I was reading an article in the Florida Times-Union called “How to Save Money in 15 Minutes a Week,” which focused on spending 15 minutes a week to clip coupons to save on groceries. True, this is one great way to save money, but I wonder how much more I could save by devoting 15 minutes a day to money-saving activities. Here are a few ways to save (some of these I already do):

• Make a bag lunch for my husband and daughter to take to work and to school.

• Create a weekly meal plan. I know that on nights when I’m not sure what to make for dinner, that’s when the urge to call for take-out is so strong.

• Write up a grocery list. Numerous studies have cited that those who create and stick to a shopping list save far more money on food each week than those who do not make lists.

• Consolidate errands. Stop by CVS after I drop my middle daughter off at preschool. Or, pick up dry cleaning when I go to deposit a check at the bank next door. Grouping errands not only saves on gas, but gives you more time in your day.

• Put on a sweater. I’ll be honest, I do not like to be cold. But I know that if I keep the thermostat where it should be (I often like to kick it up a notch or two), then put on an extra layer, I’ll keep more money in my pocket.

• Don’t warm up the car. I have the tendency to turn on my car, then come back a few minutes later. Sure, it’s toasty warm, but from what I’ve read it’s not necessary, and I’ve only wasted gas.

• Go online for a few minutes to find out which fruits and vegetables are in season. These are the only ones worth buying fresh. Everything else should be bought frozen or you’ll pay a premium.

How else can you spend 15 minutes a day to save money this year? I’d love to hear your tips and suggestions.

Have you been out shopping this week? Me, I’m pretty much exhausted from the pre-holiday shopping, even though I made many of my purchases online.

If you’re desperate to hit the post-holiday sales and your family has already gone home, iPhone moms take note. Here are five must-have apps to have on your iPhone or iPod Touch if you must hit the mall with the tots in tow.

• CHECKout-Shopping Calculator: There are lots of signs touting savings of 60%-off, 70%-off and more, but it’s hard to tell the final markdown price with kids who want to get ice cream right now. This free app will tell you the final price in a flash, and even let you know if it falls within your budget.

• Yowza: It’s impossible to have coupons on hand for every store or restaurant you may be near. Half the time when I go shopping I end up going different places than originally planned. If this is you too, grab this free app to get mobile coupons tailored to your exact location.

• ShopSavvy: If you’ve spied a great deal, just scan the product bar code to see if you can still find the item for less online or at another store. Sometimes all the big sale signs in stores can distract you from figuring out whether you’ve got a real bargain or not.

• Point Inside: This app provides you with indoor maps for hundreds of shopping malls across the country, helping you plan out your trip before you load the kids into the car and before you park at the wrong end of the shopping center.

• Snow Globe Maker: No doubt there will be times when you just need to distract your kids. This great app lets them make their own snow globes on your phone. Once finished just shake the phone to see the snow fall. This app is $.99 in the iTunes store, but the first 10 people with an iPhone or iPod Touch who leave me a comment will get a free promo code to get this app for themselves.

UPDATE (1/3): Here are the ten winners of the Snow Globe Maker promo code. Look out for the code in your inbox.

melissagist@
stretch418@
ssilverbullet19@
vpalmer01@
sara0711@
angeltuc@
angie.mobley@
zumbalisa@
kywildcat07@
drfour@

What about you? What are your favorite iPhone apps? Any must-haves to have installed when out and about with kids?

It’s no secret that more and more of us are eating at home. AllRecipes.com, the #1 food site, recently posted its largest traffic month ever in November with 10.7 million people visiting the site in search of recipes.

The popular food site also found that 80 percent of participants in a recent survey said they’d be cooking at home more in 2009. Meanwhile, 59 percent expect to increase their coupon use in 2009, up from a 55 percent increase in 2008.

To help you save money on your at-home family meals, here are seven easy moves to make to keep money in your pocket this week.

1) Make a meal plan. The easiest way to save money is to plan your meals for each night of the week. When you know what to make at 5 p.m. (and you know you have all the ingredients!) it’s a lot less tempting to order a pizza.

2) Plan weekly menus around what’s on sale. Before you write up your weekly meal plan read through the grocery ads to see what’s on sale. Quick tip: visit Recipe Matcher, enter the on-sale foods and ingredients you have on hand to instantly generate recipes.

3) Choose recipes with a low price per serving. Build meals around less expensive meats like split chicken breasts, pork chops and stew meat. Check out $5 Dinners for meals that can be made for $5 or less (for a family of four), such as Chili Cornbread Cups and Chicken Noodle Soup.

4) Use coupons for your entire meal. Seek out coupons for every component of your meals, like Meal Deal coupons on Shortcuts.com. In one click you can load your store loyalty card with coupons for turkey breast, frozen vegetables, potatoes, crescent rolls, stuffing and holiday cookies. These coupons get scanned and redeemed at check-out.

5) Go vegetarian once a week. Save extra cash by going meatless once a week. Good choices include spaghetti, chili or even omelettes.

6) Opt for frozen foods. Don’t reach for frozen convenience foods, like TV dinners, but rather frozen vegetables and chicken that can be whipped up into a meal. Frozen side dishes, like potatoes, are another easy way to go to save money.

7) Be smart about private label items. In many cases you can save by opting for the private label over a brand name, but by being smart about coupons, you can often get the brand name for less than the private label. Here’s a post I did recently at Blissfully Domestic called Confessions of a Name Brand Shopper on how I save big by not buying private label at all.

How do you save by eating at home? I’d love to hear your tips and advice.

You may not have even sat down for Thanksgiving Dinner yet but your mind may already be on tomorrow’s Black Friday shop-a-thon. While you’re getting your strategy together I hope you enjoy these ten tips to keep from overspending on holiday gifts!

1) Set a Budget. Decide how much you have to spend on holiday gifts and bring that budget with you to the shopping mall.

2) Make a Gift List. Write down everyone you plan to buy for this year and set an amount you plan to spend for each person.

3) Bring a Calculator. With each purchase, calculate how much you’ve spent on each person and jot it down next to each gift recipient. Cross of each person on your list as you max out on the budget expenditure.

4) Only Buy for Others. With so many deals it will be tempting to pick up gifts for yourself. One solution is to ask yourself if you’d really need or want the item if it wasn’t on super sale. A better solution is to pass it by and only shop for people on your list.

5) Look Your Best. Wear your favorite comfortable outfit, put on makeup and style your hair. When you look good you’ll be less likely to make extra purchases for yourself, like the latest sweater set or new flats.

6) Bring Your Kids. The easiest way to get in and out of the mall is to bring your kids. They definitely have an expiration date and will limit the amount of time you can spend in the mall.

7) Bring a Stroller. Have you navigated stores in the mall lately? Some are definitely not stroller-friendly. Want to keep yourself from buying that skirt in the window that would look perfect on you? Bring a stroller (preferably a travel system stroller!) and you’ll think twice about going in.

Don’t Bring a Stroller. That’s right I have conflicting advice. The idea behind not bringing a stroller is this – a stroller with a basket gives you loads of room for bags. You’ll buy less (and hopefully spend less!) if you have less room to put your purchases.

9) Leave Credit Cards at Home. The same goes for your debit card and your checkbook. It’s easier to stay within your budget when you only have cash to spend.

10) Don’t Eat at the Mall. Eating at the shopping mall lets you re-fuel and re-energize for more shopping. Once you get hungry, head home.

Have any good tips or advice to help me and other readers spend less on gifts this holiday season? Please leave a comment with your best advice!