Let's see, we had to pay our rediculous house taxes and my husband's road taxes this month, but we actually were able to save quite a bit of money! WHAT!!!
Well, we had a small windfall just in time to pay our taxes which we were not at all ready for. We had cash left over even after that and I was able to save from his check AND mine. I have no clue how that happened but I am not complaining.
I did something a little bad, but I am not going to beat myself up over it. I waited to pay for my car repairs until this last credit card bill was due. So, I paid off what extra I had put on with money I took out of our emergency savings, but I waited until the bill was due in essence skipping this month's payment which I put into savings. So my debt did not get any lower, but it won't get any higher either.
I was really excited to see two big bills drop. On my car I now owe less than 10 grand, and that nasty furniture bill is finally under 7. (Ouch, still sucks but hey it is getting better).
In other good news, my car insurance went down this past month. My cell bill was also down a bit. I don't know why all of these are lower but I am not complaining one bit. We got our Christmas electric bill though and wow.... it was pretty steep!
On the baby front, we really lucked out this month. My MIL came down and wanted to go baby shopping. She bought us a lot of the things we didn't have yet. Saving us a good $200 which will get to stay in savings to help pay for bills while I am on maternity leave and hospital expenses not covered by insurance. I made a new list of things that we really do need, things that we need but can wait on (like a highchair), and things that are purely wants (like that stroller). After my baby shower in March we will get whatever is left to be purchased only if it is a true necessity and not a "oh but this is so cute" purchase.
In disasters waiting to happen, my husband's laptop has gone kaput. It is not recognizing the hard drive at all. I pulled out my old laptop and he is using it, but it truly is a dinosaur. It takes a good 15 minutes to boot up which I warned him about. So he is now on a mission to buy a new computer. When he gets like this it is very hard to reason with him. He sees it as a NEED not a WANT. The fact that we need to be saving for the baby and the upcoming bills does not even factor into the equation for him. So, I guess I will probably be updating more on that in the near future.
So, even though January felt like it would never end we made out pretty good!! I have already looked at what is going to happen next month and I think the savings will continue. I will have more on that tomorrow with my "notebook" system that works so well for me.
Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
My Biggest Money Accomplishments
Well, you know about my mistakes, but over the last year I have made some great progress. Here are some of my biggest accomplishments. Please list your own. I find them very motivational.
1. I stopped adding to my debt. Probably one of the best things I have done for my financial situation. I do not use credit cards anymore. I can’t say I have done this consistently for an entire year, but everyday gets me closer to that mark.
2. I cut up my credit cards. Obviously this is in direct relation to the first one. However, I can’t tell you how freeing it is to cut up your cards. We were dependent on them. We used them every month for things as necessary as groceries… but I don’t miss them. It has also lowered my stress level significantly because the option to use them is gone.
3. I found money. Yup, every month I was paying more than I needed to for things. I did this in several ways. I combined my cable, internet and phone service saving fifty dollars a month. I also changed my cell phone plan which was only supposed to save me ten dollars a month but it somehow turned into fifteen. I stopped contributing to a couple of savings plans in order to get my debt paid down faster.
4. I have never stopped contributing to my retirement for any reason. Technically I have been doing this for 8 years. That is my mandatory state retirement though. Two years ago when I graduated college and got a new job I began contributing to a 403b. I have not let anything keep me from doing that and I love opening that envelope every month and watching those numbers get bigger and bigger.
5. I just pay more attention. And, I think that can make all the difference in the world. I think about purchases now. I think about how much something is actually costing me in terms of how much I will use it and how much interest that money could be accruing in the bank. I analyze my accomplishments and my mistakes to see where I need work and where I am doing okay.
Please add your own accomplishments to this list. I know if you really think about it you have made some progress somewhere!!
1. I stopped adding to my debt. Probably one of the best things I have done for my financial situation. I do not use credit cards anymore. I can’t say I have done this consistently for an entire year, but everyday gets me closer to that mark.
