Wednesday Whatevah's

[estrellita]

HoneySpider - I have tried bringing PB&J but I don't like how the bread tastes after sitting like that for some reason. I'm so weird about bread, I prefer to toast it. We do have toaster at work but it's hard to bring jelly

ewall and awick14 We did think about that. Our room is HUGE, but we could potentially keep things like the sewing machine I don't use often and bookshelves. We'd probably keep stuff in the closet in that room but maybe use the other closet a little as well. The only thing that bugs me though is our bedroom has an AC unit and is a serious must for us at night, I'd have a hard time giving that up! My initial thought was to keep baby in our room for a while (we would for a bit anyways with nighttime feedings of course) but how long would I really want to do that? I wouldn't necessarily want to when I go back to work, so that's only really going to be for a couple months.

grover We thought about something like that.. does it ever smell? H cleans ours daily and I can still smell them from the living room

PS you guys are all awesome and making me feel a lot better!

[travelbug]

HoneySpider Good luck to your H!

[katespade]

estrellita - I put my PB&Js in the fridge if I'm saving them for lunch. It sounds weird, but it helps keep the bread from getting soggy. I also keep snacks in my desk so that I don't need to eat as big of a lunch, which really seems to help.

[estrellita]

Jul 23, 2014 23:37:19 GMT -5 katespade said:

estrellita - I put my PB&Js in the fridge if I'm saving them for lunch. It sounds weird, but it helps keep the bread from getting soggy. I also keep snacks in my desk so that I don't need to eat as big of a lunch, which really seems to help.

I do usually keep them in a lunch box with an ice pack, but maybe actually venturing down to the break room would help. I try to keep snacks at my desk but for some reason I don't eat them. I have a thing of cashews that make me gag when I think about eating them (I need to bring them home for H) and a think of cheese cracker things that just don't appeal to me most of the time. I'll have to think of some more things.

One thing that doesn't help is that there is a cafe downstairs so it is SO easy to go grab a muffin or something when I need a snack. They're not terribly priced, but if I did that every day, it would add up! I used to get coffee a few times a week but luckily coffee doesn't even appeal to me right now so that hasn't been hard to give up!

[travelbug]

To everyone who wants a budget board. That sounds like a great idea!! I am in dire need of a real budget... I am all for the idea. My H is definitely the spender in our marriage too. He didn't grow up with a lot of money, so he feels we are doing far better than I feel we are. I struggle with this on a monthly basis. Looking forward to hearing other people's ideas and reading everyone's posts on here!

Ugh, money stinks!

[katespade]

Jul 23, 2014 23:47:09 GMT -5 estrellita said:

Jul 23, 2014 23:37:19 GMT -5 katespade said:

estrellita - I put my PB&Js in the fridge if I'm saving them for lunch. It sounds weird, but it helps keep the bread from getting soggy. I also keep snacks in my desk so that I don't need to eat as big of a lunch, which really seems to help.

I do usually keep them in a lunch box with an ice pack, but maybe actually venturing down to the break room would help. I try to keep snacks at my desk but for some reason I don't eat them. I have a thing of cashews that make me gag when I think about eating them (I need to bring them home for H) and a think of cheese cracker things that just don't appeal to me most of the time. I'll have to think of some more things.

One thing that doesn't help is that there is a cafe downstairs so it is SO easy to go grab a muffin or something when I need a snack. They're not terribly priced, but if I did that every day, it would add up! I used to get coffee a few times a week but luckily coffee doesn't even appeal to me right now so that hasn't been hard to give up!

I keep things like dry cereal, rolls, crackers, peanut butter, sun chips, and fruit snacks in my desk drawers. I totally understand the temptation issue, because we have a vending machine mini-mart system set up in our breakroom. It's really hard to stay away from the sodas and snacks when they're so tempting and convenient. 

[HoneySpider]

estrellita I think you've gotten a lot of good advice in this thread. However I feel like you are coming up with a lot of excuses for why you can't do things that people suggest. With budgeting and saving and hitting goals, sometimes it's just about buckling down and doing it. You have more than enough room in your budget for food, fun and whatever else and still being able to save. It's doable, but you have to do it.

