I'm no expert, but I'm learning and so I wanted to share!
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Money Saving Tip #1 - Don't spend more than you earn. This is a no-brainer but apparently lots of people have trouble with this concept.
Money Saving Tip #2 - Create a budget and STICK TO IT. Make realistic and reasonable goals for how much you want to spend on certain things each month.
Money Saving Tip #3 - Coupons. (This includes ad-matching.) But don't buy things you don't normally buy just because you found a coupon for it. I am a super beginner when it comes to coupons, but I'm trying to learn little by little!
Money Saving Tip #4 - Make a grocery shopping list before you go to the store. Sounds too easy, right? But it really does help!
Money Saving Tip #5 - Add up your groceries while you shop. That way you can make sure to stay on track with your budget.
Money Saving Tip #6 - Keep a price log - of the things you buy and from what store. This sounded hard and time-consuming when I first heard of it but Adam and I did it tonight and it is pretty simple! Just write the current prices while you shop next to each item on your shopping list. And then transfer it to an Excel spreadsheet when you get home.
Money Saving Tip #7 - Don't buy too many things you don't need. I like to say we each can get one extra item, or maybe get as many extra items that doesn't exceed X amount each shopping trip. We can live being frugle without living like we're poor!
Money Saving Tip #8 - CHECK THE RECIPT before you leave the store! Silly? Not so! Just tonight Adam and I found we were charged double for something of which we only bought one. Who knows how many other times that has happened! Every dollar counts.
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And there you have it.
We are striving for better spending trends, and I feel like we're on a good track!
Do you have any tips of your own?
One thing that we have been doing this year is a cash envelope budget. Its easy to say "ok my budget for groceries is $200" then forget how much you've spent using a card. So now we have two envelopes. One for groceries and one for entertainment and when we run out of money, that is it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we have allowance every month that allows us to buy little things for ourselves and not feel guilty... who doesn't like to splurge a little?