The reason that habits are so hard to break is that, well, they are habits. Good habits can be formed as easily as bad ones. One of the ways that I try to reinforce frugal habits is to create a schedule for certain money saving tasks. Having things scheduled in this way really helps get things done and therefore save money.
My schedule right now is mostly in my head and mostly flexible. Most mornings, I get up early (I’m a morning person) and get started on a food project. This could be a homemade breakfast for the day, a couple of batches of pizza dough, cutting up some ham to freeze in portions, creating an entire freezer meal, etc.
As soon as the prep work for the food project is done, I sign on to my computer and get some freelance work done. Often this works out well, because the meal can cook in the oven or rise on the counter while I work. When the weather gets consistently warm, I may add taking a morning walk or run into the mix.
I admit some days aren’t as productive as others. Somedays it is all I can do to make lunch for my husband and my oldest child to take with them. But knowing that I can do at least that means that there is less money going out of the house.
Other ways that I create a schedule include coupon matching on Saturday mornings, mending during movie night and dinner prep in the afternoons while my little ones rest (again, even if all I do is figure out which freezer meal I’m going to pull out of the freezer, I’ve saved money versus eating out).
Another nice thing about staying on schedule is that things are less likely to get past me in terms of spending money that we don’t need to spend. I’m less likely to miss leftovers, since I have two times during the day I am dealing with food, for example.
Do you have a set schedule for frugal activities?