Save Money: Summer Savings Tips

With summer here, many consumers look forward to unwinding and enjoying the warm weather with family and friends. Whether it’s hosting a barbecue, lying out at the beach or going on weekend trips, consumers are looking for an escape during the summer months.

Bank of America says there are simple ways consumers can set aside the stress of finances as well and put themselves in a position to save this summer. Julie Morgenstern, author of “When Organizing Isn’t Enough: SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life” and an expert on organization and time management, indicates that summer is a good time to get into a financial routine.

“The first step is to shed the bad financial habits that keep you from saving valuable time and money,” Morgenstern says.

To ensure consumers enjoy their summer without the worry of finances, here are some tips that can help you stretch your money without feeling the guilt:

Find reasonably priced escapes. You don’t have to travel the world or spend a fortune to get a vacation. Try changing your environment and surroundings to gain a new perspective. Whether it’s a meal in a restaurant with an exotic cuisine, a drive to the countryside or anything different in your day-to-day routine, these small changes can provide the fresh perspective you desire.

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Picture the life you want! While you’re relaxing on the beach or sitting on your patio deck this summer, reflect on the life you want to obtain. Through visualizing the life you want to live, you can more easily set a course to make it real. Do you crave more security, wealth or less stress? Start by changing your self-image and habits. If money matters are a leading stress factor in your life, start picturing yourself as a saver and take the steps necessary to make it happen.


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Save while you spend. Making small-item purchases throughout the summertime can add up to big spending. Look for opportunities to save. Use coupons or sign up for a simple savings program where you can save while you spend, like Keep the Change® with Bank of America, which automatically rounds up every check card purchase to the next whole dollar and transfers the difference from your checking account into your savings account. The bank will then match 100 percent of your Keep the Change savings for the first three months after you enroll, and 5 percent thereafter, up to a maximum total of $250 a year. Customers have saved $1 billion since the program began. Now, that’s savings that really does add up!

Simple Solutions To Combat Rising Food Prices

Guest Article by Hannah Keeley

Food prices are on the rise and, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, they are expected to climb even higher. With eggs up 40 percent, milk up 20 percent and chicken up 10 percent, many families are feeling the strain on their budgets at the grocery store.

Taking small steps, such as eating before heading to the grocery store and reading the circular to see what’s on sale, can have a big impact at the checkout counter. Here are some other ways families can make the most of their grocery budget:

• Planning ahead is very important. Before you go to the grocery store, plan out a week’s worth of meals. Check your pantry for any items you already have and make a list so you know exactly what to buy at the store.

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• To cut down on cost, choose affordable canned vegetables such as Libby’s, which are just as nutritious and great tasting as pricey fresh varieties. GetBack totheTable.com has delicious easy recipes to help moms incorporate canned vegetables into family dinners.

• Buy in bulk only when it’s a product you know you will use, and check the price per ounce listed on the shelf to make sure you’re getting the most product for your money.

• For moms shopping with children, create a learning experience. Before you set out, show your kids your list and explain that it is exactly what the family needs for the week. Get the kids involved by having them hunt for essentials. Older children can put their math skills to real-world use by weighing items, counting cans and calculating sale prices.

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Budget-conscious moms can download my meal planner and find cost-saving tips from Libby’s, as well as convenient, healthy recipes, at www.GetBacktotheTable.com.

Hannah Keeley is a mother of seven and author of “Hannah Keeley’s Total Mom Makeover: The Six-Week Plan to Completely Transform Your Home, Health, Family, and Life.”


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Advice For Road Trips: How To Save Money On Gas And Arrive Safely Part 3

(NAPSI)-Drivers can find ways to enhance their fuel economy before ever hitting the pavement.

"Don't let the price of gasoline spoil the fun of your family road trip," says Jim MacPherson, car-- care expert and automotive radio host for WTIC-AM in Connecticut. "By taking a few simple steps, you can save money at the pump and ensure the family vehicle is ready to reach your destination safely."

As a show host, MacPherson is often asked questions about fuel economy, vehicle maintenance and driver safety, particularly as drivers prepare for road trips. Here are some of the most common questions callers ask and his responses to them:

We plan on driving to our destination for the family vacation this year. Are there ways we can keep gasoline costs down?

