchecks for sold out items. Those states require stores to “make good” on advertised offers. Other states do not have the same consumer protection. A store can also say in the ad that there are limited quantities or that rainchecks are not allowed. During the holiday season, when items are severely discounted, stores will often not allow rainchecks. So if you’re trying to score a great deal on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, you’ll want to shop early before supplies run out.

Raincheck Alternatives

Depending on a store’s policy you may be able to purchase a comparable item at the sale price. This happened to me a few months ago. For those of you that have Safeway grocery stores nearby, you’re probably aware of Safeway’s Monopoly promotion. Every spring Safeway allows customers to earn Monopoly tickets for purchasing groceries.

Many of the Monopoly tickets have coupons for free items. This spring I received coupons for free salt, donuts, french baguettes, grocery bags, facial tissue, etc. All of the coupons expire on the same day. I can say from personal experience that the day the coupons expire is pure chaos. I’ve never seen more people at Safeway on the day the Monopoly coupons expire. Needless to say, because many people receive the same coupons and they expire on the same day the store looks like it’s been ransacked. The shelves are completely empty of the coupon items.

Instead of asking for a raincheck, I simply asked if I could get redeem my coupons for items of similar quality. Instead of getting a french baguette (which was completely sold out) I grabbed a sourdough loaf. Instead of regular grocery bags, I snagged bathroom sized grocery bags. Instead of a donut, I got a bagel.

Getting a Raincheck Alternative

The easiest way to score a raincheck or raincheck alternative is to ask. Just ask. Ask a store employee or manager and oftentimes (if you’re nice) they’ll grant your wish. Don’t be a jerk, don’t be rude, and don’t act entitled. If you’re polite and apologetic, more times than not your raincheck or raincheck alternative will be given to you.

P.S. If you’re looking for other ways to save money online, check out my abandoned shopping cart trick.

 

Consumer Reports Study

2 Things to ALWAYS Buy Generic

Posted on by kaitlyntessmer

Generic vs Brand Name

Ahhh the age-old brand vs generic argument. If you’re trying to save money, you need to consider buying generic items.

If you’re looking to save money at the grocery store or save money at the pharmacy you need to start buying store brand items. Store brand food will save you 30% on average. Store brand medicine, like CVS brand, Rite Aid brand or Walgreens brand pain reliever, or acid reflux medicine, will save you 36% on average. But here’s the real kicker, when it comes to prescription drugs, you will save the most money choosing the generic alternative. In fact, generic prescription drugs are, on average, 80% cheaper than brand name medicine. So if you have a monthly prescription to refill, ask your doctor if you can switch over to the generic version.

Generic vs Brand Name Drugs

Consumer Reports Study

A recent Consumer Report study of 24,000 people who compared store brand and brand name items found that 78% of people came to the conclusion that store brand items are of equal quality. The crazy thing is that most of us don’t buy store brand items. Why? Big name brands that spend millions of dollars annually have convinced us that generic items are not as good as brand name. But the recent Consumer Report study just proved us all wrong.

Scroll down to check out the top 5 items you should buy generic.

Krazy Koupon Lady Generic vs Brand

What to Buy Generic

Choosing generic staples like store brand pasta and beans will save you a lot of money at the grocery store. Choosing generic medicine, like generic Benedryl, will save you about 36% at the pharmacy. And choosing generic prescription drugs will end up saving you major money in the short and long term.

Store Brand Foods

As previously mentioned, store brand staples are some of the best ways to save money at the grocery store. If you’re loyal to brand name items, start small. Start by purchasing store brand staples. When you buy generic staples you don’t sacrifice quality or taste but end up saving yourself serious cash.

Frozen Fruits and Vegetables

Frozen fruits and vegetables are some of the best things to buy generic. Because frozen fruits and vegetables are single ingredient foods, you won’t notice a difference between their brand name counterparts. In fact, it’s likely that the store brand items are picked at the same farms and processed at the same factory as the brand name fruits and veggies. When it comes to frozen fruits and veggies when you choose the brand name items you’re paying extra for the marketing and fancy packaging.

