The Easiest Way to START Saving Money

When I was looking through all of the information available online about saving money I realized something. Almost all of them focus on saving money in the long term, with extra emphasis on how to start changing your spending habits immediately. The thing is, I know that's easier said than done. It can be hard to get used to saving money when it burns a hole in your pocket. That's why I wanted to share with you my best advice about the easiest way to start saving money.

Here's what you're going to need:

1) A box of sandwich bags (preferably Ziploc-it's just easier that way)
2) A big coffee can
3) A permanent marker

It's easier to save money when you have a specific goal in mind, so what I want you to do is choose three short term goals that you want to save money to achieve. These should be important to you, but short term enough that you're going to be able to reap the rewards in the near future.

Now, take three sandwich bags and write your goal on the outside, as well as how much money you need to save to accomplish that. Then, every week, I want you to put a dollar in each of those bags. You can always put more than a dollar if you have the money, but you should always add at least a dollar. These bags ARE NOT for spending cash, so don't get overly zealous. A dollar a week is better than tossing in ten, then cleaning out the entire thing the next time you have to buy dinner.

After you've achieved those goals, bump the amount of money you're saving a week up to five dollars per goal and choose three new goals. Then go for ten. Then fifteen. Then twenty. Before long you'll be up to making regular installments on your long term dreams, and you'll barely even notice it's happening.

Save Money on a Gym Membership

Whoever said that summer was the only time of year people really pushed themselves to get back into shape obviously didn't have school aged kids gearing up to go back to class! After an entire summer of having to beg, borrow and plead to get to do any physical activity that didn't involve a swimming pool or a playground, actually getting to spend more than ten minutes working out sounds great!

The problem is, gyms are expensive. Really expensive. Almost (dare I say it?) ridiculously expensive. I was horrified when I went bargain hunting for a good, low priced gym. After about 3 days of searching I came to a very simple conclusion. I wasn't going to find one. If I was going to exercise without breaking the bank I was going to have to do it myself.

So I turned my home into an exercise center. I paid ten bucks for a jump rope and a sturdy kids' step stool, and I bought a set of hand weights. Oh, and some really cool music to put in my CD player. I then spent an hour a day in my living room lifting weights, jumping rope, jogging in place and doing sit-ups and push-ups until I thought my eyes would pop out. You know what? It worked. Total cost-under $100. And I can work out any time I want, as long as I want.
Next step-buying two or three workout tapes so I can add zumba and tai-bo to my week. I can't wait.

Thrift Store Shopping Tips to Keep Your Teen from Being Picked On

It's the age old battle between being price conscientious and your kids finding themselves the object of ridicule at school-whether or not you should do your school clothes shopping at a thrift store! It's a sad but true fact that many of today's fashion conscious pre-teens whose parents have more money than sense look down their noses at teens walking around in thrift store wear.

On the other hand, thrift store shopping is a great way to save big bucks on your kids' school clothes!

Here are two tips for thrift store shopping guaranteed to keep both you and your teen happy:

1) Check out the condition of the clothes. Nothing screams "thrift store" like faded fabrics, snagged seams and holes in the arms! On the other hand, many of the clothes donated to thrift stores are in great shape. Your teen's friends will never know the difference!

2) How old are the clothes? Today's department stores are "hip", and if your teen's clothes are dated they're bound to find themselves the victim of one joke or another. Consider style when you're buying. Not sure? Stick with timeless cuts and fabrics.

Save (More) on School Supplies

I can't emphasize enough-'tis the season to spend a fortune on school supplies! At Jack's Coupons we've had a lot of people touching base to see if we've got coupons for school supplies and coupon codes for major suppliers like WalMart and Target, as well as savings on the clothes that are on the "just gotta have" list for today's teens.


Geez, when I was a kid the only thing on the "gotta have" list was a decent pair of sneakers. I was walking through the mall the other day and took a look at what they're charging for clothes in the Junior's department. $80 for a blouse that's almost guaranteed to have pizza sauce on it by the end of the first week? Have they lost their minds?