Yes, there are several things you can do to enhance fuel economy. For starters, take your vehicle in for a basic tune-up. A poorly tuned engine will burn more fuel. Also, keep tires inflated to the proper pressure levels and change the air filter regularly. Consider switching to a fuel-efficient motor oil such as Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy. It can deliver up to 2 percent fuel-economy improvement, and this fully synthetic motor oil will protect your engine in extreme temperatures. (This is based on a comparison versus those grades most commonly used and a potential 2 percent fuel economy improvement. Actual savings are dependent upon vehicle/engine type, outside temperature, driving conditions and your current engine oil viscosity.)

For additional cost savings, travel in a midsize sedan rather than taking a full-size SUV. If you're concerned about the space, consider shipping recreational equipment to your destination or renting items once you have arrived.

What checks of the vehicle should we make before starting out?

Plan ahead for your next road trip and schedule a maintenance service at least two weeks prior to heading out. This will allow for plenty of time for repairs should your mechanic find a problem. A full check of the vehicle's safety systems will give you peace of mind while driving long distances. Most importantly, be sure the vehicle's tires and brakes are in proper working order.

Are there any driving tips to make the trip more economical?

Allow plenty of time to reach your destination so you're not tempted to speed. Driving at high speeds creates wind resistance and burns more fuel. When possible, try to keep rapid acceleration and braking to a minimum, as this can decrease fuel economy. Also, if your vehicle is equipped with cruise control, I recommend using it. Cruise control smooths surges in acceleration and places the driver's view on the road ahead, as opposed to responding to every shift in traffic around them.

I've heard that a dirty car can hurt your fuel economy. Is that true?

Actually, yes. The dirt on your car's exterior creates drag that, over long distances, reduces your miles per gallon. Keeping your vehicle washed and waxed will improve your vehicle's aerodynamics, improving your fuel economy. You'll also feel good about driving around in a clean vehicle.

We are going to need to use the rooftop carrier on our vehicle but the warning label calls for a very low weight limit. Is the roof really capable of supporting only 175 pounds?

These weight limits are often established with vehicle control and handling in mind. Items latched to a roof rack raise the vehicle's center of gravity. Check your owner's manual and follow the weight restrictions on the warning labels to ensure safe travel.

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AAA Tips for Saving on Gas Part 2

Here are some other smart tips from AAA on how to get more travel per gallon of gas:

No Need To Speed: If you are really concerned about maximizing your highway gas mileage (and driving safely), don’t exceed the posted speed limits. According to DOE and EPA data, your highway gas mileage drops 2 to 3 MPG for every 5 mile-per-hour increase in speed over 60.

Lose Some Weight: Don’t carry more dead weight in your Kia than you need to. The DOE and EPA say that every 100-pounds of extra weight in the trunk or cargo area exacts a fuel economy penalty of up to 2 percent.

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Don't Be A Speed Racer: "Speed Racer - NO NO NO" --If you want a big gain in fuel mileage, though, you need to seriously lay off the pedals when driving around town. Accelerating more slowly away from green lights and stopping more gradually for red lights cut fuel consumption in Edmunds.com's tests by 35.4 percent for the Land Rover and 27.1 percent for the Mustang.

Slamming down the gas pedal pushes more fuel into the engine while it also keeps the engine running faster.

You can also save a lot of gas by just lifting your foot off the accelerator as soon as possible when approaching a yellow or red light or a stop sign.


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AAA Tips for Saving Gas Part 1

I have been driving a lot slower these days to save on gas. I obey speed limits to help maximize mikes per gallon.

HEre is a tip from AAA:
Keep a steady speed: Most vehicles already have the best way to do this-Cruise Control! Used properly, It can improve overall fuel economy by up to 14 percent on the highway, according to independent tests.

Cruise control improves fuel economy because any movement of the accelerator - even those too small to noticeably affect speed - wastes gas. However if you use it in traffic conditions that require braking and resetting the speed frequently, you are not saving gas at all.


"Auto Refinance"

Turn Off Your Engine: If you are stuck at a railroad crossing counting the minutes as an endless freight train creeps by, shut off your engine. A car gets precisely zero miles per gallon when idling, and it’s easier on the vehicle and more economical to shut off the engine rather than let it idle for an extended period. There’s a myth that says it takes more gas to start your car than it does to idle for a few minutes. That is only a myth.

Check tomorrow for more gas saving tips.

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Buy this Book to Save: "Free Money, Free Stuff"

You can get something for nothing (I preach thatall of the time on Retail Secrets!). In fact, lots of useful, valuable and coveted things--if you know where to look and who to ask.

