Experiment Five: Three Ways To Spend Less Money

My husband and I are very focused on spending our money with intention and saving our money with intention. This hasn't always been the case - I was more of a spender a year ago. Money that we would set aside for emergency savings would some how be spent, but a year ago we started focusing on spending less and saving more for the things we find more meaningful.

Here are a few ways we are focusing on SPENDING LESS

1. 52 Week Challenge: We opened a separate savings account in the Fall and started this challenge. Every paycheck, I move money into this account (2 weeks worth at a time). The first few weeks were easy so I cheated and deposited weeks 1-7 into the account to start. We are now on week 32. By the end of the 52 weeks we will have saved $1,378 dollars. 

2. 2015 Financial Goals: At the beginning of 2015, my husband and I agreed on 3 Financial Goals - Summer Road Trip, Twins Preschool, and getting our Emergency Savings up to $10,000. These goals were going to challenge us to be fairly strict about saving our money each month. We have already saved for our Road Trip, saved just over half of what we need for Preschool, and have maintained our current emergency savings so it will be easier to reach our goal once we've finished saving for Preschool.

3. Putting Aside the Pay Raise: This one is going to be new to us. Every April my husband gets some type of pay increase, and I am sure that every year we find a way to spend it without even thinking. But this year we have decided to be more intentional with this money. Instead of adding this money to our monthly budget, we are opening a separate savings account and saving it every month. This experiment in saving instead of spending will help us make additional principal payments on our mortgage - helping us get closer to being financially free!