tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7289632840563146895.post997112220907513399..comments2023-08-15T08:53:38.770-04:00Comments on HopeAbound: Little Bitty Cut-BacksKristen @ Hope Aboundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134746537214235363noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7289632840563146895.post-45478547968164485322011-11-30T16:00:13.682-05:002011-11-30T16:00:13.682-05:00This is going to sound bizarre but my hubs and I a...This is going to sound bizarre but my hubs and I are card swipers and it has saved us a ton! This is what we did....<br />1. Choose a card you will get the most rewards for where you shop. For us it was costco, walmart, groceries and gas. That card for us was an American Express.<br />2. Know the rules. If it isn't paid in full every month for instance there are NO rewards.<br />3. Set a very strict budget. We added up everything. From groceries, entertainment, coffee splurges, gifts, gas... and everything inbetween that we spend in a month.<br />4. Save receipts. All of them. That way you can keep a log of whats on the card for the month.<br /><br />The reason this helped us so much is because we were VERY strict with it! I usually end up spending much less than in the cash days because I never want to add it up w/ a week left in the month and be cut off. Literally if we hit our limit we'll go to food storage. That hasn't happened yet because we find ourselves both being more thrifty not knowing what the other has spent. Then once a year when the rewards bill comes and it has a credit worth hundreds of dollars it is our reward. For never going over and paying it in full every month.<br /><br />Sorry that was long.... but it works for us.Hollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14796396209259255826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7289632840563146895.post-71762690580494181702011-11-29T13:25:17.216-05:002011-11-29T13:25:17.216-05:00Cutting back on things can be a challenge but it c...Cutting back on things can be a challenge but it can also sometimes be fun by seeing all the ways you can cut corners and keep your money in the bank :-)Here a few things we have done: we ordered just basic cable instead of the million channels we used to have...helps us spend less money and less time watching tv...we did get Netflix which gives us more options when we want them..I used to have a cell phone plan (2 phones on plan) and was spending $150 month and always having to watch my min....now I have a Walmart straight talk phone which I pay $45 a month for which is unlimited min, text, internet....its not fancy but its really I need....I also started couponing/stockpiling and this really helps...I am not one of those extreme couponers but I do have about 6-12m worth of toiletries in my stockpile which I paid very little for by reading blogs that told me where the best deal was..I also have a small stockpile of food like pasta, peanut butter, sauce, etc...so this helps cut my grocery budget every week...my husband work is commission only and he makes very in the winter time so we have to do what we can during the rest of the year to help ease our expenses in the winter...I am a stay at home to two girls and although we do sacrafice having an extra income it is worth being able to be with my girls everyday:-)<br />Good luck with your cutting back plan and have fun with it too :-)luckyfrog84https://www.blogger.com/profile/12889441812990413182noreply@blogger.com