Money Saving Tips for 2012

I am so excited for it to be January so I can mark my savings from day one. I began meal planning a few months ago and buying in bulk with coupons but now it's going to be great to see how much I can save in 12 full months. So This year I have 5 money saving goals I wish to hit.

1. Clip Coupons. Yes I already do this but I want to get better at it and learn more. No, I'm not going to become an "extreme couponer" but I'll do my best so spend practically nothing at the grocery store. I am determined to find more promo codes online that can be used in store as well.

2. Pack My Husband's Lunch. This is a big one for us. My husband loves his sleep so in the morning he's always running too late to stop and make his lunch. I want to pack his lunch the night before so there is no "Oh no. I need to eat out" moments... although I'm sure he is just fine with eating out everyday, I'm not.

3. Buy Generic. I am a stickler for name brand. I'm not sure why since I didn't grow up always eating name brand. Almost every grocery store offers a generic version of the product you want from food to medicine and huge discount prices. I need to remember that "generic" isn't a bad word and it will probably taste the same or do the job just as well.

4. Save Money At Restaurants. Read my twitter feed and you will see that my family eats out almost every single day. Yep, whether it be for lunch or dinner we are always eating out. We have food in the house so it really boils down to being lazy and not wanting to cook or clean up the mess. Although I'm sure we aren't ready to cut out eating out all together I know there are things we can do to cut costs. Going to a restaurant with a "Kids Eat Free" option could save us at least $10, ordering water instead of soda could also save my family of four at least $6. Also going to a restaurant without the Kids Eat Free meal plan is still an option if we were to order a "2 for $20" plan which usually includes an appetizer and two entrees, then splitting the food up 4 ways could save my family around $15-20!

5. Get Cash Back. There are lots of places that offer cash back options for the things I already buy. One way I've already been doing this is my using my PayPal Business Debit Card. Every time I use the card as credit I believe I get 1% cash back. It doesn't seem like much but I use my card a lot and it definitely adds up.

So as you see, most of my goals include spending less money on food. This is probably our only spending issue and it definitely needs to be "fixed" by any ways possible.

How do you save money on the things you need on a daily basis?