New Savings Plan

I don't usually post on the weekend,
but realized that I had mentioned this idea
and neglected to write up a post about it.
It's about a month into the challenge,
but early enough that you should be able to play catch up.

Have you heard of the 52-week
money savings challenge?

Starting with the first week of the year 
(okay, so I'm starting a little late),

save the amount of money that matches the week of the year.

Week of January 5th-$1

Week of January 12th-$2

Week of January 19th-$3

etc.

By the end of April, almost $200 will have been saved!
By the end of June, the halfway point, 
about $350 will have been squirreled away!
If you are able to put more away, feel free to do so.
Kids can participate too,
by putting away a dime, nickel or quarter a week.
What a great way to get them saving for that inevitable rainy day!

Thanks to Jacky for the inspiration! 

***Update:  We completed the challenge with a bit of tweaking.
We weren't able to save the full amount as per the plan,
but we did manage to squirrel away enough for all of our Christmas gifts.  Even that felt very satisfying!

One Simple Thing-Know Your Prices

Our grocery chain always has great

Buy One, Get One Free (BOGO) deals.

One practice that helps us use our food budget well

is scratch cooking.

It's all you'll find on this blog.

Another way we save at the grocery store

is to sometimes buy the store brand.

We've been pretty pleased with the quality

as compared to the brand name items.

As prices continue to rise,

we wanted to see if we could improve on our savings.

We decided to do a cost comparison.



A trip was made to our local big-box store

to make note of prices on items we purchase.

I wrote down every item that we use on a regular basis

including the size and price.

Then I made a list of the sequence of items

in the aisles at our grocery store.

The weekly shopping list is written this way

so that we get what we need and time is spent efficiently.

Our coupons are also organized in this manner

so that it's easy and quick to save even more!

The list was typed up in the same sequential order,

making sure to include the brand,

the size and price of each item.

I ended up with four sheets of products.

Now there are clear, concise reference pages

that can be scanned to find the best price.

When I posted about my cleaning routine,

it was mentioned that the weekly sales ad online

was scoured when making the grocery list on Fridays.

That way, I can see what is worth getting at the grocery store,

and what would be a better buy

for the once-a-month stock up.

Adding the price catalogue to the household notebook

will make it so much easier and quicker to

make my grocery list, not to mention

all the time and money saved.

Knowing your local prices really pays off.

One Simple Thing

Treasure Hunt

One of the philosophies shared here at Maple Hill

is the belief that we need to pass on the good stuff.

With that said...

We recently received yet another check from the

Bureau of Unclaimed Property.  This is a division

of our state government which holds money or valuables

that have not been claimed by owners.  It's a simple matter

of going to the website, filling out an application and providing the necessary documentation.  We've already received several thousand dollars from various accounts. 

It's so easy to do, and it's LEGIT. 

While money is not the most important thing in my life,

it is necessary.  This last check will pay for the well

we recently put in.  My take on it is that God is just showing

us how He always provides.  No doubt.

Maybe you've got money waiting for you somewhere. 

I've included the Florida website here, but other states have the same office, and may use different names for the division. 

Hope you find something on your treasure hunt!