Anyone want talk about money? :)

[sunshineluv]

I am trying to go through our budget today.

How do you motivate yourself to stick to a budget?

Any fun money saving tips?

Update:

We had a budget talk this weekend, and are implementing a few ideas for the month of May.

*Pay ourselves first (auto drafting money into savings accounts for us and each kid)

*Daily tracking of money

*Reasonable budgets for fun money, lunches at work, and food

*Buying groceries twice a week (we tend to buy once, then meat goes bad or we change our minds on what we want).

*Savings goals for painting house, and updating the backyard.

I think the daily tracking is going to be the biggest help (for me anyway)

On a funny note... knowing that I would be accountable for my spending starting today, I spent $50 on lipsense, and $40 on toms sandals, and $25 on crocs for Annabelle this weekend. It's like binging before starting a diet lol.

[sunshineluv]

The hardest thing for me is sticking to it. I love to spend money. I am not frugal by nature, although I love a good deal .


I wrote out our budget based on 24 paychecks, although we get 26 (bi-weekly) and am hoping those 2 checks can cover the fluff I haven't accounted for.

Food is the worst for us, I will meal plan, then that day I want something else. I did start back on ww today (cough cough blane12 , so I hope that helps with fast food runs.

[sunshineluv]

I also plan to track daily for a couple of months, but that gets annoying .

[Deleted]

My attempts at saving money:
Water grass the least amount
Got Cricket wireless for my cellphone ($35 a month)
Got rid of cable and use Sling and amazon prime only
Make house colder in winter and warmer in summer than most people probably do
Shop used for kids clothes, shoes, and toys as much as I can and then resell everything I can
Only buy fruit that is on sale or a cheaper variety
Get credit cards with good cash back points.
Milk seems super expensive so I limit kids to 2 glasses a day and adults don't drink any, and then also don't do juice.

I do all this so I can then buy the kids some Boden and go on an occasional vacation. So...you know I probably actually save nothing lol

[fryjack2]

I love finding bargains or ways to save money. Biggest savings tip is to put a certain amount of money from your pay check away before you can spend it. Pretend it doesn't exist. Then you don't have to feel guilt about spending the rest.

When we were trying to hit a certain number for our house DP, I made a chart and colored in every 5k we saved until we hit the top of the chart with our goal. I would color in each section as we saved with a different color. For example, sometimes I would color in a thin line to indicate 1k added to the savings account in the 20-25k section. It was a rainbow of colors which helped us see our progress.

Do you mean "fun money" or ways to save money that are fun?

I try to save money on things I am going to be spending money on anyway. I went shopping last week for new clothes. I spent $300 at Anthro and $12 at Goodwill. I found an amazing Helmut Lang moto jacket at Goodwill (we have an great one here that I shop in often) for $6.99 that retails for over $1500. I also list the boys clothes on a FB sight and recoup some of what I spent on them.

I look online for bigger purchases and compare prices from different companies. For instance, we need new roof deck furniture. I saw a set that I really liked, so I shopped around online and found it for almost 2k cheaper elsewhere.

I use cartwheel and my Target red card. I find most of what I would buy at the grocery store to be cheaper at Target than other stores when I factor in the 5% back. Especially when I think about time as money. I don;t have time to drag to kids to 4 stores to save 50 cents on toothpaste especially if I'm paying a sitter to be home with them while I run errands. I don't belong to Costo but I buy in bulk when Target has a sale like, "Buy 3 of X items and get a $5 GC." on things I will use like toilet paper or laundry detergent. I shop at Trader Joes and have stopped going to Whole Foods except for certain items like organic meat on the rare occasion we eat it.

If I order anything online, I check e-bates and search for online coupon codes first.

We have one car, which I realize is easier to do than elsewhere since we live in a city with good public transit.

I have two boys ( boys clothes are not as tempting to buy as girls clothes)who only want to wear workout clothes so I save a lot by buying that stuff at Marshalls and TJ Maxx.

