In "Savings Plan", you'll find strategies for cutting expenses by planning ahead. At RealSimple.com, you shared some of your own ways of chipping away at the costs of living — and stashing away the savings for a little surprises, like a dying boiler (or a group 50-birthday party in a few years). Two themes emerged: If you don't see it, you won't emerged: If you don't see it, you spend it. And, as with so many things, it's amazingly effective to just say no.

This Month's Winner

Book Club by Mail
To save money on books (and have fun), five friends and I started a book-exchange club. Since we are spread out across several states, each month we exchange three books by mail, using the post office’s Media Mail service. (I shipped a three-pound box to New York for about $2.25, and it got there in less than a week.) This way, each of us gets three new books — along with little reviews from the previous readers — every month.
SHAE QUIETTE
Jacksonville, Florida
Shae will receive a copy of the book Real Simple: The Organized Home.

Quick Change

The small change I made was to save my small change. I always use bills when I buy things, then save the coins. At the end of the month, I roll them in wrappers and deposit them in a rainy-day bank account that earns interest.
LORI BESSENHOFFER
Baltimore, Maryland

Every week I take a set amount of money out of the ATM for lunches, groceries, etc., and place whatever’s left at the end of the week in a jar. I empty my wallet of change at night and put that into the jar as well. Last year my savings from all this “small change” added up to more than $750.
LUCINDA WEHRKAMP
Ventura, California

Cash Management

I have $100 from every paycheck moved automatically from my checking account to an ING Direct savings account. When the ING account hits $1,000, I transfer $500 into a two-year CD so I can’t access it easily. Having the ING account is good because it’s not in our usual bank—out of sight, out of mind. There are no ATMs, so the money’s harder to get at. Plus, it takes three days for ING to transfer money to my checking, which delays or forestalls impulse buys.
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I have my bank automatically transfer $50 from my checking account to a special savings account on the first of every month. That savings account is off-limits except for emergencies. I pretend it’s not even there.
LISA KRAIZA
Oak Park, Michigan

I’m a teacher, so my salary increases slightly each year. However, I “pay” myself only what I was making my first year and put the rest in a separate savings account.
NICOLE CURRY
Allen Park, Michigan

After five years of paying off my car, I now deposit the amount of that monthly payment directly into my savings account. Having gotten used to living without those dollars each month, I don’t feel deprived now, and my savings are growing rapidly.
LORI ROCHFORD
Cincinnati, Ohio

I don’t carry cash. When I have it in my pocket, I am more likely to stop while passing a soda machine, a coffee shop, a fast-food restaurant, or an ice cream parlor. Everything I really need to buy can be paid for with a credit card, which I pay off each month.
AMY PYLE
Mission, Texas

I’ve had the same two best friends since we were five. When we turned 45, we came up with the idea of celebrating our 50th birthdays with a special vacation, and we each immediately started saving $5 a week toward the trip. In 2006 we’ll celebrate our 50ths with most of the expenses paid, thanks to our five-year plan.
HEATHER LOVELL
Muskegon, Michigan

One of the most important things I’ve done for myself is to get money-management software. Inputting my income and expense data, then seeing it all in chart and graph form, has given me a wonderful visual of how much I am getting, investing, and spending. I can now see that I spend too much in certain areas and too little in others.
MARY JOB
Jackson Heights, New York