I set a goal for my 2008 savings, and realized last month that I am not as far along as I should be. They say when the going gets tough, the tough get going.
I have gone back to some of my old habits because I was sliding into some expensive habits. First, we had to travel for my job, and I didn't have the right clothes. We went to the thrift store and found two beautiful pantsuits for $8.00 each. One had to be hemmed, but that's easy. We ate meals mostly from the grocery store. We had cereal and milk for breakfast, and sandwiches and fruit for lunch. For dinners we went to medium-priced restaurants. The Chinese restaurant gave such huge servings that we took the leftovers to our room and ate them for lunch the next day. We kept our gas receipts and meal and shopping receipts because they are deductible expenses. We always drove the speed limit in order to use less gas. Our only entertainment expense was two $7.00 tickets to the aquarium.
All in all our expenses for a five day trip came to around $200, because my employer paid for the room and seminar tuition. In addition we got to walk on a beautiful beach and all around a sweet little resort town. It had been a long time since we enjoyed relaxing time together!
Today I had to have lab work which required fasting. I would normally have bought a burger afterward, but today I took a sandwich and bottled water. Then I came home and started a big batch of pickled peppers. I'm not boasting. I'm just saying that those little expenditures really add up. We could have bought $50 meals, but we bought $10.00. And the biggest savings come with money you didn't spend. We tightwads get a real high from that.
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