Over 18 months ago, I lost my job. In addition to the very unsettling nature of having something like that happen to your household, I felt extra worried. Mainly because, I felt like we were already living a pretty frugal lifestyle. I mean, you know those crappy “How to save money” articles that tell you to “Paint your toenails yourself instead of a weekly pedicure” and “Skip the daily latte at Starbucks?” Yeah, not helpful, to someone who doesn’t get pedicures weekly (only if there is a daily deal) and drinks coffee at home. We have a pretty modest house, cars that are paid for, was already a supercouponer getting tons of stuff for free and so on. What else was I going to trim?
Well, I turned to my friends and fellow couponers, in a thread I started at hotcouponworld. Getting a bit smarter, I have been able to trim. I now use a meal planning service which is easily saving me $20 a week on groceries. Eliminating waste and using my own Garbage Day tips also keeps our grocery bill down, probably another $10 a week. I’ve also worked on bringing money in to our home, via surveys, superpoints and other methods.
The best part is that I really don’t feel like I’ve sacrificed anything. I have two small children, so that in itself is self-limiting as far as restaurants and outings. We go to free parks a lot, we take advantage of the freebies and half-price discounts at different venues, and it’s really working for us.
I’m reposting all of this, only to give you a summary of some ideas, if some of your 2012 resolutions are to save more money. Give them a read and see what tips you can put into practice.
