Debt Help Ideas

Coughs and colds wait for no man, woman, or child. They don’t wait for seasons either! Whether it’s the middle of summer or winter, there’s always several irritating viruses going around. Nope, I’m not talking swine flu. Just your normal, garden variety coughs, colds, and other assorted bugs!

I was reminded today, as I picked up some cough syrup for a relative, of some creative and practical little ways to save money that we had missed out on. She paid more, but you won’t have to.

1. Keep a good supply of comfort foods on hand. My favorites include Lipton’s Chicken Noodle Soup and Chicken Pot Pies. Then, when you don’t feel good, you don’t have to try to make something. You can easily pull those together to feed yourself fairly healthily, in order to help fight off the virus.
2. Always keep a good supply of your favorite cough syrup, pain reliever, and decongestant in the house. Keep a close eye on the stock. If you notice the expiration dates are getting too close, give the medicine away to someone who can use it now. You might even want to set up a trading system with a friend so they do the same. Also, each time you go the grocery store, check your supply to see what needs replenishing. That way, if a bug catches you off guard, you won’t have to drag yourself out feeling miserable, only to grab the first available medicine at the most expensive store, just because you feel so awful. You can purchase the medicines on sale or at your local Target or Walmart and pay less for them.
3. Make sure to clean your vaporizer or humidifier after each cold/virus ends, and store it carefully. If you notice it isn’t working well, and cleaning it doesn’t resolve the problem, it’s time to find a new one. Start watching for sales and pick up just the one you want for a great price BEFORE you need it, instead of being stuck buying whatever is in stock at the store you run to.

These simple pre-preparation steps can save you time, money, and energy when the nasty bug strikes. They are all creative yet practical little ways to save money at home and at the grocery store and that always helps make us feel better, doesn’t it? Not to mention that it also helps us work towards our goal to save money and eliminate debt! 

Do you like to go the movies? We sure do. It makes a fun date. My husband and I always tried to go out on a date once a week. Sometimes we only made it two times a month, but four was the best. We knew it was important for our relationship, which then benefited our children as well. We also liked to take our kids to the movies, sometimes as a one-on-one or two-on-one date. Sometimes all of us went. It was pricey then. Now I’m a widow, going to the movies with my grown-up kids and grandkids. It’s even more expensive! Fortunately, we’ve found some creative and practical little ways to save money that do help.

Matinees have always on the list of ways to save money at the movies. They’re not as wonderfully priced as they used to be, but they’re still cheaper. They used to run about half the normal ticket, but they traditionally only went til mid-afternoon. Now they are about 2/3 of a ticket price, BUT many theaters do go later in the day. My favorite theater offers matinee prices til 6 pm on weekdays! That’s late enough for an early dinner and movie. Not only that, some movie theaters offer a cheaper discount for the first movie showing of the day, less of a discount for the next few showings, and full price at night. Checking all the different times is definitely practical!

I love popcorn and soda at the theater but my waistline and my pocket book both hate them. For those days when I just can’t resist, two of my favorite theaters do have fairly practical little ways to save money as a help for me. They offer a kid’s snack. For about half (or less) of the normal cost of a small popcorn and small soda, I get a smaller popcorn, smaller soda, and a candy. I usually skip the candy but thoroughly enjoy the rest.

Two of the three theaters in our area offer customer rewards cards. Just like with a grocery store customer rewards card, you show this for each purchase and you get rewarded periodically with special discount days, free snacks (like popcorn ), and even free movie tickets. We don’t go that often, so it does take awhile for the free tickets, but the free popcorn seems to pop up fairly often, which is one of the fun yet practical little ways to save money. You can find these by checking online at your movie theater website, or call your local theater to see if they do offer these.

While you’re on the phone, call each of the theaters in the area. Many areas have at least one discount theater, where the price is half the cost of the main movie theaters, and where they are showing good movies, just not quite as soon. And of course, if you still have a drive-in theater in your area, those can save a ton with all the grandkids. Mine just went with their folks to their first drive-in and loved it! They got to play outside, sit in chairs on a lawn, and even get up to move around a bit if they wanted to. It was great.

Well, there you have it, my four practical little ways to save money at the movies. It’s great to be able to have a sweet date with the special people in our lives, save money, and keep working towards our goal to eliminate debt!

Here’s one of my practical and creative little ways to save money. When we are planning a fun night out with friends, we need to be honest about our finances. If we are invited out to a restaurant, we could say, “I’d love to, but we’re working hard towards a goal to eliminate debt, so my budget doesn’t have eating out in it this week. Would it be OK if we join you for dessert instead?” Or, “How about if we meet for coffee or sodas instead? I’m on an “eliminate debt”money diet so I’m working hard to find practical ways to save money.”

I know I’m always pleasantly surprised to discover how many friends feel the same way saying, “I thought I was the only one!”

I shared this tip with a 20-something friend of mine recently and she was so relieved. She commented, “I love to go out with friends, but so often they pick a more expensive restaurant than I can afford.” I suggested she just order dessert, with or without the explanation and she was thrilled. “They have the best desserts!” she said. “That and the great company will make it a terrific night out without messing up my budget for the week.”

In this economy, we’re sure to find plenty of company in our search for ways to save money. Even if we don’t, not to worry. Odds are, in ten years, many of our friends will be WISHING they’d joined us in our search to add more creative and practical ideas to our list of ways to save money.