I am always curious how people find Northern Cheapskate, so I love looking at the statistics for this blog.
About a week ago, I noticed something that saddened me. Someone had found my blog by searching "I can't save any money right now."
It seemed so helpless. It seemed so sad. And I know that this person is NOT the only one who feels this way.
Well, I am just one of many, many people who will tell you, that YES. You can can save money right now! And in this economy you MUST save money right now!
So how can you save when you are flat-out broke?
The first step is to document every single penny you spend for a week. Tracking your spending for a month is even better. This will give you a very good idea of what your strengths and weaknesses are when it comes to how you spend your money.
The second step is to think small. It's overwhelming to think "I need to save $500 now." Instead, think about saving 50-cents here and $1 there. That money will add up. And once you get caught by the savings bug, you will discover that it gets easier to find money to save.
I have also been thinking about what changes we could make right now if our situation required us to cut our expenses.
Here are things we could cut:
Satellite Television. ($69/month) We could watch television online, or not at all.
Unlimited Long-Distance on our landline ($19.95/month) We could use calling cards or find other internet-based alternatives.
Cell phones ($49/month) This would be tough, but we lived for 20+ years without cell phones. We could do it again if we had to.
Eating Out ($150/month) Once again, tough, but healthier for us.
Newspapers and Magazines ($25/month). We could use the library or read articles online.
Extra trips to town ($24/month) We could plan our shopping trips better so that we would make less trips.
Note: I would not eliminate our internet. There are so many things you can do on the internet that can contribute to saving money. From finding deals and printing coupons to getting information on DIY projects, to working from home, there are just too many benefits to it to eliminate it from the budget.
Then, I would take a good look around my house for things I could sell. Books, CDs, DVDs, and electronics would be the first to go. Clothes could go on consignment. Other household items could be listed on eBay. I would be on the hunt for any spare change I could find. I would also think about holding a garage sale.
I would start looking at other ways to earn a little extra money. I could baby-sit, pet-sit, or house-sit. I could mow lawns or cook meals for a house-bound senior citizen. I could freelance. I could teach a community ed class.
There are always ways to find money. But you have to take a good hard look at your personal situation. What are you willing to give up? What are you willing to do?
Friday, October 10, 2008
How to Save When You Think You Can't
12 comments:
Love to see this! If I would do it all over again, since hind sight is 20/20, I thought I'd share.... I would have had all our children in cloth diapers more than I already did. Over the course of being "quite frugal" my biggest savings came with using homemade (fitted, hook&looped) flannel diapers, wash clothes instead of boughten wipes, and homemade baby food. I was able to stay home with 4 kiddos! Now as they are all in school, many of the expenses are more "necessary" than before due to school requirements. We too could cut out cable, sell things, and turn down our heating more than we do, but are able to choose not too. I hope that all your readers can see that the sharing of ideas can create great savings and more importantly a comforting lifestyle.
In Portugal, we are in a very bad situation too... We too had to cut a lot of stuff :(
sadly we don't have that coupons thing :/ keep educating about how to save money! 'cause sometimes we need others to say what we already know but don't do :)
I already live with a minimum of costs for items and services, but whenever I write a check or use my debit card, I round up to the nearest dollar when I deduct it from my balance. It makes my checkbook easier to balance because I always work with full dollar amounts, and it saves money a little at a time! I know Bank of America offers this as a service, now, but I'd rather be in control.
Right on! These are all things that we need to rethink as everything can be on the table during crunch time. Necessity is the mother of invention... nothing like being pressed against the wall to encourage creative thinking!
Great post. I am always looking for ways to save money.
Our cellphones are about $80 a month! It's TOO high, but I can't find another plan with the same minutes for less. We even have the least amount of minutes possible :(
Oh, how do you check the statistics for your blog? I'm not sure I can do that on mine.
The problem with 52 percent of Americans is they wait until the economy forces them to skimp and scrape and then they can't save when it's too late.
They could have been saving all along, but they can't seem to think past Friday night.
It's a crazy world out there right now and the economy is waking people up. It's too bad that even this economy will not wake people up enough.
If people could only get honest with themselves. The problem is all in their head, but they will continue to blame it on everything else.
It's frustrating for me, because I see people every day who just want to stay ignorant about their money.
Dave Drew
Your Money Saving Coach
www.yourmoneysavingcoach.com
great tips!
Where are you in MN? I live in Taylors Falls. I love your pictures!
@Mom Mom: Try statcounter.com for finding out your stats. I also like Google Analytics.
@ bridget: I'm in Northern MN... up on the Iron Range! I've been to Taylor Falls, it's pretty!
Thanks, Christina!
Hi Christina,
I second the babysitting idea. Last night I made $40 watching a 7-year-old boy who is no trouble. Well, unless you define "trouble" as "talks endlessly about Pokemon cards."
Ninety minutes after I got there, he went to bed. The rest of the evening I did homework -- and came home feeling relieved that I'd gotten so much done. And that I was $40 richer.
Maybe they don't pay this well ($10 an hour) everywhere, but I still say go for it. Find out what local teenagers are getting for babysitting and promote yourself as a responsible adult who reads stories, plays board games, straightens up the living room and never calls boys. ;-)
Here's another idea: Recycling aluminum cans, if they do this in your region. Every time you take a walk, bring a bag and pick up cans that you see. You're beautifying the neighborhood and making a few bucks along the way. It's not MUCH money, but I agree that when you're trying to save ANY money then even the small contributions are to be celebrated.
Thanks for inspiring others.
As far as cheap entertainment, and following up on the recycling idea...
try paperbackswap.com, swapadvd.com, and swapacd.com. Great places to trade what you have for what you want!
Another thing you might want to look into is checking out the various coupon and deal sites around the internet; http://www.thriftfeeds.com,
http://www.retailmenot.com,
http://www.buxr.com
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