The intent of this blog is to help save you money and live a simpler and more frugal life. These tips will range from ideas to run a more frugal home, save money on groceries, save on utilities and household costs, frugal recipes and cooking ideas and much, much more! I will be posting money-saving tips, links, and articles of interest on a very regular basis. So make sure you bookmark this blog and check back often!
So I'm going to jump right in and offer a tip for saving money right off the bat.
Tip #1
If you are not on a budget, I highly recommend setting up one now. My favorite budget and debt-reduction guru is Dave Ramsey. I can't recommend his books highly enough. A really great one is The Financial Peace Planner. Another great one is The Total Money Makeover. Check to see if your local library carries these books. There is lots of great information both in Dave Ramsey's books and on his website. Even if you are not in debt, being on a budget and knowing where your money is going each month is a tremendous help.
This tip has truly changed our lives. 3 1/2 years ago I was pregnant with our son. I was working for a caterer and I was suddenly and with no warning, the victim of a lay-off. I was shocked and scared but figured I would be able to find another job quickly. But the more I looked the more I realized there wasn't much available that I could do in my pregnant condition.
I ended up not going back to work until my son was 2 months old. By that time we were in pretty serious financial trouble. At the time we lived in an old farmhouse that was far from ideal. Depending on the time of year it was either incredibly hot or incredibly cold in there and the layout was terrible. We desperately wanted to buy a house of our own but couldn't see a way to make that happen. I was now bringing in money but we were playing serious catch-up. We couldn't ever seem to get ahead.
Fast forward ahead to March of 2007. A good friend of mine took a Financial Peace University class through her local church. She was kind enough to share the information with me and this started us on a great path. I learned how to track things in a way I had never done before. I learned how to plan ahead for each month. I learned about the power in tracking what we were spending and carrying cash for our purchases. Once the cash is gone, that's it. No more money for impulse purchases. By following the tips laid out by Dave Ramsey in the Financial Peace system we were able to get on track, pay down over half of our debt in 1 year, and finally buy a house in November of 2007. We still follow this system today and I believe it is truly wonderful.
If you aren't on a budget or have become lax about yours, I encourage you to check out Dave Ramsey's system and give it a try!
Here are several other resources I like for living on a budget and paying off debt:
Debt Proof Living by Mary Hunt
Live Your Life for Half the Price by Mary Hunt
The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach
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