What area of frugal living do you plan on improving in?

[TheRootedNomad]

After reviewing the last year and getting our numbers in order for closing out 2008 I realized there are a number of areas we've really slacked off in over the last several months. Now there are areas where I probably won't ever improve and don't mind spending the money (like on the AC in the summer), this isn't about those areas. This is about areas where if money were even tighter I wouldn't even think about tightening up but for some reason have started slacking. In my case it is probably a combination of poor planning and laziness.

Some of the things I've noticed are:

~ baggies aren't getting reused to thier true death point
~ gifts aren't being planned out as well
~ grocery trips aren't planned out and attacked with the fervor they could be
~ picking up to go items is much more frequent than it use to be due I'm sure to lack of meal planning
~ the dryer is being used way to often
~ our heat is set higher than it normally is during the winter

I am going back to tightening up on these things. What about you? Have you noticed areas you've slacked off in that you need to refocus on? What are they?

[missyali]

Great thought provoker! It's easy to get slack on some things. I agree, I need to buckle down a bit.
1. I will avoid baggies at all costs and use a reusable contain is possible.
2. Stop buying "obligatory" gifts. Many of my co-workers continue to exist even though I did not get them a Christmas present.
3. Get more organized ~ I missed some things this year and paid late fees b/c they were set up on bill pay & I missed a due date or something along those lines.
4. Get creative with my cooking. Meat will be a SIDE dish, not the main portion.

I am sure there are more, but I still have half a cup of coffee in front of me

[Momto2Boyz]

I have alot of areas in which I have began to slack in the past 6 months or so.

Here is what I plan to tighten up on this year:
~No more buying baggies. I normally use re-usable tupperware, but bought some baggies and have been using them (and not reusing them), so I need to get better about using the tupperware.
~Shoveling snow, and not using the snow blower. I usually shovel, but we've had so much snow this year, that it got tiring, so I started taking the lazy women route and using the blower and wasting gas!
~I'm pretty spot on with grocery planning, but need to incorporate more homebaked goodies instead of conveneince goodies.
~Less water usage all around. Long, hot showers are so appealing in the winter..but I need to get better about taking shorter, cooler showers to lower the water usage!
~Eating out. We started 2008 right, but slipped somewhere along the way. So one of my 2009 goals is to only eat out, do take out or delivery once a month and on special occassions (mother's day, father's day, birthday's, etc.)

I think that is about it! Or at least all I can think of right now. I may add more to my list as I see what else everyone else has posted and it reminds me of what I need to tighten the belt on!

[The Muse]

I'm going to cut back on the amount of wine I buy. It should be a once a month treat instead of a way to celebrate the weekend, every weekend. $15 a week really adds up over a year.

I also need to get a better handle on keeping things DH likes in the house. I usually ask him if he wants anything when I go to the grocery store, the answer is usually "no" but then he goes on his own and spends twice what he should. I've been keeping a list of what he buys so I can add it to my list and hopefully keep him out of the grocery store.

Since it's winter in New England and there's snow on the ground, it's hard for me to get out to my clothesline, so I use the dryer more often than I'd like. I'm going to buy one of those indoor drying racks and cut back on how often I use the dryer in the winter.

Food preservation. Last year was my first with a garden so I was unprepared for how and when things came in. This year, I've made a calendar so I can stagger planting and be prepared to can, etc. when the harvest starts coming in.

[MoonMommy]

Hmmm.
-I need to focus a lot more on cooking from scratch. I love to do it, but when we are busy or kids/we aren't feeling well, it IS so easy to just order out.
-I started getting better at planning my grocery shopping/shopping list. I need to continue this and maybe make it even better. I found that the weeks that I did this, I bought less and saved more money because I only bought stuff on sale and utilized more coupons.

[ladykemma2]

well, given that this debtor's anonymous follower racked up a credit card debt after years of not doing so (it was not compulsive debting, but a planned purchase), and then unexpectedly having the interest rate doubled, I am swearing off credit cards after this debt snowplow. my way doesn't work, i will follow god's way.

i tightened up my freedom accounts and made subaccounts for office supplies and work holiday parties which were killing my budget.

[Patty A]

Like you I think its easy to "slip up" and not pay attention. My number one thing to work on is tightening up on everything. I know I get lazy, and take the easy way out sometimes. I think I need to work on a little bit of every thing and tighten the belt all the way around. I see so many little things that add to waste, and when you add up all the little things they become big.

So number one for me will be watching closely what I am doing, and where I see waste of any kind......clean it up and save!

[TexasPeanut]

A few things I need to take charge on for starters ....

Doing better and more with the garden. Especially in the preserving the harvest department.

Saving more money, getting into the habit of putting more back each week.

Put the clothesline back up. It had to be taken down for a building to be moved and was never put back up since the weather had changed. This is priority number one by spring.

Use my coupons more often and shop around for the best deals a little better than I have been lately.

[homesteadmamma]

These are the things I'm doing:

~not paying full price (I have a challenge on that one). I use to be so very careful and then got lax and didn't watch near as much. I'm on a mission to not pay full price for anything if at all possible in 09.

~save baggies.

~manage our trips to the city better. We've cut these down considerably, however I know we can do better.

~use my lists more

~use those coupons

[lotsadebt]

I am down to one credit card. I just balance transfered for a lower rate for the life of the repayment. So my goal is to pay $500 a month on this puppy to get it gone.

I also cut down on the cable tv services, and phone service. Since I have had an increase in my day care costs, and have had to take out supplemental dental insurance. DD is going to need braces, sealants for both kids.

[TinyDancer]

I really need to get back to menu planning/grocery shopping. I did really well in September and October, but November and December I ordered take-away a lot! Old habits die hard.

I also want to get back to using my cash only system. I don't spend the change, so it goes into my change jar. This method definitely ensures that I don't spend EVERYTHING I have.

[forHISglory]

I used to have a veggie garden and then quit. I really need to get back to that. Our problem out here in the woods is all the wildlife that want to share our garden. So I need to find out how to prevent them from taking all my hard earned work!

[wwe11]

These are the things that I plan on doing or learning.

~start my first garden; we just moved to the country and want to learn to garden.
~ learn to quilt
~learn to make scratch cooking and baking
~use more coupons
~stay home more

[LastDragonfly]

Baggies, I USED to wash and re-use. When did I stop? Why did I stop? How come I am just now noticing?

I am going to give up a demoship with a stamping co. I just have ENOUGH. It's not like I cant get something ever again. I am also going to use my stash of stuff. If I never bought another piece of cardstock again, I could go a long time without a purchase. The only thing I need is more adhesive. I plan on buying that with my HL 40% coupon. ONLY.

Once a Month Cooking-saves us $200 + PER MONTH. Back on that bandwagon for me.

I am expanding my garden this year. I know how to can and plan on using the local Farmers Market on Saturdays during the summer in order to supplement my garden.

We have depleted our EF since dh was laid off. So back to the drawing board.

More handmade gifts throughout the year.

Making cloth gift bags! I just don't want to spend another $ on some paper bag.

Coupons. I don't use many as I usually buy store brands.

Thanks for the great ideas and reminders frugal friends.

[Cricketlegs]

I need to cook more. This everyman for himself business is getting old lol! I gt busy and my kitchen duties slide. I have considered OAMC. I need to really decide if it is right for me.

I have tweaked the budget down $1000 to $1500 less than it was so my main goal is to either up the debt payments or save more. First save then up payments. Well that decision was easy lol.

Keep on hitting my stockpile hard. More .33 canned goods I didn't know about because NO ADS again. Now I only have 2 days to get then with a 12 a day limit, I will be getting Mom to go so she can "buy" some for me. Makes me mad not to get my ads and miss DAYS of good stocking items.

Keep the car parked.