March already and I can’t wait for spring. In the coming weeks be sure to look for bargains in the freezer section of your supermarket because it’s Frozen Food Month and a great time to stock up. Also, Lent means sales on all things fish.
A mix of this and that to tell you about this month so let’s get started-
Free Cookbook
I saw this link in the Laptop Lunches
http://www.laptoplunches.com/ March newletter and thought I’d share it with you. It’s from the National Institute of Health and is a free cookbook..the recipes sound delicious and look great too-
Green Cleaning at a Sensible Price
I recently worked on an article about green cleaning and was lucky enough to hear about a company called Simply Neutral. Co-owner, Maggie Mohs kindly sent me some samples and I have to say they do a first class cleaning job. They’re resonably priced and best of all sold in concentrate so there’s less to store, less waste and you can use your own spray bottles, check out the site at
www.simplyneutral.com and either find a store near you or click ‘shop online’.
Best Buys for March
At their peak-cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, navel oranges
New Produce-asparagus, spring salad mix and I’m seeing lots of strawberries on sale too
Winding down-Kiwi
Articles of interest this month-
I love looking for good buys at my local dollar store but not everything there is a bargain-
Even though I’m a Budget Smart Girl, I have to say I’m not always good when it comes to doing what’s best for my car-
Feeling Hungry?
One of the best bargain snacks at the supermarket is bananas and according to this article, they’re hunger busters too..guess that makes then even more of a budget friendly food…check out the recipes too-
Print Cartridges
Okay, for those of you who’ve followed Budget Smart Girl long enough you know one of my pet peeves is the price of ink cartridges. I haven’t tried using this company yet but the fact they offer free shipping got my attention
http://www.masterinkjets.com/
Pamper Yourself for Less
A dream day for me is well, first of all taking a day off and then getting pampered at a spa so when I heard about this I knew I had to check it out-
Taking place from March 21-27, 2011, spas and fitness centers nationwide will be slashing prices by half, or offering flat-rate $50 deals. In addition, many participating businesses will be offering free wellness classes and community events throughout the week.
The range of treatments and services offered during Wellness Week include:
- Reflexology for the feet – Daryl Christopher, Ltd. (Waltham, MA) – $50 vs. $125
- Acupuncture – Shen Shen Health & Harmony (Chicago, IL) – $50 vs. $90
- Teeth Whitening – Randee Elaine Spa & NY Laser Center (NYC) – $50 vs. $199
- 5 Fitness Classes Card – Zenyasa Yoga & Wellness Studio (NYC) – $45 vs. $90
- Breast Cancer Screening – Tao of Venus (Los Angeles, CA) – $125 vs. $250
- Aromatherapy Massage – Woodhouse Day Spa (Plano, TX) – $50 vs. $105
- Vitamin Infusion Facial – Canyon Ranch Hotel and Spa (Miami, FL) – $127.50 vs. $255
- Healing Stone Therapy – Agora Spa/Stamford Marriot (Stamford, CT) – $72.50 vs. $145
- Private Meditation Session – Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa (Maui, HI) – $40 vs. $80
- Vinoperfect Facial – Caudalie at The Plaza (NYC) – $92.50 vs. $185
Living the Savvy Life
I first contacted with Melissa Tosetti about six years ago when she’d just launched her new publication Budget Savvy. At the time I thought what a brilliant idea it was because while everyone else was focusing on designer clothes and furnishings, Melissa had the good sense to be thinking ahead to what was to come and focused on saving money rather than spending it. I wrote two articles for her, she’s been a previous guest on Budget Smart Girl and when I heard she’d written a book I knew I had to read it. It’s called Living The Savvy Life, The Woman’s Guide to Smart Spending and Rich Living, her co-author is Kevin Gibbons. What I like most about the book is it shares the Budget Smart Girl philosophy of not going without but spending your money on what means the most to you. One example is Melissa and her husband love to travel and in order to do that they buy used cars instead of new ones. I highly recommend the book to you and here’s a link if you want to check it out. http://www.amazon.com/Living-Savvy-Life-Womans-Spending/dp/160037834X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299088799&sr=1-1
Here’s my interview with Melissa-
Budget Smart Girl (BSG)-When you launched Budget Savvy Magazine did you expect that the topic would become so hot soon after?
Melissa Tosetti (MT)-When we originally launched Budget Savvy in 2004 as a quarterly print publication, there really wasn’t anything else out there like it. I honestly didn’t know if we were going to make it. In 2006 we decided to transition from a print publication to an online publication so we could publish more timely articles and content. It was around this time that I realized our topic was becoming “cool”.
BSG-You switched to an online format for the magazine. What sort of content can we expect to find there?
MT-The goal of The Savvy Life (formerly titled, Budget Savvy) is to help women create the life they want with the money they are making right now. It isn’t about doing without, but about making what you have go further and focusing your spending. We offer original articles as well as gather and post pertinent articles from all over the world. I also maintain a blog that details my own savvy adventures.
