Saving Money (Slowly!)

I posted yesterday about slowly getting back into the swing of couponing.   I am doing a lot of things slowly, in small steps this year, trying to force myself to form good habits.   I will be posting more about those soon, and sharing some specific habits that I plan to work on this month (because trying to think in terms of years is honestly overwhelming to me in most areas!)

One thing I have thought of in terms of years is saving money.  Right now in our lives, saving money seems darned near impossible!  We've been through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University a few years back, and he recommends that the first thing you do in your savings journey is to have a $1000 emergency fund.

That number sounds very daunting to me.  At the time of the class we were able to make a good dent in getting that together, but then we had an emergency....

We know we need to get one together, but we know it's not going to happen over night.  It is a source of stress.  I told myself that I would like to have that in place by year end.

*Enter Facebook*

Sunday morning, I find this floating around.  (I have no idea of the source of this image, so if it is yours or you know where it originated, let me know and I will gladly credit it properly).

The minute I saw it, I loved it!  I printed it out, and showed it to my husband.  He loved it!  And he's usually the one thinking these things just aren't possible.

I like that it breaks it down into tiny steps.   I like that it shows you how it all adds up.  I like that it is ever increasing.  We even discussed how we may have to make a small sacrifice here or there to come up with the money some weeks, but how those small sacrifices could even lead to habits that save us money long term!

This image is currently printed, placed in a plastic page protector, and pinned to the cork-board beside my husband's desk.   AND there is $1 in it!  ;)

Would any of you be interested in taking this challenge with me?

Read more...

Want An Easy Way To Track Your Savings In The New Year?

Last year, I downloaded the 2011 Savings Tracker from thecouponproject.com.  I really, really enjoyed using it because it is set up just the way my brain thinks about savings.  There is also a place where you can input your target budget goal, and as you go through the month, it will tell you how much money you have remaining to spend.

Last year...I got to June and fell off the wagon!

But, that is all behind us now!  I am determined to see just how much I save this whole year, because as of the end of May last year, I had spent only $1358.13 on $3573.37 worth of items (63% Savings).  That's an average of just $271/month for those first 5 months, which was within my budget (which began at $300 and lowered to $280 at the beginning of March because the tracker let me easily see that I was able to reduce it.

I'm very excited to get started using the new 2012 Savings Tracker (click the link to head over to The Coupon Project and download yours!)

I'm going to try to keep myself motivated to use the tracker this year by promising you at least monthly, if not more frequent, progress updates.

Do you track your savings?  I'd love to hear about your method!  Feel free to share your 2011 savings totals!

Read more...

I Need A Vacation....Someday

And I bet many of you do, too!  The problem is, vacations are expensive!  If you are like me, I bet you are hearing all of your friends talk about where they are going this summer and seeing their vacation pictures on facebook and thinking "Wow, that must be nice!"

Someday we will be able to take a nice family vacation, but I know that day is not now (we will be taking a trip in a few weeks to visit some family, though!).  I can begin researching where I would like to go, though, and finding places that can help me save money on my travel plans when the time comes.  They can also help me see how much I might need to save for whatever trip I am planning.

I thought I would share some of the sites I've found with you.  All of these are completely free to use:

I just went on this site and requested several guides to areas in the states surrounding mine, as well as areas we will be passing through to visit our families.  Perhaps we can find a couple of entertaining stops along the way. =)

This newsletter will send you deals on travel.  If you've been saving up for a trip, you may be able to find your location listed on here for less, and be able to go even sooner or have money left over.  I signed up just to get a few figures in mind.

Of course there are always great deals popping up from daily deals sites such as these, even if its a little weekend outing near home!  Sign up with these to get great offers emailed to you.  What I especially love about these sites is that you can search for deals in the city you will be visiting also!

There is also LivingSocial, which is one of my favorites because they have separate categories for family friendly deals, and for escapes (sorry my pretty picture from their site wasn't working =(.....)

This is in no way an exhaustive list of sites that list travel deals.  That would take days!  If you know of any other great sites, feel free share in a comment!  Thanks!  And Happy Vacations. =)

Read more...