New year new goals!!

So now that the new year is here my resolution is savings... Big time! We would like to buy a house this year and I want a good amount extra in savings so this year what do you plan to do to save money!!! And if you are great at budgeting what are your strategies?!

New year new goals!!

Ours too! We were spending a lot on eating out and just even stopping for coffee. We're not cutting it our entirely but have cut back significantly. Also just paying more attention to money going out and meal planning.

Re: New year new goals!!

We have a lot of debt we want to get rid of so we started a pretty strict debt avalanche program this month. We paid off a 401K loan we had and after paying off a few other debts with my DHs Xmas bonus we have freed up just over $1K/month so we are taking that and just plowing into our debt. Once the debt is gone we plan on paying down our mortgage faster and contributing more to our kids college funds.

To help stretch our money we've stopped eating out frequently, I stay away from Target unless absolutely necessary, and I shop the sales for groceries. We are doing whatever we can to save as much as possible. The more we save, the faster we will be out of debt.

Re: New year new goals!!

DH and I are saving for a home, ours is currently listed for sale and we are waiting for a buyer to make an offer. In the meantime, I use Mint.com to track all my spending and saving. My paycheck goes straight into Savings and then I transfer money I plan to spend that month to my checking account. I use my Debit card for every-day purchases so that I don't have a ton of change in my purse, and only carry cash for gas and cash-only purchases. I also limit trips to Target, Walgreens, Walmart, etc because every time I go in there, I come out spending $50 on junk that just sits at home.

Message edited 2/16/2015 9:39:01 AM.

Re: New year new goals!!

One thing that works for us is automated transfers to savings. I keep a money market in Vanguard for savings. I have a timed recurring transaction on payday that deducts savings into the account. This way the money is out before we can spend it!

Re: New year new goals!!

I feel like all our money goes into our house.

Last year, I ended up charging a lot during the holidays so this year, my focus is putting money into savings over the year for that.

I'm also trying to cut back with going to the stores unless I truly need something.

I too end up getting sucked into buying crap I don't need otherwise. Target especially is such a trap.