Oh My, How it Adds Up!
by Tawra Kellam
The average American often feels overwhelmed by debt and doesn't know whereto start or how to go about getting out of debt. It's a misconception thatthe more money you earn the easier it is to save. My husband and I paid off$20,000 of credit card debt and medical bills in 5 years on an averageincome of $22,000 a year. Here is how you can save over $7,000 in just oneyear cutting a few things from your grocery bill. They are painless, simpleand add up over time. If you don't think that cutting out one bag of potatochips or one soda will add up, look at the numbers at the end of a year. Ifyou're trying to save so you can be a stay at home mom or dad or for a downpayment on a house, pay off some credit card debt or just have someemergency money, here are 13 ways to do it without depriving yourself.
By eliminating one $2.00 bag of potato chips (not all just 1 bag) from yourgrocery bill each week you can save $104.00 per year. Cutting out onesix-pack of soda will save another $104. A weekly $4.00 box of granolacereal adds up to $208 a year. If you eat out one less time each week at$30 a meal, you can save $1,560 and ordering one less delivered pizza at$20, can save you $1040 per year.
Similar annual savings can be realized by cutting out weekly purchases offruit rolls ($130), daily gourmet coffee at $2.50 per cup ($910), a dailyliter of soda ($365), snack cakes ($455), one less bottled water ($455), onecup less juice per person in a family of four ($546), 3 lbs. less red meat aweek ($390), and by eliminating a $4.00 lunch five days a week ($1040). By themselves, these efforts may seem small--but they add up to over $7,000a year you could save.
Tawra Kellam is the author of
Not Just Beans: 50 Years of Frugal FamilyFavorites
. For free money saving tips and recipes or to purchase a copy of the cookbook:
Not Just Beans: Your Frugal Family Cookbook
visit our website at
www.notjustbeans.com
. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com
