My Favorite Money Saving Tip

Alternate post title - How To Start Saving.  This is my favorite tip for saving.  It's how I started.  It's how most people start.  And it's simple.

Write down EVERY penny you spend.

That's right - write it down.  I kept a journal for one month.  I wrote down everything.  What I spent at the gas station, the fast food restaurant, and the mall.  I even wrote down that $.50 toll.   And even though I thought I was frugal, I discovered that I really wasn't.  There was so much waste - everyday.  And when I wrote it down, I had to face it.  I could see how much those little $10 trips to the grocery store were adding up.  

So why did I do this for a whole month?  Well, when I decided to write down every expense, I figured I would do it for a week.  You know, just to get an idea of where my money was going.  And as I mentioned, I already thought I'd be pretty pleased with the result.  I thought I was smart with my money.  But I was wrong.  And I noticed that within a few days.  So, I just continued to write everything down.  For weeks.  And it became a game - to see how little I could spend.  I loved writing $0 on any given day.  And after a few weeks, those $0s were adding up.  

My mind set was changing.  Instead of having things, I had money.  Which I liked more! Instead of thinking about all of the 'stuff' I didn't have, I was thinking about all of the money that would be adding up.  

Holding myself accountable was really life changing.  Every time I  thought about spending money, I knew I was going to have to go home and write it down.  And be reminded of it.  It forced me to question every purchase.  It also forced me to think before I spent.  Which is something I had never done before.

This is how I became frugal.  And I still use this tip today.  Years later.  I still pull out a piece of scrap paper and write down my expenses.  Just to make sure I'm still thinking about my money.  We work hard for it - we should work hard to keep it!