I know it's been said before, but I stay home. I stay out of stores to save money.

Also, if I'm tempted to buy something that's over $20, I leave the store and think about it for a day or so. If it's a purchase that makes sense, I can go back. If not, no money spent.

I also move money over into an account that is not hooked up to my checking account. I use savings that is hooked up, and it's easy to transfer. But my longer term account takes more effort than a click of a mouse, so I have to think longer about whether I want to take it.

I get checks from surveys, rebates, or little extras here and there, along w/leftover $5. I put them away (sometimes I forget where )) for a Christmas fund. Of course, I have to be careful to cash the checks in time, but that's what I do. I cash them and put them away if I think it'll be an issue. If I put them in my account, they get spent, because I can't justify pulling the money out of the account...go figure.

I keep my shutters closed all day in the summer to keep out the heat. Light still comes in. Wood shutters really do save on energy! I also turn up my a/c when leaving the house for more than one hour, or down the heat. I just make sure it's not by more than 5 degrees. And we ALWAYS change our filter on time...except for two months ago. DH kept saying it wasn't time, although I heard the whistling. So he finally took it down and I was so right - it was dirty. Our electric bill increased by $65, and I know a lot of it was because of the dirty filter, which also puts unneeded load on your a/c and furnace, causing expensive repairs.

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