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How to Save Money on Your Food Bill

Saving money on groceries can be one tough task. Let's face it: you have to eat. Food ranks right up there with oxygen, but unlike air, free food is tough to come by... unless you're still living with your folks.

There are lots of things to consider when you go grocery shopping, like where to shop, what to buy, and how to budget your cash. If you want to manage to have money leftover after a trip to the market, you need to plan exactly how to use what you've got.

Having A Game Plan

Some people think budgeting is a real pain in the neck. If you're one of those people, you might want to adjust your thinking about it. You don't have to, but why not just give over? Look, you've only got one shot at this Life thing. Loosen up... smile more. (Okay, maybe you believe in reincarnation. Leave the grumps for your next life.) Have some fun with this.

Making a spending plan really is empowering. You can decide with a godlike sweep of your hand who will benefit from your pecuniary munificence. After all, you're the one holding your purse strings, right? Make it a game, like Monopoly, or use jars for different types of accounts. Think about it. The more you like money, the more money will like you.

Allocating money for utilities, housing and transportation is easier when you plan it ahead of time instead of just reacting to these needs. Groceries are no exception, food being the most important of all household commodities. Prioritize the money you invest in your daily life, and you can reduce the amount you spend without sacrificing your lifestyle. In fact, it could even improve your quality of life - including the food you eat. Here's how.

What To Buy

When you go shopping at a grocery store, in what part of the store do you shop? Most people pick out a cart, check the wheel-wobble factor, and head straight in. Where does that put you? Right smack dab in Nabiscso Central. That's right, the first thing you grab is a box of Mystic Mints, a bag of licorice and a pound of Doritos. Next you're onto the frozen pizza aisle, and then you grab a gallon of rocky road. (If you doubt me, go check your waistline.) Grocery stores plan it that way because that's where the money is, in packaged foods. Don't play their game. You're the one with the money, so you get to pick. Be smart about it.

Make your list and shop around the outside of the store. It's 10 times cheaper, and that's where all the fresh, wholesome goodness is anyway. Instead of buying a 1-pound bag of frozen french fries, pick up a 10-pound bag of fresh Idaho spuds for the same price. Now you can have the fries and even some creamy garlic mashed potatoes. You'll still have enough left in the bag to make your own chips, home fries and have that baked potato with your dinner. Get the picture? In fact, if you cook extra portions ahead of time and freeze the leftovers, you'll have the ultimate fast food: fresh, cheap, and good for you. A friend of mine, a gourmet, used to spend his Sunday nights making his meals for the week. He ate better than anyone I know, and he spent less money to do it.

Where To Shop

Now that you have a clearer picture of what to buy, you can plan where to get it. Most of the time, a potato is a potato and it doesn't matter what store it comes from. It makes sense, then, to put out as little as possible for your food bill without sacrificing quality. Buy in bulk when you can, and stock up on the things you know you're going to use. (Can it really hurt to have a year's supply of toilet paper? Of course not... you know it's a godsend.) When you buy in bulk, you're insulating yourself against inflation. Let's say inflation is at 3% a year, and a savings account pays 2.5%. You'd be better off investing in paper towels. But that's another topic.

Warehouse stores like Costco and Sam's Club are great if you have the room in your pantry and you have the funds in your budget. I don't know anyone who can walk out of a warehouse store for less than $300, so you'll have to be clear about what you want to get. A better option for a lot of the things you need is to shop at grocery outlets and food distributors open to the public. Sure, you'll be missing the shiny floor and all that muzack, but I'll bet you can buy yourself a ticket to the symphony with the money you save. If you don't know where your nearest grocery outlet is, do a quick search on the Internet. They're not hiding, you know. They want to be found.

Another great option is to shop at your local farmers market and roadside fruit stands. You'll find them in just about every town, and they're usually run by friendly people. What's great about them is that you get produce fresh from the grower at really low prices. You also never know whom you might meet or the stories you'll hear in that friendly atmosphere. Go ahead, spice up your life a little. Talk to somebody.

Finally, there are some markets that are just plain cheaper than others. Scope it out, and do a little price comparison. If you're in the habit of shopping at the most expensive grocery store in town because it's one block closer to your house, splurge on that extra 1/18th of a gallon of gas and drive to the next one. You'll be glad you did.

Here are some more tips:

• By all means, take advantage of the supermarket's discount cards - those things you swipe at checkout time. I know a guy who doesn't want to use his because he thinks the FBI is monitoring his consumption of Wheaties. Lord love a duck, get real. Save yourself some money and use the dang card.

• List the staples that you should always find in your kitchen - coffee, milk, sugar, soy sauce, potatoes,vinegar, salt, onions, garlic. They're necessary, so buy them in bulk when you can.

