What exactly are you changing?- DEBT

[mudnuri]

I've been reading all the debt threads, and while everyone seems to be committed to eliminating their debt, nobody says what they're doing to fix it.

I luckily have about $2,100 in debt and thats it.no car payment, student loans are still not due etc...

Sounds like a little- but I live on child support and student loans while finishing school up (3 more semesters). I bartend every other weekend, and thats the money used for debt repayment if there is any left after paying regular bills.

But heres what I've done to stop living 'paycheck' to 'paycheck"..

I made out a months menu for dinners, got the 2 flyers from the 2 grocery stores near by, and compared them, and made my list. I will be doing some freezer cooking next week, since we got a new chest freezer that needs to be filled up. i spent about an hour on line looking at different recipes for freezer cooking to find ones that the DD's will eat. Looks like a day of cooking will feed up for almost 50 days. Of course we wont freezer eat every night, but this will help greatly.

I also put on the January menu 2 "order it in" nights, so we can still order pizza for delivery that way we wont feel that we've given it all up. Right now we eat out/order in about 1x a week.

Called Comcast, we moved Dec 1st and I got Dish Network- after calling tech support 7 times and having 3 techs out here, I decided to cancel the dish. Comcast gives credit to those switching. I got digital premier with 1 "special" for 51.77 locked in for 16 months. I get 100% refund from dish, because I am cancelling Tuesday- within the first 30 days.

Thats free dish for a month, and a $20 savings in cable

When I moved, I called 3 different dsl providers- I have 2 online classes and need highspeed. Ended up going with Verizon, and also got a landline in the deal. $37.99 a month for both DSL and landline- this was cheaper than my old dsl and vonage- cancelled vonage. Total savings is about 15.00 a month

I froze the 2 CC's with balances on them- they're the only two I have. I will use to extra saved money from cable and internet to add to the balances each month. I always pay more than the minimum, and am happy to say these are NOT christmas debts. More like Text Book debts LOL...

I also have applied for 4 scholarships through my state higher ed dept, sent my essays off to my English professor for a look, and if I get them it will total $4,500. I think I have a good chance. If I get them, I will decrease my student loan amount.

I have a few big purchases coming up, which i'm slowly saving for....like my stethescope, but I'll make it, and wont have to use my CC's to purchase it.

So what are you doing?

Brandy

 

[MyGoofy26]

I have about $2,000 in CC debt right now from trying to fill the gap between my part time job and waiting for a resume to make it to someone who will offer me a *real* job, LOL. I took a seasonal job that helped me pay off my car and fill that gap so I don't have to touch the CCs. Hoping they ask me to stay on since a couple days a week could help me put a real dent in the CCs even if I don't find a good full time job soon. I'll have all the mney that was going to the car payment, plus that little bit so I'll be fine. . . just living very frugally and can "afford" to wait a little longer for a good job offer instead of taking the first one that that's offered out of desperation. Plus if I can keep that seasonal job, the discount will be VERY nice if I have to invest in a professional wardrobe.

Once I do get a full time job, I'll be paying those cards off and cancelling a couple of the ones with annual fees (unless I can negotiate waiving them so I can keep the age for a little while) I'll also start saving a good chunk of the new pay right from the start so I don't get used to seeing a lot of money sitting in my checking account and get used to it.

 

[ohiominnie]

We've done quite a bit around here....
cancelled Gamefly account

cancelled the second audible.com account (it was dd's--now with free podcasts we don't listen to audiobooks as much so she can get some books from our account if she needs more)

called the cable/roadrunner company. said i was thinking of switching to satellite tv/internet. they dropped my monthly bill from $120/mo to $87/mo just to keep me

called aol on the advice of the DIS and got free aol since i have my own access through roadrunner.

eat out much much much less

joined grocerygame.com. even though there is a fee, i spend WAY less on groceries and have way more food.

did not renew the disneydailyblast.com account

way less impulse buys. now i really think about something good and long before i buy it. that's helped two ways...spent less money, bringing less clutter into the house.

downgraded the newspaper subscription to only sundays (for the coupons) with a sunday only subscription i can get online access to the newspaper website and can check online on the other days if i'm so inclined.

more having fun at home (board games, darts, etc) and less running out to the movies (family of 4 going to the movies and getting snacks is close to $50!)

