Ok, so it's all in the title. Today we're going to talk about some of the ways my family used to save money. Believe me, at the time it was a necessity. We could barely cover the absolute basics. Forget anything extra or extravagant. We also had to find ways to earn extra. But that's a different post. So! Let's jump in!

   #1. Budget. Ya, ya, I know. It sucks. You don't want to do it. And what does this have to do with saving money? Alot! Really. If you haven't already, go read my last blog post. Time, space and money#3. It's all about budgets. You can't save if you don't know where your money is going. That's just a fact. Also if you get on an actual budget(and stick to it!) You'll see where you are overspending, hopefully cut back, and it feels like you have more money to work with. I have no idea why. It just does.

#2. Sales. This isn't to say buy everything you want just because it's on sale. If you need it and it was in your budget try your best to get it on sale. When we were broke the rule was we had to buy everything on sale. I mean everything. Clothes, we hit the season end clearance for the next year and saved the items, shoes to. If we found a good price we'd buy the kids a size bigger and save them. It was an absolute necessity. No way we could afford to buy full priced items. But there's a flip side to this...

#2. Don't buy what you don't need. Even if it's on sale. No one needs 10 pairs of blue jeans. If you can afford it that's fine. No judgement. But if you really need to save money don't buy something you already have one or multiples of. Even the really inexpensive stuff. I'm talking about that 1 dollar wooden spoon or something similar. If you've already got 3 or 4 of them don't get another one just because it's 75% off. 

#3. Just the basics. We're talking groceries here. It's cheaper in the long run to buy the ingredients and put them together yourself rather than buying the ready made stuff. Frozen and boxed meals are convenient but you pay a premium for the convenience. Make it yourself. You'll be saving money and it's better for you. I'll do a separate blog post on grocery shopping and cooking cause it's a big one.

#4. Don't eat out! It should be a special celebration or event. I know it seems like that $20 bundle from McDonald's is a good deal but you can make a burger and fries at home alot cheaper. It's also way better for you. If you don't know how to cook, learn! There's no excuses anymore. You can literally learn anything free on YouTube. The drive thru should be a drive don't. As in don't ever. You will save tons of money just by eating at home.

#5. Save water and electricity. Think like your mom, or dad. Shut the lights off when you leave a room. Shut the water off when your brushing your teeth. Put a brick in your toilet tank. Don't leave the door open and "air condition the whole neighborhood" you know, all the stuff your parents yelled at you about. Google is great for this one. I'm sure there's a boatload of saving tips. It's also good for the planet.

#6. Just the basics. As in everything else. You need clothes and shoes. But you want 10 pairs of jeans. Be honest with yourself. Do you need another pair of jeans or shoes? If you only have one then that's a yes. But if you already have 10 in good shape? That's gonna be a hard no. This is also where being organized comes in. If you have 10 pairs of jeans but you can't even find one you might as well not have any.  Don't buy what you already have! Get organized so you can find it.

#7. Stock up. This one can be a little tricky. Not because it's really hard but because your mind plays tricks on you. You find an awesome sale on this one item. And there's no limit! I can get 75% off! I'm going to buy 10! Problem is you only need 5. The rule on stocking up in our house is we have to have actual use for the item in the next year or we will use all of it before it expires. So a bunch of 10 cent cans of corn is awesome! But if they expire tomorrow I'm only buying 1. Which actually leads us to our next item

#8. Don't waste anything. Like anything. Ever. Food is the 1st one that comes to mind. Occasionally an onion will roll to the back of my fridge and get forgotten. I see this as an absolute failure. I shop and plan my meals from my fridge and pantry. I don't want to throw away food. Ever. Leftovers get eaten as lunch the next day or made into something else. Again I'll do a post on cooking and groceries soon. It's really it's own post. But to keep it short and sweet, be creative. Use up what's going to go bad 1st. For everything other than food, find a new use for it. That t-shirt that's got holes? Cut it up and use it for a cleaning rag. Waste means throwing away something that could have been used for something else. Not saving every little thing because it might be useful at some undetermined time in the future. Again Google is your friend here. There's a million ideas about reusing items that would end up in the trash. And it's good for the planet. 

#9. Save on gas. We only drove when it was absolutely necessary. We couldn't afford to waste anything especially gas. Try to group your trips and errands in a way that is the most efficient. And try to get them all done in one day. Think like a loop. Closest, the stop right next to the closest, farthest away, then closer to home another one closer to home then home. That makes sense right? Probably not. It makes sense to me cause I can see it in my head. Like a big circle or oval. You know? A loop. Y'all have an advantage here cause you can use Google to plan your trips with multiple stops. It'll also save you time. And again! It's good for the planet. I think? Last one! 

#10. Don't make a special trip if you can do it online for free. Paying bills sucks. But it has to be done. All my bills can be paid online for no extra charge. Yours probably can to. I actually like to shop in the store. Even grocery shop. But if I can do it online free I'll do it. Saves gas and time. Sometimes your time is more precious than money anyway.

   I hope these were helpful. I know some (or even all) might be obvious. But I've had multiple conversations with people who didn't know most or any of them. If your in a tough spot and really need every penny these 10 are where you start. You'll find a ton more on your own! And I'll probably add another couple of posts just about saving money.  I'm going to go back to my 2 favorite mantra's here. No Excuses! And there's an answer to every problem you just have to find it! 

                                                 -C-