Ready to Win? Enter the Green and Frugal Living Giveaway

It's be awhile since we've hosted a giveaway. As someone who struggles to organize my meal prep, grocery shopping and menu planning, I think you'll enjoy our giveaway sponsor, FoodOnTheTable.com.

Food on the Table is both a web and mobile service that creates meal plans and generates grocery lists. After selecting food preferences and dietary needs, members can choose from various recipes that fit their lifestyle, and Food on the Table automatically builds a grocery list for each item needed. It then goes a step further by showing the user local sales on grocery list items. There is a free membership, but the paid membership gives you access to thousands of recipes and allows you to plan meals for a full week. It is meant to take the stress out of meal planning by providing recipes, organizing a grocery list, and fitting into your budget.

Food on the Table sounds like an ideal solution to organizing those frenzied evenings when you're trying to figure out what to have for dinner and then what you need from the store. What's not to love?

If you're interested in participating in the giveaway for a Food on the Table membership, here's what you need to do:

1. Follow @allyjackson on Twitter
2. Tweet about the giveaway
3. Sign up for the Green and Frugal newsletter
4. Follow the Green and Frugal blog
5. Leave a comment below and let me know which of these you've completed.

For every step you take, you'll be entered into the giveaway. So you could have 5 possible entries.

The giveaway will end Aug. 12 at midnight. Winners will be announced by Aug. 15.

Good luck!!!

Top Blog Posts of the Week

The summer is flying by! It's been awhile since I shared the Top Blog Posts of the Week:

• Who's Ready to Save Money at Disney? Traveling with the family to Disney can break the bank. Here are some great tips to save money.

• Saving Money in an Era of Record-Low Interest Rates Some great tips from Frugal Dad.

• Can't Get a Job? Get a Microjob. Love this post's take on freelancing from Get Rich Slowly.

• Is It Worth to Build a Green Home? BeingFrugal.net tackles some of the key issues surrounding building a green home.

These are the just a few great articles. I'd love to hear from you. What posts did you enjoy this week?

Enjoy your summer and stay tuned for more green and frugal tips!

What to Expect in Your Wallet’s Future: Frugality in the New Age

Once upon a time there was something called a wallet, which was used for holding cash, and something else called a phone which was used for conversing with people from far away. 

Technologies are developing at speeds that are no short of jarring, and today wallets and phones are no longer what they used to be.  Now you can use your phone to send email, plan your day, check the stock market, get cutting edge news, and wake you up in the morning amongst many other things.  Wallets too are going digital, and they are no longer going to need to be huge eyesores that men put in their back pocket, they are going right into the phone along with everything else. 

The Giants
I want to tell you about two of the payment processing giants, PayPal and Google, and how they are creeping out of cyberspace and into your wallet.  PayPal and Google have each released their respective versions of the newest concept in offline shopping.  The mobile wallet is a sort of hybrid payment processing concept that allows the consumer to have internet-like capabilities when shopping offline. 

Features
Here are some of the features of the mobile wallet…

• Security -- The security code makes the mobile wallet more secure than a regular wallet since, even if it is lost or stolen nobody can use it without knowing the code.



• Convenience -- In many cases it is easier to pay for things using the mobile wallet, often allowing shoppers to skip the check-out counter altogether.



• Financial Organization -- PayPal actually allows you to change your payment options even weeks after a purchase is made.  For instance, if you purchase something through Mobile PayPal with a visa card and without indicating that you want to pay in installments, you can change your mind later on and pay with a MasterCard with installments. 



• Price Comparing -- Through a mobile it is now possible to scan a barcode on a product and find out about other stores in the area that offer the same product, including being able to compare prices.



• Frugality in the New Age -- While the basic concepts of living frugally, like spend less than you earn, will probably never change, frugality strategies will need to develop with the times.  One way of preventing the inevitable difficulties of dealing with a mobile wallet is simply to avoid using that option.  But since there are definite financial advantages to using a mobile wallet let’s consider how best to use a mobile wallet frugally.
  
  Don’t spend money that you don’t have.  The newest PayPal advertising campaign is “Buy now pay later,” since even PayPal is now offering the option to users to purchase things without processing the order until later.  For anyone that reads this blog, the dangers should be obvious.
  



• No Impulse Buying -- The mobile phone is making self-control more and more difficult for consumers since merchants can now send offers to mobile phones in their vicinity.  



• Bargain Hunting -- Being able to compare prices by scanning bar-codes means that you can always find the best deals.  I just have two things to say about that though. If you find something that you like in one store and it is $5 cheaper in another store across town, considering the cost of time and transportation makes the “cheaper” item more expensive.

Be fair to stores, even though we all want to be more savvy consumers, if somebody helps you to find what you want at a store that is an expense for the store.  If the store is offering the product for a fair price it is arguably unethical to go and buy it somewhere else.

My suggestions and observations are certainly subject to debate, if you have anything to
add to what I said I would love to hear from you in the comments section.

