Today starts my second of three giveaways in a 10-Part Budgeting Series I post on Fridays. Thanks to Chris at The Dave Ramsey Show for their generous donations for our giveaway!
If you have missed the last three topics, you can click on the topics below to check them out!
What Are Your Financial Goals?
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This weekends giveaway is
The Dave Ramsey Designer Envelope System
** If you don’t win it and would like to purchase it, go here and get it for $12.95.
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How To Enter:
- Leave a comment below with your tips on writing and keeping to a budget. What do you do to cut down your monthly expenses? What you need most help with or anything you would like to share around financial planning and budgeting.
- You can post one entry per day (Friday-Monday). So, a total of 4 entries.
- Deadline is Monday, March 16th at midnight. I will post the winner on Tuesday morning, using RANDOM.org .
Thanks for visiting!
Kelly
If you are viewing this in a reader or via email, click here to enter!
Something that always keeps my family on track is writing a list before grocery shopping and only buying what is on that list. Having a plan saves money!
I think it’s important to budget in a small amount of “blow” money each week or month. Mine is $20 a week. I might use it for a fountain drink or a pretzel at Target or I might buy a few cheap craft supplies with it. If there’s any left over I put it in a special envelope that accrues over time and I use that money at consignment sales for clothes for my kids. Makes having a budget less of a drudge.
Ohhh! I really want to win this. Our envelope system is falling apart. This sounds simple. but my tip is to set your goal and determine to stick to it. We’re trying to do $50 a week this month. So far, so good!
For us one of the hardest aspects of staying on our budget is organization. We are determined to get this under control so that we aren’t spending a little here and a little there. Those little, spur of the moment purchases are the ones that really add up!
My advice it is stick with even when you think you have got it all taken care of. I did FPU when I was single and pregnant and it got me out of debt. It was awkward pulling out all of those loose envelopes while pregnant but it got me out of debt in less than 6 months. I was so overwhelmed with mother hood that I started depending on my debit card and now I find my self pregnant again (married this time) but with no savings and no keeping up with my budget!
Oh, this is a great giveaway…My husband and I have been using the financial peace system not for 8 years and have been using regular old envelops it would be great to have the real thing! 😉 It really helps our budget and relationship when we sit down each month and spend all of out money on paper before we ever really spend a dime. We both know where we are financially and where our money is going.
My tip is to have an inventory of your freezer and pantry at all times. This saves time and money. I check it before I shop and have it handy as I am making my menu for the week. You tend to use up what you have. This alone has helped me cut down on my groc. bill.
My husband and I just started Dave’s Financial Peace class, and we are really excited about getting on track financially. To help save money on groceries we finally started couponing and looking for store brands and store discounts. I had NEVER clipped a grocery coupon until a couple of months ago! Baby steps!
My tip would be to write everything down that you spend money on even that 50 cents for the coke machine. You have to know where your money is going. I also recommend very simply to just live on less! It isn’t rocket science but does require a commitment and team work if you are married.
Even just this week I was told to take “baby steps” in order to not get overwhelmed. That was in reference to my recent start into couponing and matching coupons to the sales. It can be addicting. My advice is the same for budgeting and household finances. Take Baby Steps, just like Dave preaches. We didn’t think we could live on a cash only basis. We started out by moving the grocery and household goods category in our budget to cash only. It has amazed us both what a difference living cash only in these areas has helped us stay on track with our budget. Not only to stay on track, but we even spend less than we did because we are aware of every penny that we spend. Once the envelope is empty, that’s it until the next week.
I keep our grocery budget on an excel spreadsheet, in which I record what I bought, when, and where. It helps me to look back over when I stockpiled items and how much we spent at the stores on various months. For saving money on the budget–if you can’t pay your bills or you are in debt, DO NOT keep your cable! We are able to pay our bills and the only debt we have is for a student loan and our mortgage, but we like saving by eliminating things like cable, DVD rentals (except the free ones with Redbox and an occasional one there!), text messaging services, and convenience items (like Starbucks or pancake mix). Because of these savings and actively couponing, I’m able to stay at home with our daughter, have a full pantry of stockpiled items, and double our payments on our debts.
Thanks so much for your website! I enjoy looking in on it each day!
Gabrielle
Knoxville
My husband and I have recently begun listening to Dave on-line. My sister and brother-in-law have been doing his program and rave about it! My husband and I have turned it into a game…seeing how much we can save between 3/1 and 3/31. We saw how much we had been eating out each month…even when we were just getting “cheap” pizza and breadsticks. We sponser a child thru Compassion International and have always said how I wish we could sponser 2 children. Well after looking at our “pizza budget” I felt horrible! I had gotten away from doing a 2 week or monthly menu after my 3rd was born and that caused us to eat out a lot. Just started back up with that AND using what is in the pantry before buying a ton more stuff. I’m excited to see what we have left over come March 31st.
Thanks for the contest and your fantastic blog!
I am new to the budget plan…my husband has always handled our money & he is great at it!!! We decided that to have me more involved he would handle the bills and I would handle food money, etc…so I am trying to do this right and have had to get a loan from my husband since starting. I need to learn how to plan better!!!
I need the most help with budgeting for our meals we eat out. I plan a menu, shop with my Publix ad and matching coupons, stockpile and freeze ahead but we do allow our family to eat lunch out every Sunday and also about 2 Saturday nights a month (not too bad…) but then there is the occassional fast food run that can spoil or make us go over on our food budget. This cash wallet would be great!
Making a menu for meals each week, and then making a grocery list with things that we need from the menu helps quite a bit.
Eliminating compulsive purchases is one of the ways that I keep our budget in check.
Prayer! I think when we pray in our family, and the Lord sees we are being diligent in trying to save money, he blesses us!
Ever since we got married (almost 5 years ago), we have started doing budgets and will do it for a couple of months and then get sidetracked and stop. When we had our son 10 months ago and decided that I would stay home, we became determined to do a monthly budget and stick with it. So far, so good! Now we sit down every month and see what we’re spending. It’s helped us to cut down on a lot of extras. Now that I’m into couponing (with the help of this blog and your class), we’ve been able to cut down on our grocery budget quite a bit. That has us very excited!
When our money was super tight several years back, after losing our business, I stayed out of the stores unless it was something we had to have. When my mom would call and ask me to go to the outlets I told her I couldn’t even when she said that I could just look. Just looking made me discontent so it was better to stay home and appreciate what I did have.
While we haven’t done the FPU (yet), I have started paying for groceries, prescriptions, etc. with cash. We don’t have a debit card, but even writing checks is easier than using cash. The cash makes you slow down and physically see what you have. It’s a real pain, though, digging around in plain envelopes, looking for the right one, getting the change and receipt back into the right one. I know people think I’m nuts. I would love to have this – getting organized is half the battle. It really is.
What do you do to cut down your monthly expenses?
– Buy only what we NEED. And use coupons.
What you need most help with or anything you would like to share around financial planning and budgeting.
-Making sure I have allotted for all expenses for the month.
Right now I’m saving money by not spending it on envelopes by using old ones that a company was done with who had rebranded, but they’re not as durable as this would be!
I lived in a third world country, and that gave me a whole new appreciation for learning to do without and how to be thankful and creative. I keep reminding myself, “If they can live and be thankful even without running water, I can certainly live without (fill in the blank).”
Coupons! I love using coupons and getting good deals!
Love the red wallet!
I make a weekly menu after looking at the Publix circular by what is on sale. I coupon and stack coupons. Just this month we’ve gone to cash only for groceries (and whatever I don’t spend that week we can use to eat out–if I spend it all, no eating out that week!).
My ways to save… use coupons, shop CVS & Walgreens,and don’t go to the grocery store hungry.
We only use cash and never use credit cards.
We so could use one of these! Saving….Coupons of course 🙂 Another big saver for us is always bringing along my small coupon case to the grocery store (that holds all of our extra/loose coupons & peelies) I have found so many great deals in the clearance sections at places like Target and Publix and am able to take off even more with a coupon I hadn’t planned on!
I have saved our family money by:
1) Cutting out our land line telephone service.
2) Switching our cable to the BASIC (first 22 channels)
3) Got quote from independent insurance agent for auto/home pkg
4) Went on budget plan for gas & electric service at home
5) Cash ONLY for food.
I would LOVE to have this envelope system. I currently am using the cash envelopes from the bank & would LOVE a more organized system!!!
i try to make a meal plan over the weekend and buy groceries according to the plan….
I always use coupons and plan ahead with a list and make a menu using what I see that is on sale that week and I always listen to Dave. AE- I always leave home with out it! Haha
The cash-only, envelope system works great for us. It is much easier to stick to the budget now and really helps us control our spending. When the cash is gone, so is the shopping!
I need to begin the envelope system so this would be great! Thanks!
This is possibly the BEST giveaway ever!! Thank you so much!
Some of the ways we’ve saved:
* Carpooling: we share one car between the two of us.
* Searching out online coupons: I’ve recently saved as much as $50 on a needed purchase.
* Switching providers: We got rid of our cell phones and cable internet, opting for a package deal of DSL and a phone line. We will save $1200/year.
* Meal planning: we’ve not only cut back on frivolous grocery purchases, we’ve also lost weight 😉
* Using services like Gmail chat or Skype: We have saved so much on long-distance charges!
Our biggest problem, however, is still dining out. When we’ve had a particularly hectic day, it is so easy to forget the budget and pick up something on the way home. This hasn’t been very helpful for weight loss or our budget, but we’re trying to combat this through meal planning, and having at least one day a week of easy-to-prepare meals.
We take inventory of our pantry and freezer and make a list before grocery shopping. We have a budget for groceries and anything that is not on the list is not purchased.
Consignment Sales!!!! That is a great way to save money
We have cut our internet speed down and we save a few more bucks a month and I can’t even tell the difference in speed!
We plan how much we want to spend on groceries per month and only shop once a month (besides a few perishables like milk, bread and produce) as a couple so we are more accountable of what we buy. Works like a charm!! We usually even come in under budget!!
By moving to cash only for our groceries/food money (including eating out), it has forced us to keep check on the money leaving our hands. Before moving to cash only for food, I had a VERY difficult time keeping a check on what I was spending on food and money. There was nothing to stop me from over spending or saying yes to eating out. Now, with an envelope of real cash money, there is certainly something to stop me, the prospect of an empty envelope before it’s time to add more money to it. We now pick and choose what we REALLY want to do with that money. And Kelly is certainly helping me to use that money more wisely.
We’ve saved money by getting rid of our cable. We watch any TV programs we want to see on Hulu on our laptop.
After picking up every box of garbage bags off of the shelf at Wal-Mart, I decided that they were all too expensive for me to put trash in and end up throwing them away. I knew my husband wouldn’t like the idea at first, but I had plastic bags from Kroger, Wal-Mart and Target overflowing out of my pantry. Why couldn’t I use those to throw trash away? So…I went home. My husband did give me that look like “You’re crazy. Go back to the store and buy trash bags”. I told him that if it didn’t work I would go out immediately. We’ve been doing it for over a month now. All I could see at the store was me just taking $8 or so bucks every month and a half and throwing it directly in the dumpster.
When we wrote out our detailed budget, we looked into some things that we could maybe cut out or get lower prices on. I called our alarm company to find out if there was anything we could do to get a lower rate, and they offered to give us free service for 3 months and then resume billing at $12 less per month! I was shocked! I also called about our car insurance, and they also lowered our monthly bill by about $25 without making any changes to our policy. The other was our gym membership. I actually went in with every intention to cancel, but they offered to lower out monthly fee by $26 a month! All this to say, simple phone calls and asking questions really can pay off, even when you don’t think it will.
We have definitely revisited the idea of “need.” After taking a hard look at the things we felt we needed we realized that the majority of them were simply wants. Now we’re practicing what we preach to our 3 year old!
We haven’t bought one piece of clothing for our son yet. He is 8 months and everything we have gotten is from friends who either let us borrow clothes or gave them to us. We feel very blessed by this and are extremely thankful.
Ditch cable! There are so many shows available for free online … you’ll never be bored.
When our clock radio finally died we found a replacement at the Salvation Army thrift the next day for $3. Our ailing coffee grinder was replaced by an almost new Krups grinder for $1 from a church sale. Several years ago we replaced our 15 yr. old VCR that died with a $10 one from Goodwill. Each time we saved 75-95% of what we would have paid at retail and we helped some great charities!
We use mint.com to help us set up a budget and keep track of expenses online. It is a lot easier to navigate than other programs (for me). I also am a big consignment sale/e-bay seller along with purchaser. I generally break even on clothing for our 3 children each season by doing these sales.
I make a menu every week as to what we will eat for our meals. Then I make a grocery list according to our menu. When I go to the store it is very easy to stick to the list and then get out of the store without picking up things I do not need.
We found Dave Ramsey almost 3 years ago-changed our lives! To cut back on monthly expenses my husband and I canceled our cable (saves us $ 50 per month). So we didn’t feel deprived I made a list of free entertainment – taking walks, watching a dvd, playing with our son, fishing or reading a book. We stopped eating out too. You can buy tons more food @ the market have a ‘date’ cooking together while spending a fraction of the cost. For Valentine’s Day we exchange love coupons. We buy clothes for our 2 year old ONLY @ the goodwill and yard sales. I also check out freecycle.org.
I want this, we need to replace our current envelope system! We are currently working on the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace, and loving it! My tip is to take the debit card out of my wallet. I keep it in the checkbook so I have to see what is in the register before I spend. That is if, I don’t have the cash already. This also prevents me from spending too much because I don’t carry the checkbook with me all the time!
We’ve made our three year old the “light helper.” Everytime we leave the house, she makes sure all the lights are off.
For the kid shows that aren’t on Hulu (since we don’t have cable) we ask our parents to burn DVDs of Little Einsteins, Blues Clues, and Dora from their Tivo for our daughter.
If we go out to eat during the week, we go to Chicken Nick’s on Wednesday where kids eat free. The kids meals come with sodas, but our kids only like water, so my husband and I drink their drink and our family of five can eat for under $13. they have salads and wraps and yummy side for those wanting healthier items as well.
I am VERY big on all of the kid’s consignment sales. Most of my son’s clothes are from these, except for gifts and end-of-season sales. At this age, they only wear things a few times before they’ve outgrown them, so a lot of things will look brand new, or sometimes even still have the original tags on! It also makes me so happy when I find cute name-brand stuff that is sooo much cheaper than it would be at the mall.
I love coupons. I am really trying to be more frugal and only buy the needs. Making a list is good for me and really thinking about the purchase has started to help as well.
Since I handle our finances and my husband is always clueless about how much we have, I set up an account up Mint.com (for free) and linked it to his Iphone. That way he can check each of our credit cards and bills and it also keeps track of budgets such as grocery, auto, entertainment….Then it emails or alerts us if we go over.
One of the things that has helped us a lot is learning how to use coupons effectively. Being able to get items you use everday for free or almost free is a great money saver. We rarely go out to eat and we always take our lunch to work. We are just starting to work on a budget so this is would be a great help!
We go to Chick Fil A every Tuesday night and buy one combo meal and about 3 kids meals. The four of us eat for under $10!
We break down our health insurance premiums (since we are self-insured self-employed) into four “payments.” For instance, I take out about $120 a week in cash for insurance and put it in an envelope. At the end of the month, I have the cash put aside, and it’s not a $450 bill at once. I then take that cash and deposit it or use it for the other envelopes I need to fill that week. It’s a little complicated, but it works for me!
Another good tip is to have a weekly “family meeting” where finances are discussed, even for 5 minutes.
To keep down expenses we shop at the local farmer’s market and shop using coupons. Two of our stores always double and sometimes triple coupon. I see great savings from those two strategies.
My husband and I are in the processing of reevaluating our finances. In fact at our church we had a financial seminar just today! I praise the Lord how he provides – I have been a stay at home mom since our first child was born (he is 22 and we have seven children altogether the youngest being 6 year old twin girls.) My husband was in school for 10 1/2 years parttime and worked full-time and has been a pastor for 9 years, since then. God is our ultimate provider as He has shown us over and over again, but we are called to be good stewards (managers, not owners) for his glory. I found out about this website from a ladies retreat!
We are now planning meals and sticking to a list. Also doing lots of research before buying anything major!
I have been using coupons more often and making grocery lists and sticking to them.
We keep a list on our fridge to write down every penny we spend. This helps us stay on target with our budget and also analyze where we spend our money.
I always loved thrift stores and consignment shops but I’ve begun hitting almost every garage sale in the area too. This has definitely saved me a ton of money. When faced with the prospect of hauling all that “stuff” off or back in their home people will almost give things away!
We are helping our children learn to save money. They each get an allowance equal to their age. I know that sounds like a lot, but they divide this amount into three envelopes. The first is for church as we teach them to tithe. The rest is divided equally between a save envelope and a spend envelope. One of the local banks has a school bank day program. About twice a month the representatives from the bank come to school at the beginning of the day for Bank day. The students are encouraged to open a savings account and deposit money into it each Bank day. They get a small reward each time they make a deposit, and they get larger rewards when they hit specific intervals. The money that my children place in their Save envelope is taken to Bank Day and deposited in their savings account. They are free to do whatever they want with the money in their Spend envelope. They each have a goal for a purchase they want to make with this money. At ages 5 and 7 we are already seeing good saving habits being developed. The money does not burn a hole in their pockets and they are excited to see their “pots” grow. They both use their Spend money to buy birthday and Christmas presents for each other, and they get so excited to use it to buy a gift for their sibling. It’s very rewarding as a parent to watch your children develop good financial habits at an early age.
