I would also track every purchase I made in a notebook. It still surprises me how much you can nickel and dime yourself. Cut back on kid activities. stay home more. grocery store with a list only once a week. stick to your list. turn down or up the thermastat depending on what season you are in.

Kathy

How would MY FAMILY save $10K a year? Or how would anyone save $10K a year? I think a lot depends on what they are currently spending. If the family income is only $20K a year, saving 50% would be mighty difficult. If the family income is $100K a year, cutting 10% MIGHT be do-able.

1) Exam your tax situation. Make sure you're not paying anymore in taxes than is required. Take advantage of every tax-free source of income that you can. If in 'saving' $10K a year, you mean actually putting that money aside, then make sure that money is tax deductible or being saved with pre-tax dollars.

2) Cut out as much of non-grocery shopping that you can. We spend far too much on clothing, paper goods, cleaning supplies, snacks, toys, and impulse purchases. We buy far too many disposable items. We don't re-use or recycle enough.

3) Stop paying INTEREST to anyone. In other words, most families could get significantly closer to saving $10K a year just by eliminating debt.

That is it. Those are three EASY steps.

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Sell the kids, the dog and the husband

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To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. -Elbert Hubbard

Check Your W-4's to be sure you are claiming the right amount of exemptions.

Last yr. alone we Paid in More than 10,000 too much!

I guess the Next way for us to Cut back would be drop the Grocery bill Waaaaay Down -
We Could Cut it by about 500.00 a month. Savings of 6000.00 A yr.
And We could Get rid Of Cable and Internet - Savings of about 1200.00 a Yr.

I Could Sell my van - We would Gross about 2,000 after We paid Off the loan.
Then I Could Save - 60 a month in Auto ins. - thats 720.00 a Yr.

No More Gas , maitenence or Registration/ Inspection fees -
Thats about a 1200.00 a yr. saved.....

ok , thats over 10,000.

I Was going to say next - Hubby and Me too could Get a PT job

I agree that in our budget it will be very easy to save $10K a year because I have so many extras built in.

Once I have eliminated our debt I will be saving at least that much extra per year becuase I will keep the budget I have and start putting the debt payments into savings instead. (We built up a good bit of debt by simply not paying attention to what we were doing and I have changed that now!!)

Our Credit Card and Financed Debt payments total: $1500 a month or $18,000 a year. (Of course I only have about 8 more months worth of payments to make -- then I will be able to save those payments!!) I wasn't paying that much in the past but once I redid the budget it because easier to "find" that money to help retire all of our debt much faster.

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Grace

Wife to Stoney

Mommy of Sarah (9), Hannah (7.5), and John(5)

drop cable, sell a car, pack your lunch, set your thermostat and keep it there, my nothing out of necessity. I'm sure it is possible but it would seem to take the "fun" out of life.

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In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.Mother Teresa

I don't think we could that nearly a quarter of our income so It really depends on COL where you live and how much you earn.
You didn't say that the 10K had to be liquid assets so here is how we would come up with a 10K increase in net worth

Tax refund $2000
Retirement fund at $50 a week $2600
Increase in equity in our home (from paying on Principle) $3000

That has us saving oh $7600 with out doing a thing and if you count the retirment is matched by DHs Company we are there 10K no sweat,

Still if I had to start Cutting
Sell DH's Truck $1000
Decrease in Insurance, tabs and maintenance $800 (1800)
Clothing Spending $430 (2230)
Eating out altogether $2300 (4530)
Telephone and Internet Cell 1180 (5710)
Gifts 1450 (7160)
Stop with the home projects (3600)

Grand total 10760 Not going to go there but that would be what we cut.

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Kimberly Proud Mommy to Bethany Rose April 2006 &

Organizer of the Coupon Clippers of Tacoma