New Year's Resolution- Better late than never!

Cheesy post or not,  I want to brainstorm with you guys. With the wedding approaching and our newly reserved Butler awaiting our arrival in St. Lucia, Zeke and I realized that we should really cut back on spending and focus on SAVING this year. Hence... my 2011 New Year's Resolution.

Many of you are in similar situations... whether it's wedding planning, a baby on the way, taking up an obscene spur of the moment world-wide traveling hobby, or buying a house. Everyone could use to cut back a little! Whatever the case may be, here are a few things I'm doing to save save some moolah. Also, I would love to hear little ways you save cash. I know I have some savvy saving friends... would love to hear your tips!

Also, I figured if I typed everything out, It will make me stick to the plan because it's in writing. So here goes...

1. Packing my lunch- of course, a no brainer. But this actually takes a lot of planning ahead! I bought some lean cuisines, tuna fish, lunch meat, fruit, and pasta makings. My plan is to alternate a new meal every day so it doesn't get old. 2 of my co-workers and I thought it would be fun if we each cook a big meal once a week and bring in lunch for the other two girls. So this way, you have lunch provided for you 2 days a week! Friday, we will all grab lunch together at a new place with a cheap lunch special. Has to be under $10 total. My first meal is going to be- surprise- spaghetti! I'm making homemade turkey meatballs and garlic bread, too :)

2. Turning my bathroom into my own person nail salon- Mani's, pedi's, eye brow wack... twice a month it all adds up! I was spending about $120 month on average. By spending the extra 30 minutes and doing it myself every 2 weeks, I can save $360 before the wedding.

3. Plan out my outfits the night before work and do laundry more consistently- Will translate to LESS SHOPPING! This (for me at least) has always been a problem. I hate doing laundry, period. But if I take the time and plan out my outfits, as well as make sure all of my clothes are clean and hanging for me to see, I will realize that I actually do have the clothes I need and I don't need to buy more.

4. For things I must buy,  price shop online- I've realized that if I've lived without a specific item this long, I can wait the extra 5 days to have it shipped to me from Amazon.com or Ebay.

5. Look at every one of my bills- am I paying too much? I double checked several of my bills and noticed I didn't have unlimited text, so I was paying between $20-$50 a month in overages on my cel phone bill. My AT&T bill is autodraft, so I never noticed. I changed it to an Unlimited Text Plan for $5 more a month, problem solved! Always helps to take a second look.

6. Ask myself- do I really need to _________? Wether it's go to Happy Hour, grab that dinner out, buy the junk food that we don't need, buy that cup of coffee... do I really need it? I've stopped myself from impulse shopping quite a bit.

7. Enjoy time at home- Something we don't do enough. Now, it's tough for us being in a new city because we want to explore, but there are plenty of things to keep us occupied at home. Remember that really cool thing called a Wii that was all of the rave 2 years ago? Well, they're still cool & fun, and it makes for a good night in.

8. On the other hand, enjoy the free things in my city! There are so many cool things to do in DC and Houston alike. If you make it a point to only go to the free things, you will see a whole new side of your town.

9. Clean out the clutter and take my extras to goodwill- Zeke and I have almost completely eliminated all of the excess. This serves 3 purposes- first, there's not crap everywhere with nowhere to stash it. Second, it helped us realize that we really and honestly don't need anything new. And third, I realize how much money I've wasted on "deals" and "steals" from HomeGoods or Target that I only keep for a year or so and then it's useless. Every time I drop off a bag full of clothes or household items, I just hear "cha ching".

10. Think about having to be in a bathing suit in honeymoon pictures that will haunt me forever- that should make me think twice about spending $40 pizza & beer downstairs vs heading to the gym and cooking chicken breast that's in the fridge! I don't want to look at our honeymoon pictures 10 years from now and say "Dang- why didn't I get my act together and work out when I still had 3 months before the wedding?" I want to say "Man I looked good!"

So now I want to hear any tricks or tips y'all can share that have worked for you in the past!