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Tips and Tricks for Kinney Chaos

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We get asked about a lot of things and since we cover a wide range of topics here is a list of our tips and tricks, FAQ and the blog posts that go with them. If you have a question we would LOVE to hear from you! Drop us a message by contacting us or commenting on this article!

Travel Tips and Tricks

What is Travel Hacking?

Should I hoard my points or spend as soon as I can?

How can I earn free trips? We earn free hotel stays and airfare by maximizing our reward points. Don’t get overwhelmed. If you are just starting out, pick one or two and get really consistent with those before adding more.

Here are some tips and tricks to help you get started.

What are your favorite hotls to stay at?

What are your tips for flights?

What are the best credit cards to have to get reward points and earn free trips ?

Quotes

Budget and Money Tips and Tricks

How can I budget?

How can I teach my kids about money?

How can I save money on everyday expenses?

Social Media Tips

10 Ways to Dramatically Lower the Grocery Bill

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Like most families, one of our most significant monthly budget line items is our groceries. Trying to balance necessities and what we want is always a challenge when money is tight. It only makes sense that we try to lower the grocery bill.

If you are like us then talking about budgets and expenses is scary. To try and help make things easier for you we’ve created some FREE resources just for you! We really hope you enjoy our Free Budget and Expense Tracking printables.

10 Ways to Dramatically Lower the Grocery Bill

  1. Check unit Prices
  2. Buy in Bulk
  3. Buy Generic brands
  4. Only Pay with Cash
  5. Buy seasonal fruit
  6. Shop Online
  7. Shop the store sales
  8. Meal plan
  9. Shop Alone
  10. Eat Before

Check unit Prices

A lot of times buying the biggest box of cereal makes sense. (If you eat a lot of cereal). Purchasing those big boxes or largest item is typically the cheapest method to getting the best bang for your buck.

However, if there is a sale on a smaller box, the unit price may be lower for that smaller box. The unit price is the price per serving. Check the unit prices and try to get them lower, sometimes you will fix buying two smaller size items is a better deal than one large box.

Buy in Bulk

Buying large quantities of something you use often is typically the best deal. If you can purchase a case of green beans, you may get a discount. Check those unit prices and try to buy in bulk whenever you can to stack those savings and help you lower your grocery bills.

Buy Generic brands

Let’s face it; most store brands are just as good as name brands. You can typically save yourself some money just by swapping out that name brand for the store brand. Now even I will admit there are some things we don’t buy generic because it isn’t quite the same. However, you need to consider swapping out whenever possible.

Only Pay with Cash

Paying for your groceries with cash ensures you stick to your budget. Ideally, you have set aside a specific amount to use and can stay within that budget. Not taking credit cards or paying with other methods makes you less likely to grab those items you think you needed but had not planned on purchasing.

Buy seasonal fruit

We love fruit because we make a lot of smoothies. Let’s face it though; fruit is expensive. You can help curb these costs by only purchasing in-season fruit. There are different times when berries are on sale vs. melons. Take advantage of those differences to add variety and get a better deal on your grocery bills.

Shop Online

Many local and online stores such as Amazon will allow you to make grocery purchases online. Shopping online is great because you can stack savings, but also because you are then not tempted to make those last minute and not necessary purchases.

Shop the store sales

Every local store including Walmart, Aldi‘s or Save A Lot has store sales. Strategize before you head out to pick up your weekly groceries where you will go and which store you will purchase from.

Meal plan

Meal planning to help you save money on your grocery bill helps you to know what you need. This will help you maximize your savings as you visit local stores and purchase the in-store sale items.

Shop Alone

Taking kids and husbands to the store can be expensive. Leave them home and shop alone. This way you can stick to your strategies and make your purchases without extra pressure from the littles.

Eat Before

There is nothing worse than grocery shopping when you are hungry. Additionally, this is hard on the grocery bill once you get to the register. When we are hungry, we tend to feel as if we need items we had not planned on purchasing. You are way more likely to test your willpower if you enter that store hungry than you are if you just ate a fulfilling meal.

