There's a cool article in Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine about how to save $50 a day in spending cuts.


Save $50 a Day (And Feel No Pain)." Kiplinger's Personal Finance. Mar2009, 63 (3) : 49-57.


Some of their tips were the old tried and true taking your lunch to work, paying off credit card debt, etc. Some were more innovating, like energy saving appliances, light bulbs, and fuel efficient cars. But the one about drinking Dunkin Donuts coffee instead of Starbucks kind of got me. How can they suggest that paying a little less for coffee by going to Dunkin Donuts is frugal? They don't even mention the possibility of taking your own hot java to work in a thermos or filling up at the office coffee pot. Weird.

Howdy, partners. I have just made an addition to my Conference Challenge of $35.20. I had pocket change in my purse, my coat, and just all over the place. Plus I had some lunch money left over from this week. This brings my total to $1617.74.

Well, as of late, I feel kind of like a chicken missing its own head. At my work, carpet is being laid in my area beginning March 13th. It will take about 1 week to do the entire floor. I have to finish up some projects I am working on and also take everything off the tops of my file cabinets, my desk, and my credenza. Oh well, that's almost done, but the nasty part where they stir up a lot of dust has yet to begin.

I also have some presentations to put together for conferences I am going to. I am going to one conference in April in a nearby town and big one in June. I have to put together presentations for both of them. I have registered for the first conference, but still have to do hotel reservations. I have arranged to share a hotel room for that conference, cutting my hotel costs in half. For the second conference, I have not made any travel arrangements yet, but I will have 2 roommates for that one. My boss is happy about that one, as my hotel costs will be cut from about $1200 to around $400. My pocketbook is happy too and the pressure to get together $2000 is not so heavy, but I am still scrambling to round up spare change, survey money, and rebate money. I am not desperate, but I don't want to be without, either. I do not want to use the credit card. My head is spinning.

Well, the early Christmas present I blogged about recently was a mistake, apparently the result of an absent minded data entry. The bill we received that indicated the bill was $150.00 lower than we thought it should was incorrect. Oh well, we will live and we will pay off the rest of the debt. I haven't written the check for this month's payment, but I will later.

I have added more money to the Conference Challenge recently, bringing the balance to $1581.94.

I also got paid yesterday. More money went to my savings. We also received our federal tax refund recently. We bought a PS3 with part of it (not my idea - it was dh) and also got some work done on the cart with part of it. At this point, I took control and insisted that we put the rest into savings, bringing the balance to $597.35. Today, we got our state tax refund and I took charge. I put it in my checking. As soon as I can make it so, it will be making its way to the credit card company. Apparently, I need to take charge once in awhile to make serious headway with finances.

More money was also added to my retirement, bringing the balance to $13,301.98.

I also went grocery shopping today. I used coupons, my own bags, and bought sale items at the grocery store which gave me $3.84 off my bill. I also went to Walgreens and bought Nature Made vitamins for buy one get one free. I had a $1.00 off coupon for each bottle. I also bought a small plastic bottle to use for cleanser on my trip in June (my skin is sensitive, so I can't use hotel soap) and had a coupon for 99 cents to buy the bottle. I also bought a package of quart size zip top bags for 99 cents with a Walgreens coupon. As I was checking out, I noticed I saved $11.79 and spent $9.23. Woo-hoo!

At Dollar General, I bought a few things. I bought two CFL bulbs. They had tear off rebate forms for GE lightbulbs. After rebate, you basically get one lightbulb free. So, if you are in the need for CFL bulbs, check out Dollar General. I bought two 60 watt CFL bulbs for $8.00, but I will get $4.00 back.

Today there was a big sale at the Big Lots, but you had to take a special 20% off coupon.

I took the opportunity to stock up. I bought dishwasher powder, 14 cans of cat food, a box of tea, dishwashing liquid, 2 foil pouches of tuna, travel size toiletry bottles, and packages of chicken and tuna salad with crackers. I wish I had know about it before I did my regular shopping there on Saturday. I could have delayed that for one day. Oh well. I will watch my email ads closer next time.

