Where else could I save?
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| Fri, 01-07-2005 - 12:45am |
Hi - Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions/ ideas as to what else I could be doing to save. Here is a hopefully brief description of what I am doing:
We need to pay off 26,800 in debt. $15,000 of that is car/student loans, which are not so immediate.
Income fluctuates, but at minimum is $5500 a month. ($2000 more than last year, :) )
Here is what I am doing:
a) Brown Bag challenge
b) we don't have a land line, 2 cell phones on one plan. We can't change cell phone carriers because I use my phone for students/potential students to call me. We did call and add minutes when we started going over, and now I am cutting back on calls during the day.
c) we don't eat out anymore
d) I am using all the craft supplies I currently have up, and am making Christmas gifts for next December. I ran out of time last year.
e) I am cleaning my apartment - there is tonnes of stuff in these boxes. I usually give any accumulated stuff to my sister to put in the family garage sale, where the money goes to my sister, and will do that again this year. But I am finding a bunch of stuff, so I won't need to buy replacements (ie. just found lightbulbs?)
Am I missing anything? I feel like I have lots of time right now, as I am working only evenings and weekends, but I don't really think I can fit in a day job and stay sane.

Sounds like you're doing an awesome job! Good for you!
I highly recommend Amy Dascycyn's "Complete Tightwad Gazette" (borrowed from the library, of course!!) for tips and ideas on creating a happy frugal lifestyle. It is amusing reading and will give you no end of ideas for cutting expenses in creative ways.
You might also want to check my post titled "Heather's $200/month grocery plan," for a system for cutting your grocery bill. This idea is based on Amy Dascycyn's method, and it feeds our four for--you guessed it, $200/month--without really changing much the way we eat.
Good job in finding so many ways to cut back, and especially in your determination to keep at it even though your dh is getting a raise--congrats on that, by the way! Now you can really start eliminating that debt!
I keep reminding my dh that the best way for him to get big, fat, raise, is to pay off our debt. The day we make our last payment, we will be giving ourselves a tax-free $900-a-month raise. Can't beat that at work. LOL
Blessings,
Heather
You have some great ideas. The only other thing that comes to mind right now is saving up your change and then snowflaking it. I have to remind myself to go to the bank to get coin rollers so I can snowflake all my change that has been building up for over a year now. I have TONS of pennies, but I keep every one of them!
cheers,
slojuly