Shorter days can mean just one thing, fall is upon us. Unfortunately, like every year before, it promises to bring along with it lower temperatures and higher bills. From the additional energy needed to heat the home, to the increased energy used keeping it lit through longer nights, fall and its colder, harsher sister winter, can bring undue financial strain to families; especially in our current economic down turn and energy crisis. With a little preparedness and planning however, the inevitable burden of the season can be minimized before it ever even arrives with these no to low cost tricks:

Block Drafts

The age-old wisdom of our grandmothers still applies today; draft blockers are big time money savers. Check around doors, windows and even electrical outlets for leaky airways in your home. Using a stick of burning incense or a lit candle walk through your home holding it near the walls, windows, and doorways. A drafty area will be immediately evident when you see the flame of the candle or smoke from the incense stick change directions and flicker with the breeze coming through. Once located block the drafts appropriately according to their location.

Door jambs can be most effectively blocked using draft blockers made to sit along their bottom on the floor. Windows on the other hand may benefit from storm windows applied to the outside of the home, plastic sheets made for the purpose of weather proofing windows, or even a little caulk or weather striping depending on the circumstances.

Don’t have enough draft blockers for your home’s doorways? No need to buy an expensive one in the store an old tube sock, rolled up towel, or pant leg will do. Fill partway with dry beans for weight and then stuff with quilt batting. Secure the ends with ribbon, rope or twine and you have an effective, custom draft blocker for your doorways.

Change Furnace Filters

Furnaces must work harder to pull air through dirty, clogged furnace filters which means they run longer, harder and heat less efficiently than they would with a fresh, clean filter installed. Now is the time to change those filters from last year and stock up on filters to get you through the winter. Depending on the type of filter you use it will need to be changed every 30 to 90 days throughout the heating season for best results. Even with longer rated filters however, it’s always wise to keep an eye on its condition as you go along since every home is different and will require different filter changing schedules for best results. A furnace in a home with pets for instance, is likely to need a filter change before one in a home without.

Re-Examine Lighting

With nights and mornings becoming progressively darker and longer you may want to consider the lighting arrangements in your home. Each room should have a single light source that can be turned on by itself. If for instance, in your kitchen you only have an overhead lighting system that burns six light bulbs at once you may consider placing a lamp in one corner to allow you to light the room moderately when full overhead lighting is not necessary. Being able to turn on just one light bulb, as opposed to several, when you desire will help decrease the amount of energy needed to light your home through the long season ahead. Just don’t forget to turn them off when you leave the room.

Additionally, if you haven’t already now would be a good time to start switching to Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs as your standard bulbs burn out. According to GE Lighting each CFL bulb uses up to 75% less energy and saves an average of $34.39 over the life of the bulb.

Install a Programmable Thermostat

The initial cost of purchasing a programmable thermostat is far outweighed by the cost savings reaped in even the first year of use. You can find them in most big-box stores, local hardwares, and home improvement warehouses beginning around forty dollars. Easy to install and set up, it’s a foolproof way to save big bucks on heating costs. Most even have separate settings for weekdays and weekends. The trick to gaining the biggest savings is to set the furnace to a lower setting for the hours during which your family is not home or asleep and then for it to automatically turn up the heat just before you wake or arrive home. Experts recommend settings of 62 degrees Fahrenheit for times when you are away or asleep, and 68 for times when you are both home and awake, but you can adjust those to fit the individual comfort level of your family. Just remember, the key is in turning it down. If you must, start with baby steps, bringing the temperature down a degree or two at a time, soon you won’t notice the difference.

Plan ahead and cranky, crotchety old man winter won’t catch you too off guard.

Diana writes about all of the other things in life that *do* however, catch her off guard at her personal blog Of The Princess and The Pea.

Can we talk about soup for a minute?  I love soup.  All kinds of soup.  Soup is delicious and it can also be very inexpensive.  In Southern California, the weather is still pretending it is summer (it is almost 9pm and still 78 degrees outside!)  and it is beginning to make me upset.  Fall officially began a month ago, it’s after Halloween, Christmas decorations are beginning to take over the stores…can’t a girl get a little love in the form of a cool evening?!  So while many of you are dreaming of (and getting) a white Christmas, I am going to dream about soup: lots and lots of lovely soups I am going to make the week it decides to finally be chilly here.

