Spending less from less

I know it has been a long time since I have posted. It has been a slightly stressful year. I am once again trying to figure out how to save some money out of not much money. I think I go through this every year about this time when review the years finances and realize you are barely getting by with your bills paid. I do miss the days when spending an extra 60 - 100 a week on whatever without much thought to how it was effecting the bank book. Those days are gone. The trucking business is not what it used to be, the loads are cheap and getting harder to get with lots of over the road drivers turning to local work. 10 loads to 60 drivers is getting ridiculous but it is the career my hubby has and knows like the back of his hand. With just 7 yrs left before retirement it looks like we are just going to have to adjust more than we already have over the last few years. I just don't know how. I have watched our yearly income drop from 45 to 26 with help from family and yes even some from the government. I feel frustrated and overwhelmed at times. I used to know how to live on 800 a month, but that was no phone, computer, tv and not going anywhere except to dr appointments, those were horrible times and impossible now. So I have spent the evening looking for anything that will help me cut expenses. Blogs about not buying anything for a year has been my focus this year. I have to admit there are some things I have purchased this past year that I could have gone without. I'm looking right at the packages that come in the mail a few days ago.. a new foot for my sewing machine and some cotton cord for making my own piping and of course 2 yds of fabric. Are you making the same excuses I am... but those are for your crafts, your going to be making things with those. Yeah, I justify things like that BUT I totally shouldn't. I have fabric, I could make stuff that didn't require piping and then that would have eliminated the need for the piping foot. The point is some purchases could be avoided if I truly tried hard enough. I can't say that it will give us great savings BUT it could put an extra 20 in my pocket at the end of the month. Hey, who knows I might save enough to make an extra car payment! I wasn't having much luck with with the sites I was reading. I mean seriously... one guy saved 44 grand in one year by not spending a grand a week one god knows what! Or the girl who had a shopping addiction to buying clothes or shoes or eating out every night with her besties and saved nearly 10 grand. I never seem to find the posts that I can truly relate to. Like the fortune 500 lady that is going to forgo buying new clothes and cosmetics. Hahaha, as if I buy clothes and cosmetics!! I am making my resolution to not spend any "extra" money on things we truly don't need. The birds can find their own food and so can the deer. The dogs can do without doggiebones and the cats don't really need treats. Hubby doesn't need ice cream and I can do without... I want to say craft supplies but I know that wont do cause I already have an order waiting to be filled, shipped and paid for. I'm not sure what I can do without, I guess that extra yd of fabric that I really didn't need, just wanted.

Still searching for those Money saving tips...

Well if you really know me, you know I am always trying to find a way to save a buck here and there. I am constantly browsing sites and reading articles to find anything that will work for me...the lower class of society. It can be funny at times and other times very frustrating. I mean most of the stuff I have looked at it based towards the middle class and most of their advice is to spend money to save money. Well golly gee...If I had the money to spend in the first place, I wouldn't be soo friggin desperate to save some money. Of course I'm talking about RIGHT NOW (this week preferably), not 20 years down the road. I mean yeah it would be nice to look that far ahead, but if I can't save a few bucks this week or the next or the next, then how in the heck am I to save for the distant future? Gezzz!

Here are a few of my latest finds. Source: Money saving tips: 122 ways to trim your budget. http://frugaldad.com/2009/05/06/ultimate-money-saving-tips-collection/


1) Make your own Christmas presents. To be honest I haven't done Christmas in 3 years already and am very satisfied to be out from under that financial stress of a money grubbing holiday.

2) Cut your own hair. Been doing that all my life.

3) Dry cleaners?? Really? Never been to one.

4) Ride a bike. Yup I really do need to do this one, but it seriously won't save me any money until I can get good at riding it 60 miles round trip and add a tow trailer behind it to carry all my goods. Not very practical.

5) Don't worry about upgrading to the latest technology. You have got to be kidding?? I still get laughed at cause my cell phone is just a phone! No pics, no ring tones, no email, no texting...ect..just a phone. We did upgrade our tv 2 years ago, but only out of necessity. The old fashioned tv was dying. We don't have recording devices and our only dvd player is the travel one I bought the hubs a few years back. The funny thing is that some of the things we wanted to get, are already obsolete. There is just no keeping up with all the new things that come out.

11) Okay this one is good. Find things in the store that are basically the same but cheaper cause they are in a different section of the store. Hubby sent me to get him some plastic gloves for oil changes. Naturally you think oil changes...automotive..right? Not! The ones in the automotive section are a few pairs and cost more. I found a large box in the medical supplies (50 pairs) for just a few bucks more and just as disposable. They will last him a few years vs a few months.

12) Stop buying disposable things. (Ignore the last statement..LOL!) Now I admit I am a paper plate junkie, but of course the cheapest and highest quantity I can find (usually Walgreen's..99 cents with coupon). I did cut back on paper towels and opted for the regular hand towel.

17) Check you print preview to be sure your not going to be wasting a second sheet of paper for the last few unnecessary lines. Yup that's a good one! I hate wasting that extra sheet!

20) Car expenses and minor repairs. DIY! Paying someone else to do the simple things like airing up a tire, or filling the windshield washer fluid, is simply a waste of money. I mean we do have Utube and such, these things are very easy to do or learn to do.

I have read a lot of talk about cutting the cable off or downsizing your subscription. This would be great if we was the type to go out to the movies or something like that on a fairly regular basis. BUT our cable is our only entertainment. Yes it would free up 60 bucks a month, but if we was to use that for a night out, it would only be 2 nights of the whole month! The WHOLE month! Me and him in a room with nothing to do but talk, yikes! NOT going to happen! LOL!

(so far these are things that don't or can't apply to me or things I have already done, not much help for finding that extra buck or two right now, but I continue the quest.) Hope yall might get some use out of these ideas and don't forget to check out that website.