{"id":366,"date":"2011-12-01T11:54:00","date_gmt":"2011-12-01T11:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/plannerperfect.com\/2011\/12\/01\/need-more-money-for-the-holidays-check-these-tips-out\/"},"modified":"2011-12-01T11:54:00","modified_gmt":"2011-12-01T11:54:00","slug":"need-more-money-for-the-holidays-check-these-tips-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/plannerperfect.com\/?p=366","title":{"rendered":"Need More Money for the Holidays? Check These Tips out&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/plannerperfect.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/ppm.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" height=\"285\" src=\"http:\/\/plannerperfect.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/ppm-1.jpg\" width=\"400\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\">The holidays are here and with all the <i>fa-la-la-la-la<\/i> comes presents, big meals, cookie exchanges, Christmas outfits and all&nbsp; the trimmings. Staying in budget for the holidays is tough, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve that I&#8217;d like to share with you that has freed up my money to be able to give without having to compromise my lifestyle or use a credit card.&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><br \/><\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\">Check out these Planner Perfect tips&#8230;<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><br \/><\/span><\/div>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><b>Free up money in your grocery budget each week and still eat like a king<\/b>. Manipulating your grocery money is something I&#8217;ve done for years to be able get what I need (or want) during the holidays. But how do you do it and not eat mac and cheese every night? Well, with a little planning and effort, you can pull off wonderful, comforting meals, <i>and<\/i> have presents under the tree. Oh, who are we kidding&#8230;and a new outfit for yourself!&nbsp; <\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><b>Plan your weekly meals strategically, and with detail. <\/b>This time you will need to plan your breakfasts and lunches. When you manipulate your money from your grocery budget, if you don&#8217;t plan every meal down to the snacks, your family will smell a ruse. Not that your family is not willing to sacrifice during this time of year, but why if you don&#8217;t have to? And besides, the men in your life will thank you as they view food differently than women and tend to get downright angry when they are starved. Cereal for dinner every day of the week in the month of December just doesn&#8217;t cut it for them!&nbsp;<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><b>Buy baking supplies in bulk. <\/b>I love to buy my flour, vanilla extract, sugars, butter, yeast and spices at <i>Sams<\/i> or <i>Costco<\/i>. I save a lot of money this way and bake all holiday long for half the cost if I were to have bought my supplies at a grocery store.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><b>Plan a baking day in your week.<\/b> This is a must. Nothing fantastic comes without some effort and this is no exception. Baking, even when not the holidays, is a good idea. It not only saves money, but also more nutritious as you know what ingredients are in your food!&nbsp;<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\">Baking breads is a staple around here and don&#8217;t be intimidated by this baking bread thing, it is easy and your family will love your efforts. The texture is perfect, the taste is outstanding and the smell is out of this world. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.plannerperfectmeals.com\/2010\/06\/homemade-bread-recipe-ive-been-making.html\">Click here<\/a> for my easy, homemade bread recipe.&nbsp;<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\">Once you start that mixer, I find that it is easy for me to just keep on going. Make a day of it and enjoy yourself! Put your favorite Christmas music on, light a candle, wrap around your favorite apron, and go to town creating a little Christmas magic!&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><b><i><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\">*Make everything you do, full of purpose and intent*&nbsp;<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\">You can make homemade <a href=\"http:\/\/www.plannerperfectmeals.com\/2010\/12\/amazing-cinnamon-rolls.html\">cinnamon roll<\/a>s with this bread recipe, too, which you can serve for the next morning. I make <a href=\"http:\/\/www.plannerperfectmeals.com\/search\/label\/pizza\">pizza<\/a> crusts, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.plannerperfectmeals.com\/2010\/06\/dinner-rolls.html\">rolls<\/a> for dinner and freeze the dough until I am ready to use it. It makes it simple and easy and gourmet when you serve a hot homemade dinner roll along side your soup on a dinner night.&nbsp; I free up money with these efforts and my family would never know or feel the money that I took out of the grocery budget. More on dinner ideas in a minute.