It's not always fun or easy to cut back but when you hit those goals it feels so good and it's worth it! You can still live a comfortable lifestyle without depriving yourself, you just have to really think about your choices.

[luv2rn4fun]

estrellita- I agree- you've gotten some sound advice from the ladies.  We live on a similar budget (we only live on DH's income)...our mortgage is around $1200 (including property tax), gas is around $500 (thanks to my driving, although not doing it right now that's what we budget for and survived no problems for over a year), etc.  We also save a ton of money...both DH and I max out our 401k ($17,500 each) and we max out a Roth ($5500/year).

Our major differences in budget are food, cable/internet, and cell phone.  Our electric bill is usually around $60 because we have a pool.  We also have to pay for water (around $50) and gas (maybe $20).

For food- I cook all the time.  It's really not that bad.  And, dinners become lunches for both DH and I which means we are not going out to eat.  We also don't go out to eat that much together either, maybe 2-3 times/month and try to do a happy hour or something cheaper.  Like bk1 said, I shop all the store ads and only buy the meat that is on sale, produce, etc.  We literally only spend $200-230/month for the two of us.  I am surprised at how we do this as well but we've done it now for 3+ years.  It's a HUGE cost saver!

As for cooking and being pg...I totally get it.  I struggled too but things that helped were crockpot meals.  If I didn't have to actually physically cook it I could usually eat it.  I also bought some frozen burritos and teriyaki bowls from Costco that were cheap, a good source of protein, and I could take them to work (or eat at home) for lunch so I wouldn't have to eat the leftovers that might not sound as appealing the next day.  As for PB&J...bring the bread separately and get a small (like tiny) tupperware container to store your PB and jelly (you can even use two separate ones).  That way you can toast your bread and have your PB&J just as you would at home.  I also bring tons of snacks to work...granola bars, oatmeal, fruits, yogurts, etc.  I try to eat those but sometimes will walk to the store at lunch and buy an extra snack (maybe 1/wk) that sounds good.

Cable- We don't pay for cable, only internet.  We have an antenna that picks up over the air local channels.  Since you have netflix, you could cut some costs and watch some of your shows on netflix or on the internet (can even use your internet to watch it on your tv by connecting your computer to the tv).

Phone- Our cell phone bill is $72/month.  We both have cheap phones (no internet...although my old iPhone works wirelessly as an iTouch for email, Pandora, etc while at home and work).  DH had me give up my cell phone when we got married to cut our costs.

Vacations/fun stuff- We budget for our big vacation (which is usually less than $1500 and only once per year, if that).  We have an entertainment account in our budget that is for all eating out, concerts, trips to the inlaws, dates, etc.  We also both have our own "fun" money that we can use for anything we want...usually this is gifts for DH, craft supplies, clothes, etc.  It's only $75/month each.

Good luck!  It's hard to make the changes but when you do, it doesn't take long to adapt to them.  It's all about being consistent!

ETA:  Meal planning is a huge time saver and cost saver!  It really takes the guessing out of everything.  Plus when I go grocery shopping, I stick to my list and don't buy extra things we don't need.

[estrellita]

HoneySpider yes, it does sound like a lot of excuses, but I'm very honest. I have tried things in the past and know how they go, so some suggestions just won't work that well. But it's very true that sometimes I just need to suck it up and focus on the money we'll save by cooking more and cutting back on things even when I really don't feel like it. H is pretty good about cooking but I'm not going to make him cook every day! I keep telling him to take sandwiches to work and then I don't grab anything.. not really fair. I think I just need some better options and to get better at making the right amount of food to have leftovers for both of us more often!

[katespade]

estrellita - Also, it took us a year of talking about it before we finally pulled the trigger on cancelling our cable. We get about 20 channels right now, and it's because when we called the cable company they offered us those channels with our internet for the same price as the internet alone (I'm assuming they thought that looking at the menu every day would tempt us into upgrading our service again). It's been at least a year and a half since we made the switch, and it was totally worth it. Our cable bill was almost $200 and now we've more than cut that in half, even including the cost of Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime. We rent movies through Redbox or Amazon, and we can find almost any show we could want to watch on one of the three video options. On the rare instance that Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon fail us we hook the laptop up to the TV and stream shows through the internet.

It's scary to consider, but totally worth it!