• Plan your weekly meals ahead of time and shop to meet your needs. This avoids overspending on impulse and it also save time.

• Don’t buy name brand goods unless you know from personal experience that there's a difference in quality. If you really can tell the difference, go for it. But usually it's exactly the same product as the generic or store brand with a different label. You’ll get the same benefit and spend less.

• If you buy meat, check the market's close-out section, usually at the end of the meat aisle. These packages usually have a big orange discount sticker on them, and the prices are ridiculously low. Often they'll feature excellent cuts of meat that need to be cooked or frozen within the next couple of days. If it's beef, a lot of times the cut is perfectly aged and tastes better anyway. You can get some terrific deals on meat when you buy in bulk. Consider getting a bulk package, rewrapping the cuts and freezing them individually.

• Pay in cash. Otherwise you might be tempted to buy on impulse. This neat trick avoids going over your credit card limit, overdrafting your bank account and (ta da!) going over your budget.

• Bring snacks with you whenever you travel or commute. Fresh fruit is great for this, and so are granola bars or Chex mix. Having a snack handy reduces the temptation to stop in at a restaurant, fast food joint or mini store.

• Shop for your fruits and vegetables often, but do major shopping only once or twice a month. That way you'll spend less time going to the store and you'll minimize your chances of overspending.

Planning what to buy and how you'll cook it can save a load of cash off your food bill. You'll avoid those impulses for quick fixes at the mini-mart, eliminate Big Mac attacks, and even cut out a few cookie binges. Making food yourself saves you time, energy and money. As an added bonus, you just might drop a size around your middle. Can't hurt, might help - right? Yeah... like that. Bon apetit!

Be Roadtrip Ready With These Great Online Tools

Just in time for Spring Break, let me take you on a scenic cruise. Let's say you're planning to take a quick trip, and you're not sure if you should fly or drive. You think driving would be cheaper, but you're just not sure. A 5-hour jaunt could lead you through some unknown territory, and the price of gas could really cut into your hotel budget. Next thing you know, you're on the edge of town with some buzzing neon for a nightlight and a curler-bedecked smoker named Madge handing you a greasy key.

Take heart, wary Traveler, and check out the tool below. You can bookmark this National Gas Price Chart on SectorMatic's Auto page at www.SectorMatic.com/Auto.html. (A sample chart is given here, and much more detailed information is available on SectorMatic.) Now you can keep on an eye on local gas prices, wherever you're headed.

Or maybe you're wondering about the price of a barrel of oil. Here's a chart for you to keep up with the cost of crude. You might have noticed that the price of gas doesn't necessarily follow the cost of a barrel of oil. Were you paying attention last summer? (Oh, jeez, who wasn't all too aware of the price of a barrel of oil?) At one point a barrel of crude was about a hundred bucks more on the U.S. market than it is right now. And that's got to have an impact on your penny jar. Some people even moved to be closer to their jobs - it was cheaper than commuting. But that's why you've got me hanging around, to help out with stuff like this.

Finally, did you know you can lock in the cost of gas? That's right, you can buy gas at today's prices for tomorrow's driving. Check out the membership site at www.MyGallons.com. Now, it does cost a little up front, but it looks like you can save some o' the green with it. I don't know how they figure this stuff, but they say you if you drive 15,000 miles at 20 miles per gallon, you can save $530. I don't know about you, but if you're driving 15,000 miles, saving money is not your biggest problem. You're going to need an awful lot of coffee! That's gotta be some road trip... Hey, it's your dime, pal. It's up to you what you do with it.

HAVE A NICE TRIP!


For more driving tips, check out the Auto Sector at SectorMatic Money Site - it's for you!

Until next time,

Jack Schmidt
Spokesman

SectorMatic Money Site
Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget
www.SectorMatic.com

PS - Did ya like it? TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT IT! You can help them get their money's worth, right? Yeah... like that!

There's No Bear Statue On Wall Street

You probably know that in terms of market trends, the Bull is the symbol of aggressive financial optimism and prosperity, and the Bear stands for the lean times. There’s a charging bull at the foot of Broadway on Wall Street, a couple of blocks from the New York Stock Exchange. This puppy weighs 7,000 pounds and is made out of bronze. That’s a lot of beef – uh.. figuratively speaking. The Wall Street Bull was a Christmas gift from a guy named Arturo Di Modica to the people of New York City following Black Monday in 1987.

But Wall Street has no bear! True story. It turns out the bear is on the opposite side of the country on a lonely stretch of Highway 101 about 300 miles north of San Francisco. But more on that in a minute.

