At this point, I'm not really sure if I'm going to be plummeting into an unemployed abyss, or if I'll make it across to the other side...aka, another year of employment.
Regardless, I've had to really start evaluating my spending. My husband Doug and I have been living a free-wheelin' lifestyle the past few years. We have no kids, our bills were comfortably within our means to spend, and we were saving, but not with the kind of fervor that we probably should have been. It was classic "this will never happen to us" behavior. New DVD out? Let's go buy it. Don't feel like cooking? How about dinner out tonight. New clothes, new shoes, random crap we didn't need....there wasn't much purposeful thought behind our spending. I didn't use coupons--what was the point of a few extra cents off? I'm a bargain hunter for clothes and love a good clearance rack, but I would never have called myself "frugal". My, how things have changed.
Now, I am in panic mode. I think long and hard about every little thing before spending. Is there a cheaper option? Do I really need this? Can I go without? Not to sound like a spoiled little baby, but I think the hardest thing has been trying to cut down on my clothes shopping. Darn it if I don't love a new outfit. Sigh. However, I just keep chanting "mortgage, loans, electricity, heat" and the moment passes. Plus, it's forced me to use what I've got and try to put together new looks with old stuff.
To be fair, we had already started to seriously think about making some changes to our spending habits before the bomb dropped. I signed up for an account on Mint.com per my friend Sarah's recommendation...it tracks your spending, helps you set goals, etc. I highly, highly recommend checking it out.
I also signed up for the Sunday paper, and subscribed to CouponMom.com. This might be a huge "duh" moment, but you can actually save money with coupons! I'm being sliiiiightly sarcastic, but the point is, I never realized what a difference coupons can really make. Plus, Wegman's (my all time favorite grocery store) doubles coupons to up to dollar. My new favorite activity is to pour over the Sunday paper, clip coupons, and strategize a grocery list. It's funny how your perspective changes. Some other great coupon sites are RedPlum.com, Coupons.com, and SmartSource.com. Again, kudos to Sarah...as I clutch my little plastic coupon holder, I remember when we had a conversation about coupons a year ago. I was telling her that I didn't bother with them, and she pulled out her own plastic holder. She shook it at me, and said, "This is MONEY in here!" Amen, sista.
So, what are your favorite ways to save?
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