"One of the best things you can do is become financially fit, and what I mean by that is pay attention to food, insurance, and telecommunications."
Greg Karp wrote the book "Living Rich by Spending Smart - How to get more of what you really want."
So let's get financially FIT one by one. Let's start first with food...
By taking advantage of discounts every day, Scott Gifford saves hundreds of dollars a year on groceries.
Food Basics is a discount grocery store that has no membership fee or and no card required. But the savings are tremendous. A block of cheese labeled at $14.27 at a traditional grocery store. At the discount grocery story, you can get that same block of cheese plus garlic powder, onions, canned crushed tomatoes, pasta, and garlic.
$24.91 at a traditional grocery store will get you yogurt, bacon, rolls, hot pockets, and orange juice. At Food Basics you can buy all that PLUS Styrofoam cups, plastic spoons, tea bags, coffee, sugar, milk, and coffee filters!
"We operate in stores that have lower rents, lower operating costs - we don't have all the fancy departments. We don't have a pharmacy - we don't have a service deli or service bakery," explains Mike Vacarr from Food Basics.
Getting back to getting FIT overall - let's tackle insurance.
"Just say no to extended warranties - that's a kind of insurance - they're almost never a good idea," says Karp.
Greg also recommends you consolidate your home and auto insurance polices with one carrier. And reevaluate your policies to see if changes in your life could save you money. Raise your deductibles so your monthly premium is lower. Also, shop around for life insurance even if you already have a policy
"Because rates have come down over the past decade tremendously so you want to refinance your life insurance so that means get a new policy in place, cancel your old one, and pocket the money," said Greg.
The last area in getting financially FIT is telecommunications. Greg says most people could do without their landline altogether, and he had a cell phone plan for 700 minutes but found he was using only about 300 - letting the rest go to waste.
"And now this year, by switching over to prepaid, I'll be saving $700 myself," he tells us.
The Magic Jack can save you money, too. Plug it into your computer and your phone line for unlimited local and long-distance phone service and call waiting - all for 20-dollars a year.
Food Basics, by the way, has two stores in Philadelphia. For exact locations, go to Foodbasics.com.
The parent company, A&P says it does plan to open more Food Basics stores in our area in the near future.
