I was working part time as a hostess at a restaurant and Josh was working as a bellman/valet at a hotel
I wasn't making much but it was enough to pay for groceries and gas (which was a lot considering we were both driving 30 minutes to get to work).
Josh was making tons in tips at his job and that gave us more than enough for rent. We could go out to eat as much as we wanted to, we could go shopping, and not have to plan out our purchases!
When we moved up to Utah we knew that my income was going to be our sole income, for a while at least.
It was definitely a lot harder to make ends meet. Although it isn't fun having to watch what I spend, it is a skill I will always keep with me!
Here is what I do to save money and make it last:
Plan your meals for an entire month! I will be making a whole post devoted to this concept because I am that passionate about it! I use to think it was too hard to plan out a whole month worth of meals until I tried it. I save time and money by buying things in bulk at the beginning of each month and I am able to motivate myself to try new recipes by planning it into my month. (Josh loves when I try new recipes!)
Shop discount and thrift stores Josh has a thing for Nike. He refuses to wear any other kind of athletic apparel. Did you know that they sell Nike at Ross? The other day I got him some Nike leggings (are they still called that when they're in the guys section?) that were originally $90...for only $19! And a Nike shirt that was nearly $20 off! I've gotten a lot of our decor from Ross. I got one of my favorite coats from a thrift store. There's good stuff out there, you just need to spend some time to search for it!
Shop off season I try to buy all of my bathing suits in the fall and winter when they are on sale. Winter coats? Buy them in the spring when stores are trying to clear their racks to make room. I always go to Target to buy "Halloween" candy the day after Halloween-it's still fall, the colors are the same...why is it on sale? Who knows. But I totally take advantage of it!
Don't shop a sale just because it's a sale How many times do you go shopping just because there's a sale? I have and I sometimes do! But why go shopping when you don't need anything? Save that money for when you do need it! Of course there are exceptions to that rule: when I go grocery shopping and they are cereal on sale, I'll buy it because I know Josh will be needing cereal the next week. But I don't go shoe shopping just for the fun of it.
Don't use a gift card just because you have one Target gift cards are one of my favorite things ever. When we got married we got tons of gift cards to Target and Bed Bath and Beyond. I didn't go out shopping there just because we could. I waited until we needed something to use the gift card. This came in handy when we moved to Utah and needed to buy a lot more...like a microwave, things for our second bathroom, etc.
Find ways to make a little extra A popular way to make a little extra money here is to donate plasma! It takes about an hour to donate plasma and you're able to make $25-30 each donation-they pay you for your time (and you are helping people! They are able to make medicine with the plasma that is donated).
Sell your old things As long as you take good care of your stuff, why not try to sell it once you're done with it? We take our old clothes to Plato's Closet when we don't wear them often enough. There are tons of Facebook pages that you are able to sell things on. I'm part of 3 "indoor yard sales" and take full advantage of it with selling things AND with buying things.
Plan out your purchases This is a new thing for me. Josh and I both get paid every 2 weeks. I made a list of things that we "need" and things that we "want." I'm able to look at this list and decide when to buy things. For example, when I knew my car registration was coming up, I was able to plan when the best week would be to pay for that. If there isn't a "need" I am able to decide if it is a good week to get a "want."
What do you think? Pretty easy little changes, huh? It was definitely a transition to go from buying what I wanted to needing to plan out my purchases. But I am so glad I've been able to learn these things.
What ways do you save money? What have you learned over the years and how do you stick to your budget??
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