Planning Can Help You Save Money on Food

Planning ahead is the most important step to getting more bang for your buck at the grocery store, says Katherine Tallmadge, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.
"Take inventory of what you have on hand so you don’t overbuy, create a detailed shopping list based on your needs and weekly menu plan, and take into account how you plan on using leftovers," she says.
Have a light snack before you go shopping, and stick to your grocery list to help avoid impulse purchases or costly mistakes like falling for the displays at the end of the aisles.
Before you plan your weekly menu, check the ads to see what’s on sale and use coupons to take advantage of sales and money-saving coupons. You can even sign up online to receive coupons and email alerts from your favorite grocers.

Save Money on Tax Preparations

Read these tips!

Tax time is stressful for everyone, tax payers and tax preparers. Try to make preparing and paying for taxes a little less stressful by practicing the following throughout the year.

Receipts

Save all receipts throughout the year. This means everything – from gas receipts to meal receipts and everything in between. Retain all receipts and canceled check or bank statements in a folder or container marked with the current tax year.

Accounting Programs

Obtain an accounting program such as QuickBooks, or something similar. This does not have to be the newest or updated version as an older version of the program will be cheaper and will do the job just fine. Making a spreadsheet in a program such as Excel will also work, but will require more time.

Spreadsheets

Set up the program or spreadsheet to separate all expense individually, i.e. gas, diesel, meals, groceries, school expenses, utilities, telephone, medical expenses, etc. Any gas or diesel receipts that are entered should also show the number of gallons purchased.

Enter Everything

Enter all receipts, canceled checks and income into the program or on the spreadsheet. Add notes into each entry, such as “Jake’s school registration,” “4.325 gallons diesel,” “Kathy’s cell phone,” or “Christmas gift for Susan.” There are businesses or individuals that will provide this service, and less money will be spent hiring them to do it, then will be spent having the tax preparer to go through everything, or missing a deduction.

Print and Save

After all receipts and canceled checks are entered, print the spreadsheet with all expenses listed. Check the printed spreadsheet for duplicate entries. Remove any duplicate entries or mistakes that have been made, and reprint a final draft. If something is questionable, highlight it or circle it, so that it stands out. Save the spreadsheet onto a CD or DVD, and label it with the current tax year.

To the Tax Preparer

Provide both the printed list and the CD or DVD to the tax preparer for completion of the current year’s taxes. The tax preparer will now be able to enter information onto the tax return by either the printed version of the spreadsheet, or right off of the CD or DVD. This will save both time and money for the tax preparer and the tax payer.

Individuals and Businesses

Everyone should do this, whether they are an individual with limited income or a business with multiple incomes, as it not only provides an accurate record for each and every tax year, but also saves time and money during tax preparation. Tax preparers charge extra if they have to go through receipts and calculate totals. There is also always the change that a deduction may be found, that would normally have been overlooked.
Try these tips to save time, money and to avoid stress during this tax season, and every one thereafter.