It’s a brand new year and what better way to start it off than with a few frugal resolutions? Getting your finances in order and living on a tighter budget starts with making goals and plans to follow that course of action. Here are my frugal resolutions for 2011.
Save more. I plan to save more money in 2011–whether it’s just a dollar a week or a larger amount, I plan to end 2011 with some type of nest egg.
Spend less. While I am saving more money, I plan to spend less. While I can’t cut a lot of my bills drastically, I can cut back on every day spending.
Give more. This is important to me and I haven’t had the funds to do much giving lately. If I don’t have money to give, I have other ways to give. I can give my time! As a freelance writer, I can donate my skills and creativity to groups and organizations that have a need. I can also share out of what I have. There are always families in need and I don’t think I will have trouble finding families that can use the practically-perfect clothing my kids outgrow.
Use more coupons. I slack off on my coupon tactics because I get lazy. In 2011 I plan to make the effort to use more coupons.
Cook more from scratch. Last year had a lot of ups and downs for me–I got a divorce and became the sole breadwinner for myself and my three children. As a result of emotional pain and chaos in my life, I fell into a bad habit of not cooking. I spent too much on convenience foods and eating out–when I should have been saving that money. No more! In 2011, I will cook more from scratch and say bye-bye to the boxed meals!
Pare down my belongings. While this doesn’t seem like it goes with a frugal lifestyle, in essence it really does. Part of living a frugal lifestyle is learning to make do with less. My plan is to cut down on all the “stuff” that we don’t need so we can better appreciate what we have.
Drink more water. Yeah, this is also a health goal, but drinking more water is cheaper than drinking soft drinks and other junk that my kids and I really don’t need to be pouring into our bodies. The result should be some health benefits and a little extra money in my pocket.
Think more. I plan to put my mind to the task of finding more ways to live under budget. I know it can be done, I just have to do it.
Look for more creative ways to reuse items. I love doing this as it’s something I watched my grandparents do. They would reuse things in the strangest ways, but it worked! My goal in 2011 is to find more creative ways to reuse and recycle items.
Teach my children. I want to teach my children the value of a frugal lifestyle so when they are adults, they will want to live within their means. I plan to find new ways to instill these values in my kids this year.
These are my goals for 2011–what are yours?
My goal is to knock out one bill at a time till all I have left is everyday bills. I am not making a big list of goals to shoot for. I have several in mind but only shoot for one at a time. I have heard that if you work towards one goal at a time, you are more likely to accomplish several then get frustrated and may be only get one done. Have a good new years.
Our family goal is to (while saving a little) knock out small but doable projects around the condo with an eye toward selling it in 2012.
I stole this idea from a friend: reevaluate one major service a month: home insurance, car insurance, utilities providers, etc. — iow, those things I perpetually ignore. This month we’re lowering some coverages, getting three quotes from different providers, and hopefully, will save some dough. The other major items on my 2011 financial list are to check out term life insurance, and get my daughter started on a college 529 plan — again, those things I keep putting off. We’ll see! They’re not exactly glamorous!