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><br \/><\/span> <span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><b>Breakfast alternatives are a must when manipulating your money<\/b>. Instead of buying boxes and boxes of sugar cereals and milk. A lot one or two cereal days and the rest, plan to <i>make<\/i> breakfast. I like to plan my breakfasts and take 20 minutes for preparation. I make toast and eggs with my homemade bread,&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.plannerperfectmeals.com\/2010\/07\/buttermilk-biscuits.html\">biscuit<\/a> breakfasts with sausage and eggs, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.plannerperfectmeals.com\/2010\/07\/ooh-la-la-pancakes.html\">pancakes<\/a> and oatmeal. Make sure that you double or quadruple recipes (I know I do with 5 boys in my house!) and seal in resealable bags for snacks or breakfast the next day and you don&#8217;t have to prepare a thing. Just reheat and serve.&nbsp;<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\">With all of these breakfast ideas&#8230;you are eating like a king without missing a thing! The simple ingredients that you have bought in bulk will serve you well here because when you take the time to prepare a little in advance you save money. <\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><br \/><\/span> <span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><b>Snacking <\/b>can be as easy as popcorn, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.plannerperfectmeals.com\/search\/label\/dips\">dip<\/a> with veggies, plenty of fruits and some homemade cookies. Allow in your grocery budget for fresh veggies and fruits. I always have veggies with my dip on the table for snacking, cut up apples and cheese, and a big bowl of popped popcorn with a little salt for movie at night. This is a lot cheaper than bags of chips, microwave popcorn, and other processed food snacks and not to mention, <i>healthier<\/i>. Saving money and eating well never felt so good!<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><br \/><\/span>  <span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><b>Dinners are a snap and gourmet when accompanied with your baking delights from your baking day<\/b>. Soups are a wonderful way to make comforting meals for less money. I love to buy a fryer chickens because it serves a dual purpose. I make a fryer chicken with some rice and roasted vegetables one night, and use the chicken bones to make stock for soup the next day. Throw in a fresh, out-of-the oven dinner roll you baked on your baking day and you&#8217;ve got heaven with little effort and your family will think they&#8217;ve gone to heaven.&nbsp;<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\">Make <a href=\"http:\/\/www.plannerperfectmeals.com\/2011\/11\/chicken-and-prociutto-panini-with-spicy.html\">paninis<\/a> with your homemade bread. Cut it thick, use leftover meat from previous dinners, add a slice of cheese, onion, and dressing of your choice and you&#8217;ve got yourself an amazing gourmet sandwich, for very little cost. If you have a mandolin, try making your own <a href=\"http:\/\/www.plannerperfectmeals.com\/search\/label\/chips\">chips<\/a> to go along side. But no worries&#8230; some store bought corn chips can fit into your budget, too, and will compliment your gourmet meal with ease.&nbsp;<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\">Pull out your <a href=\"http:\/\/www.plannerperfectmeals.com\/search\/label\/pizza\">pizza<\/a> dough on a dinner night to thaw and make pizza for little, and because of your planning ahead of time, <i>easy<\/i>.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>  <\/ul>\n<ul> <\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\">These money saving tips are tried and true. I have a family of nine and have been using this method for years. Manipulating your grocery money by buying in bulk, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.plannerperfect.com\/p\/which-planner-perfect-best-suits-you.html\">planning<\/a> your meals and a baking day is a surefire way to put some <i>fa-la-la-la-la<\/i> into your holidays <i>without<\/i> the stress.&nbsp;<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><br \/><\/span><i><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;\">Merry Christmas, friends! <\/span><\/i><br \/><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;\">&nbsp;<\/span><img decoding=\"async\" align=\"left\" src=\"http:\/\/plannerperfect.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/43f77641-1.png\" style=\"border: 0pt none;\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The holidays are here and with all the fa-la-la-la-la comes presents, big meals, cookie exchanges, Christmas outfits and all&nbsp; the trimmings. Staying in budget for the holidays is tough, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve that I&#8217;d like to share with you that has freed up my money to be able to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[516,663,662,245],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-366","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-baking-days","7":"category-buying-in-bulk","8":"category-money-saving-tips-for-the-holidays","9":"category-recipes","10":"entry","11":"one-third"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/plannerperfect.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/plannerperfect.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/plannerperfect.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/plannerperfect.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/plannerperfect.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/plannerperfect.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/plannerperfect.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/plannerperfect.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/plannerperfect.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}