I’m convinced the winter blahs are a combination of freezing cold weather and credit card bills rolling in from Christmas!

If Christmas bills are getting you down, it’s time to come up ways to save for next Christmas! It’s time to try The Budget Diet’s painless penny pinching plan.

According to the American Consumer Credit Council, the average American family spends $935 on Christmas gifts, so if you can save around $78 a month – you’ll be set! Pick just 1 item from my painless penny pinching plan, and you’ll save at least $78 each month – it’s an easy way to save money for Christmas!

Christmas Club
Open a Christmas Club account at your local bank or credit union. It’s a simple way to save and earn a little interest. Most Christmas Clubs will set-up an automatic deposit from your paycheck in the amount you choose.

Brown Bag It!
The average lunch out costs $8, so if you’ll brown bag it on Monday, Wednesday and Friday – you’ll save $96 a month!

Make Your Own Starbucks!
Does your morning routine include a trip to Starbucks? It’s time to kick the Starbucks habit and start saving about $3 a day or $90 a month! For $90 you can buy a coffee maker, Starbucks coffee beans, flavored coffee syrups and even whipped cream if you so require! After your first month as a coffee brewmaster, start stashing the cash for Christmas!

Credit Card Rewards
Does your credit card offer a rewards program? Cash back? Points? If you can be good about paying off your credit card bill in full each month, you might consider using that credit card for all your purchases, and then use the rewards to purchase gifts!

$5 Jar
This is the old fashioned coin jar adjusted for inflation! At the end of each day, place any $5 bills in the jar. At the end of the year, you should have more than enough money for Christmas, and it will be even more fun than counting coins!

Ditch the Drive-Thru
Try going 1 month without going to a drive-thru for any food or drink, and put all that money in a jar! It’s sadly become the American way, and you might be shocked to discover how much you’re wasting! Is it really necessary to drive-thru for breakfast???

Get Serious About Grocery Savings
You’ll easily cut your grocery bill by $50 a week if you start using The Grocery Game. The Grocery Game shows you what’s on sale, and tells you where to find the coupon to make it even cheaper or FREE! You’ll soon be a coupon queen!

Eat In, Not Out
Growing up, eating out was for special occasions. This year, bring back the home cooked meal! If your family eliminates just 1 dinner out per week, you’ll save over $100 a month!

Buy 1 Gift Each Month
There are no rules that say you have to do all your Christmas shopping in November and December, so start trying to buy 1 gift each month! If you see a bargain, snatch it up, and don’t forget about it come December!

That’s it, just pick one and stick to it! If skipping Starbucks is not your idea of painless, then try the $5 jar. If you’re not sure what to pick, try something new each month! Why don’t you ditch the drive-thru this month and brown bag it next month!

Please leave a comment to share your ways to save for Christmas.

Have you visited The Budget Diet’s freebies page today?

This year, complete your federal tax return using H&R Block’s online product for free.

This offer valid through 11:52am on Monday April 15th, 2013

This visualization is brought to you by ForRent.com

Over the years it seems like our culture has gotten nervous. We’re worriers, where everything we buy and everything we do carries with it some level of uncertainty and risk. As a result we do our best to shore up our lives with insurances, policies and guarantees, that give us a comfortable cushion to fall back on should the unthinkable or even the inconvenient happen.

While some of these insurances are wise and prudent to pay for, a lot of the smaller warranties and obscure coverage plans that are available are not necessary. As a general rule of thumb you should avoid these areas and save the money to pay for plans that cover things that actually matter.

Here are five such plans that one could argue, are a complete waste of your money.

Cell Phone Replacement Insurance

Your cell phone plan is likely already expensive and adding to that in case you break your phone isn’t necessary. Phones can break, though it’s often cheaper to buy a used phone to get through until your contract is up than paying for the warranty. Even the stores themselves will usually have used phone for sale. If not, Amazon and EBay have plenty to go around.

