I don't know about you, but I've sure noticed that the price of groceries just keeps going up. I've been slowly slipping off of my budget so I am hopping back on.

It all starts with being mindful – you can save a lot of money if you do just that one thing.

How much does it really cost?

If you shop with cash, it becomes very apparent… fast.

I didn't count today as a full out money saving trip because

•  I was stocking up because winter is here and we just spent a few days snowed in at home. I wanted to get some extra items in the house in case we can't get out the day before shopping day – that's when it always seems to happen!

•  I used my store credit card because I knew it would be more than usual and I wanted the points – those darn points can be a hard habit to break.

•  I didn't have a store flyer so I wasn't able to shop the specials in particular like I normally will be.

HERE'S WHAT I SAVED AND WHY

$10 on a plant that I normally would have bought. Actually, I did buy one, as you can see, it was well worth it and I had been looking specifically for a plant for this table and

something Christmassy to boot (another key, remember not to shop willy nilly – always have a purpose) – but I didn't buy the other one they had as I normally would have. $10 saved.

Why? Because I took about 30 seconds to think about it and ask myself, do I really need it? 

I didn't buy ANY junk food or snacks. No granola bars, no cookies, no nothing. I did buy some baking things so that I can do some baking – less money, less garbage, less junk food. Approx $10-20 saved.

WHY? Because I've changed the rules about what I will and won't spend money on (and going without the kids didn't hurt!). It's that easy.

TOTAL $20 – $30 saved just from changing my mindset and nothing else before I walked into the store.

Try it and let us know what YOU save… 

COMING UP – When I was shopping I not only saved money that I normally would have spent – I got a really great money saving tip from a shopper after I let her go ahead of me. Being nice pays big!

Stay tuned and I'll tell you all about it coming up… 

HOW ABOUT YOU?

If you want to really see a difference and even have some fun with it, I'd like to invite you to sign up for your free access to Making Change Simple Spending Plan ready for you.

It's the complete system that I've been using to save lots of money. It's truly amazed me how well changing a few simple things has worked for us to get off of the spending treadmill and get onto paying down credit and building our savings.

You really can make change – your own. I hope that you give it a shot and start using your money to work FOR you, it's yours after all.

Making Change Simple Home Budget System

Get your money for nothing.