CHANGES- What have you done?

[Armywife]

While I was writing my journal entry, I thought this would be a neat topic since we all have the same goals in common- please read on.

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Change is good... and required in order to survive whatever comes your way. It has been one month and two days since I've put down the cigarette in exchange for healthier living. While I still feel a little buzzing going on here and there, I spend alot of time looking for new ways to occupy myself in hopes of making frugal living a PERMANENT lifestyle.

Here are my changes (or simply, what i've learned from being more observant in one month)

Change#1: Entertainment Value. After reading several journals, I caved in a visited my local library. What a treasure trove! Geez... it makes me sick to think of all the money I could have saved by borrowing instead of buying. The latest movies, cd's and newspapers are always available.. just stop by for a visit!


Change#2: Re-defining Keywords in my life is certainly helping curb the desire for unnecessary habits. A friend of mine who "quit" smoking in November is now back in the habit because her mom is in the hospital. Sure news like that is distressing but the whole idea is not to be a chronic hospit- ahhh bleah.. I won't get into the anti-smoking rhetoric lol.. I know, I know the worst non- smoker is the ex-smoker lol. Another word I've filed under my list for obsolete words is "shopping". In the past, shopping was my excuse to bring home piles of junk that in turn accumulated into basement fodder. MORAL: Do not SHOP... step out for necessities instead.

Change#3: Persistence. Keeping up with financial information can really affirm a situation and prevent wanton destruction (ex: overspending on the credit cards, auction rummaging). The journals provided by savingadvice serve a wonderful purpose by keeping us aware of what we do while ONLINE. I devote some time to finding little ways to save more everyday and keep my budget handy so I can gauge the progress in a pretty little notebook I call "the Finance TOME". My kids know not to touch it and hubby is impressed at my book-keeping neatness.

Change#4: Diversity: My habits were only part of what I considered a routine. My manicures, my smoking.. they were all "timed"portions of what I considered an average day. Imagine how much you can do if you had 304 extra hours to do something different.. more meaningful..like playing with your kids or going rollerskating with your sweetheart? And that's only from giving up two 5 minute cigarette breaks for a year (Yeah I know.. if only time were calculated that way lol)

What CHANGES are you making towards your future? Please post them and perhaps we can all learn more from each other

Barb

[Momof3grls]

Well changes I am making towards financial goals are 1. working more I only do demos & merchandising but I am getting on with more companies & trying to get jobs for every weekend. 2. I have gotten really back into couponing & rebating 3. Cutting back on eating out its amazing how much that saves even if it was just eating at BK a few times a week that really ads up fast.

As far as family goes I am trying to spend more time with my kids each day doing fun activities & since we are always looking for free things to do that our fun some weeks we just go visiting relatives that we normally dont see enough of & my relatives love this & so do my kids & me too its very fun spending time with family like this.

And then other weeks we visit our art center nature centers & librarys just some fun free things to do as a family

[gakline]

I've noticed that just by keeping a journal makes me realize how much I spend. I do keep track of stuff with software, but it hits harder writing it down everyday.

[PrincessPerky]

I changed my wording from wants to vices, harder to talk myself into finding the money for a vice. And I ask myself about most things, "would I want my tax money spent on buying this for a stranger?" Mostly the answer is no, so it's prolly not a need. (I am pretty libertarian, don't want people to starve, but I also don't want tax money spent on other peoples cable)

[miclason]

Probably the greatest change I have made is that I don't use credit cards anymore...
Also, I am not buying things to 'comfort' myself anymore, I don't try to fill the emptiness or ease the pain with 'stuff'
I have learned that I can live with (a lot) less, and, someday, when I am finally free of all my debts, I will be able to live a more satisfying life and do a lot more without falling into debt!! (that's my dream!!)

[amomof4]

I changed by:

Making h/m dinners
making h/m lunches
buying by check so I can actually see my spending habits
paying off my personal credit card balance each month
saving here & there for my girls' inheritance
hanging laundry (I was going to buy a dryer)
gardening
suffering with my bed (I'm going to be looking for a topper of some sorts. Originally, I was
going to pay $2,000 for an air bed)
making h/m pizza
quitting going out to eat (We only ate at McDonald's on their dollar meal)
Quit nagging my husband about the way he handles the finances (we have savings, our
own home, 2 cars, insurance & a middle class lifestyle. what does it matter that there is
still more that we could do with our money if it make him miserable? He does enough & I
need to appreciate it.)
to manage our money)

[PrincessPerky]

Heh I like the quit nagging thing.

On the mattress topper, test them out. I have memory foam and I am paying for it in major back pain. Lost productivity 'cause I wake up feeling worse than I laid down. Not a good thing at all, but the mattress without topper iis worse, so we wait.