Any “Extended” Warranties

If you buy a computer, TV, an appliance or any other product that offers an extended warranty, avoid wasting extra money on something you’ve already paid for. They’ll often give you the option of adding a warranty on to your purchase right before they finalize your sale. They put you on the spot making you feel like you’re making a life or death decision. Don’t fall for it. Even if what you’re buying does break, most retailers provide a 30 day money back guarantee along with the manufacturer’s warranty that’s usually good for one year. Even if your item does fail, a few aggravated phone calls can go a long way in getting it fixed or replaced for little or no cost.

Identity Theft Protection

Less than $100 per year seems like a small price to pay to protect your identity, though what you might not know is that a lot of home insurance policies include a form of identity theft protection. Also most banks will cover fraudulent use of your credit and debit cards and alert you or lock your card if they notice any suspicious activity.

Rental Car Insurance

This can be a bit of a calculated risk, but if you check with your auto insurance company they probably already have you covered on any liability here. Make sure you do your homework, but if you’re already covered, don’t let the rental car companies drive your daily rate up any more than it already is.

Credit Card Balance Insurance

This type of insurance is sold as something that will pay of your credit card bill if you can’t work for some reason. This is a waste on several levels. First, disability policies usually give you more than enough to take care of bills in the event that you can’t work for an extended period of time. Second, it’s really just another way for your credit card to start costing you even more than it already has. If you can’t simply avoid running up a massive credit card bill in the first place (which is the preferable solution), putting away money for an emergency fund is a more cost effective method of preparing for such an event.

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written by:  Chantille Watson

Chantille Watson is a personal finance expert who enjoys giving readers a heads up about money saving tools and sites like the Choosi insurance comparison website.

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Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As a society we’re putting less and less thought into our weekly and monthly expenses. Most of the time that topic is one that is taken for granted, as people assume that there is little or nothing they can do about what is demanded of them in terms of money going out on a regular basis. In fact, the answer most people seek is to bring in more instead of curbing what goes out. While it’s certainly not a bad idea to pursue a bigger paycheck and more income, you have far more control of what goes out and where you put your money to work.

We live in a competitive society which offers us a lot of options and a wealth of different ways to gather the things we need to live every month. If we stop and give a little thought and analysis to what we are spending and why, we can cut costs in a lot of different areas giving ourselves more money to set aside, put in savings, or invest.

This is a list of seven areas where you can save roughly $600 every month. While the total might vary from person to person and is highly dependent on circumstance, the overall concept remains the same: Do some critical thinking about your budget and identify areas where you can scale back and live with either less or with an alternative, in order to allow yourself to keep more of your paycheck.

In other words, it’s not what you make; it’s what you save.

1. Use Netflix and Red Box instead of a Dish or Cable and movie channels. – Movie channels and TV, regardless of whether you get them through a dish or cable are very expensive. Don’t let the ads fool you. You’ll pay at least $100 per month for these services. Instead go with a Netflix streaming subscription for $8 a month, and treat yourself and the family to a one-night Red Box rental every once in awhile for $1.

Rough Monthly Savings: $100

2. Disconnect your home phone. – Home phone service isn’t expensive, but it’s another $15-$20 that you really don’t need to be spending if you have a cell phone. If you’re not using it, disconnect it and use your cell phone exclusively.

Rough Monthly Savings: $20

3. Do some shopping around for auto insurance. – Insurance companies are constantly trying to undercut one another. If you call around and pose as an unsatisfied customer, they’ll bend over backwards to give you a cheaper quote. Even if you call your own insurance company and act the slightest bit disappointed about what you’re paying, they’ll try their best to lower your monthly premium. There are things that you won’t know about that can lower it, though they won’t call you about those things. Rather you’ve got to call them, and don’t mistake being an “unsatisfied customer” for being rude. Make sure to be polite and keep any frustration at bay. The potential for savings here can be pretty high in some cases, but a safe estimate is somewhere between $20 and $40 per month.