Dry and Canned Beans

Similar to frozen fruits and vegetables, dry and canned beans include very few ingredients. Buying the grocery store’s brand of dry and canned beans is going to save you money and you won’t even notice the difference.

Flour, Oats & Sugar

Splurging for brand name staples like flour, oats, and sugar won’t make your baked goods taste any better. In fact, NPR did a study looking at the items that professionals buy generic. According to the study, professional chefs and bakers are more likely to purchase store brand. In fact, they found that the professionals favored generic flour, oats, and sugar.

Generic vs Brand Name Beans

Store Brand Medicine

Store brand medicines have the same active ingredients as brand names. In fact, the FDA requires non-brand name medicines to contain the exact same active ingredients in the exact same quantity of the brand names. The only difference is the inactive ingredients. Inactive ingredients include the colors, flavors, and fillers. AKA: things that don’t matter. So next time you’re at CVS, skip the Tylenol and Pepto Bismol and go with the store brand.

On that note, if your doctor allows it, choose generic prescription medicine at the pharmacy. On average, generic prescription drugs are 80% cheaper than the brand name options. Again, check with your doctor. But if your doctor gives you the OK, switch over to the generic version and keep more of your hard earned money in your pocket.

Check out this video to learn more from the FDA about generic drugs.

CVS Brand Generic Medicine

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking to save money, one of the easiest ways is to stop buying brand name items. Now, bear in mind, not all items are made equal. However, when it comes to staples, like pasta, beans, and baking ingredients, you won’t even notice a difference when you switch to the store brand. At the pharmacy, you should always go with the store brand, if your doctor gives you the OK. Generic drugs have the exact same active ingredients, which means they’ll be just as effective as their brand name counterparts.

If you’re looking for other ways to save at the grocery store, check out how I use grocery store apps to my advantage.

 

 

Never pay full price at gap

Never Pay Full Price at Gap

Posted on by kaitlyntessmer

Being the Frugal Millennial, I don’t really enjoy shopping. In fact, I’m convinced that I’m actually allergic to shopping for clothes. I get really hot, stressed, overwhelmed, and itchy when I need to shop for clothes. My attention span for shopping never lasts more than an hour. Although I often have an adverse reaction to trying and spending money on clothes, I don’t live in a nudist colony and do have to do it occasionally.

A Former Gap Employee

One thing you may not know about me is that I’m actually really good at shopping. I’m a bargain hunter and know when and where to find the best deals. Before I was the Frugal Millennial, I was just a broke college student. During my time attending the University of Wisconsin (Go Badgers!) I worked for Gap, which is also associated with Old Navy and Banana Republic. My year and a half with Gap Inc. taught me an important life lesson: NEVER PAY FULL PRICE FOR CLOTHES.

So often would I see people come into the store, drop a few hundred dollars on clothes and walk out having paid full price. The next week, I would be in the back marking the $50 dress they purchased down to $30. It blew my mind how many people would walk in, pick clothes off the rack and pay full price. I always thought to myself, “don’t these people know if they just wait a few weeks all of these clothes will be marked down?”

Gap Discount 50% Off

The Gap Discount Cycle

Every few weeks Gap goes through a discount cycle. Discounts range anywhere from 10% all the way up to 70% off. Knowing when to shop is key to finding the best deal.

National Sales

Every major (and often minor) holiday is a reason for Gap to have a sale. Labor Day, 4th of July, Columbus Day, Founder’s Day; you name it, Gap has probably already planned a discount around it. The best sale is of the year is during Thanksgiving season. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are going to be the best deals you will find. These deals often offer EVERYTHING in the store 50-60% off. This is a great time to stock up on jeans and outerwear, which are often the most expensive items in the store.

Every 3-4 months Gap has a sale offering 40% off the entire store. This is the second-best time of the year to stock up on merchandise. If you see a sign, for 25% off, know that if you’re patient and willing to wait, in a few weeks that discount will increase to 40%.