"Free Money Free Stuff" (Reader's Digest) is filled with a practical collection of more than 1,000 legitimate free giveaways and super bargains--money-saving offers available for the assertive shopper and savvy computer user.

A team of experts researched the world of free offers and confirmed deals that can save you substantial amounts of cash. The result is a handy book filled with a wealth of information like education, health care, travel, and small business, arranged in practical sections and chapters.

Find out how to get pharmaceutical companies to foot up to 100 percent of your bill, stock up on free beauty items from shampoo to makeup, learn a language, take an art class and earn a degree at low cost or no cost.

Throughout, there are tip boxes--Editor's Choice--that are filled with the best suggestions from the editors to save you money, including free help for quitting smoking, discount online theater tickets, auto rebates, no-cost-targeted classifieds and senior half-price mass-transit deals.



The book's appendix features a listing of major government agencies and nongovernmental foundations, associations and other sources that provide assistance, money-saving information or free stuff.

Get it by clicking the link below:

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Celebrating Dad: The Champion In Your Family

(NAPSI)-If you’ve ever spent time on the links with your Dad, you know that golf creates a more intimate experience between fathers, sons and daughters than just talking about doglegs and bunkers. If this rings true, you may want to tee up a new Web site-one that celebrates this emotional connection.

Recognizing this unique bond, the Golf Channel is honoring fathers everywhere through an initiative that gives Dad his due. The network has established a place where people can celebrate special connections with their fathers (or father figures), as well as give them a chance through a special contest to send their Dad on a dream trip to the home of golf-St. Andrews, Scotland.

“If you’ve ever played the game of golf, chances are it was your father who placed that golf club in your hands for the very first time,” said Golf Channel President Page Thompson. “And, most likely, it was your father who taught you the lessons that have not only served you well on the golf course, but also in life.”

The site, www.GolfChannel.com/FathersDay, offers a FREE place where people can post recollections and lessons learned from time spent on the golf course with their fathers.



For many professional golfers-and even the hundreds of Hollywood celebrities who are hooked on the game-it was their father who first sparked their interest. Golf Channel asked some of them to share stories about their Dads and the life lessons they learned through golf, or about passing along that same love of the game to their own children.

“By the sheer nature of the sport, golf has played such an important role in starting or enriching father-son and father-daughter relationships,” added Thompson. “Through a Dad’s wisdom and guidance, you learned about honor, tradition, respect, sportsmanship, perseverance and patience. And because of golf, you shared time and memories with your father that will last forever.”

In essence, the network’s celebration of Dad demonstrates that while he was teaching you how to swing a driver, he was really trying to build confidence, and while he was lecturing about the rules of the game, it was really about learning integrity.

The dedicated site allows users to send Father’s Day cards, enter the contest, view other entries, watch videos and even take a video tour of St. Andrews, where more memories will be made for a Dad and his lucky kid.

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Thrifty And Tasty Tips To Help Stretch Your Meat Dollar

There’s good news for consumers who are trying to cook up ways to cope with higher food prices. By doing their homework before they shop, many are finding that it’s possible to identify values in the supermarket meat case that are tasty and can help save money.

Why are prices rising? Corn to feed livestock and poultry is being made into ethanol to fuel our cars. High corn demand means high feed prices, which in turn means high food prices.

To help consumers enjoy delicious and nutritious meat on a budget, experts at the American Meat Institute offer these tips:

Start With A Plan

• Every shopping trip should start with a plan-a meal plan that leverages sale items and coupons. Get organized with a shopping list, weekly promotions and coupons. This triple effort will result in real savings if you are able to coordinate the use of coupons with weekly advertised meat specials. Plan at least a week’s worth of entrées so you can profit from the weekly specials.

• Use coupons from a variety of sources, such as newspapers and magazines, online grocery coupons from popular coupon Web sites, and in-store coupons that are dispensed throughout the supermarket on double and triple coupon days.

• Join frequent-shopper programs at each of the grocery stores where you shop. The stores’ incentive programs can slice a percentage off your total food bill.

Stock Up And Save

• Stock up on sale meat items and value/family packs to fill your freezer.

• If you purchase a large meat value pack, be sure to portion the meats in quantities suitable for your household and freeze the packages individually.

Plan For Leftovers

Plan dinners so you will have leftovers to use for later meals. You’ll save time, energy and supermarket dollars when you plan ahead to buy and prepare enough servings for more than one meal.

It’s also possible to make the leftovers more inviting by incorporating them into another recipe-a “planned-over.”

