My favorite “boost your budget” ideas that anyone can do

My husband and I relocated from Oregon to Texas a few months ago. For the most part, the transition has been pretty easy and we are enjoying our new area. Moving was really expensive though and we are living with family until we can purchase our own house. Every penny counts. That means that I need to save as much money as possible this holiday season.

The main way to save money is to make a budget in the first place. I’ve found that, as Dave Ramsey says, you need to tell your money where to go. The best way to save money is to have a budget and then stick with it.

You can boost your budget by following these simple, but powerful, ideas

1. Eat from your food storage – My family thought that I was crazy for moving my food storage 2300 miles. We have a lot of it. Now they are thankful to have it. This food, that I have spent years carefully budgeting for, will carry us through the holiday season – and beyond. Grocery shopping is a cinch when you have most of the items already at home.

2. Cook from scratch and make enough for leftovers – Make your own biscuits and bread. Have oatmeal for breakfast. Eat beans and rice . You get the idea. Cooking from scratch is always economical and better for you than eating from a box. Tonight we are having chili and cornbread. This is my Marie Calendar Cornbread knockoff recipe:

* 1 cup flour
* 1 cup cornmeal (grind half to a fine powder if you have coarse grind meal)
* 2/3 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 egg
* 1 cup milk ( or use 1/3 cup powdered milk and 1 cup of water)
* 1/3 cup oil

Directions:
Mix the dry ingredients together in large bowl. If you are using powdered milk, it goes in here. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl. Combine wet and dry and stir until just combined. Pour the mixture into a greased 8 x 8 inch pan and bake 20-25 min at 400°F.

3. Use those leftovers  – Bring your lunch to work every day. Even if you only do this three times a week you will save BIG money. Go retro and bring it in paper bags.

4. Scale it back – Not only will this save you money, it will reduce stress. Reduce the number of gifts all around, or go for the Secret Santa idea and just draw names. Make this holiday season more about quality time with family and less about presents.

5. You can’t cut out every purchase, so look for deals and sales – This is the time of year to stock up on baking supplies, they are always on sale in November and December. Buy extra sugar, spices, flour and decorations. I’m not much of a coupon shopper, but maybe you are (or want to learn). SheKnows has a great post for beginning couponers that you might want to check out.

Find out what is usually on sale in November and December. You’ll thank yourself next year.

6. When you need to buy, buy in bulk, – This is the best way to save money. If you can purchase what you need in bulk, use some now, and store the rest for another day. Look for co-ops, whole food stores or even the local WinCo to purchase from the bulk bins. Click through to our Bulk Buying Page for other ideas.

Try one idea or try them all. Tell your money where to go and boost your budget this holiday season. The best part of all? You can use these tips all year long! What other things do you do to boost your budget?

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