sold some things on ebay.

when we go on vacation now i'm much more choosy about bringing home souvenirs. it used to be buy whatever i liked and looked good. this last time i bought myself a $14 tealight holder and that's it.

when going on vacation we park in the far surface lot ($5 per day) rather than the garage (something like $12/day)

seeking out and actually USING coupons for restaurants if we go, or the "free gift card if you transfer your prescription to our pharmacy" kinda things.

stopped being so dang "nice" to people....(that sounds bad) but we'd offer to pay for everything ...."oh, let us get that." "grandma needs internet access, we'll pay for it for her." "let's take mom and dad on a cruise and pay for everything." "i'll buy this for so and so because I CAN." ---well all of that just put us farther and farther behind.

8 Disney cruises (including paying for my parents twice) in three years Now our next Disney cruise isn't until June of 2008 (it'll be over 2 years without a cruise)

limiting the number of "acting camps" the kids can take. we now focus on auditions and getting into shows. although the time requirement for rehearsals is FAR greater than an acting camp, the price is cheaper AND it's a MUCH better experience learning wise than an acting camp.

setting up a "personal fund" for dh and I. Every month we get $50 each to blow however we want. If dh wants to blow it right away on a computer program, then he has to wait until the next month to buy anything that isn't already budgeted for. We now find ourselves spending far less than $50 a month on "stuff" whereas we were easily spending way more than that when there was "no-limit."

This is all I can think of off the top of my head.

HTH.

 

[ohiominnie]

Oh yeah, switched from MCI neighborhood ($63 a month) to Vonage ($30/mo) with no real change in features.

Switched my cell phone plan from some high minutes plan (and I only use about 30 cell minutes a month) to a much lower plan (was $90/mo, now $34/mo) --but must keep the unlimited direct connect b/c that's how dh and i communicate.

 

[mjantz]

-Not purchasing any new books unless I have a giftcard. Any other books I get will be through bookins. The library is OK. This is an organizational/stash reducing tool as well as a financial tool.
-Taking advantage of the AngelFood program. A lot of food for $25 & its for a good cause too.
-Picking up my scissors & clipping a few coupons. Even $5/week has to help.
-Going through my stash of gifts & such I have & giving those things as gifts as opposed to buying new stuff. Why go out & buy my nephew a shirt when I have one on hand that he'll love. I'm also going to try & make a few gifts as well.
-Lowering my grocery budget to $75/week. We're currently over $100 so this should make a huge dent.
-Limiting those 'great deals' to $20/month. Yes, I'm taking a notebook & keeping track! In addition, less 'random shopping'. I know what I want to get for several family members & I'm sticking to that plan. Its not a deal if its still sitting in my gift cubby 3 years later!

 

[nuke]

We do pretty good but I am going back to making menus every week and only shopping for what we need. I'm also getting a $1 a week subscription to the paper to get the grocery ads and coupons and start using them again.

I've been lax about bringing my own lunch to work lately. I have to get back into that habit.

 

[neatokimmo]

Does just not buying anything count?

I'm so tired of "stuff" everywhere. I have a small house and I am a packrat. I want to use up what I have and not buy anything new for at least 6 months.

I am going to use up all my bath products (I have a ton of free after rebate or Walgreens/CVS freebies) and eat everything in my freezer and pantry. I am still going to participate in free after rebate stuff but I am going to keep better track of them. It's not a deal if you forget to mail them in!

And my ultimate goal... I want to stop drinking diet coke at work, it's $1 a bottle and I can go through 2-3 a day. That's up to $15 a week or $60 a month. $720 a year...makes me ill. That's a week in Disney people, what am I thinking?

 

[C.Ann]

I don't have any debts, so I guess I'll just be "saving" more.. I do have a few "special" things planned, but other than that, I won't be shopping in the stores for things I don't really need - and if I "do" need something, I'll try to hit the garage sales and thrift stores first.. I really hate paying full price for things when we live in such a "throwaway society"..

This isn't really a "change" for me - I tend to be pretty frugal all the time - except for "special" occasions..

 

[mudnuri]

You know, about that grocery shopping thing...

