I love scoring a great deal when shopping. Getting the best quality is important to me and getting it for a bargain/deal price is important to me as well. Here are some things that I do (and many other smart shoppers do) to save money.

One thing I do is save up for quality. If I can’t afford it, I will wait. Quality is defined as the degree of excellence which a thing possesses. I would rather own 1 quality handbag instead of 5 of a lesser quality. This is also true for home decorating, it took me 5 years to decorate our Charlotte home because not only did I want pieces that made me happy to walk by and use. How does this save you? You want durable pieces you don’t have to replace. Save up!

Take care of your items. This will prolong their life and your enjoyment of the item. How does this save you? You’re not replacing anything. We all work hard for our money, why not love what you have? I still have my first Gucci bag I got when I was 13…mint condition, and I clean my handbags, stuff them to maintain their shape and store them in their respective storage bags. Maintain!

Say no. I’m a work in progress on this one, but the more I tell myself “no” the easier it’s becoming. Don’t have it to spend? Don’t spend it. Say no!

Stay home. Ok, don’t laugh…I am known for not venturing out if I don’t want to spend money…you may think it shows I don’t have willpower…but staying home is exercising my willpower. lol. Don’t go!

Stick to your plan. Got a budget? Live within it. Budget!

Shop around. I use this great app on my cell phone (ShopSavvy) that I can scan any barcode (or enter) and it will display all the other places I can purchase it and their pricing.n The internet is awesome, too. I will literally google exactly what I am looking for. Search!

Coupons. I always start out trying to clip coupons, but it gets old quick and then months have passed by and I’m starting all over again. I do have some friends however that save a lot of money, Shelly @ momfiles.com has a “system” she ahhhmazes me with her coupon skills. Clip ‘em!

Follow other shoppers and/or the stores you love. Besides my blog, theposhblog.com, there are many others that will share deals with their followers via FB pages, Twitter, RSS feed, etc. Another favorite is smartshoppersunite.com. They share great info. Follow along!

Happy saving!

Pascha Dudley

Pascha Dudley is a wife, mom, contract paralegal and freelance editor. She writes The Posh Blog, www.theposhblog.com and is a Social Influencer for an online retail forum. She resides in Suwanee, GA with her family.

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Keeping our finances in order allows us to save money and simply put – manage our finances.

Why budgets fail (ask me how I know):
(1) unrealistic goals
(2) misunderstanding what a budget is
(3) frustration sets in and we quit

Pick a time frame. Weekly, monthly and even yearly. Life happens and it’s easier to tweak a weekly or monthly budget opposed to a yearly budget (but it’s not impossible). Personal preference.

Paper or electronic budgeting? You can google budget samples to print, search for free downloadable templates, purchase budget software or simply create a spreadsheet in Excel. Me? I use paper and pencil.

Now…here are my tips on how to create a monthly budget:
(1) List all your sources of income.
(2) List your monthly expenses. All of them.
(3) Set realistic goals that include saving FIRST.

Note: If your income exceeds your expenses, (thumbs up) you are in good shape. However, try to reduce/control your expenses and save even more. If you are in the red – it’s time to reduce your expenses and/or increase your income. A site with a sample budget and budget guideline percentages is: www.personalbudgeting.com.

I tried to keep this as simple as possible. Too much info frazzles me and then I start over thinking things, trying to reinvent the wheel and I spiral out of control and it shouldn’t be a painful process…well, until you get to the part where you realize where you need to cut your expenses (i.e. handbag obsession, weekly mani/pedi – you know…the fun stuff).

Next post I will list ways to save money to increase our spending allowance savings account balance (I’m a work in progress).

Please feel free to ask questions or suggest more financial related topics.
Don’t give up and good luck! xo

Pascha Dudley

Pascha Dudley is a wife, mom, contract paralegal and freelance editor. She writes The Posh Blog, www.theposhblog.com and is a Social Influencer for an online retail forum. She resides in Suwanee, GA with her family.

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Do you have a friend that can stretch money?

I have a girlfriend that can go into stores and streeeeeetch a dollar! I can save money but she leaves me scratching my head when she posts her savings/deals.

One thing I know she does that I don’t do is manage her money better than I. I have sat down many times to start a budget, only to realize I don’t want to keep track of what I spend…especially at my favorite store. I know, I know that’s horrible but I am a W.I.P (work in process).

How does one stretch money you ask? There are some steps, I am conflicted this article because I didn’t want to do another bulleted list but it’s really the best format to quickly get info to you. SO…here’s my list of some things you can do to stretch your money:

Shop around. This is my favorite thing to do. I don’t care how tired I always have energy to walk a store or mall.

Wait . At some point it will be on sale. Ask the sales person when their next sale is.

Buy consignment. I can’t get into this one, but I have seen some awesome purchases and savings through consignment stores.

Budget software. The one I use now is mint.com. I liked it until it spelled out where most of my money is going…it’s very detailed.

Automate savings. I have touched on this before, I know, but it works so I’m telling you again. ING works great with this effort.

Please use the comment area to let me know if you would like me to write about something in particular related to saving money. Happy saving!

Pascha Dudley

Pascha Dudley is a wife, mom, contract paralegal and freelance editor. She writes The Posh Blog, www.theposhblog.com and is a Social Influencer for an online retail forum. She resides in Suwanee, GA with her family.

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