if you tried/are trying to cut back on spending

[egoldber]

Remember coupons are not just food. I haven't paid actual money for shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouth wash, contact lens solution, soap, deodorant, etc in a long time. I know that not all brands are covered in coupons, but a lot of the "mainstream" ones are.

Mainly I use coupons for non-food items. I also find that I get a lot of grocery store specific ones that spit out at the cash register. Like if I buy store brand graham crackers (and seriously the kids do NOT care) then the register spits out coupons for the name brand. And sometimes the name brand will be on sale the next week so that with the coupon it's a better deal. But I also find that I need to make myself NOT buy that name brand just because I have a coupon.

I wish someone could give me simple, step by step instructions to CVSing. It's just all so complicated!

[3blackcats]

-We joined Netflix. Now we pay $10 a month for unlimited movies. And we can watch them on our Xbox 360 as well. When we would go out to the movies it would cost at least $20, and then we would go out for lunch while we were there. It really added up.

-I now pack lunches and snacks for both my husband and I.

-I am selling stuff on Craigslist.

[KrisM]

Originally Posted by egoldber

Mainly I use coupons for non-food items. I also find that I get a lot of grocery store specific ones that spit out at the cash register. Like if I buy store brand graham crackers (and seriously the kids do NOT care) then the register spits out coupons for the name brand. And sometimes the name brand will be on sale the next week so that with the coupon it's a better deal. But I also find that I need to make myself NOT buy that name brand just because I have a coupon.

I wish someone could give me simple, step by step instructions to CVSing. It's just all so complicated!

Remind me and I'll post my CVS instructions. A friend and I did a class at our MOMS Club in October. It's backfired a bit as 2 other members were there Saturday at 11pm shopping the Sunday sale! Anyhow, I can post what we did for our group. It's not bad once you get it.

[wellyes]

Last month both our workplaces had layoffs, and we both very luckily were NOT laid off. But we vowed to adjust our budget as though he'd lost his job (he is the primary earner) since the future is so uncertain. That lasted about a few weeks. Then -- the holidays, and we've fallen off the wagon.

My biggest pitfall? SLICKDEALS! I thought I would save money by bargain shopping. Ha! There are so many "bargains" that I spend money on that I never would have bought if it wasn't for that site. I have removed it from my Favorites.

Frugality:

- Library, library, library. Anything my library doesn't have I get on interlibrary loan. Including DVDs.

- I have not bought any new clothes in a few months. It's a bit embarrassing to wear the same things at work over and over but I'm not going to bust the budget over it.

- I do Sunday paper coupons, just for stuff I'd buy anyway, and the KEY thing is that I only *use* the coupons when the item is on sale. I do save some $$ that way, probably $50/month. I think it does take a lot of time and energy to be serious about couponing, but just cutting coupons and waiting for sales is easy.

2009 goal - set up a budget on Mint.com and stick with it. The site sends you email alerts if you're nearing your limit ahead of schedule. It's quite neat.

[mommylamb]

I try to use coupons, but often I don't want the things that have coupons. The big thing I need to do is to stop going out to lunch at work. So much cheaper to bring lunch... it's hard though becuase if I don't go out to lunch I end up just eating at my desk, and I need a break from the office. DH and I are going on a spending freeze (at least for the wants, not the needs) starting in the new year. If DH just cut back on Amazon, we'd be much better off... so many books, CDs, DVDs in my house it is unimaginable.

[ThreeofUs]

I'm trying very hard to control my spending at Christmas, and I'm mad at myself that I haven't done better.

-I have, though, curtailed spending quite a bit, even on Christmas stuff.
-I've started putting those great deals in a shopping basket and then killing the window and walking away.
-I sold my maternity clothes and am preparing to sell NB and 3-6 month clothes (as well as the Graco carseat/stroller combination that we used, oh, 20 times max for both DSs) on craigslist.
-I haven't bought much for myself, but did have to buy nursing tops. I'm a little mad because the Glamour Mom tank and LS shirt I bought give me duct problems every time I wear them, so I had to rebuy (BOOB shirts work much better for me).

I'm trying to use coupons, but DH is doing most of the B&M shopping and doesn't get the whole coupon thing, so that's lagging a little.

With a very young baby, I'm keeping the thermostat pretty high (70), but I figure next year I'll turn it down. (Of course, 70 at the thermostat still means 65 max in the kitchen.) We have a new, more efficient furnace, so that makes me feel a little better.

We spent a lot of money on the house this year, though, and that's making me anxious as I don't have the nest egg I want.

Mostly, though, I'm just watching the news and praying.

[cchavez]

I am selling on CL.
DH is packing lunches a few times a week.
Refinancing the house
I wish I could use more coupons but they hardly ever have any for the foods we need.
Buying all our organic eggs and milk at Costco.
I went back to work a few days a month.....

We rarely eat out during the week....the kids and I might pick up lunch from Wendy's every 10-14 days since we can only eat the patties...it really only costs a few dollars...we eat chips and apples at home.

We are going to stop picking up takeout on Friday and Sat. nite and just do take out one nite.....

We got rid of our premium cable channels

[ThreeofUs]

Originally Posted by egoldber

I wish someone could give me simple, step by step instructions to CVSing. It's just all so complicated!

Have you looked at the slickdeals thread? They give pretty good and specific instructions:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthr...772133#anchcvs

[brittone2]

We've been living fairly frugally for a few years now (DH is in grad school so we live on his stipend, plus some savings). I did pretty well this year for Christmas with avoiding those last minute "deals" that I'm always tempted by. Mostly because the good deals were on Amazon and I have been boycotting after a bad experience last year with them DD is getting some freebie gifts...she's super into dolls so my original plan was a nice doll for her December bday a few weeks ago, and then doll accessories for Christmas (doll high chair, cradle, etc.). DH checked w/ his mom (a doll collector and someone who loves going to auctions, estate sales, etc.) and she had a doll high chair and cradle in her attic, so those were free gifts. DS is getting a Playmobil castle free from craigslist for one of his gifts. So those 3 big things being free were a big help.

My side of the family has been doing a name swap in recent years but this year it didn't happen, so that added to the budget, unfortunately (no one can ever get on the same wavelength with whether to swap names or not). We stuck to our budget for nieces/nephews for the most part.

We recently cancelled our cable other than the most basic package. We've been renting movies from our library and DH's university library, and we've just been opting to do more of that vs. pay for cable.

I've been using Costco a little more heavily on some things that are a better deal there. I prefer shopping my local co-op grocery (and we still do most of our shopping there) but we've been stretching the budget a bit with some Costco shopping.

We've been keeping the house pretty cool temp-wise. I've been working on getting back to running fewer loads of laundry and not doing laundry until I have a pretty full load.