Frugal & Thrifty Budget Ideas for 2014

This is the post I ran last year for my 2013 Budget.  I thought I would repeat it.  I set a really realistic goal and did stick to it overall.  Since I put this money away at the beginning of the month, I never missed it.  You know as financial advisors always say. - - "Pay yourself first".  It is so true, if you pay yourself first, then whatever is left is what you will live on.    So here is my post from last year - - - - -

Frugal & Thrifty Budget Ideas for 2013

Ok, I am really going to get a budget going and see if I can stay on it.  Not something really outrageous, but something that is totally realistic.  We live a rather simple life, not really anything extravagant at all, but I still think I waste money and that is not a good thing.

First off, I am going to look at some of the things I have committed to and see if I can trim those expenses down a little bit.  The first one is the cable bill.  Do I really watch all those channels, and no I hardly ever watch those movies, so if I cut those out, what can I save?  What other bills can I trim down?  We don't really have a lot of bills, so if I just watch the A/C and Heating, that's about all I can control, but that can save a lot.  With the cable bill alone I can save $30 a month.  That's a good start.

Second would be the grocery bill.  I usually do one big shop each week and only go back if I run out of something, but I don't plan out meals and I don't really watch the grocery budget. I like for the pantry and the fridge/freezer to be fully stocked with everything, so then whatever I want to cook, all the ingredients are on hand.   I do read the ads, make a list and use the coupons that really apply to what we like to eat.  It wastes money to use a coupon and buy something you really don't like.  We eat really well at our house, but I can trim a little here I think.  For just the two of us I definitely think a budget of $100 week is more than ample, so I am going to stick to that.

Third is to not waste money on car gas just running around unnecessarily.  I am the world's worst at just hopping in the car and running here and there for no reason at all.  I get 36 mpg with my new little car, so I don't think about how much I am running around.  If I plan to do as many errands as possible at a time, then I don't have to waste a lot of money on car gas making unnecessary trips.

Fourth is to give myself an allowance.  I know that I could be more frugal with my spending, but I just seem to buy whatever I want.  Even if I do a ton of shopping at Goodwill and Thrift stores for most of my home decor, that really adds up, so I need to be more selective about what I buy.  I need to really take a good look at our wardrobes and purge what doesn't fit and only replace needed items and maybe an occassional something special.  That will accomplish two goals.  First I won't have so much stuff and need to purge so often,  and second, I need to use what I have.  Ok, so if I set a goal of $100 a month for my allowance, that should be more than ample.  Maybe I can even trim that back a little.  I need to come up with an allowance to refresh our wardrobes each season.  

Now these are just four really easy and simple little things that I can do that will start off my goal of saving an extra $100 a month.  Not a big deal, but it is something that I can achieve and then I can set bigger goals. Just need to take baby steps here. lol

I am going to add one more item to my budget for 2014.  I am going to curb some of those trips to the Beauty Salon.  A lot of time I am in a hurry and color my own hair instead of spending hours in the salon, and I really can go a month between pedicures and just re-polish at home.  I do it all the time when "time" is a crunch anyway.  Now this should save quite a bit more by itself.  Hair color at the salon is around $50 and you can buy everything at Sally's for under $10.  Skipping one pedi also saves about $25.  

Then there’s the 52-Week Money Challenge  

The idea is simple! Every week you deposit that number of the week into a jar or savings account. Week 1 you save $1, week 15 you save $15, on week 52 you deposit $52 for example.

I saw this idea posted on A Cultivated Nest blog.  I think this is a super idea for a really easy way to save a little extra cash.  Just think, you could have enough to pay for all of your Christmas or a nice little getaway.  I may add this to my list.

Hopefully at the end of the year I will have this really big pile of cash sitting around, and way more than $100 a month.  

OK, now tell me how you budget and what are your special tricks for sticking to it.

I am joining the following parties:

Classy Clutter for Spotlight Saturday, Pieced Pastimes for Saturday Sparks Linky It's Overflowing for Overflowing with Creativity Sat., Funky Junk Interiors for Party Junk Be Different Act Normal for Show & Tell Sat.

 Silver Pennies for Silver Pennies Sunday,Twigg Studios for Sunday Showoff Party

The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday,Stephanie Lynn for Sunday Showcase

Three Mango Seeds It's Party Time,  DIY Showoff for DIY Showoff Party

Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday

 Creatively Living for Monday Funday PartyMod Vintage Life for Mod Mix Monday

The Dedicated House for Make It Pretty Monday

 Between Naps On The Porch for Metamorphosis Monday

Dwellings-Heart of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday

                                        Rain on a Tin Roof for Give Me The Goods Monday

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