2. I cut up my credit cards. Obviously this is in direct relation to the first one. However, I can’t tell you how freeing it is to cut up your cards. We were dependent on them. We used them every month for things as necessary as groceries… but I don’t miss them. It has also lowered my stress level significantly because the option to use them is gone.
3. I found money. Yup, every month I was paying more than I needed to for things. I did this in several ways. I combined my cable, internet and phone service saving fifty dollars a month. I also changed my cell phone plan which was only supposed to save me ten dollars a month but it somehow turned into fifteen. I stopped contributing to a couple of savings plans in order to get my debt paid down faster.
4. I have never stopped contributing to my retirement for any reason. Technically I have been doing this for 8 years. That is my mandatory state retirement though. Two years ago when I graduated college and got a new job I began contributing to a 403b. I have not let anything keep me from doing that and I love opening that envelope every month and watching those numbers get bigger and bigger.
5. I just pay more attention. And, I think that can make all the difference in the world. I think about purchases now. I think about how much something is actually costing me in terms of how much I will use it and how much interest that money could be accruing in the bank. I analyze my accomplishments and my mistakes to see where I need work and where I am doing okay.
Please add your own accomplishments to this list. I know if you really think about it you have made some progress somewhere!!
Friday, January 4, 2008
Happy New Years... a few days late :)
Wow. It has been quite a while since I have even thought about money. So how have I been doing? Well let’s see. There were several things I was working on.
My crisis plan
My emergency fund
Staying out of debt
Paying off existing debt
Well, let’s begin with my crisis plan. Not too bad, but not as great as it could be right now. I used about $100 extra for Christmas from my emergency fund and also $100 for things that had to do with the baby and some issues that have come up from my pregnancy. (I feel SOME of that money was well spent) So right now, I am about $100 below the $500 mark I promised I would stay at. I will be replenishing all of that this month. I am happy that I am able to do that this month, but still upset because if I had not overspent that would have been EXTRA money.
So I guess that killed two birds with one stone, but really that is not my entire emergency fund. I have two other accounts that I absolutely never touch and the combination of all three equals about one month’s salary right now. That is good, but seeing as I will be out of work for almost two months with the added expenses of the hospital bills means that I need at least three months saved up.
Staying out of debt. Well…. I have not added ONE PENNY to my debt since I cut up those credit cards!!! I did use a card in December to buy some groceries, but I immediately paid it back as soon as I got paid and did not owe any finance charges. How did I get a credit card you ask? Well, the old one expired and they had sent me a new one. It was kind of an emergency due to a little mix up on the finances so I used the card knowing it would be paid back only days later.
Paying off existing debt. Well, I am still paying, and paying and paying, but there is not much to say on this front. For the last two months to have a little extra cash for Christmas I paid only the minimums on my cards. However I just paid them for the month of January and I bumped them back up to the original amount I was paying before.
I wanted to write about my progress because I remember a time last year when I thought that it was impossible for my husband and I to not use credit cards. I thought that we really needed the extra help. However, I have been going without for several months and so far so good. I can’t stress how scared I was to cut up my cards and quit using them but when I did it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. The choice to make more debt was taken away from me. It was no longer an option. Before I found out I was pregnant I had a plan that was going to have my card paid off and pretty much all of my other debt in just 5 years. It is now going to take me 2 years just to pay what I owe on my credit card. However, since I am no longer adding to it I can see the end in sight!! My husband has also started chipping in. He has agreed to sell his motorcycle… if we can find a buyer and next January we will purchase his truck when the lease is up making our payments on that considerably less.
