|
Alicia Nelson-Bell, HCHC Empowering Financial Wellness Program Coordinator  Will your holiday meals look the same this year? Inflation has been hitting everyone to some level or another these last few months. One area that we have all been noticing the effects of inflation is at the grocery store, making it harder and harder to stick to our grocery budgets and our overall budget. As of July of this year, grocery prices have increased an average of 13.5%. Because of this, you may be wondering if it is possible to still have the same caliber of holiday meal and celebration. In addition to divvying up food responsibilities among all the guests, there are some other simple things you can do at the grocery store to keep holiday meals from busting your budget even with the high inflation. Like with any type of holiday shopping, it is important to take an inventory of what you already have and plan out what you still need to buy so you can make your shopping experience most purposeful and not have to make as many trips to the grocery store (which is an opportunity for impulse buys). Today we are going to focus on the power of buying generic brand items for your meals this holiday season. Up to 50% Savings at the Grocery Store? Yep, you read that right. There’s a simple way to save up to 50% at the grocery store without using coupons or the weekly ads (which I still love doing :)). This simple way can help you still have an enjoyable and tasty holiday season this year without really sacrificing any of the fixings, even despite inflation. This simple tip, which is one of the action items for this month in the 2022 Finance Calendar, is simply buying generic at the grocery store this holiday season. Something not commonly known is that many of the store/generic brand items are produced with the same ingredients and even in the same production facilities. This means that most of the time you won’t taste or notice much of a difference other than the packaging. I understand that there are some things that you will notice a difference in taste that you may want to stick with the name brand on, but like I mentioned, even going generic on some of your grocery items can save you a good chunk of money. If your family were to switch out some of the ingredients in some of your meals, each week you could save around $20 or around $80 a month. Over the course of the year this would be a little more than $1,000 just by making this simple switch. Below you will see a price comparison chart for most of the items that are known as typical “fixings” for a holiday meal. As you can see, even small savings on individual items can add up to be pretty noticeable. The example below shows a savings of around $20 by purchasing generic or store brand items rather than name brand. Continue these habits throughout the year for a simple way to see savings add up at the grocery store! Example below may not reflect prices in your area:  PRO TIP: To see the greatest savings, look above and below the typical eye level, since stores strategically put the most expensive brand products at eye level.
0 Comments
Alicia Nelson-Bell, HCHC Empowering Financial Wellness Program Coordinator  The holidays can bring out a lot of different emotions in people, good and bad depending on the communication and preparation that goes into the holidays. The holiday season can be a time of happiness and joy, or they can be a time of stress and anxiety. If all of the holiday planning and preparation is left all on one person, it may lead to that person getting overwhelmed and stressed and in some cases some tension if not everyone in the family is happy with the holiday plans. It can be hard to get everyone in the family in on the planning, so here are 5 tips to help you get the family all in on the holiday joy and planning.
Have fun with your family and friends this holiday season without the stress and tension that can come from leaving all the holiday planning up to one person, or not carefully orchestrating your holiday plans! Alicia Nelson-Bell, Empowering Financial Wellness Program Coordinator  It’s Christmas in July! Yep. You heard me right! You may be thinking to yourself, “How can I be thinking about the holidays right now when my budget is already being squeezed so tight"? But really, it's a good reason to start thinking about a plan for holiday spending sooner than later this year. Creating a plan and being a bit more prepared financially will pay off big time.
Why the friendly reminder? In the 3rd quarter of 2021, AKA when most people did their holiday shopping, Americans added over $74 billion to credit card balances. Over 80% of those who put holiday expenses on their credit card carry a balance for an average of 3 months after the holidays and are paying an average of 18% interest. This makes those “good deals” you scored not so great when you pay 18% or more interest on them for multiple months! KristiLyn Wilkinson, M.S., AFC Candidate   You might be familiar with this phrase if you have read Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I’m here to tell you that revolving savings accounts are pretty life-changing as well! A revolving savings account is the magic that keeps irregular expenses from derailing your budget.
One of the main obstacles to budgeting that I hear from people is that they have expenses that don’t happen every month, that are larger in nature, and throw off their planning. For most people, we tend to live our financial lives month-to-month. Your rent or mortgage is due once a month, your car payment is due once a month, you pay for Netflix and piano lessons once a month, etc. You get the picture. But every month it seems like there are some expenses like a birthday, Christmas, annual insurance bill, college tuition, etc. that come creeping in. Elizabeth Davis, USU Extension Assistant Professor   Initially, I intended to write about how to save money for special occasions like anniversaries and birthdays. But in light of what is happening right now, I'd like to focus on celebrating, especially during hard times. I've learned during the Covid-19 pandemic that despite the uncertainties that we are experiencing... life goes on. There continue to be weddings, anniversaries, births, and other special occasions. Valentine's day is right around the corner. So, how do we celebrate in times of financial uncertainty? Here are three tips to help you prepare to celebrate Valentine's day (or any special day) during economic uncertainty.
|
TAKE A FREE CLASS!Host a Class
amandaSharing real-life money smarts to help you stay on track with financial goals while still enjoying life! Follow the fun on InstagramAS SEEN ON
awards
Best of State 2022: Personal Finance Education
1st Place National Award in Social Media Education from the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
Gold Award in Blog Site category at the 7th annual Education Digital Marketing Awards.
Platinum Award in Digital Media, Web Design category at the International Marketing and Communication Awards.
Categories
All
|