>>stripped of natural charm

Yes…i definitely budget. Each month (before the month starts usually) i print out (or write) a list of all the bills that are due, the day they’re due, the amount that’s due, and then another column to write the date i paid it and how much i paid (for instance – credit cards, i pay more than the minimum, so i write how much i paid). It works well for us. Jon gets paid every two weeks, so i pay whatever bills are due (and whichever extra ones i can pay ahead) each time jon gets paid. Whatever is left is for gas/groceries for the next two weeks. When Jon gets paid again, i pay the rest of the bills, plus extra on the credit cards. And again what’s left is for gas/groceries/misc.

We’ve actually been struggling a little bit lately, b/c as hard as i tried to not adopt this mindset, i always think, ‘i work now, so i can spend a little extra, etc’ or go out to eat more often. Things like that got us into trouble…so i have to start sticking to the budget more. It will be rough now that we’re stuck with jon’s dad’s funeral expenses…but that’s life, right?

We don’t go out much…but then again, we are homebodies. And it’s different when you have kids. I imagine it will be much harder for you in the ‘entertainment’ area with a boyfriend and full social life! You can always switch houses/apts each weekend to hang out instead of going out to spend money. Like each week a different person hosts and everyone brings a snack/drink to share.

So the best piece of advice i can give you about saving money (off the top of my head w/o really thinking anyway) is to spend money at the grocery store instead of at restaurants!

Brown-bag your lunch and cook dinner at home. If you do that, then you should (depending on your situation) be able to splurge twice a month on a decent dinner out.

It’s very hard when you’re dating (especially) but making your own food is the biggest thing you can save money on. On that note…don’t go crazy at the grocery store, lol. Don’t shop hungry and don’t buy junk. It works two-fold…b/c junk food each night gets expensive and also…it works for your health. If the junk food isn’t there, you can’t eat it ;) Temptation averted.

Another one…keep your credit cards at home! When going ’shopping’ leave your debit card in the car.

Call credit cards and negotiate lower interest rates. Whenever there is a late payment, etc, if you call and explain what happened (for instance just last week i had a cc bill due that fell on a saturday and since i paid it friday, it didn’t go through until monday. so they stuck me with a $40 late payment. when i called and told them what happened, they took it off.)

Stop using credit cards unless it’s an actual emergency. Pay down balances each month paying more than the minimum. Cut them all up if you have to and just keep one for any emergencies.

Stop buying fast food/pizza/takeout/etc! Fast food a couple times a week over the course of a month adds up really fast.

I could right plenty more…but have to get dinner on the table…

Despite having moved out of my parent’s house like five years ago, this is the first year I’ve tried to keep to a budget. I started from necessity – needing to find the money to pay off my student loan- and it’s been remarkably easy so far. Tricks I’ve discovered include:

*Use cash as often as possible. Not just debit cards – pure hard cash. At the beginning of the month I take out the entire amount of my budgeted spending money from the ATM – and that’s it. $100 bill in my pocket is safer than $100 in my bank account because I don’t get extra fees for using it, and I’m not very likely to break a bill to buy some mints.

*Make sure you add “savings” to you budget. And open a savings account. Having a slowly building nest egg is very satisfying, and makes you feel like your budget is really doing something

*Eat at home as much as possible. Every time we eat out I look at the bill and think “wow, that’s 40% of one week’s groceries. Not that eating out is banned – it’s just something you should think about, rather than default to.

*Make sure you have some room for flexibility, and room to splurge. Every so often you need a double-decker double-chocolate banana split sundae, and budget be damned. Sandra and I have about $40 a month that doesn’t have a home just in case. Feeling low? Emergency date-night.

*If you have “bank debts” and “personal debts” take care of the personal ones first. I feel worse if I owe my mom $500 than I would for owing the bank $5000.

I can’t think of anything else, but have fun with it! It’s easier than it seems once you get into it.