For those who budget

[Eeyoreloverforever]

What do you do to keep your expenses low?

I have been reading over on the budget board but most of those people live in the States and as we all know things are very different here.

I will admit we are not very budget minded in this house. I have cut way back on shopping so we can pay off our debt and get a new house. I basically have been staying out of the malls and only going shopping when I need something and usually with a list. I have also been better at eating at home and using up the food we have.

I don't find coupons are of much use because they are usually for so little off and unlike the States we can't double coupons.

I also don't find we get the bargains they do even when things are on sale. And by the time they go to anything below 50% everything is already so picked over. Even 50% off seems to be a rarity around here and usually not on anything I am looking for.

I am not much for shopping Value Village or Frenchy's as I prefer mine and my kids clothes be in style. Otherwise I have nothing against these places.

I would love to hear how everyone else keeps their expenses down, maybe there is something I can learn.

 

[dis_guy]

I don't have any real money saving tips for you but what we do is keep track of our monthly budgets on a spreadsheet. I guess what I'm saying is find out exactly where every cent of your money is going to start with and then you'll be able to make informed decisions about where it needs to go. To avoid overspending we always take out our monthly necessity money in cash and parcel it out into grocery money, gas money, etc. It's too easy to overspend with credit/debit cards. Hope this helps.

 

[photomama]

another spreadsheet family. It helps when you know where all the money is going.

 

[TammyLynn33]

Hi..
We too use a cash approach when the cash is gone thats it for the week etc. We meal plan. I use coupons from save.ca I save airmiles and get sportchek giftcards for DS hockey equiment.

I too am really picky about clothes but I get kids jeans from there. If I cant find gap or comparable then I dont buy know what I mean? Jeans are jeans esp for DS. Shirts and dresses etc I always buy in season at stores or stock up on basics at end of season sales for next year. We usually sell too small stuff at consignment sales and get a couple hundred back a year so it helps.

We are trying to eat in more but I admit its hard.

I dont use a spreadsheet I just use a plain notebook and write down check by check what is due etc and whats left etc..

Good Luck..I wish I had started earlier.

 

[bev r.]

One way to reduce entertainment spending, is to utilize the library. Our library system has a pretty good inventory of CDs, DVDs and games. Our library system recently purchased games for Xbox, Wii, and playstation. Our household has really taken advantage of getting the games. If you rent games or movies, this savings could add up pretty quick. Overall I think the people underutilize the library. We pay $12 a year for an adult library card, kids are free until they are 18. When you consider the cost to purchase books, cd's, magazines, I think this is a great deal.

A second idea, like others have previously stated, is to track your expenses in detail. We started this exercise a few months ago for some retirement planning, and found that we cut out some impulse shopping. Are you willing to record the expense in the spreadsheet???

 

[Mickey1Fan]

I record everything I spend in a notebook.

If I buy a coffee or a DVD it is written down. I only use cash now as well. No cash makes me think two or three days whether I need the item.

 

[dancin Disney style]

We switched from 2 cell phone plans to 2 pre-paid phones. We were paying approx. $70 per month and now it's $20 per month. Also, we only have a basic DSL internet plan that costs $24 per month.

As far a groceries, I only buy what is on sale. When something is really discounted I buy as much as possible. The same with clothes. I only buy what is on sale. I tend to shop in the same few stores so I have gotten to know what their habits are with respect to sales.

I don't go out for lunch anymore, which saves about $35 per week.

We both used to go to Timmies at least twice per day. One day we figured that we were spending about $150 per month in there. That number shocked us both into having breakfast at home. Now, I go to Timmies maybe 2 times a week. DH might go 1 time a week.

 

[dis_guy]

I agree with the PP. Been there, done that! We started the spreadsheet thing when the kids were small and my DW was a stay at home mom. We *had* to make every cent count then and the habit just stuck. Some good suggestions from the other posters that I'll try. Thanks.

 

[DonnaBoo]

It's amazing how much money gets spent on coffee. Not just at Timmies, but also at Starbucks. I recorded everything we spent and discovered we spend way too much on coffee.
I'll give up the coffee, if it means I get another trip to Disney.
Good luck with your budget.