Rough Monthly Savings: $30

4. Pack a lunch for work. – This one flies under the radar for most people as it’s almost a given that you go out to eat for lunch somewhere. I know it might be a hard habit to break, but this absolutely kills your budget every month. Think about the cost of restaurant food compared to cooking your own meals and bringing leftovers. Let’s say each meal for one person is around $8 (which is a conservative estimate). Compare that to the roughly $1.50 it costs to bring a Tupperware container of your own food. If you eat lunch out five times a week, you’re losing around $32 per week or $128 per month. This is completely unnecessary and ultimately a waste of money. Going out to eat for a treat as a family is fine, but doing it on a daily basis means you’re spending an incredible amount of money for food that isn’t even that good for you to begin with. Cook your own meals and pack a lunch; you might even save yourself a few hospital bills in the future.

Rough Monthly Savings: $130

5. Limit yourself to one restaurant trip per week. – This might sound crazy to some people, but again, you’re paying way too much money for what you’re getting. Going to a restaurant should be considered a “treat” or an occasion and not counted on as your primary meal time solution. It’s easier than ever to buy groceries and make your own food, so take advantage of that and limited yourself to one meal out per week. The savings here will vary depending on your habit, but will probably fall somewhere around $20 to $50 depending on your number of weekly restaurant visits.

Rough Monthly Savings: $120

6. Buy your own beer instead of going to a bar. — If you go to Costco and buy a case of beer, you’ll get 24 for about $24, or a dollar a beer. If you go to a bar and drink, you’ll pay about $5 each. Enjoy a beer at home with dinner or while watching the game and save yourself the four dollars. Depending on how often you drink this can save you anywhere from $4 to $20 per week.

Rough Monthly Savings: $40

7. Plan your meals when buying groceries. – It takes some work and this is certainly more doable and helpful for a family as opposed to a single person, though it’s very beneficial for any household. You’ll find that when planning meals, you don’t need quite as many things as you would have thought. Planning out just your dinners every week can save you anywhere from $30 to $50 dollars in groceries, and that’s a conservative estimate. Do it for a month and you could hold back $200.

Rough Monthly Savings: $160

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written by: Jenny Willis

Jenny Willis is a professional blogger that enjoys providing consumers with personal finance advice. She writes for Purechecks.com, a leading check printing company of designer personal and business checks.

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Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Another month, another budget buster.

Last month your dog swallowed a lego, and the vet bill set you back $800.

This month the emergency call to the plumber blew your budget by a whopping $450.

Remember when your car broke down earlier this year, and the repair bill was nearly $1000?

Oh, and don’t forget the trip to the emergency room and the $250 co-pay for your son’s broken leg.

Next month you’ll get your budget back on track if you’re lucky.

Don’t count on luck…start budgeting for those surprise expenses.

The Budget Diet girl likes to call those surprise expenses “oh no” expenses or “life happens” expenses. Month after month, year after year you need to budget for things like tires, auto repairs, home repairs, vet bills and medical bills. How many times have you said, next month I’ll get back on track with my budget because I won’t have a car repair, and then next month comes and your air conditioner breaks? Consider “oh no” expenses or “life happens” expenses something you should count on every month, and then you won’t have any surprises. I’ve been budgeting this way for nearly 25 years, and not a month has gone by with some sort of “oh no” expense! This month it was a refrigerator repair, last month the pool pump motor had to be replaced…yes, life happens!

How much should you budget for “Oh No” expenses? Let’s do a little math…

• What’s your total monthly income?
• Subtract your total monthly expenses/bills (mortgage or rent, insurance, utility bills, etc.)
• The amount that’s remaining is your monthly “allowance” for food, fun, gas, dry cleaner and all those everyday expenses.
• Take 30% of your monthly allowance and set it aside for “oh no” expenses…trust me, you’ll need it!

 
Now when life happens, you’ll be financially prepared!

