Financial Cookie Jar

What do I know about money? I spent it and get poorer. Not a very good attitude I realize. So in an effort to be more on top of it I thought I would post some simple tips for the average Joe to save those well earned dollars. Especially with all the worry about the economy, I think everyone could use some budgeting tips.

The first important step is to make yourself a budget and then keep it. If you don’t know how much you can afford to spend there’s no way you can make smart choices about what you do or don’t buy.

I often find that trying to save all your shopping receipts to be quite a hassle and I end up never going back and looking at them. For me having a Debit card has helped because it automatically records what I spent online and then I just have to go and organize it from there. If that doesn’t work for you, you might try carrying a small notebook with you and taking the time after each shopping trip to jot down the total price so that later it’s all there in a nice list.

Another thing I try to do to save money is to check out the inserts in the newspaper for sales stores are having. I’ve even gone into store with just a pad of paper and a pen with a list of items I wanted to price check so that I could remember where I could get the best deal on certain items. Some stores like Macey’s grocery store are great for buying food but when it comes to shampoo Smith’s is the place to go. Little things like that can help spread out your cash. Just be careful to take into consideration the amount of money you spend driving around to all the different stores because sometimes that can cancel out any savings. However, with gas prices as low as they are that isn’t such a big worry.

Also, while you’re trying to minimize how much money you spend, it also helps to set aside regularly a sent amount of money in a savings account. Look at your budget and determine how much you need to get by and meet all your needs (not wants) and then decide to put a certain percentage in savings each month. You will be surprised how quickly it adds up, but you have to be dedicated and not let yourself skip out on certain paychecks.