What have you done?

We’ve been talking about living on a budget and about ways that we can reduce our budget.
Just this morning I was listening to a program where they were talking about little things like bringing coffee to work instead of buying it on the way, or bringing leftovers, instead of going out to eat every day for lunch. I don’t think everyone needs to live on a tight budget and never go out but there’s a lot of people who are living way beyond their means, and there’s simple things that can be done to reduce some of the financial stress.
I feel like I talk to a lot of people about their budgets and everyone’s looking for a magic pill – an easy answer to how to get out of debt or how to buy whatever they want. I compare it to people who want to lose weight – we all want that easy answer – that magic answer that’s going to make our problems go away and it doesn’t work like that. We can’t lose weight without discipline and a plan and we can’t get out of debt or get our spending in control without discipline and a plan.
So, let’s talk about things we can do to get our spending in control. The reason I don’t want to be in debt and the reason I want to live below my means is not only to live a more content life but also to be able to give generously. Wouldn’t be great to be in a position where we weren’t living “pay check to pay check” and we could actually help people around us who really need help –whether people in our own city or beyond. That’s my ultimate goal.
I’ve posted some books on here – some I’ve read and some others have recommended. Let me know if there are any books out there that you think are great that talk about money. Also, I posted some websites that I’ve used for getting some good deals. Again, talk to me. What websites are you using?
I had a great idea from one of you today (Peggy). Here’s what they’ve done to simplify their budget:
Something we did many years ago was create a separate account just for paying bills. We averaged out our monthly bill costs and every pay check, we automatically transfer the money we need for our monthly bills from our chequing account into our "bills" account. This way you never have to worry whether or not the $$ will be there for the bills. When the bill comes in the mail, pay it right away out of the bills account! It has really worked for us.
So, post your comments and ideas right on the blog, so we can all read them.Also, many of you have filled out the form to get the blog sent directly to your inbox. One thing I didn’t realize is that it would be great if you can sign up as a follower on my actual blog as well. Thanks. I think I’ll figure out this blogging eventually….