I've often had people ask me how we were able to pay of our school debt in less than 2 years. My response normally includes a rant about how awesome Dave Ramsey is and that you NEED to take his class (which I still recommend by the way). I will be doing a series later about building your budget, but I first wanted to start with a series on Money Saving Tips. Some of these tips will apply to you and some may not, but hopefully implementing these tips one at a time will lead you to some big savings!
I decided that my first tip would be a "fun" one. Instead of cutting something out of your daily life, lets talk about implementing the fun into your life.
Money Saving Tip #1: Budget for your Splurges!
We all do it. We all buy that $4 latte or go out to dinner after a long hard day. These splurges are necessary at times, but sometimes we can go a little overboard with our splurges and then ending feeling guilty every time we spend money on one - which then makes the splurge much less enjoyable.
My suggestion would be to build these splurges into your budget. If you do not have a budget yet then why not start with the small step of creating a "splurge" envelope. In our house we each get a $20/month allowance for whatever we want, then we also have a $40/month allowance for family splurges (an unplanned dinner out, a happy hour sonic run for diet cherry limeades, whatever you and your family enjoy).
By doing this you have given yourself the freedom to spend on these fun items, without going overboard. How much cash you put in these envelopes is really up to you and your income level, but since the whole point of this series is saving, I would recommend starting with a conservative number. If you find out later that it was way too conservative, you can adjust. The whole point is to closely monitor that area of your budget so you can enjoy it more! I know it may seem like an oxymoron, but really having a budget has been the most freeing thing for our family!
Another STRONG recommendation would be to come up with your budget amounts with your spouse if you are married. You telling your spouse that they will only be spending x amount of dollars on something may not go over too well. Make sure to talk things over and at least give it a shot for a month!
My favorite thing about the splurge budget is that my husband and I don't ever have to argue about how much we are spending on lattes (me), or sonic runs (him).
Happy Splurging.
If you plan on implementing this let me know in the comments your plan or how it goes!!
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