Sorry for the lack of posts lately, ladies. I'm going through some stuff personally and school work seems to be really piling up right now so I'm forced to focus my attentions in some other areas at this present time. BUT, I'm still doing what I can to stick to my budget this month!! So far, here's how the numbers have come in:
Food: $72 spent out of $200 monthly budget--this is actually an area that I'm feeling pretty good about. Out of that $72, I bought ALOT of stuff including 8 frozen Digorno pizzas! I recognize that frozen pizzas aren't exactly the pinnacle of healthy eating but when you're caught in an evening rush between leaving work, picking up your kid, rushing home to change and then rushing off to some other evening activity (scouts, sports, doctors appts, etc), then having a stockpile of something quick and easy (and cheap!!) to shove into the food processor (a.k.a. mouth) helps to cut down on the trips through a drive through--thus increasing my Eating out budget to astoronomical levels. So, I'm happy with this! Another perk is that I earned $.70 off of each gallon of gas for my next fuel fill-up by shopping the sales and shopping while a gas promotion was going on at my local grocery store!
Fuel: $25.01 spent out of $250 monthly budget--somehow this seems off because I'm sure I've filled up more than once this month (and trust me, $25 does not fill up my SUV!--this was just a quick "get some gas before you end up on the side of the road" fill up) but I only have one gas receipt. Maybe one got misplaced?
Eating Out: $36.99 spent out of $50 monthly budget--yeah, this one I'm not totally stoked about. Yes, it's still under my monthly budget amount but I'm also only a week into the challenge. I ended up allowing myself to get caught empty handed on an impromptu trip to the park with some friends and we didn't have time to pack any snacks prior to going (we were already out running errands when we got the call asking us if we wanted to go) so we ended up needing to get lunch while we were out. Not at all a horrible experience (it was actually REALLY great for me to be out with some friends on that particular day--I needed it!) but it kind of hurt the wallet. The other half of this expense came from going out to dinner with my team at work during an offsite meeting that we had last week. Someone else chose the place and none of us really realized just how expensive it was. It was one of those artsy fartsy "downtown" places where the atmoshere is super awesome but the prices aren't. Yeah, I got french fries and a beer. . . .and a $20 total bill. It was lovely (sense the dripping sarcasm?).
Aside from that, there are two other areas that I spent money this month.
Pet: $2.10 out of a $60.00 monthly budget. I ended up buying the wrong dog food last month so I had to return that and buy the right stuff. This expense was the difference in price between the old bag and the new bag.
WalMart: $23.81 out of a kind of non-existent budget. I don't usually budget for trips to Walmart--I told you, my budget is stupidly tight. But, I was in Walmart for something else and found some really good sales on kids clothes. I ended up getting Tyler a set of thermals for $5 and a two piece athletic running suit for $7. Pretty good deals since he needs those items for football. So, in total (yes, I bought some beer too for the Super Bowl party I was headed to) I spent a little over $20.
Now for the somewhat awesome news. . . .I had some rather unexpected additions in income this month. The most awesome one is that I randomly received a check from my mortgage company for almost $1600. Yes, I got this letter in the mail (and I have a serious anxiety problem with my mail--even diagnosed as an anxiety disorder by a doctor--I hate opening my mail. Hate it. . .I'm always afraid I'm going to get a bill that I can't pay in the mail so I'm always very anxious when opening my mail.) and was terrified to open it. But, it was a check. A BIG check! Apparently, when I closed on my house TWO YEARS AGO, they overcharged me (REALLY overcharged me!) on some of my closing costs and they caught it during an audit and were refunding me the money. Now, when you look at the situation on a deeper level, it kind of sucks. This is money that I've already paid in the form of taking out a mortgage and I've been paying interest on it for two years. That totally sucks. But, I'm making a decision not to look at it that deeply because the chunk of money was really a lifesaver at that time. You see, I was within less than $100 of being totally maxed out on my credit card. And I only have one credit card. And I use that sucker to pay for EVERYTHING. So, being close to maxed out is never a good thing. With that and the extra $405 that I had accumulated in checks and other repayments for various little things (see, little things really do add up!), I was able to put over $2000 extra dollars into my account this month. I immediately turned around and applied a $2700 payment to my credit card. And I'm hoping that won't be the last one this month!
Overall, I'm feeling pretty good about my performance in week 1. Still not totally as great as I would have liked (I don't like the eating out part) but I'm going to try to celebrate the successes and learn from the hard parts.
How have you done so far in your spending this month?
Showing posts with label money matters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money matters. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
February Blogger Challenge--Week 1 & Introductions
I'm strangely excited about the challenge that we are taking on this month. I find it very strange that I'm actually excited about going public with my budget and potentially failing miserably in front of all of you. However, I am highly hopeful that since I'll be accountable not only to myself, but also to all of my readers, maybe it will be the incentive that I need to stick to my budget. At the very least, maybe I'll gain some helpful insight from all of you along the way.
So far, there are three bloggers who have signed up for the Blogger Challenge but it's NOT too late to join us! If you're interested in joining, just leave a comment on this post so that I'll know that your jumping into the ring with us and taking on the challenge! However, I'm thrilled that two of my blog buddies are along for the ride. Ashley @ Attempts at Domestication and the.mrs. @ rich.in.love. have both jumped in feet first so make sure that you check out their blogs to get updates on their progress over the month.
Here are the details of the challenge--every Wednesday, starting today, each of us will post updates on our blogs as to our progress in sticking to our budgets for the month. The only two rules to the challenge are that we be honest and that we support each other. Even if you aren't participating in the challenge along side of us, we invite you to give us feedback, encouragement, and kind words of correction along the way. If we go over our budgets in any area, we'll be honest and tell about it. We'll also try to figure out what actions caused us to go over in those areas of our budgets.
So, my February budget numbers are as follows:
Food: $200
Eating Out: $50
Lunch for me (at work): $20
Gas for Car: $250
Target: $100
Walgreens: $50
Also, I'm starting the month with a credit card balance of. . . .*major cringe*. . . .$4241.19. OH-MY-GAWD. I have GOT to get that under control. Like, pronto. NOW!
Those are the areas where I need ya'all to keep me honest. If I go outside of these areas, and spend money on other things, I'll be sure to post about it. I'm REALLY trying to get my credit card paid off so I need all of you to call me out when I spend too much on something.
So far, there are three bloggers who have signed up for the Blogger Challenge but it's NOT too late to join us! If you're interested in joining, just leave a comment on this post so that I'll know that your jumping into the ring with us and taking on the challenge! However, I'm thrilled that two of my blog buddies are along for the ride. Ashley @ Attempts at Domestication and the.mrs. @ rich.in.love. have both jumped in feet first so make sure that you check out their blogs to get updates on their progress over the month.
Here are the details of the challenge--every Wednesday, starting today, each of us will post updates on our blogs as to our progress in sticking to our budgets for the month. The only two rules to the challenge are that we be honest and that we support each other. Even if you aren't participating in the challenge along side of us, we invite you to give us feedback, encouragement, and kind words of correction along the way. If we go over our budgets in any area, we'll be honest and tell about it. We'll also try to figure out what actions caused us to go over in those areas of our budgets.
So, my February budget numbers are as follows:
Food: $200
Eating Out: $50
Lunch for me (at work): $20
Gas for Car: $250
Target: $100
Walgreens: $50
Also, I'm starting the month with a credit card balance of. . . .*major cringe*. . . .$4241.19. OH-MY-GAWD. I have GOT to get that under control. Like, pronto. NOW!
Those are the areas where I need ya'all to keep me honest. If I go outside of these areas, and spend money on other things, I'll be sure to post about it. I'm REALLY trying to get my credit card paid off so I need all of you to call me out when I spend too much on something.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
End of Month Budget Update & Monthly Top Referrers
Well, what's seemingly becoming a monthly trend, I fell really short in some areas of my budget this month. There were some areas which were a bit more successful too so I'm clinging to those like a tiny little life raft in the middle of the wide open sea. Since I'm trying to bring a more positive spin to things, we'll start with the successes first:
Food--somehow I managed to stay within my food budget for once. Maybe it's because the semester started again and I have no time to the grocery store? Maybe it's because my garage somewhat looks like a grocery store due to my stockpile? Either way, I managed to only spend $177.26 out of the monthly $200.00 budget. Pretty good score!
Lunches for Me -- I would really like to get to the point where I eliminate this category all together since I should be bringing my lunch from home every.single.day. to save money but I do feel like I need some backup plan for those days when I either forget my lunch or I simply don't have anything in the house to bring (if that day ever comes, we have a problem!). Due to 2 days in a row of forgetting my lunch and having to buy from the cafe onsite at work, I did spend $11.84 of a $20.00 monthly budget. However, I scored some really cheap noodle type meals on sale a couple of weeks ago and have stuck those in my desk drawer at work so that even if I find myself without lunch one day, I can still eat something without having to spend anything in the cafe.
Lunches for Tyler -- Tyler buys lunch at school almost every day. At only $1.80 for lunch, his dad and I figured it was cheaper to let him buy than to pack a lunch every day. Plus, it's a whole lot easier on me to not have to remember to pack a lunch for him when he's at my house, fight to get his lunch box back from his dad when it inevitably gets left over there, or to stress about whether or not his dad will remember to pack him a lunch when he's over there (his dad is SO forgetful about stuff like lunches and checking the backpack each day). So, we typically switch off on funding Tyler's lunch money account. However, for the month of January, I did try to pack a lunch for Ty on those days that he didn't like what the cafeteria was having or on any day that he would allow me to pack him a lunch simply to try to cut down on the frequency of having to fund his lunch money account. It worked! I didn't have to fund his account even once the entire month of January! So, I currently have $45/month budgeted for Tyler's lunches and didn't spend a dime of it!
Pet Expenses --With a big dog who eats A LOT and a cat who needs wet food (expensive) and cat litter which won't leave my house smelling like a vet's office, I have a monthly budgeted amount of $60.00 to spend on pet expenses. However, I had a bit of a stockpile built up of cat litter so my expenses for January were a little lower than usual. Thanks to finding an outlet to buy dog food for really cheap (a post coming on that soon!), I only spent $22.55 out of the budgeted $60.00 in January!
And now for the areas where I didn't do so well:
Eating Out -- I posted about this in the middle of the month but my eating out budget of only $50.00 was totally stomped on this month. I ended up spending a whopping $146.55 on eating out this month. This amount undoubtedly MUST be lowered in February. It's got to. It's crazy!
Fuel -- Again, a trip down to the beach house really put me in the grave on this one. I blew by the $250.00 budget for gas this month and ended up spending $350.54. Yikes! Part of it is due to the increase in gas prices that happened right after Christmas (gas went up to $3.49/gallon at one point where I'm at--YOWZERS!) but part of it was just because I wasn't budgeting my driving very well. I'm attempting to reign that in and try to be smarter about where I drive to and consolidating my errands.
I'm really hoping that the Blogger Challenge that we've got going on for February will help me to realize some more positive savings in my budget for next month. Cross your fingers for me!
Let's move on to a more delightful topic, shall we? My top three referrers for the month of January were. . . .drum roll, please!
In this order:
SingleMama from singlemamalife
Sarah from Downtown Southern
Jess from Little House. Big Heart.
Thank You wonderful ladies and your awesome readers for all of your love and support of my little ole' blog!
Food--somehow I managed to stay within my food budget for once. Maybe it's because the semester started again and I have no time to the grocery store? Maybe it's because my garage somewhat looks like a grocery store due to my stockpile? Either way, I managed to only spend $177.26 out of the monthly $200.00 budget. Pretty good score!
Lunches for Me -- I would really like to get to the point where I eliminate this category all together since I should be bringing my lunch from home every.single.day. to save money but I do feel like I need some backup plan for those days when I either forget my lunch or I simply don't have anything in the house to bring (if that day ever comes, we have a problem!). Due to 2 days in a row of forgetting my lunch and having to buy from the cafe onsite at work, I did spend $11.84 of a $20.00 monthly budget. However, I scored some really cheap noodle type meals on sale a couple of weeks ago and have stuck those in my desk drawer at work so that even if I find myself without lunch one day, I can still eat something without having to spend anything in the cafe.
Lunches for Tyler -- Tyler buys lunch at school almost every day. At only $1.80 for lunch, his dad and I figured it was cheaper to let him buy than to pack a lunch every day. Plus, it's a whole lot easier on me to not have to remember to pack a lunch for him when he's at my house, fight to get his lunch box back from his dad when it inevitably gets left over there, or to stress about whether or not his dad will remember to pack him a lunch when he's over there (his dad is SO forgetful about stuff like lunches and checking the backpack each day). So, we typically switch off on funding Tyler's lunch money account. However, for the month of January, I did try to pack a lunch for Ty on those days that he didn't like what the cafeteria was having or on any day that he would allow me to pack him a lunch simply to try to cut down on the frequency of having to fund his lunch money account. It worked! I didn't have to fund his account even once the entire month of January! So, I currently have $45/month budgeted for Tyler's lunches and didn't spend a dime of it!
Pet Expenses --With a big dog who eats A LOT and a cat who needs wet food (expensive) and cat litter which won't leave my house smelling like a vet's office, I have a monthly budgeted amount of $60.00 to spend on pet expenses. However, I had a bit of a stockpile built up of cat litter so my expenses for January were a little lower than usual. Thanks to finding an outlet to buy dog food for really cheap (a post coming on that soon!), I only spent $22.55 out of the budgeted $60.00 in January!
And now for the areas where I didn't do so well:
Eating Out -- I posted about this in the middle of the month but my eating out budget of only $50.00 was totally stomped on this month. I ended up spending a whopping $146.55 on eating out this month. This amount undoubtedly MUST be lowered in February. It's got to. It's crazy!
Fuel -- Again, a trip down to the beach house really put me in the grave on this one. I blew by the $250.00 budget for gas this month and ended up spending $350.54. Yikes! Part of it is due to the increase in gas prices that happened right after Christmas (gas went up to $3.49/gallon at one point where I'm at--YOWZERS!) but part of it was just because I wasn't budgeting my driving very well. I'm attempting to reign that in and try to be smarter about where I drive to and consolidating my errands.
I'm really hoping that the Blogger Challenge that we've got going on for February will help me to realize some more positive savings in my budget for next month. Cross your fingers for me!
Let's move on to a more delightful topic, shall we? My top three referrers for the month of January were. . . .drum roll, please!
In this order:
SingleMama from singlemamalife
Sarah from Downtown Southern
Jess from Little House. Big Heart.
Thank You wonderful ladies and your awesome readers for all of your love and support of my little ole' blog!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
February Blogger Budget Challenge
After what I thought was a genius suggestion from the.mrs over at rich.in.love (who is absolutely hilarious and fabulous in every way!), and in a completely desperate attempt to try to stick to my budget at least once in my life, we're hosting a Blogger challenge for the month of February centered around budgets. Whether you're an old pro at sticking to your budget, a newbie in the budget ring (welcome to the fight, love!), or simply interested in sitting back and watching the action, I invite you to join in!
Here are the details if you want to join in:
On February 1, which is next Wednesday (YIKES!), put up a post on your own blog declaring your participation in the challenge (link back to this post so that your readers can have the background for what we're doing!) and post the areas of your budget that you plan to focus on for the month of February. For example, I might post that I'm planning to reduce my "Eating Out" spend from $200 a month to $100. Or, I might reveal that I plan on actually sticking to my "Target" budget of $200. There can be 1 area, or 100 areas. Whatever the case is for you. Give us the details so that we can help to hold you accountable over the course of the month. Then, each week, on Wednesday, we'll each post an update for how we're doing on those areas of our budgets. Share with us what you've done to stick to your budget, what you did to go over your budget,. . .whatever it is. .. just the experiences that you're having! These updates will be on our own blogs, but I invite you to share any successes that other blogger participants may have experienced too. Let's use this as an opportunity to give the shout outs to each other and support each other! I plan to (with the permission of each of you, of course!) highlight those that are participating here on my own blog and I think it will be a great way to support each other throughout the process.
There are some pretty simple rules:
1. Be honest
2. Be supportive of each other
Really, that's it! So, who is in? Since I'm not all bloggy expert in how to do link ups and all that jazz (I'm learning as I go, peeps!) leave me a comment here on this post so that I can at least get a good feel for who plans to participate and can check out your blogs on Wednesday. Also, when I post my initial Blogger Challenge post on Feb 1, I'll post a list of who else is participating so that we can all bounce around and check out each other's progress. Sound good?
Here are the details if you want to join in:
On February 1, which is next Wednesday (YIKES!), put up a post on your own blog declaring your participation in the challenge (link back to this post so that your readers can have the background for what we're doing!) and post the areas of your budget that you plan to focus on for the month of February. For example, I might post that I'm planning to reduce my "Eating Out" spend from $200 a month to $100. Or, I might reveal that I plan on actually sticking to my "Target" budget of $200. There can be 1 area, or 100 areas. Whatever the case is for you. Give us the details so that we can help to hold you accountable over the course of the month. Then, each week, on Wednesday, we'll each post an update for how we're doing on those areas of our budgets. Share with us what you've done to stick to your budget, what you did to go over your budget,. . .whatever it is. .. just the experiences that you're having! These updates will be on our own blogs, but I invite you to share any successes that other blogger participants may have experienced too. Let's use this as an opportunity to give the shout outs to each other and support each other! I plan to (with the permission of each of you, of course!) highlight those that are participating here on my own blog and I think it will be a great way to support each other throughout the process.
There are some pretty simple rules:
1. Be honest
2. Be supportive of each other
Really, that's it! So, who is in? Since I'm not all bloggy expert in how to do link ups and all that jazz (I'm learning as I go, peeps!) leave me a comment here on this post so that I can at least get a good feel for who plans to participate and can check out your blogs on Wednesday. Also, when I post my initial Blogger Challenge post on Feb 1, I'll post a list of who else is participating so that we can all bounce around and check out each other's progress. Sound good?
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Couponing for Newbies--The Grocery Game
Now that you've done the pre-work in order to prepare yourself for the wonderful new world of being a coupon goddess, you are probably wondering where you can find the deals. Right? Yeah, there are alot of very different opinions on this topic. I can only share with you mine. And we all know that its worth my weight in gold. You agree, right? Yeah, sure you do! Anyyyyways, there are about a million alot of ways that you can find the deals. I prefer to start you all off rather slowly. I want to try to keep you from getting overwhelmed. So, I'm going to make this as basic as I possibly can and only share one resource with you today. Don't worry. . .we'll build on it slowly! It's no question that couponing and searching for the lowest prices on your everyday products is a time consuming effort, however I (and you!) only have so many hours in a day. I simply don't have the time, nor the energy, to devote 8 hours a day to couponing or searching for deals. I'm an extremely busy single mom who works full time and goes to school part time. Anything extra that I do has to fit into the already limited time that I have in each day. So, I choose the path of least resistance (read: I take the easy way out!)
Here is a resource that I love when sorting out my deals:
The Grocery Game -- I LOVE this resource! This site will actually match up the coupons that have come out in recent weeks to the sales that are currently being held at your local stores. The site compiles the sales and coupons and puts it all together in a nice neat little list for you. The list tells you what the item is, what coupon (including what insert to find it in!) to use, what the sales price is (for comparison shopping to ensure that you're getting the right size), what the final price is and what your percentage saved would be. It's SO easy: all you have to do is print the list, pull your coupons, and shop! Depending on your area, there are a number of different stores that you can receive the lists for. For example, in my area, there are lists for Target, Walgreens, CVS, Food Lion and Kroger. You can subscribe to just one list or you can subscribe to all that are in your area.
Now, there is a cost for The Grocery Game but IT'S WORTH IT!!! (In my opinion. . which we've already established is important. And gold in color. And potentially heavy.) For anyone starting out in the coupon/cost savings arena, the cost of subscribing to the lists are literally recouped in one trip to the store. I promise. The cost is $10 for one list each eight weeks. If you want more than one list, each additional is $5 extra. For example, if I subscribe only to Kroger, then I pay $10 every eight weeks. If I choose to subscribe to Kroger and CVS, then my cost would be $15 every eight weeks. If you get only one list, it breaks down to $1.25 a week. I cannot stress enough: it's SO worth it!!!. To get you started, you get a FREE four week trial membership to any one list of your choice (in your area, of course). If you're at all cautious about the value of this service, I strongly urge you to try out the free four week trial. If you cancel anytime during that four week trial, you won't be charged a single penny. I actually stumbled across The Grocery Game before I ever started couponing and decided to give it a try. I stuck with them for years. The only reason I ever cancelled my membership was because they upgraded their internet browser and didn't support the one I was using any longer. I printed the list from work (shh, don't tell my boss!) so I was no longer able to access nor print the list. Therefore, I wasn't using the service so to save money, I cancelled it. However, my dinosaur of a company has finally upgraded to a more current internet browser so I can start using Grocery Game again. I'm signing back up pronto! They just make it too darn easy not to use the service. Seriously! For a time strapped gal like myself, having someone else do the work is my kinda jam!
