Here at BargainBabe we love the dollar store! Shopping at the dollar store can save you big bucks especially when combined with coupons. Last year we shared 67 things you should always buy at the Dollar Store and were amazed at the amount of items that our readers love to buy! Make sure to stay away from these dollar store items!
We compared four of the largest dollar stores in the U.S. and the results may surprise you!
Daycare is our third biggest expense! Via Shutterstock
They say women handle 70% of household spending, which is why so many marketers gear their products and commercials towards us. (When’s the last time you saw a man in a cleaning ad?) I was curious if this rule held true for my husband and I, and if poking around our spending habits could shed light on ways we can save more money.
I first met Dina Kimmel at a yard sale she was having. She had recently bought a nearby kids’ gym and was selling their old equipment to make way for the new. It would be a brand-new business venture for her and her enthusiasm was contagious. It was to be a different kind of kids’ gym – a sensory gym with high-end therapy equipment that would especially meet the needs of children with autism. That’s when I discovered that we both had young sons on the autism spectrum. I was excited by her idea, which was unlike anything I’d heard of before.
When the newly named We Rock the Spectrum Kids Gym opened a short time later, I took both my kids to the grand opening. Now, nearly four years later, Dina’s vision has spread into a successful franchise with more than a dozen locations.
Throw a fun and frugal cocktail party today! Via Shutterstock.
Summer is the perfect time to sit outside and sip cocktails…but cocktails can be pretty pricey. If you’re looking to have fun on a budget a cocktail party is a great way to do so. It’s actually cheaper than having everyone over for dinner. Not convinced? Check out our six tips for having a cocktail party on a budget.
A tip to getting the raise you deserve – via Shutterstock
Earlier this summer, I talked about how to successfully negotiate salary. And while my post focused on negotiating during the hiring process, the thought has come up again because it’s Annual Review time at my job. I have worked very hard over the past year, adding value to the company and even implementing new ways to generate revenue. Now there is no guarantee that I will even be awarded a raise during my review, but the chances are high. So I want to set myself up for success.
Chatting with an attorney friend last week, she told me a story of how her boss, the partner of her firm, always gets more money than he bargains for when negotiating his percentage of a successful case. She says he walks in to the room with a number in his head. He will not leave that room without getting at least that figure. But instead of coming out swinging and demanding that amount, he lets the other side go first by asking a simple, yet powerful question:
Should parents pay off children’s debt? Via Shutterstock.
I am lucky enough to have no college debt or debt in general. This is largely in part to my decision go to state school and the help of my father. While my Dad did pay for my college (Thanks Dad!) he also taught me about the importance of savings, investments, and living within your means. Recently, I wrote an article about whether you should lend your parents money. Many of you said yes. I’m wondering, do you feel the same way about helping children?
Do you pay for poor friends? Via Shutterstock
I have a friend who doesn’t earn much money at his job. I know this because he’s fairly open about his expenses, and of course I love to talk about money too, so from time to time we’ve talked about how we manage our money, what our big expenses are, and what we’re cutting out of our budget. We’re both pretty frugal and that’s part of the reason why we get along so well. My friend will often bow out of expensive get togethers with our group of friends without making a big deal of it, but I suspect the reason is often money.
Property tax bill shock? Here’s an appeal-ing idea. /via Shutterstock
As first time homeowners who purchased a recently flipped house, I knew that our property tax would go up someday. But I didn’t expect that less than a year into our home we’d get a postcard stating our assessed value for 2015 was going up 75%! The most confusing part is that the county valued our home nearly $55,000 higher than the price we had just paid for it (and that it had been appraised for) several months before. A quick math check showed me that based on local tax rates, even if we were able to appeal the assessment down to the price we paid, we will save about $600 a year in property taxes.
Though home values and county tax rates vary wildly, if you’ve recently had your home assessed for a value that seems too high, you may be able to save hundreds or thousands by appealing your property tax assessment.
A way to handle your savings that makes sense – via Shutterstock
I recently came into a chunk of change, and wanted to do something smart and adult, like invest it or put it into a money market or brokerage account. But until about 3 weeks ago, I had no idea what any of those things meant. So through a family referral, I met with a financial advisor. I literally walked in with my laptop, sat down and said, “I have a lot of things and need you to tell me what they are and what to do with them. I have company stock, old and current 401(k)s, bonds and some cash. Help my pitiful self.” And he did.
Completely redecorating the living room can be a budget-busting expense but there are ways to undertake a makeover without breaking the bank.
One of the major plus points when updating a living room is that your creativity is more important than the budget. Your living room should reflect your taste, exude comfort but above all, it should be someplace you enjoy spending time in. From moving around sofas to finding new wall colours, consider these tips and upgrade your living room without spending a fortune.
