In this economy...

I've had to change a few things. Okay, I've had to cut back on certian things. My make up routine had to change. I used to wear foundation, but not anymore. I ran out of foundation a year ago and just don't have the extra funds to keep buying it. I simply can't justify the need to replace my foundation every 2 months. I have had to forgo the wearing of eyeshadow everyday. I'm down to 2 eyeshadows and 1 of them is on it's last hurrah. My makeup routine was pretty simple but as the cost of just about everything went up, I really realized that how fast the little things added up. It's always the $5 here the $10 there that can make the difference. Perfume is a little different for me. A 1 ounce perfume can last me for a good year or more, but I have plenty of perfumes to use up.

I cut out a lot of my cell phone extras. I dropped my text message package. I used to pay an extra $4.99 for 400 messages. A good most of my friends either disabled the texting feature on thier cell phones or just stopped texting altogether. So there isn't much of a need for a text message package to keep it. I have switched to a cheaper plan because I use nowhere near the 1,500 minutes a month that I am allotted. I am lucky if I even hit 400 minutes a month so 700 minutes is a better deal.

Groceries is another big thing. I really have to look at the grocery store fliers that come in the mail and look them over. I've had to make decisions on what do I really need and how much do I have to spend on 2 weeks worth of groceries. Coupons have helped me out tremendously. If it is something I eat on a regular basis and on sale, it's good. A great thing is when I can use a coupon on top of it. I freeze a lot of my meats (roasts, chicken thighs, etc) when there is a phenominal deal because meat has really gotten expensive. I have gone the generic brand food instead of name brand food. I haven't noticed the difference between generic brand macarooni and cheese and the Kraft version.

I've combined and eliminated some of my errands. Since I live in a rural area that doesn't have a bus service like the RTA, I have to be careful with gas. The price of gas fluctuats so much that I've had to combine trips and think about how vital is something before I head out.

By changing just a few things and over the course of a year, I have been able to save myself almost $800. I am working on scaling back a few more things. Stay tuned for that.