How to make $2000 in 6 months?

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Our church gives out food boxes, no questions asked.

They do that because it can be embarassing for families to have to utilize it. They do that so people don't starve because they are concerned with what others will think about them, they do it for all sorts of reasons-but with the situation presented in the OP it's not for that reason at all.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

1 of the things I've been trying to do is frozen meals. It may not be a huge ton amount but for certain things buying a larger (though not necessarily bulk) amount of something and then making multiple meals out of it and freezing those meals to use later on can help.

For instance a simple thing like chicken broth. A can of chicken broth is 14.5oz but I can get a bigger container of in 32oz amount. Even though it's just slightly less per oz at my Wal-Mart to get the bigger one because chicken broth has a short shelf life once opened oftentimes it would go to waste when we would buy a can of it or even the bigger one. So now I try to make several meals at once with it and freeze them. Or have meals planned out that would use the leftover within 7-14 days.

Also with frozen meals we're less likely to eat out multiple times during the week because we know we have a meal or multiple meals handy (most require thawing 24-48hours in advance but still).

Facebook Marketplace is a good place. I haven't used it very much but I've known people who have been able to sell things and quicker compared to Craigslist type places.

OP do you have any grocery shopping rewards programs near you in Canada? I ask because most here in my area are just for cents off gasoline as well as discounted pricing. While that wouldn't necessarily make you $ it could help you spend less money if groceries you're buying actually goes towards something.

Another thing, and apologies if I missed it, is there something that you can remove or lower from the budget for this September Disney trip that may lower the actual amount you need to make? I didn't see your trip details in this thread so I didn't know what your trip budget entailed and where the $2,000 amount was coming into play.

 

[alohamom]

Canadian here
Re: PC shopping....Can you go with $25.00 a week less in groceries?
just an idea
weekly food budget--$125.00,,,,now keep it at $125.00 but only spend $100.00 on food then
drop by Shoppers Drug Mart and buy a $25.00 Disney Gift Card each week.
26 weeks x $25.00 = $650.00
Plus Jump start plan with $125.00 = $775.00 total.

Jump start the plan with buying a $125.00 Gift Card and eat everything in your Pantry for a week.(be creative,,get the kids involved,,soup and sandwiches,eggs for dinner,pancake day.etc)/


Hugs
Mel

Ahhh @bababear_50 this is an excellent suggestion!

 

[bababear_50]

Ahhh @bababear_50 this is an excellent suggestion!

Thanks Hon
I wonder if the OP knows about Airmiles....?
Many of us on the Canadian Community thread ,,,,airmile to pay for Hotels,Flights, Car Rentals,Park tickets etc.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/a...eks-offers-start-on-page-850.3442770/page-855
Just doing a couple of yearly promos (Mega Miles, Shop the Block) can earn you 3000-4000 airmiles.
I personally use them to offset my food costs by cashing in 95 cash airmiles for $10.00 in Starbucks Gift card.
Since Disney Springs and all the parks have Starbucks it really helps and those souvenir coffee mugs are nice too.
Being a stay at home mom and homeschooling does present some challenges when trying to save for a Disney trip
but there are ways around it.
Good luck OP.
Hugs
Mel

 

[mshanson3121]

Canadian here
Re: PC shopping....Can you go with $25.00 a week less in groceries?
just an idea
weekly food budget--$125.00,,,,now keep it at $125.00 but only spend $100.00 on food then
drop by Shoppers Drug Mart and buy a $25.00 Disney Gift Card each week.
26 weeks x $25.00 = $650.00
Plus Jump start plan with $125.00 = $775.00 total.

Jump start the plan with buying a $125.00 Gift Card and eat everything in your Pantry for a week.(be creative,,get the kids involved,,soup and sandwiches,eggs for dinner,pancake day.etc)/


Hugs
Mel

Man you guys must have husbands that are a lot more easier going for meals than I do. If I told him he was having eggs for dinner... LOL. Even still, I sat down this morning and wrote out a menu and I definitely think with better meal planning we can shave a good $25 from our grocery budget each week. Even just doing things like stocking up on good meat when it's on sale etc... (like last week when tenderloin steak was on sale for $12 off per lb.... *sigh*). Come summer it will be even easier when our garden starts producing late July/August. We also have the PC Elite Mastercard so we earn on average $40 per month in rewards.

