Small Changes

[marla]

I'm trying to get my financial situation in order and I know it is going to mean making some changes. I know myself and if I try to start making big changes, it will never work. I need some suggestions of some small changes I can make to get the process rolling.

[DivaJen]

What are your current goals? Do you have debt that you're concerned about, or are you looking to make a major purchase, or maybe build up savings...?

One small change I have made was curtailing my trips to Starbucks. I used to put $20-$25 on my Starbucks debit card and when it ran out, I'd load it up again. I really didn't keep track of it all, and it was getting a little bit out of hand. So now my deal with myself is I can put $15 on it once a month. If I spend it all, that's it. No using cash, no reloading the card. It's made me much more aware of how often I go, and I appreciate my lattes more now when I do get one.

[Tree0164]

Keep a notebook of all your expeneses-really the little ones a dollar here and a dollar here do add up.

Do you take your lunch to work? Or are you going out?

One important thing is to Pay yourself first!

[marla]

My goal is to begin saving. It seems that the best I can do is break even each month. I also have some credit cards that I need to pay off. I read the saving games article and I think that some of those might help. A notebook is also a good idea - I just don't know if I will keep up with it. I'm really bad sometimes.

[DivaJen]

However you do it, I think knowing exactly where your money is going can be very helpful. It gives you an awareness of how you spend, and that can be empowering.

Is there some way you can have money automatically put into a savings account? My credit union does this for teachers who only get ten paychecks a year. My paycheck would be deposited automatically, and then I specified the amount to be moved to my summer saver account, and on which date. This was money I never saw because it was moved before I could get to it. Can you do something similar? Many banks used to do Christmas Saving Clubs - do they still do those? Might be a way to discipline yourself to save some money, even if wasn't a big amount to start.

[Tree0164]

Marla,
Here are some additonal ideas.
Cable... cut that grab some rabbit ears or reduce the number of channels that you have.
Internet... see if you can lower your internet access. There are plans at low as 9.95 a month.
Cell phone... see if yuo can reduce your plan, even cancel it or go to a cheaper prepaid one.
Land Phone... cut out the extra like the call waiting, voice mail (go and buy an answering machine etc. Long distance... shop around for the lowest rates. www.lowerabill.com has a great calculator
Electrictiy turn off the tv, lights when you are not using them. Eat dinner by candlelight. Turn off your hot water when you are not using it.
Entertainment... use your library for kid videos. Even adult movies. They maybe a little old. It doesn't hurt to read some books rather than watch tv too.
Food Try to eat in as much as you can... make your food from stratch, buy generic rather than brand names etc. Shop loss leaders Use a price book as well. Compare prices on food and health/beauty products.

[Sara]

Just cutting out pop and fast food saved us a bundle and we're thinner too.

I shop at the thrift store often and they have awesome deals on clothing.

I also hit the bread outlet and get bread inexpensively and stock up.

Having a set grocery list and meals planned ahead was a big money saver for us too.

I completely agree with pay yourself first.

[marla]

Thank you for the excellent tips. I'm also doing the daily challenge and I think that will help alot. The thing I find hard is to actually do it. I know what I should do, I just need time set aside to do it. I'm working on that.

[Lori63]

I know what you mean about knowing what you should do vs. making yourself do it. It is just so much easier to run through the drive thru at McDonalds than fix my three picky eaters dinner, but I feel better when I make myself do the right thing.
I truly believe that all the small changes are the way to start. right now I live in a nicer house than I ever thought we'd be able to afford, and it's because of our hard work at saving (and it is work to save).

Another place you might want ot check out is the Little Debbie outlet. We have a McKee bakery near here, and I can get LD snack cakes,etc for $0.50 a box, which helps with the three bottomless pits I have ( I meant to say growing boys).

[Tree0164]

We have an bread outlet here too that I get bread, waffles, bagels that really helps with those costs.