Well, I have had a very interesting week. We received a new billing statement for Hospital Debt #2 which stated that the amount due was $1777.60, not $1927.60. This was certainly news to us, as we were prepared to continued paying until all $1927.60 was paid off, but I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. I do remember that when I had to take DH to the hospital, we made a claim to the VA for that visit. Maybe they are finally paying something on that. I don't know, but I am not going to call and ask. To me, it's just a blessing.

In addition, I sent another $75.00 payment on Hospital Debt #2, bringing the balance to $1702.60.

I also sent a $20.00 payment to Hospital Debt #1, bringing the balance to $858.58.

I paid the water and phone bills and will have to pay rent later this month.

I went shopping for groceries. At Big Lots, I bought chicken broth, tomato paste, pasta, trail mix, crushed red peppers, and bread for $12.66.

At Dollar General, I bought shampoo, ketchup, crackers, a Chinese food dinner, peanut butter, an LED nightlight, toilet paper, and dishwasher powder. I used $0.85 in coupons and spent $18.20.

At my regular grocery store, I used $7.26 in coupons and sales, and used my own bags. I spent $50.06.

I was also paid yesterday. More money went into my retirement, bring the balance to $13,492.37. I also automatically deposited money to my savings, bringing the balance to $100.00.

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As an addendum, I wanted to say that I forgot to update my Conference Challenge. Due to dumping some spare change into it recently, it has jumped to $1504.82. As soon as I get something straightened out with my debit card, I will dump $80.00 more into it.

Well, I got paid yesterday. $20.00 went directly into my savings without me ever seeing it. Yeah! This brings my balance to $80.00. My employer sent more money to my retirement, bring my balance to $13,695.70.

Today, I went grocery shopping. At Dollar General, I bought crackers, peanut butter, mayo, and tuna fish in foil pouches. I used $0.85 in coupons and spent $11.70.

At Big Lots, I bought cat food, tea bags, and a loaf of bread. I spent $7.19.

At Dillons, I bought numerous things, but the most remarkable was the 18 oz container of Quaker Oatmeal that was on sale 2 for $4.00. I had a coupon for $0.60, which was doubled to $1.00, so I got my oatmeal for $1.00. At that price, I could have bought two, but I also have some other upcoming expenses that I need to budget for. I also bought two Scotch Bright scouring sponges for $1.00 each. I had a $0.75 coupon which was doubled to $1.00, giving me a free sponge. My total savings with coupons, sales, and bringing my own bags at this store came to $8.97.

I also set aside $80.00 for the Conference Challenge, bringing my balance to $1469.76. Oops. I found some change that I added to my Conference Challenge, bringing my balance to $1473.62.

I really love this game. This is fun and it gives me stuff that I need.

Well, today was a spending and saving day. I have my checking and savings accounts at different places (for good reason), so I went to an atm and got $80 out ($20 for my mad money, $40 for set aside for my conference in June, and $20 for savings). I went to the credit union and deposited the $20 to my savings, bringing the balance to $60. Yes, I have $60 in my savings!

At Dollar Tree, I bought 3 quarts of broth and 1 package of bubble mailers for $4.29. This is a really good deal on this stuff, as broth at my grocery store is about $3.00 for just 1 quart. This is the cheapest for buying bubble mailers also.

At Dollar General, I bought Electrasol, mayonaisse, crackers, tuna fish in foil packets, and an LED nightlight for $14.22. I used $0.75 in coupons here.

At Big Lots, I bought cat food, a canister of raisins, and an 8 oz measuring cup for $8.05. The only thing I don't like about this store is that you can't use coupons, but they have very good deals on stuff.

At my regular grocery store, I used 4 coupons which were all doubled, used my own bags, and bought as much as I could on sale. My savings was $12.40 and I spent $46.67.

For the most part, the coupons are courtesy of some very nice coupon trading partners at Thriftyfun.com. I have not drastically reduced my spending as a result, but I have reduced it and it has allowed me to weather the budget storms a little more easily.

At Walgreens, I bought some Duracell batteries which were on sale $2.00 off. I also had a $0.75 coupon and the capability of sending in a $3.00 rebate, bringing the cost of the batteries from $11.99 down to about $6.24. Woo-hoo!

