Sacrifices

So... when you get married and:

a) one of you doesn't work
b) both of you have mediocre/bad paying jobs
or
c) you have a lot of debt (i.e. student loans) that needs to get paid off

you make sacrifices in spending. Hopefully you didn't splurge too much when you got married and/or if you did it was for reasons you both wanted. The same goes for after marriage. You pick and choose what you want the most.

Neither Justin nor I came from extremely wealthy families. When we moved into a rental house, we were under the impression that we would only have my bedroom furniture and the furniture he had from his apartment. (We have only taken/used his furniture thus far.) Our families (well, his) don't really have a lot of furniture to help us fill our house with. I am not willing to take things I don't like or have an idea of what to do with since we have hardly any storage space.

But I guess the biggest sacrifice, and the reason for this post, has been the gas bill. Over the summer I was finding new and exciting ways to decrease the electricity by decreasing our use of the air conditioner. The same has gone thus far with the heater. I think we have our thermostat set at 55 or 60. With this house getting cold so easily and the heat rising, I can't really find a great reason for not saving the money. If I can withstand the cold with blankets and sweaters, it makes me feel like my money can go towards better things. (Unfortunately, my husband cannot withstand the cold, so we do turn the heater on when he is home.)

Other things we have done include:

1. Severely limiting our use of garbage... recycling as much as we can. (Recycling is free.)
2. Thinking twice before grocery shopping. If we know we are going to have a busy week and not be able to eat at home, we only shop for the meals we know we will eat at home.
3. I complete surveys online to make a little bit of extra money during the week for things like general household expenses, gifts, and treats. :)
4. Staying at home when my husband is at work. If I'm honest with myself, I would probably go shopping... not only spending money I don't have, but using gas as well. Is it worth it? Really?
5. Using pinterest to find ways to decorate on the cheap. (Also using wedding supplies.) We also like finding new and exciting ways to make gifts or... waiting to buy things until they are on sale. I began Christmas shopping back in August. :)

Clearly, there are a million ways to cut back on spending until you get your debts paid down, you move up in your job, or you both get jobs... You don't even have to sacrifice the occasional splurge. Truthfully, you just have to decide where it is you want your money to go.

Do you have any other ideas for cutting back on spending that you can share with me?