Making Money out of Molehills

At the end of last month, we started to look at money in a completely different way.  Here’s some small things that we did to save money here and there.  Since I’m still in debt myself, I don’t feel I’m in much of a place to tell people how to save money just yet, so maybe some of my new friends from the world of personal finance can leave some additional tips or add to mine.

1.) Make a budget.  We use mint.com to keep track of all our expenses.  Since you are reading this and you’re probably in debt, you shouldn’t have too many of those, right?    Before tracking our spending, we couldn’t figure out for the life of us where our money was going!  Having a  budget puts it all out there and encourages conversation about finances.  Just knowing that my husband will be seeing all of the charges makes me think extra hard about every single purchase!  Even trying to spin it in my head why I need that $40 nightly recharging lotion makes me squirm.  Yea, there’s no way he’d think that a “necessity.”  Having a budget makes me think big about the little things.

2.)  Out yourselves to your peers.  If your friends and family have no clue that you’re having financial woes, they will continue to invite you to places you shouldn’t be going and buy you gifts you can’t afford.  You will be expected to reciprocate.  This is especially important around the holidays.  This year, we spent way too much on our family, mainly our children.  Unfortunately, we can’t tell our kids that Santa doesn’t want to lose his house.  Hopefully, by Christmas next year, we will be debt-free and will be able to give our children a decent holiday without going into the poor house. Also, by tattling on yourself, you might possibly learn something.  When we told my parents that we were in debt, my mom asked how much we pay for our cell phones.  We have smart phones and data plans and she has always thought of those things as silly.  Having an outside perspective can be helpful in assessing your “needs.”  Also, a good friend of mine gave me some useful tips for grocery shopping.  I know that I’m not good at saving money.  Obviously so, because I’m up to my ears in debt.  I openly welcome constructive criticism from loved ones.

3.)  Cancel your cable.  Okay, I cheated on this one.  We canceled the movie channels only.  We hardly use them anyway.  We already are bundling our cable, internet, and phone, which saves us a bit as well.  You could also downgrade your cell phone plan, return your dvr, turn off your landline, etc.

4.)  Step away from the thermostat!  I hate being cold, so this one is difficult for me.  I’ve since acclimated to a temperature 3 degrees below where I’d ideally like my house to be.  For every degree you drop in the winter months, you’ll knock roughly 3% off your bill.  We also set our thermostat with an “away” mode, which allows it to drop even colder when we’re not here.  I haven’t seen the gas bill for this month yet, but I’m curious to see how much we’ve saved.  I know that we could do better in this area, too.  For example, at night, we should be turning it down even lower.  If we’re wearing pajamas and under the covers, why do we need it warm in the house?

5.)  Turn off lights during the day.  I open all the blinds in the morning and hardly turn the lights on until the evening hours.  I never used to do this until recently.  This month, our bill was $12 less than the previous month.  I’m okay with it only saving me $12, because I know that I could definitely try a little harder with this one.

6.)  Unplug appliances when not in use.  Like I said, we’ve only saved $12 this month so far, but we could also do better about unplugging appliances.  Jeff, I’m looking at you with that coffee pot!  Also, when I turn the lights off in the day time, why not just unplug them?  That saves even more.  Every little bit helps.

7.)  Take a bath. If you don’t think you can take a short (3-5 minute) shower, hop in the tub.  This definitely depends on how fast your shower head flow is, how big your tub is, and how long of a shower you would’ve taken of course.  I usually take a quick shower, but sometimes, I just need to lock myself in a steamy bathroom and pretend I’m at a day spa.  Looks like my masseuse is running behind again…sigh.

8.)  Clean your house!  No, seriously.  Clean, well-maintained appliances and fixtures run more smoothly and will last longer.  While you’re at it, clean your closet.  I get into slumps of wearing the same things over and over,completely forgetting about the rest of my wardrobe.  Then, I feel like I don’t have any clothes and want to buy more.  Dangerous…

9.)  Ask for Lower Rates. If you have high interest rates and cannot consolidate or transfer immediately, call your creditors and simply ask if they can offer you a lower interest rate.  This has only worked for me once, but that’s maybe because I’ve only tried once.  I was honest and polite.  I didn’t have a big sob story or threaten them with anything.  I simply told them the truth.  “I’m in over my head and was wondering if there was any way you could help me out.  I’ve been a loyal customer for several years and always pay my bill on time.  I’m trying really hard to pay this down some and would be so grateful if you could lower this rate.”  Something like that.  Then….be silent.  Chances are, the person on the other end of the line has been there before as well.  If they say they cannot, ask to speak with their supervisor.  Politely!  “I understand.  Is there anyone that might have the power to do so, or do you have a supervisor I could speak with?”  Thank them for their time.  I know that there are plenty of ways to get what you want by being aggressive or rude, but that’s just not me.

10.)  Don’t go shopping without a purpose in mind.  But Dillards is having a 75% off sale, you say?  So what!  If you don’t have a need for that $10 dress, you spent $10 too much.  I’m really wanting to stock up on winter clothing at the end of this season since the prices are lowest then, but we simply do not have the money!  Think about how much interest you will end up paying on purchases when you are in debt.  Now how much was that $10 dress?  Still worth it?  Didn’t think so.

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