Are you struggling to save money?  Does it seem like no matter how much money you have, it is always gone by the end of the month?  I know that for the longest time I struggled with this. I work for myself and sometimes I do well, sometimes not so much, but my husband makes pretty decent money and we were finding ourselves in the same financial position all the time.  Until we decided that enough was enough. It was time to get serious about saving. I decided to make myself a little rule sheet to keep me going when I would start to fall behind in my savings goals.

So, if you could use a little help in the savings department too, here are my first top 5 rules for saving money:

1. Stop eating out.  Restaurants are a budget killer, there is no two ways around that.  This goes for fast food $1 menus too! You may think they are cheap, but the truth is that it just makes it easier to convince yourself to drive through.
2. Meal plan.  Meal plan, meal plan, meal plan!  I cannot stress the importance of meal planning to your budget.  It will make all the difference in the world.
3. Just say no. I know it is hard to feel left out when you get invited places, but just saying no to invites is the only way to get your mind in the right frame to make good money decisions.
4. Just say no to emotional purchases.  It’s so easy to spend money, so easy.  But do you really need those new shoes, or that shirt that you aren’t actually going to wear (c’mon, you know it’s just going to sit in your closet).
5. Turn off the lights.  Okay, not literally, but energy savings = money savings.  Do an audit of your house to see where you can save.

These are not my only savings tips, just some of my favorites.  I will be back with more soon!

What are your favorite savings tips?