More money-saving tips

Pay your bills according to your paychecks.
Maybe you and your husband get paid every two weeks but you're paying bills only once a month. That's an easy way to lose track of how much money you really have and how much you owe.
Set aside an hour this week and try this method instead: Make a section on a piece of paper for each paycheck you get per month. If you and your partner both get paid twice per month, for instance, combine your pay and write sections for "Our No. 1 Paychecks (first of month)" and "Our No. 2 Paychecks (15th of month)." List your take-home pay for each paycheck period.
Now decide which bills you can afford to pay out of each paycheck. Anything due at the very beginning of the month (such as mortgage, rent, and daycare payments) should be paid out of Paycheck No. 2 from the previous month. Anything due in the middle part of the month can be paid out of Paycheck No. 1. Variable expenses like diapers, groceries, and clothing can be split between the two checks. If you truly have too many bills due during one pay period, see if you can change the due date on your credit card bill or if you can pay your daycare provider every two weeks instead of once a month.
Then create two folders: "First of the Month Bills" and "15th of the Month Bills." Leave them where you can see them, and drop each bill into its appropriate folder as soon as you receive it. Now you'll know exactly what to pay and when to do it.

Banish the budget.
"Most people hate the word 'budget' as much as I hate the word 'diet.' It's so limiting!" says Janet Luhrs, a mom of two and author of The Simple Living Guide and a monthly newsletter at Simpleliving.com. If you're worried about that unforgiving bottom line, try looking at the bigger picture, she says. One night after the kids are in bed, sit down with your partner in a relaxed setting and talk about what you'd really like to spend money on if you could.
What are your ideal ways to spend your hard-earned green? Traveling? Retiring early? Adding a pool? "So next week, when you consider buying something unnecessary, ask yourself if that purchase is more important than those big-picture goals you discussed. When you put spending in that context, it often helps you spend less," says Luhrs.

Use cash for little extras.
It's fine to use credit and debit cards for most of your monthly purchases, as long as you're good about keeping track of what you've spent. But for the fun money you spend with your kids  -- that morning at the indoor play park, trip to the zoo, or ice cream treat -- give yourself a weekly cash allowance and stick to it, says Amelia Warren Tyagi, a mom of two and coauthor (with her mom, Elizabeth Warren) of All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan. Cash can help you feel more in control of otherwise forgettable purchases. "It's easier to relax about money if you don't feel it's constantly leaking out," says Tyagi.

Start a mini-emergency fund. Financial pros often say you should save the equivalent of three to six months of living expenses in case you hit an unexpected bump in the road, like a job loss or big medical expense. But for many families, that's an unreachable goal.
Since a rainy-day fund is a great way to decrease money anxiety, Dave Ramsey, radio talk-show host and author of The Total Money Makeover, advocates putting $1,000 into a "beginner" emergency fund. "This fund can help you pay for unexpected expenses so you aren't tempted to pull out your credit cards and go deeper into debt," he says. The money should be in an easily accessible place like a bank money-market account. To jump-start your savings plan, have a garage sale or stash away your next raise.

The bottom line: Doing something, anything, to improve your family's money situation -- even if it only takes a few minutes at a time -- is a great way to break out of your worry rut. Think in terms of baby steps. Every step you take can make you feel just a little braver about taking the next one.

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