Since my honey and I will be embarking on a Spending Freeze in just a few days we are starting to gear up and prep for this big decision.  We are spending New Year's Eve with two of my coworkers and their girlfriends in a cabin in the remote community of Blue Ridge, Georgia.  I can't wait for the trip and we are viewing it as a last "woo-rah" before we cut our extra spending completely.  I would also like to point that we agreed and paid for this trip before we decided to embark on this journey.

Here are a few things we have been doing to gear up for the spending freeze:

1.  Make a BUDGET!  This may seem simple but it's not easy to account for everything, even expenses that only occur on a quarterly, semi-annual, or annual basis.  Add a budget for additional expenses like oil changes and work that in to the monthly basis.

2.  Set up a separate account for extra income that you receive.  This is a Dave Ramsey tip and will be an account for items such as tax refunds, overtime, and any unused money from the monthly budget.  This account can be used as savings for emergencies or used to liquidate debt.

3.  Make a Needs vs. Wants List to have a better handle on things you are willing to spend money on.

4.  Trim your budget to reflect the needs side of your list.  This may include cutting cable television off completely to save over $700 a year like I will be doing at the end of my billing cycle or cutting your cell phone bill down to the minimum.  My sweetie and I found that we could cut his cell phone bill from $134 a month to $77.  That's a savings of $684 a year!

5.  Write down each purchase that is made everyday so at the end of the week you can see where your money went and shoot for at least one day a week where you don't spend any money.

6.  Use cash instead of a debit card when possible.

7.  Organize everything...from your closet to kitchen cabinets.  Not only will you feel better for scaling down and simplifying but you may find items that you can sell to make additional money from.  I found 3 pairs of boots I haven't worn in years that are in great shape...hello eBay.

8.  Be reasonable.  This goes without saying, but you need to set yourself up for success with your budget and your expectations.  Crunch the numbers and figure out how long it will take you to meet your income.

9.  Set a time limit of the spending freeze.  We have decided to do 90 days and will be sticking to it.  Once we hit the 90 day mark we will re-evaluate and see what the next step is.

10.  Get EXCITED!  You are about to take control of your money situation and get back on track.  There will be nothing more liberating than taking care of business and having more in the bank and less in debt.

These are just a few things that my sweetie and I have been working on to set ourselves up for success in the new year with our spending under control.