Here are some things I’ve done to help change my spending habits:

– Cook more at home ( Eating out is very expensive especially
if you do it a couple times a week
– Try shopping online ( You can find better deals than in the
store and you save on gas (I recommend  HYPERLINK
“http://www.shoptivity.com”
http://www.shoptivity.com)
– Pay the full balance on credit cards each month ( Interest
charge is like giving away free money
– Don’t forget to pay yourself ( Set up an online savings
account (they pay higher interest than a normal savings
account)
– Set a budget and goals ( It’s good to have your goals
written down so you see them everyday and don’t lose focus
on your ultimate objectives

Again, saving money requires a lot of patience and hard work. However, you’ll thank yourself later on in life. Good luck everyone!! =)

RE Cellphones: Yip, I agree about prepaid being the way to go if you are not on the phone constantly. I have been using a NET10 prepaid phone for about a year now and I can say without a doubt that I saved about $200 in the last year compared to what I would have paid on contract.

These are great tips, thank you for sharing!

I use my cell only for the odd “I’m at the store, do you need anything?” and emergencies, so I’ve had a prepaid for years. $100 lasts me well over a year, so my cost-of-having-it is less than a fifth of what it used to be. Of course it may not work well for people who use their phones a lot, but people have gotten annoying and self-important (and careless, driving-while-talking) about the cell phones, so should be using them less anyway. Win-win!

If you had to make everything, or even most things, from scratch, you’d likely have less time for other pursuits, like work, exercise and spending time with family and friends. There has to be a balance.

On the prepaid cellphones, that suggestion always sounds attractive, with the caveat “if you aren’t a big user”, but the problem is that most of us are kind of casual about phone use, and it would be easy to exceed minutes on prepaid plans, and then you get really socked. We have to leave room to be human in any frugal decisions we make.

My basic purchasing strategy has always been to pick something I need, and then wait until a few days/weeks after any normal person would be able to use it again until the next year.

I’m always a year behind but dollars ahead!

Donno, but I think i may just have to go to the farmer’s market every saturday and eat my self a free sample lunch. The vendors happily shove everything towards you, so why not. There’s a tip… free lunch every time your farmer’s market is around!

Rgds,

RB

Rich By 30 Retire By 40

Another great resource I use to save money on some grocery items and toiletries is Amazon’s subscribe and save program.

You still have to view it season by season, but it’ll display it as all text.

If you want to buy a cell phone, or a car for that matter (really anything where sales people are commissioned based), go at the end of the month.

In the last few days of the month, there is usually a push to hit quotas/sales targets. Sales reps are more likely to give you freebies to entice you to buy with them rather then ‘the other guy’.

We do buy bread at the market, though. I can only bake so much during these Texas summers!

I have pictures of my garden up if you’d like to take a look, JD.

I split my shopping list into “wants” and “needs” – the “needs” get bought first – I then think carefully about whether to buy all or any of the “wants” – got to have some fun in life!!!

Keep ‘em coming.