Trying to be frugal
I'm pretty proud of myself. I've been focusing on personal finance and learning more about taking control of my money. In the process of doing that, somehow I've developed a few frugal habits that are actually a lot of fun. I'm writing this post to remind myself why these are fun more than to update my friends on my life, but maybe these will sound fun to you too.
1) I only buy scrapbooking materials if they're on sale or I have a coupon.
This is something I started last summer because I was spending more than $100 a month on scrapbooking supplies. Except for little photo sticky squares, everything I've bought since May of 2007 has been discounted in one way or another. I now only spend about $20 a month on the same supplies.
2) I make a game of getting high percentage savings at the grocery store.
One of my favorite things to do is to read the paper on sunday mornings. While I'm reading, I pull coupons for things I regularly buy. I've been doing that part as long as I can remember. The new part is that now, when I go to the store, I look for those same items on sale. King Soopers will double or triple the amount on coupons, which saves me even more. The highest percentage I've gotten on a week's worth of groceries was 29%. Every week I try to get higher than that. Some weeks are more successful than others, but it's fun to try.
There are many other little things I do day-to-day that help, but these are by far my favorite "games" to play. I feel like I'm winning something when I prevent the grocery store and scrapbooking store from getting full price for the items I buy. Now if only I could find a way to make hockey less expensive! :-P
1) I only buy scrapbooking materials if they're on sale or I have a coupon.
This is something I started last summer because I was spending more than $100 a month on scrapbooking supplies. Except for little photo sticky squares, everything I've bought since May of 2007 has been discounted in one way or another. I now only spend about $20 a month on the same supplies.
2) I make a game of getting high percentage savings at the grocery store.
One of my favorite things to do is to read the paper on sunday mornings. While I'm reading, I pull coupons for things I regularly buy. I've been doing that part as long as I can remember. The new part is that now, when I go to the store, I look for those same items on sale. King Soopers will double or triple the amount on coupons, which saves me even more. The highest percentage I've gotten on a week's worth of groceries was 29%. Every week I try to get higher than that. Some weeks are more successful than others, but it's fun to try.
There are many other little things I do day-to-day that help, but these are by far my favorite "games" to play. I feel like I'm winning something when I prevent the grocery store and scrapbooking store from getting full price for the items I buy. Now if only I could find a way to make hockey less expensive! :-P