Frugal Living: 25 Genius Ways to Save Money Everyday

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Everyone wants to save money and many of us strive for a frugal living! I don’t know a single person who has so much money they don’t enjoy a good deal. (Now I’m sure these people exist, I just don’t know any.)

Frugal Living Tips

Household / Vehicle Tips

  1. Watch less TV – This will help you be subjected to less ads, and you can cut down on subscription costs too!
  2. Clean out closets and sell things you are no longer using! Check out our Spring Cleaning : A 20 Day Cleaning Challenge
  3. Turn off your lights and if you can’t turn them off make sure you are using LED’s. Check out 5 useful ways to save money on utilities
  4. Keep your tires inflated. For every 2 PSI of air pressure your tires are under the recommended level costs you about 1% on your gas mileague.
  5. Use Surge Protectors – Not only will this help so they don’t get blown up in a storm, but you can easily turn them off to help save on electrical bills.

Holiday Items

  1. Make Gifts this holiday season! There are plenty of gift ideas on Pinterest just waiting for you!
  2. Only purchase holiday decorations after the holiday is past. Getting them when they are on sale for 70-90% off only makes sense.

Groceries / Food Tips

  1. Don’t go grocery shopping without a list!
  2. Plan your grocery shopping based on local store sales.
  3. Pack food for road trips. Just because you have to travel doesn’t mean you have to eat at fast food restaurants.
  4. Compare grocery store prices so you always get the best deal.
  5. Try generic brands. Many of the things you love are perfectly awesome in generic form.
  6. Drink more water!
  7. Pack your lunches for work.

Budget Tips

  1. Use a budget
  2. WASH your hands. This helps keep the medical bills low and the sickies away!
  3. Restrict online shopping
  4. Set Goals or use a Vision Board – This helps you realize what you are working for!

Other / Misc Frugal Living Tips

  1. Sign UP for Rewards Programs – these can help you save money on purchass you are already planning on making. Check out Rapid Rewards Shopping tips.
  2. Wait 30 Days – to make any purchase over $50. You may not need that purchase as much as you thought if you have to wait for it.
  3. Use library borrowing services. You can watch money movies and read books through your library share programs.
  4. Quit using credit cards if you can’t pay them off every month.
  5. Cancel unused memberships. If you aren’t using that gym membership, stop paying for it.
  6. Buy used. There are lots of perfectly good used items at consignment shops just waiting for you!
  7. Ask for fees to be waived. This won’t always work but it doesn’t hurt you anything to ask. This includes when signing up for services.

Hopefully you have enjoyed our tips on how you can live a more frugal life!

5 useful ways to save money on utilities

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One of the things we can’t cut out of our budget is utilities. For us we live in Wisconsin, we can’t go without heat in the winter. While we could probably reduce the air conditioning in the summer, I would be miserable. So while we can’t cut out those expenses, there are some useful ways that we can save money on those pesky utility bills. save money on utilities

Energy Efficient Things

The easiest thing you can probably do is start using Energy Efficient Lightbulbs. These are available in every store these days and aren’t all that more expensive than regular light bulbs. There are many options for dimmable and LED lights in floodlight bulbs or small mirror bulbs. I even found those pretty round bulbs used on vanities that came in LED options.

Another option is to use Energy efficient appliances. When your washer, dishwasher, or dryer dies, consider replacing it with something that costs less to run on a daily basis.

save money on utilities

Programmable Thermostat

One of my favorite things we ever did that ended up helping us save money was to install a programmable thermostat. We LOVE our nest, but there are so many options out there. Nest allows us to set up a schedule; auto detects if we are home based on our phone settings and it “learns” our habits and starts to sneak in energy savings we don’t even notice.