I just spent a total of probably 3 hours over the past couple days planning my menu for the month. A lot of it includes freezer cooked stuff. I then made up 2 grocery lists

1st one has all the stuff that needs to be prepared to freeze for the entire month. I will spend January 1st and 2nd cooking/preping and freezing.

also has everything needed for weeks 1 and 2

then a 2nd grocery list- that I posted on the fridge- has everything I need for weeks 3 and 4.

I took the non-perishables off list 2 and added that to the 1st one. Then I went through the cupboards.

Orgainzed the cupboards, the way I (my OCD) need them to be. crossed off what I have, and took little sticky note things and wrote the date they're being used and stuck it to the jar or box or whatever. THis will prevent someone in the house from using it and then causing me to run out for more, OR worst yet, ordering in...

Then to make life even easier.....I went through the menu, and figured out what day I need to take what out of the big freezer and move it to the fridge. Used a 5x8 index card, put "january 3rd meat loaf" and such down the card. Taped that to a cupboard in the fridge. not the inside- right on the outside LOL

I've found that if I dont take it out, I will order out. Costing me way to much money, considering i have food ready in the freezer.

Oh 1 other thing....I sometimes don't plan enough- believe it or not, when I'm such an organization freak...anyway- when I made this months menu- I went right down to what I'd need other than "spag and meat balls" It now says "spag, jar sauce, meatballs, loaf italian bread".... that way I know in advance if i need to do a big pot of sauce...

right now I know I'll be using 5 jars of sauce this month- since i only use the spag sauce I make, I know that I have 6 left, and will need to make another pot of it during the end of the month. That stuff is added to my 2nd grocery list.

I dont know how this is going to work yet, but eh it's worth a try. I'm off school till the 16th so I have a couple weeks to fine tune stuff if the need be.

I will say- this grocery list is HUGE! Off now to search for coupons that match my grocery store ad's on stuff that is on the list...

***I promise to only shop from the grocery list this month**** LOL

Brandy

 

[tar heel]

For the ordering in pizza, see what places near you have specials on a certain night. Where I live, a large Pizza Hut one topping is $6.99 on Monday and a large pepperoni is $6.99 on Tuesday.

Always have something on hand that can be made if you forget to take out the meat, don't make it to the store, etc. This might be canned soup and grilled cheese, but make sure there's something in your house that fits this bill.

Do your grocery shopping without your girls -- makes a huge difference at my house.

Is it too late to tell you to save the Christmas lights until next year!

 

[TDC Nala]

I bring my own Diet Coke to work. I have to haul it in on the subway but it is much cheaper than buying it from the machine.

 

[mudnuri]

Is it too late to tell you to save the Christmas lights until next year!

LOL yup, way to late....I did pick up new ones for next year though for .50 cents a box so that was WAY worth it~!

Brandy

 

[mum4jenn]

You know, about that grocery shopping thing...

I just spent a total of probably 3 hours over the past couple days planning my menu for the month. A lot of it includes freezer cooked stuff. I then made up 2 grocery lists

1st one has all the stuff that needs to be prepared to freeze for the entire month. I will spend January 1st and 2nd cooking/preping and freezing.

also has everything needed for weeks 1 and 2

then a 2nd grocery list- that I posted on the fridge- has everything I need for weeks 3 and 4.

I took the non-perishables off list 2 and added that to the 1st one. Then I went through the cupboards.

Orgainzed the cupboards, the way I (my OCD) need them to be. crossed off what I have, and took little sticky note things and wrote the date they're being used and stuck it to the jar or box or whatever. THis will prevent someone in the house from using it and then causing me to run out for more, OR worst yet, ordering in...

Then to make life even easier.....I went through the menu, and figured out what day I need to take what out of the big freezer and move it to the fridge. Used a 5x8 index card, put "january 3rd meat loaf" and such down the card. Taped that to a cupboard in the fridge. not the inside- right on the outside LOL

I've found that if I dont take it out, I will order out. Costing me way to much money, considering i have food ready in the freezer.

Oh 1 other thing....I sometimes don't plan enough- believe it or not, when I'm such an organization freak...anyway- when I made this months menu- I went right down to what I'd need other than "spag and meat balls" It now says "spag, jar sauce, meatballs, loaf italian bread".... that way I know in advance if i need to do a big pot of sauce...

right now I know I'll be using 5 jars of sauce this month- since i only use the spag sauce I make, I know that I have 6 left, and will need to make another pot of it during the end of the month. That stuff is added to my 2nd grocery list.

