Ways To Save!

One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to work even harder at saving money and not waste money on piddly little things that we really don't need. 2 months in and we're doing really well. I'm rather proud.

Some stuff we started last year and have just continued into this year. We have implemented one new thing this year that has been very helpful to us though!

Anyway, I thought I would share some of the things that we do to save money on a tight budget!

1. A cash envelope for our monthly "fun money".
That's what we started this year. We are debit card people and very rarely carry cash on us. Last year after budgeting we decided $50 would be our monthly fun money. Usually this money gets blown on eating out or getting ice cream from DQ. Last year we consistently blew our budget. Sometime I would see that Jacob stopped for coffee a few times, so I would stop and get a frappe for myself.  I would just take money from here or there and find a way to justify it. We could easily spend over $100 each month.

This year I talked to Jacob we decided to try the envelope. I take out $50 at the beginning of the month and stick it in our envelope. That's our money. When it's gone, it's gone. Last month we rolled over a few dollars, but this month we ran out of cash last week. We occasionally get treated by one of our families, which is nice! We always go out for our birthdays and that is budgeted separately. We use gift cards though out the year too. Plus, I always set aside money for road trips. But the envelope works great for normal day to day life!

2. I called around to see if we could get any discounts. I was able to get our cable and Internet bill lowered for one year. They gave me a promotional rate on Internet so our bill is around $17 less each month. That's an extra $204 in our pockets just for asking! (Fingers crossed that come September I can convince them to discount me again. :))

3. I started doing probably 80% of our grocery shopping at Aldi. I was pretty skeptical at first. Not to mention intimidated. I know that's stupid, but I always get nervous going new places. You have to have a quarter to deposit to get a cart, bring your own bags and bag your own groceries. I wasn't sure about that. Turns out it's not really a big deal at all. I can fly through that store now, and it takes like 2 minutes to check out. Sometimes it's a pain to bag my stuff, but it's not that bad! The savings are THE BEST. We have found so many foods that we enjoy and most are way cheaper than WalMart! Not to mention, our Aldi just rocks in general. The customer service is through the roof. The cashiers and manager know who Daniel and I are. I just love it.

We still have certain things we like better or can only get from WalMart, but I would guess we save $40-$50 a month at least by shopping at Aldi.

4. We dropped our cell phone carrier. We had Verizon and were month to month because we hadn't resigned a contract. We were paying $120/mo (with a discount because Jacob works for the state...normally $140) for minutes (I can't remember how many), unlimited texting and a very limited Internet.

At the end of October we switched to Straight Talk. We had to pay more up front for our new phones, but we were able to get smart phones. We now pay $90 + tax for unlimited minutes, text and internet. We got phones that run off the Verizon towers and haven't had any issues yet.

5. Cutting back a bit on things we don't really need. I like those crock pot liners, so you don't have to wash the crock pot when you're done. Guess what? If we just let it soak over night it's not THAT bad to clean. Don't need 'em. I also loved Reynold's Non-Stick Foil, but it costs a lot more than regular foil. I quit buying that too. Convenient, but not necessary. I also try to reuse the gallon Ziploc bags whenever possible.

6. Search for the best deals. Whenever I want something...especially gifts, I do A LOT of online researching for the best deals. Plus, I try to find coupons or discount codes for things. My favorite deal website is www.hip2save.com. I've gotten some great deals and freebies. My favorite right now is just for taking a survey I'm getting US Weekly free for a year! I should be getting my free Cosmo subscription soon! Jacob's mom has also been saving coupons for me. Every few cents saved counts!

Those are my favorite ways we're saving money! Plus we've added a bit of income with me working which has been nice. We have more money to put into savings.

With gas prices rising so much and Jacob having to drive so far each day, and having to meet 2 different medical deductibles each year where we have to pay out of pocket until they're met, it's nice to have extra money in our pockets from saving.

Sometimes it's fun to be frugal...although I do catch myself feeling envious at times, I am thankful for what I have.