Wow. This is weird. This has not happened to me in a long time. It is now Friday and next Friday is my next payday. I just paid the rent for February and made a credit card payment. I still have $334 in my checking account. The only thing I have to do in the next seven days is set aside money for my conference trip ($40) and buy groceries (~$80). Because we haven't been driving much, our gas tanks are nearly full. I think I will put $20 into my savings "just because." This is nice.

Well, I got paid again yesterday and went shopping today. My savings deposits automatically come out of my pay and into the savings account at a credit union. My savings balance is now $40.00. That doesn't sound like much, but I haven't had that much in savings in months. (Yeah!)

I went to Walgreens and bought Qtips, Bic shavors, Band-aids, Blue Diamond Almonds, Walgreens brand liquid hand soap, Crest Glide Floss, a birthday card, and Oil of Olay fash wash. Three of the items were on sale and everything except the birthday card I had a manufacturer coupon for. For the almonds, I also had a Walgreens coupon for Buy one get one free. I saved over $10.65. Woo-hoo!

At Dillons, I bought quite a few things, too numerous to mention here, and had several coupons amounting to $3.45. Two of them were doubled, several things were on sale, and I took my own bags. Total savings amounted to $8.53.

At Dollar Tree, I only bought puffy shipping envelopes. It's silly, I know, but it is the best place in town to buy them. The post office charges highway robbery rates for them.

At Big Lots, I paid $15.02 for several things I needed.

Recently, I discovered it is possible to use coupons at Dollar General, my favorite place to buy peanut butter, Hellman's mayonnaise, and cat food. I used $2.00 in coupons here.

Some of the items I bought today were stock up items using coupons that would expire soon. But I feel really good about it.

I also put some money into the Conference Challenge, bring my total to $1343.76.

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Oh, as an update, I will add that I made another payment on Hospital Debt #1, bringing the balance to $878.58.

I also filled a customer satisfaction survey for Walgreens. I know that some people say those things are nonsense, but one time I did actually win a $5.00 gift card. This month, the prize is $1,000. I could definitely have that.

Today, I went grocery shopping. My money for shopping was limited due to an out of town trip I had to make for work yesterday. I will be reimbursed for the mileage on that trip, but I won't get it until the end of the month. The bad thing is that I would have like to have done some stock-up shopping like I did last weekend, because there were some things which were on sale that I also had coupons for.

At Dollar General, I bought trash bags, mayonaisse, and tuna fish in foil packs for $11.64. I figure I saved at least $5.00 here, because all of this stuff is a lot higher at my regular grocery store.

At Walgreens, I had a raincheck from last week for Hunt's Tomato Sauce at 3 for $1.00 with a store coupon. The store is completely out last week, so I got a rain check. Total cost $2.12 and saving 66%.

At Dillons, ground chuck was on sale for 30% off, which amounted to $2.44 a pound. That's cheaper than regular ground beef at Aldi's. I also bought some Chicken of the Sea tuna salad in little cups that I think will make awesome lunch when combined with some bread, an apple, and some trail mix. Apples in the produce aisle were 10 pounds for $10.00. Wow. I also used my own bags. All this amount to $5.96 off.

The total amount I budgeted for groceries was $60.00 and total spent was $55.25. I didn't use any coupons, but didn't have any that were for what I needed to buy, but I will need to buy a lot of other things next week for which I do have coupons. I am so happy that I'm almost dancing.

Well, I went for a visit to my chiropractor who does acupuncture and other alternative medicine. She said I am pretty ship shape for a change. When I first started going to her about 1 year ago, I had eczema on my back so bad that it was making me scratch all the time. My asthma was majorly bad, too. I have tried all the standard treatments of inhalers, pills, and allergy shots and nothing worked until I started getting acupuncture and taking vitamins and minerals. So hoo-ray there!

I am also a member at Thrifty Fun (

Hello, everyone. Well, today was a no spend day for me. I know I have had some in the past, but I just realized that I should try to keep track.

