Finding Frugal

It isn’t getting easier right now with the economy. Everything is going up in price. Our income however- is not. Each week gets more and more squeezed as we try to make it paycheck to paycheck- forget about tucking anything away to save.

For me I am having a difficult time trying to be more frugal. We don’t eat out regularly, and that is fine with me. We don’t eat steak, or other pricey foods. We don’t have a morning latte to stop drinking every morning. I am even buying generic body wash.

What can we do to cut back more?

There has to be something I am missing, and I was hoping with some digging, and the help of you guys, I could come up with some new ideas to see a little more cash at the end of the month.

What are the best websites to learn about frugal smarts?

What have you done to cut corners when you were in a pinch?

How do I save money when I don’t see money to save?

Possible solutions we can’t do:

• Work overtime {not that we wouldn’t we just can’t}.
• Get a second job {again, would if we could}.
• Become the next coupon nut- we have no double stores here, but I do use the coupons I can find.

My first plan of action:

1. Ask myself if everything I start to put in my cart is need or want.
2. Look up frugal dinner menus.
3. Save money to cancel our satellite so we don’t overdraft our bank account with the fee when I break the contract.
4. Make a monthly dinner menu, and stick to it like super glue.
5. Get all of our bills in a spreadsheet so I can easily see what we are spending each month, and see when reduction plans are working, also as a way to systematically pay off debt.
6. Buy as much as I can on sale, with coupons, or off brand.
7. Pretend like we just got a pay cut, and we have no option but to spend less.

How you can help:

• Share your tips and favorite sites.
• Write a guest post about how you became frugal. 
• Share your best pennywise recipes.
• Fill me in on what I am missing.

So- will you help me? Each week I plan to post some little frugal nugget- either something I have discovered on my own- or something one of you has shared. I hope to quickly make it to the head of the class in frugality.