The bull was Di Modica’s idea, not New York City’s. Though it cost the guy some $360K, it wasn’t exactly appreciated at the time. He called the gift “guerilla art” and trucked this tonnage to the foot of the Stock Exchange without permission. The cops impounded it, but the public wouldn’t tolerate the seizure of this outlandish civic donation. The Police released it and parked it downtown once more. Now it looks like Wall Street is bullish for good – hunched down, head lowered, ready to charge.

The Bull is one of New York City's most photographed works of art – a real tourist attraction in the Financial District. And what are the tourists photographing? Well, uh… it ain’t the head. I am NOT making this up. It seems that the Apples of Fortitude on the back end of this beast are keenly polished and much lighter than the rest of the hapless bull’s anatomy from the many hands of travelers seeking auspicious blessings. Who knew?

Bearish on Timber

Meanwhile in a land far, far away, where Paul Bunyon strides the Trinity Alps with his blue pal Babe, a pair of golden Bears demark the entrance to Del Norte County, California. Little could be more fitting for a quadrant of the Golden State so forgotten by time.

Once the home of the logging industry that built the mansions of San Francisco, the giant redwoods still stand. Well, a couple of ‘em, anyway. This emerald region once teemed with trees so huge, you could build a house out of one tree, merely by hollowing it out. John Muir trekked these woods when cowboys still roamed the Great Plains, and a boom followed his naturalist footsteps, to his own chagrin. Railcars loaded with redwood rolled day and night to bring their fat cargo to a hungry new West with an unquenchable appetite for burl wood clocks and slab coffee tables.

But Captain Industry was cavalier to this Queen of the Forest – it seems he bought her a nice dinner and never called her again. When her looks were all but gone, he left her for good. And I think maybe that’s okay. Maybe she doesn't need him anyway.

The Golden Bears of Klamath guard the bridge that links Del Norte County to the busy world to the south, apologetically but not the less lovely. The town of Klamath itself is on the Yurok Indian Reservation. The last census figures put the population at 651 people, 264 households, and 177 families. The salmon live there, and a herd of Roosevelt elk graze in a glade next to the road. Fog catches in the branches of the shaggy redwoods, ferns thriving at their feet amid the perennial drips. You’ll be hard pressed to find a market here, let alone a stock exchange. If you listen closely you can hear the traffic – no, wait: that’s the ocean. In the early morning, just before dawn, the lights come on in the local diner as a trucker pulls in for a cup of coffee. Nobody saw the stock report or heard anything about a stimulus package. (Isn’t that something you get at the adult bookstore in Town, anyway?)

The Bear came here to Klamath sometime ago. It’s typical of the moribund Redwood Empire, stretching hundreds of miles north from San Francisco Bay, not far off the beaten track from middle America, and a long… long way from Wall Street. You know, it’s not such a bad place for a bear to be.

For more wit and wisdom, check out the Financial News at SectorMatic Money Site - it's for you!

Until next time, Jack Schmidt
Spokesman

SectorMatic Money Site
Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget

DON'T Run Out of Month Before the End of the Money!

This entry is all about Personal Finance. Uh... sheckles. Moola. The green. Lettuce. Let's talk about running your househould, not the other way around. For most people, good, sound, well-crafted personal financial management doesn't always come naturally. To build those dreams, you can't do it by just hoping things will work out. Sometimes you have to use an ounce of discipline to avoid a ton of regret. You can't say you're too broke to pay attention. And you may not even get it right the first time. Most people don't. But if you practice, it does get easier... Honest!

I know what you're probably thinking."Great, Jack - but can a web site really change my life? Sure, you're handsome and you've got it all going on. But what about someone who's not a celebrity?"

First of all, thanks for the compliment - really, you're too kind. Second, I actually didn't always have it so easy. There was a time when my dreams just lay dusty on the shelf because I thought they were out of reach. Then I got wise and started planning out what to do with my meager fortune and my misspent youth. See? Not everyone who lives like a fat cat on a money diet starts out livin' large. It really does get easier if you apply yourself.

Like a Well-Oiled Machine

Do you ever wonder where your money goes every month? Does it sometimes seem as though you can't afford to do things because your financial obligations are holding you back? Ever miss a bowling night because you couldn't afford the beer tab? (Let's face it: bowling without beer just isn't worth the time. Might as well stay home with a six-pack. But let's move on...)