If you need help establishing a budget, simply fill in the blanks of this budget worksheet.

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Image courtesy of Arvine Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If your New Year’s resolution is to Save Your Money, here’s a plan!

Do the math…if you cut your spending by just $11 a day, you’ll save just over $4000 a year! How’s that for a New Year’s resolution!

Let the Budget Diet girl help you count the ways you can cut your spending and save your money! You can save money everyday by eliminating small expenses that really add up! It’s all part of frugal living!
 
 

1. Kick the Starbucks habit…SAVE $3 per day, $1095 per year!

 

2. Don’t do the drive-thru for breakfast…SAVE $5 per day, $1865 per year!

 

3. Brown bag it to work…SAVE $6 per day, $2190 per year!

 

4. Use The Grocery Game, Inc. to maximize your grocery savings…SAVE at least $50 per week, $2600 per year!

 

5. Eliminate packaged, prepared food from your grocery list…SAVE $20 per week, $1040 per year!

 

6. Eat in, not out for dinner. SAVE $40 per week by cutting just 1 dinner out, $2080 per year!

 

7. Buy discounted gift cards to save at stores you normally shop weekly like Target. $100 gift cards for as low as $70 to purchase brand name products at your favorite stores! PlasticJungle -Buy, sell & trade gift cards

 

8. If you shop online, start with Ebates.com – you’ll find coupon codes and earn cash back on every purchase!

 

9. Slow down! Driving 65 mph uses 15% more gas than 55 mph…that’s like paying 40¢ more per gallon! Suppose you use a tank of gas each week on highway driving, you’ll SAVE $8 per week, $416 per year.

 

10. Avoid excessive car idling! Turn off your engine while your waiting in that carpool line and you’ll save nearly 20%! Better yet…if you’re close enough to school, walk or ride bikes!

 

11. STOP making impulse purchases! SAVE A LOT!

 

12. Take advantage of FREEBIES by checking The Budget Diet’s freebies page everyday!

 

Some of these money saving tips don’t save big bucks, but The Budget Diet girl’s motto is EVERY LITTLE BIT ADDS UP! If you can incorporate just a few of these tips into your life, you’ll soon find yourself saving $4000 a year! VACATION ANYONE????

I’ve just touched on money saving tips that most of us can take advantage of every week, but if you’re looking for money saving tips in every area of your life, and you’d like to save more than $4000 a year…just click on any of the topics on the left side of this page!

Good luck with your resolution, and remember The Budget Diet girl is here to help you with all your money saving challenges!

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Photo courtesy of Free Web Photos

Did you know if you cut your spending by $13 a day, you’ll save $400 a month and $4800 a year! Pay attention to the little expenses because they really do add up. This is currently the most popular article on The Budget Diet, and I’ve just updated it for 2013 thanks to all the helpful comments.

Consider this your frugal living menu with 88 ways to cut your spending. Simply put a check mark next to any money saving tips you’d like to try, and you’ll soon find your family saving at least $400 a month! I’ve included lots of links to help you find more in depth information on many of these money saving tips, so just click on a link if there’s something you want to learn more about.

Reduce Your Bills
• Call your utility companies to make sure you’re getting the best rate, and to make sure you really need all the services you’re paying for like call waiting or premium cable channels. A few phone calls usually yields savings of $15 a month.
• If you live in a deregulated state, make sure you’re shopping around for the best electricity rate! It’s easy! In Texas, go to PowerToChoose.org, enter your zip code, see rates, read the fine print and choose a provider. There’s no interruption to your service.
• Shop around and compare rates on auto and home insurance. Ask yourself if you could live with a higher deductible or different limits, and make sure you are taking advantage of all the discounts available to you (security system, good student, student away).
• Start using a clothesline and you’ll save about 6% on your electric bill plus your home will be quieter and cooler!
• Invest in a programmable thermostat…it will quickly pay for itself!