This year will be an interesting one. It is going to be tough to scrape together enough cash to have two kids in daycare. At first the baby will probably have to go to a center that takes babies and that will cost more. When she is old enough to go to daycare with our other daughter we will get a discount for having two kids in the same center. I plan on changing my deductions with my payroll department when this baby is born. We currently get a pretty fat refund each year, but I need that money throughout the year now. I have another 8 months before I will get another raise so until then it will be very tight. Luckily we have made some room for ourselves. For example the money that I pay extra on my credit cards “could” be cut back if absolutely necessary. I am also saving $50 a month in the Suze Orman Save Yourself Plan with TD ameritrade. In March it will mark one year I have been saving and I will get the $100 bonus. After that the money can go towards bills instead of savings if need be. We also have two other loans that will be paid off this year. We currently have direct deposit paying them so the direct deposit will continue going into the bank and that money will be there when we need it.
Whew, so that is how it has been going with me. How are all of you?
My crisis plan
My emergency fund
Staying out of debt
Paying off existing debt
Well, let’s begin with my crisis plan. Not too bad, but not as great as it could be right now. I used about $100 extra for Christmas from my emergency fund and also $100 for things that had to do with the baby and some issues that have come up from my pregnancy. (I feel SOME of that money was well spent) So right now, I am about $100 below the $500 mark I promised I would stay at. I will be replenishing all of that this month. I am happy that I am able to do that this month, but still upset because if I had not overspent that would have been EXTRA money.
So I guess that killed two birds with one stone, but really that is not my entire emergency fund. I have two other accounts that I absolutely never touch and the combination of all three equals about one month’s salary right now. That is good, but seeing as I will be out of work for almost two months with the added expenses of the hospital bills means that I need at least three months saved up.
Staying out of debt. Well…. I have not added ONE PENNY to my debt since I cut up those credit cards!!! I did use a card in December to buy some groceries, but I immediately paid it back as soon as I got paid and did not owe any finance charges. How did I get a credit card you ask? Well, the old one expired and they had sent me a new one. It was kind of an emergency due to a little mix up on the finances so I used the card knowing it would be paid back only days later.
Paying off existing debt. Well, I am still paying, and paying and paying, but there is not much to say on this front. For the last two months to have a little extra cash for Christmas I paid only the minimums on my cards. However I just paid them for the month of January and I bumped them back up to the original amount I was paying before.
I wanted to write about my progress because I remember a time last year when I thought that it was impossible for my husband and I to not use credit cards. I thought that we really needed the extra help. However, I have been going without for several months and so far so good. I can’t stress how scared I was to cut up my cards and quit using them but when I did it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. The choice to make more debt was taken away from me. It was no longer an option. Before I found out I was pregnant I had a plan that was going to have my card paid off and pretty much all of my other debt in just 5 years. It is now going to take me 2 years just to pay what I owe on my credit card. However, since I am no longer adding to it I can see the end in sight!! My husband has also started chipping in. He has agreed to sell his motorcycle… if we can find a buyer and next January we will purchase his truck when the lease is up making our payments on that considerably less.
This year will be an interesting one. It is going to be tough to scrape together enough cash to have two kids in daycare. At first the baby will probably have to go to a center that takes babies and that will cost more. When she is old enough to go to daycare with our other daughter we will get a discount for having two kids in the same center. I plan on changing my deductions with my payroll department when this baby is born. We currently get a pretty fat refund each year, but I need that money throughout the year now. I have another 8 months before I will get another raise so until then it will be very tight. Luckily we have made some room for ourselves. For example the money that I pay extra on my credit cards “could” be cut back if absolutely necessary. I am also saving $50 a month in the Suze Orman Save Yourself Plan with TD ameritrade. In March it will mark one year I have been saving and I will get the $100 bonus. After that the money can go towards bills instead of savings if need be. We also have two other loans that will be paid off this year. We currently have direct deposit paying them so the direct deposit will continue going into the bank and that money will be there when we need it.
Whew, so that is how it has been going with me. How are all of you?
Friday, November 23, 2007
Tips on a Debt Free Christmas
I have to start this out by saying I have stuck to my word. I will not have ANY debt incurred from this shopping season. I have been using cash for everything. Now some of this may not work for you if you did not plan ahead a little but hopefully some of these tips will help you out.
