I say go shopping once every two weeks, but only spend 100, on clothes, or dog stuff!!!!

Funny what you said about Texas my Dad called them sodies or sodie-pop

Eating out is my big expense
stop carrying my debit card
only shop once a week and stick to the list

"y'all" are weird :p It's POP! ;) :D

I have an amazing wardrobe, all from goodwill and the salvation army! I even buy formal dresses second hand!!! Then I can gloat that I only spent 10 bucks on my whole outfit and it looks great! It may take more time than shopping in the mall, but the few steals that you find are well worth it!

Yes, it's pop!! (or soda)

And in the south, they call it ALL Coke...then you have to say what kind of coke you want, Like Root Beer...LOL

Yep, it's Coke...if you go to a restaurant and ask for a Coke most of them will ask what kind.:D

Don't do any impulse buying. Check the store ads for sales. Do your own cooking and pack your own lunch if you work. Don't go shopping when you're hungry.

My problem is buying things for Jake. I can't stop! lol

I think that most of us have a downfall of emotional shopping. We tie emotions to gifts and when we get upset we shop and sometimes we buy things just to buy it. Fix this problem by setting a budget and only allowing yourself a little bit of "play money" for extra things like this.
Don't buy lavish gifts for people. Try to homemake some things like put pictures in frames or make a scrapbook for someone with both of your pictures on it. For kid's birthdays go to the dollar store and throw in a whole bunch of dollar toys. REUSE GIFT BAGS!
If you see something at the store that you really want, write it down and give it to your special someone to "consider" giving you for the next holiday. This way it's easier for him to shop for you, he won't get mad at you, and you're spending his money, not your's!

My mom told me if you buy chicken in whole with the bones attached it's cheaper than if you buy chicken breasts already cut up. You can just cut up the chicken at home and take the fat off.

-shop at Alidis or other discount stores
-buy generic
-turn off cable tv
-switch phone plan if not using all of the minutes
-Shop craigslist for used furniture or IKEA
-change lightbulbs to energy saver
-run the dishwasher less
-Eat out less and look for "free" deals
-when you have to eat out, do the dollar menu
-sell your old books on half.com (use priority shipping door to door + FREE priority boxes)
-Do not feel obligated to buy from charities if you can not afford to
-buy clothes that are on sale
-AVOID THE MALL AT ALL COSTS
-Use netflix instead of buying DVDS
-Do OTHER things than shop, like go for walks, go to the library, catch the local games, volunteer.
-Do not drink alcohol when going out, it costs more!
-Write a list when you go to the store and stick buy it! It will be hard the first time, but you will get used to it and it will be worth it!
-Make homemade gifts or go to dollar store and work with what they have by adding a personal touch like ribbons or a photo with a frame.
-For a kid's birthday throw together a whole bunch of dollar toys instead of buying one expensive gift.
-save giftbags, boxes, and some people even save wrapping paper.
-save boxes to reuse if you are shipping something, or use the free priority boxes to ship priority instead of buying some.
-Evaluate where your money is going to see if it IS something that can be avoided.

Dog clothes.

LOL!!!

Excellent tips!I live by those. Sometimes I can save up to 40.00 when shpping at the grocery store and thats when I do a big shop for Curt & I{about 150.00 cash) it really helps!:aimeeyork

That one is a good one! When i ship and i don't already have a box, which most of the time i dont and have to buy one it cost more. Also it's cheaper if you have a small item like a dog shirt that weighs nothing, if you buy the small little envelope thingys and they just weigh it and you give them the zipcode you are sending it to than just shipping priority cause the box is free but they charge you a set amount no matter what you send, so if you are sending one tiny item they will still charge you $4.60 or whatever. That happened to me the other day, i had my own envelopes, about 3 and in each i sent only one item, it was dog clothes and each costs like $5 so in total it was $15, i was so mad, idk why but they told me priority was the only way i could send them. I think they jipped me!:mad: When i went to another P.O. and sent something similar the guy was very nice and told me how i can save money, in total it cost me $1.40 to send the very same item!!

Cut out going out to eat.
Stop going to Dunkin Donuts.
Wash clothes
Buy the less expensive Cable programs.