One of my pet peeves about personal finance is when experts make blanket suggestions on how to save money. I think the way you spend (and save!) should be based on what you value. If you do this, you’ll not only find it easier to stick to your budget, but you’ll get greater pleasure out of the money you DO spend. Though I dislike one-size-fits-all suggestions, I love being inspired by how others are finding ways to save. I asked six of my savviest friends for their favorite ways they shave their budgets, and added in a few myself — I hope they get your wheels turning! Saving money on food: I don’t eat meat during the week. I have a pretty consistent rotation of small and inexpensive meals that I eat for weekday lunches and dinners. Not only does it save me money, but I don’t get decision fatigue over deciding “what’s for dinner?” — Jess Metcalf, Content Manager and newly-engaged gal We shop almost exclusively at Aldi, which cuts our grocery bill almost in half (compared to name-brand grocery stores). I make a dinner plan based on their weekly specials, which helps us eat in for the majority of the week with plenty of leftovers for lunches. — Samantha Ray, hair and makeup artist and blogger Food spending has been a challenge for us (to put it lightly) but we’ve made significant progress by switching to getting vegetables from a CSA box and buying meat from Costco (organic meat at normal prices). We get the box twice a month and plan our meals based on what vegetables we receive. This has challenged us to think outside our recipe box/cookbooks and has significantly cut down on the number of ingredients we buy per recipe. — Dave Kirk, finance guy