Lost job - How to cut expenses?

[Mrs. Bradbury]

You could always go to a great clips or super cuts for a quick clean up too.

Yep. Sometimes Great Clips has awesome discounts and you could also use your Supercuts coupons there.

Who, me? I'm not sure if either of those are in my area, but I'm good with trimming it myself. I even learned how to do it in a "u" instead of straight across. Now, if I wanted to take off significant inches that would be another story . . .

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Get hair cuts at your local vocational school - often times they will cut hair for a really small fee like $2.00

I know people grumble about coupons but I am a couponer. You say you don't buy packaged items what about coupons for other things like health and beauty supplies- toothpaste, hairspray, asprins. ect, toilet paper, cleaning supplies.

Buy in bulk. I have a membership at BJ wholesale club and use their coupons plus manufactors coupons to purchase my bulk items such as toilet paper, laundry soap, trash bags, shampoo's, toothpaste, tooth brushes. I bought a wire shelving unit at Lowes and put it in my basement and it is stocked with all my bulk items. They always print on the bottom of the reciept how much I saved for each shopping trip. My average savings is $35 - $40 each trip. I spend $50 for a membership but in less that 2 trips I have saved enough money to pay for the membership. When its time to renew they send me and email which shows how much I saved for the past 12 months. Last year my savings was a little over $500. Cant wait till Dec to see what I have saved this year.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

My hair is one thing I will not scrimp on, there is only one person I trust with my cut, and my cut + tip is $25 about every 6 to 8 weeks, that's all I have done professionally. If I color, I do it myself at home for less than $10 and I only do that every few months.

Dh is in the Army Reserves, so he has to get a cut before drill once a month, but it's only $9 + tip. I tried cutting it once for him and it was a disaster.

 

[Dish]

Who, me? I'm not sure if either of those are in my area, but I'm good with trimming it myself. I even learned how to do it in a "u" instead of straight across. Now, if I wanted to take off significant inches that would be another story . . .

That's a good idea too!

 

[Karabee]

Bulk stores like BJs which a pp pointed out is the best. They send you coupons and you can use other coupons which brings the price down so much. Although the bill is more it saves a lot of money in the end when you have toilet paper that lasts for months and months. Even things like cold cuts are so much cheaper there. Well worth it!
I also like the Mint app which allows you to see what you're spending and set a budget each month. It's a great way to see where you're spending and which categories you're going over on. It will even message you when you're over. It's an eye opener.

 

[disneybirds]

Sorry to hear the news! I wish you luck in your job search. When my DH was starting his business, we determined how much we wanted to spend each month. I subtracted out the set bills, an average for the flexible ones like water/electricity/gas/etc and an amount for unexpected expenses like car repair. We then divided the rest by 4 and that was how much could be spent each week. I kept a stack of receipts each week and kept a running total. Once we got to the set amount, there was no more spending for the week. Others do the same thing with envelopes and cash. I love the quote about money being elastic - it is so true. You will be amazed at ways that you can cut back. One way to cut your grocery bill is to make your list from the sale circular and try not to buy things unless they are on sale.

 

[cooldadtexas]

I lost my job at Christmas 2010 and it took a year to find another job. My tips are listed below:

*Keep the faith. You are not alone! Repeat, You are not alone!
*Do not watch the news. It will just depress you.
*Network, Network and Network.
*Get set up on Linkedin. It's free.
*Take care of yourself.
*Enjoy your time off.
*I love my new job. You will find a new job. If you work hard it will be a better job.

Sincerely,
James

 

[pampam]

If you colour your hair yourself and have short hair, don't mix it together, only mix half of it together. You can save the rest for the next time.

If you have a long distance plan, cancel it and buy long distance cards at the store for about 3 1/2 cents or 4 cents a minute. The cards we buy at the grocery store last for up to 6 months.

Can Hubby go to the basic cable for a few months until finances improve? If he knows it is only temporary, it isn't as hard.

 

[2disneyboys]

Also a huge Dave Ramsey fan here...don't agree with ALL of his rules, but most of them work for us. We are in a different financial place today then we were 3 years ago and I credit it all to his plan and dh and my determination. you can read him online or from the library for free! Other financial guru's are just as good. Best advice... Don't take financial from your broke uncle/neighbor/friend. You don't want to live like broke people or even paycheck to paycheck people...take advice from well off people. That's who you want to live like!

You do have to look at your expenses..ALL of them. List them all. Don't forget the things you don't pay monthly. See what you can get rid of or reduce. We called direct tv with full intentions to cancel and ended up saving 50% of our costs for the same service...this was 2 years ago and we still have the lower rate. We cut our landline off completely.

Here was an eye opperner for me. I printed my bank statement for the past 6 weeks. Highlighted every restaurant transaction. I was shocked what we were mindlessly spending. We immediately cut that in 1/4. We still eat out, but menu planning means we eat @ home the majority of the time and we don't feel like we gave up anything.

 

[2disneyboys]

Sorry. Here's more..

Menu plan - with both of us working full time jobs, and kids having various activities, this is essential to staying on budget for us.

Have a yard sale or sale some stuff on craigs list or eBay. Use that $ first to make sure you have an emergency cushion and then secondly towards any debt.

Act like a tourist in your own town. When I go somewhere on vacation, I research the area for things to do. Same for your home town... Research to find out some free or really cheap things to do. Don't hesitate to join a club or museum if that means more access @ cheaper costs. We have had a blast in our local area doing and finding out things... We have lived here our entire lives and never knew about some of the things we have discovered.

DIY. Seriously...home improvements, maintenance, yard, car or home care. As long as you are comfortable with it (either prior knowledge or learning from YouTube etc) then DIY... DONT. However get yourself in a pickle by trying to do something you have no business doing on your own...be smart about it!

Less packaged... My kids favorite snack is popcorn...we have always bought the microwave packages, well their new favorite activity is helping us pop it on the stove and we all still laugh about the first time when dh poured the WHOLE bottle of kernels in the pot....ummm popcorn was everywhere!

I wish you the best of luck in your job search! May it bring about an amazing change in your lives!

 

[Dish]

I lost my job at Christmas 2010 and it took a year to find another job. My tips are listed below:

*Keep the faith. You are not alone! Repeat, You are not alone!
*Do not watch the news. It will just depress you.
*Network, Network and Network.
*Get set up on Linkedin. It's free.
*Take care of yourself.
*Enjoy your time off.
*I love my new job. You will find a new job. If you work hard it will be a better job.

Sincerely,
James

That's good info too! I don't watch the news either. They are made especially to turn a big depression to us. I've also tried Linkedin, with no real help either. Always, but always choose a job that you like.