1 of the things I've been trying to do is frozen meals. It may not be a huge ton amount but for certain things buying a larger (though not necessarily bulk) amount of something and then making multiple meals out of it and freezing those meals to use later on can help.

For instance a simple thing like chicken broth. A can of chicken broth is 14.5oz but I can get a bigger container of in 32oz amount. Even though it's just slightly less per oz at my Wal-Mart to get the bigger one because chicken broth has a short shelf life once opened oftentimes it would go to waste when we would buy a can of it or even the bigger one. So now I try to make several meals at once with it and freeze them. Or have meals planned out that would use the leftover within 7-14 days.

Also with frozen meals we're less likely to eat out multiple times during the week because we know we have a meal or multiple meals handy (most require thawing 24-48hours in advance but still).

Facebook Marketplace is a good place. I haven't used it very much but I've known people who have been able to sell things and quicker compared to Craigslist type places.

OP do you have any grocery shopping rewards programs near you in Canada? I ask because most here in my area are just for cents off gasoline as well as discounted pricing. While that wouldn't necessarily make you $ it could help you spend less money if groceries you're buying actually goes towards something.

Another thing, and apologies if I missed it, is there something that you can remove or lower from the budget for this September Disney trip that may lower the actual amount you need to make? I didn't see your trip details in this thread so I didn't know what your trip budget entailed and where the $2,000 amount was coming into play.

Yes, we definitely can cut back on eating out. I talked to DH about that the other night. I used to be really good at having meals prepared in advance in the freezer for busy nights, but then honestly got slack about it. I would suspect that if we stop eating out we could easily save another $75 a month.

As far as cutting back on the budget for the trip, short of sleeping in a car on the side of the road, lol, that's as cheap as we can possibly get it. That's using the sale (getting ASMovies for $88 per night), planning on buying a loaf of bread for breakfast, meal sharing/buying the cheapest food possible, doing 4 nights and only 2 day base tickets and assuming we can get a great sale with Frontier, and packing extremely light to save on luggage, lol. We already have another vacation booked for earlier in the summer which is for the whole family (DH isn't coming with us to Disney), so the bulk of our vacation budget is going to that trip. That $2000 also is figured in our own Canadian funds, too, so may be why it seems a bit higher.

 

[bababear_50]

Tell him you are worried about his heart and all the meat he has been eating.lol,,,then tell him *Real Men DO Eat Quiche**
Good luck hon
Hugs
Mel

 

[kaytieeldr]

So now I try to make several meals at once with it and freeze them. Or have meals planned out that would use the leftover within 7-14 days.[/QUOTEQUOTE]
Even freeze the unused broth in ZipLoc bags.

 

[monica9]

I do consumer studies. Does canada have that? I test products or do shave studies and make an average of $20 each study. I am in one now where I just go to an app whenever I feel my face is irritated from enviromental or other reasons like food/stress,etc. I used the app for two weeks and then go get a $75 check.

I am trying to pinch pennies now and feel the studies help and so does selling clothes and toys to a local consignment shop. I am really bad at saving on groceries. We spend about $250-300 a week on nonsense. My goal is to get it down to $150/week but I also want to do like a pp said and go through my pantries and try to make meals with what I have.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Yes, we definitely can cut back on eating out. I talked to DH about that the other night. I used to be really good at having meals prepared in advance in the freezer for busy nights, but then honestly got slack about it. I would suspect that if we stop eating out we could easily save another $75 a month.

As far as cutting back on the budget for the trip, short of sleeping in a car on the side of the road, lol, that's as cheap as we can possibly get it. That's using the sale (getting ASMovies for $88 per night), planning on buying a loaf of bread for breakfast, meal sharing/buying the cheapest food possible, doing 4 nights and only 2 day base tickets and assuming we can get a great sale with Frontier, and packing extremely light to save on luggage, lol. We already have another vacation booked for earlier in the summer which is for the whole family (DH isn't coming with us to Disney), so the bulk of our vacation budget is going to that trip. That $2000 also is figured in our own Canadian funds, too, so may be why it seems a bit higher.

