Where to find $2k?

[Marbel]

I usually pay a food service (not restaurant delivery) to drop off paleo food which costs an arm and a leg. That is my biggest monthly expense other than my rent.

I imagine you'll save the money you need pretty quickly by cutting this out. The internet abounds with easy paleo recipes. I mean as easy and simple as the fish recipe posted above. Buy a bag of brocc florets, a couple of salad kits, and you're good to go. A little planning and prepping is all that's required and will save you a bundle.

 

[robinb]

I guess I just can't wrap my head around booking a super expensive luxury cabin like the Grand Suite and then needing to grub around for loose change to pay for it. I certainly wouldn't work a second job, sell my crap on eBay or live like a pauper for months so I can spend a few days living like a queen. It's not worth it to me. Especially when I could probably get a perfectly nice balcony cabin for half the price.

 

[MarkE83]

What do you mean by having to replenish it? Have you paid for the cruise on a credit card? Do you HAVE to recover the money somehow, or do you just want to?

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

I guess I just can't wrap my head around booking a super expensive luxury cabin like the Grand Suite and then needing to grub around for loose change to pay for it. I certainly wouldn't work a second job, sell my crap on eBay or live like a pauper for months so I can spend a few days living like a queen. It's not worth it to me. Especially when I could probably get a perfectly nice balcony cabin for half the price.

For the most part I agree with you. It's not something I normally do, but I don't judge others for it. Though I see nothing wrong with selling things you no longer use.

As I mentioned up thread, this started out as a trip within a planned budget. My mum didn't have time to do any planning so said to pick whatever was in my budget and let her know what her half was. We discussed the cabin options and went with the GS for the extra space and for the in cabin dining. Despite the sentiment amongst most cruisers, we spend a lot of time on our own balcony.

I put the whole thing on my CC and mum plans to write me a check when I meet her for the trip.

Since then a few things have made me really want to tell her it's my treat and not take any money.

I had planned on my half plus daily diving for myself, but hadn't planned on spending the extra 2,500 for my mom's cruise fare, gratuity, and drink package.

I intend to weigh the pros and cons of my options and decide what to do. I'm not a very frugal person and tend to value convenience over saving which is why I posted my OP. Folks on this board often have little ways to save or add that I may not have thought of and I appreciate the ideas whether realistic for me or not as it often leads me to broader thinking about how I spend daily.

 

[fbb]

Do you have a local college or pro football team or both? You could get a seasonal job with them and just work game days which would often just be Saturdays and Sundays.

Though it often appears like they just show up on game day, I am told my local pro team actually practices daily.

 

[aprilchem]

I just looked it up and Catered Fit is about $600 a month for 20 days a month. That's about what I spend for my family of 5 to eat organic, from scratch food (including free-range meats). If you are just one person you could probably spend about $125 a month to cook your own food, that would save you your $2000 in 4 months and probably be a bit healthier, since you know exactly what's in it.

 

[sk8jdgca]

Do a survey of what you spend. For the next month, write down every penny that you spend. Once that is done look over it, you will find lots of places to save money. Do you get a coffee a day, drug stores tend to be a money dark hole, are you spending money on using ATMs that aren't your bank? Start with the food thing, cooking isn't difficult. Just follow the instructions. There are lots of great sites on the web for easy recipes or look at a cook book for students. You will save tones this way. Call your cable compmay, phone company internet provider , bank and say you are thinking of switching to a competitor and would like to give them the chance to keep you as a client, you will save money!

I did the pro sports thing for a year. It was fun. I just sold tickets on game day but they do hire a lot of people. You don't make a lot but it helps. Tutoring would be better as it could be income that you don't declare of taxes ( you are suppose to but just keep it cash ) that is the issue with a small job, what will it do to your tax level. You may be worse off if it knocks you in a new bracket

My kids have been selling stuff on Facebook. Do a search of your city looking under buy and sell, diva on a dime for example. They have easily brought in a few hundred this summer selling stuff.


Have fun on the cruise! Sounds like a nice thing you are doing for your mom. Enjoy, you never know when she wont be around anymore.

