Thursday, February 5, 2009

Finance Experiment.....

So thank you all for your sweet comments on my wedding pics....I really wasn't looking for compliments but ya'll are just so sweet! You made my day!

I'll be posting more pics tonight hopefully!

On to the reason for my title. Since we are in such hard financial times I figured I would try a little experiment and see how I did. I don't know about you girls (and guys, maybe) but I always break my bills down every pay period and see what I have left and then I always end up spending a lot of money on random stuff.....drugstore, target, don't feel like cooking so we order in.....those kinds of things but I never track it so I don't really know how much extra I'm spending, you know?

Well I decided that in order to try and save more every pay period (for me I get paid on the 15th and at the end of the month) I'm going to take $100 cash out of my account at the beginning and try to use that instead of using my check card. I'm hoping it will help me save money and at least give me an idea of what I'm spending.

And to take it one step further I'm going to keep track of it on here. In a perfect world I'd end up having money left over and be able to spend it on moi! : ) Nothing cheers me up more than a little spree at Target!

So here we go.........I took $100 out on 1/30 (the money hits my account that day b/c the 31st was a Saturday)

And here's my spending so far:
1/30 - $2 breakfast at work - Left $98
1/31 - $15 on Lunch with my girlfriend - Left $83
2/1 - $5 placed bet on Superbowl - Left $78
2/1 - +$32 won on the Superbowl bet, woohoo! - $110
2/3 - $10 chinese dinner with hubby - Left $100
2/4 - $6 Lunch with coworker - Left $94

So I now have $94 left to spend in 9 days, which breaks down to roughly $10.50 a day.

I'm going to keep track on my sidebar and you'll be able to see what I'm spending as well.
Wish me luck!!

Does anyone out there have any tips or tricks that they use to save money????

16 comments:

  1. Good luck!!! You are so gonna rock this!

    I am so guilty of this too! I have learned that little trips to the store everyday adds up and so does take-out two to three times a week! I checked my bank account and realized I had spent $300 on take-out one month!! SO Garth and I made a rule to only eat out once a week.

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  2. Good for you! It's hard to save $$$ but so important, esp. in these "uncertain economic times". I find the easiest way to save is do do automatic withdrawls from our checking acct to our savings acct 2x a month. We've already saved a lot in doing this for 6 months! Good luck hun!

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  3. Lindsey! That's what I got hit with the most too, those dinners out really add up quickly! Having the rule of once a week is a great idea!!

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  4. I love your new header! It is so pretty! I also love your finance experiment! This is a great idea! I am such a spender, and I need to learn to be a saver. I think I may try this too!

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  5. such a great idea to keep yourself accountable, i might have to start doing this on my blog!

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  6. I try to do this all the time but I am horrible when it comes to having cash. I hate putting things on my credit card so I often don't have cash! But the little things do add up. It's ridiculous how much I spend on takeout so I've started cooking a lot more. Good luck!

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  7. I get paid the same way, and I am trying to do almost the same thing. I gave myself $200 cash each pay period. My check card kills me. I took out the $200 on Monday, now I have $62 to last me until next Friday!!

    Good Luck!

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  8. We need to be very frugal right now in the Beachy house so we do a lot of meal planning & "zero dollar days." When I get paid we plan all meals for the next two weeks, including lunches. I am lucky enough to live close to home and I go home to eat everyday. This really allows for a lot of zero dollar days where we spend absolutely NO MONEY. I've also in the process of doing some credit card consolidation to reduce interest rates and lower payments. We've stopped going to the movies which we used to do every week. Now we use Netflix. Instead of Happy Hour at the bar after work a couple nights a week we have Happy Hour on our lanai watching the sunset. We are lucky to live in FL because we haven't had to run the AC or heater in MONTHS. We are some penny pinching fools here on the beach!

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  9. Good for you for keeping track of your spending! For me, it's easy to lose track of money when I don't write it down. The check card works well for me because I treat it like writing a check and write every purchase down. Just being aware of your spending habits is a great step toward saving money. Great idea!

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  10. What a great idea; and you are doing a great job of keeping track.
    I can't wait to see the end results; we are just so equipped to swipe the debit card and so you lose track. I am right there with you!

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  11. I have been trying to take out $60 a week (random, I know- but the ATM only dispenses $20's) and spend just that on all the extra stuff in a week. I still am unsure if it's working, but I'm going to continue to track it!

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  12. Ohh look at you, Ms. savin'! Love it. I watch Suze Orman, do you watch her? She's on MSNBC on Sat. evenings.
    Oh and your title... I thought it said "Fiance", show's how much I have it on the brain! haha.

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  13. That's a very good idea! I just might have to try it. I have a huge issue with spending money on food! This just might help me!

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  14. It is so hard to keep track of spending with that stupid but oh-so-convienent check card!!! I love it, but it's so easy to spend. I like your idea with the cash, I may have to borrow it.

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  15. This is a fantastic idea! I might have to start doing this. I am much more hesitant to spend cash than to swipe my check card.
    btw, I LOVE the book you are reading right now, Redeeming Love. Its a great one!

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