How I Save Money (not for the weak hearted)

A while ago I went on a mini rant about someone's money saving tips post, going over reasons why their suggestions weren't the greatest. (See 9 Money Saving tips- My Rebuttal) In all fairness, it's easier to put people's ideas down. Why not put my money where my mouth is and share my own tips. No particular order, this is what I'm doing (or have done) to save money.

1. Stop Spending

I have an entire post on Wants V.S. Needs. Just last week a friend of mine went into Walmart to buy an XBox and came out $1,000 less in her pocket. The XBox might have been a great "you deserve it for your hard work" reward, but $1,000 is way over-doing it.

My mom got a $50 gift card from some co-workers to Walmart once. A few days later she started complaining about how she didn't have enough money for groceries. I suggested she use the gift card, to which she replied, "But it's my birthday gift, I want to spend it on something fun for me!"

There comes a time when you have to put your wants aside and go with what needs to be done. Be it cancel internet or cable, stop eating out, or use a birthday gift card for groceries. It's not easy to let the wants go, but it may be necessary. On my 21st birthday I took the money a colleague gave me to treat me to my first tattoo and used it for groceries for myself and my roommate. If I can gain control at 21, certainly someone like my mom can gain it at ... over 21.

You do not need to go out. I ate out weekly for a while. When my budget got too tight, I stopped eating out all-together for 6 months. When I finally started eating out again I learned I've actually grown a preference for my own cooking over a lot of restaurants, especially the fast food variety. You CAN adjust!

2. Keep To Your Budget

Are you one of the people that goes into a grocery store for 3 items, under $20, and comes out with $60+ items? Then 2 days before your paycheck you're scraping between your cushions for change because you ran out of bread and need lunch money. This used to be me. Often what I was buying wasn't bad items; I'd find a sale on my favorite pizza, I'd see a buy one, get one free offer on my favorite brand of chips. This is stuff that i'll use eventually, but by spending that extra $10 I'm now running on fumes and in need of gas and payday isn't coming soon enough. 

One of the things I now do is go to CVS or a gas station for milk for those in-between shopping trips. I'm spending a little more on the item itself, but I'm walking out strictly with the items I need and it's easier to get through the week. I also keep strictly to my grocery list budget when I'm doing the big shopping trips. If I go over my set allowance  I look in my cart for expensive items and consider what I can buy & make with lower costing items (I ate cereal for dinner for a week once).

Keeping to the budget is so important to getting out of debt and saving money. Make sure it's a budget that focuses on pulling you out of debt, not just maintaining the debt. I knew someone who's budget was the minimum due on everything so they could have more free flowing cash each paycheck to party. This is NOT the kind of budget I'm talking about. I try to make my minimum payment on all my loans/ credit cards as 20% of the balance due. 

Or are you one of those people that puts that bill on your credit card when you know you need to cash for gas? 

3. Cut Up Your Credit Cards 

Or at least put away in a spot you will forget about, or a spot with very inconvenient access. I don't know how many of my friends, family members, and even myself have put a few things here, a few things there on credit cards with the attitude, "Eah, I'll pay it off with my next paycheck" or "I'll pay it off with my tax returns." It never happens. If you happen to be one of the rare few who actually use your tax returns or paychecks like this, you probably don't need this help.

If a guy walked up to me and asked for a dollar every day for months on end, I would be ready to punch him. This is what you and the credit card companies are doing! Didn't you work hard for that money? Why are you giving it away so freely then? Knock it off!

Credit cards are not extra money. In emergency situations they are great; your car needs a new battery, your heater is on the fritz. These are reasons to use your credit card. Then incorporate a plan in your budget to get them paid off as soon as possible. There can be no flexibility or excuses for this. If you are ever going to live a debt free life, where you can have free flowing cash to enjoy those things on a daily basis, you have to start now with getting rid of the credit cards! Personally, I would have an extra $300 a month if I took this advice in my 20's and didn't use the credit cards. Instead I am paying hundreds each year to a company I hate because of bad choices I made years ago that are still haunting me.

Read Some Truth About Credit Cards for my tips I obtained while working for a major credit card retailer for 2 years.

4. Be An Educated Shopper

Before I go shopping for my shampoo, conditioner, and various needs I compare pricing. This can all be done online. I check walmart.com, target.com, CVS.com, walgreens.com, drugstore.com, and amazon.com. I pull up the items I know cost the most; my hair dye, my raser refills, etc. Items like toothpaste and and paper towel won't range much in price from place to place, so you don't have to look up everything. Pick your receipt up from your last shopping trip, look for the highest price items, and start price comparisons on those items. I do this for my groceries, too. I'm a big fan of Vons personalized deals with their club card (Safeway for other parts of the country)

Be careful of coupons, too. Do the math between 15 oz. of something and 8 oz. of something with a coupon.  I used to be coupon crazy until I did the math and realized I was actually saving more money if I went with the generic version vs the 'brand name' with a coupon, or if I got the larger ounce item vs the smaller ounce with a coupon.

5. Give Up Luxury Items.
Do you really need HBO & Showtime? Or all those channels. It's nice to have 1200 channels to choose from, but this is not the time in your life for it. Cut back cable. Try (even if it's just for a month) a "slower" internet package. (You may not notice the difference- I didn't!) Try generic instead of name brand. (Hey, I'm as picky as a 6 year old and if I can get used to it, so can you.) This includes playing 'Keeping Up with the Jones', or Kardashians for this generation. Just because your neighbor got the newest IPad doesn't mean you have to have it, too. I still don't have a smart phone. I want one more than anything else right now, but I cannot afford the increased data package cost that comes with it. My motivation to keep my impulse buy at bay? When all of my credit cards are paid off I'll be able to buy whatever I want with cash while you're still trying to pay the credit card down from the IPad you bought 3 years ago, which technology advances have now made obsolete.

6. Save A Little At A Time

Christmas is a huge hit on my budget every year. By October I realize how many people I want to buy presents for and quickly add up what I want to buy. What I want to buy them and how much money I have for them never come close. This January I opened up a savings account that only requires I maintain a balance of $5.00. With each paycheck I transfer a small amount into it that I can afford; $25- $40 at most. I think everyone should have at least 1 savings account like this, if not more. I have 2 now. 1 is for Christmas presents, 1 is for my "emergency fund" so when I get a flat tire I can use that instead of the credit card. I don't put much in either so my budget isn't wildly effected, and I'll be so happy I have it when I need it.



Bottom line: go through where your paychecks are going with a Fine Toothed Comb. Save receipts, itemize exactly what you're spending on. This includes little trips to get a cup of coffee at the grocery store; you could be making it at home for less if you invested in a $7 travel mug. This isn't just being frugel. This is about who gets the money you worked your butt off to get; the creditors or the companies who make those items you really want?

If you can pull this off for a month, treat yourself to a little something new as a reward. Then re-set yourself to do this again for 2 months, for 3 months. There is a light at the end and it'll be worth it in the end.