My Ways To Scrimp & Save

I'll be the first to admit that since moving out, we haven't been the smartest with our money.

We are beginning to panic...being that I don't have a job (I'm supposed to hear this week from the school where I had an interview at before Christmas, so say a prayer!)...and Bryan is in paramedic school and lost one of his three jobs. So, I have decided to crack down and start scrimping and saving. I thought I would share some of the ways that we are trying to "get by". Maybe these are common sense things, but they've been helpful to us!

Use cash. I'm not sure if it's just me, but when I have actual cash in my wallet, I tend to spend less. It's like I want to hold onto it, whereas when I use my debit card, it's almost like I never had the money, so I won't miss it.

Stop eating out. We have a major problem with this. My fiance and I tell each other over and over that we are going to stop eating out, whether it's a quick trip through the drive-thru, dinner out one night, or pizza ordered in. I find this especially difficult when I'm with friends. Finally, last week, I told my best friend that I could not spend any money on food. She's been good about reminding me ever since. I've been throwing things together at home instead of relying on fast food for the last week. Now we just have to work on my fiance's habits ;)

Use what we have. How many times do you (or a family member) look in the cabinets at home and say, "There's nothing to eat"? In reality, there ARE things to eat, you just have to get creative. I am on this kick of trying to use up everything we have at home before going to the store. The meals may not be the most glamorous...for example, the other night we had cheese toasties (grilled cheese for all of you not from Indiana haha), mac and cheese, and frozen french fries...but it gets the job done. And I am all about leftovers now! I even saved that mac and cheese! haha

Organize, clean, and rearrange the house instead of buying new things. When I want a new look for a spot in the house, I turn to my storage bin of decor related items. There are lots of items in there that I may have forgot about or can find a new way to use to give our house a fresh feel. I have also learned that using my time to organize and clean is alot more productive than spending it buying more "stuff".

Sell unwanted/unused items. After all of that cleaning and organizing, there are always piles of clothes that we no longer wear, decor items that I don't want, and other odds and ends that are just taking up space. I take all these things to a local consignment shop, which means I get a little extra cash at the end of the month.

Use gift cards for necessities. For Christmas, we received quite a few gift cards, which we are using to buy groceries, gas, and things like shampoo and soap. These items might not be fun, but it feels better to use our gift cards on them and keep our own money.
Register for free samples. My mom got me started on this one. She'll send me links to good freebies or register in my name. I have to admit, she is way more advanced than I am (she's even received full size samples of Olay face cream, among others), but she is teaching me her ways ;) My favorite site to go to is All You. They have new samples every day. We've got samples of free cat food for Oliver, toothpaste, and laundry detergent. Score in my book.

Well, there you have it. My ways for trying to save. Do you girls have any other helpful hints? I would love to hear them!
Have a beautiful day! xo

{piggy bank}