Goals and how we save money

I started posting todays post as my goals, but I think I will kinda mix in two posts at one time. I read Lydia's blog about living frugally, and decided to post ways that we "make it". As one of my goals, I still want to be "frugal" and tighten things a little more, especially since I'm losing money every month now. I would like to decrease our food budget. I do need to lose weight, but after last year, I decided not to make that an "official goal". I'll just try to do that on my own. I also have goals about decluttering the entire house (not just the kitchen) and then showing my daughter ways on keeping a house and home. I want her to be proud to have her friends over here. I want to improve my relationship with her by spending more quality time with her (and the boys too). Another goal is to do more freezer cooking this year. It really helps us. So that is my goals for this year

Hmmm....living frugally. Some people think we are very rich because we have kids in a Christian school. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We could have a bigger house and more extras if we didn't send them, so sacrifices are made. We usually take our entire tax return and then some to pay for them. Here is how we live cheap:

1. We live in a small house.....too small to be exact. We are busting at the seams, but someday I know we will have a bigger house.

2. Up until the last month, our cars were paid for. We always bought used and got what we could afford and then we drive them until we couldn't drive them anymore!

3. We don't have cable TV. (I hope to some day). Jack has a cell phone provided by his work, mine is by Virgin Mobile where I pay for what I talk and "top off" every three months. This has saved us a ton of money.

4. We live just a few miles from the dump, so we take our own garbage to the landfill. It's a pain, but again, that saves us probably 300-400 a year.

5. I use coupons, coupons and coupons! I even swap coupons with co-workers. I stock up when stores offer triple coupons or the super doubles (when they will double up to $1.50). I buy meat in bulk and make sure it is not wasted. I plan my menus for the week and make my list based on what I am preparing.

6. I do a lot of yard sales.....clothes for the kids, toys, and find items to re-sell at consignment sales. I usually make at least $500 a year by doing these sales. I'm also blessed with hand me downs for Jenna, and I try to pass those blessings on.

7. I get free items from CVS and Walgreens and stock up. I can also use some of these items for gifts.

8. We have no credit card debt. We use credit cards for everything, but pay it off every month. In return, we build up points that we can use towards gift cards, or helping us pay for vacation (like meals, hotel nights etc)

9. We try to live off a budget. I don't always follow it like I should, but we do try to stay within our limits.

10. When we get a bonus or extra money, we try to put it away in savings like we never had it.

11. We use my money (although this will be cut) to pay for date nights, babysitter fees, vacations, savings etc. We don't depend on this money as part of our budget.

12. When my grocery bill is down low for a week, I try to buy a restaurant gift card and put it aside. I save these cards for our vacations so that we don't have to cough up a lot of money for meals.

13. Most repairs are done by Jack when possible. Obviously last summer our AC broke and we had to have someone come in, but he "fixes" everything around the house by researching things and he also does all our car repairs.

These are just ways I thought of off the top of my head. How do you stretch your dollar? And what are your 2010 goals.