It has been fun. New site: www.vickypham.com

With the current economic crisis and mass lay-offs happening all over the Bay Area, many are really strapping down their finances to make sure they can support themselves in case they find themselves unemployed. I have always been very frugal and my frugality has helped me and my family save nicely. We have a nice emergency fund but most importantly, we live comfortably. I would like to share some of these tips and hopefully help others save a little cash. It may not seem much now as you cut small costs here and there, but believe me, it really adds up.

1. We pack lunches for work everyday. We used to buy lunches. That’s approximately $7 per person per day. With 5 workdays every week, that’s $70 of lunches for the two of us per week. That adds up to $3,360 a year! That’s a lot of money when I can easily pack my own lunch, and most of the time, it’s even better and healthier than what I get at the stores. Keep in mind that this figure is only for two people. If there are more people in the family, the figure spent on lunches alone would be much higher.

2. We buy in bulk for nonperishable items. Costco has become my second home as I shop there very often. I stock up on Costco’s Kirkland brands since they are lot cheaper. However, there are a few items that I prefer not get the Kirkland brands and rather pay a little bit more for brands of higher quality. Regardless, I’m still saving at Costco.

For perishable items, I usually split the item among a couple of families. For example, I can buy the same quantity of asparagus for a lower price at Costa than Safeway or Raleys. However, my family doesn’t normally finish the asparagus before it loses its freshness so we would split the item among multiple households. I may not save, but I’m helping others to save.

3. Run multiple errands in the same vicinity. If I’m already at Costco, I might as well pull up and get some gas. If there’s a Safeway nearby, I’ll get what I need that I couldn’t get at Costco. This not allows me saves me money on gas, but also make me get things down in a more efficient and timely manner.

4. No food goes to waste in our family. We use every piece of grocery purchased whenever possible. That nice store-bought rotisserie chicken that you bought? Well, don’t throw away the carcass. Put it in a pot to simmer. Let it set and scrap off the fat that floats to the top and you got yourself some great homemade stock! Vegetables such as celery and carrots losing its firmness? Throw them into the stock pot as well. Have left over pork roast? Wrap that sucker up and freeze it away for a future dish. Furthermore, I have one rule of thumb in my kitchen. I do not make new food until old food is finished. This works out very well when you’re husband is not a very picky eater.

Time is also money so save some by prepping your food. When you bring home that honking piece of meat from Costco, cut it up, marinate it and put it into individual bags. You are already marinating a portion of it, why not just add more of the seasoning ingredients in and marinate the whole batch for future use? And by putting the pieces into individual bags, you not only preserve the quality of the meat (more surface area, more ice crystals that can penetrate and damage the meat), but defrosting will be quick. Perfect for when you have no time and patience after a long tiring day at work.

5. For those with babies such as myself, make your own baby food. I started off by buying jarred-baby food. Not only did my baby refused to eat store-bought baby food, but it was also very expensive. Those little jars costs around 0.80 cents a piece and I really question how healthy it is to fed baby food that was made months ago and vacuumed sealed. I’m sure it’s safe, but why not feed your fresh baby food when they are so simple to make? With your own fresh and healthy stock, just toss in your vegetables. After a few minutes of simmering, toss the whole thing in a food processor and grind it up so that it’s the consistency of your baby’s liking. Baby’s happy that he eating healthy and fresh and mommy’s happy that she saves ton of money.

6. Take advantage of coupons and sales. I was never a coupon-person. I never like the idea of sitting around and going through the crap load of junk mail to save a few cents here and there. I soon find out that there significant savings in coupons. I learn quickly what I need and don’t’ need so browsing through the advertisements is a breeze. Unfortunately, I learned that the hard way when I bought items that I didn’t need but simply for the fact that it was on sale or that there was a coupon for it. That’s the wrong approach to saving and it took some time to register with me. Couple the coupons with existing sale items and you find yourself saving even more! I always look forward to the monthly book of coupons from my favorite store, Costco. There are huge savings in there on items that I would otherwise buy for regular price. It’s double the saving power when you shop with coupons at Costco! Yes, I love Costco.

7. Speaking of Costco, try to buy household items and office equipment at Costco as well. Costco offers a very, very generous refund policy. If you aren’t satisfied with your product or it becomes defective after some time, you can simply return it for a full refund, no questions asked (usually). The best part is there is no time frame. Simply return it at anytime. Of course, there are limitations on certain products: cameras, TVs, computers, etc can only be returned within 30 days of purchase but that is still very generous. Their generous refund policy eliminates the need to spend money on repairs or purchase new equipments. Simply return it and get a new one! I also love the fact that if you misplace your receipt, no problem. They can simply look it up in their system. In short, Costco rocks.

8. Shop at discount stores. I always knew discount stores exist, but I always credited their low price to their low quality. One day I was perplexed at the packed parking lot in front of Factory to You store so I decided to check out the store for myself. I soon found out that I landed the jackpot for baby and children clothes. Their baby and children clothes were surprisingly of high quality and were half or more off the retail price! I found the exact same items that I see at department store, but here they were selling them for dirt cheap! Baby clothes are already expensive and they are only worn for a short period of time so I was very relieved to find a place that offer nice quality clothes for such a bargain. There isn’t a big selection, but hey, children aren’t very picky. Take advantage of the young stages while you still can. I recently bought an 8-piece gift set for the low price of $9.99. A similar piece at the regular department store would no doubt cost me around $20 or more.

Well, those are my tips to living smart and on a budget. Do you have any money-saving tips? Please comment and share your ideas.