How I Shaved $12000 a year off our family budget

Several years ago, I started looking for more, better, and practical ways to save money. Pastors don't make a lot, and the Bible urges us to be good stewards of the resources He gives us. In addition, I realized that the old saying, "A penny saved is a penny earned," is actually true. I've just sat down this morning and realized that this past year, I have shaved over $12,000 off our family's expenditures. I'm pretty impressed with myself if I do say so myself! Here's how I did it:

• Couponing: Apparently, couponing has become a fad. I didn't start it because it was trendy. I started couponing to provide for my family. I admit that I have become obsessed with finding any and all available coupons, but because I am so spastic, I am able to save $5200 a year! Before I started using coupons, my family's weekly grocery budget (including food, pet food, and cleaning supplies) averaged at $150/week. Thanks to my thrifty attitude, I have cut that budget to only $50/week. (I will post more details on how I do this later).
  
• Newspaper subscription: I was spending $15/month on a newspaper subscription before, but I noticed that really, the only thing it was getting used for was the coupons and to use the leftover paper as a fire starter in the fire place. Any interesting stories I want to read are available online for free! I have a weekend-only subscription for the newspaper (for coupons only) for only $6/month! I saved $108 a year by cutting the paper!
• Trash Service: My trash service made me incredibly angry last year when they didn't pick up my trash for 3 whole weeks but wanted to bill me for it. I terminated my account with the service and started dropping my trash off in the dumpster at church. Now, I know that this is not realistic for most people, but our church's dumpster is only used once a week when the janitor comes and it is NEVER full. In addition, we recycle and use the garbage disposal, so our waste is kept to a minimum. If there is nowhere for you to dump the trash, consider trying to reduce your waste to a bare minimum and sharing one service with a neighbor or friend. Most companies allot you 4 trash bags/week, and if you cut each of your trash to only 2 bags, you can get away with it! This saves me $300/year!
• Eating Out: We all know that eating out frequently costs a lot of money, but it was costing us a LOT of money. Since I started couponing, my cupboards and freezer are WELL stocked, and a lot of food was going to waste just because I was too tired (and lazy) to cook. We have cut our eating out to special occasions and Sundays only. I prepare one meal on Monday night and cook enough to last for Tuesday's dinner as well. I only cook 3-4 times a week, and it's enough to last the entire week! This saved us $3000/year!
• Cell Phone Plan: There is no way to avoid having a cell phone in this day and time. It goes without saying that if you still have a land line, turn it off! It is a needless service with cell phone plans that are available. At any "rate," Heath and use ATT as our cell phone carrier, and we use the 700 shared minutes as our "base plan." Most people have no idea, however, that you can yo-yo your cell phone plan. I closely monitor our cell phone usage. When we get close to the edge of our minutes allotment, I change the rate plan to the next plan up, in our case, the 1400/month plan. With the 1400/month plan, we are able to set up our A list. This list allows us to choose 5 people that we call the most, make a list of them, and these minutes are "free." One month, we use the 1400/month plan with the A list, and this ALWAYS banks us rollover minutes. The next month, I change our plan back to the 770 minutes/month plan, and we use up those rollover minutes. Yo-Yo cell phone plans have saved us $120/year. It may not seem a like a lot to most people, but that's savings nonetheless! Here's another option to consider: We all know that adding a line to our plan is fairly simple and only adds $10/month (without data plan of course). Consider sharing a plan with CLOSE friends or family to save you all money in the end!
• Cable Television: Several months ago, we were faced with a major deduction in our income, and we were looking for drastic deductions in our budget as well. One of the few things we could come up with was to turn off our cable television. I admit, this one was painful for me. We were paying $50/month previously for cable, and this cut that expense totally. How do we survive, you ask? We watch Hulu.com, bought a subscription to Netflix streaming for only $7.99/month, and we log on periodically to TV networks' websites to watch our favorite shows after they've aired. To be honest, we really haven't missed it, it's been good for the kids, and it's saved us $600/year!