In the six or so years that I've been part of the Coupon Goddess Club (Founder, CEO, Solitary Member), I've had other couponers who have scoffed at The Grocery Game because they say that they can match up the sales themselves and save the money of the membership fee (again, we're talking $10 for eight weeks). This is so true. They totally can. . .instead, they spend hours pouring over each store circular, then search through their coupon binders for every item in the circular to see if there is an active coupon out for that item. I even know couponers who have a dedicated day set aside in their schedule to go to the store and peruse every aisle to see what is on sale. Not to shop, but simply a "scouting mission". An entire day. Just to gather information so that they can go home, spend hours matching up sales and coupons, write out a list, and then go back another day and do their shopping. I'm completely overjoyed if this method works for them, but I don't have that kind of time. I'd pay someone $125 a week to do that work for me. But I don't have to. With The Grocery Game, I only have to pay them $1.25 for that kind of work. See why I love them so much? Another reason why I don't like the DIY strategy when it comes to matching up the sales and coupons is because the circulars don't list the unadvertised sales that happen in the stores. That's why they're called "unadvertised"! But, GG catches these. And they share the secret with you! Therefore, while those other couponers are spending every last minute they have scanning store circulars and nose deep in coupon binders looking for deals only to miss half of them, you're dashing through the store gathering your deals up, spending less money, and relaxing at home with your stockpile! Worth $1.25 a week, isn't it?!
*Disclaimer: I am in NO WAY affilliated with The Grocery Game or Teri Gault (founder of this fabulous service). I have not, in any way, been compensated for the opinion that I have shared here. I have not been offered free subscriptions, money, or even a pat on the back for sharing the word about this service or the website. It is just that I like them that darn much! In fact, nobody at GG even knows who in the world I am!*
Come back next week and I'll share some more resources with you! We're going to build a little bit at a time until you're a seasoned couponing pro! :-)
Here is a resource that I love when sorting out my deals:
The Grocery Game -- I LOVE this resource! This site will actually match up the coupons that have come out in recent weeks to the sales that are currently being held at your local stores. The site compiles the sales and coupons and puts it all together in a nice neat little list for you. The list tells you what the item is, what coupon (including what insert to find it in!) to use, what the sales price is (for comparison shopping to ensure that you're getting the right size), what the final price is and what your percentage saved would be. It's SO easy: all you have to do is print the list, pull your coupons, and shop! Depending on your area, there are a number of different stores that you can receive the lists for. For example, in my area, there are lists for Target, Walgreens, CVS, Food Lion and Kroger. You can subscribe to just one list or you can subscribe to all that are in your area.
Now, there is a cost for The Grocery Game but IT'S WORTH IT!!! (In my opinion. . which we've already established is important. And gold in color. And potentially heavy.) For anyone starting out in the coupon/cost savings arena, the cost of subscribing to the lists are literally recouped in one trip to the store. I promise. The cost is $10 for one list each eight weeks. If you want more than one list, each additional is $5 extra. For example, if I subscribe only to Kroger, then I pay $10 every eight weeks. If I choose to subscribe to Kroger and CVS, then my cost would be $15 every eight weeks. If you get only one list, it breaks down to $1.25 a week. I cannot stress enough: it's SO worth it!!!. To get you started, you get a FREE four week trial membership to any one list of your choice (in your area, of course). If you're at all cautious about the value of this service, I strongly urge you to try out the free four week trial. If you cancel anytime during that four week trial, you won't be charged a single penny. I actually stumbled across The Grocery Game before I ever started couponing and decided to give it a try. I stuck with them for years. The only reason I ever cancelled my membership was because they upgraded their internet browser and didn't support the one I was using any longer. I printed the list from work (shh, don't tell my boss!) so I was no longer able to access nor print the list. Therefore, I wasn't using the service so to save money, I cancelled it. However, my dinosaur of a company has finally upgraded to a more current internet browser so I can start using Grocery Game again. I'm signing back up pronto! They just make it too darn easy not to use the service. Seriously! For a time strapped gal like myself, having someone else do the work is my kinda jam!
In the six or so years that I've been part of the Coupon Goddess Club (Founder, CEO, Solitary Member), I've had other couponers who have scoffed at The Grocery Game because they say that they can match up the sales themselves and save the money of the membership fee (again, we're talking $10 for eight weeks). This is so true. They totally can. . .instead, they spend hours pouring over each store circular, then search through their coupon binders for every item in the circular to see if there is an active coupon out for that item. I even know couponers who have a dedicated day set aside in their schedule to go to the store and peruse every aisle to see what is on sale. Not to shop, but simply a "scouting mission". An entire day. Just to gather information so that they can go home, spend hours matching up sales and coupons, write out a list, and then go back another day and do their shopping. I'm completely overjoyed if this method works for them, but I don't have that kind of time. I'd pay someone $125 a week to do that work for me. But I don't have to. With The Grocery Game, I only have to pay them $1.25 for that kind of work. See why I love them so much? Another reason why I don't like the DIY strategy when it comes to matching up the sales and coupons is because the circulars don't list the unadvertised sales that happen in the stores. That's why they're called "unadvertised"! But, GG catches these. And they share the secret with you! Therefore, while those other couponers are spending every last minute they have scanning store circulars and nose deep in coupon binders looking for deals only to miss half of them, you're dashing through the store gathering your deals up, spending less money, and relaxing at home with your stockpile! Worth $1.25 a week, isn't it?!
*Disclaimer: I am in NO WAY affilliated with The Grocery Game or Teri Gault (founder of this fabulous service). I have not, in any way, been compensated for the opinion that I have shared here. I have not been offered free subscriptions, money, or even a pat on the back for sharing the word about this service or the website. It is just that I like them that darn much! In fact, nobody at GG even knows who in the world I am!*
Come back next week and I'll share some more resources with you! We're going to build a little bit at a time until you're a seasoned couponing pro! :-)
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Budget Woes
I'm starting to feel like a broken record. I already feel like a complete failure. And I'm REALLY starting to get so very discouraged. I cannot seem to get this whole budget thing figured out. I mean, I have a budget. I just can't seem to stay within my budget each month. I'm learning as I go and sometimes learning comes with some painful mistakes along the way. I get that. I also recognize that alot of the success or failure of my budget adherence is totally within my control. If only I felt like I had any control and we might be getting somewhere.
Before this month, I would start out at the beginning of each month with a renewed vigor for sticking to my budget. I would always start out with the "This month is my month" attitude. I was ready to tackle that budget monster once and for all and show it who was boss. I would dutifully keep all my receipts in a handy and neat (okay, maybe not entirely neat) fashion and I would record them into my budget at the end of the month. And then I would cry. Sometimes that ugly "can't catch your breath" type sobbing. Yeah, it wasn't a pretty sight. It never failed that I was shocked at how miserably I had done that month. At the end of last year, I analyzed my process a little bit and realized that I was lacking any sort of record keeping throughout the month. I mean, if in the middle of the month I was already over my budget or getting close to being over my budget in some areas, then that would be an indicator that I needed to reign it in a bit. As much as I hated to admit it, I needed to become more intimate with my budget. We needed to have regular dates. At least twice a month. So, I instituted that this month. And it didn't go so well. Let's just say that if it had been a blind date, I would have texted my best friend and asked her to come up with some bogus emergency so that I could run away and never look back. It is that bad. It's only the middle of the month and I'm already painfully over my budet in some areas or the forecasting isn't looking so pretty.
With almost two full weeks left in the month, here's how some areas of my budget look currently:
Gas (the kind that feeds your car): I'm already over budget ($250 for the month) by $21.17. And I fill up at least weekly just to get back and forth to work, school, and home. Not good.
Gas (the kind that heats your house): I have a budget of $50/month for gas. This amount worked perfectly in the summer when my gas bills were consistently under $50 (and coincidentally, it was summer when I created my budget). I recently went on the budget billing plan because I noticed that my gas bill was steadily increasing each month. I was floored when the utilities rep told me that my budget amount is $98.00/month. That's almost double my budget! I asked her why it was so much and she read off my winter bills for last year. Apparently, they were so high last winter that I blocked it out of my memory with the highest one being right under $300. Yeah, that would have given me a heart attack this winter. So, now I've got to figure out how to double my budget for that area.
Eating Out: I'm already over my budget ($50) by $57.09. Part of this I attribute to the fact that we were out of town last weekend. I managed to make meals at the house that we were at all weekend but didn't account very well for the meals that we would have to eat while traveling. Another reason is because it was Tyler's father's birthday yesterday and we all went out to dinner last night. My treat. Still, it's within my control and I've let it get out of hand. Ugh.
. . .and those are just the areas that have their own categories on my budget. There's a whole host of entries from the "here and there" shopping that I've done over the month. I have found alot of great deals on clothes and shoes for Tyler this month so I've snapped them up. It's going to save me money in the long run but it's certainly not helping me get out of debt now. In my defense to some of this extra spending is that to try to avoid overbuying clothes for future seasons for Tyler, I did make a list of what I have already and what I think I'll need (not want, but need) and I've done fairly well at sticking to that list. If I find a cute shirt on clearance, it doesn't matter if it's only $2.50. That's money that I shouldn't spend just because it's on sale if he doesn't need it. But I digress, the extra spending this month, regardless of how good a deal it might be, isn't helping to get me out of credit card debt. Which seems to be piling on and on. AARRGGH!
Why can't I just figure out a way to be independently wealthy so I don't have to worry so much about the little wrenches that get thrown into my budget? How do you do it. . .how do you handle the wrenches or just sticking to a budget to begin with?
Before this month, I would start out at the beginning of each month with a renewed vigor for sticking to my budget. I would always start out with the "This month is my month" attitude. I was ready to tackle that budget monster once and for all and show it who was boss. I would dutifully keep all my receipts in a handy and neat (okay, maybe not entirely neat) fashion and I would record them into my budget at the end of the month. And then I would cry. Sometimes that ugly "can't catch your breath" type sobbing. Yeah, it wasn't a pretty sight. It never failed that I was shocked at how miserably I had done that month. At the end of last year, I analyzed my process a little bit and realized that I was lacking any sort of record keeping throughout the month. I mean, if in the middle of the month I was already over my budget or getting close to being over my budget in some areas, then that would be an indicator that I needed to reign it in a bit. As much as I hated to admit it, I needed to become more intimate with my budget. We needed to have regular dates. At least twice a month. So, I instituted that this month. And it didn't go so well. Let's just say that if it had been a blind date, I would have texted my best friend and asked her to come up with some bogus emergency so that I could run away and never look back. It is that bad. It's only the middle of the month and I'm already painfully over my budet in some areas or the forecasting isn't looking so pretty.
With almost two full weeks left in the month, here's how some areas of my budget look currently:
Gas (the kind that feeds your car): I'm already over budget ($250 for the month) by $21.17. And I fill up at least weekly just to get back and forth to work, school, and home. Not good.
Gas (the kind that heats your house): I have a budget of $50/month for gas. This amount worked perfectly in the summer when my gas bills were consistently under $50 (and coincidentally, it was summer when I created my budget). I recently went on the budget billing plan because I noticed that my gas bill was steadily increasing each month. I was floored when the utilities rep told me that my budget amount is $98.00/month. That's almost double my budget! I asked her why it was so much and she read off my winter bills for last year. Apparently, they were so high last winter that I blocked it out of my memory with the highest one being right under $300. Yeah, that would have given me a heart attack this winter. So, now I've got to figure out how to double my budget for that area.
Eating Out: I'm already over my budget ($50) by $57.09. Part of this I attribute to the fact that we were out of town last weekend. I managed to make meals at the house that we were at all weekend but didn't account very well for the meals that we would have to eat while traveling. Another reason is because it was Tyler's father's birthday yesterday and we all went out to dinner last night. My treat. Still, it's within my control and I've let it get out of hand. Ugh.
. . .and those are just the areas that have their own categories on my budget. There's a whole host of entries from the "here and there" shopping that I've done over the month. I have found alot of great deals on clothes and shoes for Tyler this month so I've snapped them up. It's going to save me money in the long run but it's certainly not helping me get out of debt now. In my defense to some of this extra spending is that to try to avoid overbuying clothes for future seasons for Tyler, I did make a list of what I have already and what I think I'll need (not want, but need) and I've done fairly well at sticking to that list. If I find a cute shirt on clearance, it doesn't matter if it's only $2.50. That's money that I shouldn't spend just because it's on sale if he doesn't need it. But I digress, the extra spending this month, regardless of how good a deal it might be, isn't helping to get me out of credit card debt. Which seems to be piling on and on. AARRGGH!
Why can't I just figure out a way to be independently wealthy so I don't have to worry so much about the little wrenches that get thrown into my budget? How do you do it. . .how do you handle the wrenches or just sticking to a budget to begin with?
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Thrifty Thursday: Couponing for Newbies--Getting Started
If you're a total newbie to the world of couponing and grocery stockpiling, then this post is for you. Totally basic and honestly, just kind of broken down to the bare bones so that you can build onto your skills (because it is a learned skill!) as you go.
When I started with couponing and stockpiling, I was like a sponge. I went out and soaked up everything I could possibly find on how to buy groceries for less. Unfortunately, there are about a million (or more--no joke!) resources out there on this very topic. It didn't take long before I got completely overwhelmed. So, what I've tried to do is take what I've learned over the last six years and break it down to try to make it less intimidating to someone who is totally new to the world of using coupons and building a stockpile. What follows are my tips and tricks to start out. We'll build on your skills as we go! For those of you who are NOT new to this, then please jump right in with your own tips and tricks. Share with the rest of us what you've learned. Don't be shy, you can also share with us what mistakes you've made along the way (I've made a ton of them!) so that we don't make the same mistakes ourselves!
- Make a basic list of the items that your family uses on a regular basis--this will help to serve as a very rough guide on what items you'll use and what items to pass on. Trust me, it's easy to end up with an entire linen closet worth of products that your family will never use (hmm. . .diabetic testing strips for a family full of non-diabetics? Anyone? Maybe it's just me.) just because they were free or extremely cheap. I told you I've made mistakes in the past. This is one of them. I got sucked into the "but it's only .10" or "it's totally free!" trap. Even if it says it's free, nothing is ever totally free. Just hang with me here, you'll soon come to see what I mean by that statement. Additionally, it would help you to know upfront what items (or brand names) your family is totally loyal to and what items you could negotiate on. To avoid overwhelming yourself, just walk around your house and take a peek at what items you already have. What things do you HAVE to have in order to make your household run. Take this example from my bathroom list (and this is just a peek at part of my list): toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, razor, shaving cream, soap bars, toothpaste, toothbrush, hair spray, etc. Once you have this basic list of what items you need, you can then analyze what brand names you can't live without or what brand names you CANNOT buy. For instance, if your son is allergic to Wisk laundry detergent, then you probably shouldn't buy it for your home. . unless of course you or your son enjoy dealing with full body rashes and painful itching. I told you, I've made mistakes. Or, if your husband REFUSES to drink brand of orange juice other than Tropicana, then its possible that the (normally) really great Minute Maid sale this week might just be a big waste of money for your household. It seems basic, but it's important to know these things upfront. Once you have your list nailed down, along with the brand names or items that you must have/cannot have you can get started on building your stockpile. Well, almost.
- Clear an area to store your stockpile--Read my lips (or my blog?) when I say this: IT NEED NOT BE A HUGE AREA!!!! I've had friends and acquaintances tell me that they could never stockpile because they don't have the room. Guess what? It really doesn't take much room. NO ONE here is expecting you to convert your garage into a stockpile room. No one is asking you to dig a cellar beneath your house to store 5,000 packages of toilet paper or anything like that. Honestly, you can start your stockpile with a very small area. Afterall, your stockpile takes time to grow. And it only grows as big as you want it to or as big as your space will allow. It's also amazing how much room you'll find to store the hot deals along the way! I started off my stockpile with exactly ONE shelf cleared in my linen closet (that stuff needed to go anyways!) and ONE shelf cleared in my pantry. That's it! Just those two shelves! Of course, I found more space as my stockpile grew but I was one of those people who said I'd never be able to stockpile because I "didn't have the room". Amazing how wrong I ended up being!
- Make a "normal price" price list--Before you even begin couponing, you need to be able to tell what's a good price for something and what's not. Therefore, make a trip to your local grocery store or big box store and jot down a few prices. Take your basics list of the things that you buy on a regular basis and write down what you normally pay for that item. In order to know whether you should buy something, you will need to reference this "normal price" list to see how good that sale really is.
- Make a list of the meals that your family enjoys or normally eats-- This list will become your "watch list". You will start off being successful with couponing if you already have a clear picture of the meals that your family enjoys and eats on a regular basis. Doesn't mean that you have to only eat those things but if you have some recipes that you find yourself making regularly because they are quick, easy, cheap or enjoyed by your family, write down the ingredients to that recipe. For example, if your family really enjoys spaghetti bake, you may want to add pasta sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese, and pasta noodles to your watch list.
- Gather some recipes for some "cheap" meals--For the first little bit that you are stockpiling, you may actually notice your grocery bill going UP. Yes, I know it seems counterproductive but bear with me. See, until you get a little bit of a stockpile built up, you'll be buying your normal grocery items while still spending that little bit extra to buy the things that are on super sale. Making a little bit more sense now? My friends look at me like I've sprouted an extra head when I tell them that their grocery bill may actually increase for a little while. It does take some explaining! However, you can counterbalance this by cutting back a little bit on your meals. NO, I'm not suggesting that you feed your family less food, I'm suggesting that you find some cheaper alternatives to make while you make the transition over to building a stockpile. If you don't have any cheap meals ideas, just google "cheap meal ideas" and you'll soon be rolling in the
doughcheap meal recipes. If you need some personal guidance (ala. . .your wonderful Living on a Dime or Less goddess. . .ME!), I will put up a post soon with the recipes to the cheap meals that I used when I first started out. And I still use these recipes. Cuz they're cheap. And easy. And I like cheap and easy. Get your mind out of the gutter! I'm talking food here, people! Basically, your "cheap" meals recipes should include ingredients that are cheap even when you have to pay full price for them. But they should still be nutritious too! - Design a coupon organizing system--Don't pick up your scissors yet! You can't start cutting out those coupons until you have a solid system in place of where you're going to put them! There are a variety of systems that work for different people. I can only share with you the one that works for me. I have two coupon organizers. . .they look like this. . .
and it I got two of them out of the dollar bin at Target. However, you should be able to find them in the office supply section but they might be more expensive. I also know alot of people who use a system of just a binder and those inserts that hold baseball cards. That seems to work very well for them. What I do is seperate my coupons into the two "envelopes": one is for edible (i.e. food) items and the other is for non-edible items. Within each organizer, I break each section down further. Here's how my system is organized:
Edibles
* refrigerated items
* frozen items
*baking items (spices, flour, sugar, etc)
*breakfast items
*snack items
*sauces
*canned goods
*breads & pastas
*candy
*beverages
Non-edibles* bathroom items (toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, floss, etc)
* haircare items
*face items (pretty much anything that would be used on my face)
*body items (soap, bodywash, lotions)
*ladies personal care items (tampons, sanitary pads, you know. . .anything for the girl downstairs!)
* cleaning products
* laundry products
* air freshener products
* medicines
* shaving and deoderants (there are so many coupons for each of these that these two products specifically get their own section but combined together--does that make sense?)
* pet
* random--this includes pretty much anything that doesn't directly fall into one of the above categories
Over the last six years, this system has worked really well for me. I usually cut out my coupons on a Sunday and just sort them according to the sections in my organizers. I have some fellow couponer friends who sort their coupons based on the layout of their store but I just can't see that working for me. I don't know my store that well! Think about your habits and decide what you think will work best for you. You may have to try out a few different ways and tweak it as you go. The one rule is that it needs to be simple enough that you can not only maintain it but you can also easily find the coupons that you'll be looking for on a regular basis.
- Start buying/clipping coupons each week--now starts to exciting part. . .but don't get too excited. You will need to start buying the weekly paper that has all of the coupon inserts (usually that's the Sunday paper) and clipping out the coupons. I will warn you, before you will really start seeing a major difference in your shopping bill, you've got to gather a decent inventory of coupons. This may take up to three months. Yes, you
heardread that right. Three months. There's actually a science to couponing. Most products are on a twelve week cycle meaning that a coupon will be issued or a sale on a specific item will usually happen every twelve weeks. Therefore, it might take you that long to actually gather every coupon that you'll need in order to start taking part in the deals. To get a little more complicated, the art of couponing is to be able to find a specific item on sale WITH a valid coupon out. That's the tricky part. You could start using the coupons that you'll be clipping each week immediately, but unless you are combining the coupon with the product while it's at a good sales price, then you are not really taking full advantage of the savings. Sure, some deals will come along for you immediately but others you may not have the coupons for yet simply because you haven't been clipping them for that long. There are blogs and services out there that will do all of the hard work for you. They'll track the sales, match up the coupons, and issue lists which will tell you what stores to shop, what products to buy, what coupons to use (including which inserts to get them out of!), the final price you'd pay and the amount you're saving/percentage off regular price. I will highlight these blogs and services in a future post (coming soon, I promise!) and until you really get the hang of matching up the sales and the coupons, I strongly suggest you follow this easy lead that others are giving you. I promise that I'll post some good blogs/websites soon for those of you who are just itching to get started. In the meantime, take the advice that I've laid out for you above and start prepping to save. Trust me, there is something to be said about good prep work!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
How I Talk to My Son About Money -- Part 2
Welcome back to my series on how I'm teaching my son about money. If you haven't read Part 1, you should hop on over and do it here.
4. I set up a savings mechanism for him -- Yes, he has his own savings account but that's not what I'm talking about. I wanted something that would be visual for him. So, I set up a jar system that is similar to this:
except that our jars are square. And there are only three of them. The tallest jar, is his "Savings" jar. 50% of all money that he receives through birthdays, Christmas, or any random little "jobs" he does, goes into this jar. The next largest jar is is "Share" jar. 25% of everything that he gets goes in this jar. The money from this jar can be used in any way that Tyler sees fit with only one rule: it has to help someone and that "help" cannot benefit Tyler in any way except for a "feel good" way. For example, he cannot decide that he wants to use the money from his "Share" jar to buy two identical toys, give one to a disadvantaged kid and then keep one for himself. The purpose of this jar is to teach Tyler that no matter what we may "want", we should always have the capacity to give to someone else. So far, he has always decided to use the money toward the Angel that we adopt every year from the Angel Tree at Christmas. We take the money and go shopping together. We count it out and I help him determine how much he has and what we can buy for the Angel for that amount of money. The last jar that he has is the smallest jar, it's his "Spend" jar. The remaining 25% of all money that he gets goes in this jar. This is the pool of money that he has to spend on whatever things he wants. Mostly we use this money at yard sales (which, by the way, are an EXCELLENT way to teach kids about money and bargaining!) but occasionally, Ty will ask to get his "Spend" jar down and count how much is in there if he's got his eye on a particular purchase. Aside from Birthdays and Christmas, I really don't buy him toys throughout the year. If he wants something, he's got to earn the money for it. For the most part, anytime that he gets any money, I make him stick to this particular breakdown. However, if there's something that he really wants and he's been working really hard toward, it I will sometimes allow him to do some chores (yes, they are six year old appropriate chores. . .I don't have my kid out power washing the house or anything!) to earn some extra money and have 75% go into his spend jar (25% always goes into the share jar--nothing we "want" is ever more important than giving to those less fortunate than us.) so that he can get his money saved up a little faster. Most of the time, though, he doesn't even complain about money going into his "Save" jar. He's asked on a couple of occasions what that money is for and I've told him that's the money that we put into his savings account. Whenever the jar gets full or it's been a year or so, we just dump all the money out and take it into his bank and deposit it. He doesn't totally understand the concept of banks yet so he still gets a little confused by the fact that we give the teller all his money and he leaves with nothing to show for it. I'm a little worried that I might be unintentionally creating an irrational fear of banks for the poor kid! But, I've told him that when he's older, he'll be very very happy that we saved that money for him throughout his life. Who knows how much it will be, but at least it will be a little something to get him started off in life!
5. I have him help me clip coupons--I don't force him to do it, but I do incentivize him to help me clip out my Sunday coupons. I'm trying to teach him about frugality and how to get the best deals on things. So, I sat him down one Sunday and explained to him what coupons were. He thought it was pretty interesting that I could, in a sense, use the little slips of paper to pay for part of our groceries. I wanted to get him involved so I told him that for every coupon that he clips out that I end up using, I'll put a quarter in his "Save" jar. So, he clips out his little stack of coupons, I go through and put a red mark on every coupon that he clips out and when I end up using it, I tally it up on a slip of paper in my purse. Once a month, I figure out how much I "owe" him and I put it into his "Save" jar. It gets him involved and he can see how much work it is to try to save money. I've been clipping coupons since he was born so he's totally used to seeing Mommy sitting on the floor in the Living Room surrounded by a mess of papers but this way, he can get an idea of how it all works. Who knows? Maybe one day my little baby will be handing the cashier his own stack of coupons to use on his own groceries!
6. I ask his opinion on purchases -- whether it's a pack of cookies at the grocery store, a dress at the mall, or a TV at the electronics store, I ask his input. Not on all purchases, of course (that would drag out every.single.shopping trip!) but on some discretionary purchases, I'll ask him what he thinks. It depends on how appealing the item is to him on whether or not he thinks it's worth the X dollars or not. Seems we buy quite a lot of cookies but not many dresses! However, the kid is actually pretty good at this already. . .he's told me before to "wait until it goes on sale" or asked me "do we have a coupon for it"!! I feel like I've made some progress in instilling these lessons in him when I know that he'd love to have that box of cake mix but his first question is whether or not we have a coupon or if it's on sale. On larger purchases (like a TV), we'll go and look at the TV's, write down the prices of different TV's, and then go home and talk about it. He's helped me before look up reviews online and we've eliminated items based on what we've found. Sometimes he'll tell me that he doesn't want me to buy something because it's too much money. Since I don't ever tell him "we can't afford" something, I know he's doing this because he's making a choice that the particular item is more than he chooses to spend on something.
4. I set up a savings mechanism for him -- Yes, he has his own savings account but that's not what I'm talking about. I wanted something that would be visual for him. So, I set up a jar system that is similar to this:
 |
| image courtesy of Target.com |
except that our jars are square. And there are only three of them. The tallest jar, is his "Savings" jar. 50% of all money that he receives through birthdays, Christmas, or any random little "jobs" he does, goes into this jar. The next largest jar is is "Share" jar. 25% of everything that he gets goes in this jar. The money from this jar can be used in any way that Tyler sees fit with only one rule: it has to help someone and that "help" cannot benefit Tyler in any way except for a "feel good" way. For example, he cannot decide that he wants to use the money from his "Share" jar to buy two identical toys, give one to a disadvantaged kid and then keep one for himself. The purpose of this jar is to teach Tyler that no matter what we may "want", we should always have the capacity to give to someone else. So far, he has always decided to use the money toward the Angel that we adopt every year from the Angel Tree at Christmas. We take the money and go shopping together. We count it out and I help him determine how much he has and what we can buy for the Angel for that amount of money. The last jar that he has is the smallest jar, it's his "Spend" jar. The remaining 25% of all money that he gets goes in this jar. This is the pool of money that he has to spend on whatever things he wants. Mostly we use this money at yard sales (which, by the way, are an EXCELLENT way to teach kids about money and bargaining!) but occasionally, Ty will ask to get his "Spend" jar down and count how much is in there if he's got his eye on a particular purchase. Aside from Birthdays and Christmas, I really don't buy him toys throughout the year. If he wants something, he's got to earn the money for it. For the most part, anytime that he gets any money, I make him stick to this particular breakdown. However, if there's something that he really wants and he's been working really hard toward, it I will sometimes allow him to do some chores (yes, they are six year old appropriate chores. . .I don't have my kid out power washing the house or anything!) to earn some extra money and have 75% go into his spend jar (25% always goes into the share jar--nothing we "want" is ever more important than giving to those less fortunate than us.) so that he can get his money saved up a little faster. Most of the time, though, he doesn't even complain about money going into his "Save" jar. He's asked on a couple of occasions what that money is for and I've told him that's the money that we put into his savings account. Whenever the jar gets full or it's been a year or so, we just dump all the money out and take it into his bank and deposit it. He doesn't totally understand the concept of banks yet so he still gets a little confused by the fact that we give the teller all his money and he leaves with nothing to show for it. I'm a little worried that I might be unintentionally creating an irrational fear of banks for the poor kid! But, I've told him that when he's older, he'll be very very happy that we saved that money for him throughout his life. Who knows how much it will be, but at least it will be a little something to get him started off in life!
5. I have him help me clip coupons--I don't force him to do it, but I do incentivize him to help me clip out my Sunday coupons. I'm trying to teach him about frugality and how to get the best deals on things. So, I sat him down one Sunday and explained to him what coupons were. He thought it was pretty interesting that I could, in a sense, use the little slips of paper to pay for part of our groceries. I wanted to get him involved so I told him that for every coupon that he clips out that I end up using, I'll put a quarter in his "Save" jar. So, he clips out his little stack of coupons, I go through and put a red mark on every coupon that he clips out and when I end up using it, I tally it up on a slip of paper in my purse. Once a month, I figure out how much I "owe" him and I put it into his "Save" jar. It gets him involved and he can see how much work it is to try to save money. I've been clipping coupons since he was born so he's totally used to seeing Mommy sitting on the floor in the Living Room surrounded by a mess of papers but this way, he can get an idea of how it all works. Who knows? Maybe one day my little baby will be handing the cashier his own stack of coupons to use on his own groceries!
6. I ask his opinion on purchases -- whether it's a pack of cookies at the grocery store, a dress at the mall, or a TV at the electronics store, I ask his input. Not on all purchases, of course (that would drag out every.single.shopping trip!) but on some discretionary purchases, I'll ask him what he thinks. It depends on how appealing the item is to him on whether or not he thinks it's worth the X dollars or not. Seems we buy quite a lot of cookies but not many dresses! However, the kid is actually pretty good at this already. . .he's told me before to "wait until it goes on sale" or asked me "do we have a coupon for it"!! I feel like I've made some progress in instilling these lessons in him when I know that he'd love to have that box of cake mix but his first question is whether or not we have a coupon or if it's on sale. On larger purchases (like a TV), we'll go and look at the TV's, write down the prices of different TV's, and then go home and talk about it. He's helped me before look up reviews online and we've eliminated items based on what we've found. Sometimes he'll tell me that he doesn't want me to buy something because it's too much money. Since I don't ever tell him "we can't afford" something, I know he's doing this because he's making a choice that the particular item is more than he chooses to spend on something.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Why We Participate in the Angel Tree Program
The Angel Tree Program is something that is very near and dear to my heart. This is a program that I have participated in at Christmastime every year since I was in college. Actually, it kind of started before then. . .
I remember when I was a kid, my mom "adopted" an entire family one year at Christmas. By "adopting" this family, that meant that my family went out and bought Christmas gifts for the family so that they would have something to open on Christmas Day. I can't remember how old I was or even how many kids there were in the family, but if my memory serves me correctly, it was a single mom with at least two kids. I remember that we bought the mom a watch. Again, I can't remember exactly how old I was, but I'm pretty sure I was younger than 12. Despite the minor details of the event, this action had a huge impact on me. My mom was a single mom and to see her doing something so selfless for another mother who wasn't able to do for her own children what my mother was so blessed to be able to do for us was very powerful for me. Despite growing up in a household where my mom was a single mom with three kids, I had a great childhood. I didn't live a luxurious life by any means, but my mother provided for us and did it well. We didn't always get everything we wanted but I don't know that I can ever recall a time where we didn't have what we needed or when my mom was struggling to a point where we had to put off getting things that we needed. I recognized somewhere in my older elementary school years that not every single parent household was like this. I didn't fully understand why some of my friends who only had one parent didn't live the same lifestyle I did. I mean, we had a nice home, a nice car, we had nice clothes, food in the kitchen, nice stuff in our house, bikes to ride, we participated in activities, took vacations, etc. Not all of my friends had those same blessings. Once I recognized, through the actions of my mother adopting this family, that some families don't even get to have a Christmas, I vowed to try to make a difference in the life of at least one child every year.
So, in college, my roomates and I adopted a child each year that we provided Christmas gifts for. As an adult, I have adopted an Angel each year and provided at least something for that child each year at Christmastime. It felt good knowing that I was giving back and making a difference in at least one child's life. However, it wasn't until I had Tyler that I recognized that my regular participation in this program could make a huge difference in his life. Every year, Tyler and I adopt an Angel off of the Angel Tree at Christmas. Not just any Angel though, we try to adopt an Angel like him. A child who is the same age as Tyler and we try to get an Angel who is an only child. There are two reasons for this: 1. if the child is an only child, I think Tyler feels that the kid is more like him (because he's an only child) and 2. I fully believe in this program, but I hate the thought of multiple children in one household not all being adopted at Christmas or being adopted by different individuals and then there is a huge discrepency in the return of the gifts that have been donated for one of the children. To better explain that statement, I'll give you a little personal insight. I have a friend (who, of course, will remain nameless to protect her identity) who is just one of the best people I've ever met. She is geniunely a beautiful person with an amazing heart and soul. But, the financial gods haven't always been so kind to her. She had to turn to Angel Tree (or a similar program) one year to provide holiday gifts to her children. She has two. A boy and a girl who are a couple of years apart in age. The kids were both "adopted" that year but by what we think were different individuals. My friend's son got almost every toy that was on his wish list and a few other things that the "adopter" had selected for him. Her daughter got a handmade crochet blanket. Now, don't get me wrong, a blanket is a wonderful gift. Especially if it's handmade. But, this child was too young to understand the situation. She was too young to understand why her brother got all these toys and she got. . .a blanket. My friend was thankful that there were people in our community who are willing and able to help those, like her, who need help to provide a great holiday to their kids, but she was left in a tough position to make sure that her daughter woke up on Christmas morning and had something to unwrap that was going to make her as excited as her brother was going to be about his new toys. To make a long story short, that's pretty much why I try to ensure that we select an Angel who is an only child. The older Ty gets, though, the harder it's getting to find an Angel who is an only child, though!
Anyways, each year, Ty and I go together to search the tree trying to find the right Angel. I let him choose each year whether he wants it to be a girl or a boy his age. Three years ago, he chose a girl (why? I don't know.) but the past two years, he's chosen boys. We then go and pick out an outfit and a few toys for the Angel. Every year, it gets better and better because Ty understands more about what it is that we're actually doing and he's starting to understand how much of an impact that we are having on someone else. I think her really likes the fact that he can pick out the toys that we give to the Angel and he knows how excited he would get about the stuff that he's picking out so he thinks they'll be excited too. The way I explained it to him is that we are very very blessed to have everything that we have. Not everyone is as blessed. Some kids' parents can't afford to get them any presents to put under the tree so we do what we can to help those families have something for their kids. He gets that. I have hit a rough patch the last two years though. Tyler insists that Santa will still visit those kids and bring them presents. What am I supposed to say to that? Umm. . .Santa only visits families whose parents can afford to buy presents? Nope, probably not going to cut the mustard on this one. So, I just explain to him that Santa brings unwrapped presents (because in our house, Santa doesn't wrap anything) and we have SO much fun unwrapping all of the presents from Mom & Dad, right? Well, don't those kids deserve the fun of unwrapping some presents too? So far, that's worked. Maybe once he finds out the truth behind Santa, he'll realize even more what an impact we're making? I hope so.
Since this is our first year just the two of us, things have been REALLY financially tight. I considered not adopting an Angel this year because I was concerned about overstretching myself financially. But, after careful consideration, I decided that I still needed to do this. If anything, I needed to do it more this year than in years past. My mom made such a huge impact on me by her actions as a single mom, I want Tyler to see that even when things are tough, we can always find a way to give back to someone else. Always. So, I rearranged some things in the budget and was able to re-allocate $50 to put toward providing something for the Angel. Plus, I found a toy that I had bought on clearance a while back that I had intended to give to Tyler for Christmas but once I pulled it out, I realized that Ty's dad had given him the exact same toy this year for his birthday. Score! Easy Angel Tree gift! So, aside from the toy, we also got the Angel an outfit, an MP3 player, some earbuds to with it, and some books. Admittedly, not much but at least Tyler knows that this kid has something that he will be opening on Christmas morning. As a mom, I feel great knowing that I've been able to do something to help another parent provide something for their child and I feel great knowing that I'm teaching my son lessons on charity, compassion, and thinking about others.
I remember when I was a kid, my mom "adopted" an entire family one year at Christmas. By "adopting" this family, that meant that my family went out and bought Christmas gifts for the family so that they would have something to open on Christmas Day. I can't remember how old I was or even how many kids there were in the family, but if my memory serves me correctly, it was a single mom with at least two kids. I remember that we bought the mom a watch. Again, I can't remember exactly how old I was, but I'm pretty sure I was younger than 12. Despite the minor details of the event, this action had a huge impact on me. My mom was a single mom and to see her doing something so selfless for another mother who wasn't able to do for her own children what my mother was so blessed to be able to do for us was very powerful for me. Despite growing up in a household where my mom was a single mom with three kids, I had a great childhood. I didn't live a luxurious life by any means, but my mother provided for us and did it well. We didn't always get everything we wanted but I don't know that I can ever recall a time where we didn't have what we needed or when my mom was struggling to a point where we had to put off getting things that we needed. I recognized somewhere in my older elementary school years that not every single parent household was like this. I didn't fully understand why some of my friends who only had one parent didn't live the same lifestyle I did. I mean, we had a nice home, a nice car, we had nice clothes, food in the kitchen, nice stuff in our house, bikes to ride, we participated in activities, took vacations, etc. Not all of my friends had those same blessings. Once I recognized, through the actions of my mother adopting this family, that some families don't even get to have a Christmas, I vowed to try to make a difference in the life of at least one child every year.
So, in college, my roomates and I adopted a child each year that we provided Christmas gifts for. As an adult, I have adopted an Angel each year and provided at least something for that child each year at Christmastime. It felt good knowing that I was giving back and making a difference in at least one child's life. However, it wasn't until I had Tyler that I recognized that my regular participation in this program could make a huge difference in his life. Every year, Tyler and I adopt an Angel off of the Angel Tree at Christmas. Not just any Angel though, we try to adopt an Angel like him. A child who is the same age as Tyler and we try to get an Angel who is an only child. There are two reasons for this: 1. if the child is an only child, I think Tyler feels that the kid is more like him (because he's an only child) and 2. I fully believe in this program, but I hate the thought of multiple children in one household not all being adopted at Christmas or being adopted by different individuals and then there is a huge discrepency in the return of the gifts that have been donated for one of the children. To better explain that statement, I'll give you a little personal insight. I have a friend (who, of course, will remain nameless to protect her identity) who is just one of the best people I've ever met. She is geniunely a beautiful person with an amazing heart and soul. But, the financial gods haven't always been so kind to her. She had to turn to Angel Tree (or a similar program) one year to provide holiday gifts to her children. She has two. A boy and a girl who are a couple of years apart in age. The kids were both "adopted" that year but by what we think were different individuals. My friend's son got almost every toy that was on his wish list and a few other things that the "adopter" had selected for him. Her daughter got a handmade crochet blanket. Now, don't get me wrong, a blanket is a wonderful gift. Especially if it's handmade. But, this child was too young to understand the situation. She was too young to understand why her brother got all these toys and she got. . .a blanket. My friend was thankful that there were people in our community who are willing and able to help those, like her, who need help to provide a great holiday to their kids, but she was left in a tough position to make sure that her daughter woke up on Christmas morning and had something to unwrap that was going to make her as excited as her brother was going to be about his new toys. To make a long story short, that's pretty much why I try to ensure that we select an Angel who is an only child. The older Ty gets, though, the harder it's getting to find an Angel who is an only child, though!
Anyways, each year, Ty and I go together to search the tree trying to find the right Angel. I let him choose each year whether he wants it to be a girl or a boy his age. Three years ago, he chose a girl (why? I don't know.) but the past two years, he's chosen boys. We then go and pick out an outfit and a few toys for the Angel. Every year, it gets better and better because Ty understands more about what it is that we're actually doing and he's starting to understand how much of an impact that we are having on someone else. I think her really likes the fact that he can pick out the toys that we give to the Angel and he knows how excited he would get about the stuff that he's picking out so he thinks they'll be excited too. The way I explained it to him is that we are very very blessed to have everything that we have. Not everyone is as blessed. Some kids' parents can't afford to get them any presents to put under the tree so we do what we can to help those families have something for their kids. He gets that. I have hit a rough patch the last two years though. Tyler insists that Santa will still visit those kids and bring them presents. What am I supposed to say to that? Umm. . .Santa only visits families whose parents can afford to buy presents? Nope, probably not going to cut the mustard on this one. So, I just explain to him that Santa brings unwrapped presents (because in our house, Santa doesn't wrap anything) and we have SO much fun unwrapping all of the presents from Mom & Dad, right? Well, don't those kids deserve the fun of unwrapping some presents too? So far, that's worked. Maybe once he finds out the truth behind Santa, he'll realize even more what an impact we're making? I hope so.
Since this is our first year just the two of us, things have been REALLY financially tight. I considered not adopting an Angel this year because I was concerned about overstretching myself financially. But, after careful consideration, I decided that I still needed to do this. If anything, I needed to do it more this year than in years past. My mom made such a huge impact on me by her actions as a single mom, I want Tyler to see that even when things are tough, we can always find a way to give back to someone else. Always. So, I rearranged some things in the budget and was able to re-allocate $50 to put toward providing something for the Angel. Plus, I found a toy that I had bought on clearance a while back that I had intended to give to Tyler for Christmas but once I pulled it out, I realized that Ty's dad had given him the exact same toy this year for his birthday. Score! Easy Angel Tree gift! So, aside from the toy, we also got the Angel an outfit, an MP3 player, some earbuds to with it, and some books. Admittedly, not much but at least Tyler knows that this kid has something that he will be opening on Christmas morning. As a mom, I feel great knowing that I've been able to do something to help another parent provide something for their child and I feel great knowing that I'm teaching my son lessons on charity, compassion, and thinking about others.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
How I Talk to and Teach My Son About Money--Part 1
As a mom to a young boy who long ago reached that age where he would ask for every.little.thing that he saw in a store, book, commercial, or on a billboard that he wanted, I rank the importance of teaching my son about money pretty high up there on the totem pole. Not only do I want Ty to understand how the world works when it comes to money (i.e. stop asking Mommy to buy you every little darn thing because I'm not made of money!), I want him to be prepared to make smart financial decisions when it comes time for him to make those kinds of decisions that matter. I don't mean to sound like some old foggey here but it seems that kids these days are so entitled. I mean, they literally have the world at their fingertips. It just seems like nowadays (I really gotta stop with the old foggey language, don't I?) kids want and kids get. Don't get me wrong, I induldge my son. Probably more than I should. He has a GIGANTIC (bigger than my Master Bedroom!) playroom to prove it. But, his father is partially to blame for that. Yep, I blame his dad because he's still a kid himself. Anyways, I want my son to understand the true meaning of work and making money and the kind of forethought that should go into spending money. While I am in NO WAY a financial pro (my monthly budget updates will quickly set that perception straight!) nor am I licensed to give out financial advice, I will share with you the tips that I have implemented in my household to help my son learn about money.
This post is a two-parter so be sure to visit again for Part 2!
1. I never, EVER, tell my son "We can't afford it"-- Instead, I tell Ty that "I don't choose to spend our money on that (particular item) right now." I honestly can't remember where I picked this up, but I read somewhere a long time ago that the difference between telling a child "I can't afford it" and "I am making a choice not to buy that right now" is more powerful than we adults realize. To us, telling our kids "No, we can't buy that because we can't afford it" is sometimes an easy way to get our kids to stop asking for something. In my son's little mind, I don't ever want him to feel like there is ANYTHING in this world that I can't afford. I mean, who sets those boundaries on what is affordable and what's not? My opinion of what I can afford might differ greatly from the person sitting next to me. After all, I know people who make half the salary I do and they drive cars nicer than mine, live in houses nicer than mine, go out to eat at nicer restaurants, wear nicer clothes, etc. On the flip side, I know people who make a much larger salary than I do and they live very very frugally. Again, I ask, who defines what we can and can't afford? I think it's personal preference. Therefore, just because I don't feel that something falls within my affordability matrix doesn't give me the right to pass that same judgement call along to my son. That's part of it. The main reason that I don't ever tell my son that I can't afford something is because I'm his mother. He looks to me to be the strongest rock in his little life. Kids don't fully understand yet how the world works. I don't want to take the chance that he mistakes the fact that I say that we can't "afford" to swing by McDonalds for dinner tonight and takes it to possibly mean that Mommy can't afford food to put into his little belly. By telling him that I "choose" not to spend "our" (because despite the fact that I'm the Mom and he's the kid and there's a bit of a power differential there, we're a team!) money on something, it implies that we have a choice. But we are making the choice not to spend our money on that particular thing. Now, Tyler will sometimes ask "Why?" when I tell him that we're choosing not to spend our money on something. I typically explain to him that there are alot of things that we have to spend our money on just to keep our house going. I tell him that I choose to really be picky about what I spend our leftover money on and today, I'm being picky about not wanting to spend our leftover money on a toy, a candy, a trip, etc.
2. I explain how much "dollars" it takes for almost everything-- I started this about a year ago with Tyler. At first, he didn't fully understand because he couldn't even fully grasp numbers that large sometimes. But, we started small. When he wanted a piece of candy, I would say something like "Well, that piece of candy is almost one whole dollar. Do you think it's wise to spend that much money on one piece of candy?" We'll talk about it. I'll ask him what his opinion is and sometimes he will ask me what mine is. I tell him honestly. If he asks how much "dollars" (because that's how he asks how much everything is!) our house is (my mortgage payment), I tell him. I still don't think he can grasp how many dollars that is yet but he knows it's alot. The only question that I haven't answered honestly yet is how much I make at my job. To that question, I simply respond "Enough to pay for the things that we need to pay with just the teeniest bit of extra fun thrown in every now and again". He seems happy with that answer, so I'll stick with it a bit longer. The last thing I need is him deciding he wants to share my salary while we're out in the grocery store or something. I've also explained to him that asking someone how much money they make at their jobs is like asking a woman (that's not Mommy) how old she is: you just don't do it! But in alot of things that we do, we'll talk about money.
3. I let him pay--no, my son does not pay our bills. He's six. Do they even have good paying jobs for six year olds? If so, I might be interested. Anyways, another way that I teach him about money is to let him pay. If we're out somewhere and I have to pay cash for something, I'll give it to him and tell him ahead of time how much I think it will be. That way, it gives him time to try to count out the money and have it ready. I also sometimes slip Ty a couple of dollars and tell him that it's for a treat while we're out. Whatever he has left over, he gets to keep. I explained to him a little while ago that spending money is like a game. You have to try to keep as much of your money as possible while still getting what you want. So, when I give him a couple of dollars to spend, he now tries to find a treat that will make him happy while still having some money left over to save for his money jars (keep reading, I'll explain those later). If he finds something that he wants, we talk about how much it is. I'll help him figure out how much money (if any) would be left over if he bought it. I let him make the decision on his own. If he asks for my opinion, I'll give it but I usually let him decide. After all, spending your own money comes down to being able to live with the decisions that you make.
To be continued. . . . . . Be sure to come back again next week for Part 2!!
This post is a two-parter so be sure to visit again for Part 2!
1. I never, EVER, tell my son "We can't afford it"-- Instead, I tell Ty that "I don't choose to spend our money on that (particular item) right now." I honestly can't remember where I picked this up, but I read somewhere a long time ago that the difference between telling a child "I can't afford it" and "I am making a choice not to buy that right now" is more powerful than we adults realize. To us, telling our kids "No, we can't buy that because we can't afford it" is sometimes an easy way to get our kids to stop asking for something. In my son's little mind, I don't ever want him to feel like there is ANYTHING in this world that I can't afford. I mean, who sets those boundaries on what is affordable and what's not? My opinion of what I can afford might differ greatly from the person sitting next to me. After all, I know people who make half the salary I do and they drive cars nicer than mine, live in houses nicer than mine, go out to eat at nicer restaurants, wear nicer clothes, etc. On the flip side, I know people who make a much larger salary than I do and they live very very frugally. Again, I ask, who defines what we can and can't afford? I think it's personal preference. Therefore, just because I don't feel that something falls within my affordability matrix doesn't give me the right to pass that same judgement call along to my son. That's part of it. The main reason that I don't ever tell my son that I can't afford something is because I'm his mother. He looks to me to be the strongest rock in his little life. Kids don't fully understand yet how the world works. I don't want to take the chance that he mistakes the fact that I say that we can't "afford" to swing by McDonalds for dinner tonight and takes it to possibly mean that Mommy can't afford food to put into his little belly. By telling him that I "choose" not to spend "our" (because despite the fact that I'm the Mom and he's the kid and there's a bit of a power differential there, we're a team!) money on something, it implies that we have a choice. But we are making the choice not to spend our money on that particular thing. Now, Tyler will sometimes ask "Why?" when I tell him that we're choosing not to spend our money on something. I typically explain to him that there are alot of things that we have to spend our money on just to keep our house going. I tell him that I choose to really be picky about what I spend our leftover money on and today, I'm being picky about not wanting to spend our leftover money on a toy, a candy, a trip, etc.
2. I explain how much "dollars" it takes for almost everything-- I started this about a year ago with Tyler. At first, he didn't fully understand because he couldn't even fully grasp numbers that large sometimes. But, we started small. When he wanted a piece of candy, I would say something like "Well, that piece of candy is almost one whole dollar. Do you think it's wise to spend that much money on one piece of candy?" We'll talk about it. I'll ask him what his opinion is and sometimes he will ask me what mine is. I tell him honestly. If he asks how much "dollars" (because that's how he asks how much everything is!) our house is (my mortgage payment), I tell him. I still don't think he can grasp how many dollars that is yet but he knows it's alot. The only question that I haven't answered honestly yet is how much I make at my job. To that question, I simply respond "Enough to pay for the things that we need to pay with just the teeniest bit of extra fun thrown in every now and again". He seems happy with that answer, so I'll stick with it a bit longer. The last thing I need is him deciding he wants to share my salary while we're out in the grocery store or something. I've also explained to him that asking someone how much money they make at their jobs is like asking a woman (that's not Mommy) how old she is: you just don't do it! But in alot of things that we do, we'll talk about money.
3. I let him pay--no, my son does not pay our bills. He's six. Do they even have good paying jobs for six year olds? If so, I might be interested. Anyways, another way that I teach him about money is to let him pay. If we're out somewhere and I have to pay cash for something, I'll give it to him and tell him ahead of time how much I think it will be. That way, it gives him time to try to count out the money and have it ready. I also sometimes slip Ty a couple of dollars and tell him that it's for a treat while we're out. Whatever he has left over, he gets to keep. I explained to him a little while ago that spending money is like a game. You have to try to keep as much of your money as possible while still getting what you want. So, when I give him a couple of dollars to spend, he now tries to find a treat that will make him happy while still having some money left over to save for his money jars (keep reading, I'll explain those later). If he finds something that he wants, we talk about how much it is. I'll help him figure out how much money (if any) would be left over if he bought it. I let him make the decision on his own. If he asks for my opinion, I'll give it but I usually let him decide. After all, spending your own money comes down to being able to live with the decisions that you make.
To be continued. . . . . . Be sure to come back again next week for Part 2!!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Finally, Some Successes!
Okay, Ya'all (yes, we say that in the state where we're not technically the South but we're not technically the North either--we have no distinct identity so we get to choose which way we swing from day to day. Sometimes, it's like herding bi-polar cats. . .imagine it, if you will.) I've finally got some (what I feel is) good news to report. I'm not an utter and total financial failure. Sure, I had some depressing downfalls last month. Getting those budget numbers down on paper (or computer screen?) kind of made me want to scoop my eyeballs out with a spoon (a plastic one. . .too graphic? Sorry.) but I have risen again. Oh yes, I have taken one slight (very slight. Almost non-existent) glimmer of success and I'm shouting it from the top of the Hollywood sign as if it was my new awakening. Cut me some slack, folks. I take whatever shiny moments I can grasp in my strangely shaped jagged nailed hands that I can get.
I am pretty good about setting a budget, I'm just not all that great about following the budget or even filling in the expenditures so that I can see if I've followed the budget or not. However, after last month's debacle, I'm trying to do better. So, I set some budget limits last year when I laid out my annual budget. I guess I should clarify: I have an annual budget to account for things like Birthdays, Christmas gifts, Decorations for Holidays, etc. and then I have a monthly budget which covers all the rest. Any month that I have something from the annual budget that is occuring, I have to try to work the budgeted amount into the monthly budget. Under normal circumstances, it would be nearly impossible. But, I have an automatic payroll deposit which goes into a seperate savings account that I use only for items on the annual budget. That way, the money is always there and if doesn't get used by the end of the year, I allocate it toward debt repayment in January and start all over saving for the next year's annual expenses. Works out GREAT and really helps to alleviate my fear that there will ever be a time that I will get caught in a financial bind and not be able to provide Ty a great Birthday or Christmas experience.
Anyways, on to my successes. Last year, I allocated $200 for Tyler's birthday party, $30 for Halloween costume for next year (I always buy them on clearance after Halloween) and $50 to spend on Halloween decorations. I just totalled up my spending on those three line items and I'm happy to report that I spent only $134.87 for the Birthday party, $11.97 on costumes (and that's for THREE of them. .. choices for next year!), and $15.83 for decorations. Now, the decorations expense could go up slightly as I haven't been out shopping too much after Halloween so I may find a few more things on clearance over the next week. However, I'm feeling pretty good about that! YAY for success. . .even if they are small!!
Tell me about your recent successes. Maybe they will give me some inspiration!
I am pretty good about setting a budget, I'm just not all that great about following the budget or even filling in the expenditures so that I can see if I've followed the budget or not. However, after last month's debacle, I'm trying to do better. So, I set some budget limits last year when I laid out my annual budget. I guess I should clarify: I have an annual budget to account for things like Birthdays, Christmas gifts, Decorations for Holidays, etc. and then I have a monthly budget which covers all the rest. Any month that I have something from the annual budget that is occuring, I have to try to work the budgeted amount into the monthly budget. Under normal circumstances, it would be nearly impossible. But, I have an automatic payroll deposit which goes into a seperate savings account that I use only for items on the annual budget. That way, the money is always there and if doesn't get used by the end of the year, I allocate it toward debt repayment in January and start all over saving for the next year's annual expenses. Works out GREAT and really helps to alleviate my fear that there will ever be a time that I will get caught in a financial bind and not be able to provide Ty a great Birthday or Christmas experience.
Anyways, on to my successes. Last year, I allocated $200 for Tyler's birthday party, $30 for Halloween costume for next year (I always buy them on clearance after Halloween) and $50 to spend on Halloween decorations. I just totalled up my spending on those three line items and I'm happy to report that I spent only $134.87 for the Birthday party, $11.97 on costumes (and that's for THREE of them. .. choices for next year!), and $15.83 for decorations. Now, the decorations expense could go up slightly as I haven't been out shopping too much after Halloween so I may find a few more things on clearance over the next week. However, I'm feeling pretty good about that! YAY for success. . .even if they are small!!
Tell me about your recent successes. Maybe they will give me some inspiration!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
I Am So Disgusted. . .
With myself. Absolutely Disgusted. I cannot believe my lack of self control. It's pitiful.
I suppose now that I've gotten you on the edge of your seats, I should explain a bit about the self depracating behavior. First off, I'm not entirely thrilled that I keep setting monthly goals or challenges for msyelf and I never seem to follow through with them (haven't you noticed that? If not, you will now!) so for the month of October, I kind of kept quiet about my financial challenge sheerly because I couldn't face one more public disappointment. I figured this way, if I totally failed, it would be only me that knew. Yeah, not exactly the best way to be held accountable by your peers. But, you know what, I actually accomplished this goal. What was it, you ask? Well, my goal for the month of October was to simply save up every receipt that I generated over the month and at the end of the month (I knew I wasn't ready for a routine maintenance program here. Baby steps, people!), I'd input them all into my budget (which has been created, just never faithfully used!) so that I could attempt to get a handle on where I'm spending my money each month. The way I see it, I can't really cut expenses or focus my efforts in any one particular area until I'm seeing it in black and white right in front of my face. Let's just say this: I'm seeing in BOLD RED right. in. front. of. my. face. And it's disgusting.
I just got done inputting the numbers and I can't believe how awful I have been this month at sticking to the budget. I mean, it was ridiculous. Here's some of the worst hit areas:
Groceries--I have a budget of $200/month. I spent $363.59--that's $163.59 OVER BUDGET.
Eating Out--I have a monthly budget for Tyler and I of $50. We spent $272.63--that's $222.63 OVER BUDGET.
Lunch or Dinner for me at work--I have a monthly budget of $20 (really, I should be packing every. single. day. The budget is only an emergency type cushion--or not!). I spent $61.28--that's $41.28 OVER BUDGET.
I fully recognize that I need to first find out where I'm at in order to get to where I want to go. And yes, seeing these numbers in black and white (or red) definitely helps me to understand that there is a problem. I just didn't realize how big of a problem there was. I mean, I feel like I need to rename my entire blog to "Wish I could be Living On a Dime or Less" since I don't feel like I'm actually Living On A Dime or Less. Goals. Goals. Goals. Every good accomplishment started with a goal, right? Please just placate me and tell me I'm right.
One positive that I noticed in my budget was that I came in under the budgeted amount of $250 for gas (fuel for the car, not gas for the heat) by $18.98. However, I can't even really see this as much of an accomplishment since I was out of town for work for about half a week this month. So, if I had been home, I probably would have been over in my budget. Oh the heartaches of being an adult. One other slightly positive note is that I was able to make a fairly hefty payment to my credit card in an amount which was almost $3000 (THANK YOU BIRTHDAY MONEY!). No, I do not receive anywhere close to $3000 for my birthday, it's just that my birthday money combined with other payments equalled almost a $3,000 payment. In order to fully understand this, I will need to further explain how I use my credit card. Look for this explanation to come in a post soon!
Anyone else have any major budget blows in October? How about successes? I could certainly use the inspiration!
I suppose now that I've gotten you on the edge of your seats, I should explain a bit about the self depracating behavior. First off, I'm not entirely thrilled that I keep setting monthly goals or challenges for msyelf and I never seem to follow through with them (haven't you noticed that? If not, you will now!) so for the month of October, I kind of kept quiet about my financial challenge sheerly because I couldn't face one more public disappointment. I figured this way, if I totally failed, it would be only me that knew. Yeah, not exactly the best way to be held accountable by your peers. But, you know what, I actually accomplished this goal. What was it, you ask? Well, my goal for the month of October was to simply save up every receipt that I generated over the month and at the end of the month (I knew I wasn't ready for a routine maintenance program here. Baby steps, people!), I'd input them all into my budget (which has been created, just never faithfully used!) so that I could attempt to get a handle on where I'm spending my money each month. The way I see it, I can't really cut expenses or focus my efforts in any one particular area until I'm seeing it in black and white right in front of my face. Let's just say this: I'm seeing in BOLD RED right. in. front. of. my. face. And it's disgusting.
I just got done inputting the numbers and I can't believe how awful I have been this month at sticking to the budget. I mean, it was ridiculous. Here's some of the worst hit areas:
Groceries--I have a budget of $200/month. I spent $363.59--that's $163.59 OVER BUDGET.
Eating Out--I have a monthly budget for Tyler and I of $50. We spent $272.63--that's $222.63 OVER BUDGET.
Lunch or Dinner for me at work--I have a monthly budget of $20 (really, I should be packing every. single. day. The budget is only an emergency type cushion--or not!). I spent $61.28--that's $41.28 OVER BUDGET.
I fully recognize that I need to first find out where I'm at in order to get to where I want to go. And yes, seeing these numbers in black and white (or red) definitely helps me to understand that there is a problem. I just didn't realize how big of a problem there was. I mean, I feel like I need to rename my entire blog to "Wish I could be Living On a Dime or Less" since I don't feel like I'm actually Living On A Dime or Less. Goals. Goals. Goals. Every good accomplishment started with a goal, right? Please just placate me and tell me I'm right.
One positive that I noticed in my budget was that I came in under the budgeted amount of $250 for gas (fuel for the car, not gas for the heat) by $18.98. However, I can't even really see this as much of an accomplishment since I was out of town for work for about half a week this month. So, if I had been home, I probably would have been over in my budget. Oh the heartaches of being an adult. One other slightly positive note is that I was able to make a fairly hefty payment to my credit card in an amount which was almost $3000 (THANK YOU BIRTHDAY MONEY!). No, I do not receive anywhere close to $3000 for my birthday, it's just that my birthday money combined with other payments equalled almost a $3,000 payment. In order to fully understand this, I will need to further explain how I use my credit card. Look for this explanation to come in a post soon!
Anyone else have any major budget blows in October? How about successes? I could certainly use the inspiration!
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