Local Sales

Each store manager has the opportunity to call the shots and offer local sales. Local sales aren’t as flashy as the national sales and may be harder to plan for. If a store has a lot of items on its sale rack that aren’t moving, the store manager can offer up to an additional 50% off sale items. Think about that for a second, you can get an extra 50% off already marked down items. I loved shopping the sale racks during the local sale. In fact, all of my everyday t-shirts are from Gap and I never paid more than $5 for them. I have to say, I’m going on 8 years with them and they’re still holding up well. These t-shirts typically retail for $20 full price, but by strategically shopping the sale rack, I saved a bundle!

Always Save on Jeans

Whenever you shop at Gap, save your receipt. If you go online and fill out the survey you will receive a coupon code for 20% off one full priced item. Because jeans are sometimes excluded from sales, this is how you can always get a discount on jeans. Jeans are expensive, in fact they’re one of Gap’s most expensive items, saving 20% is going to go a long way.

Gap Survey Discount

Gap Discounts in a Nutshell

The average American family spends $1,700 per year on clothes. By shopping strategically and waiting for the best sales, you can easily spend less than $1,000 per year on clothes. Knowing when to stock up and when to wait is going to save you a lot of money over the course of the year. Don’t be fooled, Gap can afford to discount their clothes by 50% because they are marked up at least that much. GAP’s markup is probably about 70% which means if you’re paying full price, you’re getting ripped off. Be patient and wait for a sale. I know I would love an extra $700 per year back in my pocket.

P.S. If you prefer shopping online, check out my Abandoned Shopping Cart trick to always score a deal.

Compound Interest Explained

Posted on by kaitlyntessmer

The other day I was taking a look at my retirement accounts and was shocked at what I had found. The amount of money I had in my retirement accounts was way more than what I had originally invested. This got me to thinking about the power of compound interest and why it is so important for Millennials. If you work hard to invest when you’re in your early 20s, the payback will be tenfold.

Simple Interest

To understand compound interest you must first understand simple interest. Let me give you an example of simple interest to help me explain.

Simple Interest

Let’s say you deposit $10,000 into a savings account. First of all, good for you! You’ve worked hard and saved $10,000, that’s a big step right there! If you chose a credit union or online bank, like Ally, you are probably earning 1% interest on that account each year. That means every year your $10,000 will earn 1% or $100. After 3 years your initial $10,000 investment has turned into $10,300. Pretty good, right? Let’s take a look at what would happen if you had invested that $10,000 into a mutual fund with compound interest.

Compound Interest

Compound interest is the interest an investor earns on her original investment plus all the interest earned on the interest that has accumulated over time. Woah! What does that even mean? You can think of compound interest as interest on interest. It creates a mathematical explosion.

Let’s say you take your same $10,000 investment and instead of parking it in a bank you decide it into a low performing mutual fund that earns 1% interest compounded annually. Side note: most mutual finds earn way more than 1%. In fact, you have to look really hard to find such a low performing mutual fund. I digress…You still earn 1% interest but that interest is compounded annually. How does that change your total at the end of 3 years?

Compound Interest

After the first year, you earn the same $100 which brings your total investment to $10,100 at the end of year one. The second year you don’t just earn 1% on your original $10,000 investment, instead, you earn 1% on your new $10,100 total. At the end of year two, your total is $10,201. The third year your total investment compounds again. Your $10,201 earns another 1% and your new total is $10,303.01.
I get it, in this basic example, the difference in money at the end of 3 years isn’t very much. With compound interest, you would have earned an extra $3.01. Not a huge deal. But what if we look at the effects of compound interest in terms of retirement?

How Compound Interest Affects Retirement

The longer your money has the opportunity to compound, the greater the effect will be. If you start contributing to your retirement at the age of 25 keep that money invested until the age of 65 you will be blown away at the results.

