Pinching Pennies

Things are going pretty well for me and the hubby right now. He is a bit worried about layoffs at his job so I am looking for new ways to pinch some of those pennies.

I have been a little lax in my spending habits lately and I need to cut the fat. I have not been the queen of cheap lately nor do I plan to be. However I do need to start looking at some things and say "do I really need that." I need to buy some thing but I can choose to only buy things that I need or things that will be of great benefit for me in the future.

I did buy two books Mini Farming for my Kindle and You Can Farm: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Start & Succeed in a Farming Enterprise with my 25 dollar gift card. I ended up spending a little over seven dollars.

I am going to go through all the things I need to grow a porch garden and see what I can make from the materials I have. I know that I can plant in some strange containers. I have seen websites dedicated to finding things you don't use anymore to make your garden interesting your garden. I am sure I can use that concept to save money on gardening supplies. I don't want to spend a lot so if I have to cut, clean and poke holes in a milk jug I will. It may not be pretty but it will be functional.

Also I can save money on Netflix by reducing our plan. I don't have cable television so we rely on Netflix to deliver us movies and television shows. The really good thing is that many of the programs are changing to instant streaming. I can save about seven dollars a month if I go down to the next level and even more if i go down to one DVD. I know it is not a lot of money but if I were to find ten areas to save seven dollars a month in it adds up. Since I don't buy a lot of extravagant things what I really need to do is stop splurging on items such as cosmetics and eating out too much.

I used to do a budget every month and I think I am going to have to get back on track with that. I always allow for some fun because we are not broke. My hubby works 46-52 hours a week most of the time and he deserves to have some fun. When I work a lot too we go out to eat more because I budget it in. I know when I work a lot I will not feel much like cooking and I tend to forget to thaw things out for dinner.

Right now I am working 12.5 hours on Saturdays and spending my weeks trying to build a writing portfolio. I also accept work as a freelancer. I have had a few projects on my plate but most of them are not paid but some of them will help me build my writing portfolio. Once I get more paid work it can all go into savings for the farm of our dreams.

The main thing is to stop spending on thing I really don't need. My hubby is not a spender most of the time but he works hard and when he wants something it is usually costly. If I am honest we I don't usually buy big items but I do purchase a lot of little things I don't need. Could I get away with a less expensive face wash or cheaper shampoo. I am sure I can and those are the things I am going to start with.

Happy savings everyone! Please feel free to offer you savings tips in the comments section.