Budgets & Saving
My separation and divorce obviously set in motion a tailspin of life changes, not all bad. Going from a dual income household to a single one was a huge change that took me quite some time to figure out, especially since for a good portion of time my monthly mortgage payment was a bit too close to my monthly take home income. Once I was able to refinance, things did get much easier, but I continue to employ a lot of the budgeting and savings techniques in my efforts to get ahead and hopefully be able to pay off my debts in a timely manner.
Here are some of my tips on budgets & saving that kept me from losing my house & having to live in a cardboard box.
– Make a budget that not only includes all the expenses every month, but leaves a little for incidentals like car maintainance and other issues that might crop up.
– Coupons & store sales are your friends, as are generic brands ( as long as they don’t taste like junk, otherwise it’s worth paying $1 more for something).
– Discount stores like the dollar store, Big Lots, and  Ocean State Job Lot ( my personal favorite) are awesome resources for non-perishables like soup, pasta, and spices, as well as for cleaning supplies. Almost always these stores carry the same brands ( or better!) than at the market, but most times these are cast offs because the brand logo has changed or some other packaging element.
– The library is your best friend- books, DVDs, magazines. I will always use my local public library for these resources until the day I die.
– Stop email subscriptions to various brands, group coupon sites, and stores that could lure you to spend on unneeded items.
– Cook in batches and freeze food- soup in the freezer is perfect for lunches or dinners and allows you to plan ahead & get the most out of the money you spend at the grocery store. I would even save leftover bits of vegetables or rice, put them in a plastic zippy bag in the freezer, and when I had a good amount, make “leftover soup.”
– My social life hurt for a bit while I figured out my new game plan for money, but I saved a lot by having friends over for wine or dinner and games, and a lot of them reciprocated by inviting me over!
– Even if it’s only a small amount, try to put something into savings. While I was really strapped, I had to stop this in my personal savings account, but I still contributed to my retirement via my paycheck every two weeks.
What are your little tricks to save money and budget?
Life By Kristen 
These are all excellent ideas. Dan and I were able to go through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University course (courtesy of my job) and it was EXCELLENT. We’ve started doing a budget each month and use cash for everything. That means twice a month, I take out what we need and we rely on only that. No debit cards for us. It’s been awesome to feel like we’ve got our spending somewhat under control.
I don’t really have a budget, but I definitely do some of the things that you suggested to keep a tap on our spending… some of this can actually be fun (like couponing and lowering your grocery bill :))