We go in patterns. Really the hardest for us is to actually keep up with it. It can be easy for us to think "oh we'll just eat out tonight" so we actively have to keep it going, keep our meal planning going, etc. For sure it may still not get you to your goal considering the time frame but I guess it would be something which is better than nothing lol.

Thanks for providing the trip details that helps out and it looks like you're trying your best to keep the costs as low as you can. And the exchange rate makes a difference. Looks like right now $2000 Canadian=~$1500 USD but you're at the mercy of exchange rates-I feel for ya.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Tell him you are worried about his heart and all the meat he has been eating.lol,,,then tell him *Real Men DO Eat Quiche**
Good luck hon
Hugs
Mel

My husband doesn't like eggs so that for sure wouldn't help us lol. Seriously cuts down on a lot of breakfast things I could make..some really yummy things too. Breakfast for us is the hardest meal to try and plan for and it's the one we tend to eat out with in terms of weekends. Pancakes and bacon..that's nearly it for us in terms of what we make at home *sigh* I'll just sit here and dream of some lovely breakfast casseroles

 

[mshanson3121]

My husband doesn't like eggs so that for sure wouldn't help us lol. Seriously cuts down on a lot of breakfast things I could make..some really yummy things too. Breakfast for us is the hardest meal to try and plan for and it's the one we tend to eat out with in terms of weekends. Pancakes and bacon..that's nearly it for us in terms of what we make at home *sigh* I'll just sit here and dream of some lovely breakfast casseroles

Ugh. Mine too! The kids and I would have no problem eating breakfast for supper.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Ugh. Mine too! The kids and I would have no problem eating breakfast for supper.

I wouldn't have an issue with that either

I forgot I have another recipe which is biscuits and gravy casserole (has breakfast sausage in it) but because of the cooking and baking and prep time we never eat it for breakfast and instead just for dinner

 

[mshanson3121]

I wouldn't have an issue with that either

I forgot I have another recipe which is biscuits and gravy casserole (has breakfast sausage in it) but because of the cooking and baking and prep time we never eat it for breakfast and instead just for dinner

Would you be willing to share?? He would probably eat that.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Would you be willing to share?? He would probably eat that.

Of course

It's from Pinterest-hopefully you can access the recipe from this link: http://lemon-sugar.com/2013/12/biscuits-gravy-casserole.html/

It calls for 1/2 lb of breakfast sausage but we used 1 lb (it's easier because of the packages and we enjoy breakfast sausage lol). To compensate I add a few more tablespoons of flour. We like our gravy thick so I actually don't add more milk to compensate for double the breakfast sausage. Since I've been making the gravy like it says in the recipe (sausage cooked first, no draining, flour/sausage cooked for 3-5mins) I've found that gravy at restaurants to not be as good haha.

 

[Herbatlees]

There are a lot of people who abuse the system. I wasn't posting right or wrong. I was posting a fact. I am not here to debate right or wrong or judge others. Our church gives out food boxes, no questions asked. We see the wife in one car, husband in another. They may even have a teen in a car. Some come through multiple times. It can be blatantly obvious, but we advertise a box to every car that comes though the line between the specified time, no questions asked. Facts are just facts. You make your own decision of what you feel is right or wrong.

I often volunteer and donate at my local food bank. And I would rather someone like the OP EAT the food rather than it get wasted because it sat too long waiting for an appropriately needy person come to get it.

I've seen a lot of food wasted.

 

[Darcy03231]

eBay. I made $1000 in December alone and routinely make $75-$100 a week. I primarily sell things I've bought for myself and gotten tired of and stuff that I buy at thrift stores/flea markets. Some recent examples - Brand new evening dress I bought for $1 I sold for $30. Brand new Eddie Bauer down jacket I bought for $5 I sold for $50, Florida Orange Bird souvenir plate I bought for $1 I sold for $60. Not everything makes that much of a profit, but I bought three Royal Albert bread plates for $1.50 and sold them for $11.