1. Don't pay full price for anything. The internet is so wonderful. Last week I pulled a coupon off of JCPenney.com because I wanted to buy something for my husband. The coupon promised $10 off for any purchase over $50. I was a little skeptical that it would work... all those exceptions and all, but it did work so I saved $10 just by looking online before I went shopping. This got me thinking.... how many other stores offer coupons online? MOST OF THEM!!! I got a 40% off coupon for Hobby Lobby- I was planning to shop there also, and I went on GameStop.com and signed up for their newsletter (knowing I could stop it at any time) and was rewarded with a 10% off coupon for that store as well. I am not suggesting you go to every store you can think of online, but if you know where you are going to be check it out online first and just see what they have to offer.
2. Load up at Amazon.com. No, I don't mean buy everything there. I mean load up your shopping cart with what you want to buy for everyone. If you can find items you want, or similar items put them all in the shopping cart and then check the total. Is it in your budget? If not, see what items you can switch out. I did this and it was so great. I knew exactly how much I was going to end up spending. Then I shopped around. For items that did not qualify for free supersaver shipping I checked at my local Walmart (you can use site to store shipping there and get free shipping- plus it ships to the store so you can make sure the kiddies aren't around when you pick it up) This is one way I got some of the best deals. Link to Amazon Black Friday Deals
3. Don't forget tax. I love Amazon because they don't charge tax except from certain shippers. Our tax rate here at home is quite high. We actually went shopping in a nearby state because their tax rate is half of what it is here... plus they have a Toys R Us. We bought a $90 item there that would have cost us between 3-4 dollars more here just in taxes. (and that is just one example obviously we bought more or it wouldn't have been worth the gas) So sometimes we get the biggest break either online or "next door" because of the tax rate in our state.
4. Keep those receipts and don't be afraid to return. Christmas/holiday shopping should be about giving. And, we all know if you are giving what you don't have to give you are hurting your own family or yourself in the long run. I think most people understand when you are trying to get your finances in order they may not get a great gift that year. If you overspend do not be afraid to return things you have purchased. If you are embarrassed you can always make a comment to the cashier like "my mom just bought herself one of these on sale, so I'll have to find her something else".... etc. It doesn't matter just don't go crazy on the spending.
5. Have a good Christmas yourself. Last year I returned over $200 of my own gifts and bought myself things that I wanted. (Granted I had gotten two Nintendo DS's, only needed one of those) Don't let something you won't use sit in the closet. I always give gifts with the stipulation that if the recipient doesn't like it that they please please return it and get something they want... cuz that is what I am going to do...
Okay so maybe that last one isn't a budget tip but it will make you happier!! Especially when you have spent so much of your own hard earned money.
Points to remember- find deals on what you already plan to purchase- shop around- stick to the budget even if it means making returns.
1. Don't pay full price for anything. The internet is so wonderful. Last week I pulled a coupon off of JCPenney.com because I wanted to buy something for my husband. The coupon promised $10 off for any purchase over $50. I was a little skeptical that it would work... all those exceptions and all, but it did work so I saved $10 just by looking online before I went shopping. This got me thinking.... how many other stores offer coupons online? MOST OF THEM!!! I got a 40% off coupon for Hobby Lobby- I was planning to shop there also, and I went on GameStop.com and signed up for their newsletter (knowing I could stop it at any time) and was rewarded with a 10% off coupon for that store as well. I am not suggesting you go to every store you can think of online, but if you know where you are going to be check it out online first and just see what they have to offer.
2. Load up at Amazon.com. No, I don't mean buy everything there. I mean load up your shopping cart with what you want to buy for everyone. If you can find items you want, or similar items put them all in the shopping cart and then check the total. Is it in your budget? If not, see what items you can switch out. I did this and it was so great. I knew exactly how much I was going to end up spending. Then I shopped around. For items that did not qualify for free supersaver shipping I checked at my local Walmart (you can use site to store shipping there and get free shipping- plus it ships to the store so you can make sure the kiddies aren't around when you pick it up) This is one way I got some of the best deals. Link to Amazon Black Friday Deals
3. Don't forget tax. I love Amazon because they don't charge tax except from certain shippers. Our tax rate here at home is quite high. We actually went shopping in a nearby state because their tax rate is half of what it is here... plus they have a Toys R Us. We bought a $90 item there that would have cost us between 3-4 dollars more here just in taxes. (and that is just one example obviously we bought more or it wouldn't have been worth the gas) So sometimes we get the biggest break either online or "next door" because of the tax rate in our state.
