Cutting back and saving lots of MONEY!

[stich1fan]

So we have had a couple of set backs with money:
-health care cost went up $500 a month to a whopping $1700 a month

- DH got a play cut instead of laying people off

- loaned my D sister alot of money for a wedding tat happened 5 months ago and still no pay back.

Anyway here we are now forced to dip into our savings to pay bills on a monthly basis. So we decided to change a few things.

1- eat at home, no more going out to
eat
2- eating all the left overs so we are not wasting
3-food shopping on an as needed basis and planning meals in advance to make sure we use all we have in the house and only buy want we NEED to complete a meal
4-using out wood burning fireplace more for heat to use less oil
5-charting all the spending to see where it goes.

Anyway 5 changes and we are feeling great. We get nice healthy meals so we are losing weight, great. We are getting more done around the home since we are here more and loving it.

The best think is so far....out normal cc bill a month is about $3,000 which we always pay in full. That included cable, electric and some other monthly things like netflix. So far our cc bill is about $1,500 and the closing day is the 19th.

So we saved about $1,500 this month. I can't believe it! I am so excited.....

 

[tigger813]

We're working on cutting back too so we can afford PCC 3.0 in 17 months! DH and I also want to go to WDW for F&W in October for a few days with some friends!

Only planning on eating out at the end of the month with some friends from church. We did eat at McDonald's last week but that was less than $20. DH and I eat a lot of WW/LC meals. Trying to only drink alcohol on weekends! We're having people over to watch the Patriots game on Sunday and everyone is bringing something. We overspent last month with going to WDW and Christmas so I'm hoping to only put about $500 total on the credit cards this month if possible. I plan on using my paycheck next week to do our grocery shopping and only buy what we need at the cheapest grocery store.

TTFN

 

[thebeesknees]

Charting your spending is going to help a lot. Especially as you do it over a few months, you will get a better picture of other places you can cut some $, too. For us, I bring all receipts home and leave them next to the computer every evening. DH logs them in under the appropriate category so we always have a running total of spending for the month. Receipts then go into an envelope until the CC statement arrives and gets reconciled. This works well for us because I tend to be the "spender" in our family, so it gives me accountability with DH as to where the money went. Also, our kids' school gets a % back from the local grocery store if I load money onto a gift card and use the gift card to pay for groceries. I started by loading $400 for the month, had carryover, so I reduced it over several months to only put $200 per month for groceries from that store (I do some grocery shopping at other stores so that isn't the total grocery $ for the month!), and when the $ is used up, I'm done for the month and cook out of the pantry and freezer. Sometimes it gets interesting for the last 2 or 3 meals of the month, but we are eating just fine and have not gone hungry at all. It was satisfying to see our savings account grow, even a little bit, with that "extra" money. Also for my "fun" money, I budget a set amount for that, whether it's a coffee out with friends, new pillows, whatever, and when it's gone, then I'm done for the month. That way, I don't feel totally deprived from having a few little fun things now and then, but it is already in the budget. Good luck! It turns into a sort of game for me on how much I can save every month.

 

[MEM]

So we have had a couple of set backs with money:
-health care cost went up $500 a month to a whopping $1700 a month

- DH got a play cut instead of laying people off

- loaned my D sister alot of money for a wedding tat happened 5 months ago and still no pay back.

Anyway here we are now forced to dip into our savings to pay bills on a monthly basis. So we decided to change a few things.

1- eat at home, no more going out to
eat
2- eating all the left overs so we are not wasting
3-food shopping on an as needed basis and planning meals in advance to make sure we use all we have in the house and only buy want we NEED to complete a meal
4-using out wood burning fireplace more for heat to use less oil
5-charting all the spending to see where it goes.

Anyway 5 changes and we are feeling great. We get nice healthy meals so we are losing weight, great. We are getting more done around the home since we are here more and loving it.

The best think is so far....out normal cc bill a month is about $3,000 which we always pay in full. That included cable, electric and some other monthly things like netflix. So far our cc bill is about $1,500 and the closing day is the 19th.

So we saved about $1,500 this month. I can't believe it! I am so excited.....

Congratulations! Now I suggest you remind your sister (again) about the loan before she thinks it was a gift...

 

[ccgirl]

We're working on cutting back too so we can afford PCC 3.0 in 17 months! DH and I also want to go to WDW for F&W in October for a few days with some friends!

Only planning on eating out at the end of the month with some friends from church. We did eat at McDonald's last week but that was less than $20. DH and I eat a lot of WW/LC meals. Trying to only drink alcohol on weekends! We're having people over to watch the Patriots game on Sunday and everyone is bringing something. We overspent last month with going to WDW and Christmas so I'm hoping to only put about $500 total on the credit cards this month if possible. I plan on using my paycheck next week to do our grocery shopping and only buy what we need at the cheapest grocery store.

TTFN

Go Pats!
I have been placing an order with PeaPod every two weeks. This has cut down my food shopping bill tremendously as I was a big impulse buyer. Now I only purchase what is on sale and make my two weeks worth of menus from that. I actually have an order being delivered tonight. Great that I didn't have to go out in the snow storm!

Congratulations! Now I suggest you remind your sister (again) about the loan before she thinks it was a gift...

GREAT suggestion. I think people think that they longer they have borrowed money they don't have to pay it back or something. She should have gotten some cash from the wedding and paid you back!

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

We are learning to live off of my fiancée checks and saving all of mine. We try to eatout/shop less

 

[stich1fan]

Hello,

I did remind her about the money she borrowed for the wedding and she has since paid some back, but actually borrowed more than she got back form the guest. I am now suppose to get her tax refund check we shall see.

I remind her often and actually got her to since a note indicating it was a loan because it was a large amount of money...

 

[ccgirl]

Hello,

I did remind her about the money she borrowed for the wedding and she has since paid some back, but actually borrowed more than she got back form the guest. I am now suppose to get her tax refund check we shall see.

I remind her often and actually got her to since a note indicating it was a loan because it was a large amount of money...

Good for you! Congrats on the saving. What an eye opener it was when you keep track of where it goes.