Give yourself a cost of living raise!

These days with everything going up in cost, I thought I would share a few ways that I help pad the Stephens budget. We are very blessed, but I find myself still being frugal (it was instilled in me as a child). I do tend to have expensive taste, but try to get it at a bargain. Here are a few ways a little savings can add up. I would love to hear any others ideas as well!

• Coupons! - coupons are abundant people. It just takes a little work to save a lot. I buy the Sunday paper for $1.60. I cut at least $6-$10 worth of coupons of stuff I NORMALLY buy out of it. That's an additional $300 + a year.
• Before you go shopping to a particular store or shop online, look online for coupons & codes. CouponCabin, Retailmenot, Slickdeals, Spoofee always have the most up to date codes. I usually use ones for Home Depot, Lowes, Gymboree, Target.com, Hobby Lobby, Restaurants, etc....
• Research the internet - if you have found something specific you want, use a website like shopping.com or bizrate, and they will find the merchant that sells it for the best price
• Fatwallet - at this site you can sign up for free and receive percentages back on purchases made from various merchants on the web!
• Dollar Tree - Anytime I need balloons, gift bags, or thank you cards, I buy them here. Huge savings when you count how many b-day parties your kids go to!
• Buy in bulk when you can - At Costco, I buy meat in bulk and then divide it out. I buy a big box of Kashi cereal, wine is generally about $2 less per bottle. Dog food is $18 for a 40lb bag. Milk is only $3.15 a gallon! I only go here once a month but I estimate I will save about $500 a year on groceries items I buy in bulk.
• Consolidate your trips. I no longer drive 45 minutes to a store to buy something. It's usually cheaper to buy it online and have it shipped to you.
• When when eat out, we generally only drink water unless we are having a margarita. This saves about $300 a year right there!
• Negotiate. One of the most valuable training classes my husband did was a negotiations course. It never hurts to offer less for something. Wee offered 10% less on a house, accepted. We offered $200 less than INVOICE on a car, accepted. We negotiated commissions with realtors, accepted.
• Don't use credit cards. Interest is stupid. We never use a credit card unless it has a 0% interest rate on it.
• We only eat out generally 1-2 times a week. It really adds up and it's not that enjoyable to take 2 kids out to eat anyway unless it's 5:30 before the crowds show up.
• Shane takes his lunch to work about 4 out of the 5 days a week. This saves almost $700 a year!
• Change your thermostat. We keep the house at 77. 78 upstairs unless we are hanging out up there. Our electric bill for July was only $208 for a 3500 sqft house. I think that's pretty good. Each degree you turn it down adds about another $10-15 to the monthly bill.
• Establish a budget number with your spouse for certain events. We have a set amount we spend for b-day parties kids go to, sibling b-days, weddings, Christmas, etc...
• Give faithfully. When you give to others, and give faithfully, God will bless you not only with provision, but with others things as well. Shane and I have seen it many times in our life. Sure there are all kinds of things we could use the money for, but God has blessed us and provides for us when we least expect it. And it feels so good to do it. Nothing is ours, everything comes from him.
• See a financial planner if you haven't already. It does cost to see one, but they help you see the big picture of your financial health and help force you to save for the future and set goals and plans and how to execute them. The minute Shane and I were engaged, we started seeing one.