Shop Smarter
• Stock up on discounted gift cards for places you normally shop. How does 15% off at JC Penny or Pier 1 sound?
• If you shop online, start with Ebates.com – you’ll find coupon codes and earn cash back on every purchase!
• Make sure you’re taking advantage of discounts! Check out this list of 133 Military Discounts or 66 Teacher Discounts.
• Stop making impulse purchases! Get in the habit of asking yourself if it’s a need or a want.
• Shop garage sales, thrift stores, Craigslist, Freecycle and consignment shops first – you never know what treasures you may find!
• Try swapping instead of shopping. Invite your friends over and swap children’s clothes, toys, books and Halloween costumes. The average family saves $569 a year by swapping children’s clothes!
• Get in the habit of shopping Groupon and other deal sites. No matter what you’re shopping for, there’s a deal site for you! Sign up to receive the best daily deals. Try Tech Bargains for daily deals on laptops or Totsy for daily deals for babies, kids and moms.
• Make sure you’re taking advantage of rewards programs at places you regularly shop like CVS, Kroger and Petco.
• Do you know the best times of the year to buy for maximum savings? Fall is the best time to buy a grill because stores need to make room for Christmas merchandise. Check out the Best Time To Buy Guide with listings by month.
• Consider homemade gifts and homemade Halloween costumes – you don’t have to be Martha Stewart with my ideas!
• Get in the habit of buying clothes during the end of season clearance.
• Be thankful for what you have instead of shopping for more!

Cut Food Costs
• Always plan meals, make a list and try to grocery shop once a week.
• Buy store brands, this alone will cut your grocery bill by 25%!
• Use The Grocery Game, Inc.to maximize your savings. The Grocery Game helps you combine coupons with sales for huge savings and even a few free items each week. You will save at least $50 a week, and you can get started with a free trial!
• Shop Costco or Sam’s for staples like milk, eggs, butter, cheese and sugar. This is where the real savings are. Remember, everything is not cheaper at a warehouse club.
• Stop buying bottled water! A case of bottled water is about $5 per week, $20 a month and $240 a year! Try a refillable bottle instead.
• Buy seasonal produce for best taste and savings.
• Did you know that Kroger sells rotisserie chickens for half price after 7:30? Stock up, chop up, freeze! Check your local grocery for their policy.
• Meijer sells all pre-sliced deli lunchmeat for half price after 8:30. See is your local grocery has a similar policy.
• Check your local bagel and donut shops, you can likely pick up a bargain after a certain time of the day! Our bagel shop sells 1 dozen for $5 after 2:00, and I’ve heard that Krispy Kreme sells a dozen donuts (the ones in the case) for $1 after midnight…that gives new meaning to a midnight snack!
• Eat out for less with deals from Restaurant.com, Groupon.com or discounted restaurant gift cards from PlasticJungle.com. Their latest deals can always be found on the right side of this page.
• Don’t miss out on over 100 Birthday Freebies from restaurants! How’s a $30 gift certificate to Benihanas sound?
• Discover all the Kids Eat Free offers.
• Are you taking advantage of Report Card Freebies?
• Eat in, not out! Those everyday trips to the drive-thru quickly add up – $7 a day for lunch = $35 a week, $140 a month, $1820 a year! Could you brown bag it to work a few days? Check out 5 easy ways to ditch the drive-thru.
• Make your own Starbucks and save about $3 a day, $21 a week, $84 a month, $1008 a year!
• Plant a garden and enjoy seasonal produce for a fraction of the cost.
• Learn to can fruits and veggies.
• Always check out the grocery clearance / managers specials…the deals are amazing!
• Cook from scratch…you’re paying way too much for convenience!
• Try this rule – only order water at restaurants.

