Steps to Planning and Saving for a Party

1. Start cooking ahead of time. Having appetizers or parts of the meal prepared and frozen will take a great deal of stress off of your planning. You will also be able to save more money by making your own food.

2. Think outside the box – or maybe in a box. The last gathering we had we asked a local restaurant to make boxed lunches for the event. The food was made and placed in little to-go boxes and delivered right to the event for just $6 per person. It was easy to do (because we didn’t really have to do anything) and even easier to clean up.

3. Buy food that is on sale to use for your event. With a little online research you can make great dishes out of any ingredient. All that you need to do is type in the ingredient name along with “recipe” into your search engine and then start sorting through the options.

4. Use crock pots to cook your dishes. You know the food will stay warm as long as you like, cooking in crock pots takes no time at all and you can cook just about anything (including dessert) in a crock pot.

5. Limit the guest list. You may want to invite everyone you have ever known so that no one gets offended, but that is no way to save money. Cutting back on the guest list will help cut down on expenses AND it will give you and your guests time to visit. Too many guests can be overwhelming to everyone.

6. Skip the alcohol. Offer a mix of tea, water, sodas, lemonade or other punches but avoid anything alcoholic. You will save a lot of money but you will also avoid any liability if a party-goer runs into problems after they drive away from your home.

Be creative when planning your next party and you can save time, stress and money along the way.

It is important to save money in this economy. Experts have been saying that everyone should have three to six months of expenses saved up but recently I heard that the number should be EIGHT months.

Our household lives off a freelance income. That means that the paychecks come when the paychecks come and there really is not guarantees when (or if) they will arrive. We have been living off last month’s income for a couple of years now and it has made us more aware of our spending habits. Last week I decided to push our finances to the limits and begin to save aggressively. We are aiming to save $3000 in just 10 weeks.

Tips for Saving More Money

1. Eating out is one of the quickest ways to eat up discretionary spending. Over the next ten weeks we will eat all of our meals in home or we will pack sandwiches and a picnic if we must eat at the ball field or other outing.

2. Turn off extra lights and equipment around the house and turn the air up to 74 degrees. I can save any of the overage from the budget for the electricity.

3. Sell something I don’t need, use or love. It may be something big like a piece of jewelry or something small like a toy or collectible that could go in auction.

4. Work one extra job each week – as a freelance writer I can take on as many jobs as time allows. One extra job each week could be dedicated to savings.

Saving $3000 in ten weeks is not an impossible task. It only takes finding ways to save just $300 each week or around $60 each day. Putting back that extra money will get me well on the way to a comfortable emergency fund and it will help me become even more aware of how we spend money as a family.

1. Fire up the grill – people will eat almost anything when it comes off the grill. You can also keep hotdogs frozen for ever (and just thaw them out as you need them). We stock up on hotdogs and buns (and freeze them together) during the “grilling” holidays like 4th of July. Many stores use hotdogs to draw customers in so they cost next to nothing.

2. Skip the sodas. The cans may be convenient, but Kool-Aid and sweet tea are much less expensive. An added bonus is that you are less likely to run out because you can always make more. Be sure that you are stocked up on ice or else keep the drinks in the refrigerator until its time to eat.

3. Fries go further than chips (and they are actually less expensive). Most people – and especially kids – will eat fewer fries than they will chips. Stock up on frozen fries when they go on sale.

4. Double your batches and freeze what you don’t use. Any time you make sweet breads, cupcakes or other dessert type breads make extras to stick in the freezer. When guests stop by unexpectedly you can still offer them something sweet.
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Entertaining doesn’t have to be expensive. People don’t stop by to see your house or your yard or to eat your food. People come to see you because they want to see YOU. Every other reason is just an excuse to stop by and visit. Keep the food simple and you will save yourself plenty of money and just as much time. You will be able to enjoy your guests and they will be able to enjoy you.

WARNING: The more your guests enjoy stopping by then the more they will likely stop by – always something to keep in mind .

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The economy is tightening and it is important to start planning for that eventual squeeze right now so that it won’t get too tight. Following a few simple tips to save more money is the best way to protect your family from the trying times ahead.


1. Always shop around. The internet has made this much easier to do, but you may still want to visit some of the top stores as well. You may be able to get a discount because the same product is available somewhere else for less. The sales associates in one store may be more knowledgeable or helpful in one store. Or you may find that some stores will offer better delivery or warranty options.
2. Pay with cash. Using credit is the easiest way to get into financial trouble. Choosing to purchase with cash means you will only spend what you actually have in your wallet. It also means that you will have to save up for what you want to buy giving you more time to think about the purchase.
3. Make do with what you have by repurposing. It may not be exactly what you want but it can get you through until you can save up to buy what you want (or until you don’t have that need any more). The key to repurposing is finding a way to make what you want out of what you already have.
a. Use the brackets from an old ceiling fan to create curtain holders (to pin back your curtains).

b. Make a candle holder a pen holder for your office – it displays the gift you got for your birthday and helps you keep your working pens together.

c. Worn out furniture indoors can become temporary outdoor furniture. If there are cushions then you may want to remove them during rain or bad weather. The furniture may not last long in the elements, but if you were going to toss it anyway then you get a little more use and it gets a second life.

d. Old windows can become part of a playhouse for the kids or even a green house for the gardener in your family. They can also make great hot boxes for starting plants and seeds earlier in the season.

4. Plan ahead for purchases. You know well before the stove, frig or washer goes out that the end is near. Start planning for your purchases now and even the unexpected will be expected (and easier to pay for).

Saving money does always have to be about the big things or even about difficult choices. By doing the little things you can end up saving big bucks that can help balance your budget during these tough economic times.

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