Simple vs Compound Interest

Simple Interest and Retirement

Let’s say on your 25th birthday your parents gift you $10,000. My, what generous parents you have! You decide to plop that $10,000 gift into an account that earns 10% interest. Unfortunately, you didn’t do your research and the interest isn’t compounded, womp womp. After 40 years you decide to take a look at that account to see the value of your investment. Your initial $10,000 investment has turned into $50,000. That’s a pretty nice birthday gift, mom and dad.

Compound Interest and Retirement

But what would happen if you invested that $10,000 gift into an account with compound interest? Good question, I’m glad you asked! Let’s take the $10,000 your parents gave you and invest it into an account with compound interest. Hold on tight, I promise you will be blown away by the results. Your original $10,000 investment at the age of 25 will have turned into $452,592.56 by the time you are 65.

That is the magic of compound interest, my friends. Even if you never invested another penny into your retirement account you will still retire with nearly half a million dollars. You did nothing except leave that money in a well-chosen account. You never touched the money for 40 years and it has rewarded you by growing exponentially.

The Importance of Investing Consistently

If you have a large pile of cash laying around or you have generous parents who are able to gift you large piles of money, the example above is perfect for you. You are fortunate enough to take your large sum of money, put it in a good investment account and watch it grow.

The rest of us need to invest consistently. If you invest $200 per month between the age of 25 and 65 you will retire a millionaire. You read that right. If you invest $200 per month over the course of 40 years, you will end up with $1.16 million dollars. 

Don’t Have Extra Money to Invest?

If you’re strapped for cash and don’t have an extra $200 per month lying around, let’s take a step back. In fact, let’s break down the numbers. $200 per month is $6.67 a day. How often do you go out to lunch? Do you stop by Starbucks every day? What about Happy Hour, how many days a week do you meet your friends for half priced drinks and appetizers? Somewhere in your budget, you can find a place to squeeze $6.67 a day into your retirement account.

If you’re looking for a way to invest $200 per month into your retirement account and just can’t find a way to make the numbers work, adjust your budget. I use a 7 category budget to help me stay on track. By using tools like Mint and EveryDollar, I am able to easily track my spending and keep it in check.

 

1800 Contacts Shopping Cart

Abandoned Shopping Cart Discount

Posted on by kaitlyntessmer

Online shopping is revolutionizing the retail industry. Now, more than ever, consumers are turning to their laptops to make purchasing decisions. With retailers aware that their brick and mortar stores and USPS mailed coupons are having less of an impact on consumers, they are looking for other ways to stake their claim in the industry. As consumers, you and I are always looking for ways to save money. This is where the concept of online shopping cart abandonment comes into play.

What is Shopping Cart Abandonment?

Every time you go to a retail website and decide you want to purchase a product the first step you take is adding it to your cart. Your online cart serves the same purpose that a physical shopping cart would in the real world. As you continue to shop online you add more and more items to your shopping cart. Just as you would if you were walking through a store and placing more items in your real shopping cart.

Let’s say you’re doing some online shopping at work. Oops! Your boss walks over and you quickly close all of your tabs to avoid having him see what you’re “working on”. You’ve just abandoned your shopping cart. You fully intend to return to online shopping when he walks away but he gives you a giant project with an unrealistic deadline and you are forced to forget about your shopping cart.

How This Affects Retailers

Your boss’s interruption is a huge problem for retailers. In fact, a recent study showed that over 67% of online shopping carts are abandoned. That’s right, for every 100 online shoppers a store has, 67 of them decide they don’t want to make their purchase immediately. Online retailers are losing trillions of dollars each year because you and I forget we put items in our virtual shopping carts.

So, what are retailers doing to try and keep people from abandoning their shopping carts?

Email Recovery Campaigns

As a consumer, email recovery campaigns are going to become your new best friend. Knowing that most consumers abandon their cart before completing their purchase, companies have come up with ways to get you back to their website to complete your purchase. If the company has your email address, they can send you targeted email campaigns encouraging you to complete your purchase. Often times these campaigns include coupons for you. I’ve seen coupons ranging from free delivery to 50% off your purchase.

