Our local high school is open to the public weeknights during the school year for people who want to walk for exercise. My neighbor and I were both trying to lose weight and had both come to a "plateau" with our weight loss. We decided to walk together two nights per week. Each week we tried to increase the number of laps we walked. We usually lost track of how many laps we had walked because we were busy gabbing while we walked. I came up with an idea. I decided to "pay" myself to walk. I put dimes in my right pants pocket...the same number of dimes for each lap we wanted to walk that evening. Each time we completed a lap, I transferred one dime from my right pocket to the left pocket. When I was "out of money", as my neighbor would say, we could go home! When I got home, I put my dimes from my left pocket into a coin bank. Pretty soon there was enough to treat myself to something. My first "reward" was a new pair of jogging shoes. Other times, when I had enough to make a roll of dimes, I deposited it into my savings account.

Once a year I plan time to call some of my monthly bill providers and ask one simple question in the form of a statement. "The services my family receives from your company are great but I need your help to tell me if you package these same services for less money"? I am getting all sorts of offers from your competitors for the same services for much less per month.

Part of my annual success in saving $400 on my cable service (last two years $800) is staying on course with my message, think of yourself as a politician in demeanor, always polite, always love the existing service, no thank you to the additional services they offer (and they will offer many). My terminology is always a polite, no thank you that will not serve me well, that is not something I would find value in, I like the services I have now they work great, I simply need them for less money.

Once you have a reduced price offered for say 6 months, then go to bat and hold your ground by saying and repeating in that steady but kind voice, I really need that price for 12 months. Trust me after this 25 minute phone call you won't wish to do it any sooner than that. The fellow I spoke with laughed and said he'd be looking for my call next year.

My extended basic Cable TV + level 2 high speed internet $72.40, my land line phone $24.21, waved annual fee on Visa card, lower interest on Discover, free recycle bin on trash/garbage collection. It all adds up to saving year after year on these basic needs.

Best of luck everyone. My city has no hiring for the holiday's, pop 77,000, good point the balance between reality and being negative, every city is different.

These kind of strategies can be a great way to learn how to budget and save more effectively.  For myself, my 'game' is figuring out how much I can pay myself before I pay any of my bills.  It's addictive, and feels great to watch my savings account grow.  I would recommend this to anybody looking to start their emergency fund or any other type of savings plan.  Figure out what your income and expenses are, forecast them out for twelve months, add your periodic expenses, and then set a savings goal.  Each time you get paid, pay yourself first and watch your balance grow.

Quickly see where you are headed financially at www.buildmybudget.com

Hi Karen,

My name is Rishabh Kaul. I'm working with Ramit Sethi of iwillteachyoutoberich.com and he pointed me to this site (and pointed out that you've linked to iwillteachyoutoberich before).

He wanted to share a video with you as a token of appreciation. Would you mail back to me so that I can sent you the link (its password protected).

Regards,

Rishabh