How I stay within my budget (usually) :)

I am a pretty thrifty person. Aaron and I don't really do extravagant. It's not really our style, which is a good thing because we like to be smart with our money. In no way do we feel that we deprive ourselves of things, we just try to spend wisely knowing that one day we could find ourselves in difficult financial times, so we try to live frugally so that 1: we won't be taken by surprise, and 2: we can save for things like retirement, a house, etc.

I watched Oprah last week, which I rarely do (she's kind of a know-it-all who drives me crazy, but that's just my opinion), and she had people from all over America sharing their ideas on how to not spend so much money. I found myself saying, I already do that! It was a proud, pat myself on the back, kind of moment, so I thought I would share some of the ways that we save money.

1: We have zero debt. Not even student loans. We pay for things as we go, and for the most part, that included college as well. If we don't have the money for something, even school, we don't charge it or take out loans. We either don't get it, or we work extra hard to have more money to afford it (like with school). We didn't take out student loans until our very last year, and they are all now paid for. We don't believe in paying interest to somebody else, and that inevitably occurs when you have debt.

2. We try to avoid eating out. This is a weakness of mine because I really used to love to eat out. But since we have tried not to go out to eat so much, I really get frustrated every time we do go out to eat. Mostly because it is inevitable that either the food or the service wasn't that great and it cost 10 times more than it would've if I'd just made it myself. Not to mention it takes so long and we could have just had food in our stomachs already if we'd just cooked at home and we wouldn't have a tantrum throwing toddler on our hands. This rule is really, really hard to stick with when we aer with family or friends because it's the natural thing to want to go out to eat when you get together. We try to offer alternatives like offering to cook dinner for everyone instead.

3. We try to drive very minimally. Aaron works less than a mile from our house, and I really only drive if it's for Young Women's. With the price of gas these days I try to consolidate every trip I make and therefore only shop about once every couple of weeks. This also helps with impulse buying because if I'm not at a store, I won't buy it!

4. USED! I am definitely not above used items at all. Just about everything that we have for Camden I bought from Craig's List. I just make sure that they are in nearly new condition. With kids and a dog, what's the point of buying new? It will be dinged up in a matter of hours anyway.

5. Cars. We drive our cars into the ground. Nothing depreciates quicker than a car, and most people get rid of their cars long before they need to. I was so BITTER when my car was totaled last spring because it forced us to get a new car and spend more money when the one we had would have lasted us several more years. I'm still mad about it, although I must admit I really like my mini-van! (Did I just admit that?)

6. Travel. Well, we have a very unfair advantage here. I still get airline perks from my father's retirement benefits, so we pay very little for airfare. However, that is the only way we will travel. We just won't airline prices to fly places. If we didn't have our perk, we would probably never go anywhere.

7. Gifts. Boy do they add up, especially when you have a big family. We put a limit on gift spending to $30 for parents, and $15-20 for siblings. At Christmas we rotate names so that we can get a little something nicer for whoever we have. We will definitely spend more if an occasion warrants, like a wedding or new baby, etc.

8. Savings. We put away a minimum of 10% of Aaron's paycheck to savings each month. We try to do more. Every time Aaron gets a raise, we pretend like he hasn't had one and continue to live off of our original budget. I mean, if we could live off of a smaller amount before, shouldn't we now? This way we might be able to afford college for our kids when it's supposed to cost $250,000 per child by the time they are in college.

9. Every time I am about to make a purchase, I have to ask myself if I want the item or need the item. If it's a want, I put it back on the shelf and resist the urge until I can re-evaluate. I find that if I wait a week or so, I usually don't want the item that badly after all. Plus if I do still want it, then I can shop around and find the best price for it once I determine if I can really afford it.

10. Groceries. I shop the ads and stock up when things are on sale. I don't usually buy something if it isn't in the ads. I buy the majority of my canned goods when there is a case-lot sale, and I really, really stock up. This goes for meat too. I freeze a lot of things and my freezer is always overstuffed, but this is how I keep my grocery bill down. I try to avoid running to the store to get ingredients for a dinner that I don't already have at home. These are the most costly kind of grocery purchases, but of course it happens from time to time.

11. Hair/beauty. I cut Aaron's and Camden's hair for the most part. I color my own hair and don't visit expensive salons. Sometimes I have paid the price for this, but for the most part, it turns out just as nice and I save a lot of money. I try to get my hair cut from stylists who work out of their own homes instead of pricey salons. That way a cut is usually only about $20, and it's usually done by someone who used to work in a pricey salon but now stays at home. Same quality, better price!

How I can improve:

1. I really want to figure out the art of coupon doubling. The lady on Oprah had a grocery bill of $179, and after using her coupons, she paid $37. I would love any advice that someone could give to me on this. Where do you get the coupons? What stores do that? Can you eat healthily that way?
2. Impulse buys. Even I am not immune!
3. Cutting my energy bill in my home. Any tips?

I'd love to hear all of your thrifty ways and if anyone has advice for me, I'd gladly take it. The majority of our expenses is in food and I would love to know how to reduce that. I would be very happy if our food bill was only $200/month. I know it's possible, but I think I'd have to really, really work on that.