Make your Money Work for You

She Said....

We are in a recession people! It's on the news, at the water cooler, Obama is talking about it and your spouse is too. The country is broke. As much as I'd like to think my family is worry free each day the mail man arrives with a months worth of reality checks (no pun intended).

In our house we have little tricks that work for us and hey they may work for you. Here is some advice for the common man/woman/couple who's just trying to “make it work”.

1. Buy your produce and meat products at Costco, Sams Club or BJ's. We find that the supermarket jacks up the price of meats and produce. For example a 2lb container of turkey meat at Pathmark costs $8.99 while at Sams club a 4lb container of turkey meat cost $9.99.

2. Stock up on canned and dry goods when they are on sale. Shop Rite’s “can can” sale is one of the most popular sales of this type but other markets have similar sales. Usually a can of corn will run you $1.19 but you can catch it on sale for 5 for $4...stock up.

3. Do the majority of your shopping at Wal-Mart or my favorite place in the whole wide world, Target. We do most of our shopping at Target because they generally have better prices. Great deals on cheeses, crackers, soda, dry goods, kiddie’s snacks and even greeting cards can be found at these larger chains. After you’ve picked up the essentials you can swing by and pick up a Isaac Mizrahi pants for work off the sales rack with the money that you’ve saved.

4. My husband thanks me often for introducing him to the shopping jewels of TJ Maxx and Marshall's. Where else will he be able to pick up his Polo shirts for $29.99. That's a steal considering at Macys the exact shirt is being sold for $69.00.These are great places to shop for designer duds for the whole family. Homegoods and AJ Wright are really good for home furnishings at a great price too.

5. Give yourself a bonus while you shop for the things you need. Our Chase reward cards allows us to earn points towards qualifying purchases made with our Chase Leisure Rewards® Check Card. Also, we earn points by shopping online, over the phone, or when we pay our bills. We earn 4 points for every $1. This week we redeemed our points for gift cards :($35) BP gas , ($25) Applebee's and ($60) Target.

Happy Shopping and don't forget to bring your list.