4. Keep those receipts and don't be afraid to return. Christmas/holiday shopping should be about giving. And, we all know if you are giving what you don't have to give you are hurting your own family or yourself in the long run. I think most people understand when you are trying to get your finances in order they may not get a great gift that year. If you overspend do not be afraid to return things you have purchased. If you are embarrassed you can always make a comment to the cashier like "my mom just bought herself one of these on sale, so I'll have to find her something else".... etc. It doesn't matter just don't go crazy on the spending.
5. Have a good Christmas yourself. Last year I returned over $200 of my own gifts and bought myself things that I wanted. (Granted I had gotten two Nintendo DS's, only needed one of those) Don't let something you won't use sit in the closet. I always give gifts with the stipulation that if the recipient doesn't like it that they please please return it and get something they want... cuz that is what I am going to do...
Okay so maybe that last one isn't a budget tip but it will make you happier!! Especially when you have spent so much of your own hard earned money.
Points to remember- find deals on what you already plan to purchase- shop around- stick to the budget even if it means making returns.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
What Happened to Pear Budget
I had a really bad mix up last month. Two weeks before the month was over I only had $60 left in my account. I went over things again and again but I couldn’t figure out what happened. I don’t want to just come right out and blame the Pear Budget software I started using this month, but I put in every single thing that I spend and it is still telling me I have money left over. If I go by this that means that on my $60 I should have been able to pay two more weeks of daycare, and two more weeks of gas. Now, gas alone was going to be $80 so something obviously went wrong. Next month I am going to use it again, but I am also going to keep up with my paper budget that was working so well before. I can’t have a screw up like that again. I ended up having to pull close to $200 out of my emergency/crisis plan savings to cover it. That is really not good.
On the up side. I will have an exact total of what I spent on groceries and gas. I have found that there is no way for me to save as much as I was planning each month. I am going to try to do as much as possible but it won’t be near as much as I was hoping for.
Anyway, I still think Pear Budget is a good tool. I am sure somewhere I just messed it up. I will try again next month and see how it turns out.
I would be curious if anyone else has used this program and experienced any problems.
On the up side. I will have an exact total of what I spent on groceries and gas. I have found that there is no way for me to save as much as I was planning each month. I am going to try to do as much as possible but it won’t be near as much as I was hoping for.
Anyway, I still think Pear Budget is a good tool. I am sure somewhere I just messed it up. I will try again next month and see how it turns out.
I would be curious if anyone else has used this program and experienced any problems.
Monday, September 3, 2007
The Grocery Game is Over!
Whew... I will be glad not to have to keep up with those receipts this month. But seriously, I did learn a lot from tracking my spending. So here are all the weeks added up (they may not all be in order but you can click here to see all of the posts together.
$80
$72
$95
$84- This is for the final week that I did not post here. It actually was exactly $84 once all of the extra expenses were taken out.
Total- $331
Now this is way more than I had budgeted for but not as much as I suspected it was. I also did not count the very first spending spree my husband accompanied me on because I know we bought a lot of stuff that was not related to grocery shopping. Plus it came out of his budget and I will continue to shop at least once a month from "his" money. (we don't really keep it seperate, but I do keep it seperate from my own budget)
So what did I learn? Here are some of the best things I learned.
1. Budget more. It will save me a lot of trouble in the long run having to transfer money in and out of my accounts. Plus if I have any extra at the end of the month it can be added to the next month's budget or put away into savings.