BSG-I know you give seminars in the San Francisco area. For the readers who might live close enough to attend, maybe you can tell us about what they can learn. And any upcoming ones you’d like to mention?
MT-Thanks for asking about the seminars. As much as I love writing about The Savvy Life, I love talking about it!
Each month we give our basic, Living the Savvy Life seminar which helps attendees create a strong, easy-to-implement financial foundation.
Living the Savvy Life
Take control of your day-to-day finances so you can enjoy life to the fullest.
- How to afford to spend money on what is important to you.
- How to spend less than you make.
- How to save 15% – 20% of your income.
- Habits & routines that make managing your finances easy.
- How to create an automatic debt reduction plan.
One of our messages is that money affects every aspect of our lives. It affects what we eat, where we live, how we dress and what we do with our free time. In addition to speaking about basic money management, we also offer seminars on:
The Savvy Kitchen
Learn how to make grocery shopping and cooking affordable and easy.
- Learn how to create an inventory list of your kitchen and household needs.
- Techniques for quick and affordable grocery shopping.
- Learn how to buy ingredients and not just groceries.
- Bulk buying is only effective if you use what you purchase. Learn how!
- Tips to minimize waste and enjoy delicious meals with what you have on hand.
- Learn meal management and the power of leftovers.
- Not comfortable in the kitchen? Learn how to baby step your way to proficient cooking.
The Savvy Home
Learn how to affordably beautify your home including:
- How to declutter one step at a time.
- Easy to implement home keeping habits and routines.
- How to create your own Home Keeping Notebook.
- How to manage home projects.
- How to create a Decorating Wish Book.
- Using paint as an affordable way to transform your home.
- Finding reasonably priced furniture.
- Where to find inexpensive, but expensive looking artwork.
Savvy Travel & Entertainment
Everything you want to know about saving on travel and entertainment.
- How to entertain at home for less.
- Where to find admission discounts for museums, movies and more.
- How to plan ahead for dining out.
- How to use restaurant coupons.
- How to budget for vacations.
- Where to find those great vacation deals.
Savvy Wardrobe & Beauty
Learn how to make your clothing and beauty dollar go further.
- How to manage your wardrobe allowing you to wear 80% of your clothes 80% of the time.
- Clothes shopping strategies.
- How to find treasure at thrift stores, consignment stores and auction sites.
- Savvy skin care.
- When to purchase cosmetics at the drug store and at the department store.
- How to save big bucks at the salon.
BSG-For those of us who can’t attend, any money saving tips you can pass along?
MT-I’m glad you asked this question as well. In late April or early May, we will be hosting six free webinars that will touch on the information from our regular seminars. Details will be released in the coming weeks.
BSG-What do you think are the most common money mistakes most of us make?
MT-For the average American, I think the most common money mistake is to spend unconsciously. Whether you do it at places like Target or have automatic payments coming out of your account that you aren’t paying attention to, we often let money slip through our fingers vs. consciously spending it on what is really important to us.
BSG-Tell me about the book.
MT-Living the Savvy Life, looks at money from a lifestyle perspective rather than a “personal finance” point of view. It is filled with stories of friends and family members who are naturally savvy or have learned to be savvy the hard way. It is written in a positive, upbeat manner, encouraging readers for the future rather than making them feel guilty about past financial decisions.
The overall philosophy of Living the Savvy Life is to spend money on the things that are important to you and save money in the areas that are not as important to you. What you spend in one area of your life directly impacts how much money you have to spend in other areas of your life.
The first chapters show you how to create easy-to-implement habits and routines that make managing your finances effortless. Once that foundation is established, the book looks at the major areas of life most affected by money:
- Home
- Entertainment
- Wardrobe
- Beauty
- Food
Each chapter is filled with suggestions for how to make your spending go further and what you can do to afford what you really want. The chapters also offer suggestions for managing your money once it transitions from cash to possession. The reader is given the opportunity to evaluate and decide on which areas she wants to focus her spending and which areas she wants to focus saving.
BSG-So what’s next for you and The Savvy Life?
MT-We will begin working on our next book this summer which is focused on food. My co-author, Kevin Gibbons, and I are both very excited about it. We love to cook and we love dining out at nice restaurants. The new book will focus on making your “food dollar” count by showing you how to manage an efficient kitchen and provide beautiful, delicious meals for you and your family. It’s not just about cooking at home. It’s about picking and choosing when and where you are going to dine out vs. eating out just because you are too tired to cook.
We are also working on several new features for the TheSavvyLife which will be launched at the beginning of June. If you would like to hear about the free webinars and other Savvy Life updates, you can sign up for our free newsletter at www.thesavvylife.com
Have a good month.
