Our family budget has really been hit hard lately with the cost of food, gas, and seemingly everything else going up, up, up. So, I'm wondering what everybody else out there is doing to save money during these tough times. Got any tips? Here's what we've been doing so far.
--Downgraded our TV programming to the basic family package. Get all of Owen's favorite channels like Noggin, Disney, etc. but lost most of my faves. I'm especially heartbroken over missing Jon & Kate Plus 8 on TLC:(
--Trying to eat at home more and eat out less. This is really tough because I hate to cook and love to eat out.
--Thinking about changing cell phone providers and sharing one phone between Buck and myself. We have Verizon now but may switch if we can find something cheaper.
--Coupons, coupons, coupons! I shop at Food Lion a lot because they give me lots of coupons. Plus free milk if you can save the vouchers and keep up with them. I keep a ziploc bag of all my coupons in the van, so I always have them with me and can sort thru them quickly before any grocery trip.
So, that's what's on my mind today. How to scrimp and save. Give me your ideas!
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5 comments:
If you have two cell phones and a home phone you could consider getting rid of your home phone. I think you have DSL, right? You would have to convert it to dry loop DSL. Maybe they offer that maybe they don't. Also, does your cell phone work good in your house? Your cell phone probably has long distance included on it already, so you can use that instead of your home phone.
Hey Ginelle, we feel the budget crunch too. I am trying Angel Food ministries, check online for places that do it around Manchester. Lots of groceries for the amount of money. We just ordered the first time today, spent $164, and you wouldn't believe the amt of food it buys!!! The food comes on Oct. 25 and we will go pick it up. I am so excited! I urge you to look them up. Let me know if you have questions!
Oh, and can I add you to my blog list?
hi ginelle! welcome to the blog world! right now, i'm glad we're living in a foreign country...at least our small savings goes slower over here (as long as we are reasonable). i have two tips:
1) check out www.hulu.com....Jon & Kate aren't on there but other shows you miss might be, along with shows like the Facts of Life that don't come on anymore :) Lots of movies, too to save on rentals. the site is free. i looked at TLC's website....they have clips of the show but not the full episode.
2)since you are a coupon clipper, check out www.thegrocerygame.com. my sis-in-law has been using this for a few years now. she shops once week and always saves 50-60% of her bill. it's a really awesome deal....it only costs a dollar to try it for four weeks, and even after that, it is only $10 every 8 weeks. plus, you could get a friend to pay you back $5, and then share the login info with her, and both access the program.
good luck!
For us, just actually keeping a written budget has helped a lot. I use mint.com to categorize and keep track of expenses. I overplan (i.e., worry), so it's fun to see a whole category go unused. I can move the money to another category or just bank it.
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