Meet Stephanie Dunshee
- Dunshee created a budget that cut expenses 10% to 20%.
- Her ideas add up to annual savings of $2,660.
Dunshee was always careful with money. But the 46-year-old pharmaceutical executive really began to focus on saving when layoffs became more common in her field.
"I started cutting back about two years ago to see if I could live well on less," she says. "I could."
Dunshee drew up a budget of everything she buys, then tried to cut each expense by 10% to 20%. That exercise, she says, "really causes you to get creative."
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Dunshee saved $460 a year by dropping her land line and using only her cell phone. She and her extended family saved $700 by consolidating their cell phone bills with a family plan.
Coupons from grocery circulars and Web sites, such as SmartSource.com and RedPlum, cut Dunshee's expenses by about $100 each month. She takes advantage of double- and triple-coupon offers, and tracks down coupon codes for online retailers. Using a credit card with rewards points saved her $200 on Christmas gifts. A programmable thermostat saved an additional $100.
The strategies have paid off in more than just savings. Dunshee received a severance package from her employer in October and is considering a career change.
"My overall goal is to work at a job I really enjoy, even though it pays far less," she says. "Given my frugality and that I've saved and invested, well, the recession isn't causing me the same kind of anxiety others are feeling."
This article was reported and written by Stacy Rapacon and Kimberly Lankford for Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine.
Published Feb. 20, 2009
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