Author’s Bio:
Rachel Walker is a FastUpFront Blog contributor and business consultant. FastUpFront.com offers an alternative to a small business loan based on future sales.

$5K in Savings Update -- May & June

I seemed to have missed a month, so it's catch-up time. I've been plugging along on my cost savings journey. Let's see how we're faring:

May Savings (as stated on the receipt)

Date          Store                            Total Spent        Savings (coupons and/or sales)
May 4         ShopRite                        $7.71                       $1.30
May 5         ShopRite                        $13.81                     $3.14
May 6         ShopRite                        $13.12                     $7.48
May 7         ShopRite                        $129.41                   $76.26
May 10       CVS                               $3.21                      $0.54
May 16       ShopRite                         $32.43                    $22.74
May 16       Five Below                      $27.82                    $1.00
May 24       ShopRite                         $54.30                    $31.04
May 25       Kohl's                             $29.73                    $5.25
May 29       ShopRite                         $98.81                    $65.88


June Savings (as stated on the receipt)

Date          Store                            Total Spent        Savings (coupons and/or sales)
Jun. 1        Kohl's                                       $53.17                         $19.39
Jun. 1        CVS                                            $1.04                          $3.79
Jun. 3        ShopRite                                 $34.27                       $5.47
Jun. 7         ShopRite                                $55.44                       $38.51
Jun. 8          ShopRite                                $49.18                       $9.58
Jun. 13       ShopRite                                 $75.68                       $39.78
Jun. 15       ShopRite                                 $140.40                    $34.72
Jun. 16        A&P                                         $13.03                        $2.00
Jun. 19     ShopRite                                  $109.49                      $64.29
Jun. 20      Kohl's                                       $19.45                        $12.80
Jun. 21        ShopRite                               $5.82                           $12.99
Jun. 24        ShopRite                               $40.58                       $45.90
Jun. 26       Pathmark                              $11.39                        $8.58
Jun. 28       Kohl's                                      $27.26                       $10.92
Jun. 29       Old Navy                              $119.42                      $27.20
Jun. 29       Stop & Shop                       $30.85                          $11.72


COMBINED TOTAL SPENT = $562.27

While I was training for my figure competition (you can read all about it at www.fitmomsofnj.com), the food bill was a little crazy. So I didn't exactly hit my goal of $100 per week for my grocery shopping. Yikes! I'm still striving for $400+ per month in savings hit the $5,000 mark.

Here's how the year is shaping up:

Jan. $481.66
Feb. $502.31
Mar. $585.83
Apr. $375.69
May $214.63
Jun. $347.64

TOTAL = $2,507,76

So I'm now more than halfway. I need $2,492.24 in savings before Dec. 31, 2012 to reach my goal.


Stay tuned for more updates. I'd love to hear your tips on how I can save even more. Any tips for me?

Paneling Up: Making The Switch to Solar

(Photo from Dept of Energy Solar Decathlon)

Switching to solar power doesn't have to require a second mortgage and a team of workers on your roof. Advances in solar technology now make it possible to take baby steps, switching a portion of your house's energy usage over to solar. In this article, we delve into the latest advances in the solar industry, explaining how these can be applied in your own home.

The first thing you want to do when consider solar technology in your home is to check the incentives. There are various websites that will give you regional incentive summaries. One great site for this is DSIREUSA.org, which breaks down the rebates and incentives for solar power, state by state.

The following thing you should consider is the number of years you will be in your home, the affordability of traditional electricity in your state, and does your home even receive enough sunlight?
Solar panels only make sense if you plan to stay in your home for an extended number of years. When you move, you can't simply pickup your panels and throw them in the back of a U-haul. It's only a reasonable option if you don't plan on moving for the next 10-15 years. It's also worth noting that the upfront costs for a solar panel system can be expensive, and that's why you should be in your home for a long time for those upfront costs to pay for themselves.

Also, if you live in a state where traditional electricity is very affordable, solar may not even save you much money and it may ultimately not be worth it. Places with high costs make the most sense for solar like Hawaii, where electricity costs are through the roof.

And not all homes and parts of the country are created equal. You want a lot of roof space, you want that roof to be pointing towards the sun, and you want to live in a very sunny area of the country. Solar panels in the upper northwest of America – which receives much rain, may not make the most sense. Nor do densely wooded areas. You can get a solar panel installer to come to your home and give you a report on the viability of solar paneling for your home.

Lastly, you can get into the solar panel game slowly. Panels can be easily expanded so you can start small before ultimately working your way off the grid. There are a lot of DIY resources online that will give you tips and tricks like what to buy and where to buy. A good first hand knowledgebase is YouTube. People love showing off their customized solar panel systems. Solar panels can start as a pet-project and advance into a new way of living. There is nothing more fulfilling than saving money and going green! What are you waiting for?

About the Author
Bahram Nasehi is a Vice President and partner at Dulles Glass and Mirror. He is instrumental in the development and manufacturing of commercial and residential glass products including tempered glass, glass table tops and shower doors.