Did you know that one of the simplest ways to save money is by changing the way you buy food? Eating for less need not mean a sacrifice in taste or variety. In fact, you may quickly discover that paying more attention to the amount of money you spend on groceries translates into more attention to the foods you choose and how you prepare them. Drawing inspiration from “tips and tricks to eat healthy on a budget“, here are a few hints to get you started: 

• Pack a lunch instead of buying food during the day. Ready-made food is often expensive and unhealthy. Stick to eating what you know is good for you. 
• Buy local whenever possible. Enjoying fresh and healthy food from local producers isn’t as expensive as you might expect. 
• Prepare a specific shopping list before you head out to do your food shopping and never shop on an empty stomach. This will help you avoid the impulse purchases that are based more on your poor memory or hungry stomach than any real need you might have for a product.
• Make some thrifty friends and find out what they do to save money on food and where they shop. If you have coworkers with lots of kids, ask them where they shop for food. A person accustomed to feeding lots of people in one house typically knows where to shop for the best food deals!  photo credit: x-eyedblonde

If you’re interested in saving money or getting out of debt, then you’ve probably heard this advice a hundred times: “Skip your daily Starbucks coffee and you’ll save a heap of money per year”. It’s sound advice, but a recent discussion at The Simple Dollar questions whether we should be focusing on small steps like these or big steps like - as in their example - selling the jet ski we only use once a year - and probably saving more money than we would by foregoing the daily coffee at Starbucks.

But the summary of the discussion is this: the best way to personal financial stability is to take a combination of small steps and big steps. If you take a lot of small steps, like brown-bagging your lunch instead of buying out, skipping that coffee, and hiring DVDs instead of going out to the cinema, then they will add up to be the equivalent of some of the big steps. If, at the same time, you also take some big financial steps, like downsizing your home or surviving with one car instead of two, then you’ll be accumulating a whole lot more savings there.

In combination, not only will you learn to live more frugally, but you’ll be feeling more secure because you are likely to get out or remain out of debt, and to be able to save towards a your retirement, too.

Living life simply can often mean you live life a little more cheaply, and so it’s no surprise that the suggestions on the On Simplicity blog for being thrifty are pretty useful. From the original story and the helpful comments of readers, there are all kinds of useful tips for saving a bit of money, including:

• Plan your meals for two weeks at a time, do one big shop every two weeks and then have no need to go out for fast food at all.
• Clean your house with white vinegar and baking soda instead of buying expensive cleaning products.
• Don’t leave your present buying until December - be on the lookout for Christmas gifts (and birthday presents) all year round so you can pick some up at discount prices and avoid the end of year craziness. And shop for Christmas cards and decorations on December 26, when they’re the cheapest of all.
• Learn to mend or alter clothing so that it lasts longer and you don’t need to buy new clothes so often.
• Buy fruits that are in season rather than paying a fortune for imported fruits out of season.
• If you take your kids to a restaurant, buy them one adult meal to share instead of two kids’ meals - as well as being cheaper it is usually a healthier option.

I was pretty surprised to read that the cost of running your water heater can be as much as 13% of home energy costs. It made me feel a little bit guilty about the hot showers I sometimes enjoy perhaps a little too long so I hope to follow a few of these tips soon:

• Turn down the thermostat on your hot water heater - although the standard setting is 140F, you can usually live just as well with it turned down to 120F and save up to 10% on the heating costs.
• If you go away on vacation, turn the water heater off for the period you’re away. Similarly, try to turn it off when it’s not needed for hours, for example by having a timer switch it off at night while everybody’s sleeping.
• Insulate your hot water heater, especially if it is an older model with poor insulation - touch the outside and if it’s hot or warm, you could save energy (and therefore money) by insulating it. Alternatively, consider upgrading to a new and more efficient model.
• Use less hot water by taking quicker showers - try using a timer to notice exactly how long you’re spending in the shower. You can also turn the water on and off while you’re soaping up to save some of the hot water.

Do you think it is wrong to treat yourself to a “shopping spree” every now and again? If you are on a tight budget your answer may be yes. But before you give your final answer keep in mind that you need to have fun and buy stuff for yourself from time to time. This does not mean that you should go nuts and spend tons of money on a regular basis. You need to stay responsible, but at the same time you should not feel bad about treating yourself if you reach your financial goals.

Do you have savings goals in mind for the new year? If so, you should work hard to reach all of them. And when you do there is nothing wrong with treating yourself to a few things you have had your eyes on. Again, you don’t want to go overboard but when you reach a goal you deserve to be rewarded.

When you set a reward for reaching a savings goal you are sure to work harder than ever before. For many people, a shopping spree is the best reward there is. Just make sure that your trip to the store does not negate all of your past progress.

Now, there are plenty of people who dream of a frilly white wedding that costs the earth. I’m not one of them, and neither, apparently, is Jennifer whose wedding (and wedding night) cost a grand total of $303.50.

