52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Keep an Idea Journal {Week 49 of 52}

Welcome to my 52 Ways to Save $100 a Month series. We’re serious about saving money in 2016. Sometimes it’s the little things and sometimes it’s the big things. I’m here to walk you through some little things that can add up to BIG savings. 52 little things to be exact. Every week, join me back here for another small money saving tip or idea that might not seem like significant savings until you see the overall yearly savings. It might just blow your mind. So pop in each Tuesday and read a new tip that will help you on your way to save $100 a month!

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Wanna know when I have my best money saving ideas? When I’m lying in bed at night trying to fall asleep. Problem is, by the time I wake up in the morning, I’ve completely forgotten them! That’s why I’ve started carrying around an “idea journal” everywhere I go. Then I place it beside my bed at night and lean over and record anything my brain thinks up {and if your brain is anything like my brain, it somehow works overtime right as you are trying to fall asleep!}.

Now I know in the grand scheme of big money saving things, this idea seems silly. But trust me when I say it’s not. I had thought about checking on our cable bill for years. I always happened to think about it when I was in the middle of doing something else, so I’d have the thought and then it would fade away before I had a spare second to act on it. So I kept on forgetting and I kept on paying the same price I’d always been paying, which *GULP* was around $188/month. Fast forward to FINALLY remembering, making a quick call and saving my family a TON!

Another example was remembering to cancel my Netflix subscription. I’d read an article on the average monthly price people pay, knew we were paying A TON more than that, but kept forgetting to actually call and do something about it. I’d be thinking about it when making dinner or gardening. If I had just had my idea journal handy back then, I would have pulled it out and jotted it down so it wouldn’t be forgotten. That one tiny Netflix idea looked like a savings of this:

Old plan $239.76 a year
New plan $95.88 a year
Savings $143.88 a year.

BOOM. My all about the idea journal now. And it’s so simple to use. Find a journal, notebook, tiny pad of paper and keep it near you at all time {with a writing utensil, too, of course!}. Then when you have a brilliant idea, write it down. The end. Sounds pretty simple, right? It is! Money saving, too!

How Much Can You Save:  $1,300+. Sounds crazy high for simply keeping a journal, right? Well remember that story about cable I told you above? By simply writing that thought down in my idea journal, I would have implemented it about a year earlier and saved my family a whoppin $1,300. Yep. That journal can be a big money saver.

More Ways to Save:

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Clean Out Your Closet {Week 1 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Break Up with Cable {Week 2 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Barter Better {Week 3 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Change Your Own Oil {Week 4 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Adjust Your Thermostat {Week 5 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Take Advantage of Your Perks {Week 6 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Pack Your Lunch {Week 7 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Make It Yourself {Week 8 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Preserve Your Bounty {Week 9 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Keep the Change {Week 10 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | The Art of Borrowing {Week 11 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Ditch the Gym {Week 12 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Clip a Coupon {Week 13 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Start Your Garden From Seed {Week 14 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Learn to Cut Hair {Week 15 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Become a 1 Car Family {Week 16 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Make a Phone Call {Week 17 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Shop Christmas in July {Week 18 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Grow a Garden {Week 19 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Just Say No {Week 20 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Go Generic {Week 21 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Make a Budget {Week 22 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Use the Library {Week 23 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Kick the Soda Habit {Week 24 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Improve Your Credit Score {Week 25 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Shop Online {Week 26 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Save on Lodging {Week 27 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Play for Free {Week 28 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Save Big on Birthday Parties {Week 29 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Back to School Clothes on the Cheap {Week 30 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Inexpensively Entertaining {Week 31 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Buy Used College Textbooks {Week 32 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Buy Used {Week 33 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Buy In Bulk {Week 34 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Skip a Meal {Week 35 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Save on Medical Expenses {Week 36 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Save on Christmas Spending {Week 37 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Reduce Convenience Foods {Week 38 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Stop Paying Interest {Week 39 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Eat Less Meat {Week 40 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Curb Impulse Buying {Week 41 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Do Holiday Shopping AFTER the Holidays {Week 42 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Make a List {Week 43 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Cook in Bulk {Week 44 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Dress Minimally {Week 45 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Use Less Product {Week 46 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Take Advantage of Free {Week 47 of 52}

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month |Turn Off the Lights {Week 48 of 52}