My hubby gave me excess, loose pocket change today. Who am I to turn it down? It is found money and therefore goes to the challenge, bringing my total to $1254.97.

I had great success at Walgreens today. I bought about $32.00 worth of merchandise for $16.01. For everything I bought, I had coupons (except the shampoo) and they were on sale. (I should add here that I planned out my shopping list extensively on paper and did not buy anything that I want rather than need.)

Palmolive detergent 10 oz (Qty=2) - I had a $0.50 manufacturer coupon plus a Walgrees coupon for $1.00 for each bottle, plus it was on sale for $1.79. If I tallied it up correctly ($2.58 - $2.00 - $0.50), it came to $0.08 I spent on it. I have never used this brand, but I thought why not?

Tom's of Maine toothpaste 6 oz (Qty=2) - I always buy this brand of toothpaste and have, until recently, been able to get it at Big Lots for $2.50. It was on sale for $3.99 and I had coupons for $1.00 for each tube.

White Rain Shampoo $1.00 (Qty=1) - This shampoo was on sale for $1.00 for 18 oz. I didn't need shampoo right now, but this is the brand I buy and I have been wanting to do a stock-up of certain things as a type of savings account.

Nature Made B Complex vitamins (Qty=2) - These vitamins were on sale buy one get one free. I also had coupons I downloaded from the manufacturer website for $1.00 each, bringing the total to $3.24 each.

I did pretty good with my other shopping too. I saved $0.50 at Dollar General because Cottonelle toilet paper was on sale. I also saved $5.37 at Dillons with coupons, sales, and using my own bags. This feels good. I like this game.

I was talking to the hubby tonight about our finances. I gave him an update on the amount left to pay on our medical debts. He asked if he thought we should use the tax refund to pay off mine, the lesser of the two. I said absolutely, but that it will still a little over $100 that we have to pay. After I go to my conference next June, I will get a $1500 reimbursement check towards the end of June. I can use that to pay the rest of my medical debt and a good hunk of his. He proposed this whole payoff strategy. I was very surprised to say the least. Usually, he wants to blow part of the tax refund on shineys. Things are looking good, as his attitude is changing. I think it is because he wants to buy a house and I don't feel comfortable doing so until the medical debt is paid off, which will free up our budget somewhat.

Well, today was payday, so I have updated my totals at the right.

1) Hospital Debt #2 paid $75.00 on it, bringing it down to $1927.60

2) Paid $66.00 to cc - must get total and update it later

3) deposited $20.00 to savings, bringing my total to $20.00. I had to deposit $5.00 just to open the account and that was all I had at the time.

4) was supposed to set aside $80.00 for the conference challenge, but something went kafluey with my order at Sonic today and it wound up being only $68.00. I will get more money tomorrow to bring the total to $1264.46.

My net worth is going up a little. Cool. I plan to shop at Walgreens and other stores tomorrow and use the coupons I cut from the walgreens circular, the Sunday paper, and ones that other people sent to me. I must go now and make my shopping list.

Maybe you all have already seen this, but while eating lunch today, I perused the Walgreens ad and coupons. They had 3 coupons I clipped for using on Saturday when I will do my shopping:

- 3 for $1.00 on hydrogen peroxide
- 3 for $1.00 on Hunt's Tomatoes Sauce
- Save up to $10.00 on several items, including Soft Soap, Tom's of Maine, Colgate, Palmolive, Irish Spring, etc.

I am not sure how much peroxide I will buy, but at any rate, I do need it and it will only cost me $0.33 a bottle. There is a limit of 6 on the Hunt's Tomatoes Sauce and I use it a lot, so I will probably buy the limit. I can't get that brand anywhere cheaper than that. I use Tom's of Maine toothpaste a lot and wish I could buy more than 2, but there is a limit. I don't usually use Palmolive, but unless I can get Dawn at Big Lots at $1.60 (which does happen sometimes), this looks like a good deal. I also need Nature Made vitamins which are on sale Buy One Get One Free. I watch for that sale, as it happens once about every couple of months.

I totalled up what I think all of what I want to buy would normally cost and what it will cost with the coupons and sale and there is almost a 50% savings. Wa-hoo!

