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Need To Save Money? Go On A Spending Diet

(CBS) -- Here's a challenge: Can you spend nothing extra for the next 30 days and still live well?

CBS 2 Cost Cutter Dorothy Tucker has four tips to get started down the path to saving hundreds of dollars.

Ruth Soukup, a blogger and author, wrote a book about it.

"Basically, the idea is that you take a month off from spending on anything except the absolute essentials," she says.

Tucker asks: "How much money have some of your readers saved?"

"Over a thousand dollars in one month," Soukup says.

Here's one of her tricks: You know all those emails encouraging you to buy things you don't need? Unsubscribe. Temptation erased.

Chicago couple, Tai and Talaat McNeely, offer financial fasting advice on their website.

One of their tips: Shop your kitchen before the store.

"Look through your pantries, look through your freezers," Tai says. "You probably already have about two weeks of meals already saved up."

Tip 3: Ask your friends for help.

"If you guys see me out at the store, if you see me talking about how I'm about to buy something on Amazon, hold my feet to the fire," Talaat says.

The McNeelys also say don't set yourself up for failure. For example, don't make these changes  during a month with a lot of special occasions, such as birthdays.

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