Simplify Budget Help

Katie's Butterflies

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Nov 22, 2009
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382
Hi!

I’m trying to cut out any and all extras from my family’s budget right now. I want to find out how much comes in vs. what needs to go out. However, I know that there are a bunch of “hidden” extras I won’t think of, so I could use some help. :)

What were some not so obvious things you cut from your budget?
 
We just saved this month a couple ways. First I don't know if you have internet on your phone but we....DID...:eek: Next was we got ride of our Digital Cable and lowered our internet speed from regular to "light" saved us around $43 a month..Im looking for more! Good luck!
 
If you have an older car, you may not need to have collision on your insurance. Can save quite a bit.
 
Keep track of every penny you spend...cash, credit or check. That .50 for a can of pop or a candy bar can really add up. Every time I shop I have to think...do we really NEED this or do I just want it?
 

I would make a list of everything and how much you spent for a month then at the end look through it and see what you can cut down. You will be surprised at where your money ends up.
 
Take a good hard look at your atm withdrawls, and figure out why. A really money drip, or flow!, is the taking out "only a little" and letting it slip away.

If you get paper statements from your checking account, see if you can gather the checks, atms withdrawls, into catagories so you can judge monthly spending.

When I did this the first time I was shocked at how much I had been spending at the grocery store..and not using it all.

Do you spend at fast food places? Pizza? Vending machines, coffee...good places to start trimming.
 
I second write down everything, I mean everything. Also, if you are interested, you could hop over to the No Buy thread and join us. It has become such a fun challenge for me, I am loving it. I think it is hard for someone to tell you what to cut. Like I always hear people say "if you cut your Starbucks you can save $x a day. Well, that doesn't apply to me, I have never once been to a Starbucks so that wouldn't save me anything. Just one example, but everyone's spending is s different. But if you, even if for just a month, write everything down, you will be able to see what and were you can cut.

Good Luck! Maybe we will see yo uon No Buy. :thumbsup2

ETA- I didn't answer your question. The biggest place I cut was on groceries. I plan a week of meals out and when I need milk or fruit that is all I pick up (don't get a cart, just a basket!) I also for years have stock piled my freezer with quick meals for those busy nights so we don't have to grab a pizza. I cook piles of chicken and cut it up and freeze it, makes quick chicken tacos, quesadillas, or casseroles. I make my 7 QT crock pot full of sloppy joes. Then I freeze it into 8 bags and lay them flat on a cookie sheet so they stack nicely in the freezer. It is great as is as sloppy joes or makes a great, fast pot of chili or great spaghetti sauce and because of how they are frozen they thaw really fast. Groceries is where I needed to cut for sure! I still spend a fortune on produce but really save on the meals.
 
magaine subscriptions
raise insurance deductions
medical/doctor bills can add up
vet bills can be a budget buster
 
save all your receipts. put them on a cork board or tape them to the wall. then at the end of the month, divide all your wants from needs.

Just writing down where you spend the money doesn't always help. Cause you might be spending an extra 20 or so at the grocery store and not even realize it.

What about cash withdrawls?? Do you pull an extra 20 when you check out? I know many people don't even take a receipt when paying cash for something under a few bucks.

just some ideas from me.
 
We have no landline- just cell phones.

We called to try and reduce our cable package a few months ago; they offered us a $25 credit for 6 months not to. So, in six months we will call back and try again.

Some cut hair at home. We don't but we do use great clips or other cheap place.

Is your home energy efficient? Do you have doors or windows that are leaky?

Goodwill/garage sales/ebay for clothing (although sometimes you can find it just as cheap on clearance)

We try to minimize eating out but could still do better.

Eat healthy, exercise, and take good care of your teeth to minimize medical bills.

Ultimately everyone has different money 'leaks' so as prior posters suggest it's best to analyze everything you spend and see where you personally can cut back.
 
Thanks everyone! All of your help is GREATLY appreciated! :cool1:

So far, we’ve already decided to downgrade internet, satellite and phone services. We also recently, as another poster suggested, changed our auto insurance policy. These changes will save us over $200/month! :thumbsup2

We also definitely need to cut back on going out to eat. It becomes so convenient that we end up spending all this money on groceries and then spending even more money not to use the groceries we just bought. :rotfl:

Thanks MickeyMomOfThree, the idea to plan out a weekly menu is great! I think this will solve quite a few problems… if we can stick to it. :laughing: Also, thanks for the invite to check out the other thread, I think I may just do that!

