The Simple Dollar today has a list of 100 ways to save money.

I think that Joanne may appreciate number 65.

I have a little addendum for number 7: “Write a list before you go shopping - and stick to it.” While that’s good advice, it can be difficult at times. Some may have the will-power to stick exclusively to “the list” but others will have a hard time of it. And, once you fall off the horse, it is often easier to keep walking than to try to get back on.

An alternative is to give yourself an allowance of $x for things that are not on your list. Maybe there is a sale on something you’ll need but wasn’t on the list. Could be a close-out special or something. Maybe you see something that you weren’t aware the store carried, or something new. By giving yourself an allowance, you can still basically stick to the list while allowing some flexibility in picking up additional items within a reasonable limit.

Additionally, take the $x you don’t spend and save it! Stick it in a money jar or deposit it in your savings account. That way, when you’re faced with buying additional items at the store, you’ll have a tougher choice to make. Instead of just buying something because it will fit within your overage amount, you’ll have to decide whether you want to buy the item(s) or save the money.

The way I see it, it’s the best of both worlds. You have the benefit of sticking to a list with some degree of flexibility and the added savings if you don’t spend your overage amount.

If you can stick strictly to your list, by all means do it. But, if you’re the type that needs some amount of flexibility, give this a try!

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Why does it seem like the money you spend adds up faster than the money you save?

Since I started (and restarted) making a serious effort at getting my financial house in order, it seems that, despite cutting out spending on non-essentials, my savings haven’t equalled what I was spending.

While it’s disappointing to look at the numbers, the reason is pretty clear. After setting aside money for paying regular bills and necessities as well as savings, the balance goes toward paying stuff off. The good news is that, instead of buying new non-essentials, I’m getting stuff paid off.

The reason savings don’t quite equal previous spending is because savings are a fixed amount, whether a percentage or a dollar amount of your income–however you figure it–and spending was variable. In other words, you might spend a dollar here or there, but only save a dollar. You get a check, and you set aside a specific amount for savings. You don’t look into your checkbook later in the week and say, hey, I think I’ll save some of that. But, with spending, you’ll look at your checkbook and say, hey, I can spare a couple bucks to buy this…

Because of that, your savings may not add up as much as what your spending did.

Savings are generally planned out, while spending is more inconsistent. For example, you may have spent $5 for coffee and a donut for breakfast before work. Maybe one week, you went every day ($25) and another week you went three times ($15) and the third week you went three times ($15). So, if you decided to save that money instead of spending you, while you might cut out the coffee and donuts, you might have decided to save $15 per week. Over a three week period, you saved $45, whereas in the same three week period you might have spent $55. So, your savings may not grow as quickly as what your spending did.

On top of that, you might also have spent $15 on lunch one day a week, bringing your expenditures to $100 while your savings stayed at $45.

On the plus side, if you’re using that extra money to pay things off, that’s not a bad thing. But, if you want your savings to grow a little faster, you’re going to need to punch some numbers to see if you can increase your weekly savings or if it’s better to continue to pay things off. Ideally, even if you have debts to pay, you should be trying to save some money, even if it’s only a small amount, to save for emergencies or other situations that may arise where you’ll need some extra money.

For other money-saving ideas, be sure to add Sabrina’s Money Matters and The Simple Dollar to your RSS feed or blogroll.

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A lot of people have credit card debt that they want to pay off. A couple days ago, Budget Babe talked about reducing your credit card debt.

When trying to pay off your credit card(s), it is best to avoid using them. However, sometimes you just cannot avoid using them. Here are a couple money-saving tricks to help deal with that situation.

1) If you need to purchase something with a credit card, pay it off right away and round up. If you can pay online, pay on your credit card (either before or right after your purchase) the amount you had to pay, rounding up as much as you can. For example, if you paid $46.95 for something, pay $50 on your credit card. That way, you are reimbursing the card for your purchase as well as reducing the debt by a little.

If your credit card company restricts the number of payments you can make in a month, write out a check for the amount and save it until it’s time to pay the bill. Then, pay the amount you normally pay plus the amounts of any additional checks you wrote.

By doing things this way, you will continue to see your credit card balance drop, instead of bouncing up and down when you make new purchases.

2) If you are saving up for a large purchase, consider “saving” by making payments on your credit card. Even if you end up having to charge a large amount later (once you have “saved” enough money), in the meantime what you will have saved in interest charges will likely far exceed what little interest the bank may have paid you if you saved the money in a checking or savings account.

And, as always, know thyself and be sure these methods will work out to your advantage before using them.

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