fantastically frugal

Writing out my first batch of checks had me re-committing to a little bit more of a frugal lifestyle. Some of this involves just going through what I'm already doing and trimming some of the fat. The great thing is that right now, everyone is trying to budget so there are other folks out there sharing tips and ideas. A few things I've done so far:

• Get rid of this random aol subscription I kept. I was paying $5 a month to keep access to aol for a minimal amount of hours. This worked well if cox was down or I was out of town, but somewhere along the line they raisde the price to $10. I cut the whole thing out. I even got them to give me a refund...of course it was only $6 but hey what can you do, it's money!
• Cutting out the Starbucks. I don't have a huge addiction to the 'bucks but even just a latte a week adds up. I buy some regular coffee and creamer and make myself a cup in the morning if I have a hankering. I am still debating buying the gift cards from Costco -- you pay $80 and get $100 worth -- and saying that's it for the whole year, or something like that. I have a nice stack of Caribou money from old Christmas presents at work, so I'll use that too.
  
• Assessing my cell phone bill. For the first time in well over two years, I went over my minutes on my cell phone! In fact, for months I've barely gone near reaching my minutes. Part of that was living in a house with poor cell reception and an actual landline. For a few minutes I was looking at going up another plan until I realized that Verizon has something new called Friends and Family where you get a top 5 people who count as your free minutes. I know that by entering mom's cell, parents' house, sister's cell and house (other sister is Verizon, so we're IN!), and BFF's office, that will trim a couple hundred minutes off the top each month. I also took off the unlimited internet. It was a nice luxury to have when I was house hunting, etc., but it is more a distraction than anything else. It also costs $15!
• Making sure I *really* want something before I decide to keep it. I've done more returning than ever in my life (including holidays!) after deciding I don't like certain pillows, curtains, etc., once I got home. I was even able to return shades I'd bought at JC Penney and installed, but found they didn't work properly for my windows.
  
• Figuring out what I can go without. I've wavered on cable basically every day! I'm trying to do the whole digital converter box thing but am finding I don't get any network channels. I don't want to go any more complicated on the antenna (this one was $35 -- next up is $60-70) because at that point it would make sense to just get basic cable. The truth is, my life is better without constant tv. I figure I'll shelf this until after Lent (not giving up tv, but figure I don't need to add anything in for Lent like that!). I can still watch shows on my computer, and my sister lives close by (and has a DVR) if I feel a huge need to see something.
  
• Trying my hand at "CVS-ing" and being better about coupons. There's a whole world of people out there getting steals at CVS and my hope is to become part of that world. Also, I plan to subscribe to the post on Sundays to get the coupons to make deals possible at CVS and elsewhere.
  
• Making a yard sale pile as I unpack. My subdiv will have a community yardsale at the end of April and I am trying to see what I can put together for sale. I may not make much, but it'll at least be something. My goal is to put together enough stuff to bring in $100. Here's hopin!
  
• Stockpiling some meds with my FSA money. This year I didn't have any major medical or dental expenses, so I have a nice chunk of FSA money leftover. And only a few more days to spend it. So, I'm stocking up on meds, first aid kit, etc., that it'll be nice not to have to shell out money for during the year.
  

It'll be an adventure. I've never had to budget so tightly before -- particularly since the past two years I lived in a house where bills were split 7 ways! But, part of my budgeting is so that I can still do the things I love like go to the beach in May, and enjoy an occasional dinner out with friends. If I do this right, I'll be enjoying life AND my house and not oweing anyone a cent. I like that.