I don't save! And need ideas!

Cindy - posted on 01/20/2009

I go shopping at different stores. I go to Costco for meats, bread, fresh fruit, pop, eggs, milk, and a few other small items. Wal-mart for snackies, cereal, can goods, etc. (allot cheaper than grocery stores) And then a small trip to Cub for things I can not find at the other stores.

I have four small kids so for their clothes I shop end of the season clearance. I just bought their clothes for next winter at 70% off. You have to guess at sizes but it is just usually one size up, or if the item looks small I buy it a little bigger. I know the brands that run big and small.

Just a couple of suggestions. Good luck.

Bethany - posted on 01/20/2009

This may sound weird but might work if all your extra money is going to pay down your cards: just pay the minimums on your credit cards for a couple of months. Put the rest of what you would have paid into a savings account. Use this as your "Emergency Fund" so that if something unexpected comes up- like your car breaking down or needing a plumber or something- you can use CASH instead of adding more to your credit cards. If you do use some of the money- cut back again on your debt payments until you build the account back up. I really recommend picking a nice round number for your savings account (like $500 or $1000- whatever you think is possible and makes you feel comfortable) and don't let yourself go under that number. This will help you not "borrow" $5, $25 or $50 from the account for non essentials as your balance would go under your target.

This doesn't address the saving for long term but it might help you not get further into credit card debt which will help in the long run.

PS- I stole this idea from Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey (recommended often in this community!) This book puts a big focus on getting rid of debt.

Susan - posted on 01/19/2009

I have cut my grocery bill to about 1/4th and even more on personal Care items by using this web site for tips.   http://ingoodcents.blogspot.com/

Also  I have found the only way I can save it to put it away before I get it.  I have money taken from my check each pay and put in a Savings acct, Health Savings acct. and also in 401K.  I dont miss it as much if I didnt get it in the first place.

Shannon - posted on 01/19/2009

Thrift stores, thrift stores, thrift stores, garage sales, library for books and movies (their free to borrow). I know that some people have savings accounts and try to put a little extra in their for a rainy day but some -it just doesn't work. We are going to Mexico this Summer and need to save a bit of extra money. I am taking a little bit out of each of my husbands pay checks and putting it in a envelope and keeping it in my dresser-out of site out of mind. I would say most Americans have a bit of credit card debt-can you make all the payments, have food on the table,clothes on your backs and a roof over your head-if you say yes to all of these then you are doing better then most. You will get through it. Live for the day-you may and you may not ever get out of debt and you just need to tell yourselves that together you will get through this. You just need to say no to a lot of things BUT make sure you have one family outting a month. There are many free things to do. If you could not say yes to all of the above-well pray, talk to your church, have your own garage/bake sale, talk to your children-they look old enough to be involved and realize that sacrifices will need to be made.
I hope this will help

Jessica - posted on 01/19/2009

We attended a seminar, Journey to Financial Freedom, check out:  www.crown.org and then we created a budget, I stick to it, cut coupons, and watch the weekly sale flyer.  We are able to squeek by each week, putting a little into savings but now the only payment we have is our mortgage.  We were able to get everything else paid off.  I hope this helps!!  You can email me with any questions:  jwhitsel@marykay.com

Kindetta - posted on 01/19/2009

I know exactly how you feel! The first thing my husband and I did was to set up a budget. We figured out how much each bill will cost, when it was due, which paycheck it was to come out of,  and if we had anything left over that is what we put into savings. But if you are like us every penny was accounted for between household bills and groceries and gas! So the next step was to try to minimize what we spent on certain items. For example, if we designated $300 for food and did not spend all of it - the rest went into savings. Groceries is actually a good and easy one to save money on. I set up a biweekly menu for my family and only purchase what is on the menu. This helps me spend less because I am not buying groceries that I think I might need. Also if you are real good you can look at the weekly sales papers and make your meals based off what is on sale - that saves a lot of money! Then take that extra and put it into savings or better yet take the extra and split it between the credit card bills and savings. The more you can put towards paying off the credit card debt the faster you will be able to get completely out of debt and save even more!

I hope this helps you and much as it has helped us,

Kandy

Shane - posted on 01/19/2009

Clipping coupons will help save at the grocery store....google bargain shopper lady.... she has a web site for saving money and making money also.