Saving Money/ Cutting Costs

Track every. single. penny. I'm willing to bet that you may be surprised where you are spending (wasting) money.

Pay cash for things too. A $60 swipe of the credit/debit card feels a lot different than handing over three $20 bills.

The only reasons we use a credit card for almost every purchase are 1) we love the cashback rewards and 2) we pay our bill off in full each and every month.

pick up the book "i will teach you to be rich" by Ramit Sethi. the title is tongue in cheek, as it doesn't do anything in regards to get rich quick, but it teaches you to manage your money and creat spending plans, and make your money work for you.

for instance, credit cards aren't a bad thing many of us think they are. if you spend within your means, you can use a credit card to accumulate points and help you out, such as paying for a hotel room with points on a trip.

they can also give you better insurance on car rentals, extended warrenties on items purchased, and protect you from fraud.

Budget! Make one. Stick to it.

Food got to be a major expense in our house. We recently overhauled the way we shop/eat and it's saving us, so far, about $70/week, that extra $280 a month will be nice. I do spent a lot more time in the kitchen now but it's been worth it.

I also had a bad drive-thru coffee habit which I kicked a while ago. My husband took over handling the finances and surprise, surprise, we have a lot more money when I have to fess up to how much I spend. lol.

We live really cheaply by being less materialistic. We stopped watching television and you don't see all the advertising. I have a monthly budget and keep track of everything I spend and what I spend it on. We make all of our meals from scratch and most without meat (which is expensive in the UK).

The main thing is when you see something that you're going to buy ask yourself do you "need" it or do you "want" it. Also putoff buying it for 30 days. If you can go without for 30 days you usually forget about it. If not then buy it.

A street dog goes from place to place in search for food. Always worrying about it. Just running around.

A Cheetah on the other hand is a lazy as hell animal and if game happens to come nearby, it'll only then pounce on the opportunity else it'll just keep sleeping.

I am a Cheetah. I don't worry about saving etc. I live with minimal means as it is and somehow, I have never went to bed empty stomach.

Best advice, learn your needs vs. wants. Focus on your needs and when they're fulfilled, focus on leaving some money for rainy day and THEN get to the want

Good luck

I get paid to go shopping. E.g At McDonalds last week I got paid £12 and the cost of my meal to eat there, and fill out a questionnaire to say if it was good or not

Gapbuster is the name of the comoany

(You obviously don't have to do fast food) Alexe x

bump

1. Make a budget
2. track your dollars just like you'd track calories
3. check out using coupons... just don't buy stuff because you have a coupon, lol
4. see if you can reduce your cable/phone/internet etc bills
5. Go through all your stuff, you might find things you didnt know you had

We live really cheaply by being less materialistic. We stopped watching television and you don't see all the advertising. I have a monthly budget and keep track of everything I spend and what I spend it on. We make all of our meals from scratch and most without meat (which is expensive in the UK).

The main thing is when you see something that you're going to buy ask yourself do you "need" it or do you "want" it. Also putoff buying it for 30 days. If you can go without for 30 days you usually forget about it. If not then buy it.

This. Also, don't go to malls. There's nothing you need at the mall. When shopping, think, "could I buy this in a grocery store?" If you couldn't buy it in a grocery store, then it isn't a necessity, so don't buy it at all. (Even so, there are some things at grocery stores that aren't necessities - but you know what I mean.) I shop at Target, for instance, and tend to throw a lot of clothes into the cart along with the necessities - and that's a big No No that I have to stop. But basically, don't shop anywhere that you don't NEED to be.

Do you have cable tv? We dropped our cable and put an antena up on our roof. They now make flat antenas that don't show from the ground. Yeah, I miss some shows but who has time to watch all that tv anyway? With all those commercials for things you don't need? Perhaps make dates to go to friend's houses to watch specific shows with them.

Also try not to eat out. It's cheaper and healthier to have friends over to your place for a dinner you make yourself than to go out. I know people have crazy diets but if you put out a "salad bar" or "taco bar" you can probably satisfy every special diet well enough for a dinner.

And then some people, like me, take 2nd jobs to earn extra cash, when we can (for people who have little kids it's not really doable, though).

I totally agree with planning your meals, and not going (severly limiting) out to eat. The restaurants all serve junk anyhow.

If you shop at Kroger or Publix, use www.iheartpublix.com or www.iheartkroger.com. These websites match the weekly deals to coupons (both online and newspaper). Publix in Florida - you can use 2 coupons for every item purchased. A manufacturer's coupon and a competitor's coupon. If it's buy 1, get 1, then you have to get 2. But, if it's 2 for $5.00, then you only have to buy one. Know your state's coupon rules. The stores rotate their deals. Yogurt is almost always on sale, and speghetti sauce and cleaners run alot on sale too.

Buy the newspaper. The website swill point you to the date of the newspaper and packet company that had the coupons.

On the newspaper, take out the coupon insert. I don't cut coupons, but I do label the packet with the date. I keep them in a drawer for about 3 months. After that, they are stale.

But, with couponing . . . . only buy what you need and what you will need before it goes bad.

Meat goes on sale on Sunday & Monday nights at most grocery stores. At the specialty "green" grocer, their organic meats are 50% off on Tuesday night.

Costco is a big saver for me. Wines, especially Kirkland, taste super great and are super cheap. Also, best place to buy frozen salmon and other fish & greens.

In the summer, go to a farmer's market for your fruits and veggies. One $20 bill gets me a fridge of fruits and veggies there.

If you have to rent a car, don't ever rent at the airport. Better to take a cab to a nearby rental car company. Example. Rented a car in Los Angeles for 10 days. At the airport - it was almost $2,000. At the same company in Torrence (5 miles), it was $600.

If you have kids, don't take them with you (LIIMIT) shopping.

having a budget
don't buy things that I don't need

I am following a facebook post I saw this year. Save $1 first week of January, $2 second week, so on and so on up to 52 weeks. That will add up to about $1400 bucks. If you do that religiously, you can still pay off stuff at end of year.

Largest bags of frozen veggies.

Start using rewards cards at your favorite stores where you shop already.

Wait for sales on good quality items.

When buying something on sale ask yourself if you'd pay full price for it, because if you're buying it JUST BECAUSE it was half off but you don't need it or really love it, it's not a bargain, it's just wasting more money.

Choosing quality over quantity.

When you get to that 1300 dollars goal. 1) You could use half to pay down the credit card instead of paying it off. And use the other half for the shopping spree. 2) Or pay it off completely and then shopping spree on half the card if it gets you rewards points and then you could pay it off and cut it at half the year if you're sure you can manage that.