20 Simple Money Saving Ideas

1. Make a list before going shopping.

A shopping list is a great way to control what you spend at the store. If you can discipline yourself to sticking with the list, you can cut out those impulse purchases that add the small amounts that add up so quickly.

This idea is best combined with the next one:

2. Plan your meals for the week.

Having your meals planned out allows you to more easily make your shopping list and helps you avoid food spoilage, as you know what you’re going to use. Plan to use foods that spoil quickly earlier in the week.

This will also encourage you to eat more often at home, as you’ll know what you were planning on making. You’ll have less reason to eat out because you can’t decide what to make.

3. Buy in bulk when it makes sense.

Buying in bulk does not always make sense. Sometimes it’s one of the worst moves you can make. But when it makes sense, it’s a good money saving move. Canned goods, rice, personal care items and so forth can be cheaper if bought in bulk. Be sure you compare the price per unit (ounces, for example), so that you know for certain that you’re getting a better deal. Sometimes the bulk price difference isn’t worth having to store the extra.

4. Pay down debts.

This is especially important for any high interest rate debts such as credit cards. Interest rates really eat up your minimum payments, so the more you can pay down your credit card debts, the better off you’re going to be in the long run.

5. Avoid bank fees.

Banks love fees. They make good money off some of them. It’s to your advantage to be aware of what’s going on with your accounts so you can avoid ATM fees, overdraft fees, monthly fees and so forth.

Take a good look at your monthly statements to see when you’re getting hit with a fee by your bank. Decide if it’s worth sticking with that bank if it’s a fee you can’t avoid, or how you can avoid that fee in the future if you could have avoided it.

ING is a good choice of online bank. They also offer accounts for kids, if you’re ready to get them started.

6. Just how many phones does your family need anyhow?

Lots of families have more than one phone these days. Cell phone for mom, cell phone for dad, maybe even a cell phone for each of the kids, plus the landline phone for the house. Just how many of those do you really need?

The answer to this will vary depending on your family, but if you need to cut back on expenses, it’s worth reconsidering how many phones you have. Some families get by with no landline phone, but if it’s bundled in with your television or internet service you need to look at what you’d really save by cutting that line.

You may be able to replace some paid options with cheaper or free options. Look at the plan your cell phones are on, and make sure you have the most cost effective one for how your family uses them. Look into Skype or Google Voice for when you don’t need a cell phone. Either can be a good choice if you need a line for your home business.

7. Walk.

Do you really need to drive everywhere you go? If you’re going someplace close and the weather is right, try walking instead. It takes a little more time, but it’s healthier and cheaper to walk.

8. Use your local library.

Libraries are a great resource that many people don’t take advantage of often enough. You can get books of all sorts to read for pleasure or to learn from. You can often order in books from other branches if your local branch doesn’t have a title you’re after.

Many now also offer DVDs for rent. With Redbox and similar machines renting movies out for $1 a night, the library may not be as appealing as it once was, but it may still be a good option for movie rentals.

9. Keep your car maintained.

Cars can get expensive sometimes. Basic maintenance adds up fast, and breakdowns can be even worse. Even so, that maintenance is important, as it keeps your car running longer and more efficiently.

Some things you can handle on your own, such as keeping tires properly inflated. This helps them wear more evenly, and improves your gas mileage.

10. Sign up for free customer rewards programs.

Stores love customer rewards programs, as they give them a lot of data about your shopping habits. I don’t think the privacy lost is too big a deal, but not everyone likes sharing their shopping habits like that. In exchange, you get discounts on certain purchases. These can be quite significant.

That said, my favorite stores give you discounts without requiring the cards, but when the discount is offered, why would you skip it? You can keep some of your privacy by using a Google Voice or other number to sign up, rather than your home or cell phone number. Alternatively, get friends or family to agree on a single phone number to use, and all shop through that card.

11. Make the most of handmedowns.

If you knew how rarely I buy new children’s clothes, you might be shocked. I don’t buy them much at all, despite having three children. I get plenty of handmedowns, and that solves most of their clothing needs.

