Published on 11/23/2009

Here are tips on how I save money every month. Living a frugal life isn't as bad it might sound. Read this article and see if any of these ideas might help you save money for things you rather spend your cash on, other than bills.

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How to Save Money: A Dance Teacher's Perspective

Money and budgeting has always been a rollercoaster for me. I grew up in the average-income household. I never went without but I also remember the struggles my family endured over the years. Both my parents worked very hard to pay the bills and I was always aware of it. My father lost his job several times along the way and I saw how this affected the family. I remember thinking I never wanted to go through this in my adult life if I could find a way that money didn't have to be such an issue.

After graduating from college I got a job at an insurance company and was miserable with it. My passion in life is dance and dance education and I wanted more than anything to be a full time Choreographer/Dance Educator (which is so hard! If you are in the arts, you know!) I started working 3 part time jobs around my full time job and that year raked in over $50,000 that year. I loved making this amount of income, but was wearing myself so thin and stressing out so hard until I reached my breaking point. I re-evaluated what I wanted and actually made a big move to a different state to start over and go after what I really wanted.

Here are some tips I've learned along the way:

Get rid of all your credit cards- When I first moved to Florida I did not have a job. I had a savings prepared that would allow me to live for 4 months, comfortably before I had to stress about getting a job. When the four months were up I only had a part time job and was not able to pay my bills. As a result I started using my credit card to make payments on everything. It suddenly was so easy! Just use my card! I was using it like the purchases were free. A long story short this resulted in over $9,000.00 in debt. When I realized how out of control this was, I made a commitment to start paying this debt off so it wasn't hanging over my head constantly. I put every spare cent I had toward it and last year I paid it off completely. Ever since, I ONLY use my debit card which has a VISA sticker on it. I ONLY buy what I can afford and NEVER use credit. What a relief!

Start using the Grocery Store- When I was single I NEVER cooked and I mean NEVER. As Carrie said on "Sex and the City", "I use my oven for storage". I always bought food on the go and paid a pretty price for it. Now I can't even imagine what I actually spent on Boston Market, Chipotle, etc. Instead: Make a grocery list. Always go to the grocery store on a FULL stomach (I know everyone says this but it is SO true! You will buy a lot less if your stomach is not growling at you!) Compare prices at different stores. Only buy what you need.

Use Netflix- It cost me $10 a month and we get one movie a week, sometimes 2, so that's a little over $2 a movie which is a great deal considering it'd cost you double my monthly cost to see ONE movie with a friend, plus popcorn candy etc. would be way more pricey.

Discover your realistic budget- I've been watching this new show called "The Bank of Mom and Dad". I realized during the first episode that lots of us are truly unaware of how much we are spend on certain items or services. You really have to sit down and total what you make per month and then subtract all the things you pay for each month and see how much you have left (IF you truly have anything left). Go ahead and write down everything. Here are my monthly expenses:

Mortgage-Find an affordable place. Downsize if appropriate.

Condo Fee-So annoying, but it's in the contract:)

Car-I bought a Toyota that is GREAT on gas!!!

Car Insurance-Shop around for this. I seriously save hundreds of dollars per year with Geico.

Health Insurance-I don't know what's going to happen with this Health Care reform, but shop for this as well. Get quotes. Compare. Find what is most affordable and appropriate for you.

Cell Phone-I won't sacrifice this. I use it all the time and do not even have a land line.

Power/Electric-Shut off lights when you leave a room. Everytime.

Cable/Internet/Tv-We dropped HBO and Showtime even though we LOVE about 4 different shows on there. We are now waiting until they come out on DVD.

Student Loan-Trying to pay a little more than the minimum each month to pay it off like I did with my credit card. The interest is super low though so it's not as stressful.

Netflix- See above.

Prescriptions-I have asthma. I need an inhaler every month.

Gas- I live 2 miles from work. SO AWESOME. I fill up about once a month.

Groceries-Be strategic! Shop the Weekly Ads! This will take practice and consistency. You can save hundreds of dollars a year by comparing prices.

Savings-I try to put some aside every paycheck for the future.

After you've done this, see what you can cut back on. Keep re-evaluating every few months and see what else you DON'T need and get rid of it. You'll love seeing how much you are saving!

Don't Smoke- If you smoke a pack a day, that's $1,800 a year you will save. If you buy a drink when you buy your cigarettes add another $400 onto that per year. I've never been a smoker so this is easy for me to say of course, but find your motivation (the money, your health) and find a way to stop.

