This is a very personal topic for me; I’m both anxious to help and hesitant to share. To make it easier on myself, I’ll start in a very vague place: 

A few years ago my husband and I found ourselves on the brink of financial ruin. We were looking for a house (either a short sale or a foreclosure – something cheap!), living in my aunt’s basement, my husband was looking for a job and he ended up accepting a third shift position as maintenance at a nursing home. Things were bleak. 

We looked at a lot of houses that we COULD afford, but did we need that expense? In the end, we decided on a house half the size of some of the others. We didn’t need an office or formal living and dining room; what we needed was to save money. 

Next, I opened multiple bank accounts. I opened a Holiday Account and set up direct deposit so I would have money to shop come November when the sales start. I opened a Vacation Account because even though you’re paying down debt, you need to be kind to yourself and your family. There was no direct deposit for this account, though. I just squirreled away what I could. I then opened a savings account that didn’t have a debit card attached to it. This was in addition to the usual savings you probably have tied to checking. 

After that, we modified our habits. I started lightly couponing.I don’t get multiple papers but I do ask my family members to keep their coupon packets when they finish clipping what they use. Maybe we don’t use the same stuff! I save a couple hundred a year this way. I also TRY (when I remember) to take advantage of my grocery store’s fuel perk and gift card programs.  This deserves its own post so I won’t elaborate.

I struggle with not going overboard on keeping hold of the purse strings. My husband keeps me in check by reminding me that nobody wanted to live with Scrooge McDuck. This was a hard lesson for me, but his personality balances mine well.