Take a look at how real people put cost-cutting ideas into action, and watch their savings add up. Collectively, Michele Harrison, Mike and Vjera Silbert, and Stephanie Dunshee offer a combined total annual savings of $17,860.
Meet Michele Harrison
- Harrison has put saving first and mended her spendthrift ways.
- Her ideas add up to an annual savings of $5,200.
When her daughter, McKenzie, was born three years ago, Harrison decided to cut back on spending and pay down about $6,000 in credit card and auto loan debt.
"Saving was a new concept," says Harrison, 42, a single parent. "It was always: Spend everything once you have it. Every payday was a windfall."
- Talk back: How are you cutting your spending?
Harrison, who lives in Maricopa, Ariz., and is a data-center coordinator for Wells Fargo Bank, started saving by studying her budget. She found that dining out every day was gobbling up her income. Brown-bagging her lunch and eating dinner at home saves her about $1,820 a year. And capping her grocery budget saves an additional $125 a month, on average.
Harrison's Costco membership got her a cheaper auto insurance policy (with free roadside assistance). That cut her annual car expenses by about $300. Plus, she makes fewer driving trips, saving hundreds of dollars a year on gas.
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Harrison also dropped her $28-a-month telephone line and her $65-a-month cell phone, and she now uses her work cell phone exclusively. And she scaled back satellite-TV service.
Now Harrison has a tough time parting with her hard-earned dollars. "I want to be debt-free," she says. "That's a legacy I want to pass on to my daughter."
Meet Mike and Vjera Silbert
- The Silberts set out to save on everything, from diapers to taxes.
- Their ideas add up to annual savings of $10,000.
The two Philadelphia lawyers welcomed their third daughter in August. Although bringing a baby into the world can put stress on anyone's finances, the supersaving Silberts have managed just fine.
Since introducing Lola to big sisters Anya, 7, and Maya, 4, the Silberts have trimmed their budget, starting with food. The family eats out less often and cut $30 from its weekly grocery bill by using coupons and buying store-brand products, says Vjera, 36.
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The Silberts save on formula, diapers and wipes by buying in bulk on Diapers.com. And they will save an impressive $2,300 in taxes this year by using a flexible spending account through Vjera's employer to pay for child care.
But their biggest savings yet, says Mike, 39, was refinancing their 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Slashing the interest rate from 6.125% to 4.750% put about $500 a month into the family budget. The Silberts also invested in a programmable thermostat to lower the heat while the family is out or asleep, cutting their heating bill by about $150 a year.
Continued: An annual savings of $2,660
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