$ Saving Tips

Since officially living on my own for the first time here in Atlanta, I have made a budget for myself and try my best to spend my money wisely. So I thought that I would share some money saving tips I have developed with you. Why? 1. With the economy the way it is everyone should tighten their belt a little. 2. I love reading these kinds of articles in magazines. 3. Because I have so much valuable wisdom to share. Here you go!

-Lean Cuisines are a rip-off. They're like $4 each for a tiny portion of noodles. Go for Kashi or better yet make your meals and freeze them (something I'm determined to do).

-Instead of going out, have a wine and cheese party! (two of my favorite things in the world) I'm going to have one soon!

-For trendy items, Forever 21 and H&M are the BEST. And Nordstrom is a surprising source of cheap fun items. The other day I got some cute sunglasses for $10.00, a wallet for $14.00, and a long sleeved tee for $15.00.

-Why does Blockbuster still exist? You can rent newly released DVDs for $1.00 at McDonalds, Kroger, and Wal-Mart.

-In my perfect world, I would get a venti latte from Starbucks every morning and eat out every meal. But I obviously don't do that because of my wallet and I don't particularly want to be obese. So I've come to pick what's most important - a Starbucks OR a Jimmy John sandwich, not both. I've limited myself to one to two Starbucks a week (thanks Mom and Dad for the $25 gift card for V-Day) and a meal out once or twice a week.Or it just depends on what's going on week to week, like if a lots going on one week I won't eat out any the next.

-Become a celebrity so designers give you free stuff.

-Like wine and cheese parties, have brunch or dinners at someone's house as opposed to going to a restaurant. In college, the girls and I loved having sushi nights. We would each bring something and all the ingredients are so cheap. When I go to a sushi restaurant I usually spend at least $20. And a few weeks ago my small group girls had brunch at someone's house, SO much better than waiting for a table and being shoo'ed out after paying the bill.

-Take advantage of free trial passes to gyms. I got a free 7 day pass to the Buckhead YMCA. Just go to your local Y's website and there should be a pass you can print out. Tonight I am going to the free trial night at a boot camp class, should be interesting!

-At certain fast food places and restaurants, the kid's meals are ginormous. Whenever I eat at Moe's I get a kid's burrito, which is still huge and comes with chips and salsa and a drink, and it's only like $3.50, as opposed to the $7 regular burrito (and after you eat it feels like your stomach's filled with cement).

-GET CRAFTY!!! Michael's always has 40% off coupons in the paper.

-I try to only see movies in the theatre that I really want to see, like He's Just Not That Into You and Confessions of a Shopaholic! Both were worth every penny! (And going on two years since graduating I still bust out my college ID for the discount)

-I love the library!!! Who wants to pay $15-$30 for a book that you'll read once and then will just collect dusk on your bookshelf? Not me!

-We never actually did this, but my friend Rachel and I use to want to order just a coke at a bar, and then bring alcohol in little bottles and pour it in our drinks in the bathroom. Classy huh?

-I know this one's a "duh" one - Sharing clothes! Especially for going out clothes. How many times are you going to wear a trendy dress? Or you could buy this dress my coworker Katy just bought, you can wear it like 30 different ways!

-You don't even want to know how much money I've saved by having an US Weekly subscription for the past two years. Rachel and I used to make late night runs to Kroger and buy several magazines and doughnuts (in our pajamas).

-2 words: flea markets!!! In Versailles, KY there is a jewelry booth that has the most adorable and unique earings - all for $5 each!

-Start a blog! A free and fun pastime.