I grew up in a family where my parents saved all the money they could. We were not poor, but my mom shopped with coupons, we only got new clothes when we needed them and we never went out to dinner. So living on a budget and saving money is second nature to me. However, my husband likes to spend money. If it’s in his wallet he will spend it on anything! He likes the newest electronic gadgets and going out to dinner is simple for him. So, needless to say, the past couple of years we have struggled with this. And now that we live on a very strict budget it’s even harder. This year we made a New Year’s Resolution together…spend less money. I implemented the Spending Diet. On January 1st we started a notebook where we write down everything we spend money on. It has really become a great tool. My husband doesn’t want to have to explain any useless spending so he doesn’t do it anymore. He started taking his food to work (which is a lot because he spends 24 hours at the firehouse, but we are saving a fortune!). And I started cutting coupons again and matching them to store sales. The past year I got away from doing this because, honestly, it takes a lot of time. With the new baby and everything else going on I didn’t have the time to spend. But now I do! I devote one day a week to grocery shopping. That’s it! No extra runs to the grocery store (unless we need milk!). We never eat out anymore except our weekly Friday nights out with my parents to the family pizza place down the street. It’s great! I’m really hoping we can continue to keep this up, not just this year but as a lifestyle change!
Because we live on such a strict budget, we have made a lot of changes over the years. I have learned to cut corners, scrimp on some things, shop for the best deal, and scour the Internet for great deals! This page on my blog I will share with you areas and places that I save money. Like every other page, please leave comments and your ideas! I love to learn from others!!! I hope I can help you all too!
