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Money. I've decided it takes a lot of money just to exist. Spending the majority of my time on the hill means I have to spend money a lot more than I'd like to.

Many of my coworkers enjoy eating out so to cut down on costs I'll eat my homemade turkey sandwich while they buy a pizza. They call me frugal and I embrace the title. One of my coworkers asked me to help her stop spending so much money. I gave her a homework assignment for this week: she can only buy one meal a day, the rest must be homemade. I kind of like this little service I've been offering and figured I should continue the tips on my blog! So here ya go...tips on saving money...

1. Plan ahead. If you know you won't be at home throughout the day then bring a sack lunch. Make sure that you bring enough food because if you don't then you'll still be hungry and will justify buying yourself an ice cream cone.

2. Use groupon.com, bloomspot.com, livingsocial.com, citydeals.com and coupons.com. I go on these websites every single day (my favorite one is groupon) to find deals around the city. The deals are amazing and now all my coworkers have started using it.

3. Shop at stores like Plato's Closet. Anyone that knows me knows that this is my staple store. I get dresses, shoes, coats, jeans, shorts...all for less than twenty dollars.

4. Have a coupon box. Every Sunday when the adds role through I cut out the ones I may use (mine is like a little index card holder so I can take it in my purse). Caution: don't use the coupons unless you need the item. Some people will buy something because it is on sale, but never use it, thus causing a loss of money.

5. eBay and Amazon. Good stores to shop at if you want a cheap DVD or book, bulk groceries, etc..

6. Sometimes I will be shopping and I'll find an item of clothing I want, but I don't want to spend the money to buy it. This is where my walk away rule comes into play. If I can put the item back on the rack without thinking about it then I can live without it, but if I spend the rest of my time shopping thinking about how badly I want that item then I'll reconsider.

7. Find free activities to do! It is so easy to find fun, free entertainment. Maybe next time I'll list some of them off.

8. Don’t spend money on stuff you don’t want. It sounds kind of stupid, but it is true. If you have friends going to a movie that you don’t want to go to then don’t waste money on the movie! Don’t buy clothes you won’t wear and don’t buy food you won’t eat.