Before buying something new, I've started to really think about if we really need it. We live in 1200sq feet.  We don't need more of anything. I'm planning to go through and donate/sell anything that we haven't touched in the last year, or have no plans to touch in the next year. 

Don't turn on your computer or leave the house. You can't spend money if you follow those two rules

[sunshineluv]

Apr 28, 2017 12:54:36 GMT -5 @lindy said:

My attempts at saving money:
Water grass the least amount
Got Cricket wireless for my cellphone ($35 a month)
Got rid of cable and use Sling and amazon prime only
Make house colder in winter and warmer in summer than most people probably do
Shop used for kids clothes, shoes, and toys as much as I can and then resell everything I can
Only buy fruit that is on sale or a cheaper variety
Get credit cards with good cash back points.
Milk seems super expensive so I limit kids to 2 glasses a day and adults don't drink any, and then also don't do juice.

I do all this so I can then buy the kids some Boden and go on an occasional vacation. So...you know I probably actually save nothing lol

Those are good points, we cancelled cable a couple of years ago, but we have sling, hulu and Netflix. We are paying $109 for all of those with internet, its not much savings.

What do you think of Cricket? We only have cell phones so I worry about coverage with a prepaid, but we pay $125 a month for cell service.

*I could totally save money on booze. But man, I love beer and wine. Your milk comment made me think of that, lol.

[chirpchirp]

Groceries - I check ads and shop several different stores base on sales. This is not something I would probably be able/willing to do if I was not a SAHM. We only drink milk/water/coffee at home and mainly stick to produce that is in season. The goal is to stay between $60-80/week for groceries and that gives us a little wiggle room for one meal out/week as a family and 1-2 lunches out with the kids.

Clothes for kids - except for shoes, almost all is second-hand. I try to pay no more than $2/piece ($4 if buying new).

[chirpchirp]

We had to scale way back when H started his assistantship. I do miss having beer/wine on a regular basis

[Deleted]

Apr 28, 2017 13:09:14 GMT -5 sunshineluv said:

Apr 28, 2017 12:54:36 GMT -5 @lindy said:

My attempts at saving money:
Water grass the least amount
Got Cricket wireless for my cellphone ($35 a month)
Got rid of cable and use Sling and amazon prime only
Make house colder in winter and warmer in summer than most people probably do
Shop used for kids clothes, shoes, and toys as much as I can and then resell everything I can
Only buy fruit that is on sale or a cheaper variety
Get credit cards with good cash back points.
Milk seems super expensive so I limit kids to 2 glasses a day and adults don't drink any, and then also don't do juice.

I do all this so I can then buy the kids some Boden and go on an occasional vacation. So...you know I probably actually save nothing lol

Those are good points, we cancelled cable a couple of years ago, but we have sling, hulu and Netflix. We are paying $109 for all of those with internet, its not much savings.

What do you think of Cricket? We only have cell phones so I worry about coverage with a prepaid, but we pay $125 a month for cell service.

*I could totally save money on booze. But man, I love beer and wine. Your milk comment made me think of that, lol.

I have no complaints about cricket! It's actually not a prepaid, it includes unlimited text/calls and some amount of data, can't remember how much. I think it uses the at&t network.

If you have the space, you can make your own wine! It's super cheap ($2-3 a bottle) and we've been really happy with it. It's also super easy. I mean I don't do it but my husband does. You just buy a kit and dump stuff in, wait, bottle, wait, drink. Or find someone else who does it and buy from them lol.

[sunshineluv]

Apr 28, 2017 13:03:10 GMT -5 fryjack2 said:

I love finding bargains or ways to save money. Biggest savings tip is to put a certain amount of money from your pay check away before you can spend it. Pretend it doesn't exist. Then you don't have to feel guilt about spending the rest.

When we were trying to hit a certain number for our house DP, I made a chart and colored in every 5k we saved until we hit the top of the chart with our goal. I would color in each section as we saved with a different color. For example, sometimes I would color in a thin line to indicate 1k added to the savings account in the 20-25k section. It was a rainbow of colors which helped us see our progress.

