is 2010 any different...?

[sabrelvssammy]

the start of 2010 gave us the opportunity of a new year and a new way of doing things... did you look back at 2009 (and maybe beyond) and see some things you were not particularly proud of and thought 'perhaps this year...things can be different'....

with that being said...what have you changed since January 1st...? big changes, subtle changes...changes you didn't even realize you had made until now....

and these have to be changes 'already in place'....not--"i'm GOING to do this....or i WANT to do that".....what are you currently doing NOW....?

for me:

--i took up cooking...ok...not a total dramatic change type of thing...i am just working very hard at expanding our menu's and trying to make things that i KNOW we enjoy eating instead of trying to make and eat the things we 'thought' we were supposed to be eating....so this has been a slow and steady change for me but i am plugging along at it....and i am making more 'homemade' snack items for dh instead of purchasing 'processed stuff'....this helps the bottom line too...

--i put a $$$ amount to our spending budget... before i just had the mindset to live frugally as possible and avoid all x-tra spending possible... now i have a $200 a month budget for all non-fixed expenses...and so far i am doing great...i came in $20 under budget for january and now 1/2 into feb i have 1/2 my budget left....

--i have started 'sinking funds' for vacation & x-mas 2010... in normal times i just pulled the money from the general spending fund but i like that i will have 'special money' set aside and when both occasions are over...my normal household budget is unaffected...

--i have beaten the 'candy monster' at his own game... i have not been repeatedly hitting the stores for bags of licorice (they're only $1 i justify to myself)..among other things....we have lived on the 10 boxes of candy canes that i got after x-mas for .08 a box....and now i just stocked up on $20 worth of valentines candy and i think that will get us past easter and beyond... we have really cut back our 'over-consumption' of candy around here....(but we still gotta have SOME)....(even though i might add that i have been COMPLETELY candy-FREE going on week #3 now)....weehee....(hey-that's HUGE!)...

--we are completely debt free of any cc debt since feb 1st...so we are now stashing away all the x-tra cash we can for our future....it's going to be nice watching the savings numbers actually take off in a 'sprint' instead of just a steady climb here and there....

well so far that's all that is coming to mind...i am already living this life as 'squeezed' as possible...(but hey...i've gotten to like it..probably coz i could never turn down a good challenge)...

so...do tell...what do you have to share...???

[druthb00]

- I started actually using coupons. Ya know, really clipping them and combining them and saving more than just a dollar or two on my groceries/household items. Before now, I'd never really gotten past using the coupons that print at the end of the store reciept, which never really amounted to anything impressive. I got a great deal on a Sunday paper for a whole year at only .50 an issue and I went on Ebay yesterday and purchased 100 food only coupons (exp. Mar. & later) for a little more than $2. So far so good

- I bought CFL lightbulbs for the whole condo, a low flow showerhead to save on heating water, and my first month's electric bill here was $65

- Meal planning. I plan each night's meal for 2 weeks and go grocery shopping once, and stick to that list. We eat lunches made at home, too. I never used to "meal plan." I just bought a hodge podge of meat, cheese, canned goods, etc. and made what I could. I seem to save more money planning though. I also now make a lot of our snacks. Homemade hummus and pita chips, air popped pop corn instead of bag after bag of potato chips, cheese with fruit and crackers, etc.

I think that this year we will be not only saving more money, but we're being more energy efficient and eating healthier, too.

[geckoace]

We are eating more at home and dh is more conscious of where his pocket money is going. We are also focusing the money we are spending on neccessary repairs.
And we adjusted dh's w4 so we get more per check and less refund

[Maine Girl]

Is 2010 different..Yes
There is good and bad
I have noticed that i am having more weekends not spending any money at all.

I am thinking twice before spending money
I have not bought a "new" book in months
I have not bought any new clothes in a long time
I have stopped my weekly visits to goodwill
I am certainly stretching the groceries as far as i can

Later in the year i may cut some of my expenses to make the ends meet in my quest to pay off my credit cards.

[monkeywrangler71]

Biggest change this year is making lunches for dh to take to work. I've tried before but never stuck with it.

[Inkstain82]

2010 has been fantastic for me. My desire to set a good example for my son has been a great motivator for keeping to my goals and plans.