The Longer Your Cart is Empty, The More You Can Save

Recently, I discovered an online resume building service. Intrigued by what they had to offer, I decided to take a look around their website, and add a package to my cart. Not quite ready to pull the trigger and go through with my purchase, I abandoned my cart. The images below show their abandoned cart email campaign.

Immediately after I abandoned my cart: No discount

Shopping Cart Abandonment Email 1

One Week after I abandoned my cart: 25% off

Shopping Cart Abandonment Email 2

Two Weeks after I abandoned my cart: 35% off

Shopping Cart Abandonment Email 3

There you have it, had I not waited, and just gone through with my purchase immediately, I would have spent an extra 35%. Which, in this case, would have been an extra $100. Having patience and waiting it out saved me some serious money!

Where Shopping Cart Abandonment Works Best

As you’ve probably guessed, abandoning your shopping cart doesn’t work all of the time. There are certain companies, or rather, certain types of retailers with which this shopping trick works best. Because every store has their own marketing strategy, some companies offer bigger discounts than others.

The Amazon Effect

Stores that have to compete with Amazon are going to have a higher chance of offering an abandoned cart discount. Think about it, if you can get anything you want on Amazon, why would you buy it anywhere else? Because you can find a discount! Consumers and businesses alike know that Amazon rarely, if ever, offers discounts. What does that mean for you? At this point, don’t expect to see any discounts in your inbox from your abandoned Amazon cart.

Consumers and businesses alike know that Amazon rarely, if ever, offers discounts. What does that mean for you? Don’t expect to see any discounts in your inbox from your abandoned Amazon cart. But do use your knowledge of Amazon’s impact on retail to your advantage. If a brand is losing more of their market share to Amazon, there’s a good chance they will do everything in their power to keep you as a customer. Often, that means you can expect abandoned cart discounts.

Which stores (Reportedly) Offer Recovery Email Discounts?

Keep in mind, companies are constantly adjusting their marketing strategies. This is, by no means, a comprehensive, or 100% accurate list. However, according to Reddit, these stores have, at some point, experimented with recovery email campaigns.

Best Buy

Home Depot

Zappos

ThinkGeek

Levis

Coastal

Discounts for New Customers Only

Some retailers only offer recovery email discounts to new customers. So, if you’ve shopped with a company before, you probably shouldn’t expect to see an abandoned shopping cart discount. But, as with everything, this isn’t a hard and fast rule. So try it out with a company you frequently shop, you never know when they’ll send you a discount code.

Other Ways to Save Online

If you don’t receive an abandoned shopping cart email discount, there are other ways to save online. My favorite Google Chrome extension is Honey. I’ve saved hundreds of dollars this year alone by using Honey. Honey searches the web for online coupon codes and automatically tries them all so that you can easily score the best deal online.

Not only do you save money immediately with coupon codes. Honey also gives you cash back for every purchase. Just today I redeemed a $10 Amazon Gift Card from Honey because I’ve earned that much in cash back. Check my review for more information on how I use Honey to my advantage.

Be sure to comment below if you’ve ever received an abandoned shopping cart email discount. How much was it for? What company? How long did you wait before you received it?

MoviePass Why It’s Worth $9.95

Posted on by kaitlyntessmer

Calling all Millennials! By now you’ve probably seen many Facebook posts and articles talking about MoviePass, the Netflix of movie theaters. If you’re a  movie lover who is strapped for cash, you need to jump on the MoviePass bandwagon.

Example of a MoviePass card and the MoviePass app

What is MoviePass?

MoviePass was founded in 2011 and was originally designed as a voucher system. Customers could print a voucher at their house and exchange it at participating cinemas to see a movie. The downside to this voucher system was that it was time-consuming and inefficient. So a year later, after many complaints, the company launched a mobile app and prepaid card which could be used at any theater that accepted major credit cards.

