I know we're already 4 days into November, but check out this Save $1000 in 30 Days Challenge. Just thought if you were doing the Total Money Makeover (or even if you're not), you might be interested in checking this out, whether you do it this month or another month or just steal some saving tips.
Showing posts with label Total Money Makeover. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Total Money Makeover. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Total Money Makeover Update
Alright, we just finished month 2 of the cash budget, so I thought I'd post a quick update about how it went.... Well, it didn't. We really didn't stick to it very well at all. The beginning of the month Kevin was on 12-hour work days so the bank was closed by the time he got home, and I just can't really get there with two kids in tow, so we couldn't get our proper bills out to divvy up into our handy dandy expandable folder. We did the best we could with just $20s from the ATM. But second half of the month just didn't happen at all and we just used our credit card (that functions the same as a debit card really). BUT I did find 2 new ways I'm trying to save money:
1. Plan lunches. You might have noticed that from my recent menus. I was beginning to realize that it was quite often that we truly didn't really have anything in the house for lunch and so we'd just get something like Subway or Taco Bell. Kevin doesn't like leftovers or sandwiches, so it makes it tricky, but I do the best I can. And I HAVE found that he does like BLTs and could eat those almost every single day, so I've been good about buying tomatoes for him (even though I don't like tomatoes and bacon is already a staple at our house). So that's been helpful. I can predict when we will have leftovers and can come up with other lunch options to ensure that we'll have something so we don't have to eat out so much.
2. The other thing is to buy treats! What?! Sounds like the opposite of money saving, but for us, we might be on to something. You see, we have a VERY strong sweet tooth and little will power to fight against cravings. So if we just have a small thing or two around the house that I wouldn't normally buy, like ice cream or mints, it helps curb the desire to go out for a $10 dessert that only lasts 5 minutes.
So that's what I learned from this past month!
1. Plan lunches. You might have noticed that from my recent menus. I was beginning to realize that it was quite often that we truly didn't really have anything in the house for lunch and so we'd just get something like Subway or Taco Bell. Kevin doesn't like leftovers or sandwiches, so it makes it tricky, but I do the best I can. And I HAVE found that he does like BLTs and could eat those almost every single day, so I've been good about buying tomatoes for him (even though I don't like tomatoes and bacon is already a staple at our house). So that's been helpful. I can predict when we will have leftovers and can come up with other lunch options to ensure that we'll have something so we don't have to eat out so much.
2. The other thing is to buy treats! What?! Sounds like the opposite of money saving, but for us, we might be on to something. You see, we have a VERY strong sweet tooth and little will power to fight against cravings. So if we just have a small thing or two around the house that I wouldn't normally buy, like ice cream or mints, it helps curb the desire to go out for a $10 dessert that only lasts 5 minutes.
So that's what I learned from this past month!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Cash budget.
Alright, we are officially to the end of our first month trying the cash budget for the first time, so I thought I'd analyze and share how we did. Overall I think it went okay. We definitely have room for improvement but it was a good start, at least.
We have two of these expandable folders (from Target): one for everyday spending type things (groceries, diapers, household items, etc), and a second one for larger money categories like (auto maintenance, furniture, doctor, vacation, gifts, etc)
The nice thing about these folders is that I can slip some coupons in there too! I don't have many coupons so it works. The cash system is a little tricky when you buy more than one cateogory at a time (i.e. a pack of diaper wipes with the groceries) but most of the time it worked fine to make change with myself and get it balanced back out once I left the store. No biggy.
We did a lot of borrowing from categories when we wanted "treats" and were already out of that money. So the biggest thing we need to practice is self-control and discipline. It helped when I thought about things that would be coming up. For example, I was very tempted to steal from "child clothing" category because the kids didn't need any more clothes for the month, but then I remembered that we have a wedding coming up in the fall and I'll need to either buy or rent a little tux for Eli since he's ring bearer. I have no idea how much that'll cost so we need to plan ahead now. So we just need to remind ourselves WHY we're saving and that'll help make it easier. The electric bill was way down again this month so I was able to redistribute the extra money to some of the categories that didn't seem to have enough. We'll probably have to keep flexing it a little every month, according to what's going on in our lives. So with a few tweaks here and there, I'm anxious to start Month 2! Especially since today is Monday and I need grocery money but have to wait until tomorrow! haha
Ways we're trying to save:
* I'm NOT a big fan of washcloths. We tend to use them too long until they smell horrible, and then every time you even touch it your hands smell too. BUT we're trying to go back to them so we hardly ever use paper towels any more. So that'll make an $8 pack of paper towels last waaay longer!