Do you mean "fun money" or ways to save money that are fun?

I try to save money on things I am going to be spending money on anyway. I went shopping last week for new clothes. I spent $300 at Anthro and $12 at Goodwill. I found an amazing Helmut Lang moto jacket at Goodwill (we have an great one here) for $6.99 that retails for over $1500. I also list the boys clothes on a FB sight and recoup some of what I spent on them.

I look online for bigger purchases and compare prices from different companies. For instance, we need new roof deck furniture. I saw a set that I really liked, so I shopped around online and found it for almost 2k cheaper elsewhere.

I use cartwheel and my Target red card. I find most of what I would buy at the grocery store to be cheaper at Target than other stores when I factor in the 5% back. Especially when I think about time as money. I don;t have time to drag to kids to 4 stores to save 50 cents on toothpaste especially if I'm paying a sitter to be home with them while I run errands. I don't belong to Costo but I buy in bulk when Target has a sale like, "Buy 3 of X items and get a $5 GC." on things I will use like toilet paper or laundry detergent. I shop at Trader Joes and have stopped going to Whole Foods except for certain items like organic meat on the rare occasion we eat it.

If I order anything online, I check e-bates and search for online coupon codes first.

We have one car, which is easy since we live in a city with good public transit.

I have two boys who only want to wear workout clothes so I save a lot buy buying that stuff at Marshalls and TJ Maxx.

Before buying something new, I've started to really think about if we really need it.

Don't turn on your computer or leave the house. You can't spend money if you follow those two rules

I like the color chart idea!! We could do that, I want to save up to paint our house (I know that is a small goal), but it would be a good visual goal for us.

The last line is key for me, lol, I follow coupon blogs, and find great deals, but it also means sometimes I spend on things I don't need.

That mindset, of thinking do I need it, is where I need to get to. I have had it before, but I can also get spendy.

[sunshineluv]

Apr 28, 2017 13:16:16 GMT -5 chirpchirp said:

We had to scale way back when H started his assistantship. I do miss having beer/wine on a regular basis

Counting calories will help with my wine consumption!

[blane12]

Apr 28, 2017 13:19:43 GMT -5 sunshineluv said:

Apr 28, 2017 13:16:16 GMT -5 chirpchirp said:

We had to scale way back when H started his assistantship. I do miss having beer/wine on a regular basis

Counting calories will help with my wine consumption!

That may be the part I'm most upset about with starting WW!  

[blane12]

I am probably not the right person to answer this considering I am going to be buying pictures from our photo session this weekend and I just ordered a stitch fix. Whoops.

BUT, I really want to buckle down and save more. We have a decent amount saved, but have a lot of projects we want to do around the house, and I want to do something for our 10th anniversary next year, and would prefer that none of that cuts into our savings.

For groceries - I shop mostly at Kroger. They have coupons online that I 'clip' to my card, and they also send me some in the mail. I used to buy a paper, and go through coupons there, but just don't have the time or desire to do it anymore. Since I'm trying to lose some weight, and eat healthy, it can be harder to save for groceries. I get a lot of fruit, some veggies, chicken, and ground turkey. I try to get in season fruit, but sometimes Blake will only eat raspberries, so even if they are $2.99, I still buy them. If I do that, I'll just try to cut down on the amount of processed food that I buy. I'd say we end up spending between $100-$150/week on groceries. We don't eat out a whole lot - maybe twice a week. I have gotten in the bad habit of going out to lunch 2-3 times during the work week which is usually only around $5 a day, but it adds up. I usually end up doing this when I don't plan ahead and get everything ready the night before. So - I'm going to try to pack mine and Blake's lunch the night before. Quicker in the morning, and I have no excuses for going out to eat.

