Money saving secrets to keep green in your wallet
10 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Playing a game of bocce ball in their front yard isn't uncommon for the Stephens family. Not only does it get everyone involved, but it saves mom Kelly money.
“More goes into the gas tank and the food than it used to,” she said. “So you have to cut corners other places.”
And entertainment is one of them. Instead of going to the movies, Kelly and her three children rent them, or go to the dollar theatre. They've cut down eating out from once a week to once a month.
“You just got to pay attention to where all your dollars are going and make sure what you're purchasing is a smart purchase and that you're not wasting your money,” Kelly said.
3 Ways You Can Save Money
1. Know where your money is going: Force yourself to write down every expense
2. Think about what you're spending: Go to the store with a list and don't impulse buy.
3. Think ahead and plan long term: Plan meals for dinner before you go to the store and buy back-to-school clothes year round.
She's cut back around the house, too.
She doesn't have a land-line phone anymore, just cell phones. And she hasn't turned her air conditioner on yet either.
“I learned at a young age the difference between your want and your need,” she said.
But she still can't seem to save money. That's because most of it is fueling her gas-guzzling SUV—$280 a month.
We asked Kelly for a list of her monthly expenses.
Her car payment is $425 and her insurance is $118. She spends $400 on food and $255 on utilities. DirectTV is $78 and the internet is $21. She has a no-interest loan on her furniture that’s $55 a month and her mortgage is $902. She pays $25 for her credit card and $350 on cell phones.
She realizes money is tight and can only stretch so far. Meaning her kids and their extracurricular activities sometimes gets left out.
“That's kind of tough as a parent,” Kelly said. “You want your kids to do whatever they want to do, but obviously you're not going to do that but that's kind of hard when you have to tell them no.”
We wanted to help Kelly save money for her kids' college and savings account, so we brought in financial expert, Jackie Blaesi-Freed with Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc.
“Money's a difficult thing to handle,” Jackie said.
Jackie immediately found one area Kelly could cut costs: internet and cable. She suggests getting a package deal or using other cable companies as bargaining tools for a cheaper price.
Kelly's car is also eating up much of her budget. But before buying a new economy-sized car, Jackie says make sure it's worth it.
“If you end up with a lot larger payment, you have to decide if saving the gas money really evens out,” Jackie said.
Handy Worksheets
HCCI has some very helpful worksheets to help you track your spending and keep on budget. Select and download from the list below:
If you think you've heard every money saving tip there is, we found one you probably haven't.
Cut back on your grocery budget and trips to the store by leaving the shopping cart here and using local resources like food sharing programs at Let's Help. All it is is buying in bulk.
You can order your entire food order for the month online or just stop by. Jackie says you could save almost 50 percent on groceries. Also, check out angelfoodministries.com.
“It's not charity, it's not income based,” Jackie said. “It's just people who got together and decided if they can buy in bulk like Dillons can, then they can get things cheaper for folks.”
As for entertainment, the library has movies you can check out for free, not to mention the internet, books, video games and air conditioning.
All these are local resources that save money and help you live within your means.
Jackie says the best first step for Kelly to get started is to track her expenses and come up with some goals.
“Do this for two weeks, three weeks and I guarantee you there's going to be one category you're going to look at and go wow. I had no idea I was spending that much there,” Jackie said.
“Just having it on paper, I think you're right,” said Kelly. “I had it in my head. I know what the right thing is to do. I know what my wants and needs are, but that doesn't mean that's always what happens with it.”
Comments
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May. 22, 2008 at 10:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)MarkHastings (anonymous)
The internet provides great tools to save, especially deals tracking websites (like Unodeals - my favourite). By saving hundered's of dollars on electronics, computers, kids items etc. they help us to never fall on hard times.
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