Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Tackle It Tuesday - Cutting Back


After yesterday's post I thought maybe it would be helpful to hear how people are tackling cutting costs. As I mentioned in that post, we have to do what we can with what we have. Here are a few ways that my family has been tackling the spending...


  • Combining errands in order to use less gas. I drive 45 minutes to and from work going through local shopping areas. I try to run my errands throughout the week so on the weekends I don't have to drive hardly anywhere. I was thrilled when I made it a whole week on one tank of gas!!!

  • Last year we purchased a digital thermometer. We set it to be much cooler during the day while we are at work and school and then have it warm up right before we get home. We also set it lower during the night.

  • We're trying to watch our energy consumption by being more conscious of turning off lights, running the dishwasher, doing laundry, etc.

  • I cancelled my housecleaners. It's tougher, but everybody has been pitching in and it's working.

  • We cancelled our homeline and are just using our cell phones since that is what we always used anyways. Honestly nobody ever called our house unless it was an advertisement!

  • Eating out much less.

  • Taking time to think before we spend and not buying impulsively.

What about you? Are you trying to make better money decisions? What changes have you made to become more frugal?


Don't forget to visit 5minutesformom to read about what everybody else has been tackling this week!

6 comments:

  1. You have some great money saving ideas. Here's what we've been doing.

    We only go out to eat at resturants were the kids eat free.

    We got rid of our high priced cell phone plan and went with a pay as you go plan that only costs us $25 every 3 months.

    Rent movies from the local library for a $1

    Use coupons when I grocery shop.

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  2. I have begun doing the bulk of our grocery shopping at the lower priced store near our house. It's amazing how much cheaper things are for the same items at the high priced stores. For items the lower priced doesn't have I either substitute or pop in the higher priced for just those items.

    We're spending more time playing board games and just games around the house - hide and seek which the kids love - instead of paying for entertainment.

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  3. we are thinking going to cut back on the stations we order from the satellite and are seriously considering giving up one of our vehicles next May when our lease is up! We have also cancelled our cleaning lady, and I never use the vehicle for just one thing - I always multi task when driving (I don't mean I do things WHEN I'm driving...just many errands). We have also cut out eating out almost completely. Next to go: booze. Waste of dough really....

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just wrote a post about my thoughts on the economy and our family today, (not how we are cutting back). We started cutting back quite some time ago, it's tough to do when you already live on one income and are thoughtful about your finances.

    1. Making a grocery list and doing my best to stick to it...no more impulse buys!
    2. Using cash only. I call it the "cash diet". It's alot easier to spend when you use debit or credit cards.
    3. Spending less on gifts
    4. Spending less when entertaining, I used to go over the top with my menu but now I try to make more economical meals for company (it can easily be done)
    5. Trying not to buy water and coffee when I'm out
    6. Staying out of the stores
    7. Saying NO. No to home sales parties like Tupperware, etc and to charity (we have our regular chairties that we like to donate to, all others get a 'no thank you').
    8. selling stuff we no longer use.

    Next we will be getting rid of my cell phone and gym memberships when the contracts come up for renewal.

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  5. We subscribe to The Grocery Game, and - no kidding - my grocery bill is usually around $30-$35 a week (for a family of 3). It helps me stay focused and do better at eating what's on sale, and shopping once a week cuts down on the "quick trips" that always add up.

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  6. I have been cutting coupons for the past month and save on average $15 a week on my grocery bill. I buy certain things at Target or Walmart since they can be considerably cheaper than grocery stores. I let my XM subscription run out -- I really only listened to one station... I'm sad to lose my Kenny Chesny station and so is Abraham! :( We only eat out once a week, and usually on weekends. I have been curbing my impulses to buy Starbucks too! That is a hard one!

    ReplyDelete

Go ahead...tell me like it is!

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