12-WEEK MONEY SAVING CHALLENGE + TIPS TO SAVE MONEY

We are excited to welcome  Scott & Whitney Carlson of He and She Eat Clean who are here to share something super exciting!! With summer coming up, we can all stand to have a few bucks in the bank – you know, for those summer activities and even vacations? You are going to love this 12-week money saving challenge + tips to save money! Take it away, Scott & Whitney!

Have you started thinking about summer vacations or even summer stay-cations? Warm weather and longer days seem far away but they will be here before you know it!

While we’re known mainly for our healthy recipes and proven workout plans, we also share a strong passion for helping others achieve financial independence, one step at a time. Living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t just stop at exercising and eating healthy, a sound financial plan will give you an extra boost of confidence to meet other goals in your life.

We’ve done money challenges before with great success but this time we wanted to do something a little different. This is a short term challenge – it’s only 12 weeks so it will take some buckling down on your end but you will be well on your way to paying for your next vacation or even just a great start to your savings account!

Rumor has it that the average vacation is $4,000 for a family of four. This challenge will focus on saving $1,000 so that you can easily adjust depending on how many members of your family you have and how much you think your actual vacation or stay-cation will cost. Don’t let this discourage you, even if you can’t save to pay for every single person, any money saved is better than none. When you get back from your vacation you can use this same plan, or one of our long term savings plans to go ahead and start stashing away for a debt free trip next year!

Don’t get sticker shock over the weekly numbers. If you already have a budget, go over it and look at places where you can cut back the next twelve weeks. This CAN be done. If you don’t have a budget yet, take some time to create one with this goal in mind. Get rid of the small expenses that add up over time!

Living a balanced life requires saying “no” more than saying “yes”. This applies to finance and fitness. It is not about deprivation, it’s about self-control.

Below are a few suggestions to help you reach your goals.

• Limit eating out to once per week (or none)
  • When you do eat out, choose a restaurant that is inexpensive. Trust us, we don’t promote fast food but places like Moe’s, Chipotle or other “build your own” restaurants are surprising affordable and typically have healthy options!
  • Not only will only eating out once per week help your wallet but it will also help your waistline. You will be in complete control of what goes into your food and how much you eat! Try a few of our most popular recipes! One of our favorites is Honey Chipotle Chicken because we can use it many different ways, we eat it plain, mixed with sweet potatoes or quinoa, or tacos!
  • Skip the drinks – water is free at most places.
  • Skip the appetizers and desserts. If you must have dessert, limit it to once a week and buy it from the grocery store. It’s much less expensive to go to the grocery store and buy ice cream (or make your own using frozen banana and peanut butter!) than it is to buy dessert at restaurants. We also have a lot of healthy dessert recipes that you can try (four ingredient peanut butter balls and cookie dough are two of our most popular)!
• Sell, sell, sell!
  • Sell anything that doesn’t bring you joy! Do you have clothes that you just haven’t been able to part with yet? Now is the time to give those up. Try a consignment store or online yard sale group.
    • We were able to make over $1,200 last fall just by selling things around our house that we no longer wanted or needed. It paid for our trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming!  
  • Skip the pampering (manicures, pedicures, massages)!
    • I know this one might sound harsh but it has to be done. These extra expenses add up very quickly. Do your nails yourself or let them have a break for a few months! 
  • Stay at home for entertainment
    • Do you go to the movies or to sporting events frequently? Cut back on those for the next 12 weeks. Rent a movie (there are many different low budget options for this!), cook dinner at home, and have a great family night! If you enjoy sporting events, instead of going to watch a game, have your family join in on the fun and go play baseball, tennis, or golf together. The weather is also great this time of year to go hiking!
  • Eliminate unnecessary errands
    • Not only do unnecessary errands add to your gas budget but when you go to run errands you normally end up buying things that you don’t need. Keep a weekly list of things that you need to do and/or buy. Try to stick with the list and keep your errands to only a few times per week.
  • Skip “add-on” charges at all places.
  • “Add-ons” seem small at first but really add up over time. Things like soft drinks, coffees, candy, toys, magazines, etc can easily be eliminated from your spending category.

• Find hobbies other than shopping.
  • We would love for you to take up exercising and living a healthy lifestyle as one of your hobbies. It’s a joke that “shopping is cardio” but it isn’t and it only makes your wallet smaller and usually your waistline larger! Instead of shopping try cleaning out a closet, working out (try one of our proven workout plans), have friends over, visit family, watch your favorite show, or play with your children, etc.

We hope these tips help you reach your goal of vacationing debt free. Keep in mind that you can always adjust to what your budget allows. If this is truly too much for to you save each month, half the amount. If you are able to save more, double it! We can’t wait to hear your success stories!

Visit Scott & Whitney Carlson of  He and She Eat Clean on social media:  Facebook || Pinterest || Instagram || Twitter || YouTube

Saving money doesn’t have to be a painful experience. Check out these other great ideas for putting away some pennies today:

Take the Shopping Fast Challenge – Less IS more!

25+ Budgeting Tips – Keep money in your pocket!

8 Tips to Save Money on School Clothes