Fast forward to 2016, founding Netflix team member and former President and COO of Redbox, Mitch Lowe was named CEO of MoviePass. Since his takeover in 2016, Lowe has tried various pricing models ranging from $20 per month to $100 per month for unlimited movie screenings. Just recently, he slashed prices to $9.95 per month and customers are jumping on board to grab their pass before prices rise.

Which Theaters Can I go to?

According to the company’s website, the pass is accepted at 4,000 theaters or about 91% of theaters in the country. After you subscribe to the service you can see which of your local theaters accept the pass. Although, the fact that you aren’t able to see a list of local theaters before you pay for the monthly subscription has many people upset.

One Reddit user is working to help potential customers find their local theaters by creating a searchable database. However, due to the high volume of people trying to this free resource, the site is often running slow and crashing.

Image of an empty movie theater

Paying for the Monthly Subscription

The great benefit of using MoviePass is that there is not a long commitment. You don’t need to sign a yearly contract and there are no early termination fees. In fact, aside from the $9.95 price, the second greatest benefit is that you can cancel at any time.

AMC Controversy

MoviePass is revolutionizing the film industry. With remarkably low prices and easy to use service, theaters should expect to see more traffic in the upcoming months. Unfortunately, not all movie theaters are happy with the monthly subscription service. In fact, AMC has threatened to sue the company. The conflict between AMC and MoviePass has been longstanding since its founding in 2011. While you can still use your Moviepass card at AMC theaters, AMC is looking into ways to prevent customers from using the service.

As for now, we’ll just have to sit back, grab a bucket of popcorn, and see how this story unfolds. Plus, check out my MoviePass experience, to hear what I think of using the affordable monthly subscription. 

Top 3 Apps to Save Money on Flights

Posted on by kaitlyntessmer

And as we all know, holidays can be some of the most expensive times to travel so using apps with algorithms that have figured out airlines pricing schedules are really going to help you save, especially during those high traffic times, like holidays. No longer do you have to spend your precious time comparing airline to airline hoping you find the best deal. These 3 apps will make sure you save major money on your next flight.

Hopper

So the first app that I always use when I’m looking to book travel is the Hopper app. The Hopper app has actually figured out the airline algorithm for pricing tickets. Hopper will tell you when to wait or buy your tickets.

Log in to the app, type in where you are traveling from and where you want to go, the dates, and then from there, you can set an alert to let you know when prices are going to go up or down. Easy as that. You don’t have to check flight every day and manually see when prices are going up or down, hopper takes care of that for you.

With Hopper, you can even exclude flight routes that have long layovers, Basic Economy fares or choose to only receive alerts for nonstop flights. You can even see how much of a difference you would end up paying for a nonstop route vs. a route with stops.

I get alerts from Hopper every day for my upcoming trips that I’m going to book and it lets me know when it’s time for me to book my ticket. I actually just came back from Cancun a couple of weeks ago and scored an awesome deal on nonstop flights to Cancun. I ended up saving about $300 on them by setting an alert on the Hopper app to let me know when the prices were going to drop.

Hopper is by far my favorite app for booking travel way in advance. I would recommend downloading it right away and setting alerts for your holiday travel now so that you can score the best deal on Thanksgiving and Christmas flights. According to Hopper, I should purchase my Christmas tickets in the next few weeks.

SkipLagged

My second favorite app that I always use when Iook to travel is the SkipLagged app. If you’re willing to live on the edge, travel light (just a carry-on) and buy separate one-way tickets, you NEED to check out SkipLagged.

SkipLagged uses a little trick the airline industry calls “hidden city ticketing”. Hidden city ticketing is an airline loophole where you buy a ticket and instead of going to the end destination, you get off the plane and exit the airport at the layover city. This is completely legal but airlines hate this loophole, for obvious reasons.

To give you a better example, let’s say you want to go from San Francisco to
Los Angeles. You look at ticket prices and see that flights are $200. You check SkipLagged and see that a trip from San Francisco to San Diego with a layover in Los Angles is only $100. With SkipLagged you would book that San Francisco to San Diego route and instead of switching planes in Los Angles, you would just walk out of the airport.

