Jonathan and I aren’t what you might call extravagant spenders. Well, I guess everything is relative, right? Regardless, we’re in a spot where we’d like to be able to save more and spend less. That means BUDGET. We’re already saving a great deal, but there are always places that we could trim. I’ve used the envelope system before, but I’m curious to know if anybody has any tips for doing that with two people? Who gets which envelope? Or do you have two sets of envelopes for each category? In this electronic age, how do you account for that? We are currently debt-free aside from our mortgage, but we want to be able to save and be able to give when there are opportunities that arise where we know our $$ would be used for God’s purposes.
Things we already do:
Save a set amount each month that is sent to a separate account that is not easily reached.
Bring our lunch to work whenever possible.
Make most of our food.
Make coffee at home so we’re not buying it at work.
Conserve fuel by carpooling/busing.
Turn our heat down to 55 during the day while we’re gone and the evening while we sleep.
Shower less than daily.
Wash almost everything in cold water.
Use the dryer in succession so it is warm.
Turn off the lights if we’re not in the room (my dad ingrained this in my head-Thanks dad!).
Consuming fewer animal products and more veggies and legumes/quinoa for protein (cheaper and probably better for us).
So, we’re asking. How do you budget? Where do you find you can save the most? We have friends who are better savers than us-many of them have children and one or both of them are in school. If you have a great money saving tip, please pass it along! Thanks!