A lot posts I read across the blogosphere have a lot to do with groceries and money. You know, “how much should you spend, how much is too much , what are other people spending” and stuff like that. It is really hard to come down with a definite dollar amount. Food is a need, a want, an addiction and just tastes sooo good. It appears to be that you need to spend as much on food that is required to survive since food is a basic that you can not live with out. But that is not the go ahead to buy the most expensive brands of food either. You have to find a healthy medium. Now before I continue please keep these 2 things in mind; always remember you have to do what works for your family not everyone else, the rule is you should only spend 15 – 20% of your income on food. What methods work for you?
There are a lot of things that need to be considered when setting your grocery budget:
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how much income do you have
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how many people do you need to feed
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do you clip coupons
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do you plan menus
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do you have other sources for food? Maybe your own garden, free breakfast program at schools, you know someone with a garden?
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are you brand loyal? this is not always a good thing. There are some items that I always buy generic: salt, pepper, sugar, cooking oil, flour, pancake mix, panacake syrup, bread, potatoes and applesauce just to name a few.
For our family of 6 we roughly spend $420-$477. So far this is working for our family. I am hoping this will go down if I ever can get started with the once a month cooking. I am a little curious though, what are you spending on groceries?
I know, I am a little late with the updates so far for online income. It is not a lot but I am still hopeful and I am continuing to stick with it.
sendearnings $6.79 
inboxdollars $7.96 
snapdollars $6.92 
payperpost $50 
A.W. Surveys $10 
Ok, the IRS has a “official”calculator on their site to help determine exactly how much you will be getting back for your rebate (aka Economic Stimulus Payment). You will need your 1040 tax form and it will take a few minutes to complete. But remember this is just a estimate!
There is even a pay schedule now for those of us that want to know when do I get my money? I need it now! Economic stimulus payments will be issued according to the last two-digits of the main filer’s Social Security number. People who use direct deposit also will be among the first to receive the payments starting May 2. Paper checks will be put in the mail starting May 16.
DIRECT DEPOSIT
| Last two SSN digits: |
Payment will be transmitted: |
| 00 through 20 |
May 2 |
| 21 through 75 |
May 9 |
| 76 through 99 |
May 16 |
PAPER CHECK
| Last two SSN digits: |
Payments will be mailed by: |
| 00 through 09 |
May 16 |
| 10 through 18 |
May 23 |
| 19 through 25 |
May 30 |
| 26 through 38 |
June 6 |
| 39 through 51 |
June 13 |
| 52 through 63 |
June 20 |
| 64 through 75 |
June 27 |
| 76 through 87 |
July 4 |
| 88 through 99 |
July 11 |
People who file a return after April 15 will receive their economic stimulus
payment, but probably about two weeks later than the schedule shows. A
return must be filed by October 15 in order to receive a stimulus payment
this year.
The IRS website has lots of great information to answer all the questions we all have.
Recipients of Social Security Benefits
Recipients of Veterans’ Benefits
Railroad Retirement Recipients
Low-Wage Workers
The IRS has even went as far as to give examples of different tax scenarios:
I love my bank because it has a pretty good rewards program where we get money back. That is a big plus in my book. Another reason I am showing my bank “love” is because I was going through my mail and found 2 coupons for a free fee reversal. This means if for some reason I have a overdraft, I give the bank my coupon and they erase the $39 overdraft fee! This is just one of those things that I am glad to have in hopes that I will not need it. And I would like to give myself a little pat on the back because we have had no overdrafts since the beginning of the new year!!! (That is a big deal since I used to get 3-8 overdrafts a month.)
I just found out they have a savings plan for kids. I think that is a great idea because while I am learning how to make better money decisions I would like to teach my kids about money right from the start. It is called the
Free & Easy Kids Club Savings Account
By making it fun and rewarding to save, the Free and Easy Kids Club savings account helps teach savings habits that kids can take into adulthood!
Create Great Savings Habits:
- Just $10 to open and receive FREE gift: kids can start with what’s in their piggy bank!
- Prizes awarded for deposits: Kids receive a prize whenever they make a deposit (one per day please!) so they look forward to saving!
- Interest earning: Kids can watch their money grow and learn how interest works.
- Monthly statement: Kids get a statement showing how much they’ve saved, which encourages more saving!
- Free & Easy Kids Club website: fun activities, games and practical tips for kids and parents on allowance, savings and more can be found at our Kids Club Website!
Flexibility for small and big savers:
- Every dollar counts: Kids are rewarded for deposits of just $1 but we hope they save much more!
- Automatic deposits: Adults can set up systematic deposits in any amount from their checking or savings account into their child’s account.
- No monthly service fees or minimum balance requirements
- Any adult including parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles can open an account for the special children in their lives.
I think this will encourage even the youngest member of our family to save. I plan on signing the kids up next week.
Nicole (2)
Sheila Hickmon (2)
Anne (1)
Becki (1)
Cat @ 3 Kids and Us (1)
Pearl (1)
