So, how do you go about saying, "I want to save money this year" and then actually see it happen? Read on ... and if you have any ideas, feel free to comment! Please share with others you think might find this post beneficial or those who might have some great input. I love seeing comments on my blog posts. *Note - make sure you sign up for my mailing list so you do not miss any posts or deals!*
Analyzing Bills
The first step in saving money is to analyze your bills. There are some things that you just cannot get rid of. These include:
- Housing (mortgage, rent, property taxes)
- Food
- Utilities (gas, water, trash, electricity)
- Insurance
- Vehicle (monthly payment, registration, insurance)
- Phone (I put this in unavoidable because I have kids ... communication is a necessity)
These are the bills that you need to plan for and make sure that you get covered. We spend no more than 1/3 of our monthly income on housing costs and then do everything in our power to keep all of the other bills as low as possible. It may sound crazy, but we can get by on roughly $100 to $130 a week for food for our family of six. Part of that is because we have children in school, and the rest is just shopping the deals (will cover that a little later).
Giving Up the Extras
It is really hard to live a lifestyle that will save money. You have to be willing not eat out at all (or on rare occasions). You have to be willing to learn how to do-it-yourself, such as mending clothing and making your own decorations. My older sister will occasionally show on her blog how she sees something she likes, and then makes something very similar for MUCH less. It isn't a savings of only a few dollars (although that also adds up), but sometimes it is $50 to $100 less! Learn to make coffee at home instead of stopping at Starbucks or search Pinterest for copycat recipes.
Shop Frugal
IF you have the ability, then put the money you save into your savings account. That is where I hope to be later this year. I want to purchase the same items I am now, but put the money I would have spent on the name brand into my savings. This will give you a great way to see how much you are saving by shopping differently. We love to shop at the Dollar Tree. I get a lot of my staples there that I would have to pay more for elsewhere. It isn't always the cheapest. It is often cheaper to go to Aldi's for a can of corn and then grocery stores often have sales on canned products. If you are used to spending $.99 on a canned vegetable for the name brand, and get a can for $.39, you are able to put $.60 in your savings account. If you think of only one can a day, every day for a year, you have put nearly $220 in your savings account! See how easy it will be to build a savings if you deposit the money you didn't spend?
Use Cash When Possible
Oh, how I LOVE Dave Ramsey and his envelope system. It is one of the key things to our success. We literally do not go shopping without taking the cash we plan to spend. If you don't want to carry actual cash, then put it on a gift card. This works great for gassing up the vehicle, grocery shopping, holiday shopping, and any other time when you have a very strict budget. Again, if you are under budget, put the extra into your savings account and let it gain interest!
The best part about this method is you are in complete control of how much you save. We have found a few things that we want to spend the money on because it is important to us. However, we went for awhile without these luxuries ... including gym memberships. What are you doing to save money this year? Is this one of your New Year's Resolutions? Let me know in the comments below!
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