Baby steps to financial freedom
Last month we were on a bit of a spending kick. All sorts of things to spend our cash on. "It's Summer!" (I'd tell myself), "It's Back to School Time!" (I'd emphatically say) all the while knowing that my spending kick would eventually lead to our...
Savings Kick (ugh)
That means more coupons to cut, more eating in and keeping 'ol plastic hidden. Not so fun but definitely necessary after the cash has been flowing like water. Here are a couple of my recent ways I've avoided whipping out the cards...
- My goal is to only go to the grocery store once a week and when I go, I fly SOLO! I think it's super easy to get distracted when little ones are in tow. They "need" something, you can't focus on your list or your coupons and it makes it just plain harder.
- Movie Nights - We hit the RedBox every Friday so we have something to watch over the weekend. It makes us feel like we are still doing something fun without spending a ton! The other day we watched Date Night and we rented Marmaduke for the girls.
- Drinking In - I love my Dunkin Donuts and that has been replaced with Dunkin Donuts from HOME. Not as good but still gives me the fix I need.
- Eating In - Love going out to dinner but it's just not cost effective. Instead, we still make our homeade pizza for way less and experiment with what we have in the cupboard. Breakfast for dinner? Why not...
- Ebay - Incredible deals to be had and lots of fun outbidding and WINNING! What an amazing place to score gently used clothing, toys for the upcoming holidays and more!
- Get outside - We've tried to do more things outdoors before the weather gets too chilly. We've been hitting local farms, orchards and the beach. My sister-in-law even goes to a local airport and watches the planes, which her daughter loves. Best of all...free!
The sandwich above was made on a day when I felt like I had "nothing" to make a sandwich with. I grabbed a whole wheat tortilla and spread a Laughing Cow cheese on it (only 35 calories - who hoo!). I topped it with lettuce, jalapenos, cucumbers, avocado and fresh basil. It was actually pretty satisfying, healthy and good!
We aren't at the point where we are saving a lot but we are spending less so that is a plus. Baby steps...
What tips do you have to save money?
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It's so hard, isn't it! We were in the red every month for the first year or so after our first baby came along and I began staying home. It was so hard to learn to say no to the stuff I wanted to buy. We have worked our tails off and can now, happily, say that we are debt-free except for our house payment. We budget and we save up money for big purchases. It's really fun to buy a new used car and just write out a check. It messes with the sales guy's mind, too! Of course my new-old van isn't much to brag about, but not having a payment to make is wonderful.
ReplyDeletegreat ideas! Thanks for sharing. we try to eat in more to save money.. but it doesn't always happen im sad to admit.
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