Hello, folks.

Someone else mentioned that they had used rewards points on a credit card to pay down their debt. The only things I was aware of that I could get from mine was cash (but you had to have about 10,000 points), merchandise which I have no intention of using, or useless gift cards. Well, tonight as I sit here eating my frugal tuna salad with peas, I thought "why not?". So, I logged in to see if I could use my points for anything like getting cash via paypal, check, etc. Something useful would be nice. Well, miracles, miracles. I could cash in my points and get a check or get a credit on my credit card. I could also get gift cards. I decided to go for option #2. Paying down the debt is going to give me a better return than anything else. It wasn't very much, considering the amount owed on the card, but it is something. Once it posts, I will log into networthiq and update my debt total. Cool. I feel very accomplished and blessed. Thank you to whoever mentioned that in their blog.

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As an update to this, I will log in and check my rewards occasionally, and if I have enough, I will keep doing this.

I subscribe to a lot of email newsletters about health and money and a link to this was in one of them. The author has a lt of practical ideas about how to attract wealth. I thought I would share it with all of you.

Yes, ladies and gents. I am another year older, but that's okay. I feel better and am in better shape than I was ten years ago.

I was cruising around on youtube today and wondered if there were any videos about saving money. There are several videos about a family named Economides (supposely their real name), but these are only a couple of them. They also have their own website where they produce a newsletter.

America's Cheapest Family Saving Money

Well, today I went grocery shopping. I bought the usual grocery stuff and cat food.

Dillons $43.69
Big Lots $11.16
Dollar Tree $6.44
Aldi $9.17

Total spent: $79.63

Yes, I have a savings account! The balance over on the left side says $0.00 because the $5.00 has to stay in the account.

I had not checked me my retirement account in about 6 months. I was sort of afraid to do so with the way the economy has been going, but I had to do it today to rebalance my account. It actually only went down by a small amount. The value is currently $13007.65.

Do any of you have a spouse who is not completely on board with debt payment? Or how about expecting you to shoulder the debt and other bills while they do not work? My dh and I have been together for over 10 years and married for over 8 years. During that time, he has had a few jobs, mostly labor or simple office work. He is disable from when he was in the military and so there are certain kinds of work he cannot do. But a friend of his is starting a publishing company and has asked him to write a book. So far, he says he is doing "research." I myself have written about 4 articles for professional journals in the time that he is still doing "research." If he did successfully publish a book, he could completely pay off our debt, but he does not seem motivated. What do you do about a spouse who is not motivated to help achieve financial freedom? He tells me that I worry too much, but I am the one with no money in savings who has to pay for the "surprises" that occur once in awhile.

I had to buy some household items (washing soda for laundry, bleach, and toilet paper) for $10.15. While I was out, I also mailed bills, bought stamps, and treated dh with a cup of Starbucks.

Total spending $21.88.

Well, I have several good pieces of news. Last Saturday afternoon, I looked at my calendar and went into a panic when I realized that I did not have enough money in my checking to cover both my car insurance and Netflix. (Yes, I know Netflix is a ridiculous service to subscribe to if you are in debt, but I cannot convince my dh to drop it.) I took care of that. Anyway, I also had a dental visit coming up on Monday. After taking a couple of deep breaths, I came up with a solution. I would use my cc to pay for the visit and as soon as I could get to a computer after the appointment, schedule a payment for the exact amount to the cc to occur after my payday. (I fully realize this is not an optimal solution, but I had put off this dental visit for over two months, rescheduling several times.)

Yes, I did get paid today. I normally get paid every other week on Friday, but I guess they let us have out pay early because of the holidays. This morning, after reconciling my checking account, I paid the cell phone bill and Hospital Bill #1 for this month.

After reading through my email, I answered surveys. (Aren't holidays great? You can get so much done in so little time.) One of my survey places allowed me to cash in points for $7.20. I will get that check in about a month. It will be added to my $20 challenge (Conference Challenge).

1. 1 Medical Bill Paid Off in March.

