Need help regrowing my frugal brain

[leebee]

Maybe you don't need to be a hard-core budgeter, but you need to get in touch with your money again. Have a % of your paycheck automatically deposited to your savings account. If it's not in the bill paying account, you won't spend it; out of sight, out of mind, sort-of. Also, don't use auto-pay for your credit cards. Have them send you a hard-copy bill, then go online to set up a payment/date. Look at that bill and see where you are spending your money. Look at your checking/savings account and make sure you have the money IN the account to pay the bill. We get paid on the last day of the month, and all my credit cards are due on the 17th of the month. Within a day or two of payday, I go online and set my cards to be paid (in full) electronically on the 15th of the month, then deduct that amount from my checking account right then (yes, I have checks although I rarely write one, but I keep an accurate running balance in the check register. I ALWAYS know how much unencumbered money we have).

You also mentioned wasting money on food. What about cooking two big meals on Sundays? Make sure there's enough for a couple of meals during the week. When you are tempted to go out to dinner or pick up fast food, remind yourself that you can go home and quickly heat up your dinner. I know it sounds simplistic- and it is, but it will help you cut down on the take-out bills.

These are just some suggestions for saving money that might be easier to implement than to go back to serious budgeting, which you don't seem to want to do!