Ways to Save More of Your Money

Lets face it, money is important to all of us, either we have it and want to keep it or we don't have it and we want more (of you can have it and want more too!). If we are all honest with ourselves it is at least a small portion of why we started blogging in the first place. Many of us have found it fun, but there is some part of us that is looking for more or we would not even sign up with the affiliates :).

So how can we save more of our money to have when we need it or as we get older. Saving money is something I am good at, getting it to work for me, not so good. But this hub is about saving money so here are some tips that my husband and I have found useful.

1. This is probably the most important and the hardest. Make a journal. In your journal make sure that you mark down EVERY dime. You start out writing down everything you make for the month (if you are commission like us this journal is even more important!). You will be shocked at how much you spend every week/year on little things that you just don't even realize because it is so "small" at the time.

For example lets you get a $1.50 cup of coffee every morning before work. That is $7.50 per week (I didn't count weekends), which come up to $30 per month, and $360 per year! Now think about buying lunch everyday at an avg of $5 per day (I know I am cheap there!) that is $1,200 per year!

2. Create a budget: To do this, write down everything that you have to spend through the month. Things such as rent/mortgage, electric, internet, car payment, etc. Then you get to the items that are needed but fluctuate in price food/gas. After subtracting what you make from what you need that will let you know how much you have for the fluctuating items.

At that point your budgeting and journal come into play. If you need to spend more in gas to get to and from work then you will need to look at coupons/produce stands/eating in instead of dining out. Your journal will help you to see all the places you are losing nickles and dimes which takes away from anything you can put in your pocket.

3. Don't use credit cards as if they are money. If you don't have the cash to pay off the credit card, then you are not doing yourself any favors by using it. While companies out there will give you tons of credit, the reality is they are not doing you a good service. Don't misunderstand me here, I do have credit cards, and I do use them frequently. I use them to get cash back or rewards. I know that I can pay them off every month, but if I am going to have to buy it anyway if I use a CC I get cash back which is better than paying cash and getting nothing back! What I get back goes into a savings account for my daughter, over time it should actually pay for her college, not too bad!

4. Make sure that you and your significant other are on the same page. The reason I say this sounds easy but honestly it is one of the harder things to sit down and honestly discuss. This is a conversation that the earlier you can have the conversation the better, and one conversation won't cut it! Finances are something that will affect your lives forever, and if you can't openly discuss them you are setting yourself up for major issues in your relationship in the future.

You have to know what you have to work with (I am not saying get a full disclosure on a first date), but if your significant other has severe debt for example you need to know if you move in together that creditors will be calling. This can put a strain on the closest relationships and absolutely destroy not so strong ones. If there is government debt (school loans/tax liens/child support) and you get married you need to know this so you can file the Injured Spouse Report.

5. Make sure you are always honest with each-other about where everything stands. Finances will change many times over the years. Sometimes you will have more, others you will have less. Sometimes you can afford to eat out and others you won't be able to. If you are not open and honest about this with your significant other then there is no way you expect that things will work long term. Usually your significant other wants to help and would not put the stress of being able to do something if you let them know what is going on. Hiding finances in the family is never a good situation.

6. Don't discuss finances in front of children. If you are thinking of doing anything major (or even minor if times are tight) make sure that you talk about it adults only, prior to bringing it up in front of the children. This way if you are having a financial issue you and your significant other are on the same page without having to discuss it in front of the children.

Dave Ramsey really helped my husband and I to get on the same page as well. If you can teach these tips to your child you are also setting them up to not have the problems that most of us have with money. Hopefully some of these tips help!