Cut back on alcohol- Again when I was single and had money to throw around, I estimate on any given weekend night I might have spent $75-$100 on alcohol, cabs, food and entertainment. Couple rounds of drinks for the girls, night club cover costs, some late night munchies and a safe ride home can really add up. My husband does not drink at all so this sort of "rubbed off" on me because it's not so natural to get yourself good and drunk and have your sober husband watching you act a fool:) (ha!) No really though, I probably have a glass of wine maybe once a month? This has worked itself out and wasn't something I had to work on. However the switch is very cost effective, fortunately.

Let your natural nails come out and play- Yes I'm a woman and want to look hot of course, but getting acrylics used to cost me about $800 per year. Yes my nails looked fabulous. YES I LOVED the way they look. I haven't had acrylics in about 2 years and honestly I save a lot of time, gas, and money NOT driving to the salon, sitting there for over an hour, paying for it and tipping my Nail Technician. This is something I got used to pretty quick. Sometimes I miss the way they look, but honestly I rarely even think about it anymore. (Do your own pedicures too! You can do it!)

Ladies, donate your hair to Locks of Love- I'm a firm believer in not looking like a raggedy mess, but you also don't have to have the latest celeb hair coloring every month either. I used to get my hair done every 6 weeks and LOVED getting blond highlights. Everytime I'd pay my bill I'd think, OMG seriously, I am paying this much for HAIR? I think I save atleast $800-$1000 a year NOT getting my hair highlighted at the salon. Now I've grown my hair out and only get it cut every 5-6 months. If I want a little color boost I spend $8 on Herbal Essence to spice it up for a bit. My natural hair color is brown. I needed some motivation to keep from heading to that salon chair. What I've pledged to do is keep it "bleach free" and donate it to "Locks of Love" once it gets long enough. That's inspiration to me help someone who really needs it AND save money in the process. I think it's a win-win situation.

Pale is the new Tan- Just ask the Twilight Cast! No really, healthy skin is IN. Especially if you are younger this entry might be ignored, but believe me, the damage you do to your skin spending hours in the tanning booth will reveal itself. You are likely to wish you'd stayed out of there. PLUS you'll save approximately $500 a year not going to the booth. It's something to consider.

Drink Water- The benefits of this are endless. We have a Pur Filtration device on our faucet. There's also Brita. Either way, for like $20 you will have fresh clean water for months instead of spending all that money on bottled water. There are no calories so it will help keep extra weight off. It helps keep your skin clear. You'll stay hydrated which will increase your health. Must I go on?

Buy less meat- Meat is pricey. Try making vegetarian dishes or veggie versions of meat dishes for several meals every week and this will help your grocery bill. Of course you could try going Vegetarian, but after several attempts personally, I think meat will always be something I consume in moderation. I only have meat 2-3 times a week. Try one week to cut back a little and then go from there.

Cancel all magazine subscriptions- Find it online instead. Seriously, what can't you find on the internet?

Cancel your gym membership- Are you really using it? Find ways outside the gym to get in your workout. Walking, running, playing ball outside, weight work, and plyometrics at home. Borrow a workout video from a friend or rent it on Netflix. Use the internet to research exercises if you don't already know how to do them like crunches, push-ups, etc. There's many ways around having a monthly payment going to a gym especially if you aren't utilizing it.

Thoughtful Gift Giving- Especially in this economy give your recipient something they really WANT or could really USE only. Now I know this is where everyone says to bake cookies etc, but honestly I don't think baked good are always the answer:) In my opinion, always give a gift that you are proud to give. Try and think about what your recipient LIKES. If it's a friend or family member try and personalize something that is not so pricey. For example, I got my best friend a mouse pad with our favorite pictures of us on it for $11.00 (http://www.personalizationmall.com/). She LOVED it! She works on her computer a lot. We don't live near eachother anymore so it brought back lots of memories and now she can look at it everyday when she's working on her computer. Or get a reasonable gift card to where they like to go the most and put it in a cute container. I am TOTALLY appreciative of everything anyone takes the time to give me, but honestly sometimes instead of a tin of baked goods, I would have loved even $5 to Starbucks to get my favorite drink before class. Dance teachers don't make a lot so I basically only go to Starbucks when I have a gift card.

Rarely buy new clothes- I'm a dance teacher so my "uniform" is sweats and a tshirt, fortunately. I rarely buy new clothes. It would be so easy to go blow a couple hundred dollars on new stuff for "fun", but do I need them? No. If there is a special occasion for a wedding or something like that, I go find an afforable dress on sale. If you are a clothes shopper, really think "do I NEED this"? There's a lot of little fashionistas out there, but I truly think you can find super cute items even at Target that won't break the bank and "keep you cute".

That's all for now you little savers! I hope even one of these tips helps in planning a better budget for your future! I am a full time Choreographer and Dance Teacher now and this is what I've come up with so far to live more happily and less stressed about money. I encourage you to stay positive and remember your change in perspective can change your whole life.