A couple of things to keep in mind when booking with SkipLagged, these warnings are directly from SkipLagged’s website and they ensure that you have read them and agree to the terms before completing your booking.

  • You have to pack light which means only bringing a carry-on. Remember, you’re not actually going to your final destination, only your layover city. If you check your bag, it’ll end up in your final destination, not your layover destination.
  • You have to book a one-way ticket. Airlines have the right to cancel your return trip if they find out that you didn’t actually go to your final destination. If you will need round-trip tickets and still want to use SkipLagged, buy two separate one-way tickets.

Skyscanner

My third favorite app is the Skyscanner app. A lot of people have heard of Skyscanner, it’s a really great database of airline tickets and like all other websites airline search databases, you type in where you’re coming from, where you’re going, and the dates. And with that, if you have specific flights that you want to take, you can set alerts from there and it will alert you when the price of that ticket is either going to rise of drop so you know exactly you should buy.

The best feature of the Skyscanner app is the “anywhere” feature. If you love to travel for the sake of visiting new places and don’t have a preference of where you want to go check out the “anywhere” feature of Skyscanner’s app. This feature will show you the best domestic and international deals available right now. Check it out and indulge your inner wanderlust.

Shop Your Closet & Save Money

Posted on by kaitlyntessmer

In 1930 the average American woman owned 9 outfits. Today, that number has increased to 30 outfits. And yet, how is it that we women can have a closet full of clothes but never have anything to wear? Today I’m going to show you how to shop your closet to save money and never again say “I have nothing to wear.”

Organize your Closet

First things first, you need to organize your closet. That means taking out all of your clothes, shoes, bags, and anything else that’s hiding in there. By taking everything out you will be able to thoroughly clean out your closet. Once it is empty and wiped down, come up with a plan for how you would like it organized. I prefer to organize mine by type: Dresses together, shirts together, jackets together, and pants together. Then within each type, I organize by color. For example, all of my little black dresses are together and next to my gray dresses which are next to my white dresses. This makes it easy to see what my options are, it also helps to make your closet look put together.

Out of season = Out of closet

When you go through your closet, get rid of all of your clothes that are not in season. If it’s summer, pack up all of your winter hats and coats until you will need them. This will free up a lot of space in your closet and not only to help declutter the physical space, but also space in your mind so that you can plan out unique outfit combinations.

Keep your shoe boxes

Before you go and throw everything away, stop and save your old shoe boxes! They are a great way to store shoes that you rarely wear or small things like scarves, gloves, and chunky necklaces. This is an easy way to keep everything neat and organized in your closet.

Choosing Outfits

Choosing unique outfits is essential when you’re looking to mix up your wardrobe by shopping your closet.

Layer, layer, layer

Layering can take your outfit from drab to fab. You can easily transform an outfit by pairing it with a different jacket or sweater. Is is starting to get just a bit too chilly for skirts and dresses? Add a pair of tights and you have a totally new outfit.

A selfie a day keeps the credit card at bay

Start documenting your outfits. Take the selfie challenge and document your outfits every day for a month. Humans are creatures of habit which mean we tend to gravitate towards pieces of clothing we like, and we wear them often. Taking a photo of your outfit each day will make you more conscious of your choices and also show you what looks you like to repeat.

Flip your hangers

One of my greatest tips, that I talk about in the video above is flipping your hangers. After you’ve worn an item of clothing, flip your hanger backward. This is a visual cue which slows you down when you’re tired and on autopilot in the morning. Plus, at the end of the year, you’ll know which items of clothing you haven’t touched and you can sell or donate them to a good cause.

Grocery Store Savings

Posted on by kaitlyntessmer

Did you know that you can easily save money at the grocery store without dumpster diving for coupons (any Extreme Couponing fans out there?!) I’ve found an easy way to save money at the grocery store without the hassle of clipping coupons. Check out my tips below.

