Saving Money

These days have taxes on everyone's mind and that got me thinking about the ways that I save my family money all throughout the year! I am going to share that with you so hopefully I can inspire someone else out there. We can all learn from each other! Most of my totals are estimates--on the low side--for an example of what the average household pays.

No cable TV=$50/month ($600+/yr)
No cell phones=$75/month ($900/yr)
No car payments=$200/month ($2400/yr)
Couponing for groceries/toiletries=$200-400/month ($2400-4800/yr)
Cut my husbands hair=$20 every 2 months ($120/yr)
Color my own hair=$50 every 2 months ($300/yr)
Workout at home=$25/month ($300/yr)
File my own taxes=$100/yr
Do our own yardwork=$50/month ($600/yr)

These are just the regular things that came to mind first. Other ways to save money include:

Only eating out once a week
Keeping thermostat higher in the summer and lower in the winter
Opening windows when warm outside
Only shop for clothes during seasonal sales
Shop for birthday/Christmas presents throughout the year during sales

Some people look at me like I'm crazy when they hear that I don't have a smartphone, or that I don't have cable. So how do I get thru life?? Let me tell you!

I have a prepaid Tracfone that I pay $20 to load 120 minutes on every 3 months, and I use this for when I am on-call at work, and for emergencies. We ditched cable several months back and don't miss it at all! We got a cheap antenna for local channels (in HD!) and a Roku box for streaming shows/movies. We have a Netflix and Hulu account which total $16/month. I started couponing almost one year ago and have learned to find the best deals for things matching coupons and sales. We went from spending about $400/month on generic food/toiletries to maybe $75/month on NAME BRAND food/toiletries!

My journey to frugalness started when I was 16. I got married, moved out, and had no money. Nick and I both worked crappy jobs while I finished high school and went to college. We started out with nothing so anything more than that is like a luxury to us! We both agree that a simple life is the best life and choosing not to "need" all of the latest and greatest has enabled us to do so many other wonderful things!

I hope this inspires someone out there to take control of their life and start working towards where they want to be, instead of where they have to be due to debt! You can do it!