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Save up to 50% at the Grocery Store with this Simple Trick

12/27/2022

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Alicia Nelson-Bell, HCHC
​Empowering Financial Wellness Program Coordinator
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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:
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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. ​

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Spreading the Cheer of Holiday Planning

12/12/2022

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Alicia Nelson-Bell, HCHC
​Empowering Financial Wellness Program Coordinator
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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. 
  1. Talk about expectations of what everyone is hoping for and wanting out of the holidays (activities, travel, gifts, decorations, etc.). Be sure to have a conversation and use this to help guide your holiday planning. If you don’t orchestrate the holidays and plan them out, odds are that they won’t come together as well as you hoped for. Being on the same page when it comes to planning the holidays as far as travel, gift giving, and attending events can help reduce tension among family members. 
  2. Combine traditions. What traditions does each member of the family enjoy that you want to make sure happens this year? Are there any traditions that your family wants to do without this year or that may not fit in the budget this year?
  3. Have a shared calendar, either a physical, wall calendar or syncing the calendars on your phones. As you talk about expectations and establish your plans, having a shared calendar can help make sure you are all on the same page of the different activities and get-togethers going on that different family members would like to participate in. This can also help you strategize as a family how you would like to best utilize your time and the funds you have set aside for the holidays. This may also be helpful to make sure you aren’t over booking yourselves so much that the holidays are more stressful than enjoyable. 
  4. Try to get everyone’s input and make sure to plan at least one tradition or event that each person, especially the kids will like. Different kids each have different things they would like to contribute to the holidays. Also, plan out ways to give within your family and outside of your family. How can each family member be a part of giving whether it is time or monetarily. You may also brainstorm together ways every member of the family can contribute funds to help pay for the different extra expenses of gift giving and travel. Are there extra chores kids could do around your house or for family, friends or neighbors that they could receive a little money for?​
  5. It’s important that as you plan out your holidays, you keep in mind the true meaning of the holiday, no matter which holiday you are celebrating, so you don’t get too caught up in the commercialization and hustle and bustle of the holiday. It’s about finding what works best for your family to be able to remember and observe the true meaning of the holiday, not what the media says you should be doing or what works best for your neighbors or other family members. As you involve the whole family in planning out your holiday season, help them remember not to compare themselves to what other people have or are doing. 

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!

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Christmas in July?

7/5/2022

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Alicia Nelson-Bell, Empowering Financial Wellness Program Coordinator
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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! 


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The Life-Changing Magic of a Revolving Savings Account

9/17/2021

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KristiLyn Wilkinson, M.S., AFC Candidate
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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. ​


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a non-typical valentines

2/2/2021

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Elizabeth Davis, USU Extension Assistant Professor
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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.  


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