Saving Money (Without Coupons??)

So, as many of you know I have been trying to find a way to get to Ireland for a while now. Studying abroad for a semester puts me in the hole of about 15K and Grad school in Ireland would cost even more and require me leaving everything I know for a long period of time (not sure I have the guts to do that yet!) A friend of mine mentioned that I should blog about how I should save for my trip.

I've had it in my head for a while now that I am going to Ireland for one to two weeks next year. The only problem with that is I haven't really set many goals financially for myself except starting a "piggy bank" where I put my spare change and extra dollars. I currently have enough to buy enough food for one day, if that. Money burns holes in my pockets. No lie. If I do not spend it, I will go crazzzzy! That is how I feel at times.

In order to make my dream a reality I realize that I need to set realistic goals. In order to do just that i've done a little research on the world wide web on other people's recommendations to save money for a trip. Thought i'd share this little tid bit and hope to get myself on the right path. After all, I really don't care to be 40 and still saving for this trip!

Here we go!

Step 1: Make a Budget

-Decide what time frame your budget will consist of. Most people do it monthly.

-Note your income. You cannot save more than you make.

-Note your expenses. You cannot save more than

what you have left after your expenses each month!
-Keep Records of everything!

Step 2: Start a Savings Plan

-When do I want to make this trip a reality?

-Keep Track of any changes in your finances.

-Invest! Invest! Invest!

-Set aside a certain amount of your surplus earnings to save each month. W

hen possible, save more than your goal.

Step 3: Curb Your Spending

-Eat Out Less.

-Eliminate Expensive Coffee Drinks: If I stopped myself from buying

a $4.50 Venti White Chocolate Mocha twice a week from Starbucks, 

I would have about $36 a month extra to put into a savings account.
-Buy Used or Non-Brand name products

-Eliminate unnecessary expenses

-Brown bag it to work or school

-Car pool to work or school

-Restrict yourself to eating out once a month and remove take-out orders entirely

-Get rid of your cell phone contract and switch to a

pay-as-you-go phone. Use it only when you need too.

-Cancel subscriptions to magazines you don't read, cable,

internet or gym memberships you don't use.

-Watch a movie at home instead of paying for high priced tickets at a theatre.

-Sign up for store membership cards, clip coupons and ask for discounts when shopping!!

Step 4: Get Out Of Debt

-Pay off your credit card debt

-Don't buy things you cannot afford outright

-Save money to pay off your debt

-Ask your credit card company if they can lower your interest rate. It doesn't hurt to ask!

I must admit, some of these look rather intimidating and all but possible. Do you have any other ideas to help me save for my trip? or for anyone who is looking to save money?

In a week or so I will post more of a plan and guidelines that I plan to follow in order to reach my savings goal. Hopefully by sharing it with someone besides my little notebook on my desk, I will NOT cheat. Ok, I probably will either way but I need to be held accountable for my actions!

I've done it. I am a coupon aficionado!

Let's face it. I am not a highly thrifty person. I am easily overwhelmed by sale racks and thrift stores. I get exhausted just trying to mentally prepare myself for the endless searching through every single article of clothing... and well that just leaves me way too tired to even start the search.

Recently, though, I have been trying to find good deals for places that I normally go to anyway... which means LOTS of coupons. I, in fact, just clipped around 100 tonight from Gator Bucks. Sure, there are many instances where I end up spending where I normally wouldn't but I like to save a buck whereever I can.

I thought i'd share some of my favorites webpages, stores and companies that I have found to offer some good ones. First of all, I might add, that I hate going to supposed "coupon sites" that ask you to download some type of program in order to print your coupons. It's bogus and quite frankly I'd rather not waste the space on my hard drive or my time on the download.

Dealspl.us claims to be ridding the world of the need to clip coupons. You just search and print. Bargain hunters, like myself, log onto the site and share their coupons for the rest of us to use! They even have a feature that allows you to request an e-mail when a coupon is uploaded for your favorite store! I'll admit, I use this one alot.

Gator Bucks embraces the idea of what it is to be a college student. Let me rephrase that, a broke college student. They publish a booklet every spring and fall semesters with some amazing coupons and deals. It's not just for students but it is definately catering to them. You'll mostly find casual dining coupons, as well as the occassional tanning and Jiffy Lube discount. It is a must if you are in Gainesville or visit often.

Entertainment.Com We've all been asked to buy an entertainment book. I've seen them being sold by student organizations, in restaurants and on-line. It is filled with 50% off coupons and buy one get one free coupons for the city or area that you purchase it for. You also have access to tons of on-line deals and coupons. My favorite thing on-line is that by buying a book and therefore becoming a member, you can purchase your Regal Cinema movie tickets on-line and get them for 35% less than what you would pay at the box office. That sounds like a good deal to me! =)

Ecoupon Nation is another student based coupon site but requires no printing or clipping to receive their deals! All you have to do is research on their page of what specials they offer with certain businesses, go to your favorite store and tell them about it. All you need to do is show them your student i.d. The website should be up and fully functional within weeks with a separate sections just for students and another for coupons in general. Add them on Facebook, request that your friends add them and get free gift cards to your favorite places listed on their site!

Also, another kick ass way to get awesome deals is signing up for member appreciation clubs such as Cold Stone Creamery's Birthday Club, Chili's E-mail Club or Michael's E-mail Club. This last February, during my birthday week, I had coupons to eat free almost every day that week. It was stellar to say the least.

So those are my favorite out of the ordinary coupon and deal finders. What ways besides clipping from the Sunday paper do you fill your coupon organizer?

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