Am making my son's lunch from a pack of frozen pureed squash rather than the gerber's portion. Gerber's is about 50 cents per serving; dividing up a package of frozen squash is 10 cents for the same size serving.

Organized a cupboard in my kitchen, finding a few items I didn't realize we had and avoiding duplication during my next shopping excursion.

Put storm windows up in another room. By doing a few rooms at a time, it doesn't get overwhelming, and should help with our heating bill.

Did all my errands in one fell swoop to save gas. Passed on a book sale (so tempting but all the way on the other side of town). Sent an email rather than a planned card (saving 37 cents and some time).

Saved calls to friends/family till today, when we get free minutes from our cell. Also learned from the cell phone company that I can check the minutes by simply punching #646, and getting an instant text message of minutes used. This should help reduce the times I go over minutes.

I made 3 casseroles today, spinach, bean, and broccoli using up items we had on hand. In addition, I made pumpkin bread. So we have a week's worth of food at a fraction of the cost of eating out, and healthy stuff too!

Decided to make grilled veggies and pasta tonight in lieu of eating out. We'd planned to eat out since our son is with his grandparents, but the food bill is one we are working at. We decided for dinner at home and a moonlit walk around the block. Cheap and fun.

I went to the bank for the week to get $100 in singles. This has really helped me be conscious of my spending. I then went to the store and spent $13 on groceries, when a typical bill would be closer to $30. Counting out those singles works!

Went about and decluttered about 30 items to donate. I find the more things I have, the less organized I am, and inevitably, there is a cost to the disorganization. Usually, for me the cost is buying duplicates of things I don't need. Also, when I can easily find 30 things to part with in a 30 minute period, it's a good reminder that I do NOT need to keep shopping.

Called and got the yearly fee for our credit card waived. That saved $90. Wow! Between these three choices Tuesday, we saved about $125.00.

Returned a sweater that I hadn't worn. Recouped my $20 from TJMAXX.

Tuesday: Made home made veggie pot pie for dinner. DH loved it and it used up some groceries that we already had.

One thing I've done that has helped reduce my spending is to use singles for most transactions. I go to the cash station and get out $60 or so, then go to my bank and get the amount in singles. It is MUCH harder to part with, for example, 9 dollar bills for a simple sandwich at Panera bread than it is to put it on credit or break a twenty.

With access to places like Craig's list, which are free to sell items, I've rounded up about ten things to try and sell. Any money on these items would be profit at this point since we no longer use them. It will be interesting to see what sells.

I just found this site and think it's a great idea. DH and I have been working toward FI (financial independence) for about six years and made quite a bit of progress. We are both attorneys, but I am currently only working part-time teaching and staying home with our 8 month old son, so we have become more cost conscious.

My goal for the month of November would be to have $500 less in expenses than we had in October. Since DH just had his car tuned for the cost of $500 and we had an expensive dinner with friends for $140, other areas will have to carry the weight.

I have been cooking at home a lot more and plan to lower our food bill this month.