What's your budget blaster?

[Ava31]

I used to be very fastidious about where we spent money, but ever since DH got a job that doesn't require me to dip from savings periodically, I haven't really kept up with where we throw our money away.

Today, I went to the account and tallied up all the times that we've eaten out in the past 2 weeks and the total was staggering...$415! I couldn't believe it!

I make what I call "Crazy Runs" when I see something on this board that I can't live without and those can add up if y'all are busy finding me bargains, but the eating out was definitely the killer.

What kills your budget?

 

[natenapril]

Lately I have been buying way too much clothing from Limited too for my girls.
Next year we are buying a house so I am sure the budget will be blown on that too.

 

[kydisneyfans]

Medical expenses.

My wife had a hysterectomy this year, I spent a week in the hospital, plus our son had his tonsils out. Even with 90% coverage, we have paid out over 7K in bills and prescriptions this year.

 

[JodyTG]

Our budget buster is eating out as well. I've actually done what you did and get a running total of the amounts of money that we've blown going out to eat with dates and everything. It's just like trying to pull teeth to get my husband to stop.

Another one is my husband's video games. I know that he works hard for his money, but come one...give me a break! I sometimes have to go through his wallet to get the receipts out myself.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Starbucks. We don't really eat out per se, but Starbucks is like this little drain on our wallets. I swear that we spend like $20-$30 a week there! I'm trying to be better this week. It's not that we can't afford it...it just seems like a stupid waste of $$ to me for the most part.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

DS14 & I are technology junkies. For him, it's mostly handheld gadgets (PDAs, cellphones, gaming units, iPods). For me, it's anything to do with my computer (software, additional memory, faster DVD burner). We could both live at BestBuy very happily. I've been very good until recently. The Christmas shopping season has had me shopping techie sites too much and I'm oh so tempted to splurge on a 19" LCD monitor instead of putting the money into my vacation fund.

 

[kfeuer]

Eating out is a big one for us, too...I hate to cook and we're both tired at the end of the day and it just gets to be an expensive crutch. Usually we do pretty good but lately we've been horrible and we put a stop to it last week. I'm trying to be creative with what's in the freezer/pantry, but it's not always easy.

 

[Ava31]

Medical expenses.

My wife had a hysterectomy this year, I spent a week in the hospital, plus our son had his tonsils out. Even with 90% coverage, we have paid out over 7K in bills and prescriptions this year.

I feel your pain! We had that kind of year a couple of years ago...DD had a trip to the ER, I had a baby, and then 3 weeks later had my gall bladder removed. The thing that stinks about medical expenses is that you have no choice...it's not like you can cut corners on a tonsillectomy!

 

[gillenkl]

medical and dental bills for us

 

[NY Disney fan]

Medical expenses.

Even with 90% coverage, we have paid out over 7K in bills and prescriptions this year.

You should be getting a nice tax write-off next year.

 

[Ava31]

Eating out is a big one for us, too...I hate to cook and we're both tired at the end of the day and it just gets to be an expensive crutch. Usually we do pretty good but lately we've been horrible and we put a stop to it last week. I'm trying to be creative with what's in the freezer/pantry, but it's not always easy.

EXACTLY! The sad thing is, I stay at home with my girls, so I can't use a hard day at the office as an excuse. But, by the time DH gets home from work, I'm ready to have someone wait on me and clean up after me. It seems like the approach of the holidays gives me cabin fever, for some reason.

 

[MELSMICE]

Eating out for us too.

 

[bbangel]

Presents for others and eating out are my too big ones. Especially eating out. All those little meals and quick stops sure can add up to big bucks!

 

[kfeuer]

EXACTLY! The sad thing is, I stay at home with my girls, so I can't use a hard day at the office as an excuse. But, by the time DH gets home from work, I'm ready to have someone wait on me and clean up after me. It seems like the approach of the holidays gives me cabin fever, for some reason.

Hey, it's not like staying home with small children is a walk in the park! There was a study done that showed that being a SAHM is equivalent to having 2 full-time jobs. So don't feel bad! I swear I work harder on my days off then on my days in the office (not that I don't work at the office, but dealing with adults in an office setting is entirely different from trying to entertain a 3-year old and do housework, laundry, errands, etc.)

 

[mom2dzb]

We spend too much eating out, as well. It wouldn't be so costly if it were just my DH and me, but we're a family of 5. My husband usually talks me into a sit down restaurant. Oy!

 

[disykat]

It's eating out for us too. I just enjoy eating other people's cooking and the whole eating is restaurant experience. It's not really a convenience thing for us. I'd find it just as easy to BBQ some chicken breasts and toss a quick salad and it would end up actually taking less time than going out would.

We try to stay at $50 or under a week. For our family of four, that's one restaurant meal or two pizza/fast food meals. I would happily eat out three or four times a week if money weren't an issue.

 

[susan1]

last minute unbeatable priced disney holidays

 

[pixidust princess]

eating out is a big on for us also. dh and i just purchased a new house, double the mortgage of our last home. i did not really have to stick to a budget before, and now it really HURTS to! also, the move has costed us much more than we anticipated, with the extra fees and eating out even more since we were too tired to cook. This is the kicker-dh and i both smoke. No one else has mentioned this, but I just had to. I know how bad it is, but also know hard it is to quit. We spend approx. $8 a day on cigarettes. That is $240 a month! Please tell me how stupid we are / and the cost alone should be enought to make us quit! Any tips are greatly accepted!

 

[roadtripper]

Starbucks. We don't really eat out per se, but Starbucks is like this little drain on our wallets. I swear that we spend like $20-$30 a week there! I'm trying to be better this week. It's not that we can't afford it...it just seems like a stupid waste of $$ to me for the most part.

David Bach actually has a term for this kind of spending-- the "Latte Factor". On his website, you can punch in your Latte factor, and see how much that money would earn if you saved it. Now I only do Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts when I have a gift card!

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

Eating out/ordering in is the biggest loss of expendible income here. I budget so much for grocery shopping and take out or eating on the run usually comes out of this pot. Some months are much worse than others and I'm trying to keep it in check.

We've had some recent unexpected medical expenses too, two emergency room visits co-pays that I was not prepared to pay and DD's annual checkup included a vaccine that was not covered by insurance.