My husband and I have recently started to see financial matters in a new light. I think it may be because we have never (until recently) in 17 years of marriage, made a budget. That never really put us in the red though so we saw no reason to change. But now with a new house and some other financial obligations we are starting to see that operating without a budget and a plan has meant lots of wasted money over the years. Lots of money we could have saved rather than pissing it away willy nilly.
At any rate, these days I am all about budgets, Dave Ramsey, Clark Howard, and giving every dollar an assignment.
Frugal wins for the week include:
- Soap score. I meant to make some DIY foaming hand soap to refill my existing dispensers but then I noticed that most of them were broken and cracked from being reused and abused. So I bought six new soaps at Menards for .88 cents each and with mail in rebates they will end up being only .33 cents each.
- We also needed lawn rakes since our new yard actually has trees. Bought two rakes at Menards for $4.99 each and after rebates they are .99 cents each. The leaves we rake up will be mulched and spread around our apple and pear trees for winter.
- Took two surveys that paid in $5 Amazon gift cards. Used that money to buy a book on Straw Bale Gardening. We have borrowed it from the library a couple times because this is the method we plan to use next year. I figure we need a copy of our own. It’s awesome.
Frugal Fails:
- Bought a cheapy $15 bluetooth headset for work after the headphone jack on my phone broke. Argh! I was not willing to go even one day without my podcasts so I bought cheap from Big Lots. It broke after one day and I lost the receipt. Double argh! Now $60 later I have the LG Tones I wanted in the first place.
What frugal strides have you made lately?
Hmm, I made some homemade laundry detergent and some felted dryer balls to cut down on our laundry costs. Plus we menu plan weekly so we only buy what we need when we go to the store.
My theory is that if I am focused on saving when I can, than those times that my frugal attempts don’t work out so well (or we indulge a little bit) it isn’t so bad because I’ve saved elsewhere. We definitely have a budget..it’s not perfect, but it keeps us in the black! :)
I hate when you buy something too cheap and then end up paying way more and getting the nicer version anyway! I do it too often!
I try not to go grocery shopping without a list, and then I stick to the list. That helps avoid impulse purchases that we really don’t need.
I’ve just started using a Budget because like you life just kicked in and in a great way. The deal you got on those Rakes is nothing short of amazing. I only grocery shop with a list , I only walk with the exact amount of money when I want to buy specific items
I need to get better at that! Saving is one of my goals on areas that I need to improve!
That’s awesome that you are able to save so much. I used to be rather good at the coupons and rebates until we moved to Alaska where some are not honored.
We’re 20 years married and have never had a real budget, but really should so we can be better about building up the savings.
I did the Dave Ramsey plan about 10 years ago, it changed my life. I got out of debt, and it really makes a difference when you don’t have a lot of debt.
Sometimes your get what you pay for right! I have heard wonderful things about Dave Ramsey’s program. My church taught a class using his program.
I think a budget really is beneficial. And it’s never too late to get budget friendly in the house. :)
Those are some great frugal scores!! Fun thatyou found surveys to take for money!
Sounds like you got some great deals! I love a good rebate!
I get you on the budget thing. I need to get back in the habit. It has been far to easy to just live and enjoy as long as we are not in the red. I coupon constantly so frugality on that end is always a win