Trimming the Fat!

Cutting back and trying to live a frugal/green life…


Adam and I set down and made some BIG changes in our everyday life's. Our goal is to work on saving money in order to buy a house and pay off student loans. We came up with a list of ideas to help us do just that.

• Rent rather than own - this only works when your rent is lower than a traditional house payment.



• Look for used first- for big ticket items I have started to look around first before just going out and buying. Try looking online at eBay.com, freecycle.org, or craiglist.org.



• Eat out less- I have to say this is one thing Adam and I do very well at, we try and only go out once a week at the most. One thing that has helped was making a weekly menu, so there really isn't any excuses.("We don't have anything to eat" or "I don't know what to make") Make it easy for everyone in the family!



• Brown bag it- Adam always taken a lunch and I always go home. We saved on average $160 per month.



• Don't Shop- This was a hard one for me at first but once I got used to using things we already had it become more like a fun game.



• Use a 30 day list- To curb our impulse buys, we created a 30-day list. When we wanted to buy something other than true necessity's we placed it onto a list with the date. And made it a rule that you could only buy one items per 30 days. We find ourselves buying a lot less junk.



• Find affordable entertainment- Instead of going to the movies and spending $45, we started Netflix.com and now pay $15 per month and can get as many movies as we like. Also the snakes are a lot healthier at home...Bonus!



• Drink more water- Water is so much better for you than calorie filled soda and juices. Drinking water saves money and calories. Adam and I are obsessed with Crystal Light its proven if you drink Crystal Light you end up drinking 20% more water than just drinking plan water alone. They come in 20 different flavors and are all calorie and sugar free.



• Batch your errands/Reusable Bags- Instead of running errand everyday, batch them into one day whenever possible, save time and money. Also do most of your bill-paying online to eliminate some errands (and stamps!!). As for reusable bags I go to a grocery store that pays me to use your own bags, cant get much better than that!



• Reduce/Remove junk food- Frozen foods, microwaveable stuff, junk food..... anything that's packaged and prepared. Not only is it more expensive than something you cook yourself, but it's also VERY unhealthy. Both Adam and I have eliminated these completely.

Those are just some of the things we came up with. I have already seen a change in our over-all savings, I can't wait to see what happens long term.

Wish us luck!