That's What She Said: Show me the Money

While I should be studying for my test on Saturday...I spent the last hour playing with Bank of America's online "portfolio".

It takes all your expenses and puts them in a little graph so you know where your $$ is going! It also has a budget feature...and my favorite your "net worth" or lack of it...haha :) You can even plug in your credit cards (again to track where the $$ is being spent) and student loans. For a "visual" gal like me...to see the big chunk of the pie going towards dining out...it finally hit home :(

I'm a realist. I am never going to be Suze Orman's protege! I have expensive taste. It sucks. And it's not even on purpose. I don't go out thinking "let me find the most expensive plates possible" I just see something across the isle...fall in love with it...THEN look at the price. 9 out of ten times...I'll pick the most expensive item, not even trying to :( Grrrrrrrrr.... I try to make up for this bad habit, by being a coupon QUEEN. It's like free money! I try to dictate my shopping (lets say I know I have to buy something at Home Depot and they send me a $25 coupon....well I wait till that coupon is valid and then by my purchase.) Or I use...Ebates online. It's only 3% back , maybe 6% but every little bit helps!

Well the better half and I are TRYING to cut back on costs. We realized we pay for a lot of "fluff" that we don't really need to spend money on.

So far this month (this is not including the money we are going to save on eating at home. That is a whole 'nother post)

Changing cable companies- Saving $80 bucks a month! (we changed to Dish Network. We only have 45 channels now. But they are all HD and all the channels we need. Plus we still get to keep the good old DVR!!)

Goodbye blockbuster movies- Saving $18 a month (we still get to watch the latest movie in theaters and on video...just not the HD quality...I'll leave it at that)