The Family Piggy Bank
Our number one goal this year is to get financially fit! The thing is we do not live extravagantly and we don't have a lot of "extra" bills. We do the basics what you have to live stuff. Our only real luxury item that is a bill is cable. So I guess my question is where do you cut back and start saving when you aren't spending on unnecessary things?
Replies
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We only have necessitys. We don't have anything extra. No cable, home line, etc. we only have rent, cell phone, sewer and trash, electric and water -
Look at what you're spending on the necessities. Can you cut back on any of them? Can you buy more food on sales, using coupons, generic brand vs name brand?
Making your own laundry detergent is cheaper than buying it.
Can you use old towels for cleaning instead of paper towels?
If you've truelly cut everything to the minimum & still need to cut, then you should cancel cable. You can borrow movies from the library if you need something to watch.
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that is a hard one when the only thing your spending on it necessities, I am doing the same here too
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We took Financial Peace Univ. classes over a year ago and we've made a lot of changes. No more eating out, no more using credit cards, and no more going overboard on gifts at xmas.
But the one thing I can't get DH to cut out is CABLE.
Grrrr! -
We never go out to eat.I buy generic unless I have coupons
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Cut back on the necessities. Buy less groceries/clothes. Find cheaper places for utilities. I hear you, we are in the same boat and it's getting tight.
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We don't have cable - we use netflix for $7.99/month and love it
We are prepaid cellphones for $75/month for two lines.
We do have a house phone bc we have an elder living with us but it and our internet together are only $50/month so it's not outrageous.
We also do second hand stores. Go with the same budget as I would if I was going to a main store, get what I need, then bank whatever is left over. You'll normally find you can save $20 plus you'll get 3x as much clothing.
This year I'm starting couponing to help save on food.
Oh and this year I'm also going to be making our own cleaning supplies - should be interesting!
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Thanks for the suggestions ladies...we are seriously considering cutting cable and just doing either netflix or huluplus for like $8 a month. I have been making my own cleaning supplies for about a year now and love doing it! It isn't that we are so much on a tight budget it is just we haven't got a savings plan and we really want to start saving! This is our year for sure I know it! I am trying to get better at the coupons to be honest it is something I am not great at but am working on.
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regular hulu is free. I'm not sure what the difference is between regular hulu and hulu plus is but you may find you can just do hulu for free instead of paying another $8/month
Quoting kcgroves:
Thanks for the suggestions ladies...we are seriously considering cutting cable and just doing either netflix or huluplus for like $8 a month. I have been making my own cleaning supplies for about a year now and love doing it! It isn't that we are so much on a tight budget it is just we haven't got a savings plan and we really want to start saving! This is our year for sure I know it! I am trying to get better at the coupons to be honest it is something I am not great at but am working on.
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This is the same situation I have. I live on an extremely tight budget so there's nothing to cut out. I try to set a limit that I have to spend on groceries each week and I work really hard with my meal planning and shopping to stay well under that budget and I put the saved money towards my savings. For example I budget $100 this week and only spend $75 then the extra $25 would go in savings.