If I'm honest, I the one who tends to buy frivolous things - I'm sitting here thinking about what I actually buy, and i'm not even sure. I REALLY need to stop. My H doesn't spend hardly anything, so the one thing he wants is our Directv (NFL network, red zone), so I can't ask him to cancel that. My work pays for my cell phone.

I try to track too - at least on my credit card expenses - but it's depressing

I just made up a spreadsheet on excel to track. I haven't done it since probably December though. I'd be interested in what everyone uses if they do track.

Basically - in summary - I am following for tips and ideas.

[blane12]

fryjack2 - where do you sell the boys clothes at? Is it a local group? I've tried selling some of the boys JJ stuff (they don't have much), and it was hit or miss. My cousin is going to do a garage sale this summer, and I was thinking about putting all their clothes in that just to get rid of them.

[bean47]

Apr 28, 2017 14:20:32 GMT -5 blane12 said:

fryjack2 - where do you sell the boys clothes at? Is it a local group? I've tried selling some of the boys JJ stuff (they don't have much), and it was hit or miss. My cousin is going to do a garage sale this summer, and I was thinking about putting all their clothes in that just to get rid of them.

I found Facebook groups are easiest for me. I don't have time to run around meeting meeting for $5 or whatever. If I can do several items at a time and take one trip to the post office, it makes it worth while. I sold a bunch of their carters babies clothes on a Facebook group super cheap but it really adds up!

[chirpchirp]

I also try to stick to making just one trip a week for groceries and buying only what is on my list (unless I find a great deal/have a good coupon).

[Deleted]

Apr 28, 2017 14:20:32 GMT -5 blane12 said:

fryjack2 - where do you sell the boys clothes at? Is it a local group? I've tried selling some of the boys JJ stuff (they don't have much), and it was hit or miss. My cousin is going to do a garage sale this summer, and I was thinking about putting all their clothes in that just to get rid of them.

If you have a Once Upon a Child nearby that is really good for lower brands like Carters, Target, and Gymbo.  You would probably make more selling J&J on a Facebook group, there's actually a few boy's only ones, I'm a member of one and things sell pretty good it seems.

[fryjack2]

blane12- we have a high end baby and kids gear group here. I see people trying to sell one good condition Tea Collection shirt for like, $12. They never sell. The key is to bundle and price low enough to get it sold.

I group a bunch of stuff together at the appropriate seasons. I'm going through the boys clothes from last summer and will post 8 shirts and 13 shirts (all brands Gap or nicer) for $20-40 depending on brand make up.

I just sold their Kid Craft play kitchen and all the Melissa and Doug and Hape accessories and food for $50 dollars. I had 30 people wanting it. I could have listed it for much higher but I want things gone.

I usually just aim for $2-3 a shirt, $3 a sweater, $2-3 per pant, and I throw in socks and random other things for free.

Whatever doesn't sell, I donate.

Good luck!

[dbe100408]

I use Mint. After last weekend, we really need to buckle down. Our washing machine quit, our TV quit, and H bought a suit on a whim. Since our entertainment center is an old solid oak one, a new TV doesn't fit, so we had to buy one of those too.

I had a garage sale last weekend, and sold about $900 worth of crap (after building rental). We donated a bunch of the leftovers, but boxed up the leftover kids clothes and will try again in June. I hope to make about half of that next time. I pulled all the JJ clothes to try to purge on FB.

Mint has been really *really* eye-opening for my H. I think he thought I was the spending problem, and didn't realize how much his nickel and diming hurt us. It all adds up! Now that tax season is "over" I'm ready to meal plan, etc. again.

[fryjack2]

Another idea that I want to try is something like putting money you were going to spend but didn't in a jar.

For example, I was going to get a pedicure last weekend. I ran out of time and painted them myself. Saved $35. I wanted a $5 Nutella hot chocolate today but went for a run instead.

I should open another capital one account and transfer that 35 and 5 dollars into it and watch it grow. That would help me think twice about purchases.

[sunflowers7]

Make coffee at home. Although my husband does get a refill from the coffee shop next door but that's only $1 with the refillable cup.