Anyway, to step aside from my own personal rant for a second, let's talk about how to save (more) money on school supplies! Coupons and sales are a great place to start. Have you considered scouring your cupboards? If you've got small children you've probably got a healthy collection of crayons, pencils, glue sticks and notepaper lying around the house. You might half your child's supply list without even knowing it!


Next, let's talk clothes. Seriously. I know I've gone on about this before (if not here then somewhere else), but most parents spend a fortune in school clothes each year. What do your kids have leftover from last year that still fits? Did you grab anything off the clearance rack last winter? And what do they really need? Unless they've completely outgrown their winter clothes from the year before, three or four new shirts and pairs of pants will probably do it. Remember, you can always pick up more in bits and pieces as the year goes on.


We're just talking about how to save money today.

How to Use Coupons to Help Save You Money

Would you believe that right now, today, there are hundreds of people who spend hours a week clipping coupons and aren't saving themselves a dime? It's not because they don't have the shopping with coupons thing down, but because they don't know how to effectively shop with coupons.

And if that doesn't sound like the beginning of a bad infomercial I don't know what does.

It's like this. Every day retailers and service providers from around the country release coupons designed to knock 10-20% (or more) off their goods and services to nudge you into coming out and giving them a try. This is absolutely wonderful if you were planning on using their services in the first place, but what if you weren't? You'd be amazed at how easy it is to give in to the temptation to spend money you don't need to spend for stuff you never really wanted in the first place.

How is that saving you anything?

To really use coupons to save you money clip coupons, save the ones you really need and store them in an organizer that makes them easy to find and throw the rest away! I promise, when the time comes that same company will still be having an amazing sale, and you'll be able to take advantage of it knowing that your money's going to right place.

State Parks: The Real (Cheap) Cure for What Ails You

Hello, and welcome to the Friday edition of Jack's Back! Alright, so that sounds like a bad 80's flick. I'm in a mood today. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I'm…sitting at my window watching wistfully because I'm tied to a computer. All right, that's a little melodramatic. I mean really, who can complain about getting to blog and call it work? My friend's son does it and they call it goofing off. I try not to rub that in too hard…

Anyway, on to plans for the weekend. I'm taking the kids and heading up to Letchworth State Park this weekend to hike-and maybe even take a dip in the pool, if it's warm enough! State parks are a great way to slip in a fun filled family outing without having to break the bank to make it happen. They're free to the public, usually filled with lots of cool things for the kids to do and fraught with peril in at least one spot (you know the one-where the kid's going to go down the cliff if they keep hanging over the edge?) so no one can call it boring.

If you're looking for a cheap way to enjoy the great outdoors this weekend I strongly recommend typing "State Parks" into the Google search engine and see what you can find for your local area. Pack a picnic, grab the swim floaties if your kids aren't proficient swimmers and stick a glove, a bat and a ball in the trunk of your car. I promise you hours of enjoyment.

How to Save Money on Babysitters

If there's anything that absolutely bowls you over when you become a parent it's how much it costs to get a good babysitter these days. When my oldest was born we made the decision to put him into daycare when he was old enough so my wife and I could continue working. The amount of money they wanted to charge us for a single week of changing diapers and remembering to put him down for a nap every once in a while was mindboggling!

Whether you're looking for a full time daycare service or a part time sitter to help plug in the gaps between your work schedule and your partner's (or actually sneak in a night out without the kids!) you're going to find yourself paying for the privilege of having someone else take care of your children. Over the years I've managed to find some great ways to cut my babysitting costs. Here's what we've come up with:

1) If you're looking for full time day care go with an in-home service rather than an institution. The classes are smaller, the kids are in a home environment and the sitters are usually doing it because they really enjoy day care rather than marking time until their next paycheck.

2) Make friends with people who have kids. Not only is this more fun for all of you, since you can do activities together, but you can play musical babysitters when one of you needs someone to pinch hit-and when you're paying in favors rather than money it's more affordable for all of you.

3) Work opposite shifts, and telecommute as often as possible. Until kids are old enough to start school juggling them between you and your spouse is usually the best way to ensure high quality child care at minimum expense. All you have to do is plug in the gaps.

4) Join a babysitting co-op. See #2: This is a great way to get together with other parents and schedule regular nights out without having to pay a fortune.

5) Enjoy early bedtime. If you're used to going out every weekend, having kids can seem like culture shock. Instead of going out, wait until the kids go to bed and pick up some wine and take-out. Rent a new release (chances are you didn't catch it in the theatre anyway) and pop some popcorn. Turn up the radio and dance in your living room. Voila! A night out at half the expense.

Child care can be a major bite out of your budget each month, but with some careful planning you can still enjoy the benefits of being gainfully employed and actually having a life without completely breaking the bank.

Save Money on Back to School Shopping

It's about that time again. The time when you peel your kids begrudgingly away from the friends and the video games they've spent their entire summer with a gear up with a list in one hand and a credit card in the other to do their school shopping. As a parent of three I know that school shopping can be almost ridiculously expensive, which is why I've devoted myself over the years to finding ways to cut costs (besides convincing my daughter she does not, in fact, need to spend $300 on a dress...).

First and foremost, do your school clothes shopping a season before. If your kids are past the age of outgrowing everything they own six months after you bought it this is a lot easier, since there's less guesswork involved, but you're usually pretty safe buying things a size or two large. That way you can hit the winter clearance sales, and all you need to do over the summer is pick up an outfit or two for them to start school in style.

There's not much you can do about the fact that your kids are going to need new shoes, but there are places you can go to get them much, much cheaper. Look for outlet stores like Shoe Factory instead of shopping at chain branches like Payless, and scout through the clearance section. Keep an eye out for who's having a sale, and if you get the chance ask a sales clerk if they still have anything left over from last season-when my son was younger I picked up a great pair of Lightning McQueen sneakers for less than $3 because they were outdated.

Finally, let's talk school supplies. I have 3 words for you: Early, Target, and WalMart. Don't wait until two weeks before school to do your kids' school shopping. WalMart and Target put all their school supplies on sale about 6 weeks before school starts, and you can find some great savings. I usually have my kids' school shopping done by the end of July, which saves money and stress as the first day rolls around.

See what you have that you can re-use from last year. New jackets, lunch boxes and backpacks are nice every year, but they're not a necessity. Spending a little extra for a backpack that will last them three or four years is a much better investment than dropping $20 a year on a character one that will be lucky to last until Christmas. I like Jansport myself-you spend $50-100 the first time, but they'll last forever.

The bottom line is that school shopping doesn't have to cost you a fortune. Try out some of these money saving tips and you'll be amazed to see just how far your budget can go!

**Feel free to comment below with your own money saving tips!**

How Often Should You Buy Your Girl Flowers?

One of the biggest attractions of Jack's Coupon Codes every year around Valentine's Day is our top of the line savings on flowers at Flowers.com and other online retailers. Every year I see hundreds of visitors hit these pages, and every year I have to laugh. Guys, I've got a tip for you. Buying your girl flowers at Valentine's Day isn't going to score you the bonus points you're hoping for. Why? It's trite. It's overdone. And you're doing it because you feel like you have to.

If you want to really bring a smile to her face, buy her flowers for no reason. Buy her sunny daisies when you know she's had a bad day and roses when you've missed her. Pick up cheap carnations just because. She'll be happy, and when she's happy, you're happy.

Video: Learn How to Save Money

I don't usually link videos on this Blogger, but I found a great video on YouTube the other day. It's easy to think about saving money when you've got a little bit in the bank, but it's a little harder when you're starting from scratch. This video shows the transformation of a young woman from an abused wife to a woman with savings an a future through IDA, a government program for low income families. Check it out.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4597355n