Resolutions to Keep in 2011

I have to tell you that I love ringing in a New Year.  I just love the feeling of starting over and of renewed hope and dreams.  It is my favorite “holiday.” I am not one to draw a long list of new years resolutions though.  Mostly because I like to continually challenge myself.  But in the spirit of feeling like I have a clean slate, I want to share with you, some of my goals for 2010:

Save Money by Clipping Coupons I Will Use:  In 2011 I want to print and clip coupons for those items that my family uses.  In 2010 I found myself printing a LOT of coupons that I ended up not using.  This caused me to lose money since I wasted ink and paper on those coupons.  If it is not something my family will consume, or I can donate, I will not print a coupon.

Be Frugal with My Time:  One of my main goals of this year is to be more efficient with the use of my time.  I want to invest my time the same way I invest my money: on worthwhile activities that provide me the most return.  Spending an hour to save $2 is hardly a good use of my time.  This is the reason I don’t do canning.

Maintain a reasonable stockpile for my family:  This is hard for me to confess, but in the past I have wasted time and money buying products that my family won’t eat.  Or maybe I have bought more than we can possible consume before the product expires.  In most cases I have been able to donate items that are expiring soon.  But for 2011 I want to eliminate the possibility of wasting food.

Translate more of the savings on my receipt to savings in my bank account.  I find that I work so hard on clipping coupon or hunting  a deal but sometimes those savings are not showing on our bank account. Automatic savings is a great way to take any savings at the store and put them in your bank account.    I will start small and continue increasing as I create more room in your budget.

Use creative ways to save money buying organic food.  Over the past year my family has started consuming more organic and natural products.  I have found that warehouse stores, like BJ’s or Costco, are great places to find organic staples for less.  I can get a 5lb bag of organic apples for $6.99 or a gallon of organic apple juice for $3.98.  I also plan on using Amazon or other online retailers to buy organic non-perishable items for less.  Would you be interested in me sharing more deals on organic items?

These are what I would consider some of my personal household/financial goals for this year.  Life is a work in process so I am sure as the year progresses some of these may change.