Over time, small actions that save money add up to big savings. We’ve all heard the example of a cup of coffee. If you forego a $2 cup of coffee at the coffee shop each day, over the course of a year, you’ll save over $700.
What are some other small ways to save? Each week I try to track the things I’ve done to save, and ask that readers comment on the things they did to save too. Over time, we will have a big collection of small things we can do to save.
How I Saved Money This Week
I have to preface this list with honesty. I felt like we were bleeding money this week. We’ve been really tracking our spending and trying to stick to a budget, and it’s been an eye-opener for us. I’m completely shocked by how much we’re spending on food. When I set our budget, I thought my numbers were very high, and we’d be able to cut them next month. Wow. Not the case. We will be very lucky if we can stick to our food budget for this month. I always thought I was pretty good at shopping the sales and using coupons. I’m really disappointed, because I thought we were spending a lot less. I’ve been sulking. It hasn’t been good.
But, on a more positive note, here’s how I saved:
1. Facing the music about our spending.Using our new spreadsheet to track our spending and monitor our budget has been a real eye-opener. Although I’ve been down about our spending, I know that learning more about our true spending habits is a good thing.
2. Swagbucks. Still chugging along with this. I wasn’t able to win a gift card this week, probably because I haven’t been spending quite as much time online as usual. Still, I should be able to pick up another $5 Amazon card by this weekend.
3. Change Jar. I went through old purses, cars, and other random spots looking for change. I’m not sure how much change I’ve collected, but I plan to trade it in for grocery store credit. We are almost at the end of our budget for this month, so having a little wiggle room will be helpful.
4. Learning about couponing at RiteAid. I’m getting better at this, thanks to theKrazy Koupon Lady. This week, I bought two 32 ounce bottles of conditioner for 70 cents. So, pretty much, I paid tax.
5. Taking advantage of health insurance. Oh, glorious health insurance! This week the boys and I got our flu shots, and I refilled a prescription. The grand total was zero. This made me very, very happy.
6. Extra student loan payments. We budgeted to pay extra on my student loan each week. Considering I’m paying about $5/day in interest on the loans, this probably saved us some money. Like $30? Plus future interest? Not sure about the math, but I am sure we’re moving in the right direction.
7. Reading a free book. On my Kindle, I can get a lot of the classics for free. I’d like to be reading Gone Girl. But I’m reading Wuthering Heights instead. This is supposedly for my own good. And for the good of my budget.
How did you save this week? Anyone want to book club it and read Wuthering Heights together?
See more installments of How I Saved This Week on the Money page.
This post may contain affiliate or referral links. By using them, you are being super awesome and supporting this blog. Thank you! To learn more, check out this fabulous Disclosure Policy.
Leave a Reply