If this sounds like you, maybe you should take a look at your financial situation and see whether you're practicing good personal financial management. Good financial practices stem from living within your income, planning for the future, and solving financial problems as they arise. Don't want to cut out your fun? That's okay - make a substitution, like renting movies instead of buying.The first basic personal finance tip is to make a plan for your spending. Yeah, yeah, a budget - whatever. A personal spending plan is made up of your income and expenses. The more accurate this information is, the more likely you are be able to meet your goals and realize your dreams. And you can realize those dreams if you... (click here to read the rest of the article)

Catch all the fun with money at SectorMatic Money Site - it's for you!

Until next time,

Jack Schmidt
Spokesman
SectorMatic Money Site
Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget

Here Is Your Stress-free Job Hunting Guide

Hunting for the perfect job takes time, effort and knowledge. For a painless job search, first consider the following pointers before starting your job hunt:

A. Know what type of job you would like to apply for. Gate crashing job fairs that offer work not related to your interests, experience or degree is a waste of time. Get real with yourself. Take a look at your interests, desired work location and job shifts. If you have family members to take care of, this last one is especially important. Think about the impact of your career on your loved ones.

B. Prepare any documents you might need, like a resume or a career portfolio. Keep several copies of your resume, transcripts, and any certifications you might need ready for immediate submission.

C. Know where to look for job postings. There are tons of venues that offer job listings. Here are some of them:

• Internet One of most widely used searching options is the Internet. Aside from the fact that browsing the Internet for available jobs is less time consuming than personal appearances, this can be the least expensive form of job hunting - no need to buy newspapers or spend gas money to go to businesses. Both local and national vacancies can be browsed through the net, as well as international job openings.


• Newspapers One of the most commonly used searching medium. Local newspapers advertise jobs that are within an applicant's commuting distance. Available jobs are usually printed on a regular basis.


• Career or Job Centers These usually offer jobs for ages 16-18 and rarely above 21 years of age. Though fully loaded with vacancies, it caters mostly to the younger applicants. Job listings are frequently updated; therefore regular visits would ensure the applicants of new job postings.


• Periodicals or magazines Professionals are best advised to look for jobs on magazines since employers that would want to hire the same would advertise on such journals.


• Businessses Many businesses have postings of job openings on their Vacancy Boards. Applicants may directly go to the business to look for vacancies and then directly submit a resume to the respective division that receives such documents. Yeah... like that.

Are You Having A Dispute At Work?

It's never fun to have a dispute at work, especially if it's with your boss. You'll find plenty of great ideas for keeping the peace and creating success right here on SectorMatic Money Site:

www.SectorMatic.com/career.html

Until next time,

Jack Schmidt
Spokesman

SectorMatic Money Site
Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget

Cash Back Credit Cards: Good or Bad Idea?

Getting a credit card that offers cash back always sounds like a good idea. What could be better than getting cash back on all the purchases that you make with your credit card? It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?

Well, there are cards that give you free cash, but it is usually only around 1% cash back. However, free money is free money, right? Well, sometimes.

If you like to buy a lot of things in one month, this kind of credit card probably sounds great to you. However, you need to keep in mind that they are not going to give you cash back on every purchase that you make. Even if they claim to give you cash back on every purchase, they will only give you up to a certain amount per transaction. The company also has a strict limit on the amount that they will give back to their customers. If you read the little, bitty print on the form that you signed, you will see a paragraph with their limits in the terms and agreements. Also, some credit card companies are pulling a little switch-a-roo with their customers credit limits. For more on that subject, read up: www.SectorMatic.com/credit.html

Cash back is another way to try to draw in new customers for these companies. It is a good credit card to have and sounds great in theory, but they will have to check your credit rating before they will issue you their card.

Research different credit card companies to see what they are offering. You may be surprised to find a cash back credit card that offers you just what you need and want with a high cash back percentage, few limits on the amount they will give you back, and instant cash deposits when you make each purchase with their card.

Although these credit cards seem like a great thing to have, some companies will need your credit rating to be great too. However, there are credit card companies that offer these cards to people with a low credit rating to help them rebuild their credit. Research all of your options.

What should your decision be? If you have a good credit rating, then this card is a great option for you. Research different card companies – there are cards out there that offer you up to 3% cash back and impose very few limits. If, however, you have a bad credit rating, you may want to find a credit card that will help you rebuild your credit.

Today's Current Lending Rates Are On SectorMatic Money Site

You'll find lots more information about credit and other money-saving ideas right here on SectorMatic Money Site:

www.SectorMatic.com/credit.html

SectorMatic has the latest Consumer Interest Rates posted live - that's right: mortgage lending, car loans, credit cards, the works! Keeping you up on the latest credit info is just one of the ways SectorMatic gives you Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget. See how you can stop working hard for your money and let your money work hard for you.

Until next time,

Jack Schmidt
Spokesman

SectorMatic Money Site
Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget