A Firm Foundation

Make a Change and Save the Difference!

Since I'll be quitting my job in exactly ten weeks (but who's counting?!), being frugal is going to become a way of life for me. Join me every Friday as I share tips that I learn along the way on my journey to frugality! Have some frugal tips of your own? Know of some good blogs/websites that deal with frugal living? How about some legitimate ideas of making extra income? Leave me a comment! (Please note: Spam and/or scam comments regarding extra income will be not be published.)

Today's tip: Save the difference.

If you're familiar with the Duggar family, you've probably heard them mention their motto "Buy used and save the difference." I think that's a very wise way to live, but what if you're not in a financial position to "buy new"? What if you "buy used" because that's all you can afford?

Try this instead: Make a change and save the difference.

If you were going to pay full price for something, but are able to pay less... save the difference. If you normally spend a certain amount on something, but decide to cut it out... save the difference.

Here are some ideas on how to save the difference, most of which we are currently doing!

• Did you clip coupons this week and save $5.46? Transfer that $5.46 over to your savings account. At that rate, you could save almost $284.00 per year!

• Do you normally order a beverage when you go out for dinner? Order water for your family of four, and your savings account just increased by about $8.00.

• Do you have a child whose haircuts cost $10 or $15? Build up the nerve to cut your child's hair yourself, and you can transfer that $10 or $15 to your savings account.

• Shop the dollar menu. When our family eats fast food, we typically would each order a meal costing about $5.00. Recently, we have set a $3.50 limit per person. That means that if four of us go out for fast food, we used to spend about $20.00, but we now spend about $14.00. Later, I go online and transfer the $6.00 difference to our savings account.

• Don't be afraid to ask for a discount. My husband and I went jeans shopping last weekend. He found the style of jeans that he prefers, but there was only one pair remaining in his size. That pair had a small flaw on the leg. I jokingly made a comment that if this had happened to Jim Bob Duggar, he would have asked the cashier to give him a discount. Well...he thought that sounded like a good idea, so off he went to ask the cashier. She called the manager, and voila! A twenty percent discount. Our savings account is now $7.14 happier. :)

"Saving the difference" can really make a difference.