2. Buying store brands saves cash. I only tracked it once but the savings from one grocery trip was over $6.00 That was on my usual purchases too. Stuff I buy all the time, so I know I can continue to save that much by buying store brands.
3. Pay attention to how you are feeling before you go. Everyone knows you should not go shopping if you are hungry. HOwever I would like to add a few more. Don't go if you are- with your children and you are not able to say NO a LOT... with your husband/wife if he or she is an impulse buyer (mine is a HUGE impulse buyer).... not feeling well, be it morning sickness or a runny nose, if you don't feel well you will just be wanting to get out of the store.
4. Definitely go with a list. Also, make yourself stick to it. You should only put something in your cart if it is something you really do need and just forgot to add to the list.
5. Keep track of it for a month. It really will open your eyes. Not only do I now budget more to my grocery shopping but I have also added an "other" category for things like shampoo, dog food, etc. THose things that we don't buy every week but somehow they bust the budget every month.
6. Maybe this will only works for me- Shop one week at a time. I used to try to shop for two weeks,but let's face it. If you have two weeks worth of snacks in the house the kids will eat two weeks worth of snacks in a couple of days. I may try buying my meat and baking stuff for two weeks but I will still need to go once a week for snacks and produce.
While I will not be adding weekly updates to the grocery game this month, I will be keeping track and hopefully I can post it at the end of September. If you have any tips of your own please post them. I am sure we can all use some more tips.
$80
$72
$95
$84- This is for the final week that I did not post here. It actually was exactly $84 once all of the extra expenses were taken out.
Total- $331
Now this is way more than I had budgeted for but not as much as I suspected it was. I also did not count the very first spending spree my husband accompanied me on because I know we bought a lot of stuff that was not related to grocery shopping. Plus it came out of his budget and I will continue to shop at least once a month from "his" money. (we don't really keep it seperate, but I do keep it seperate from my own budget)
So what did I learn? Here are some of the best things I learned.
1. Budget more. It will save me a lot of trouble in the long run having to transfer money in and out of my accounts. Plus if I have any extra at the end of the month it can be added to the next month's budget or put away into savings.
2. Buying store brands saves cash. I only tracked it once but the savings from one grocery trip was over $6.00 That was on my usual purchases too. Stuff I buy all the time, so I know I can continue to save that much by buying store brands.
3. Pay attention to how you are feeling before you go. Everyone knows you should not go shopping if you are hungry. HOwever I would like to add a few more. Don't go if you are- with your children and you are not able to say NO a LOT... with your husband/wife if he or she is an impulse buyer (mine is a HUGE impulse buyer).... not feeling well, be it morning sickness or a runny nose, if you don't feel well you will just be wanting to get out of the store.
4. Definitely go with a list. Also, make yourself stick to it. You should only put something in your cart if it is something you really do need and just forgot to add to the list.
5. Keep track of it for a month. It really will open your eyes. Not only do I now budget more to my grocery shopping but I have also added an "other" category for things like shampoo, dog food, etc. THose things that we don't buy every week but somehow they bust the budget every month.
6. Maybe this will only works for me- Shop one week at a time. I used to try to shop for two weeks,but let's face it. If you have two weeks worth of snacks in the house the kids will eat two weeks worth of snacks in a couple of days. I may try buying my meat and baking stuff for two weeks but I will still need to go once a week for snacks and produce.
While I will not be adding weekly updates to the grocery game this month, I will be keeping track and hopefully I can post it at the end of September. If you have any tips of your own please post them. I am sure we can all use some more tips.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Groceries
Wow, I really need to look at a calendar before I work out my budget from now on. I totally forgot that there were essentially 5 weeks in this month. I was off on daycare, gas, and my grocery budget. I am actually having to tap into the emergency fund this month which sucks.
Okay, so on to groceries. I have a cold or bad allergies today so I didn't keep up with my store brand savings this week... sorry! My grand total was just below $124 Here is how it broke down.
