Sisterly Savings

A surefire way to help you save money is by making “to do” lists believe it or not. If you take the time to plan out your bills, shopping list, tasks, etc. you accomplish more things and become focused on what needs to get done effectively. There are different types of lists and each one can play a part in helping you to save.

Types of To Do Lists

The Shopping List:
Ultimately helps you save money by making out a list of what you need or on sale before going to the store to help you resist costly “impulse buys”.

The Budget:
When you have a list made out of all your bills/payment dates/amount due/debts,etc. this helps you to keep track of your finances and gives you many opportunities to see where you can potentially save money and in what categories.

The Daily Tasks:
We all have things that need to get done on a daily basis and sometimes this can seem overwhelming. However,if you break them up into small tasks thru out the day/week you feel a sense of accomplishment and self worth. Checking off each item that gets done on the list just feels good and helps to keep your busy life on track.

There are numerous free online “To Do” Lists that offer pre made lists for all occasions and some even have added benefits such as email or sending text to your cell phone. Here are few worth taking a look at:

Tadalist offers a nice selection of simple list with the ability to share your lists with anyone.

Remember the Milk offers many ways to access your lists, even through google and makes adding a task easy wherever you are

Toodledoo this site has a special tool for procastinators to help customize a schedule to make the most of your time

While these are just a few ways to help you organize your time it helps in the overall savings strategy by helping you stay on track of it all.

What ideas have you come up with to save money? I’d love to hear about!

While I am very frugal about dining out,I do on occasion like to eat out once in awhile in a Restaurant with the kiddies as a special treat. And as always,I look for ways to save a buck and that’s where I discovered that a lot of restaurants offer “Kids Eat Free” Programs on certains days of the week. Of course there are age restrictions and at least 1 adult entree must be purchased but it certainly is a bargain when dining out, especially when you have more than 1 child! My favorite spot is Spaghetti Warehouse where on Wednesdays after 5pm Kids can eat Spaghetti and Meatballs for .99, while that’s not free it is a great deal and they give you enough pasta for 2 dishes!

Start by checking online (or try calling your favorites) for Restaurants that offer deals/programs like these and even though the lists are a good source to start with, be sure to call 1st and verify the days and hours that the specials are available as policies due change.

Then make yourself a list marking the Name of Restaurant along with the detailed information such as what nite,price,age and so on. Keep your list by the fridge (or in your Household Notebook,LOL) for handy reference.

Its always nice to have an affordable option to eating out other than pizza so go ahead and enjoy a frugal nite out with the kids!

Kidseatfree.com offers a list of restaurants State by State that can help start you off on your list!