2. Hospital Bill #1 Paid Down $200 in 2008

3. Hospital Bill #2 Paid Down $750 in 2008

4. My goal of eliminating cc debt has not succeeded. It's been going up and down like a yo-yo.

5. My goals of establishing savings to buy a car and house have not succeeded. I think I may have to pay off all debt before attempting this again.

6. In my quest to not get further into cc debt, I have managed to accumulate money to go to a conference next summer.

7. I have continued to contribute to my 403b account. I haven't checked it in several months, though.

I forgot to mention in my previous post the two biggest blessings of the previous two days.

Yesterday, while on my lunch hour, I went to deposit a check into my account. While I was there, I mentioned that I needed to order checks, but that I had moved since I last ordered checks. Could I still do that online and have the correct address on them? The teller said, "I can do that for you right now. Do you get the free checks, or do you get ones you have to pay for?" My jaw probably about dropped to the floor. "Free checks? As in free?" I asked. She said that they are free, but not fancy. I told her that I don't care. I just use them to pay bills, so they don't need to be fancy. Wow. I didn't think that banks did anything for free anymore.

Also, today I got my water and sewer bill from the city where I live. I don't know how it happened, but somehow I had some kind of credit or something on my account and my current bill is only $5.74. I quickly paid it without question. No need to question the blessings of the universe.

I feel so blessed when stuff like this happens to me.

Well, I got paid yesterday, so I took $80 from the atm. $60 goes towards the Conference Challenge and $20 is for snacks when I am at work. I usually take enough trail mix and fruit with me to work that it is not a big deal to have only $20 cash for that for one week.

My dh had to use the cc to upgrade antivirus software on his computer, so he gave me a $30.00 check to pay to the cc. I deposited the check yesterday and promptly paid $50.00 to the cc.

I also paid $75.00 on Hospital Bill #2, bringing the balance to $2002.60. Yahoo!

I have also been putting any change I get back into a separate little change purse which I then empty out into a little can when I get home.

1. Use 1/2 of tax refund to help pay for my conference trip to avoid using cc as much as possible.

2. Work very hard to get a roommate to share a hotel room with at the conference, cutting my hotel costs by a significant amount.

3. Answer as many surveys as possible in order to cash points in for cash or restaurant cards prior to leaving on trip.

4. Set aside $80.00 per pay period to go to the conference in order to avoid as much as possible not using the cc.

4. Get Hospital Debt #1 paid off. Estimated Payoff Debt June 30. After I get back from my conference trip on about June 7th, I will turn in all my receipts. The total cost for the trip will be close to $2000 and I should get back around $1500. I will use however much it takes to pay off Hospital Debt #1.

5. Continue to make payments on Hospital Debt #2.

6. Begin contributing to a savings account again, setting aside $5.00 a pay period.

I know that it sounds crazy, and even stupid, to go on a trip for work when I have so much cc debt. I am required to do a certain amount of that type of activity for my job.

Hello, everyone. I have been trying, unsuccessfully, to find an inexpensive and easy to use method of tracking how much money I have spent. I also need to be able to keep track of how much I will need to spend from now until next payday. I have tried Excel spreadsheets, tiny little notebooks where I write down my purchases, a PDA software program, handwritten budgets, handwritten ledgers, etc. Nothing seemed to really work because it takes so much time to deal with it. I was in Big Lots on Saturday and noticed those monthly planners that are about $2.00. I began to realize if I could just keep a simple running total of how much I spent each and how much is left, that would help a lot. I can also make notes on the dates that bills are due. I won't actually start this because the calendar starts with January. Here's 3 cheers for my success!

I have a AAA membership and have had for years. It has saved my butt more than once. I just got a AAA credit card offer for a balance transfer with a 0-2.9% rate on the transfer and 7.99-19.99% on purchases. I currrently have a card with a 14.85% APR. The 0-2.9% rate would make it significantly easier for me to pay it off faster, but I worry about the temptation of having another card. I don't want to close the old card, because I want to buy a house in a couple of years and that is my only open line of credit. I have never done this before. Is it worth it or better to stick it out and pay on the card I have. So, I am taking votes here: Have you done this before? Do you think it was worth it? Would you do it again?