 

[robinb]

For the most part I agree with you. It's not something I normally do, but I don't judge others for it. Though I see nothing wrong with selling things you no longer use.

As I mentioned up thread, this started out as a trip within a planned budget. My mum didn't have time to do any planning so said to pick whatever was in my budget and let her know what her half was. We discussed the cabin options and went with the GS for the extra space and for the in cabin dining. Despite the sentiment amongst most cruisers, we spend a lot of time on our own balcony.

I put the whole thing on my CC and mum plans to write me a check when I meet her for the trip.

Since then a few things have made me really want to tell her it's my treat and not take any money.

I had planned on my half plus daily diving for myself, but hadn't planned on spending the extra 2,500 for my mom's cruise fare, gratuity, and drink package.

I intend to weigh the pros and cons of my options and decide what to do. I'm not a very frugal person and tend to value convenience over saving which is why I posted my OP. Folks on this board often have little ways to save or add that I may not have thought of and I appreciate the ideas whether realistic for me or not as it often leads me to broader thinking about how I spend daily.

I think it's great that you're treating your mom! I guess my point is if you cut back on the cabin to a regular balcony you would probably save a good chunk what you need to save to treat her. Sure, you'll have a smaller cabin but for me it would be worth it not to have to worry about coming up with an extra $2K in a couple of months. Most of the suggestions here for last minute cash involves things that are a PITB. Working 2 jobs is a PITB and selling stuff on eBay or Craigslist is also a PITB (I know, I sell on eBay and Amazon). It seems to me that you can't treat your mom to the fancy suite without a PITB. If it's worth it to you, that's cool. It's just not worth it to me.

I just looked it up and Catered Fit is about $600 a month for 20 days a month. That's about what I spend for my family of 5 to eat organic, from scratch food (including free-range meats). If you are just one person you could probably spend about $125 a month to cook your own food, that would save you your $2000 in 4 months and probably be a bit healthier, since you know exactly what's in it.

Organic free range eggs are $5 per dozen at my local organic grocery, organic hamburger is $7 per pound, locally raised boneless trout is $16 per pound. Even in the height of harvest season organic veggies are very expensive. I can't see how anyone eating organic paleo could eat for $32 per week, especially a single non-frugal person who is used to the variety of a food prep service. I do agree that she can cut Catered Fit out of her budget, but she won't be saving $475 per month!

 

[scrapquitler]

Though it often appears like they just show up on game day, I am told my local pro team actually practices daily.

I don't think the suggestion was for her to join the team as a player, but to work at the games, perhaps as a parking attendant, ticket taker or concessions employee, all of which probably only DO work on game day.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

I think it's great that you're treating your mom! I guess my point is if you cut back on the cabin to a regular balcony you would probably save a good chunk what you need to save to treat her. Sure, you'll have a smaller cabin but for me it would be worth it not to have to worry about coming up with an extra $2K in a couple of months. Most of the suggestions here for last minute cash involves things that are a PITB. Working 2 jobs is a PITB and selling stuff on eBay or Craigslist is also a PITB (I know, I sell on eBay and Amazon). It seems to me that you can't treat your mom to the fancy suite without a PITB. If it's worth it to you, that's cool. It's just not worth it to me.

Organic free range eggs are $5 per dozen at my local organic grocery, organic hamburger is $7 per pound, locally raised boneless trout is $16 per pound. Even in the height of harvest season organic veggies are very expensive. I can't see how anyone eating organic paleo could eat for $32 per week, especially a single non-frugal person who is used to the variety of a food prep service. I do agree that she can cut Catered Fit out of her budget, but she won't be saving $475 per month!

If I had set out to pay the whole thing from the get-go then I may have gone with a balcony (maybe not lol). Since we settled on the cabin type and my mum agreed that she would prefer the suite for several of the benefits, I don't really want to say "hey mom, I'm treating you but it's a downgrade".

At this point, the money is already spent anyway so by the time I took the hit to cancel and rebook at a higher rate, the savings wouldn't be the same as having booked from the beginning.

