Save Save Save...

So for this year's resolution I decided to try something I've never tried before but probably should have. My New Years resolution is to save money and not buy anything frivolous. Although partially due to my upcoming spring break trip to Rome, I have never really been into "savings." I work hard for the money I make and I like to treat myself. Now before anyone gets any ideas, I do not have debt, I do not buy things, even on my credit card, that I don't have the money for and can't pay off before the next pay check comes in. But the point of this is to start building a nice "cushion" for when I graduate. I don't want to be one of those recent grads, eating nothing but ramen noodles everyday because they are 12 for a $1.

So after taking quite a hit during Christmas, my wallet is closing until further notice. I have had to come up with things to do, places to go either for free or on a very tight budget. So I wanted to share some tips I've come up with some of you.

free or thrifty by pinkandpreppy on Polyvore.com

1. Museums- For anyone who is a college student you can usually get in for free or with a discount; for those who are, a lot of museums around me have free nights for the public. I know I can get into the MFA in Boston and the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museums for free with my student I.d.

2. Dining out, Bar menus- I love going out to eat, and I don't mean the local dominos or greasy fast food place. One of my friends and I love going to nice restaurants we've never tried before, and until now was always willing to pay whatever it cost. But I have recently discovered the bar menu! its a great little secret. You can go out to a great restaurant and get a great meal for a great price. I recently checked out a menu at a local restaurant a friend and I like to go to; dinner would normally cost $20-$30 without an appetizer or dessert if you ordered water, so a little pricy. But the bar menu, had great food options and all under $10 or$12. So check out some options and give bar dining a try!

3. Window Shopping- so as my problem seems to be impulse buying; you may wonder why I would even attempt this. I will admit, sometimes this does fail but if you head out think of this adventure more as a nice walk, knowing that you won't be purchasing anything (you may even want to leave your wallet at home) then it can still be fun. Sometimes I think that window shopping can be more fun then actually shopping; you can still be around and discover new wonderful and beautiful things without the pressure of have to purchase anything. In Boston, most of the shopping is I like to do is on Boylston, Newbury and Charles street which are all very beautiful streets to walk down even if you don't go into any of the stores.

4. Redbox- now if you and your friends decide that none of you have any, good movies to watch, whether you've watched them all already or just want to check out a new release Redbox is an AMAZING new service. They have them all over the place; for me there closest one is a 3 minute walk across the street to the grocery store. Its a movie rental spot where you can rent movies for $1 a night. So you can your friends can have a movie night; pop some popcorn, get some snacks and pocket all the money you saved by not going to the movies (which around here could be over $20 for a ticket, and all the concession stand necessities).

So these are some of the things I'll be doing to try and save up