Other great things you can do to help with this is to install thermal blinds or thermal drapes. These help keep cold air out in the winter and warm air in the summer. And these do not have to be the ugly old black and brown ones we probably associate with energy efficiencies. We’ve come a long way with style in these areas!

save money on utilities

Update the way you do Laundry

Additional tips for appliances include using dryer balls to decrease dry time. Using cold water in your washer and using your appliances during off-peak times. Also, take advantage of things like your overheat in the winter, open that baby up and let it help you heat your home!

Don’t forget to review your setting on less remembered appliances such as your water heater. Make sure you aren’t heating your water above 120 degrees. This will help with Laundry when you do need to use warm water, but will also help with showers and dishwashers too!

save money on utilities

Use Fans to Save Money on Utilities

Fans are not just for summer! Get out your fans to help you push air around your house in a way that benefits your natural air flow. Winter Tip: Put your fan in the corner of the room, nearest to the heat source to help you control that air flow.

If you have ceiling fans make sure you have them going in the right direction for the time of year. In the winter months make sure they are going clockwise. This allows the fan to push the warm air back down around the edges of your room. This helps keep the warm air down where you are instead of stuck on the ceiling. Same for summer, but then the fan needs to turn counterclockwise so that it can pull the cold air up off the floor.

save money on utilities

Visit Utility Website

Most Utility websites have lots of tips, and I’m sure yours does too! If you use WPS check out all their great suggestions for energy efficiency as well as any programs they may have for you to save a few bucks on those appliance replacements or larger scale energy projects!

If you want additional tips on how to save money check out 15 Tips on How to Save Money. Let us know what other tips you have and of course SHARE our articles with your family and friends or even on Pinterest so they can get these great tips and more too!

15 Tips on How to Save Money

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If you are like most of us at some point, you have wondered how to save money. Maybe you are getting into Travel Hacking or want to find a way to get fly for cheap. So you start asking yourself a bunch of questions: What’s the fastest way to save money? And my favorite how to get a bunch of money quickly? Sometimes it’s your bad money habits causing the issue. Read below to find a few tips on how to save money.

Budget Tips

If you are looking for the best tips on creating a budget and paying off debt, I would recommend you hook up with Dave Ramsey. In the meantime, here are some of my favorite tips.

  1. Track your expenses. This seems easy but you may find it’s harder to do than you would think. There are lots of ways to do this, from checkbook registers to apps, to excel spreadsheets. It doesn’t matter how you do it, just find a way to do it and track your expenses regularly. *** Read about The 5 Best Budget App (s) to Make Your Life Easier
  2. Create an Emergency Fund. At some point, you will have an unexpected expense. Prepare for it, don’t be blindsided by it.
  3. Calculate purchases by hours. Is it worth spending 19 hours worth of work on that purchase or is that money best allocated somewhere else?
  4. Use the 24-hour rule. Think over every single nonessential purchase for at least 24 hours before you buy it. This time frame allows you to evaluate if you need another pair of shoes or a purse or that ice cream treat. Waiting 24-hours is super easy to do online, add things to your cart and just leave it. Plus you never know if you will get a coupon just because you left something in your cart.
  5. Pay off credit cards every month. Stop giving the banks your hard earned money in interest.

Saving for your future

  1. Take advantage of retirement matching. Don’t let your employer keep the money they will give you for free. If your company matches money you set aside for retirement, make sure you are taking full advantage.
  2. Tax Returns or Windfalls. We’ve all probably received an unexpected cash payment at some point. It could be an extra $20 or way more. Either way don’t rush out to spend it. Put all or some of it away into your savings account, so you have it when you need it.

Bad Habits

  1. There is no competition. Do not self-impose a lifestyle competition for yourself and try to keep up with your siblings, neighbors, etc. You don’t know their life situation; they don’t know yours. Trying to compete isn’t fulfilling. No one wins this imaginary competition when trying to figure out how to save money.
  2. Emotional Spending: Don’t do it. Stay away from the store and online websites when you are feeling incredibly emotional. It doesn’t matter if you are super happy or super sad any extreme can lead to unnecessary spending.
  3. Having Super hard to imagine goals doesn’t help you at all. If your goal is to pay off $100,000 that’s ok, but it might be too hard to believe, and you may not see any progress if your progress is slow. Instead start with easy to reach and measure goals. Grab our FREE ebook to help you set realistic goals!

