Caleb and I have been pretty aggressive as of the first of the year, and are finally down to ONE loan...albeit, a big, fat, honking' loan, but still...ONE loan!!!! I'm thinking back to just a few months ago when taxes were due and we had pretty much depleted more than our "emergency savings" fund because we were new to this irregular income thing. Luckily we've become a lot more responsible now and save for those throughout the year ;) BUT I wanted to share how important it is to have a savings as your backup.
It's so nice to have an emergency savings - because when something DOES come up (whether its a car issue, an appliance that needs repaired, etc.), you're pretty much covered. Because trust me....something WILL eventually happen, which means you won't have to turn to any credit cards with crazy high interest rates! WOO! If you've always lived paycheck to paycheck, it can seem nearly impossible to save up $1,000 fast, but trust me, you can do it! Dave Ramsey suggest $1,000 for married couples, or $500 for singles. We keep ours at a separate bank so we're not tempted to touch it, but that's not necessary. Here are just a few ways to help:
-Cancel your cable, or just downgrade your package. That'll easily save you around $100/mo.
-Quit your daily/weekly Starbucks/Dunkin trips. Trust me, you don't need it. This can save you over $100+/mo! I actually know people who go to their favorite coffee shops daily on their commute to work (aka nearly every co worker at my firm)! It blows my mind. I love a cup of sugary goodness every now and then but, daily?! Too much!
-Stop the Target trips. Trust me, ladies, before we got married, I was used to dropping $30-50/trip - EASY! Save yourselves gas and time, and don't go until your savings is up, or unless you actually need something (easier said than done, I know!!).
-Sit down and do a monthly budget. Look at where you spent your money last month, and cut out unnecessary spending!
-If you have talents, use them to your advantage. That's how my photography gig got started. Come up with a price point, and see if people are interested! You never know until you try. If you're into photography like me, a couple shoots here and there and you're set with a new portfolio to show off!! If you're a designer, start working with bloggers or businesses! Find what you're good at and share it with the world! It'll pay off!
-Pack your lunch! It really adds up, and can be so tasty (and usually healthier)!!
-Sell your crap! You've probably got clothes you can sell to a local consignment shop, junk you can get rid of in a yard sale, etc.!
-Carpool with friends when you go to dinners/work/etc. Paying for gas is never fun.
These might be obvious to some, but implementing them is so important, if you want to succeed! Pick one, or a few, and see how much extra money you're able to save!!! Caleb and I can't even wait to be out of debt, we know that saving our 3-6 months of emergency savings will be even easier when we don't have debt tying us down. I can't wait to get there!! Just a few months to go.
Hope everyone has a great Thursday!!
-Sit down and do a monthly budget. Look at where you spent your money last month, and cut out unnecessary spending!
-If you have talents, use them to your advantage. That's how my photography gig got started. Come up with a price point, and see if people are interested! You never know until you try. If you're into photography like me, a couple shoots here and there and you're set with a new portfolio to show off!! If you're a designer, start working with bloggers or businesses! Find what you're good at and share it with the world! It'll pay off!
-Pack your lunch! It really adds up, and can be so tasty (and usually healthier)!!
-Sell your crap! You've probably got clothes you can sell to a local consignment shop, junk you can get rid of in a yard sale, etc.!
-Carpool with friends when you go to dinners/work/etc. Paying for gas is never fun.
These might be obvious to some, but implementing them is so important, if you want to succeed! Pick one, or a few, and see how much extra money you're able to save!!! Caleb and I can't even wait to be out of debt, we know that saving our 3-6 months of emergency savings will be even easier when we don't have debt tying us down. I can't wait to get there!! Just a few months to go.
Hope everyone has a great Thursday!!
How dare you try to tell me that I don't need it! I do need it Kayla! I DO NEED MY STARBUCKS ;)
ReplyDeleteThese are really really great tips. Aaron and I did a lot of these things when we're trying to move out of the house and it made a huge difference. Plus, there's just so much stuff in your home that you honestly don't need. We all do it, we just collect without even noticing!
