chalk piggy bank found here.
just a few things we've done to find that magical number:
called comcast and threatened to leave because of the high cost. payment dropped from $100 for internet/cable to $70 savings=$30
fine tuned our phone bill with att. i was going over on my texts each month (oops!) resulting in $20+ in fees. we are paying $5 a month more for texts and lowered our minutes. savings=$40
we were paying $100 a year for xbox live to stream our instant netflix. little did i know that xbox is the only gaming console that requires a subscription service. we're thinking about getting apple tv which is a ONE time price and then free after that. future savings=$100 a year
packing our lunches every day we work and making our own coffee. savings=$100+
we automatically withdraw $50 a week in to savings. savings=$200
total savings a month with minor changes= $380
we also have a way 2 save account which fluctuates based on how much we use our debit cards.
i just ordered dave ramsey's total money makeover and smart couples finish rich per your suggestions. i used my reward points to pay for them. we're trying to make our credit card work for us. we have a gold card with american express and we put all of our mandatory bills on there so that we automatically get points for things we would be paying for regardless. the trick is just making sure to pay them off every month.
are you liking these money school posts?
13 comments:
ooooh, good tips. love these posts!
thanks kate! invite me over soon. i can't wait to see your new home all decked out!
yes! i love these. reed and i are trying to buy our first house (along with the upcoming baby expenses) so we are in desperate need of cutting some corners. it's so hard when i'm in school full time and living off student loans.
Way to go, Grahams!!
Dave Ramsey's advice/books literally helped us survive Jon's lay-off in 2008.
Good stuff.
Plus, we haven't paid for TV in the 7 years we've had our house (yay for antennas!). I miss the Food Network(!), but it's a HUGE savings for our household!
A Roku player might also be an alternative to Xbox live. I think it's similar to Apple TV. I love these posts, though. Great ideas!
Isn't it amazing how you can find all that extra money! We did this a while back and I have not even missed what we cut, movie channels, cell phone plans, things like that. Good luck!
Jennifer
raylan-
looking in to the roku...i know it can stream hulu too!
jennifer-
it really is amazing. we are just throwing away money all of the time. good and scary to be more aware...
My husband works for Netflix and he recommends the Roku. My parents just canceled there cable so we bought them one. It streams Netflix and has a whole bunch of other channels. Thought I would pass along the info! Fun post.
Also, we bought ours through Amazon.
http://www.roku.com/
My husband and I are closing on our house come beginning of July and we've been trying to figure out ways to save. I really like your ideas and think we need to visit those - so thank you!
Awesome!! I've totally been right where you're at and I'm not going to lie, it's not easy or fun all the time. But...it is SO worth it in the long run. Read our story if you like:
http://thebowtieandtheskirt.blogspot.com/2011/01/sympathy-need-not-apply.html
We made sacrifices that I am so incredibly glad we made. The other side is sweet and very green!
Love the post!
Yowsa. Such an intense situation. Thank you so much for sharing this.
My husband and I are not in the same exact situation, but are doing some intense saving. We want to have our 2nd baby soon, but both of us being self-employed means that we have to pay out of pocket since most individual insurance policies do not cover maternity.
We also have credit card debt and an unsteady housing economy (my husband builds houses)to deal with.
We have been following some of the Dave Ramsey tips too and have found them helpful.
Good luck with all of this and know that you have a network of other people going through similar struggles. Together we can all lean on one another for support.
Chris and I did the Dave Ramsey course during our engagement. It helped us to save and totally pay for our own wedding debt free! Without this course I am sure we would have done something silly like take out a loan or dump it all on credit cards.
I use to think it was impossible to squeeze any more pennies out of our paychecks, Dave proved us wrong. It was by far one of the best moves for us.
We haven't followed his course to the "T", for example we didn't switch over to the "cash only" method. I found through using Mint and monitoring my accounts online, it was easier to just to debit cards to track our purchases.
You guys have made some major steps and we're cheering you on! It's fun finding ways to save money. Like hitting the lottery. Best of luck, keep us updated. :-)
this was an amazing post! i learned so much about the little things we can do to save. kudos!
and i love your blog! i'm a newcomer :)
Post a Comment