 

[SoNewToDisney!]

for the spreadsheet users, do you update it daily with what you spent during the day? I am really trying to make a budget but just can't get one working for us....

 

[bev r.]

To SonewtoDisney: I record my expenses everyday, so it's easy to remember. After a week or so, it becomes routine.

To cut down on my coffee/hot chocolate expense I use my 7-11 bucks that we receive from filling up with gas, to purchase my beverages.

 

[candielips]

I know you said that you are not a big coupon user but they really can help. For instance No Frills had the club size boxes of cereal like Fruit Loop & Corn Pops on sale a few month ago for $2.49 a box & I had a coupon for buy 2 boxes of cereal & save $2. That dropped the price down to $1.50 a box & they are regularly almost $6.
Also save.ca has had a lot of coupons before where they are offering something for free. They have had Fusion Razors for free, toilet cleaning products, cheese.
There are a lot of good websites out there that keep us saavy Cdns in the know about great deals, such as smartcanucks.com & redflagdeals.ca.

 

[dis_guy]

for the spreadsheet users, do you update it daily with what you spent during the day? I am really trying to make a budget but just can't get one working for us....

We do ours monthly as we both get paid once a month. At that time all the fixed expenses (mortgage, car loan, etc) are already entered so only the variable bills need to be entered. Money is transferred into savings, tax account, insurance account, etc. All other money is allocated as cash. When my monthly spending money is gone, it's gone! Gas and grocery money is cash as well and is only spent for those things. Sort of forces us to have a bit of discipline.

 

[I Run Long]

The only way I have been able to keep my head above water is to track my expenditures. Sounds boring I know - but ever since I started doing just that (since March 08) I have never once been in overdraft - I always have money in my account. And I never, ever, buy anything that isn't planned for. I don't just buy on a whim anymore - I always ask the question, "have I budgeted for this?" If not, I don't get it - not right away at least but when I have saved for it. Bear in mind, I don't feel like I am suffering going this way with my money - I always have a budget item that I call "Fun Money" that I can blow on whatever I want, once a month - no questions asked. The problem I always had before was that I would never save for anything, I would just go ahead and buy. Big mistake. Once you know where your dollars are going you can control them - not the other way around. Someone on DISBoards recommended the spreadsheet program called YNAB Pro. I tried setting on up an Excel spreadsheet on my own but it never really worked for me. Ever since using YNAB I sleep at night and I have my next WDW trip mapped out. I'll be paying cash for it not credit. If you're interested in it you can go to:

http://www.youneedabudget.com

And before anyone asks, No, I don't work for them I just use the program. Highly recommend.

 

[SoNewToDisney!]

Someone on DISBoards recommended the spreadsheet program called YNAB Pro. I tried setting on up an Excel spreadsheet on my own but it never really worked for me. Ever since using YNAB I sleep at night and I have my next WDW trip mapped out. I'll be paying cash for it not credit. If you're interested in it you can go to:

http://www.youneedabudget.com

And before anyone asks, No, I don't work for them I just use the program. Highly recommend.

Thanks for the post, this budget program looks interesting. Has anyone else had success with it?

 

[NJR]

I think my biggest money saver is setting a menu for the week, based on what is on sale. Our grocery store flyers come on Thursday, and I sit down with a notepad and write down particularly good deals (eg pork tenderloin on for $2.99/lb, veggies that are on special etc) and then build a menu for the week around that. It takes only minutes to scour the flyers, and I limit it to the 2 grocery stores that are closest to me so I'm not driving all around the city, wasting time (and hey, time is money!). My dearest friend is more of the "plan it one day at a time" kind of cook, and not only does she spend more on her groceries (we compared weekly totals), she wastes an enormous amount of time with her 4-5x/week runs to the store.