Ok, for my fourth entry…..It’s now 10 minutes until 1:00 am Central time so it’s officially Monday, and I head out of town in the morning so need to get my last entry in before I go. I really would love to win this Designer Envelope System of Dave Ramsey’s. I guess I have a couple of small things to say, one is to not ever go to the grocery store hungry or you’re likely not to stick to your list. If I take my sweet hubby along, it’s also likely extra items will end up in the cart :). Second, I have just discovered that there are other places to find coupons besides the Sunday circulars and the coupons you find around the stores. A number of magazines also regular include coupons. I have seem then in Good Housekeeping I believe and All You magazine. I’m sure there are others.
Keeping track of what we spend as it’s happening is one area my husband and I really need to work on. I think this envelope system is a great way for us to do that!
I believe that being aware of your expenses is so important. Seems that the odd items such as stamps, printer cartridges, medicines, family visits, etc. are the ones that throw us off course. Now we try to include those in our monthly budget, even if they don’t occur every month. And I love the envelope system!
I am so excited about this giveaway because my husband and I have just started hearing such wonderful things about Dave Ramsey’s program. Budgeting is a tuff one. My husband works for a not-for-profit and his income fluxuates. I really think debit cards are our worst enemy. They make those impulse urges so easy. One helpful thing to budgeting is planning my meals before time and making a list.
I menu plan with a DETAILED grocery list so that when I go shopping, I am way less likely to spend extra, we also have at least one Leftovers night per week. And we are on a CASH only budget, so if it isnt there, it isnt spent!
I have 4 chart pages listing items I regularly buy, and the prices at different stores. I update them each week by looking at my cash tapes. I keep these right in the pocket of my portfolio that holds my shopping list, pencil, calculator and coupon holder. An added bonus of recording spending soon after returning home from grocery shopping is that I’ve caught several errors that I’ve been able to be reimbursed for (double rings, wrong pricing).
I removed the credit cards from my purse and put them in a pencil pocket in our financial notebook, along with our household checkbook. Debit cards stay in checkbooks so everything gets recorded immediately.
I record all spending on the cash flow pages in the financial notebook, also recording income and miles driven for medical purposes, etc. At the end of each month, I add the totals of the things that are necessary for tax preparation onto a page that shows monthly amounts. Makes tax preparation very easy.
I hang all the laundry–outside in good weather; in the basement in inclement weather.
We cancelled cable services for tv, and have gone to VOIP for our telephone service so all long distance calls in the country are free, as are caller ID, call waiting, etc.
I am part Scottish, so some things come naturally. I have found that stocking up on items when they are on sale has saved us money in the long run. The key is to get only things that you normally would purchase. I did just hear about the Angel Food ministries and have started buying that food to help with expenses, esp. since DH’s hours are being cut and may lose his job.
My husband and I raised four children on a shoe string budget and just thought I knew all the tricks. Thank you so much for listening to God and following through. I will be revisiting this web site and learning more of what I didn’t know.
I plan our meals around the grocery ad for each week.
I shop the sale papers for items that are on sale plus a double coupon. Then I plan my meals around those purchases. We are working on becoming debt-free and are reading Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. We are just starting the envelope system so these would really help. Thank you!
I think my best tips would be to jot down all items that are my needs not what I like. By these, I can manage my money spending on important matters rather than on what I like.
I am a newly separated mother of 3. I have started doing the envelope system with just ordinary envelopes. My advice is to go over monthly bills and budget accordingly but don’t forget the bills that come yearly or bi yearly(house and car insurance,taxes). It has been very eye opening to write everything down and actually see what I need on a weekly basis to pay all my bills.
I am just beginning and have this pull in my heart to start a financial class using Gods word in my church but don’t know where to begin, however through prayer God has been leading to places such as this site. Here is a small tip I use already… my husband and I only spend a ‘ cash allowance” that we give ourselves at the beginning of each week. I also have the same system set up for the kids as well so when the “mom can I have or mom I need” pops up that is what is used. This teaches my kids how to live within a budget and has stopped the little extras for the kids that I would catch myself spending.
Most of all always start anything in God’s word which covers tithing. Start here… Malachi 3:10 “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse” the Lord tells us and then HE adds “And try ME now in this”. What a bold promise and challenge!