[shoiji]

Haven't made any big changes for 2010.

Finally started using vinegar and water to clean the floors.

Trying to save more.

Buying more organic items when on sale. Maybe more expensive but keep on thinking about health benefits of using less chemicals.

[frugal is fun]

I paid off my CC in February..YEAH! AND took my CC out of my wallet!

I've been cooking on Sundays for the week so no more getting home at 7pm with nothing to eat and too tired to cook. This has saved me a TON of money on groceries. Granted I eat the same thing every day for lunch and the same thing every day for dinner but I can live with that. My sitter feeds my son dinner so I only have to worry about him two days a week.

I have also created a separate account for heating oil for next year. First winter in my house and I got caught off guard this year so I will make sure this never happens again!

And I also made an adjustment in my retirement accounts. $100 a month less going towards retirement, $100 a month more going into EF until I get to a comfortable level. This is only temporary but I needed to do something as I was worrying way too much about not having a big enough EF.

[Natalie's Nesters]

So far in 2010, I have:
Tried to cook anything I possibly can from scratch
Think twice about everything I purchase
Stay out of stores
Use up, make due with what I have
Take everyday as a blessing, look for something good in everything
Keep it simple silly is my new motto!

[frugalwarrior2]

2010
-larger e-fund set in place
-couponing like crazy and zooming up the stockpile.
-making my own deals has blossomed.
-communication w/ DH regarding money has improved
-we have clearer goals
-we are not accumulating things like previously
-we are more measured about what we do spend
-we have put a $50. a month budget for fun
-we are saying NO to the kids easier
-we have better medical/dental/and optical plans because we made better choices. (DD's MRI is costing us $20. and the dentist takes our ins.)


I am still mulling over deficits. It is only FEb.

[dcompton]

I contribute to a 403(b) with payroll deduction, but have long wished for an easy way to add to retirement from the odds and ends left over. It is a serious hassle to change the payroll deduction. However, I did nothing about it until last September. Since I had built a comfortable EF, I opened an IRA.

So this year, the big difference for me is that the leftovers can go into that instead of just into general savings.

Also, as I've posted elsewhere, I'm trying to do a no spend year (well, realistically, an almost no spend year) on hobbies. Knowing that I can put what I don't spend into the IRA now is a big incentive to watch the expenditures even more closely.

[akolb]

- keeping our house cleaner/more organized in order to cut down on buying stuff we don't need just because we can't find it.
- started my own blog about being green and frugal at home!
( http://ourlittlegreenhome.blogspot.com/ )
- making my own all-purpose cleaner from vinegar and water
- not spending nearly as much going out/eating at home much more often/ convincing the sig-other to come home for lunch
- haven't bought ANY new clothes, and don't intend to, unless it is absolutely crucial (socks, underwear, work shoes)
- ALL money goes straight into checking account and ALL transactions recorded in check register (used to rely on online info)
- linked accounts to mint.com so I can REALLY see where it all goes
- started ING savings account to have a separate account to pay off CC's

And FINALLY got mad enough about all my debt that I am SERIOUSLY paying it off!! yea!

[NewLeaf]

I started a savings jar. I pay myself $50 first out of ea. paycheck. So far I have $200. Wow for me!

[mama2James]

Yep, 2010 is different around here too. On January 1st, I started tracking every penny we spend on a spreadsheet separated into categories that make sense for us. In January I just tracked the numbers, and for February I set goals for the two biggest categories: groceries and dining out. I am on track with the grocery budget so far, and my plan in to try to reduce it by $10/month throughout the rest of the year. The dining out limit of $100/month is proving more difficult to tame, but I'll be happy if we at least end up spending less than last month.
I have started couponing and stockpiling as well. This is making it much easier to keep the grocery and household supplies spending in line.
Also on Jan 1st, I started putting 10% of our paychecks into savings as soon as they are direct deposited. Even with an error in hours on one of my paychecks recently, the money has been able to remain in savings untouched, which I am really happy about.
Buy the end of 2010, we plan to have our credit card consolidation loan paid off completely, along with either our truck loan or my husband's $5k student loan. Just depends how much of our savings we decide we are comfortable paying towards debt.
We are definitely moving in the right direction in 2010!