• Leftover roast beef or steak can become “planned over” beef quesadillas. Leftover hamburgers can be crumbled into spaghetti and lasagna sauces.

• Leftover pork chops can become pork fried rice with the addition of cooked rice, ginger, scallions, vegetables and eggs.



Shop For Value Cuts

Cuts of meat from the shoulder and leg are well-exercised muscles, are more lean and have a coarse grain. These cuts are very flavorful and are generally considered a “value cut” because they cost less but deliver good flavor and a large amount of meat. These less tender cuts can be tenderized by several methods:

• Marinate in a liquid containing an acid such as vinegar, wine, or lemon or lime juice. As the meat stands in the liquid, the acid breaks down the less tender cuts of meat. The formula for liquid to meat is ½ cup of liquid per 1 pound of meat. Since marinades only penetrate about ¼ inch into meats, it is key to use a cut that is relatively thin.

• Always marinate meats in a covered container and place in the refrigerator. Use a sealable food-grade plastic bag or a glass or stainless steel container, so the acid marinade does not react with the container.

• Use a low-heat and moist-cooking method to soften the connective tissues that run through the muscles. Both the slow cooker and braising cooking methods are perfect cooking techniques for value cuts.

• For more information on stretching the meat dollar or for a series of recipes that use value cuts, visit www.MeatMattersInfo.org for a brochure called “Stretching Your Meat Dollar.” Or send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope to Stretch Your Meat Dollar/AMI, 1150 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 1200, Washington, DC, 20036.

Every shopping trip should start with a plan-a meal plan that leverages sale items and coupons. Get organized with a shopping list, weekly promotions and coupons.


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How To S-T-R-E-T-C-H Your Food Dollar

Guest Article: by Heidi Diller, RD - Albertsons Corporate Nutritionist

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, a family of four spends $80 more a month on groceries than it did two years ago. Yes, it’s the worst case of food inflation we’ve seen in 20 years. Try having two teenagers at home that drink more gallons of milk than I use in gasoline. Funny that a gallon of milk is currently the same price as a gallon of gasoline. Gives new meaning to the phrase “food is fuel.”

I’ve never been much of a coupon user. And I rarely watched the ads. Not anymore. The challenge I now face is still providing my family with healthy meal options but at a price I can afford. Some simple tips like not shopping hungry and using a list have helped keep unneeded items out of my cart. But this journey has taught me to find ways by which I can stretch my food dollar without my family even noticing the difference. Here are my tips:

• Use the weekly food ads to create a weekly dinner menu. I create a five-day menu that uses the meat that’s on sale along with fresh and frozen produce. I never use coupons for items I don’t regularly buy. Remember, fewer store visits equals fewer dollars spent.

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• Herbs and spices are expensive. So I add flavor and moisture to my cooking by using healthy salad dressings. For example, you can sauté chicken breasts in a tablespoon of Italian dressing and add veggies and rice for a flavorful but low-cost dinner.

• Know how to shop the produce department. Buy apples, oranges, grapefruit, potatoes and onions by the bag-not the piece. It’s cheaper and will fill more lunch bags and cover more meals.

• Did you know that frozen turkey and eggs are the most economical sources of protein per ounce in the store? Yes, eggs are at an all-time high, but at only 50 cents per serving, they are still a protein bargain.

• Two nights a week, save money by trying meatless alternatives. Canned beans provide a good source of protein, fiber and nutrients without the added fat. Add beans to salads, casseroles and soups.

• Use private-label brands and save 15 to 25 percent compared to name-brand labels.

Tex Mex Dinner Salad

A perfect meatless meal for a hot summer night for less than $15.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 (15-ounce) can Wild Harvest pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15-ounce) can Wild Harvest black beans, rinsed and drained

11/2 cups shredded Cheddar and Monterey cheese blend

1 head of romaine lettuce, rinsed and chopped

3 tomatoes, chopped

½ cup Catalina Free salad dressing

2 cups corn chips (optional)

Directions:

Drain and rinse the beans. In a large bowl, combine the pinto beans, black beans, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. Add ¾ bottle dressing and mix well. Add corn chips before serving.

Nutrition Info (per serving)

Calories 450; Fat 12g; Cholesterol 22mg; Carbohydrate 59.5g; Fiber 17g; Protein 26g

Recipe adapted from www.allrecipes.com.

by Heidi Diller, RDAlbertsons Nutritionist

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