gimme one...

So you aren’t convinced yet. So far I am just a young mother who blogs a lot about saving money. Well, I want to prove to you that YOU CAN CHANGE! You can take these simple tips and tweak them as you see fit and make this YOUR lifestyle. Just gimme ONE month…

But you CANT do a whole month, right? Because I mean come on…you want to have one, and shop, and go to the movies, and go out to eat. Well.. i’m only asking for one month. I don’t live like a homeless and broke person EVERY month, but sometimes a “one month checkup” is necessary. IF you are falling off the bandwagon, not saving as you should…then go back to the “gimme one” plan…

Do a budget for one month. Save every dime you find for ONE month. Don’t go to the mall for one month. Deal?

Okay so now we have tackle the task of you not sitting at home crying over your closet b/c you want to go shop…you CAN survive this. TONS of fun, free things to do in life. Let’s take a glance at some of my fav’s to do when I am on the ‘gimme one’ program…

Sign up online at redbox.com. When you do this you recieve a free code. Get your husband to do it. Thats 3 free codes. But wait… don’t you have work email as well? thats 3 codes. OH MAN! I just got you 3 movies for FREE! PLUS you will now recieve a text message with a free movie code the FIRST Monday of every month. Its a brilliant program.
Go to the park. Several good parks around Hot Springs and every town for that matter. Take the kids, dogs, and snacks(from your house of course) and head out to run, play, laugh, throw leaves, fish…Didn’t cost you a dime but take your camera. Kodak moments WILL occur.
Upload all of your cds to your computer. You KNOW you have been wanting to do that. Then you can create playlists and if you have blank cds laying around you can burn yourself a cd. It will feel like a treat to have new music in your car!
Organize your closet. Try on everything you own. Trust me…it really IS fun. Make a pile of clothes to save for a yardsale, or clothes to take to consignment. You will feel good, your house will feel cleaner and you have already started a wad of cash due to all the clothes you can sell and make money off of!
Make a craft out of things you already have. And while you are at it…if its REALLY cool go ahead of and think of somebody you could give it for a birthday or Christmas.
GO TO THE LIBRARY!! Your local library has TONS of fun stuff to do. Activities for the kids, books and movies to rent, magazines to read… Thats a whole afternoon of FREE fun!
Make a list of meals you can make just by using items that are ALREADY in your house. Don’t rush to walmart because you think you have ” no food”. invent a recipe based on what you have lying around.
Walk downtown. Downtown Hot Springs is BEAUTIFUL! There are trails to walk on, people watching, play in the fountain. Again take your camera! Just don’t be tempted to shop while you are down there.
Empty your DVR by watching all of those shows you taped! Mine is FULL… must mean I am due for another “gimme one”.
Have friends over and karaoke! What could be more fun than that?! Tell everyone to bring something to snack on, you provide a home, karaoke, cups and ice and ta-da! You just had a night-o-fun without spending a dime!
Tell me your ideas. I’d love to hear them. But seriously folks, gimme ONE month to prove that you can enjoy life WHILE saving money! Its something you HAVE to be conscious about. Plan ahead, pack your lunch, don’t grab a Sonic drink, don’t WINDOW shop… You can do it…i’m only asking for you to gimme one…