It's probably not worth an extra job as the logistics of that just isn't going to be realistic. I do sell on eBay and agree it's a PITB, however it is the only way I've found to make a bit on collectibles or items too high value for giveaway.

I am just hoping to find a few (mostly) painless ways to throw a bit of extra at my account.

I definitely agree with you about the food! I actually pay a bit more than the $600 because I do everyday (not just 20 days). There's no way I could eat for $125/month. cutting CateredFit would save some though. But I'd rather sell stuff on eBay than cook lol.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

I just looked it up and Catered Fit is about $600 a month for 20 days a month. That's about what I spend for my family of 5 to eat organic, from scratch food (including free-range meats). If you are just one person you could probably spend about $125 a month to cook your own food, that would save you your $2000 in 4 months and probably be a bit healthier, since you know exactly what's in it.

Please tell me how you do this? What types of meals do you cook?

I've found that eating organic paleo (meat and veggies only, no grains/legumes) tends to be more expensive as it cuts out a lot of the cheap grains that can help veggies and meats stretch.

 

[stsomewhere]

Have you thought about transferring the credit card balance to a 0% interest for 12 month card? I get offers all the time from Capital one.

 

[aprilchem]

Please tell me how you do this? What types of meals do you cook?

I've found that eating organic paleo (meat and veggies only, no grains/legumes) tends to be more expensive as it cuts out a lot of the cheap grains that can help veggies and meats stretch.

Well, we're not paleo. But I'm generally cooking free-range meat (bought at $5.50 a lb for either beef or pork), a veggie, and a whole grain each night. I bake my own bread (which I guess a paleo person wouldn't eat) made from wheat berries that I buy in bulk and mill into flour. Lunches are leftovers, and breakfasts are eggs/toast or baked goods that I make using home-milled flour.

I guess if I was paleo this is what I'd buy for a month: 15 lbs of free-range meat (total cost would be $83 where I live), 4 dozen eggs (assuming you can eat eggs? I pay $2.50 a dozen for free-range organically-fed eggs), and then budget about $100 for vegetables for the month. That means you'd get about 2 eggs per day, about 1/2 lb of meat per day, and could eat about $25 worth of veggies a week for a little more than what I said before - it's $193. You could save a bit of money and get closer to $150 by cutting the meat to 1/3 lb a day (10 lbs total), but I don't know how much meat a Paleo person needs to eat. My family of 5 eats about 20 lbs a month total, so 10 lbs might be fine.

 

[disneylovinfamilyof6]

Do you have the extra money set aside in checking/savings? If so, pull it out and work on lifestyle changes to reimburse yourself over the next 6 months-1 year. Cut out cable/satellite TV, eating out, cancel your landline if you have one, don't clothing/shoe shop for 6 months, no impulse buys for anyone, don't go out to movies/theatre productions/concerts for the next 6 months, no other vacations until this one is repaid, go frugal for Christmas/holidays, etc. I wouldn't overstress and try to come up with the money in 2 months. That's no way to start out your vacation. But I would start saving and changing my lifestyle in the ways listed now, and then commit to the changes until you have repaid your checking/savings.

It's an awesome thing that you are doing for your mom! Money isn't everything. Memories are priceless. Hope you have the BEST time!

 

[brazzledazzler]

Based on how you describe your lifestyle (the cost of the cruise, the paleo meals made for you, etc) unless you make life-altering changes and are ready to commit to them, I don't see you saving money. When I met DH 2 years ago he had 11k in credit card debt and lived WAY outside his means. 2 years later, he has 0 debt and his credit score is above 750. What has changed his life (besides me, of course! jk) was www.youneedabudget.com, it is an amazing app for your computer & smart phone. Plus, they talk about how/where you should be cutting costs and saving. If you are truly committed to saving money in the long term, check it out.

Have a wonderful vacation in November!

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

Based on how you describe your lifestyle (the cost of the cruise, the paleo meals made for you, etc) unless you make life-altering changes and are ready to commit to them, I don't see you saving money. When I met DH 2 years ago he had 11k in credit card debt and lived WAY outside his means. 2 years later, he has 0 debt and his credit score is above 750. What has changed his life (besides me, of course! jk) was www.youneedabudget.com, it is an amazing app for your computer & smart phone. Plus, they talk about how/where you should be cutting costs and saving. If you are truly committed to saving money in the long term, check it out.