 

[MrsPete]

I like going after the big expenses like getting rid of my car.

We only had one car for the first three years of our marriage, and it was a MONSTER BUDGET SAVER. When our job situation changed and we were forced to add a second car, we were amazed at how much it cost. As we approach retirement, we're definitely planning to get rid of one car. It's even easier today with the availability of Uber.

Some things are just wrong to even suggest.

Yeah, I'm with you on this one.

Can you go with $25.00 a week less in groceries? ... eat everything in your Pantry for a week.

I could feed our family for months with our pantry food + $25/week ... I'd make it a game and say it's about waste. Kids (and husbands) often buy into that type of thing faster than "we need to save money". Saying you need to save can sound like "we're poor". Saying you want to use up what you have /make a clean sweep of your pantry sounds more virtuous.
The place to start: Drinks. I read somewhere once that the average family spends 30% of its grocery budget on drinks ... most of which bring little to no nutritional value to the table.

$10.00 in Starbucks Gift card.

Saving and Starbucks don't belong in the same sentence. Best coffee money saver: Quit drinking coffee; it's rather expensive. Second-best coffee money saver: Make it yourself.

 

[mshanson3121]

We only had one car for the first three years of our marriage, and it was a MONSTER BUDGET SAVER. When our job situation changed and we were forced to add a second car, we were amazed at how much it cost. As we approach retirement, we're definitely planning to get rid of one car. It's even easier today with the availability of Uber.

I wish this were possible but unfortunately not. For us, due to where we live (extremely tiny rural village without any public transportation or taxis) and where DH works (50 km away and no one to carpool with), two vehicles is a necessity. Especially when considering our daughter's medical appointments. I envy people that can make it on one car! That said, we don't drive fancy vehicles and we drive them till they quit, so typically keep them for at least 12-15 years. My first little car was actually 17 years old with 350,000 on it when we finally parted way <3

 

[Marionnette]

Saving and Starbucks don't belong in the same sentence. Best coffee money saver: Quit drinking coffee; it's rather expensive. Second-best coffee money saver: Make it yourself.

I use Starbucks GCs that I get for free by doing rewards programs. They can be used at Disney locations to purchase food or a refreshing beverage (you do know that they sell more than coffee, don't you?). Free food and drink at Disney IS a savings no matter where it comes from.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

It is difficult without taking on another job. I would start decluttering your house had have a yard sale to sell as much items as possible that you no longer need. Eat all meals at home and start meal planning for less expensive meals. Use left overs to make into the next day meals. Most families have items that are never used, or multiples of items that they do not need. I could probably get rid of half the clothes in each person's closet and they would still have enough clothing. Basically, stay home and do not go into stores to do any shopping unless it a necessity and you are shopping off of a list only. I do not know many options in Canada as your options are different than those in the U.S. I know cell phones bills can get quite expensive in Canada. If you have more than one cell phone, maybe look at suspending service and only have one phone. Do you drive your kids to school? Maybe find a carpool to reduce the number of trips you have to make to the school to save on your gas budget? One other options is food banks. Some in our area will allow families to come in once every so many months with no questions asked. So if you have the option to visit a food bank to pick up a few items, it might save a small amount. If you have any subscriptions or memberships, consider cancelling them. For example, gym memberships and you rarely go to the gym. Netflix membership and you barely watch netflix, etc.

I wasn't posting right or wrong. I was posting a fact that some food banks allow families to come with no questions asked once every so many months.

How dare you! There are people in need, government employees with no pay for weeks. You have the nerve to suggest a person visit a food bank to save money for a Disney trip! You see no wrong in that. A Disney trip without having the funds is a want. People not earning a paycheck because of politics trying to feed their family needing to go to a foodbank is a necessity.

And if the OP of thread even considers doing that it’s just as bad as your heartless suggestion. Taking food because someone wants to save money to go on a trip from those who truly need it is horrible.