Here’s a recipe that I love and it feeds my family of 5 nice big portions with a bit of leftovers.  It is healthy (low fat with lots of fiber and protein), filling, and it costs less than $10.00 (that’s only 2 bucks a person - take that dollar menus)! It’s easy on the wallet and easy on your time - just about 30 minutes from start to finish.

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp Olive Oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 4 cups vegetable broth (or two 14oz cans)
• 1 cup water
• 2 cans diced tomatoes seasoned with garlic and onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger (or 1tsp fresh if you have it on hand)
• 1 tsp ground turmeric (optional)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (I know it might sound strange but trust me on this one)
• 1/4 black pepper
• 3 oz egg noodles, uncooked
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• One 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 cups cooked lentils, drained and rinsed

Directions

• Heat oil soup pot over medium heat.  Add onion, stirring until it begins to soften, about 2 min
• Add broth, water, tomatoes w/their juice, garlic, ginger, turmeric (if using), cinnamon and black pepper.  Turn heat to high and cover pot until it begins to boil
• Uncover pot and add egg noodles.  Cook, uncovered until noodles are tender, about 6 minutes
• Add chickpeas,lentils, and cilantro and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes

*Tip:  If you are cooking your own lentils, make the whole 1 pound bag and freeze the leftovers in 1 cup portions (up to one month)  to use in other recipes.

When she’s not feeding her family on a tight budget, Jennifer can be found rambling on about life in general on her blog, I Call Times!

photo source

For months now, I have been listening to Dave Ramsey’s talk show on our local radio station. His plan for financial freedom sounded so doable and really intrigued me.

The problem was, trying to explain it to my husband. It would all get lost in translation and he was never in the car at the time of Dave’s radio show. So, needless to say, I was beyond thrilled when our church announced that it was offering Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.

I am loving the idea of being debt free and not having to worry about emergencies. When you have some money saved up and set aside, suddenly emergencies aren’t… and those potential stresses just aren’t there any longer…

Sound good to you?

This isn’t a get rich quick infomercial. It is a plan that requires commitment for the long haul. But the rewards will be huge for our families.

Karla an editor for Blissfully Domestic and also blogs at Looking Towards Heaven.

(this post was originally published on 9/14/08)

Earlier this summer, I was feeling incredibly frustrated about my weight. I then discovered that a Weight Watchers group meets once a week at lunch time in my office building. It seemed like a sign, and I knew I would always regret it if I didn’t join. So I did.

At $204 for 17 weeks, the At-Work program is a little more expensive than signing up at a center. But I do save money on gas and parking, since I just walk to my meetings. The At-Work program also includes access to E-Tools, Weight Watchers’ online portal that includes an online tracking program, which I absolutely love. I don’t think I’m paying much more than I would for traditional Weight Watchers, and of course, I’m saving lots of time by attending meetings at work.

I’ve been a little surprised at the impact - or lack thereof - of Weight Watchers on our grocery budget. I thought I’d spend more on produce and “special” low calorie foods. But that hasn’t really been the case. I do buy a lot of produce, but not much more than I used to.  I do keep some Weight Watchers Smart Ones frozen dinners in the freezer for times when I don’t want to eat what I’ve made for the rest of the family (like hot dogs), but again, that cost is mostly canceled out by the food I didn’t eat. (Especially because I buy frozen dinners on sale with coupons).

One positive change due to Weight Watchers is that we eat out a little bit less than we used to. Because I need to plan ahead, I’m better about cooking at home. And when we do grab some fast food on weekends en route to our various activities, I usually don’t order anything.

Overall, I’d have to say that Weight Watchers has had minimal impact on our budget. Which surprises me, because one of the reasons I’d avoided it for so long was the cost.

Cathy is a wife, mother to two young boys, and an attorney. At her blog, Chief Family Officer, she writes daily about personal finance, parenting, cooking and lately, about Weight Watchers. She loves to make money, save money, and have fun along the way.

Source and source

You can get $25 Gift Certicificates to local restaurants for only $4 through 10/26/08 when you visit Restaurant.com and use the code:  SAVOR at checkout!

Just make sure to check out any restrictions provided by the individual restaurants!  Some require a minimum purchase before you may use the coupon.  However, for many restaurants, this may not be an issue.  The restaurant that we chose required a minimum purchase of $35, but the average entree was $20 anyway!

Mindi refuses to pay full price for anything and can be found at Moms Need To Know, where she helps Philadelphia-area moms pay very little for their groceries