Have Fun For Less
• Groupon.com is a great source for huge savings on fun things to do in your area like 62% off admission at the Houston Museum of Natural Science!
• Try a high school football game or theatre performance for a cheap evening out.
• How about breakfast and a movie? AMC theatres offer $6 movies before noon.
• Watch your old wedding video and family videos.
• Pull out your wedding album on your anniversary.
• Have a wine tasting night at home and discover your favorite cheap wine. Simply cover a few bottles with brown paper, taste and rate!
• Host a cooking school for your kids – it’s time to stop watching the Food Channel and start cooking!
• Game night is a great family tradition to start! For a fun twist, add silly bets like loser does the dishes!
• Create your own Wii Family Olympics by playing a different sport each night – ideal for winter break.
• Check out FactoryToursUSA.com for a state by state listing of free tours.
• Pizza Taste Test – buy assorted frozen pizzas, taste, rate and choose your new favorite.
• Start a family tradition of having ice cream sundaes on Saturday!
• Try Minute to Win It challenges at home.
• Bring back home birthday parties! You really don’t need to spend $300+ for an ice skating party or Build-A-Bear party.
• Enjoy the outdoors – take a hike, go for a bike ride, watch the sunset! Mother Nature has a lot of free fun to offer.
• If you’re a Bank of America customer, take advantage of free museum and zoo admission the first weekend of the month. Check their website for a listing of participating museums / zoos.
• When’s the last time you visited the library? Check out books, movies and enjoy free events.
• Let your kids get involved in Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts or 4H for affordable fun!
• A neighborhood pot luck block party is one of my favorite memories, and it’s frugal fun at its finest!

Go Green and Save Some Green
• The Return of the Clothesline – Start using a clothesline or drying rack, and you’ll save nearly 6% on your monthly electric bill according to the Department of Energy…plus your house will be quieter & cooler! If your city or homeowners association prohibits clotheslines, your best option is a cloths drying rack (available at Target, Walmart and Bed Bath & Beyond for about $30). If your monthly electric bill is $200, your friend the clothesline just saved you about $12 a month & $144 a year!
• Burn Calories, Not Gas – Walking or riding bikes is budget friendly, earth friendly and figure friendly…so, what do you have to lose? Maybe a few pounds???? Let’s here it for pedal power!
• Consider Carpools – Could you organize a carpool for work, school or after school activities? You’ll save both time and gas!
• Plan Ahead – Are you guilty of running errands every single day or making two trips to the store because you didn’t make a list? There’s more to life than errands, and planning ahead will save you both time and gas money.
• Slow Down – Driving 65 miles per hour uses 15% more gas than driving 55 miles per hour – that’s like paying 40 cents more per gallon! Of course, you’ll likely be the only one on the highway going 55!
• Pay Bills Online – Save trees, save stamps, save money!
• Find a Farmer’s Market – Discover your local farmer’s market, and your budget will love the prices and you’ll love the fresh taste of just picked produce! To find a farmer’s market near you, visit LocalHarvest.org and enter your zip code.
• Stop Junk Mail – Save trees, save your sanity! It only takes a minute to visit DMAChoice.org to remove your name from mailing lists for catalogs, insurance offers and more!
• Reusable Lunch Containers – Instead of a brown bag, carry a lunch box. Instead of zip top bags, invest in reusable bags. You’ll spend a little money upfront, but you’ll save money in the long run.
• Stop Buying Bottled Water – Bottled water has become the American way, and up until a few years ago…I was guilty of buying a 24-pack every single week! WOW…that’s $4 a week, $16 a month and $208 a year for WATER! Stop buying bottled water and start buying refillable bottles for your family to take to work, school and sports.
• Unplug – Phantom Electricity is the electricity that is used when a device is plugged in but not in use. For example…you leave your cell phone charger plugged in all the time, but you only charge your phone every few days…did you know that your charger is still using electricity when it is plugged in but not charging? This is “Phantom Electricity”, and little bits are being used throughout your home everyday hence the name “phantom.” Wasted electricity is not earth friendly, and wasted electricity is wasting your money!
• Recycle, Recycle, Recycle – If you’re not recycling, this is a great week to start! The first step is to have a system and make sure everybody in your family understands it! The Budget Diet girl’s system is two trash cans in the kitchen – one for recycling and one for trash. After a few weeks, recycling will become a habit, and your neighbors will be green with envy when you only have one small bag of trash each week!
• Homemade Cleaning Products – Make the switch to homemade cleaning products that cost pennies to make and clean just as well without harsh chemicals.
• Repurpose – Look twice at things before throwing them away! Could you cut off the fronts of some of your Christmas cards to use a gift tags next year? Could you paint that old piece of furniture or spray paint a chandelier to give it a new life?
• Compost!
• Check Craigslist for free plants…you’ll almost always find them!