They aren’t all from family either. I’ve had friends with children give handmedowns as well. I don’t think I could add up how much handmedowns have saved. Just be sure to reciprocate as possible.

12. Wait.

If it’s not an immediate need, try waiting before you buy. This is a great way to control impluse purchases at the mall or online.

Wait at least a couple hours, but several days is better. Get past that initial reaction so you know why you want to buy that item. The less it matters, the less likely you are to even remember that you wanted the item in the first place.

13. Don’t buy your kids too many toys.

Kids will beg for just about any toy they see on television or online. Most won’t be played with all that much and won’t be worth the money they spent.

If you want your kids to be happy, spend more time with them and do things with them. Show them how to do things that don’t require so much equipment.

14. Combine errands.

Gas prices have been pretty painful of late, making it all the more important that you use your car efficiently. The more errands you can take care of in a single trip out, the less gas overall you should be using, plus it’s a more efficient use of your time.

15. Limit the video games you buy.

Kids love video games, as do many adults. The only problem is that many cost $50 a pop. They add up really fast, and when the next console comes out, you get requests for a bunch of new games plus the new console.

You may be better off renting some games rather than buying them. Save the purchases for the ones that will be played over and over. Also be aware of any subscription costs for online play.

16. Hide your credit cards and debit cards.

Only carry these cards when you need them. You’ll need the debit cards sometimes to get cash, but other times you won’t need to have them with you.

Carrying these cards leaves you more tempted to spend extra money. You can’t do that if you limit yourself to the amount of cash you need at the moment.

17. Cancel memberships you don’t need.

Sometimes memberships are well worth the money. Other times they’re a waste of money you keep paying because you swear you’re going to use it again eventually. If you’ve been promising yourself that for a long time, it’s probably time to save your money and give up the membership.

18. Swap babysitting when you need a night out.

If you don’t have willing grandparents in the area available for babysitting, swapping babysitting with friends or family members is the next best thing. Trade off taking care of each others kids so you can all get breaks without spending a fortune on the sitter.

19. Make the most of leftovers.

Many people dread leftovers, but they don’t have to be that bad. Some can be frozen so that you eat them a while after you had the meal, rather than so close that you’re tired of that meal. Others can be made into entirely new meals.

20. Learn to do basic repairs around your home.

If you have basic tool skills, there are a lot of repairs you can handle on your own around the house rather than call in a professional. Add in the resources available on the internet, and you may be able to fix things you didn’t realize you could.

3 Money Saving Ideas That Aren’t Worth It

Not every money saving idea is brilliant or worth the trouble. Here are just a few that usually aren’t worth the money saved.

1. Dropping car insurance coverage.

In many states, car insurance is required, making dropping the insurance even less worth your while, as you may have to prove you have it in order to register your car. But even if it’s not required, car insurance is worth the money it costs if you have an accident.

If you want to save money on car insurance, compare plans and make sure you have the best price for the coverage you need.

2. Buying bulk items you can’t use or store effectively.

Buying the right items in bulk is a great plan. Buying bulk items you won’t use fast enough or can’t store properly is a huge waste of money.

3. Buying the cheapest appliance with no regard for quality.

Whether it’s a blender or a washing machine, you should consider quality when buying an appliance for your home. It usually costs far more over time to buy several of the cheapest quality than one of a decent quality. You don’t necessarily have to go for top quality or the highest price, but buying appliances that do the job well and are expected to last should save you money.

Related posts:

1. Come Back Later – A Simple Money Saving Tip
2. Saving Money By Buying Whole Chicken
3. Saving Money on a Single Income

My own preferred method of handling impulse shopping is to control the impulse part of it. I rarely allow myself to buy on impulse. I have to think about it first.

If you can get past the urge to buy right away, it’s really not too hard. Build the habit of walking away from something you want to buy on impulse. Go look at other things. Maybe even give it a day or several.

The idea is to give yourself time to think if you really need the item or if it’s just a want, and if a want, if it’s worth giving in to that want.

