Ways to Save Money

 I am doing my best to increase my savings but that is easier said than done.  On the one hand, I am happy that I have something in savings for when life happens and I need a little extra to get me through.  On the other hand, it gets frustrating when life happens and I need to dip into the savings.  And life has been happening a lot lately.  Overall, though, I am still very pleased that I can take care of myself financially right now.  That is pretty awesome in my eyes.  And hopefully down the road, that will increase. 

I am always looking at ways to save money.  I have really curbed my extra spending.  When I get out and go to antiques malls and estate sales, I rarely buy anything anymore unless it is for someone else. I am always Christmas shopping!  I used to just buy whatever because I thought it was nice but I don't do that anymore really.  I have always cut way back on online shopping for myself.  As much as I love Ebay and have found great things there, I can go months now without buying anything there.  But there have been some real temptations there.  But I stayed strong.

I also have changed some of my grocery shopping habits.  I now go into the grocery store with a very specific list and, for the most part, I stick to that list.  I will, though, peruse the meats on sale and snag things that are good deals, but not always.  I will also give myself one or two impulse purchases when I'm there as long as I don't overspend. Because I love my grocery shopping and cooking, I rarely eat out anymore.  While I think it is great and important to support local businesses, I am very picky about where I go and how often.  If I eat out once a month, that's a lot for me. I used to eat out all the time.  Being single helps with not eating out a lot but that's for another blog LOL

Thinking about shopping, with Christmas coming up, I have decided to limit the amount of money I spend on gifts.  I have found some very great deals with this in mind and now I am always on the lookout for sales and clearance racks.  You never know what you're going to find there that will come in handy later as a gift.  As much as I love gift giving, it is just as important not to break the bank for the sake of holiday cheer, ya know?

I would love to know what some of your ways are in which to save money.  I am always looking for new ideas!  That is all.