[Armywife]

Quit nagging my husband about the way he handles the finances ********

LOL I should stop that as well. He now jokes about how he's going to pay FULL PRICE for things he knows we can get discounts on just to see me squirm! Heck he's even calling me Penny- short for Penny Pincher (which kinda reminds me of the clay character from Pee Wees Playhouse eons ago)

[DivaJen]

Some changes I have made over the past several years:

Eating at home more
Shopping consignment, thrift and ebay
Decluttering and thinking twice before bringing something new into the house (still lots of room for improvement here)
Got a drying rack to hang laundry to dry even when it's damp outside
Started using Quicken this year to help track expenses and compare our spending to our budget
Lowered thermostat to 66*F during the day
Started catching water in the shower to use in the gardens
Researched cell providers to get a better rate, and use the cell phone for long distance
Never have had cable TV
Have gotten better at planning when we are going to be out and now bring snacks, water, etc.
Haven't bought a new car since 1999
Dh rides his bike to work now
Re-established retirement savings
Set up college savings for DD

I'm sure there's more, but that's a start.

[amomof4]

Thanks for the adivce on the memory foam mattress. That was the one I was thinking about buying.

[kashi]

I just got a really nice pillow-top mattress pad for $25 on overstock.com, and it is super comfy!

I can't really contribute to the rest of this thread...I can't think of any major changes I've made!

[jacquelynrose]

Finally opened up a Savings Account at a Credit Union
Quit buying Lunch at Work
Went on a Diet
Quit buying Fast Food
That is all I can think of so far. But I will be opening up another Savings with ING Direct to set as an Emergency Fund with the money I make with my part-time Job.

Jacquelyn

[seaar2000]

Write down what I spend
Keep the heat down in the winter
Keep lights off when I am not in the room
Use cold water to wash clothes Use hot water only when doing towels
Bring lunch to work
Quite buying pop
Take quick showers
Don't go out to eat
Restarted my 401 (k)
Put up another $100 in EF since I paid off my car when received taxes
Go to Aldi's to do most of my grocery shopping
Use coupons only if use that product
Get most of my personal items from the dollar store
Look at the grocery ads and see what meats they have on sale
Cook at home
Decide before I buy if it's a want or a need
Last year in my flower garden planted on perinnal flowers instead of annuals because they come up year after year instead of only one year
Take snacks with me if I am going somewhere a long distance so it will save me from stopping at a convenience store.
Shop at the bread store.
Use the back roads to go to work because its a lot less of stop and go.
Shop at thrift stores

[Armywife]

Originally Posted by seaar2000

Use cold water to wash clothes Use hot water only when doing towels
Quite buying pop

Excellent!
I wish I could quit buying soda.. hubby is soo hooked on it. Instead of buying him the pepsi and coke, I now buy him six packs of shasta. Speaking of cold water.. have you tried the Tide Coldwater challenge?

http://www.tide.com/tidecoldwater/challenge.jhtml

You can get a free sample and get your friends one too

Barb

What I do now:

-Keep track of my spending with a spreadsheet I made on Excel.
-Started an ING savings account and managed to put $975 into it. I've gotten more money in there through interest and referrals and now I'm up to over $1030.
-Got a credit card that gives 5% cashback on gas and groceries and 1% on everything else. I use it on most everything, and pay it off immediately online.
-Keep lights turned off unless I need it on to read or something.
-Got rid of Expanded Basic Cable and went to just Basic (went from over $50 to $14!)
-Got rid of the land line phone and only use our cellphones. I have Verizon and use the in-network plan, where since my family and fiance all have verizon, I can call and talk to them as much as I want and it doesn't use up my minutes.
-Use a list everytime I grocery shop.
-Use coupons (I get my parents to mail me any they don't use) on things I buy regularly.
-Spend greenpoints (Lowe's Foods) on foods to get them for free. My parents have the same card as me, so whenever they shop, it earns points for me. I used to work there, so that's why I got the account first.
-Don't eat out so much. Right now it's about 2-3 times per month at Burger King or somewhere cheap, but I'm trying to lower it even more.
-Keep the heat down all the way. I have to keep it at a minimum of 55 degress as stated in my rental lease. We wear sweats, thermal underwear, and sweatshirts around the apt.
-Avoid buying any clothes. My fiance's parents seem to bring us each a new sweater or something whenever they visit. I just maintain the clothes I have. I still wear a sweatshirt I've had since about 7th grade (I'm a sophomore in College now). Sure it's outdated and has a huge shimmery leopard on the front, but I don't care what people think.
-Use sits like Coolsavings.com and ValuPage.com to save money and keep up with the grocery sales ads online to plan my shopping.
-I've taught myself to cook way more than I ever thought I could.
-Keep everything turned off if it's not in use. This includes tv's, vcr's, stereos, computer monitor, etc.
-I still have some little travel sized body washes and hotel shampoos that I've kept and use to avoid buying them until necessary. When I do buy them, I purchase the cheapest shampoo and conditioner, and store brand body wash.
-Keep the car turned off rather than idle when possible.
-Bundle up and don't use the heat in my car during winter, and use windows down instead of air in the summer.
-Haven't bought new shoes in forever. I just rotate around the pairs I have. Sure they're worn and look raggedy, but they do the job. I have seen one pair at a store that I am dying to buy, but they've been there for over 7 months, and I'm still waiting for a sale or clearance on them before I consider it.
-Get generic presciption drugs. I used to take orthotricyclin, but now take trinessa because it costs me $10/pack as opposed to $33/pack for name brand.
-After I'm done cooking in the oven, and turn it off, I leave the door open to heat up the kitchen and apt some.
-I don't buy calendars. I have 3 now though. 1 was free from our college, 1 was free from Town Hall, and 1 was a Christmas gift.
-I unplug anthing I don't use regularly.
-If I see something I want in a store, I pick it up, but carry it around and look around for awhile. I put it back 95% of the time, realizing I don't NEED it.
-Buy store brand of most all groceries.
-Drive the speed limit and avoid speeding into stoplights. I let my car roll slowly up to them and gradually accelerate when it turns green and it saves on gas.
-Open the curtains/blinds on whatever side of the apt. is sunny to warm up the apt. in the winter.
-I put an old towel at the bottom of the front toor to keep the drafts out.
-I keep up with and maintain my jewelry. I haven't bought any new jewelry in over a year and a half.
-When we do eat out, I make sure to bring any extra napkins, straws, plasticware, etc. with me. If we go through the drivethru, I always ask for ketchup, even if I don't need it for my meal.. I might want it later for something else.
-I drink lots of water rather than costly drinks. I got my fiance to start drinking store brand soda rather than name brand.


I can't really think of anything else at the moment, but I do have a question. I got engaged in August this past year, and I've lost some weight and now my ring is too large. What would be the best option for me to get it resized and how much do you think it would cost? I haven't been wearing my engagement ring for fear of it falling off, but I feel guitly knowing he probably spent a lot on it.

[PRICEPLUS]

Well I got out of debt. I now pay cash unless the card gives me some edge such as the extension of a warranty or leverage in a dispute over goods and services.

I put a 20 in my wallet at the beginning of the month and see how far I can go without spending it. I have made a game of it.

I put myself on a budget and I am sticking to it. It is really rough to stick to the budget but the alternative is even less appealing.

I wait a week on any purchase of 100 dollars or more. More often than not I find I get along fine without the item and put off the purchase indefinitely.

My new credo is as follows:

1) Use it up.
2) Wear it out.
3) Make due.
4) Do without.

Thoreau was right. Simplify! Simplify! Simplify!

[seaar2000]

Priceplus I totally agree with you! I just paid off my car and the only debt I have is my house mortgage. Unless it is absolutely a necessity I am not going to buy anything! I also use your credo. Congratulations on getting out of debt!

[seaar2000]

Armywife I have not tried the tidecoldwater. The only detergents I can use are fragrance free. I have heard of the the tidecoldwater. Just curious why they want others to try the tidecoldwater challenge? What are they saying about this product?

[PrincessPerky]

Originally Posted by lisasayzhi

I can't really think of anything else at the moment, but I do have a question. I got engaged in August this past year, and I've lost some weight and now my ring is too large. What would be the best option for me to get it resized and how much do you think it would cost? I haven't been wearing my engagement ring for fear of it falling off, but I feel guitly knowing he probably spent a lot on it.

Get pregnant, your fingers will swell and the ring will fit perfectly That was what I did (though I didn't lose weight, I quit just smoking), only trouble is you have to keep doing it .

My mother went with the old college wrap it in yarn. Kind of tacky on 50 year old. Prolly doable if it fits your style.

[Armywife]

Originally Posted by seaar2000

Armywife I have not tried the tidecoldwater. The only detergents I can use are fragrance free. I have heard of the the tidecoldwater. Just curious why they want others to try the tidecoldwater challenge? What are they saying about this product?

I must confess I don't know much about how tide coldwater differs from the regular detergent but I feel it's about time bigshot corporations recognize the frugal aspects of washing clothes in cold water. Has anyone else on the board tried the coldwater sample and if so, is it worth checking out?

Barb