The thing to remember is that pretty much anything you see while out shopping will still be there later. Very few things are all that limited, and most really limited things you might buy on impulse aren’t things you really need. The things you need are more likely to be there day after day, week after week. Even if you don’t buy them right away, they’ll probably be there later.

Coming back to a potential purchase later works pretty well if you have a few options to consider. It’s time to consider the advantages and disadvantages of the things you’re considering. You might find that a feature that attracted you immediately doesn’t matter as much as one you notice with a little more thought.

This even works when it comes to buying snacks when you’re out grocery shopping. This can be good for your grocery budget and your waistline, depending on the kinds of impulse buys you tend to make there. Of course, better yet for controlling your grocery shopping is having a list and sticking to it.

Of course, if impulse shopping is a problem for you, the first step may be finding ways to limit how often you do any sort of shopping that can lead to impulse buys. If you like to just wander shopping malls or online shopping sites, or if you get easily tempted when you see an online review for a product, it helps to find ways to avoid those situations. Look at when you’re getting tempted and how often the temptation is to buy something you’ll be glad you bought in the long run. If you’re getting tempted into far more bad purchases than good, it may be time to find something else to do.

A little patience and a little planning can help you quite a bit when it comes to controlling your impulse shopping habits. What works for you?

Related posts:

1. 20 Simple Ideas for Saving Money and 3 Ideas That Aren’t Worth It
2. Saving Money By Buying Whole Chicken
3. How to Grocery Shop as a Family (and Still Save Money)

Cut Back

The first thing you can look at is cutting back where possible. How much of this you need to do depends on how often you aren’t meeting expenses and by how much.

If it’s just by a little and not too often, you can probably make it up next month without too many worries. Just don’t rely on those credit cards too much, as the interest adds up rapidly.

Figure out where you can cut back by writing out all of your expenses, both personal and professional. This list will give you a visual reference to see what you don’t need to spend money on while your income is down. Some of the little things, such as eating an occasional meal out, can be cut with little trouble.

Business expenses are more challenging. Some things you cannot cut without seriously damaging or destroying your business. Other things are a help, but depending on how your business is doing, you may need to cut them for a time. This may include tools that make your life a bit easier but require a monthly subscription, services you use, or freelancers you’ve hired. If you don’t have the money at the time, you may need to quit using them until things pick up.

This is a classic problem for any business, as it’s easier to make money with all the right tools. You’re more productive with the right kind of help, and cutting back can slow down your recovery. Think carefully and decide if the cuts are the right ones to make, or if you need to find a better way to handle your money flow problems.

Look around for free options for things you pay to do now. They won’t always be there, but there are amazing things available online for free. You may lose some features, but so long as you can get the most important features for free, the switch can be worthwhile. That won’t be true every time, so think carefully before you make the switch.

Earn More

Yeah, this one’s obvious. If you aren’t earning enough, you need to start earning more. Easy to say, hard to put into practice.

Sometimes you can do it. It may mean taking focus away from your core business for a time, but you may be able to do it.

You can write articles for other people, for example. You can offer something that takes minimal effort for you to do on sites such as Fiverr… very minimal effort, as the pay is minimal. Find some sort of freelance work you can handle for a time, ideally work that won’t take all of your available work time, so you can still run your business.

If things are really, bad, you may have to consider the dreaded job. It’s not pretty, but sometimes to make your business work you have to deal with a regular job for a time. Just make sure the job pays enough to be worth the added expenses you may face, such as childcare if you have children. Not all jobs are worth it.

If you have anything you can sell, that’s another way to bring in some quick money when you really need it. Selling excess stuff you own also helps get rid of the clutter around the house.

Work extra hours on your core business if at all possible. This is where you want your income to be coming from in the long run. All the things you do to get some quick money so that you can survive can be dropped once you have your core business where you need it to be. It’s hard work, but if you’ve chosen your business well, it will be worth it in the long run.

Related posts:

1. 15 Ways to Raise Your Family on One Income
2. How Do You Save Enough to Live as a Single Income Family?
3. What If Your Spouse’s Income Vanishes When Your Family Relies on It?

The only one you can directly calculate is the impact it’s going to have on your finances. Sometimes it’s not as bad as you might think. That’s good to know if you’re going to have to do some sort of work at home job or start a home business to make ends meet.

Things That May Cost Less

Taxes – If your income as a family goes down, you’ll be paying less in taxes. How much less depends on your family’s situation.

Eating Out – Stay at home parents usually eat out less. There’s the occasional meal out with the kids, but especially if you’re on a tight budget, the ability to eat at home more should be a nice savings. Some people do eat out a fair bit even when staying home with their kids, however.

Driving – This one depends on how many activities you’re running the kids around to as well as how far you had to drive to work. Still, for many families it’s a nice savings.

Daycare – Usually, when you stay at home you take care of your own kids. There goes the money you had to pay for daycare!

Entertainment – While you may be a major source of entertainment for the kids, you won’t have the occasional entertainment and social expenses that come from working. You won’t be asked to contribute to birthday presents, for example.

Clothes – Depends a bit on your habits and what you had to wear to work. But if you had to have a professional wardrobe, you’re likely to save a nice bit, especially if you had a lot of clothes to take to the dry cleaners.

Costs That May Increase

Not every cost goes down when you start staying at home. Fortunately, the increases should be significantly smaller than the decreases.

Power/Gas for Your Home – You’re home more. That means you’ll be using more electricity during the day and heating or cooling the house more.

Groceries – Especially if staying at home makes money tight, you’ll probably be eating at home more. Fortunately, it also means you have more time to make home cooked meals if so inclined.

Activities with the Kids – Having more time with the kids may mean that you spend more on activities with them or for them, as you’ll have more time to take them to extracurricular classes or have fun as a family. Just try to remember there are free fun things to do too.

How exactly your finances are effected overall depends on your own situation, but knowing some of the things that will change can help. Try some basic calculations based on how you think things will change and you might be surprised at how little your available income may change by staying at home.

Related posts:

1. Why Keep Your Home Business Finances and Personal Finances Separate?
2. How Important Should Frugality Be to Stay at Home Moms?
3. How Do You Decide Which Parent Stays at Home?

This naturally leads to wanting to live a frugal life. But just what is a frugal lifestyle, and how important should it be to you?

Just what is a frugal lifestyle?

How Do You Define Frugal?

Everyone has a slightly different idea as to just what constitutes a frugal lifestyle. Most people don’t mean a lifestyle where they go to extremes, denying themselves all extras and most simple comforts in life. It’s also not about living as though you’re poor or completely broke.

A healthy frugal lifestyle will be comfortable for your family.

A healthy frugal lifestyle will be comfortable for your family. You shouldn’t feel completely deprived all the time. You should have different things that are priorities for you, such as preferring to take a family walk to spending $50 or more for a family night at the movie theater.

Frugal Isn’t the Same as Cheap

It’s easy to think of frugality and cheapness as the same thing. They do have similar motivations in some respects. But when you really look at them, they are not the same thing at all. I consider frugality to be more deliberate.

When you’re being cheap, quality isn’t a consideration, as a general rule. You buy the cheapest. You decline to spend money even where you should.

When you’re frugal, you’re making more deliberate decisions about how you will spend your money. Sometimes you’ll pay more for quality, because it will cost you less in the long run. You’ll have thought out your priorities.

Frugality for Stay at Home Moms

How frugal you need to be when you’re staying at home depends on the needs of your family and what your family’s income is like. Some will need to take extreme steps. For others, simpler steps will be enough.

The advantage you have is time.

The advantage you have is time. You have the time to do frugal basics such as cooking nearly all meals at home. You have the time to do coupon clipping. These simple frugal activites can make a big difference.

Whatever choices you make when it comes to living your frugal lifestyle, there are a few basics you should always include:

• Living within your means
• Bringing down any existing debt
• Limiting waste
• Knowing your priorities and sticking to them.

There’s no simple frugal path that leads to comfort with a change in your lifestyle. It’s quite likely that some of the changes you make will be a little uncomfortable for you at first. If they’re important enough to you, you will become comfortable with the changes in a short time. It’s much easier to be frugal if you don’t feel as though you’re denying a lot of wants.

Related posts:

1. How to Avoid Common Budget Mistakes Stay at Home Moms Make
2. Do Stay at Home Moms Need Cell Phones?
3. What Can Stay at Home Moms Do When a Money Crunch Hits Their Family?

Earning enough money to get by is important, but it’s only a part of the picture. Have you also considered what you’re spending and saving?

Review Your Spending Habits

The quickest way to have more money in the bank is to simply spend less. It’s something you have a significant amount of control over. While some costs are harder to cut than others, any work you do on your spending habits can have a real impact on the money you can save for emergencies and other needs.

Rent and mortgage payments are a great example of major monthly expenses that you may not be able to easily cut, but if you can decrease them the effect on your finances can be tremendous. You first have to be certain the the cost of decreasing your rent or mortgage payments will be worth it, whether you do so by moving or by refinancing. Either of those comes with costs that must be considered to be certain that the change will pay for itself in a reasonable period.

Your little habits matter too. How often do you eat out? How many trips do you make to Starbucks? How many times do you just grab a quick candy bar for yourself in the checkout line at the grocery store?

These little indulgences might be adding up for you. Could you cut them out or way back? This could save you quite a bit of money.

Make Sure You’re Really Saving Where You Think You Are

There are a lot of ways to save money. I mentioned a couple just above. But some people make major mistakes when they try to save money.

Coupons and sales are hard to resist for some. They see that they’re saving money off the full price and the part of their brain that says “do I really need this?” shuts down. They buy anyway.

If you buy what you don’t need, you aren’t saving no matter how good the deal was in other terms. You really have to think about what saving money means. Coupons and sales are great for the things you really need, but beyond that they’re just temptations.

Saving also means putting money aside for emergencies, retirement and so forth. If you don’t have accounts where you’re putting money aside for the future, that’s another area to work on.

Are You Earning Enough?

There comes a point where your earnings do matter, of course. It’s important to note that you can have money troubles no matter how much you earn, so it’s not entirely what you earn that makes the difference. That’s why you should look at how you spend and save money first.

If you’ve cut down your spending as much as you can and simplified your lifestyle, you may still need to earn more. It may be time to look at ways to bring in a bit of extra, from working more hours at your job to finding ways to increase your business income. When you need more money you have to find a way to get it.

Related posts:

1. Tax Season is Over! Time to Focus on Earning!
2. Saving Money on a Single Income
3. Keeping Christmas Spending Under Control

Have you reviewed it lately?

It can really pay to review what you’re spending on the various services you need around your home, such as cell phone contracts, internet services and so forth. The best deal last year isn’t always the best deal this year. And if you’re not stuck in a contract or it’s about to expire, you should think about if it’s time for a change.

Check the Package Deals

Many times but not every time you can get a package deal that covers a number of services for your needs around the home that is better than buying individual services. Other times buying just the services you need works best.

You may be able to combine home phone, cell phone, cable TV, DVR service and internet services onto one bill. You may do better to buy just a few of those from one company. Shop around and find out.

Take contract length into consideration. A two year contract may not be a bad deal if it saves you a good bit of money and you don’t plan on moving anytime soon. But find out what happens if you do move, just in case. Life has a funny way of catching us off guard.

You can easily check out Verizon Residential Service and companies local to your area online.

Check Your Insurance

How are the rates on your car insurance? Homeowners or renters insurance? Has your situation changed in any way that could change your rates for the better?

Many companies will offer you better rate for carrying two or more types of insurance with them. Just be sure that the total is the best you can get and that you have confidence in the insurance company carrying your policies.

Credit Cards

What are your credit cards costing you? With all the recent changes, did your rates go up? Any new fees?

Shopping around for a better deal on your credit cards can save you quite a bit, especially if you’re still trying to pay off a balance. Best is always to get rid of the balance, but this is real life and that isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Matter of fact, sometimes it’s really miserably hard.

This isn’t as easy some ways as it once was. Credit card companies have been more cautious lately about who they extend credit to.

You may also be able to convince your current credit card company to simply decrease your interest rate. The call shouldn’t take too long, and if it works the time is well spent.

You won’t have control over what some of your bills cost you, aside from cutting back on how much you use the service. You don’t exactly have a lot of say in what your water costs you, for example. Only way to cut that bill is to use less water. Other household bills are similar.

But when you have control over the basic costs, take advantage. Shop around and bring your costs down where you can while still getting what you need.

Related posts:

1. Cutting the Electric Bills
2. Ready for Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals?
3. Developing an Online Bargains and Deals Section

Are you teaching your kids the same thing?

Even when money is tight it’s easy to want to give your kids everything they want. Doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea, just that it’s something easy to do. But kids don’t need everything that they want.

There are a few aspects to being smart about money.

Want vs. Need

Teaching your kids to understand the difference between wanting and needing is a vital step to take. It’s something you can teach even when you’re giving them something just because they want it. That doesn’t make it an easy lesson to learn.

Kids want lots of things. Often lots and lots of things if they watch much television at all, talk to friends at school and so forth. It’s the simple desire to have what they think others have.

The things that are needed are pretty easy to explain, but don’t assume children won’t be mentally adding in some of the things they want. The younger kids are, the more wants feel like needs. Just keep explaining that things they need are things they must have for life. Wants are the things that are more fun to have.

Keeping to a Budget

We all know how little fun it is to keep to a budget much of the time. It’s work, especially if the budget is a tight one.

You have a few ways to teach your child to keep to a budget. Giving an allowance is one way. It helps if you expect parts of the allowance to be used in certain ways.

The requirements you give will vary by your child’s age. Younger kids you might only expect to put some of the money into savings or give some to a charity or your church. Older kids might be expected to include paying for school lunches. Still older kids could be expected to budget for their clothes, cell phone and other items that you’ve been paying for.

Obviously, the allowance should be increased depending on what you expect your child to budget for.

Just how challenging you make budgeting for your child depends on what you think your child is ready for. You don’t want to make a child budget for school lunches if he or she has never dealt with a budget before. But the more you can teach your child to do well on a budget, the better the lesson.

You can do a lightweight version of this when shopping for clothes with your child if you don’t want to do it through an allowance. Give them a budget for the particular things they need to shop for at the time. Give them some motivation to do well, and help them to see that spending wisely means being able to buy more of what they want, or that they get to save money for something else.

Have Your Child Earn Money

You have many options for allowing your child to earn money. An allowance for chores is one way, but don’t forget to consider the possibility of teaching your child the value of running their own business.

This can be as simple as running a traditional lemonade stand or as current as helping your child to start a website and earning money online. Figure out what’s right for you and your child and put some effort into it.

There’s a lot of value in teaching your child to run a business. It’s good for children to see being an entrepreneur as an option in life. It’s good for them to see that it doesn’t always work out. It’s good for them to learn the skills involved in running a business.

If you do let your child run an online business, you’ll probably have to keep most things in your name. Many companies won’t allow someone under 18 to have a contract with them. There are some things kids can do, such as making things to try to sell online, but it’s still likely going to require some parental supervision.

Letting your child earn his or her own money is an amazing lesson, especially for children who aren’t old enough for most jobs. They learn what it takes to earn money. They may better understand why you say there isn’t enough money for this or that.

Encourage Savings

Do your best to help your children understand the importance of having some money saved up. They can save for larger purchases they want, for college, for that first car.

This is an important lesson even if your kids earn money on their own. Think of it as building the habit of not living paycheck to paycheck early on.

Exactly how you go about teaching your kids to be smart about money depends on your child’s personality and your own beliefs about money. But you can start them from a very early age and help them to be smart about it throughout their lives.

Related posts:

1. Teaching Your Children to be Helpful
2. Teaching Your Children Responsibility
3. Your Children Can Help You Save Money

Some of the problem can come from having to think about practically every purchase, no matter how necessary. It’s skipping your favorite treats. It’s telling the kids “no” all too often when they want a treat. It’s seeing friends and family be so much freer about how they spend money, and knowing you can’t do it.

Do You Have Any Options?

Some people say that you always have options. That’s true to a degree, but you can’t always exercise them right away. There aren’t many times that you can suddenly earn more money because you want to do more fun stuff. And you can’t just decide to splurge if you’re living paycheck to paycheck… at least not if you want a roof over your family’s head, working utilities and enough food to eat.

But you do have the option to try to bring in more money, if what you really want is an overall lifestyle change. You won’t be able to get it right away most likely, even if you were to start working outside the home, but you can set goals.

But I Want It Nooooooow!

Sometimes you can work in the small splurges. It’s wonderful when things work out that way. If you can afford to indulge yourself or your family just a little while being frugal, do so. It can really help ease some of the strain caused by being so careful with your finances.

If you can’t, it may be wiser to go over why you’re trying to save money in the first place. To an appropriate extent, this can be discussed with children. They shouldn’t be burdened too much with their parents’ financial problems, but knowing why they can’t have everything they want isn’t going to hurt them.

Especially if they watch a lot of television, kids want things. Lots of things. It often seems like they want everything they see.

Frugal or not, that’s not going to happen, right?

With that in mind, even as you say no because money is tight, think about how often you’d be saying no even if it weren’t. “No” is a great word for kids to hear when they’re trying to get you to buy stuff they don’t need. “Save your own money” isn’t a bad choice either.

When it’s stuff you want, think about what you want most. Do you want the shiny whatsit or do you want to meet your financial goals more? As a grownup, you should be able to decide sensibly whether or not you should indulge… even when you aren’t feeling like being sensible.

Get Support

No, not money. Find friends, family members, your spouse or significant other, and make sure you have emotional support for your choices. It’s particularly helpful to have the support of others who also need to be frugal. It can be a bit of a competition to see who can keep being frugal, save the most money, stick best to the budget, whatever.

Being frugal is much easier if you don’t feel alone in it.

And yes, it can still be exhausting. But you can get past that and keep working towards your goals.

Related posts:

1. 5 Ways to Cope When You’re Tired of Being Frugal
2. Are You Frugal or Cheap?
3. Money's Tight. Do You Go Frugal with Your Home Business?

One thing I do right now is to buy whole chicken, rather than just boneless or bone-in parts. The initial cooking can take a bit of extra effort, but the savings makes it well worthwhile. Sale prices on the whole chickens are less than sale prices on the various parts.

Thank goodness whole doesn’t include head or feet, though! Not quite ready to deal with that much.

One chicken means several meals. The first one is your basic roasted chicken. My favorite is a slow roasted variety that takes about 5 hours in the oven. Not something to do on a really hot day, even though the temperature is low. The chicken is rubbed all over with seasonings, stuffed with garlic and/or onions, and cooked at 250 degrees F. Comes out very tender.

The leftovers are currently sufficient for dinner a second night, although I don’t expect that trend to last much longer, as the kids are getting bigger. But they can also be used for lunches. Leftover chicken goes great in salads, for example.

Next comes the homemade chicken soup. I don’t necessarily make this right away; the leftovers go just fine in the freezer so I can save them for when the weather is right for chicken soup.

These meals come out to be very inexpensive. They also taste really great. The amount of chicken soup I make in each batch lasts for several meals, and my daughter has often enjoyed it in a Thermos at school. Sometimes I even freeze excess.

Related posts:

1. Wordless Wednesday – Chicken Feet or Duck Feet?
2. I Shoulda Called It Chicken
3. Come Back Later – A Simple Money Saving Tip