What we did when we had to cut monthly spending:

cut all newspaper/magazine subscriptions
cut cable
decreased cellphone plan
cut kids activities
cut eating out and most take out
cut health insurance deductible by switching to an HSA
buy groceries at Aldi's, SaveAlot and Costco
buy gas at Costco
use library for books and movies
buy clothes, shoes, and lots of other household stuff at Value Village, only on their sale days.
almost never go to CVS or Target - do not walk in there because it can be seductive.
Never go to department stores and the like.
Color hair at home, decrease # of haircuts for mom and girls, dad and boys go to cheap local barber.
Wash clothes on cold.
Use programmable thermostat

Bigger things we did:
We moved to a smaller/cheaper home. Some of our friends took in renters. We decided that we didn't want other people in the house with us but it seems to work for our friends.

We both took on more work (teaching night classes and taking on projects).

We cut out school tuition.

Get a Nest.

Anonymous wrote:Thermostat:

Winter: 68 day, 65 night, 62 out of town, Polar Vortex - 70
Summer: 78, 82 out of town, Heat wave - 75

These are a lot different than mine!
62 in winter, 60 if we're out or at night.
74 in summer.

Thermostat:

Winter: 68 day, 65 night, 62 out of town, Polar Vortex - 70
Summer: 78, 82 out of town, Heat wave - 75

Anonymous wrote:OP here- the majority of our spending is done through our credit card (miles.) But of course, our mortgage and preschool costs do not. Will any of these financial programs suck in both the bank account and the cc?

mint.com will

OP here- the majority of our spending is done through our credit card (miles.) But of course, our mortgage and preschool costs do not. Will any of these financial programs suck in both the bank account and the cc?

budgetbytes.com is a great source for affordable (and delicious!) recipes

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:- cable
- cheaper phone plan
- groceries like juice, snacks
- if paying car, refinance for lower monthly installment

There's an idea! We pay about $300/month. Might be worth looking into. Is it hard to do?

Um, in the long run this will end up costing you more money - do you want to spend more money in the long run just to save $20/month short-term?

Try using an online budgeting tool like LearnVest. It makes me folder every single expenditure, and I found plenty of places I could cut back. The visual aspect really worked for me. I genuinely had no idea we were spending $1500 on groceries a month. That's an easy place to cut back. Being forced to put every last milk run and oh, just grab a few things stop into the Grocery folder proved that fast.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you who are saying cut cable - we would except it's cheaper to get the cable+internet bundle than it is to get just internet. What is your monthly internet bill and what's the best deal? DH works from home 2x a week so he needs high speed. Thx!

I have Cox. I have the lowest speed internet, but it manages Netflix just fine (even though they say it's for email browsing hah). No cable, no tv. I pay $45 a month.

This would not work for us. DH needs high speed internet for work. I just wish we could get internet without cable. . .they do that on purpose, otherwise no one would have cable since you can pretty much get everything worth watching on Netflix/Amazon/Hulu

But that's what I'm saying... Cox's lowest speed is still high speed. I can do absolutely everything. Run 2 computers at once and have netflix on. Or have netflix on 2 tvs at once no problems. I'm convinced high speed is a gimmick. Oh and a bonus.. when you order internet through your cable provider you get basic cable for free. They won't tell you that.

PP- that is a VERY interesting point about basic cable.

Anonymous wrote:Do you, DH and kids pack lunch for work and school?

OP here- yes, we do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you who are saying cut cable - we would except it's cheaper to get the cable+internet bundle than it is to get just internet. What is your monthly internet bill and what's the best deal? DH works from home 2x a week so he needs high speed. Thx!

I have Cox. I have the lowest speed internet, but it manages Netflix just fine (even though they say it's for email browsing hah). No cable, no tv. I pay $45 a month.

This would not work for us. DH needs high speed internet for work. I just wish we could get internet without cable. . .they do that on purpose, otherwise no one would have cable since you can pretty much get everything worth watching on Netflix/Amazon/Hulu

But that's what I'm saying... Cox's lowest speed is still high speed. I can do absolutely everything. Run 2 computers at once and have netflix on. Or have netflix on 2 tvs at once no problems. I'm convinced high speed is a gimmick. Oh and a bonus.. when you order internet through your cable provider you get basic cable for free. They won't tell you that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you who are saying cut cable - we would except it's cheaper to get the cable+internet bundle than it is to get just internet. What is your monthly internet bill and what's the best deal? DH works from home 2x a week so he needs high speed. Thx!

I have Cox. I have the lowest speed internet, but it manages Netflix just fine (even though they say it's for email browsing hah). No cable, no tv. I pay $45 a month.

This would not work for us. DH needs high speed internet for work. I just wish we could get internet without cable. . .they do that on purpose, otherwise no one would have cable since you can pretty much get everything worth watching on Netflix/Amazon/Hulu

Needs and wants.

Make a list and go from there.

Do you, DH and kids pack lunch for work and school?