Saving?

ILoveBoys

What are some of your tried and true, or maybe unusual ways that you have saved from spending? We're trying to pay down some debt, but that can only happen if we save here and there, and just plain old stop spending so much!

PaigeC1981

The best advice I can offer is to make a budget and stick with it.  Know how much you have coming in and where it goes. 

DH and I have been doing Dave Ramsey's plan since Jan. '08.  We have paid off a ton of debt.  We are set to be completely debt free by next spring.  Read the Total Money Makeover; it's a great book and the plan works. 

Good luck!

momofolivia

I would first get your expenses for the past month and take a look a those.  Then see where you can pare down.  make it a contest - who can do better this month?

We try not to eat out too often, we move money from checking to savings automatically.  We don't use our credit cards at all.  We use coupons.  We don't buy retail if we don't have to.  We shop at consignment stores for DD.  I don't have luxuries like mani/pedi, new clothes, dry cleaning, hair. 

Small steps will help tremendously.  Also make a goal - do you want a down payment, a vacation, emergency money?  How much?  How long will it take you to get there?

ILoveBoys

We are actually reading that book right now

brightning

Automatically moving money to savings every month helped us save a large amount pretty painlessly.

We always send extra money on our car payments. When DH's car was paid off, we sent the money we would have paid on his car to my car payment, so now it's almost paid off 3 yrs early.

We have friends who went to a cash-only system for all of their non-bills. They had envelopes for grocery spending, gas, etc.

Dani123

Im an awful saver when it comes to like long run amounts, but in the short term which never FEELS like much to me but I guess it helps.... I clip coupons, only buy on sale, stopped reading the Sunday ads LOL (that one helped A LOT), put $20 away from every check...(not much but enough for a trip or big present, etc.), make my own cleaning spray, decorations, DOLLAR TREE has become MY NEW BEST FRIEND!  I cant BELIEVE how much regular crap they have there....  THats all I can think of....Oh for presents, we make them using pics with the recipients & my kids or whatever..(thatll run out soon though) LOL