Whistle, you are so right. Those things really add up. One of the reasons I’m trying to set up a better budget is because of medical bills. :sick: (I also think we could be saving more than we are each month::yes::)

I will definitely make sure we all write down everything we spend and then go over those expenditures! I’m sure we will find something that can be cut back! It will also maybe be an eye opener too. I want to see where all the money goes! lol :goodvibes
 
I stay at home with our son, with my husband being the only one working - so, naturally, we had to find every way to cut money. Here are a few places that we were able to cut costs:

1. I realized I could get away with no email/data plan on my cell and just use voice and text minutes - cut from over $100 down to $65/month
2. Called auto insurance company and asked to be sure that we had all the discounts we were eligible for.
3. Cut out all channels on your cable that you don't use often enough ro validate the cost
4. I ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS periodically call my utility companies and see if there are any current promotions that we can take advantage of
5. Make sure your gas rate is on a fixed rate and not variable, as the market is changing
6. Ask your cable company if you can get a 3 month discount - I have Directv and they often offer a 3-month discount for certain things
7. USE, USE, USE coupons to cut down grocery bill
8. Sell unused electronics, toys, etc. on eBay
9. Use the timer on your air conditioner. I called my company to ask how to cut down on the cost and they told me to set the thermostat at particular temps for particular times of day - it will cut down cost. If you aren't at home during the majority of the day, set your thermostat at a higher temp for summer and cooler temp for winter until you get home.
10. If you wash/dry during certain times of day, it saves money. Save dishwasher until late at night to run. These were also tips from electric and gas company.
11. Talk to your bank about cutting out fees
 
Thank you for the ideas. :goodvibes I didn't know that utility companies offer promotions, nor that it can save money to do laundry or run a dishwasher at certain times! :thumbsup2 I'll also have to look into the gas rate. I have no idea if it's fixed or variable. :confused3 I should probably find that out. :laughing: Thank you!
 
This is a great thread. I did not know about the contacting the utility company to ask about any promotions. I have to try that one. Thanks for the great tips.:surfweb:
 
-I put a checkbook app on my phone. It is amazing how much better budgeting is when I can instantly track my spending.

-If you get paper delivery, consider cutting that. I used to get daily and now I just get Sunday delivery (for the coupons). I just read the headlines online instead.

-Try to skip takeout. I always try to make extra at meals. Then we portion it out to have quick and easy meals to grab and go. If I am at the grocery store, I ususally grab a rotisserie chicken and a side to take home....that still works out to be cheaper than takeout and serves the same purpose. I also keep quick meals like frozen pizza's on hand.

-We had a yard service (weed and feed). We just cancelled that and are doing it ourselves. Our yard is pretty small, so one bag of Scott's should do it. Saved about 60% there.

-Get involved in CVSing. You will be amazed at what you can save.

-Go through you closets and get a pile of clothes that need mending. Take them to the tailor or a friend. Will be cheaper to fix them then buy new. IF a friend can sew, offer to watch their kids or something similar in exchange for the sewing.

-Cancel cable, especially if you can get a good antennae signal and if you have a netflix streaming device.
 
A side note to calling the utility companies that I did not mention (same kinda goes for cable companies, phone/internet service as well) - See if they will price match - I don't know how many or which utility companies may do this, but go and find current promotions that your area utility companies are running, then call yours and see if they will match it.
What I used to do with Directv would be to find a current promotion by Dish Network, etc., call Directv and tell them I was thinking about switching, and then they would offer the 3/6 month $5 off or something like that for me to stay. I used to do the same thing with my cell phone carrier.
 
save all your receipts. put them on a cork board or tape them to the wall. then at the end of the month, divide all your wants from needs.
This is a great idea, I'm going to try to do it next month. It's one thing to write down how much I spend at the grocery store each week, but I think I need to look at it more specifically because I often buy toiletries & paper products at the grocery - partly out of laziness because I don't want to go to 2-3 different stores. I could probably save money on those things if I compared the drugstore ads & went to different ones to get the best prices on everything.
 
Here is out I cut $25,000 in debt down to $12,500 in a year.

Stop dining out. This includes fast food & junk at work. $3 for coffee adds up. I feel crazy guilty for having $4 worth of soda and snacks today. That was almost 1/2 my junk at work budget for the week. You have to take cash out for this stuff and once it's gone, it's GONE.