I dont know how this is going to work yet, but eh it's worth a try. I'm off school till the 16th so I have a couple weeks to fine tune stuff if the need be.

I will say- this grocery list is HUGE! Off now to search for coupons that match my grocery store ad's on stuff that is on the list...

***I promise to only shop from the grocery list this month**** LOL

Brandy

Why not make your own sauce and bag it up and freeze it? A couple cans of tomato sauce(store brand even) and a few spices and let it simmer and that is tons better than the junk in a jar.

 

[monorailsilver]

Since we paid off a few small credit cards (less then $500 each), we have been having extra money which is odd to me.

So I have been putting $100/week from dh's check & $25 (I only work 1 day)/week from mine into our savings for the past 2 months & it does add up.

The extra money that is in there, next week I am paying off a credit card (less then $2000, which was mainly Christmas stuff) & if I can't fully pay it off next week it will be paid off the week after.

Then I will start to save again in our savings accounts & when it builds up I will pay a bundle on the other 2 cards that have a balance.

We switched in Sept to DSL from cable & we are paying $12.99/month for 12 months vs the $49.99/month & we just got a thing in the mail from At&t/yahoo that says if we switched from cable to dsl to send our cable bill to them & they will give us an additional 3 months free.

I don't carry my Disney Visa anymore since that one has a big balance on & I won't carry it until I pay it all off, so wish me luck since I have about $200+ in points on that.

I only carry the GM card but I don't use it unless I have to.

I have been keeping extra money in my checking account (easier since I have less credit cards to pay for) so I have been using that to pay for most things.

Christmas is over so I am not on a buying frenzy.

This local seafood place the month of December has 20% off gift cards & since we don't go out to eat (ds has dairy/peanut/nut allergies) & the place is only 10 min from us (or 15 if you go to their other place), my dh bought a $200 gift card for us, a $100 gift card for my father/mother & bought us dinner (a lobster roll platter=lobster roll, slaw & fries & a seafood combo thing) & it cost him about $280 due to the 20% off the gift cards.

So we have our money plus we got another $150 in gift cards from there so we are set for the year with eating from there & there is no way we can get tired of Lenny & Joe's Fishtale (if you are ever in CT & want a yummy place to eat).

I limit my Target trips since that is where I can easily spend $100 but I have been limiting those trips for a few months now.

 

[mom2dea0813]

Here are thethings we are doing :

1.Canceled a mission trip that was goign tocost us 3500.00 and decided to use our DVC points and goon a vction for 600-800 dallors instead .

2. Canceled CableTV from 55.00 a month to 12.24 for boardcast .

3. Lowered our cell phone to the lowest family plan ...95.00 to 75.00 now

4. I joined Cha Cha Last night to earn a little extra on the side

5.I started working at the night care at church for 1 paycheck a month to put towards debt .

6.Wrote out a budget and challanged ourself to no spending month in Jan (actrully started Dec 26th)

7.Working on a menu

8.Sending in the rest of my paperwork for the shop demo jobs .

Thats allI can think of right now

Sarah M

 

[mudnuri]

Why not make your own sauce and bag it up and freeze it? A couple cans of tomato sauce(store brand even) and a few spices and let it simmer and that is tons better than the junk in a jar.

Oh, maybe I wasnt clear, I make my own sauce! I have a huge lobster pot that I use, with 3lb sweet sausage, 3 lbs hot, and 3 lbs ground beef to give you an idea of how big it is LOL... I jar it myself in BALL jars...Use to freeze it, but never remembered to thaw it, and hated the frozen/heated taste it had... with the Ball Jars, its much easier~!

