Coupon Queen: Controlling your budget during winter

Winter can hurt our budgets. It gets dark by 5:30 p.m., the wind hurts your face, and your cozy couch is the only place you want to be. When this happens, it's easy when "convenience" starts to sound like a necessity. Takeout menus come out, delivery apps get opened, and impulse buys sneak into our budget. It doesn't feel like a big spend at the moment. After all, it's just one night of takeout or one delivery fee because it's too cold to run to the store. Unfortunately, winter was a way to stack small decisions into a big budget buster. Before you know it, the credit card bill arrives, and you can't figure out how January got so expensive. One easy spend during the winter is grocery delivery. While I do often do grocery pickup, I rarely opt for delivery. With the extra cost of the tip (which is essential, after all), I struggle to choose this option over pickup. A few days ago, with the winter storm looming, I tried twice to schedule a grocery pickup, but both times it was canceled. I opted for grocery delivery instead, and the only option available by then was expedited delivery at an extra cost. While my groceries cost a bit more, I see how the convenience of delivery can draw people in every week. Another winter budget buster is food delivery. Not only does the meal itself cost more than cooking at home, but the delivery fee, service fee and tip make it a pricey meal. What could have been a $12 meal at home can easily turn into $30. On top of this, the cold can also fuel impulse spending. You are indoors more, which can lead to more phone scrolling and more advertisements. Many also shop online because it's easier than bundling up and going out. A cute new sweater, a "limited-time offer," or a must-have winter candle seem to show up at your front door without much thought. While none of these purchases by themselves is a lot, they can quietly be draining your wallet. The good news is you don't have to give up convenience altogether to save money; you just need to rein it in. One easy swap for dinners is planning for a "lazy dinner" night or two (or even more). I keep a short list of super-simple meals on hand for nights when I don't want to cook. These include frozen pizza, canned soup, grilled cheese, salad with leftover chicken, or frozen appetizers. I can throw these dinners together in a matter of minutes, and I'm most likely using ingredients that I got on sale. Even my teen boys can make all of these. In fact, it's their favorite kind of dinner. Another trick for takeout is making a budget. Instead of pretending you'll stop altogether, decide ahead of time how many nights a month you'll order in and enjoy them guilt-free. When takeout is planned, it's a treat. When it's constant, it can wreck your budget. If you like to shop online, try the 24-hour rule. Add items to your cart, then close the app. If you still want it the next day, consider it. Most of the time, the urge passes, and your bank account will thank you. The cold weather is brutal, but spring is just around the corner! Winter convenience isn't the enemy; unplanned convenience is. Just a little awareness and a few easy swaps will keep you financially comfortable until spring decides to show up. This week's deal Here is a deal to grab this week at Walgreens. Cap'n Crunch or Quaker CerealOnly $1.88 each Rachel Krych is passionate about helping others spend less and save more. In addition to her weekly column, she has a blog, Couponing With Rachel, which earns her compensation from Google for ads it places there, and from entertainment marketers whose promotional codes she touts. She doesn't write about entertainment in her column. Email her at rachelkrych@gmail.com