Have you reached the point where just looking at your bank records is giving you a headache? You could find your records misplaced. You may even end up lost as to your view your current financial standing and accounts. This isn’t a point for you to simply fret.

Now, you have got to take these matters into your own hands.

Saving Money

Building a savings is a vital matter. It is something you have to do consistently to build up to a substantial amount over time. With the current economy and the widespread consumerism, saving has got to become a part of your way of life as it is one of the only true ways to ensure a brighter future.

Living on the cheap is the key to financial independence, but getting started can be maddening. When we look at our costs and see all those bills we are paying each month, it isn’t difficult to throw our hands up in disgust. But what about all those small expenses we incur? You could be shocked to discover how much they amount to. It is easy to dismiss cutting down on small things. One or two dollars a month will not make a major difference in the huge picture. But a couple of dollars here and one or two dollars there adds up to some more bucks.

During tough economic times such as these, people tend to cut expenses by cutting out the fun stuff - vacations. Of course, luxury items and indulgences should always be eliminated before the necessities, but it isn’t always necessary to do away with vacations completely. There are many ways to enjoy a fun and relaxing summer vacation without breaking your bank account. Since we’re smack dab in the middle of summer, I though it would be a great time to discuss this here so you can reconsider whether you can afford to take a vacation trip this year.

Well, it’s the last week of my Grocery Game $1 first month trial.   It was another great week of savings for me, and honestly I have found myself looking forward to going to the grocery store. I actually enjoy the process now because it’s become so much easier than it was the first week and I know I’m saving money.  I LOVE watching the cashier scan all of the groceries and then watching my total bill amount dwindle down significantly as she scans my coupons. I love having my pantry, fridge, and shelves stocked full of food and household items.  It’s a great feeling.

It was my third week using The Grocery Game and I’m still very pleased with the way the shopping list I get each week and the money I’m saving.  In preparing for this blog post I realized that I’ve been reporting the amount of money I saved each week, but I haven’t been providing you all with the full data on my Grocery Game Trial. Because I have kids, I may spend more per week than some people, while others (who have more kids than my two) might spend more. So, it’s better to quantify the grocery savings by percentage of grocery bill and not just amount of money saved. It’s kind of like on The Biggest Loser when they report percentage of body fat lost in addition to the actual pounds lost when determining who the winner is each week.

Last week, I introduced you to a money saving, grocery coupon website called The Grocery Game. I told you all that I’d just joined the $1 first month trial and that I’d test the site’s money saving plan out and report my results here.  So, here I am… bursting at the seems to tell you all about it!

I’ve made a list of the pros and cons of  The Grocery Game based on my first impressions of using it the first week.  I’ve included my saving results and I’m going to share some other saving opportunities that you should check out. Here goes..