Random How to Save Money Tips

  1. Store that loose change. Don’t be tempted to grab it and go make that candy bar purchase. Put it into a container at the end of each day and don’t touch it again until you can take it in and deposit all that beautiful loose change into your savings account.
  2. Unsubscribe from those oh so easy to temp us emails. You know the marketing emails meant to attract you to your favorite stores, treats, offers to good to refuse… Yeah, those… unsubscribe so you aren’t tempted.
  3. Designate one day a week to be “No Spend.” One way to help you figure out how to save money is to make a day where you do not spend any consciously. This requires you to eat at home, pack a lunch, play games for entertainment, etc.
  4. Drink more water. Seems easy – for me it isn’t. I like my coffee. But drinking more water is cheaper, and healthier for you too!
  5. Save 5% on all Target purchases: If you have to purchase something, maximize your savings any way you can.

Leave us a comment with your best money savings tip! And if you haven’t already, grab our FREE ebook to help you set realistic money savings goals!

Travel Hacking: How to Fly Delta Cheap

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Which Airline?

Everyone has their own favorite airlines.  I prefer to fly Southwest and Delta airlines.  I like Southwest due to their flight cheap redemption options for direct flights to Las Vegas and Orlando from Milwaukee.  Another reason is due to their nonstop fights for Cancun out of Chicago Midway. However the other airline that I like to use is Delta.  So one of the first things I had to figure out was how to fly Delta cheap.
Delta has a very heavy presence in Minneapolis.  You can get many different nonstop flights to areas throughout the US.  Delta has to compete against Spirit, Southwest, and Sun Country for Minneapolis travel.  Because they are up against these ‘low cost carriers’ they tend to have cheaper rates for travel. This allows you to fly Delta cheap without putting in a lot of extra effort right off the bat.  I have been able to book several trips now for as low as 12,000 miles round trip from Minneapolis to Vegas or Phoenix which would be over 30,000 miles from our local airport.
A big feature I enjoy of Delta is being able to book my trip 300 days in advance. I was already able to book my Las Vegas trip at the end of December 2018 during the busy holiday season.  By booking the travel this far out, you do receive better redemption options.

Why Not United or American?

I hate flying out of Chicago O’Hare mostly due to the flight delays. According to multiple articles on www.insuremytrip.com, Chicago O’Hare consistently appears in the top three airports for flight delays.  That airport is a main hub for American and United Airlines.

How to fly Delta Cheap?

Due to enjoying the Delta flight options one of the first travel credit cards I got was the Delta Amex.  Delta charges for bags as part of your flight reservations but with the Delta Credit Card I am able to check my bags for free.  The annual fee for the card is $95 however they do not charge an annual fee for the first year to allow you to get a good feel of the card.  I am going to assume that I will have two round trip flights each year. By saving the money for baggage, I have already covered the cost of the annual fee. One of the benefits I consider priceless is the better boarding position.  Nothing is worse than getting on the plane, and having to put your carry on bag rows and rows away from where you are sitting.  Being one of the first several groups on the plane with your Delta Amex almost guarantees you will have your bag near you.
Right now, by using my referral link, you will receive 50,000 miles after spending $2,000 in normal purchases in the first three months.  This is enough miles for 2 round trip tickets to many areas throughout the continental United States when flying out of Minneapolis.  You also have an option for a $50 credit if you have to do a Delta purchase and 10,000 more miles with $1,000 in purchases within the first 90 days.  The fact that American Express does have the no annual fee the first year, this is a great starter card to consider.  Another huge perk is that Delta Miles, unlike other airlines, do not expire due to inactivity.
If you enjoyed this article check out these others you may enjoy.

Thank you for reading, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

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