We've also started to try trimming our eating-out expenses. We used to go out every Friday night (nowhere special, just places like Kelseys etc), but lately our new tradition is ordering in. For example, we spend the same amount of money ordering in the "dinner for 4" at our local Chinese take-out as we would for a meal at Kelseys, BUT we can actually get at least 2 if not 3 days worth of dinner out of the Chinese food.

As for kids' clothes, I really try to stick to the sales racks - I love the clothes from The Children's Place, and am pleased with the quality ('cause really, cheap clothes don't always stand up to the wear and tear of a busy 3 y.o boy), but it's expensive! I rarely buy anything full-price from there, but once there's a sale (eg end-of-season), I stock up. Last January, I was able to pick up 3 sweaters and 2 pairs of pants for my little guy for $26 from TCP, which he is now wearing this winter. You can also take advantage of deals where you buy 2 articles for a discounted price (like 1 pair of jeans is $19.50 but 2 pairs are $30) - if you only need one pair, you can easily get the second pair in the next size up so you're prepared for those inevitable growth spurts, especially if it is something that you would normally buy anyways.

Good luck!

 

[Hoogy]

Some of the things I do to help the family budget are:

Use coupons and shop sales for groceries. Yes it can be time consuming to "prep" for this but I am at home (watch a few extra kids with my own) so I can research deals. One place I use is frugal shopper.ca The people on the site are great about posting sales in stores and where to find coupons and use them to their maximum potential. I am not talking about 10 cents....I am talking about getting things for free or almost.
When the grocery store has a good sale on chicken etc I stock the freezer/cupboard etc So one week I may buy a lot of chicken, cereal and soup....good for a month until it is on sale again. The next week I may buy beef, tomato sauce, noodles etc.. and so on.
Large boxes of Kellogg's cereal are on sale for $3.44 at Walmart....use your buy 2 save $2 coupons.....and on the back of the cereal are coupons...like $2 off of nutrigrain bars (which are priced at $2....so FREE!)
ALSO Heads up that the dollar sale at No Frills started today. I don't normally shop there anymore because I have to drive into London but for this sale I will go and stock up on some great deals. (you can view their flyer online)

Kids clothing....I love TCP sales too. Another good place is Please Mum. Now I shop online for this store (better selection and prices than in-store). They often have incredible clearance prices and sometimes even a coupon code to go with it. (the shipping is about $5.95 if you buy less than $100....but I find pants and shirts for as low as $2.99!)
I will often shop "off season" too and put the clothes away (buy the next sizes up)

Make sure your services are bundled. We are with Rogers and have been OVER two years at our present house. Well I assumed we had the discount but apparently after 2 years you have to call them and renew your committment to them to get the discount! Glad we called to ask what was going on!
Our cell phones are with Koodo....much cheaper!

We are using YNAB but I am also testing out this other budget program called Calendar Budget. It shows everything on a calendar so I can see day to day what is in the account after I plug in all our expenses. I like that I can page ahead several months and see where we will/might be financially if things go according to plan. I do find that when you budget cash for certain categories like entertainment, groceries, eating out etc and stick to it (when it is gone....it is gone) you don't overspend.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

I also watch for sales and purchase birthday and Christmas gifts when they are on cheap.

I fill out those 15 page surveys on shopping habits that come in the mail. They usually garner VERY GOOD coupons - and some free samples (a whole package of gum, a glade plug in, a candle, 2 cans of Glucerna).

Sometimes I find the biggest money saver is to just stay away from the stores. I hurt my knee a while ago and so I don't go to the mall next to where I work anymore. I couldn't believe how much money I am saving! No more extra coffees (just the one on the way into work) and I even stopped my treat of eating in the food court once a week (saves about $10 a week) - this puts an extra $50 - $60 dollars in my pocket every month.

Instead of going out to dinner, we use take out - even from places like Red Lobster - for the 3 of us we ordered 2 Shrimply Tuesdays (on Tuesdays they have a shrimp special so we waited to celebrate Valentines day until then) for take out and it's more than enough. It costs substantially less than eating in because a) we order fewer meals (only 2 not 3) b) save money because we are not buying drinks c) we save the tip money.

You'd be surprised by how little changes can add up to big savings.