4 Ways to Always Save Money at the Grocery Store

Grocery Coupon Apps

I mentioned you wouldn’t have to dumpster dive or pull out the scissors so here me out on this one. There are so many apps out there to help you save money at the grocery store. My personal favorite is your own grocery store’s app. I typically shop at Sprouts, Safeway, and Grocery Outlet. Both Sprouts and Safeway have free apps that you can download to your phone to electronically find and clip coupons. Plus, you’re able to see their weekly ad flyers on the app, which will help you see what is on sale that week. Ibotta is another great app, you can earn money back from things you regularly purchase. You have to answer a few market research questions before you can electronically clip coupons, but the money you will save is worth the 10 seconds it takes you to answer the questions.

Shop the Perimeter of the Grocery Store

We’ve all heard dietitians tell us to shop the perimeter of the store, but did you know that not only will not buying junk food shrink your waist, but it will also shrink your grocery bill. Ever wonder why you have to walk through the entire grocery store just to grab a gallon of milk or a package of chicken? Junk food often has the highest markup, which means grocers strategically place it throughout the store. That gum and those candy bars you often grab when you’re at the register are some of the worst deals in the entire store!

Choose Generic

I know what you’re thinking, Cheetos, and Cheese Curls aren’t quite the same thing, and there’s something special about the brand name. I agree. However, there are a lot of items in which the generic and the brand name taste exactly the same. For any of your staples, i.e., beans, rice, pasta, the generic tastes exactly the same as the brand name. I’ve never heard anyone say that they can taste a difference amongst pasta brands.

Stop Buying Toiletries

I get it, paying an extra dollar or two for your shampoo and toothpaste doesn’t seem like a huge deal when you’re at the grocery store. After all, you’re paying for convenience, right? Wrong. Habits make or break a budget. While spending an extra dollar here and there may not seem like a big deal, that adds up when you’re a hundred dollars over budget. The best place to purchase your toiletries is at the drugstore. It may cost you an extra 5 minutes to run over to your nearest Walgreens, but you’ll gain peace of mind knowing you’re building money-saving habits.

Frugal Take-Aways

It’s easy to save money at the grocery store. There’s no reason you can’t cut your grocery bill in half by planning what you’re going to eat that week and sticking to meat and produce. By staying away from the center aisles and grocery store traps, you can easily keep money in your wallet.

Budgeting 101 – How to Create a Budget

Posted on by kaitlyntessmer

I think it’s safe to say no one likes to hear the B word, budgeting. In fact, when I tell people they need to create a budget 9 times out of 10 they let out a big sigh. But creating a budget is the first step towards generating wealth and becoming free and living life on your terms. Everyone needs a budget, you need a budget, I need a budget, even Congress needs a budget (although Congress balances a budget is a topic for another post), a budget is a planning tool. While a budget is an essential part of living a financially free life a lot of people are wary and wonder, “How do I create a budget”.

Budget Basics

Creating a budget doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, once you create your budget you can easily replicate it month after month. To start your budget preparation, begin tracking your monthly expenses, this will give you a baseline for how much you are spending on food, entertainment, and miscellaneous. Fortunately, things like rent, utilities, insurance, and debt are typically fixed costs which mean they don’t vary every month.

Budgeting Tips

For more budgeting tips including, how to create a budget, check out the video above. In it, I describe how I create my monthly budget which only takes me 5 minutes at the beginning of every month. A new trend in budgeting is to create both an annual budget and a monthly budget. The annual budget will help you prepare for things like birthdays, anniversaries, vacations, etc. The monthly budget will help you stay on track and not overspend on little things, that quickly add up.

Budgeting Apps

Several budgeting apps exist, the most well-known budgeting app is Mint. Mint makes it easy to budget because you link it to your bank account and viola! Your spending will automatically be tracked within the Mint app and since it is on your smartphone, you can easily access it anywhere you go. My personal favorite is the EveryDollar app, it was created by the well-known financial expert, Dave Ramsey. With the premium version, you can link it to your bank account, but I prefer the free version. With the free version, you have to manually enter in every transaction.