Because of some lifestyle changes, we have been forced to rethink the way we spend money. Here are some things that we have done that have paid off. We've become pretty fanatical about saving money.
1. We changed out all of our incandescent light bulbs in the house to florescent bulbs. Apparently, the savings is supposed to be dramatic. The main reason I wanted to make the change is because they say you'll be able to rely on the bulb for about 8-10 years before you have to change them out. That alone is great!
2. We recently read a book by "America's Cheapest Family", in which they suggested that you set a montly grocery budget and go shopping once a month. This has saved us so much money. We start off by planning our meals for the month, and then we buy everything in one trip. If we find something that is a terrific deal, then we try to load up on it so that we're not forced to buy something at regular price because we're out. This requires a lot of planning, but it saves us so much money in the long run!
3. Patience! Over the past year, we've gotten so many things for free, or deeply discounted, simply because we don't buy at the first impulse. Earlier in life, that was the thing that got us into trouble. Over the past year, we had earmarked several things that we wanted and by being patient, we got them for free. For example, we wanted to get lounge chairs for our new patio in the backyard. In looking for these, we noticed that even the cheapest ones were about $40-50 per chair. Well, we were not about to spend $80-100 on a set of chairs, so we waited to see how much they would go on sale at the end of the season. The answer was that they didn't go on sale very much. I believe the discount was about 10-25%, which was not significant enough for us to make the purchase. So we didn't buy them. A few months later, my parents, who knew that we were looking told me that they had gone to a garage sale across the street and in searching for various items, were told that they could have 2 lounge chairs and an umbrella as a throw in. My dad asked if I wanted the chairs, which were brand new, with the tags still on them, and I accepted.
Using this philosophy, we each got Blackberry phones for free, a grill for $200 less than normal sale retail, an office chair for free, a comforter set for $35 - This one I'm especially proud of, because when we were looking, everyone was saying that you couldn't find a good set for less than $80. I actually found a nice one that I was interested in for $49 and was about to make the purchase but they were out of stock. In looking for some other items, I found a similar one for $35. I could have bought 2 of them for the price that I was told was the drop dead bottom price. My advice here would be to make a list of things you'd like and then hold out until you can get them for bargin basement prices or even better, for free!
4. I learned this one from reading one of Donald Trump's books. Buy store brands of products instead of name brand products. In most cases, they are exactly the same. The difference is that the store is able to buy their own products at a much lower cost than the store brands, so they can achieve the same markup by retailing the store brand at a much lower price. Some things you don't want to cut corners on, but no matter the brand, asprin is asprin, regardless of who's name is on the bottle.
5. Lastly, you have to pay yourself first. If all you're ever doing is paying down debt, then you will lose your resolve and fall deeper into debt. If you take your pay and allocate a certain amount to yourself everyday, ideally to establish a savings build, then you will be more motivated to get out of debt. I believe that the recommended starting point is to try to pay yourself $10 a day. That turns into $300 a month on average. If you can't do $10, then start with a more modest amount, but whatever you start with, stick to it. You'll be surprised how quickly it can add up. Plus, should you run into an emergency, this money will help you avoid running yourself deeper into debt.
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