This is a really great thread, I wish it would have more replies. I have been working on being more frugal for 1 1/2 or so. I have made progress rather slowly. I have gotten some of my best ideas from the internet. I wish that when I first started that I had spent more time doing google searches for "frugal". Also mailing lists have been a great source of frugal ideas. Go to Yahoo mailing lists. Even with all the time I have spent searching the internet for ideas, I still keep coming up with new sources. Like this web site. Isn't it great

The best big things that I have done is to get a handle on our food expenses, limit my driving around shopping for entertainment, keeping a price book so that I REALLY know when something is a good buy.

In regards to the price book, just start small. Each week when you come home with your purchases record the cost of those items. It shouldn't take you too long to come up with a pretty comprehensive book covering your basic necessities.

Best of Luck

Sherry

[DivaJen]

The Tightwad Gazette has TONS of big and little saving tips. Your library might carry it. Sometimes just reading through it helps re-inspire me to aim for more frugality!

[PennyPincher]

A few things that have made a big difference for us:

1) My Entertainment book for dining out. In my house, if there isn't a coupon for it, we don't go. (Well, not quite that extreme...) But it is fun to flip through the book on our date nights and pick a new restaurant or one of our favorites knowing that it will be a buy one get one free. They have coupons for sit-down restaurants, fast food, the MOVIES! ($5.50), rental cars, dry cleaning, and more. The 2005's were just completed...and they are offering $10 off + free shipping if you order online. (about $25 total.) I can tell you I've saved hundreds...and on things I would have done anyhow. I saved $100 on my dining room table because there was a coupon for the local furniture store! The site is www.entertainment.com. Also, from about May - August, they usually sell them for $10 each to get rid of them. Look out for it next year... (it just ended on the '04s)

2) On the frugal side...I do not have long distance on my phone bill. Aside from having free nights on my cell phone, I use a calling card for my other calls at home. It may take a few seconds longer to dial, but the rate I pay is about 2 cents per minute! I pick up the cards at a wholesale club, like Sam's Club. I buy one, and it lasts me a year - for about $30. And I keep my home phone bill under $30 per month. There's also great to bring when I travel...no roaming, and I don't pay crazy hotel phone charges.

3) Using eBay...I've done more selling than purchasing on eBay, but I've been successful with both. Whenever I'm getting rid of my nice clothes (that I got on sale, of course), I post them on eBay. They always seem to sell, and the few minutes I put in is worth the pay I get back. Also, there are alot of sellers on there that sell brand new stuff cheaper than you'd find at a distributors. It's worth a look, if you haven't. If that's too much, I recommend a consignment store. I get checks several times a year for items that I've brought there for them to sell. They pay me 60% of the selling price, and do all the selling work! I love it.

4) If you are a big movie renter...or someone that rents a few, but pays ALOT of late fees - I recommend a membership for regular rentals. Of course, it's only saving if you're spending more now than you would on such a plan. I pay $22/month at Blockbuster for unlimited rentals. The only catch is that I can only have two out at a time. (no biggie...when I'm done, I go get two more!) Highly recommended for those that already spend upwards of $30/month on rentals or fees. I don't believe in spending money to save money when it doesn't make sense...

Sorry to be so long...this is a fun topic.

[mbhunter]

Here are some really easy ways to spend less without deliberately repeating all of the good ideas mentioned thus far:

1) If you use a credit card for convenience rather than for credit, switch to a rewards card. We put $30 back in our pocket each month. If you do use a credit card for credit, work to pay it off!
2) Try store/generic brand if it's cheaper than name brand. There may be no difference in quality.
3) Shop thrift stores for clothes. It's not all junk, and you can occassionally get blue jeans for $1 or less.
4) Clean out your cars. You sacrifice about 1 MPG for each 100 pounds of extra cargo.
5) Check out the Usenet group misc.consumers.frugal-living, which has different members than the ever-popular SavingAdvice.com forum!