These are all great tips, and tips that we use too! The hardest thing for us has been cutting out the dunkin donut trips, chick-fil-a trips... they're just so yummy! But it really does add up and once you see how quickly it adds up, it makes turning it down that much easier. Way to go!
ReplyDeleteThose are some great tips! I honestly don't know how people go to Starbucks every day, but they do! Seriously that's a lot of money and time (the lines are always SO long!). We have saved a lot of money buy packing our lunches! Whether it be leftovers or a sandwich, it always helps! We also meal plan so we don't go to the store and just buy a bunch of random foods that end up going in the garbage! Meal planning has helped us so, so much! Great post, girly! We love Dave Ramsey, too!
ReplyDeleteYes! I love eBay for selling stuff! I need to get better about bringing my lunch! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! Eating out is my downfall. The best thing I've been able to do is set up direct deposit for a savings account so money goes directly in. If I don't see it in my checking, I know I can't spend it :)
ReplyDeleteWe were so gung ho at the beginning of the year and even during summer for paying off our debts and we've done a really great job! Eating out is our weakness because that's what all of our friends love to do. Moving didn't help, either, with moving trucks and application fees and all. So now we're building up the savings, paying off the little bit of moving surprise costs we put on our no interest credit card (woo hoo for being grandfathered into that one at the credit union!) and taking it one paycheck at a time. I've gotten so flustered lately, albeit I've been letting money get me way down, because it's just not getting paid fast enough. I've got down on the planner a "reassessment day" so I can look at our budget and see where I can cut. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI'm always amazed at the people who get Starbucks and/or eat out for lunch every day. I treat myself to Starbucks once a week at the most, and rarely eat out for lunch and bring leftovers and soup usually. Quitting Target can't happen with me though as I do all our grocery shopping at Super Target. You can't beat their low prices + Cartwheel + coupons + 5% off with my debit red card.
ReplyDeleteYou guys are rockin' it paying off your debt! We're slowly chipping away at ours, but would love to be on your level ;-)
Green Fashionista
These are excellent tips. I used to have lunch delivered every single day to my office and now that I pack from home, I'm baffled by how much money I'm saving. I'll admit - I'm lazy, so I usually just bring a frozen meal for lunch (and let's be honest, that doesn't compare to Jimmy John's), but I'm saving a ton, so it's worth it. An unexpected advantage of living downtown is that I can't get to Target without driving a half hour. Of course, the price of groceries downtown is ridiculous - so you win some, you lose some.
ReplyDeleteSuch good suggestions - I go through spells with Starbucks, where I stop there way too frequently. Luckily, I haven't been doing that too often!
ReplyDeleteMy biggest struggle is getting my nails done...oops! I am just horrible at painting them myself.
I have implemented the no coffee stops/packing lunches and so far I think it has really helped me save! Also the Target thing too. The last 3 times I've gone I left the store with ONLY what I went for. I call it a win!
ReplyDeleteA tip for sbux lovers - if you buy the beans for at home, save the bags and you can take the empty bags in and it gets you a free cup of coffee. We haven't paid for coffee outside of the beans at our house for awhile.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an excellent set of tips. And could not have been more perfect timing either! My husband and I just downgraded our cable in an attempt to save money. We were going to get rid of it completely, but being honest? I just could not miss the upcoming season of Fixer Upper!
ReplyDeleteThe coffee and lunch thing is huge for me... I save well over $100 a month by NOT going to Dunk's every morning (and my body thanks me too!) and lunch, I don't even want to say how much I save by bringing it to work. There was a point where I was going out to lunch every single day... ridiculous!!
ReplyDeletesometimes i wish we had cable or we regularly got starbucks, just so we could stop and save money. hahaha. but we don't, so we can't. i do agree about target though, i'm not a huge fan but if i go in there, i will spend money so i just don't go in there.
ReplyDelete