Have a wonderful vacation in November!

I see You Need A Budget mentioned on these boards a lot. So many people say that it's life changing. I've looked into a few times myself, but just can't stick with the whole budgeting down to a dollar as I find it incredibly tedious.

My non-budget, budget tends to work pretty well for me. I'm not looking to make any sweeping permanent lifestyle changes right now, because I don't really need to. I'm pretty happy with my save for tomorrow and live for today balance. I am just looking for a few temporary "painless" ways to throw some extra at my account to offset the unexpected extra cruise fare.

So far I think I'm mentally willing to commit to cutting for two months
Daily Starbucks $4/day
Daily afternoon fresh pressed green juice $6/day
Do my own nails $70/month
Sell some collectibles I've been meaning to get rid of anyway $300-400

I figure if I can do theses things then that's almost $1k and not too life altering for 2 months.

It's definitely not the full amount but id be much more ok with it.

Thanks to everybody for all the tips! It definitely got me thinking about where I could snip.

 

[Indio]

If you have any old gold jewelry (broken, don't wear, etc) take it to a pawn shop and sell it for scrap gold value. You'd be surprised how fast that will add up!

 

[brazzledazzler]

I see You Need A Budget mentioned on these boards a lot. So many people say that it's life changing. I've looked into a few times myself, but just can't stick with the whole budgeting down to a dollar as I find it incredibly tedious.

My non-budget, budget tends to work pretty well for me. I'm not looking to make any sweeping permanent lifestyle changes right now, because I don't really need to. I'm pretty happy with my save for tomorrow and live for today balance. I am just looking for a few temporary "painless" ways to throw some extra at my account to offset the unexpected extra cruise fare.

So far I think I'm mentally willing to commit to cutting for two months
Daily Starbucks $4/day
Daily afternoon fresh pressed green juice $6/day
Do my own nails $70/month
Sell some collectibles I've been meaning to get rid of anyway $300-400

I figure if I can do theses things then that's almost $1k and not too life altering for 2 months.

It's definitely not the full amount but id be much more ok with it.

Thanks to everybody for all the tips! It definitely got me thinking about where I could snip.

Yep YNAB is amazing. But as I said, this may not be the "life change" you are looking for. From my experience, the biggest way to save any money has to do with food spending. So those little changes of no daily starbucks, fresh green juice or modifying your paleo daily meals can make a big savings. Based on what you're spending, finding $2K may be pretty easy.

 

[AquaDame]

As they say, you can have cheap, healthy and convenient... but only two of those at a time. :/ Scrounging up a little extra here and there is possible, but to find so much money quickly without changing habits is virtually impossible or else you'd be loaded already. If you can give up the convenience of your food and cook for awhile, or give up on the healthy catered aspect and buy unhealthy prepackaged food then you could make do by tackling it from that angle. Forgoing either of those I'd absolutely start looking at what else you spend your money on and slash from there. Much as with losing weight its much easier to take in less calories than work them off later (stop the spending spree instead of finding another job). If your hair and nail treatments are a no go, what else do you spend a lot on that you would be willing to slash? Cable bill? Phone bill? Do you buy a lot of clothes or is there another trip coming up that you could cancel or downgrade?

 

[GreatLakes]

The delivered meals is where I'd concentrate on my cutting. It is convenient but making meals from scratch with base ingredients can be both healthy and inexpensive. Do you like to cook? It is one of both my wife and my hobbies and we both eat extremely healthy for much less then you are paying for prepared meals. We don't fit any "label" but we eat lots of vegetables (locally grown as often as possible), better quality meats (free range. no antibiotics), and limit anything processed and can whip up healthy meals despite both working full time jobs.

The coffee is another place you can cut a lot. $4 sounds like nothing but you can get good coffee you make at home for a fraction of that price. Even the "expensive" stuff I buy is between $12 and $15 a pound and most of what is in my cabinet costs less then that.