Soooooo, how did last week go?!

Did you manage to live off cash? Stay within your budget? Have some cash left over?

If you missed our first post about our Money Saving Tips Series, click here to get caught up.

This week, we will focus on how to trim your budget to cut spending and fatten up your savings account or just have some extra cash flow on-hand.

Here are some great tips that I've used over the years when I was just starting out as a makeup artist. When we were living pay-cheque to pay-cheque. When the economy tanked and my bookings fell by over 1/2.

Wait until you read the last one where I share with you how we made thousands of dollars in one day!!!

My Top 5 Tips to help you shave your budget and spend less - happily.

1) Cut your food costs! This is the easiest way to trim the budget. Eating out daily? How many dinners a week do you eat in vs. out? $10 here, $15 there ads up to hundreds each month and thousands each year. Eating at home is almost always more healthy and cheaper. Two really big bonuses. I know time is of the essence, but think about how many more hours you need to work in order to pay for all of your personal or family meals out. Plan your weekly menu. I make it fun to do here. Cook large quantities that way you'll have leftovers to add to a salad, toss into a wrap, and heat up for a quick and healthy meal before your kid's hockey practice. Another really great tip - go vegetarian for a week!! You will gain the health benefits of eating veggies and save on expensive meats that can be hard on your digestive system and budget.

2) Cut your cable!!! We spend too much time as it is plugged into electronics. Studies show that people who cut their cable become wealthier and more intelligent. Read a book. Play a game with the kids. Go outside! Your health, relationships and budget benefit from this simple task. And if you miss your regular shows, you can purchase them on Netflicks for a fraction of the cost of regular cable! Some shows even air online for free!

3) Cancel the gym memberships! Did you know that you can workout at home for free?!! Yes, you can. We have done it for years. There are a bunch of videos you can watch on Youtube, Popsugar etc where you can benefit from a full, dynamic workout and you don't even need to sit in traffic, get dressed up for the gym and wait for a class to start. Did you know that you can even rent DVDs from your local library?!! Yes - I just found this out recently myself. Go outside. Walking or running in the fresh air is free and good for you!! If you really can't live without your yoga class, join a yoga club vs. taking classes at the gym and budget how many classes you can afford to do in a month. You should be changing up your fitness routine anyway, make it dynamic and benefit your pocket book.

4) Here's a biggie. Do you own a house? Do you have a mortgage on that house? Do you know that banks make a lot, I mean A LOT of money on your mortgage?! Did you also know that some banks will fight to have your mortgage so that they can make a lot of money from you? It's true. ANd did you know that some banks will give you lower interest rates AND pay you money to have your mortgage at their bank. Yes, it's true, we did this a few months ago. Our mortgage was coming due to renew and we started shopping around. We decided on a bank that satisfied our short-term and long-term goals and the day we signed all the papers for the official move, our new bank deposited THOUSANDS of dollars into our new account. Easy. Just make sure to calculate your long-term goals and that the immediate pay-off is a smart way to go.

5) Cut your Starbuck's habit in half. I love a daily dose of Chai latte from Starbucks, but 7 X $5 = $35. $35 X 52 weeks) = $1,820!!! That's a trip for two down south for us!!! SOooo, instead, I treat myself occasionally at Starbucks and buy the litre tetra pack of the Chai blend for $5 which gives me at least a week of lattes at home. That equals $5 x 52 weeks = $260. A much smarter way to go vs. forfeiting a vacation over a latte!!

I shared 5 great ways to cut your spending and leave a few extra dollars in your bank account. What do you do with that savings?!!!

I'll share some great ideas in our next post!

Do you have ways to trim your spending that you can share?!! I'd love to hear them and implement a few ideas that you might have!

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