Ways to save…
Write down everything you buy and every activity you spend money on. Make sure you write down what it was for and file it under ‘needs’ or ‘wants’. Be really honest with yourself and ask if you could really have lived without spending the money. When I started this plan years ago, I also wrote and ‘alternative’ column and found free ways of achieving the same thing.
Pay all your credit cards and debts off. Avoid charging and just keep a debit card that can also be used as a credit card. If you do have credit cards with lots of credit, use these as an emergency savings account.
Write down a list of spending triggers. Check yourself out as you go through your day and maybe try to figure out what makes you spend. Are you sad, lonely, bored, excited, etc…
Figure out and write down ALL of your income sources, then eliminate any services you are paying on a monthly or weekly basis.
Write out your savings goal. Don’t eliminate things all at once – do it little by little and don’t get upset if you fail at first. Just keep on trying. Reward yourself with a little something at the end of each week. Remember, you’re trying to break and addiction so you’ll need to try and replace an unhealthy habit with a healthy one.
Just like you carry pictures of your children in your wallet, carry a little note to yourself with an affirmation of your savings plan and look at it throughout the day to remind you and give you strength. Create a wish list and look at that several times as well.
Here are some new books I’ve found to be quite helpful:
Growing money by Gail Karlitz
The Teen Girl’s Gotta have it guide by Jessica Blatt
The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn – great for moms and families
Extraordinary uses for Ordinary things – Reader’s Digest – I love this one!
Semi-Homemade Money Saving Meals by Sandra Lee quick. Simple and inexpensive
The Millionaire next door by Thomas J. Stanley – interesting read