94.41 was all grocery
29.49 was other expenses. This week it included cold medicine and upholstery cleaner because one of my little darlings spilled milk in my car and neglected to tell me until I got in one morning and almost threw up from the smell.
If nothing else, I guess I can say that I did well on "other" expenses this week. I will be back to post more later!
Okay, so on to groceries. I have a cold or bad allergies today so I didn't keep up with my store brand savings this week... sorry! My grand total was just below $124 Here is how it broke down.
94.41 was all grocery
29.49 was other expenses. This week it included cold medicine and upholstery cleaner because one of my little darlings spilled milk in my car and neglected to tell me until I got in one morning and almost threw up from the smell.
If nothing else, I guess I can say that I did well on "other" expenses this week. I will be back to post more later!
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Grocery Update- My Budget is inadequate!
My total receipt from the store this week was:
$125.93..... eeek! How much of that was groceries.... not much.
I broke it down like this:
$71.52 was honest too goodness grocery expenditures.
$54.41 was stuff we needed but had not budgeted for at ALL
So what did the 54 consist of? dog food, shampoo, magazines and pull ups for the little one.
I am beginning to realize my budget needs a serious overhaul. I may have to limit my debt payment a bit more so we can afford to eat. Well, not really eat, but obviously shampoo is a necessity (I will go into greater detail with that in a seperate post. Of course the magazines were 9 dollars.... ouch. I thought I was going to get a discount on them but apparently not as much as I thought.
Now, last week I told you I was going to add up the total I got for buying store brand vs. name brand. My total this week was $6.45. I could not believe that!! It would be higher but I bought only two cans of veggies to try out. Next week I will buy more if we like them. The true total is $6.90 because if I consider the extra tax I would have paid on the savings it brings it to an extra 45 cents. Not too shabby in my opinion.
So, the grocery experiment really is going close to what I had planned, the problem is that there are extra expenses that need to be budgeted for. So even though I am spending more than I planned, I am also learning a lot about myself and my finances. I will be posting soon what my action plan will be to deal with this and about the shampoo problem....
$125.93..... eeek! How much of that was groceries.... not much.
I broke it down like this:
$71.52 was honest too goodness grocery expenditures.
$54.41 was stuff we needed but had not budgeted for at ALL
So what did the 54 consist of? dog food, shampoo, magazines and pull ups for the little one.
I am beginning to realize my budget needs a serious overhaul. I may have to limit my debt payment a bit more so we can afford to eat. Well, not really eat, but obviously shampoo is a necessity (I will go into greater detail with that in a seperate post. Of course the magazines were 9 dollars.... ouch. I thought I was going to get a discount on them but apparently not as much as I thought.
Now, last week I told you I was going to add up the total I got for buying store brand vs. name brand. My total this week was $6.45. I could not believe that!! It would be higher but I bought only two cans of veggies to try out. Next week I will buy more if we like them. The true total is $6.90 because if I consider the extra tax I would have paid on the savings it brings it to an extra 45 cents. Not too shabby in my opinion.
So, the grocery experiment really is going close to what I had planned, the problem is that there are extra expenses that need to be budgeted for. So even though I am spending more than I planned, I am also learning a lot about myself and my finances. I will be posting soon what my action plan will be to deal with this and about the shampoo problem....
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Grocery Update- A good week?
Well, this week's grand total $80 and some change. Not bad considering last week's total. Also, there were a few purchases that were NOT groceries but we needed like shampoo, etc. That should have really come out of my envelope budget but that hasn't really gotten off the ground yet. I bought a lot of store brand, in fact I bought everything store brand that I could. Next week I plan to add up all of the small savings from buying that way and see exactly how much it adds up to.