Stop dining out. Over the weekend, FI and I had two awesome 1lb ribeye steaks (these things were an inch thick and almost no fat!), mashed potatoes, rice pilaf and a bottle of $15 wine. The whole meal came to $35. For TWO 1lb ribeye steaks! Cooked exactly how we like them! And an entire bottle of wine! That is $17.50 per person. The same meal at a mid-range restaurant would have cost double, possible triple if you factor in the wine.

Does anyone really need to have 327 cable channels? No. Cancel them. Get a cheap Netflix account. Or better yet, make a game out of watching every dvd you already own.

Carpool or walk. I carpool with my roommate twice a week now. Saves me probably $50 a month. And if I can walk to a location, I do. Saves me in 3 ways: I'm less apt to buy more than I need since I have to carry it back. I save $$ on gas for stop & go around town trips. I'm healthier and in theory less likely to get sick and need to buy more medicals.

Read all the books you already have. Don't buy new ones. Go to the library. You can get cds and dvds to listen/watch there as well.

Really, really think about what you are buying. Do you REALLY want it? How long before you get sick of it? How needed is it? Do not impulse buy. If you want it bad enough, go back in a day or two for it. This makes a huge difference. In the age of the interwebs, almost nothing can't be found again.

Do you really need to buy gifts for every single person you know on their bday/anniversary/etc? I used to. Then one day I just said "ENOUGH!". 36 year olds do not need a birthday party every year. I will send a card and my good wishes and that's it. No more $25- $40 several times a month for assorted things that come up. I noticed after I implemented this that most of my friends followed suit and no longer do we need to go out and have a gala every time someone's b-day comes up. Instead, we get together and have a pizza or something at someone's house. I will buy gifts for 1. My toddler nieces 2. My fiance and 3. My mother. That's it.

Home maintainence : make sure your windows are sealed and engery efficient. Make sure your faucets don't leak. Don't wash laundry unless you have a full load. In fact, you probably don't need to wash every item after one use. I have jeans I wear 5-6 times before they get a real wash. Until then, they get hand spot washed. Keeps them in better shape too. They last longer. Be aware of your heat, eletric and water usage.

Unless you are a 17 year old high school girl, chances are very high that your peers could care less about what kind of fashion you wear. So shop your closet. My goal for 2010 was to buy NO new clothes or shoes at all. (except socks and underwear as needed) So far, so good. Try to go without new cosmetics (or just don't use them), no mani/pedi, no trips to the salon except for trims. Fashion is expensive and really not necessary. I found that even when I bought new clothes, I'd fall back on wearing the same ones I wore before I bought the new ones anyway.

Switch from name to store brands. This goes for everything from instant rice to laundry detergent. You probably won't know the difference. My roommate swore he could tell the difference between his $11 Tide and my $3 Purex. Well, he assured me he had no allergies so one day, without him knowing, I swapped the contents. He told me he liked the new scent Tide was using. When I finally told him, he never bought Tide again.

Lower your interest rates. I got an interest rate cut from 22% to 10.99% by doing a balance transfer. This means that instead of 5 years to pay my debt, it will take 2.

In addition to saving money, you can also earn more money every month by selling your old junk. I make approx $400 a month selling stuff on Ebay and/or selling dvds/cds at local used cd/dvd stores. I've made $1236 so far in 2010. I have another round of auctions (11 of them) going now that have 5 days to go. They are already up to $42. This means that this week I will get at least $42 for 11 random items that were gathering dust in my room. And this is just from junk that is in my room, apartment etc. I haven't even looked in my scary, dark basement storage area yet. I hear tell that there are large plastic bins full of cds and old collectibles in there.
 
Start using less detergent. There was a thread a few days ago about this - many of us are using WAY too much. I have been only filling up halfway to the first mark since then and have noticed no bad effects. My clothes are still clean-looking and fresh-smelling.

Set your dishwasher to air dry your dishes, instead of using the heat.

Switch out your lightbulbs to the new energy efficient ones. This is supposed to save up to $50 over the life of one bulb.

Another vote for planning your meals ahead of time. I try to do two weeks' worth at a time, using the store circulars as my guide for what is on sale during that time. It has really helped to cut my grocery bill, and makes my life a lot easier when I can just glance at my meal plan and get the meat out to thaw, etc., instead of waiting until 5 o'clock and panicking about what to make! Oh, and make your list, pairing it with your coupons, before you get to the store and stick to it! I have found that it is easy for me to fritter away money on stuff we don't really need there if I don't have a list with me.

Good luck!
 

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