• Heating Source: Two years ago, we bought a 2800 square foot house. It's great to have so much room, but the first electric bill I received after it turned cold sent me into shock! Our utilities doubled. I decided that month that we had to do something, so I turned to the beautiful fireplace for help. We actually started using the beautiful fireplace for more than an eye-catching feature to our living room. We called around for the best prices on firewood, and voila! We've saved $1200/year by switching to wood heat!
• Rewards Points: We use credit cards...gasp! I know, Christians aren't supposed to use credit cards, BUT I've figured out a way to save WHILE using credit cards. We have disciplined ourselves to use them responsibly and to pay off the balance in full each month to avoid paying fees and interest. In return, our credit score has skyrocketed, giving us the opportunity for the highest tier of cards with our credit card companies. These cards pay you for using them in the form of reward points. Every time we make a purchase with these cards, we earn reward points which in turn earn us prizes such as gift cards, gas cards, electronics, and even toys. Disciplined use of these cards has saved us on average $520/year!
• Hotel Rewards: We travel a lot for the church, family vacations, and due to the fact that our family lives so far away. I realized a few years ago, that most hotel chains have a rewards program that reward you for staying at their hotels. Every time you stay at their hotel, you accrue points, earning yourself a free night's stay, sooner or later. We average 1 free night at a hotel a year. Not a lot you say? That's $100/year more that I didn't have!
• Gas Rewards: This past summer, we were planning to take a LONG road trip, and by this time, I was already in the "savings" groove. I was looking for deals and coupons on everything from attractions, to food, to even gas! Gas was so expensive this summer, and my current credit cards were only earning me 3% rewards. I was at my local gas station, and saw an advertisement for a gas credit card that promised a 5 center per gallon savings. I read the fine print and realized that for "well-qualified" applicants, you could save 5% a gallon. This worked out to a whopping 18 cents a gallon at that time! You are limited to a savings of $15.00 a month, which we usually hit, but this has saved us $180/year!
• Sewing and Embroidery: I used to watch my grandmothers and ladies in my church sew, but I never really had much of an interest until I realized that I could save money by doing it. Not only have I developed a new skill, but I am able to make all of my kids' pajamas for half the price that I would pay in store. In addition, I sew my daughter's "fancy" dresses, and I was able to make costumes for my church's live nativity this year. Also, I've discovered that articles of clothing that I would've previously discarded can be mended, AND I can make inexpensive baby/wedding gifts, saving us about $340/year. In addition, I have been asked to make holiday stockings, baby burp cloths and bibs for hire! Not only am I saving money here, but I'm earning it too!
  
• Bartering: I was looking at ads on craigslist for firewood, and I noticed one poster said that they would trade for their firewood. This got me to thinking that if he would do this, others might do it as well. This year, we have been able to trade unneeded items for our firewood, saving us $300 already this year!
• Babysitting: Babysitting has long been an expensive luxury for my husband and I. But I've found a solution. Several of my friends and I were talking the other day about the fact that we can never go out with our husbands because we can't find (or afford) quality child care. We decided that we would trade with each other in order to avoid this expense. While I watch their kids this Friday night, they watch mine tomorrow night, giving us free, quality childcare, AND investing in one another's families. It's a win/win situation, and if we do this once a month, it will save us $360/year!
• Tithes and Offerings: You may be asking how giving money saves you money. I can't explain it, but giving God what belongs to Him ALWAYS makes sense. It may not make sense with pencil and paper, but it makes sense when we trust in God to provide for our needs. We never need put trust in our jobs, our checkbooks, our bank accounts, and our own resources to provide. Paying our tithe PLUS an offering may be an obedience issue for you at first, but it will become a love issue eventually. I invest in God's ministry because I believe in it. Giving an offering above my tithe tells God that I love Him, and it's the very least I can do to thank Him for providing for my family.