If nothing else, I am finding out this month that my budget is a little off. We just cannot feed our family on the amount that I usually budget. At the same time, I also realize that we spend way to much when we go as a family, without a plan, or when we are tired or hungry. It was really hard to get out of the house by myself this weekend, but I figure it saved us AT LEAST $50. So far here is an estimated rundown of what we have spent in my little experiment:
Trial Run- $50
First real week (but out of husband's budget not mine, with entire family)- $200
Second week ( by MYSELF) -$80
If nothing else, I am finding out this month that my budget is a little off. We just cannot feed our family on the amount that I usually budget. At the same time, I also realize that we spend way to much when we go as a family, without a plan, or when we are tired or hungry. It was really hard to get out of the house by myself this weekend, but I figure it saved us AT LEAST $50. So far here is an estimated rundown of what we have spent in my little experiment:
Trial Run- $50
First real week (but out of husband's budget not mine, with entire family)- $200
Second week ( by MYSELF) -$80
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Wow! Cool Freebie!!
Wow- Freebie
I stumbled upon PearBudget while over at ZenHabits. I downloaded a couple of different budget spreadsheets to try out from different sites. The one I got from PearBudget has me saying, “THIS is free?” Ha, ha, well, I have downloaded it now, so it is mine mine mine! I suggest you do the same before this guy comes to his senses.
Here is what you get:
A start-up guide/page that allows you to enter your own categories. I really like this because pre-made budget spreadsheets often do a lot of assuming.
A year’s worth of spreadsheets. I am going to save a blank copy along with the copy I will actually use so that each year I can start with a blank spreadsheet. For each month you just click the appropriate tab at the bottom.
An analysis page. It will automatically update itself as you enter more information.
Here is what I LOVE about it:
You set your own categories.
Variable expenses have a monthly tracking log. If you spend $50 on groceries on the 15th you just type it in there and it automatically adds it all up and puts it in the program for you.
It tells you how much you save or have left over each month.
Your envelope categories also have their own area under “irregular expenses” You can either use the envelope system and save this much each month, or you can write it in only when you use it.
If you haven’t spend it all of the money in a category it tells you how much you have left for the month. Kind of like my notebook system without needing a calculator.
You can change the budgeted amount for variable expenses each month on the month page (but not fixed or irregular)
It is FREE!
What I don’t like:
I didn’t find it sooner.
I will have to load the program to track my expenses, but it does come up faster than MS Money.
It is somewhat limited in how many items you can enter. I had plenty of room but some might not.
It took me a while to figure out where to enter income (Column M, also by the exact day you deposit it, which is cool if you have a garage sale, get several checks per month, etc.)
I also noticed after playing around some more that whatever you enter for your fixed expenses, it automatically calculates. In other words, it doesn’t matter if you enter the amount or not, it figures in your original input. This kind of scared me because I thought all my money was gone before I was finished spending. Not really a problem once you understand it.
As you can tell, I am a big fan, and I haven’t even used it for a real month yet. The reason I like it is because it is my exact notebook system on my computer. I also get the added bonus of an analysis of my spending. I suggest you at least check out the webpage because it really is a great tool!
I stumbled upon PearBudget while over at ZenHabits. I downloaded a couple of different budget spreadsheets to try out from different sites. The one I got from PearBudget has me saying, “THIS is free?” Ha, ha, well, I have downloaded it now, so it is mine mine mine! I suggest you do the same before this guy comes to his senses.
Here is what you get:
A start-up guide/page that allows you to enter your own categories. I really like this because pre-made budget spreadsheets often do a lot of assuming.
A year’s worth of spreadsheets. I am going to save a blank copy along with the copy I will actually use so that each year I can start with a blank spreadsheet. For each month you just click the appropriate tab at the bottom.
An analysis page. It will automatically update itself as you enter more information.
Here is what I LOVE about it:
You set your own categories.
Variable expenses have a monthly tracking log. If you spend $50 on groceries on the 15th you just type it in there and it automatically adds it all up and puts it in the program for you.
It tells you how much you save or have left over each month.
Your envelope categories also have their own area under “irregular expenses” You can either use the envelope system and save this much each month, or you can write it in only when you use it.
If you haven’t spend it all of the money in a category it tells you how much you have left for the month. