Living the Life of Your Dreams on a Budget

Kelly Whalen, who blogs at The Centsible Life about her family goal of being debt-free by 2011, hosted a Talk on TheMotherhood with eight frugal and fabulous co-hosts to address the issue of living a good life on a budget.

 

During a diverse conversation ranging from methods of bill paying to the difference between being cheap and frugal, the group also covered a number of ways to maintain healthy finances.

 

Read on to learn how to set a budget, use coupons, save money and establish an emergency fund – and there is plenty of additional information in the Talk itself!  THANK YOU Kelly and co-hosts for a fun and informative chat!

 

 

Best Money-Saving Tips

 

Mine is to always make a list. I make a list for everything we buy – if it’s not on the list, I don’t buy it. (Kelly Whalen)

 

Wait. Whatever it is you think you just HAVE to have . . . wait. Chances are in a week you won’t really want it anyway. 2nd best tip? Cook at home, from scratch. (Jenn Fowler)

 

Leave the kids at home! For me, the more people come along, the more time and money I spend. (Kim at MMI)

 

Stock up when it is on sale! (Missy)

 

Buy with cash only for 6 months. After that, use credit card only if it can be paid off at the end of the month.  6 months of cash only will change how you think and behave with money. (Deborah)

 

My #1 money-saving tip is to always do your research before buying anything! Make sure that you’re getting the best deal for the quality that you want! (Jen)

 

 

Establishing a Budget

 

I would start by tracking what you’re spending now. Just carry a little notebook with you and write down every single penny you spend. It’s not fun, but it can be enlightening! (Kim at MMI)

 

We utilize Mint.com to track our spending, budget, etc. They also have a great saving feature. (Joy)

 

Switch to cash only and bring a calculator! That helped us out a lot! When you only have so much cash to spend you are really able to decide what you need and what you want! (Brandie)

 

I wrote a post called “How to make a budget in 5 steps” – (Jenn Fowler)

 

 

Organizing and Using Coupons

 

I like to use the binder system with baseball card inserts. It allows you to easily flip through and see what coupons you have and the expiration dates. (Mindi)

 

I keep it simple. I have two small accordion-type holders; one for grocery and one for drugstores/other. I carry them both and only cut coupons I know I’ll use, then print others as I see them on the blog match-ups. (Gina)

 

I like to organize my coupons by weeks. On the spine of the coupon inserts you get in the mail there are dates on them, so that is how you know which paper the insert came in! (Coupon Princess)

 

 

Ways to Pay Less

 

Don’t forget to always check for coupon codes/free shipping before you shop and to shop through a portal like Ebates. I earn cash back on every online purchase! (Gina)

 

Always sort through your mail. Recently I received FREE Chick Fil A coupons for a new store that opened up in my town. Also check bottom of store receipts, there are often coupons there too! (Coupon Princess)

 

I frequently find stickers for my kids inside junk mail! Always a nice surprise! (StephanieR)

 

I buy my daughter’s clothes at the season-end sale the year before. For example, I went to Target yesterday and bought her summer wear for 2011. Everything was 75% off!! (Danielle)

 

 

Creating an Emergency Savings Fund

 

We trick ourselves into savings – money is deducted into a separate account that we can’t touch easily. (Kelly Whalen)

 

Sock away every little “extra” bit of money – they call it snowflaking. If you get a raise of $20/week, don’t start spending it, just save it. You get a rebate in the mail, pay it to your savings acct. (Gina)

 

If at all possible, make it an automatic deduction from the paycheck – then you won’t have a chance to spend it. (Jenn Fowler)

 

Put any “found” money straight into savings. Could be from a gift, tax refund, inheritance, or side job. You can’t miss what you’ve never had. (Kim at MMI)

 

 

The Difference Between Frugal and Cheap

 

Cheap is buying junk, frugal is buying smart! I don’t consider myself cheap! (Coupon Princess)

 

Frugality means that you are mindfully purchasing and saving. Being cheap is just spending as little as possible. (Deborah)

 

Being cheap is always buying the lowest priced item, regardless of quality. Being frugal is seeking out high-quality items at the lowest price. (Mindi)

 

Frugal is cutting back on unnecessary things so you can buy what you love. Cheap is cutting back on everything. (albertamel)

 

When you are frugal you still live life to the fullest, you just make choices, prioritize, etc. Being cheap is saving money regardless of comfort, situation or even ethics. (Jenn Fowler)

 

 

The Hosts

 

The awesome frugalistas who co-hosted the Talk were:

 

Gina, Money Wise Moms
Jen, Thrifty Northwest Mom

Jenn, Frugal Upstate
Kim, Blogging for Change
Mindi, Moms Need To Know
Rachel, Surviving the Stores
Shannon, Coupon Princess
Stephanie, Couponing101

 

 

See the original Talk here: http://tmotherhood.wpengine.com/talk/show/id/62051