Ideas for Saving Money from our Facebook Readers . . .

Last week we asked our facebook readers to share their best tips for saving money. We got some GREAT suggestions!!  Look through these and see if there are a few that might help you reach your financial goals~

√  Definitely what has worked for us is tracking all of the expenses to help us realize (and quantify) how much we spend on things that are sometimes unnecessary. Knowing it makes it easier to say no to things down the road.

√  Plant a garden and build a greenhouse and a walipini.

√  If you have to eat out, choose to drink water. It's healthier and soft drinks are expensive.

√  Limit eating out. Also get rid of expensive cable. You'll pay a fraction of what you did getting Hulu and Netflix

√  Check out feeln.com. It's even less than Hulu or Netflix ($1.99/mo) and has a ton of awesome movies-- all family friendly.

√  We've never paid for cable unless it was free with internet. We never for Amazon, Hulu or Netflix either. If we want to see a movie we rent it for super cheap or get it free from the library.  We do have a converter for our tv, and there is plenty to watch on the internet if we get bored. We have 4 children and don't get bored, but Going for a walk for entertainment or playing board games. Or just snuggling, talking and reading out load all great ways to save $. We buy almost all our clothes at the thrift store except kids jeans. We buy most everything we might need at somebody's attic. Money goes WAY far there!!! Farther then almost any other thrift store.

√ Buy generic brands! Who cares if Kraft Mac and cheese might be way more creamy and delicious than Great Value, it still fills your stomach the same, and honestly, kids don't even have a clue what the difference is! You may only save 20¢ here and 50¢ there, but it adds up!!!

Budgeting with a cash envelope system.

√   Budgeting with a cash envelope system.

√  We got rid of cable years ago and just use an antenna and Netflix. We stopped going to the redbox for movies cause we always had the movies for 3 or more days. But the biggest way we have saved money is our garden and canning what we grow.

√  Make all meals at home create a menu, and buy ingredients you have to prep yourself... Not pre shredded or chopped.

Here are some things our readers did a few weeks ago to SAVE MONEY!!

√  Clipping coupons and making less trips to the store.

√  Less out to eat

√  Made a budget plan to save for a house.

√  Less trips to the store and sticking to my list. If it's not on the list, it doesn't go in the cart!

√  Paid off my student loans!!!

√  Eat breakfast at home and paying off loans

√  Pass on the soda!

√  Cut my cigarette smoking in half! Soon I won't be smoking at all! I wrote down how much I was spending on them and what I was having a hard time keeping stocked in my home. Quitting will give me enough money to cover all of it!

√  I parked a few blocks away and walked to work, instead of paying for parking! smile emoticon

√  Signed up for Financial Peace University!

√  I've been following couponing experts (Fun, Cheap or Free) and they tell you deals like freebies for the week. Got a free Redbox movie and planning in staying in for valentine's weekend.

√  Put together a budget and working hard to stick to it!

√  Working hard as newly wed couples to start saving!!

√  Sticking to our budget

√  Not go out to eat!

√  Used coupons

√  I shopped around and read consumer reviews before making an informed online purchase.

√  I've been thinking about how to make on of these all week BUT if I win this binder, I would saved tons of $$$ without buying the binder, tabs and paper etc! wink emoticon Plus I wouldn't really know what to name my categories. This way it's all ready to go! Thanks for a chance to win this! like emoticon

√  We are moving into an more energy efficient house with better windows so the heat doesn't escape!!!!

√  I ate out less, even when it seemed easier!

√  Paying off all our consumer debt!

√  I finally opened a savings account!

√  Well have organize all of our bills and worked on our budget

√  Switched my tv service to save $50/month...

√  Eat leftovers! wink emoticon

√  We made a plan to get out of debt over the next two years!

√  Created an excel doc to help track finances

√  Checked to see if there was a better price for our internet. Found an awesome deal on some birthday presents and was able to get 7 for under $20 total!

√  Paid off $1900 credit card!!!

√  Checked classifieds before buying something new.

√  Turning the thermostat down when we are not home for long periods of time-

√  Earlier this week I cut down on my internet speed to save $50 a month!

√  Canceled my comcast upgraded to unlimited data on my phone and tethered it to my TV with the micro USB

√  Buying only the "need" items and a lot less of the "want" items

√  Planned a grocery list for items only on sale or in season

√  Switched from whole life insurance to term.