  Meal plan.   Use double ad Wednesday's.   

Stay out of target or leave my debit card at home when doing shop kicks. 

We carpool daily Our cars are our biggest expense at the moment I have one more year on my lease and will get something way cheaper or we will trade both cars in for just one car.   It's hard bc my job requires lots of driving.    

Weve had to cut cut way back since January no more Disney we use groupings for kids outings or wait until there's a birthday which seems to be once a month a party for them to go to.   

were lucky that we live where we do and lots of free entertain,net beaches parks, little festivals. 

[TrudyCampbell]

Apr 28, 2017 14:56:35 GMT -5 fryjack2 said:

Another idea that I want to try is something like putting money you were going to spend but didn't in a jar.

For example, I was going to get a pedicure last weekend. I ran out of time and painted them myself. Saved $35. I wanted a $5 Nutella hot chocolate today but went for a run instead.

I should open another capital one account and transfer that 35 and 5 dollars into it and watch it grow. That would help me think twice about purchases.

I feel like this would be great for me.

Someone make me do it!

I spend sooooo much on food. blane12, I often pay $5-6 for a small thing of raspberries. What am I doing wrong!? Today they were 2 for $9 and that was a deal.

[mlkgls]

I'm frugal by nature, but trying to offset MH's spending habits plus several large expenditures is leaving me feeling a little tight. I love the idea fryjack2 of a goal chart! Both my a/c and car are older and I really need to build my cushion back up in anticipation.

I've started deleting all sale emails without looking. I use the coupon.com, Ibotta, Flipp, and wal.mart savings catcher apps. Our free suburban paper includes coupons inserts which I look through each week. I track in Mint, but I feel like it's not as intuitive as it used to be. I make coffee at home, but I know we spend more than I would like on food. I think if I meal planned and cut down on waste I could save quite a bit. Probably an embarrassing amount.

I was anticipating a price break this fall because of kindergarten, but it looks like therapy will eat up any savings.

As for more of a long term goal, I bumped up my 401k contribution after my annual review since I wouldn't miss it.

[katfco]

Our saving money tips:
1. Limit how often you eat out. When you do, go somewhere that has a kids eat free day or a coupon. Spending more than $25 for the four of us is too much for us unless it's a really special occasion.

2. Stick to a meal plan. Ways to do this are:
--prepare meals ahead of time. I often find, it's not that I don't want the food; I just don't want to cook it. When I have time, I make multiple days' worth and freeze. I also always cook 2 days' worth, so we have leftovers another day.
--don't have a mindset of "we must have this on X day." Instead, have a list of what you're cooking for the week, and then you can choose what you feel like from that list.
--Have a few "go-to" meals for when you just don't feel like it. I love chicken nuggets and rice-a-roni (yes, I'm totally a kid). I throw in some frozen veggies and we're good.
--We always plan for 1 night as pizza night--$5 Little Caesar's for when I don't want to cook.

3. Shop sales and stock up. We never buy cereal for more than $2/box, and often we get it cheaper than that. We wait until it's on sale, and then we use coupons on top of that. We sometimes will buy 10 boxes at a time, but it's saved us a ton of money.

4. Separate needs vs. wants. I actually have the opposite problem. I grew up with only needs being met and we knew not to bother asking for "wants". I've had to teach myself that just because I have 2 decent pairs of shoes, I can still want and buy a few more. But if you're trying to save money, reevaluate how you categorize things.

5. Every time you spend money, consider if there's a way to get it cheaper. Buying meat? Can you cook a similar meal with ground beef instead of steak? Is the chicken on sale this week? Get that instead of beef. Need gas? Check Gas Buddy.

6. If saving money is really a problem, then a strict, no-frills budget for a while might be the way to go.

[jsillyfun]

TrudyCampbell I had the same reaction to the raspberries lol! Must be a cost of living thing bc those are $7 for a small package here. No wonder I spend so much on food!