Some people can easily spend $30,000 or more on a wedding, and that’s a huge amount of money that - especially these days - would be better spent as a house deposit or (more likely) in paying off debts, rather than creating more. Few people can expect their parents to have that kind of spare cash lying around either.

Jennifer managed to keep her wedding costs to $300 by getting married at the local courthouse, then having a nice meal and staying at a resort overnight with her new husband. When I got married, we also had the ceremony in the town hall (in Germany) and had a lunch afterwards with family members, and a night in a nice hotel in a nearby village. I bought a wedding dress that was on sale, but I loved it. I don’t feel any less “married” and it sounds like Jennifer doesn’t either. And neither of us are in debt from the minute our marriage starts, which certainly seems like a smart thing.

Clothing thrift shops don’t have the stigma they used to, and you can often find great clothes there at excellent prices. Just think of the bags of clothes you give away to charity - sometimes there’ll be clothes you bought but never wore because they didn’t fit properly or you didn’t like it once you got home - and that means there are heaps of practically new clothes on sale at these thrift shops. Get Rich Slowly gives some great tips for buying clothes in thrift shops:

• Set yourself a budget so you don’t go crazy buying dozens of items of clothing
• Always try things on - especially if they could be a couple of years old because sizing is constantly changing
• Have a very careful look at an item of clothing before you buy it, in case there is a hole or stain somewhere you didn’t notice at first
• Always wash used clothes when you get them home, before you wear them
• Ask the store when they rotate the stock - some only do it once a week for example, or less often - so you can be there when the newest stock arrives
• Have plenty of time to spare, because it takes a lot longer to sift through racks of random, unique clothing than it does to look around a shop full of new clothes where there’s much less variety
• Take a friend with you to help you with second opinions

If you’ve ended up without a job - or even if you’re still employed - now is a good time to figure out some ways to cut your expenses, using these tips from Wisebread:

1. Cut housing expenses by renting out a room, downsizing to a smaller rental, or moving in with relatives for a while. Although many people may think that living with their parents or other relatives is a last resort, it can take the strain off your finances until you are in a better position - but don’t make it a strain on their finances by not making a contribution that at least covers all the additional costs they incur by having extra people living there
2. Cut transport costs by selling your car (especially if you have a loan on it, thus reducing debts as well) unless it’s vital to a future job where you live; or move to a place where you can use public transport more easily.
3. Buy in bulk and stock up during sales for household necessities (that’s things you need - not things you want!). So far as other kinds of shopping go, avoid them like the plague.
4. Be extra careful. Breaking something or having a minor car accident (if you’ve still got the car) have a much bigger impact when you’re living without a regular income; but it’s good practice to take care of your possessions at any time.

As you know the economy is on a downturn, the stock market is anything but stable, and real estate prices are dipping. If you are not worried about money you are in the minority. With so much going on around you it is important to keep one thing in mind: now is the time to save. By saving now you can protect yourself against future problems. It may not be fun to save all your money, and you don’t have to stock away every last dollar. But you definitely need to build your emergency fund/savings to ensure that you could get by should something bad happen to you or your finances.

There is no denying that it can be difficult to save. In fact, some people don’t have any money leftover at the end of the month; or so they think. No matter your financial situation you should look for a way to save each month. This does not mean you have to save thousands. Anything is better than nothing, and once you get on a roll you will see just how beneficial this can be.

Where are you going to save your money? Many people have money to save but don’t know where to put it due to the bad economy. Obviously, investing in the stock market is not the best idea for everybody at this point. If you are building an emergency fund you want to keep your money as liquid as possible. For this reason, the best place to save is in a high yield online savings account. This allows you to not only save but to also earn interest.

No matter who you are or what position you are in now is the time to save. The more you save each month the better. Keep this in mind when setting and managing your budget.

What is the status of your emergency fund? There are a few common answers to this question. Some people have enough money in their emergency fund, some are working to save more, and others don’t know what this is. As you can imagine, the best position is to have plenty of money in your emergency fund. The worst position is to have no money saved.

How much money should you keep in an emergency fund? This all depends on your situation. Many experts say that you need to have at least six months worth of living expenses in this fund. Will this work for you? Some may want more, some may want less. Either way, you need to know what you are comfortable with and then do your best to reach this goal.

If you don’t have an emergency fund now is the time to start saving. You never know when something is going to come up that will call for a lot of money over a relatively short period of time. For instance, what would you do if you lost your job? While this is never good, if you have an emergency fund you at least have money to fall back on until you find a new job.

Where should you keep your emergency fund? You want to make sure that this money is liquid. The best place to keep an emergency fund is in a checking or savings account. To make the most of it look for an online savings account that allows you to earn a good return on your money.

So what is the status of your emergency fund? If you don’t know the answer to this question there is a good chance that you are running behind. Do yourself a favor and sure up your emergency fund as soon as possible. This is not a decision you will regret.