Reduce Health & Fitness Expenses
• Are you taking advantage of your flex plan for pre-tax savings?
• Save money on prescriptions by avoiding “combo pills.” A combo pill combines more than one type of medication. For example, Lotrel is a blood pressure medicine that costs $70 a month for generic, but you could get a prescription for the two components (Amlodipine and Benazepril) for $6 each.
• Ask your doctor if your prescription might be cheaper from a Canadian pharmacy like CanadaDrug.com. I was able to get my eye drops for $9 instead of $150 simply because Canada offers a generic.
• Ask your doctor about any money saving prescription options…the last time I did this, we were given a bag full of samples! Ask and you just might receive!
• Order pet medications online from 1800PetMeds.com and you’ll save money! Simply place your order online, and they will contact your vet for the prescription. It’s one less errand you have to run this week! Costco, Sam’s and Walmart also offer pet medications for less than your vet.
• Order contact lenses online from DiscountContactLenses.com. It works just like PetMeds.com. Costco, Sam’s and Walgreen’s also offer discount contact lenses.
• Want a bargain massage? Try a massage therapy school! In Houston, Memorial Hermann Southwest offers a 1 hour massage for only $29, and tipping is not allowed!
• Check out FREE diet websites like SparkPeople.com and MyFitnessPal.com. Simply input your weight, your desired weight, and you’ll get a plan. These sites help you keep a food diary and keep count of calories, fat, protein and carbs. You’ll also find plenty of motivation, tips and support in their online forums.
• Get fit for free! Walk, ride bikes, check out my Pinterest Board of at home workouts or try exercise dvd’s. Average savings – at least $40 a month and $480 a year.

Travel More, Spend Less
• Deal first, destination second – this is The Budget Diet’s motto when it comes to saving on travel. It simply means don’t get your heart set on a destination, and then discover the deals don’t exist. Instead, be open-minded about a destination and get excited about great deals. Each Saturday, The Budget Diet publishes the Top 10 Budget Travel Deals.
• Did you know that discounted gift cards exist for travel? Recently, Costco had $300 American Airlines gift cards for only $269.99! How’s that for instant savings? Take a moment to peruse the huge selection of discounted gift cards at Plastic Jungle and save up to 35%!You’ll find discounted gift cards for airlines, restaurants, shopping and more.
• Save on Cruises with VacationsToGo.com’s 90-day last minute ticker. It’s not unusual to find discounts of 75%!
• Consider a home exchange program like HomeExchange.com or AffordableTravelClub.com
• A road trip is always budget friendly! Plan a road trip to please everyone – you set the budget and distance parameters, and each member of the family plans a day!

More Ways to Save
• DIY – could you make it yourself or fix it yourself? Thanks to You Tube, there’s a video to teach you just about anything! You can even learn to fix a leaky toilet!
• Consider swapping babysitting or pet sitting with a neighbor.
• Cut your dry cleaning bill by switching to Costco Kirkland brand no-iron shirts. 5 shirts cost $79.95, and you’ll save about $250 a year on dry cleaning.
• Instead of a coin jar, try a $1 bill jar – you have to adjust for inflation, right?

How many ways did you find to cut your spending?

Please leave a comment to add a tip to this list…thanks and happy saving!

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Image courtesy of: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net