How Much Can I Save in a Year? October Link-Up and Q & A!

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October Savings 

$51.93

2011 Total Savings

$713.69

Best of Savings

Free or Almost Free Items this month with coupons:

-Four Covergirl blushes with two $8 off of 2 face product coupons (found the blush as Wal-Mart for less than $4, so even made money on them!)

A Little Savings Tidbit

This month we opened up a Q & A opportunity for readers.

Courtney is about to graduate from college and move back home for a bit.  She asked about "...the best advice you can give on what things are most important to budget for, and how much money I should save."

-When we budget, we always start with the items that are set amounts--the bills that we know the amount of (or approximately) for each month and start there.  (i.e. water bill, mortgage, internet, etc.) 

-Start listing out your monthly bills and find the approximate cost of those.  (For us this also includes our tithing amount based on our income.) 

-From that, find what is the difference in the amount you plan on spending and your monthly income.  -Whatever is left over, choose at your own discretion on the amount for other things--such as "blow money" (money to spend on whatever you want) and how much you want to set aside in savings for something (possibly to put toward rent or a down payment on house when you move out of your parents').

This will take time! We tweak our budget what seems like monthly right now.  I would also suggest Dave Ramsey's envelope system and checking out his Total Money Makeover resources.  You can find budgeting sheets on his website that include the approximate percentage of your income that you should put toward spending.  I also highly recommend his program to help in getting rid of any debt you may have. 

Another reader asked where to find freebies. 

-I use Ashleigh's Friday Freebies posts.  (Hint:  Create a free email account for when you sign up online for freebies--that way your regular email doesn't get bombarded with junk email from these companies.)

-I follow deal sights such as Ashleigh's and Money Saving Mom which post frequently about freebies and coupon scenarios that allow you to get freebies at stores.

-You can often use coupons that don't have a size restriction on them (such as for body wash) to purchase a travel size item for free.  Who says you can't use travel size body wash at home in the shower?

-In my area, Target, Wal-Mart, and Kroger's $10 for 10 deals are usually my best bet at using coupons to get items for free.

Now it's your turn! Link-up below! Whether its an update on your savings so far this year or just a great trip you had with great savings! Anything goes!  Also, make sure to go check out Thankfully Thrifty  to see  how Ashleigh's savings are going so far this year and answers to other reader questions!