Brandy

 

[minnie1928]

I've recently cut my hours back at work to accomodate my DD's new school schedule. Things I've been doing to keep costs down are:

1. Try and conserve electricity: I switched the whole house to flourescent light bulbs, have the tv's and computers on powerstrips...when they are not being used I turn them off at the strip which cuts down on "phantom electric loss", turn the thermostat down as far as I can during the day. DD and I can cuddle up or wear sweaters...temp goes back up when DH gets home, he likes it at 70.
2. Shop CVS using their Extra Care Bucks program. Each week they offer many things virtually free with this program. Sometimes I'll combine the offer with a coupon (thanks to the Dis Coupon Train! ) and actually make money on the deal. Last week I got free liquid makeup (which I rarely wear, but still like to have in case I need to use it) and a free razor. Past scores have been: Tylenol, Sudafed, Loreal Shampoo, Listerine, and many others. According to my receipt, I've saved over $150 in just over a few months.
3. In order to keep my gas bill in the manageable range, I'm really watching how I drive. I'm not racing to a red light, I coast down hills, make sure my trunk is empty of extra weight, etc.
4. Since I'm no longer working all day...I'm not tempted to go out and have lunch with the girls from work. I eat at home, much cheaper and healthier.
5. Share magazines with friends, family. I subscribe to Smart Money, neighbor gets Money. Grandma and mom get every women's magazine on the planet (ok, maybe I'm exaggerating ) and they pass them to me.
6. I'm going to try and start cooking meals from scratch. This is HUGE for me...I can barely boil water. My rule has been that if it requires more than one pot, the recipe is too complicated. That'll have to change.

As a side note, I'm trying to be make decisions that are better for the environment. The funny thing that I'm noticing is that many of these decisions are saving me money too! I've cut my electric bill by 30% compared for the past 3 months (compared to the same period last year). I started re-using my grocery bags when grocery shopping and found out that the grocery store will actually pay you to bring your own bags. I figure every little bit helps...

 

[flakypuff]

You know, about that grocery shopping thing...

I just spent a total of probably 3 hours over the past couple days planning my menu for the month. A lot of it includes freezer cooked stuff. I then made up 2 grocery lists

1st one has all the stuff that needs to be prepared to freeze for the entire month. I will spend January 1st and 2nd cooking/preping and freezing.

also has everything needed for weeks 1 and 2

then a 2nd grocery list- that I posted on the fridge- has everything I need for weeks 3 and 4.

I took the non-perishables off list 2 and added that to the 1st one. Then I went through the cupboards.

Orgainzed the cupboards, the way I (my OCD) need them to be. crossed off what I have, and took little sticky note things and wrote the date they're being used and stuck it to the jar or box or whatever. THis will prevent someone in the house from using it and then causing me to run out for more, OR worst yet, ordering in...

Then to make life even easier.....I went through the menu, and figured out what day I need to take what out of the big freezer and move it to the fridge. Used a 5x8 index card, put "january 3rd meat loaf" and such down the card. Taped that to a cupboard in the fridge. not the inside- right on the outside LOL

I've found that if I dont take it out, I will order out. Costing me way to much money, considering i have food ready in the freezer.

Oh 1 other thing....I sometimes don't plan enough- believe it or not, when I'm such an organization freak...anyway- when I made this months menu- I went right down to what I'd need other than "spag and meat balls" It now says "spag, jar sauce, meatballs, loaf italian bread".... that way I know in advance if i need to do a big pot of sauce...

right now I know I'll be using 5 jars of sauce this month- since i only use the spag sauce I make, I know that I have 6 left, and will need to make another pot of it during the end of the month. That stuff is added to my 2nd grocery list.

I dont know how this is going to work yet, but eh it's worth a try. I'm off school till the 16th so I have a couple weeks to fine tune stuff if the need be.

I will say- this grocery list is HUGE! Off now to search for coupons that match my grocery store ad's on stuff that is on the list...

***I promise to only shop from the grocery list this month**** LOL

Brandy

will you please stay over my house for a few days

 

[minnie1928]

will you please stay over my house for a few days

and then you can come to mine and teach me how to cook!

 

[disneycutie84]

I have a plan to cut down debt & costs as well!
I only have a few small credit cards, and I intend to pay them off by May, when I graduate from college. Most are already partially paid off. I do not want alot of credit card debt going on when its time to pay back student loans. I know some people can juggle both, but I will feel alot better knowing I only have low interest, student loans to deal with.
I already pack my lunch when I go to class/work but I am also going to bring my own coffee in a thermos in the mornings. We have a Starbucks on campus and it gets really expensive!
As far as the grocery bill is concerned, I too am going to plan out meals in great detail so that we only buy what we need and maybe a few inexpensive snack items.
Random/impulse spending has already been cut down for a while now, especially since I needed the money to buy gifts for others for Christmas. I just hope I can keep that trend going through the New Year! I just need to stay out of Target!