5 Great Things I've learned from my husband on saving money

1) Menu Planning.  I admit I'm kind of a foodie.  I also very much appreciate spontaneity and going with my "mood" when it comes to food.  This created a dilemma in my single life.  I quite often wasted a lot of food that looked good to me when I was shopping, but I didn't have the willpower to actually cook it or didn't feel like eating it when I came home after a long day.  My husband likes to plan ahead.  He introduced me to actually writing down everything you need for a week of meals and planning out the week of meals and trying not to buy anything that isn't on your list.  I'm not so good at that last part, but I'm getting better.  Menu planning has helped us to minimize waste.  I've helped him with "recycling" or planning like meals.  Meaning, if we are making tacos, we should make something else that uses tortillas that week, or if we buy a bag of hamburger buns, we should make hamburgers and sloppy joes that week.  Not only has menu planning been good for our wallet I think it's also a lot better for the environment.

2) Spaving.  This is the concept of spending more to save more.  It sounds like a good idea but quite often isn't.  This is easy to do at bulk stores, like Costco, or at clothing stores, "if you spend $50, save $10."  So if you are thinking you will buy a sweater for $35, you are tempted to buy more in order to get the discount.  My husband points this out to me when I'm tempted with impulse buys.

3) Research!  I quite often do research before buying new products, especially big-ticket items, but my husband also does this before buying toys for our son and other items.  He has quite often found bad reviews, or information that demonstrates that the item we are considering may not be the best fit for our needs.  This also helps prevent impulse buys.

4) Coupons.  I still remember helping my mom cut coupons when I was a little kid.  My husband has taken cutting coupons to a new level though.  He cuts them for EVERYTHING and he makes sure we get double or triple the value of the coupon or to use them along with sales.  This has saved us a fair amount of money on many everyday supplies.

5) Planning.  Like I said, I'm the spontaneous half of the relationship.  My husband is the planner.  Whether it's a vacation, a weekend outing or pretty much anything, my husband will plan.  While spontaneity has it's own benefits and joys, his planning does help us save money and pick low-cost or even free activities and opportunities.

Of course, many of the above has been demonstrated by my parents, but it's great to think of how my hubby and I both bring different gifts to our money-saving repertoire.