Turbo-Mom's Guide To Saving Money Without Wasting Time

Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time is a concise go-to resource-written in a light and humorous tone. Saving money and time can be easy and fun! Get it at barnesandnoble.com

This book provides well-researched straightforward advice and guidance with the "big stuff" like insurance, taxes, and investments direct from the tax and financial professionals without putting you to sleep. You will also get quick and easy ways to save on the everyday decisions, like grocery shopping, home repair and improvements, and looking your best without spending your retirement savings or kids' college fund. Written in an easy to follow Q&A format with lots of Kid-tivities, sidebars, real life examples, worksheets, as well as online resources, with this book saving time and money is a snap.Not to worry- Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time is not another book about color-coding your closet or 101 uses for baking soda.

This book is for the millions of women who experience daily the balancing act between family, careers, and everyday life, while living in "turbo-mode" with no time or money to spare.Kristin Delfau is that friend whose advice and opinions we seek-the one we know will have the answers. As a Turbo-Mom herself she has researched, experimented, tried, failed and succeeded in saving money. By expending a lot of time in the name of research, she has found many ways to save both time and money simultaneously-which is not always an easy feat! All her findings are in this well written and easy to read book. Kristin is an avid reader and researcher who continues to use her time and money saving ideas in her everyday life. Kristin Delfau is a mother, wife, and tax and financial professional. She is an Enrolled Agent who owns a tax and financial planning firm in Danbury, Connecticut, a member of the National Association of Tax Professionals, and a Fulbright scholar.

Saving Money on Your Groceries - Helpful Grocery Shopping Tips

Been grocery shopping lately?  If you have I’m sure you were stunned by your grocery bill.  Let me tell you, you are not alone. We typically see a 3% yearly inflation rate, which probably doesn’t sound like a lot but when it is added up in all areas it can be daunting.  Especially when inflation affects the items we use most like gasoline and groceries.  There are always some things we can to save money. We’ll share some tips that may help you control your grocery budget.

Make a List and Stick to the List

The best thing that you can do for yourself is to go into the market with a “game plan” and a grocery list. The night before you do your grocery shopping take a few minutes to plan out what you’ll need for the week.  Plan your meals so you know exactly what you will need, this will save you from spending money something that is not needed.  Be specific as possible so you are less likely to forget something.  Stick to the list, this will not only help you in saving money it will help you to save time as well.  We all know that time is money.

Find the Deals Before you Shop

Take a few moments to scan the sales paper of your favorite grocery store.  You can even do this online if the store you shop at has a website.  By scanning the local ads you can see if what you need is on sale and make sure it hits your grocery list. You can even combine the sales items that you find in the circulars with coupons you may have for extra savings.

Stockpile the Super Savings Items

When you find super savings on non perishables, such as toilet paper, paper towels, and other regular necessities stock up.  These items don’t go on sale too often and it would help you in saving money by stocking up if the price is right.

You can stockpile food items as well.  If you see super savings on food items that you will use and can freeze or store it would be a good idea to stockpile.   If you see that boneless chicken breasts are on sale for $2.99/lb. compared to $5.99/lb, it would be a good idea to buy more than you can use this week.  

Try the Store Brands

Most people I talk to are skittish about trying store brand items.  I have found however that most of the store brand items are just as good, if not better, than the name brands.  Of course there are some items I will not switch but for the most part store brands rank high on my list and I really don't notice much of a difference. Give them a try and you'll be surprised at the quality and savings.

Utilize Manufacturers and Store Cards

I know cutting coupons may seem time consuming and a lot of people may have steered clear of this task.  But you can really save a lot of money utilizing manufactures coupons and in store cards.  Check your local paper for coupons you can use.  It only takes a few minutes to scan through them to find coupons for the products you use. There are a lot of coupon sites online that you can easily search for the coupons you need and print them from home.  Some grocery store chains have programs where you can add manufacturers’ coupons on to you store discount card which is an awesome time saving resource.  

Shop on a Full Stomach

Have you ever gone shopping hungry? If you have you know that everything looks good, you add the items to your shopping cart and you’ve spent more than you intended too. If you don’t feel like shopping after dinner,  have a light snack before you go, or go when the samples are out at the grocery store. It can be fun walking up and down the aisles trying sample products, most are good and the best part is they are free. By going shopping on a full stomach you will save money by not buying unwanted items.

We hope you find these tips helpful  in saving money on your grocery bills. Feel free to add your tips as well.

Savings Bond Advisor - Fifth Edition (by Tom Adams)

Savings Bond Advisor will introduce you to the Cinderella of investments, the U.S. Savings Bond. Financial pundits have neglected the Savings Bond for a generation. Meanwhile, millions of Americans have invested significant portions of their money in Savings Bonds. Savings Bonds have been dressing for the ball since the U.S. Treasury introduced the inflation-protected Series I Bond and online accounts at Treasury Direct.

After a weekend reading Savings Bond Advisor, you'll understand how Savings Bonds work, how to open an account at Treasury Direct, the history of inflation, and why the Series I Savings Bond - which protects you from the risk of default, the risk of inflation, the risk of capital loss, and comes with tax advantages - should be the foundation of your savings and investment holdings. Everyone should have a part of their investment portfolio in readily-available emergency funds. I bonds are an easy choice for this low-risk portion of your investment portfolio.

If you already have an investment in Savings Bonds, you'll learn investment strategies that will increase the value of your holdings, estate planning strategies that will save your family money, and tax strategies that will help you avoid the Stinker Bond Penalty, the Double-Taxation Trap, the Deferred-Tax Time Bomb, and hidden interest-rate penalties. You'll also find out that some older Savings Bonds are a bad choice for almost every investor and what to do if you own one. The book includes access to a web site, www.savings-bond-advisor.com, that has the latest information about Savings Bond interest rates and program changes, as well as links to the forms you need to settle estates, replace lost bonds, update bond registrations, and receive the Savings Bond college education tax-deduction.

Tom Adams, the author of Savings Bond Advisor, also answers questions from the book's readers on the web site.