The Save $3,700 Challenge: January

THE SAVE The New Year is a perfect time to begin a better way of living. If you think saving $3,700 over the next twelve months would $3,700 improve your life, then join the Save $3,700 Challenge! CHALLENGE In this twelve-part series, we'llI be sharing great ideas each month for carving new savings out of your income. If you follow along with us throughout the year, you could save $3,700 by January of next year! SAVE $1,000 THIS YEAR BY DINING OUT LESS Ш иииш The average American household spends WHAT AMERICAN $2,620 dining out every year. That's a lot FAMILIES SPEND ON FOOD EACH WEEK3 of dough - equivalent to $218 per month. Compare that to an average of just $3,838 for Less than $50 8% eating at home the entire rest of the year!" $50 to $99 17% $100 to $124 22% Let's say you commit to saving $1,000 from your food budget this year. Assuming you spend the national average on dining out, all you need to do is reduce your restaurant spending from $2,620 to about $1,200. (That's a savings of $1,420; you can spend the extra $420 on home-cooking to replace those restaurant meals.) $125 to $149 4% $150 to $199 15% $200 to $299 21% $300 or more 10% ANNUAL SPENDING ON FOOD: BEFORE AND AFTER Average annual food expenditure of American households' Annual food expenditure with savings 81,000 82,620 VS. 81,200 84,258 83,838 FOOD AT HOME FOOD AWAY FROM HOME SAVINGS THAT BRINGS YOUR TOTAL SAVINGS TO $1,000! REMEMBER: A penny saved is a penny earned. To save $1,000 in a year, you'd have to put away $2.74 per day, $19.18 per week, or $83.33 per month. HOW TO GET IT DONE "Not dining out?" you say. "Sounds easy." But it might be a bit more challenging than you think. After all, we often resort to going out to eat when we run out of food at home, or when we just don't feel like cooking. How do we avoid temptation in these situations? 2.5 HOURS First of all, you'll have to do some planning so that you will always have enough food on hand. Try stocking up on foods that keep for long periods of time, like lentils, rice, pasta, WHERE AMERICANS EAT AND DRINK is the average amount of time people spend each day on eating, drinking and related activities. 12.8% canned hummus and frozen workplace vegetables. Having backup food available will mean that you'll always have a quick and inexpensive option for dinner. And though frozen dinners aren't always the healthiest option, having one or 11.1% restaurant or bar 3.9% someone else's home 67.5% two of them in the freezer can 4.5% own home or yard save the day when you come home from work too exhausted other places to cook. 0.2% modes of transportation WHEN IS PRODUCE IN SEA SON?4,5 JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL TIPS Grapetrut, Lmam, Limes, Oren paa, Brocoli Cattage Corr ots Garlic Lettuor. Mudrooms. Orions Potatoes pirach draptut, LaTIm, Lims, Onga, AspMu jeocados, Elocool. Cabbage. Cancts. Garlic. Lusttuce. Munhmami, Oniam, Pot eton, Spinach Or g alrut, LeTIE, Limw, Oranga trawberriea AsDaUS. Accado. Broccol Cabbage. Carrots. Gark. Lattuca, Hushra oET, Chians, Putaboen, Spirach Cherrn, Crap efuit, LTar Limes, Oreng Strawberries Asparnaus. Oados. Brocpol. Cabtage Camrota, Celery, Garke, Lettuc, Mustrcomm, Oniom Pess. Potatoes. Spinach for saving at the grocery store: Take advantage of sales MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST Apricnta, Blusber Cherries, Lamam, Onge, Peaches, Rums. Ramberies. Strowberries, ASpaBas. Acadm. Eleaa, Erack Lam on3, Melkara, Crangan, Peaches. Plums, Kacobenies. Strawber ies Asparaur. Aiocad , Bear, Broocoi Catba, Carots, Celary Corn Cuoumbers.Gar k. Lettuce Mushroome. Onions. Pens Soinach, Squnt Tom atan Apricats, Blueberrien, Cherien Auricots, BuebTI, Cherries Aimonch, Applen, Blusberre, Crapes Lemm1, Nalons Oranges Peaches, Plums. Strzwberries. Raxpores. Avccaden, Eean1, Erocrok Cabbaga, Cacta, Caler Con Galis Ouombers. Lettuce. Hushroons. Onions Pun, Peanuta, Potatnen ren, LRTEr, 'am, Opaoes. Pasdiees. Plume. Razber iles, Stiawberies. Aocado. Baara Broccci. Cbbae Canots, Cier Com, Quoumbers Galk. Letuce. Mudtrooms. Orions.Pes. Peeuta Potatoen, Sipirach Buy canned, frozen or dried foods Cabbag, Caruta Calery, Garlk. Lettuce hustroons. Oniore. Pes. Potatoes Make a meal plan for the week before Sipirtwch SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER going to the store Almenek Applas, Crapes, Kiwi, Lamons, Melen Oranoar. Peaches.Pstachice. Plums Rspbenies. Alman de, Appl ws, rapes, lGwis, Lernora, Limes, Helon, Oranger. Pecas. Putachios. Raspberies. Bwbeie. Krwis, Lano re, Limes Oranga Bemrenk Cabbuag, Carats Almenah, Applan draps Hws, Lamm, Limes, Oronges Petachos Faspberies, oados. Beans, Lettuce. Mushroome. Crions. Erascok Calalags, Carr ota, Calery,Cuumben, darke, Celwy.Gak. Getnit. Buy produce in Wakuts, Moa den, San, Broccci, Catba, Cannts, Psaru, Potates, Spineh, Sthewker iss eden, Ewoets, re endi Cabbapa, C rots Calery. Com Galic Curumbes. Lettuce Hushraems, Oians Paan season Celery Con. Cucumbers. Garlis Letuoe. Nustrooms. Onans, Paaches, Pe Lettuce vustooms. Oriens. Pens. Pronuts Pums. Fotates, Spench Squeah Sacrificing the enjoyment of restaurant food isn't easy, but if you're committed to saving $3,700 this year, it's a totally reachable goal! SAVINGS: $1,000 OR $83.33 PER MONTH CashNetUSA. EMoney's on the waye REFERENCES: 1. Consumer Expenditure Survey. (2012, Sept.). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 6 Dec. 2012, from http://www.bls.gov/cex/2011/Standard/age.pdf How Much Time Do Americans Spend on Food? (2011, Nov.). Economic Research Service/USDA. Retrieved 6 Nov. 2012, from http://www.ers.usda. gov/media/149404/eib86.pdf Americans Spend $151 a Week on Food; the High-Income, $180. (2012, Aug. 2). Retrieved 6 Nov. 2012, from http://www.gallup.com/poll/156416/Americans- Spend-151-Week-Food-High-Income-180.aspx Seasonality Chart: Fruit and Nuts. (2012). CUESA. Retrieved 14 Jan. 2013, from http://www.cuesa.org/page/seasonality-chart-fruit-and-nuts Seasonality Chart: Vegetables. (2012). CUESA. Retrieved 14 Jan. 2013, from http://www.cuesa.org/page/seasonality-chart-vegetables 2. 3. 5. SHOPPING TIP: If you'll need holiday supplies next year, such as holiday cards or decorations, consider shopping for them now while they're on clearance. 4. JANUARY