Saving money-and keeping it organized!

Hi all! Today I wanted to talk about money. I try to give as many tips to use cheaper organizing solutions so they don't break the bank but sometimes organizing systems can cost a little bit of money. Since the economy isn't at it's most glamorous right now, you may be finding it hard to save money each month as a safety net or maybe for some bigger item you want to purchase.

One trick, which really isn't a "trick", I have found that helps me is saving in the form of cash. I am a very visual person so seeing something in my hand makes more of an impact than it being on a screen. If there is money in my account I'm more likely to spend it than when it's in cash in my house. Now I typically didn't carry cash in my wallet because that's super easy to spend--we will talk more about that later.

So say I am saving for a new car- if I am saving it in my bank account- that's great. But for my personality when I'm paying bills or out shopping and want to put more towards it but don't have the money aside for that- I may be guilty of taking a little out of that new car fund thinking "I'll put it back later, no problem!" What happens when I don't actually put that money back? The dream of a new car is even farther away. Ever done that? I'll admit- it happens. If you can manage all your money easily online or in your account-good job! Don't get me wrong- I do have a savings account- but I wanted a better way to save for several items at a time.

Another idea is opening another account to hold the money you are putting away- however, sometimes that costs more in fees. Check it out before you open one up. However, here is what I am doing to save for several different wish list items.

Like I said I am a visual person. I knew the best way for me to really, really, really stick to saving money was to do it with cash. So I set up a system that works great! It's super simple and keeps me honest. When I get paid I pay some bills online but money that is left over after bills, groceries, mortgage, etc- I use the extra money to save it away. Some of the things Mark and I are saving for are:
- Savings/Emergency Fund
-Vacation Fund
-New Car
-Home Improvement
-Pay forward on Bills

We have also started to use cash for things like:
-Groceries
-Date Night
-Personal Care
-Eating Out/ Bars/ Coffee
-Gas
-Anything goes (basically a no question fund)

So it may seem silly and time consuming to pull the cash and separate them into jars, then buying everything with cash but there is a method behind my madness! When you budget yourself with cash it takes all the guessing out of it! Say you set aside $400 for groceries each month- if you have that out in cash, you will know when you need to pinch and save rather than buying food you really don't need. Same with something like a Date Night fund. Once the cash is gone, it's gone for the month- yes this means you might have to think of a cheaper date night here and there- but trust me it pays off! Also, if you happen to have some money left over, then you can decide what that extra money goes towards.

Storing this cash: Obviously you don't want jars of cash laying around the house- hello break in! So this is where some sneaky storage comes in.

So here are the jars I am using-

Now it's time to tuck them into a safe place. Here are a bunch of ideas for you (Some extreme and some pretty genius)- I won't tell you which one I used :)