* Since we have to take the trash out almost every single day anyway, we're just putting dirty diapers in the regular trash instead of diaper pail. And if it's a poop diaper, I put it in a Walmart sack first, since we have a thousand of them.
* I've rediscovered tuna. It had been sooo long since I had bought tuna ever, but this week I thought--hey, I'll get some Kevin for his lunches. It's been awhile, and I know he likes it. And at less than $1 a can, that makes a cheap meal! Not sure how regular lywe can do tuna though, because Kevin doesn't care for casseroles. But for this week, it was a nice change!
* The hardest area to keep under control is eating out. It's our main source of entertainment, even if it's just quick lunches that we bring back home. So I talked to Kevin about maybe making meals more fun every now and then--doing picnics or grilling at the park or something--and he said that the appeal for him for eating out was that there's no cleanup. Sooo... I thought maybe we could start having one night a week or something where we eat super easy meal with paper plates. Something that won't require pots and pans and all this silverware, or at least something I can prepare earlier in the day, and we can give ourselves a day off from all the dishes. I'll have to be a little creative about it, but it's something I want to at least try for the coming month.
So what are your secrets to saving money here and there??
We have two of these expandable folders (from Target): one for everyday spending type things (groceries, diapers, household items, etc), and a second one for larger money categories like (auto maintenance, furniture, doctor, vacation, gifts, etc)
The nice thing about these folders is that I can slip some coupons in there too! I don't have many coupons so it works. The cash system is a little tricky when you buy more than one cateogory at a time (i.e. a pack of diaper wipes with the groceries) but most of the time it worked fine to make change with myself and get it balanced back out once I left the store. No biggy.We did a lot of borrowing from categories when we wanted "treats" and were already out of that money. So the biggest thing we need to practice is self-control and discipline. It helped when I thought about things that would be coming up. For example, I was very tempted to steal from "child clothing" category because the kids didn't need any more clothes for the month, but then I remembered that we have a wedding coming up in the fall and I'll need to either buy or rent a little tux for Eli since he's ring bearer. I have no idea how much that'll cost so we need to plan ahead now. So we just need to remind ourselves WHY we're saving and that'll help make it easier. The electric bill was way down again this month so I was able to redistribute the extra money to some of the categories that didn't seem to have enough. We'll probably have to keep flexing it a little every month, according to what's going on in our lives. So with a few tweaks here and there, I'm anxious to start Month 2! Especially since today is Monday and I need grocery money but have to wait until tomorrow! haha
Ways we're trying to save:
* I'm NOT a big fan of washcloths. We tend to use them too long until they smell horrible, and then every time you even touch it your hands smell too. BUT we're trying to go back to them so we hardly ever use paper towels any more. So that'll make an $8 pack of paper towels last waaay longer!
* Since we have to take the trash out almost every single day anyway, we're just putting dirty diapers in the regular trash instead of diaper pail. And if it's a poop diaper, I put it in a Walmart sack first, since we have a thousand of them.
* I've rediscovered tuna. It had been sooo long since I had bought tuna ever, but this week I thought--hey, I'll get some Kevin for his lunches. It's been awhile, and I know he likes it. And at less than $1 a can, that makes a cheap meal! Not sure how regular lywe can do tuna though, because Kevin doesn't care for casseroles. But for this week, it was a nice change!
* The hardest area to keep under control is eating out. It's our main source of entertainment, even if it's just quick lunches that we bring back home. So I talked to Kevin about maybe making meals more fun every now and then--doing picnics or grilling at the park or something--and he said that the appeal for him for eating out was that there's no cleanup. Sooo... I thought maybe we could start having one night a week or something where we eat super easy meal with paper plates. Something that won't require pots and pans and all this silverware, or at least something I can prepare earlier in the day, and we can give ourselves a day off from all the dishes. I'll have to be a little creative about it, but it's something I want to at least try for the coming month.
So what are your secrets to saving money here and there??
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