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Savings Zone Feature- The Tennessean’s Ms. Cheap
These days we all want—and need—more money. Right??
So no matter how much you have or how much you need, Ms. Cheap is here to help you do more with less. Some call it squeezing a nickel but I call it being smart. I mean if you could spend $50 and get the same amount of stuff that you used to pay $75 for, to me it means that I am $25 richer. And I like that.

So check out Dollar General’s new “Savings Zone’’ for my regular postings.

Budgeting
Most folks shudder when they hear the word “budget’’ – but it's one of the most basic and necessary tricks of the trade if you ever want to have any money. Without knowing how much money you have to spend, it is more than likely that your spending will spiral out of control without you even meaning to get yourself in trouble. A budget doesn't need to be fancy or complicated but it must be a realistic compilation of your income and your spending so that you can make a plan. The best and simplest way to get started is by getting a grip on what your real after- tax income is.

Write it Down
So write it down. The experts say to spend a week or so writing down everything you spend – not just your big expenses like rent and car payment and groceries, but everything including the pack of gum, the tank of gas, the birthday gift for your sister, the little lunch on the run at Wendy’s, the bag of chips from the vending machine at work.

Think Ahead
The really challenging part of this exercise is to think ahead of what you anticipate spending in the future – say school supplies, or Christmas presents for the family, college savings, or maybe you'd like to buy a house or take a vacation. All of these longer-range expenses should be figured into a budget so that you will have the money when the time comes. Putting it down on paper is important - I recently read that less than 5% of Americans have a written financial plan, but those with a plan are 250% more likely to achieve their financial goals.

Cut Back to Make the Numbers Work
Once you determine your income and expenses,  you can see how they match up. Or Not. If the spending is more than the income, you’ll need to go line-by-line on your expense sheet to see what you can cut back on to make the numbers work.

Maybe you can figure a way to cut 10 percent out of your grocery bill or start taking lunch every day instead of once a week, or rent a movie instead of taking the whole family out to the theater. Think how much money you could save in a year if you quit smoking or if you starting drinking tap water instead of sodas and bottled water.    

Establishing a budget and sticking to it is not what I would call fun, but it can be the path to your dreams.        

I read a blog recently that said, “Budgeting is what freed me from unnecessary spending. Why would I want to eat out every day when I could use that money to have fun or pay off my house early? We have a strict budget with money for fun built into it. Instead of not knowing where the money went, we always know how much we spent on entertainment and splurge items. This is a much better way to live.

One of my readers said it just right:   ”If your outgo is more than your income, then your upkeep will be your downfall.’’   And we don’t want that, do we?  So get out that pen and paper and get to figuring - I think in the long run you will surely be glad you did!

Ms Cheap will be providing regular content in the soon to be launched Dollar General Savings Zone Community. Posts will be added at least twice each month and will have commenting features available so you can add your tips and comments.   To see more from Mrs. Cheap click visit www.dgsavingszone.com.  

Ms. Cheap, aka Mary Hance in real life, writes a four times weekly frugal consumer column called “Ms. Cheap’’ in the Tennessean newspaper in Nashville, Tn.  Her latest book, “99 Things to Save Money in Your Household Budget’’, was published in Sept. 2009 by Turner Publishing Company.  Hance, who is married and has two grown daughters, has been writing about frugality and doing more with less for more than 15 years.

Although Ms. Cheap is paid for her submissions, Dollar General does not influence what is inside the message aside from providing a suggested category calendar. We want to provide Ms. Cheap’s messages as a service to our Savings Zone members not as a promotional vehicle for Dollar General.

Visit Ms. Cheap’s Tennessean Blog
for more great tips on how to make life more affordable.