[mlkgls]

katfco - were you one of the Aldi shoppers? One was just built nearby and I was thinking about running by tomorrow.

Are there certain items there that are cheaper? Items you'd steer clear? How's the produce?

[katfco]

Apr 28, 2017 18:48:58 GMT -5 mlkgls said:

katfco - were you one of the Aldi shoppers? One was just built nearby and I was thinking about running by tomorrow.

Are there certain items there that are cheaper? Items you'd steer clear? How's the produce?

I love Aldi! In our area, all items are cheaper than other stores' regular prices. Quality is basic generic stuff, but I don't mind it. 

Some items are trial and error and personal preference. For example, DH doesn't like their cereals or yogurt, and my mom won't use their canned soups. 

Produce can be hit or miss, and sometimes it depends on the area. In our area, I steer clear of the onions and bananas, but the rest are usually great. 

Remember you need a quarter for the shopping cart and you need to bring your own bags. 

[mlkgls]

Apr 28, 2017 18:57:37 GMT -5 katfco said:

Apr 28, 2017 18:48:58 GMT -5 mlkgls said:

katfco - were you one of the Aldi shoppers? One was just built nearby and I was thinking about running by tomorrow.

Are there certain items there that are cheaper? Items you'd steer clear? How's the produce?

I love Aldi! In our area, all items are cheaper than other stores' regular prices. Quality is basic generic stuff, but I don't mind it. 

Some items are trial and error and personal preference. For example, DH doesn't like their cereals or yogurt, and my mom won't use their canned soups. 

Produce can be hit or miss, and sometimes it depends on the area. In our area, I steer clear of the onions and bananas, but the rest are usually great. 

Remember you need a quarter for the shopping cart and you need to bring your own bags. 

Ooh, I already use canvas bags, but I never ever carry cash so the quarter thing is good to know! Do they take coupons? It'll be interesting to see how they compare to other local stores.

I wish someone would invent an app that could help me track prices, like Amazon's camelcamelcamel

[katfco]

Apr 28, 2017 19:04:40 GMT -5 mlkgls said:

Apr 28, 2017 18:57:37 GMT -5 katfco said:

I love Aldi! In our area, all items are cheaper than other stores' regular prices. Quality is basic generic stuff, but I don't mind it. 

Some items are trial and error and personal preference. For example, DH doesn't like their cereals or yogurt, and my mom won't use their canned soups. 

Produce can be hit or miss, and sometimes it depends on the area. In our area, I steer clear of the onions and bananas, but the rest are usually great. 

Remember you need a quarter for the shopping cart and you need to bring your own bags. 

Ooh, I already use canvas bags, but I never ever carry cash so the quarter thing is good to know! Do they take coupons? It'll be interesting to see how they compare to other local stores.

I wish someone would invent an app that could help me track prices, like Amazon's camelcamelcamel

They do not take coupons and up until recently, didn't take credit cards--part of how they stay so cheap. I'm still not sure if all stores take credit cards, so I'd suggest making sure you have cash or debit card. 

[blane12]

Apr 28, 2017 17:36:44 GMT -5 TrudyCampbell said:

Apr 28, 2017 14:56:35 GMT -5 fryjack2 said:

Another idea that I want to try is something like putting money you were going to spend but didn't in a jar.

For example, I was going to get a pedicure last weekend. I ran out of time and painted them myself. Saved $35. I wanted a $5 Nutella hot chocolate today but went for a run instead.

I should open another capital one account and transfer that 35 and 5 dollars into it and watch it grow. That would help me think twice about purchases.

I feel like this would be great for me.

Someone make me do it!

I spend sooooo much on food. blane12, I often pay $5-6 for a small thing of raspberries. What am I doing wrong!? Today they were 2 for $9 and that was a deal.

You live in New York?!?! Lol. Raspberries are typically $2.99 in the off season here. They get as low as .99 in the summer at times. Not organic. Colton will eat a whole package in 5minutes. Want me to mail you some??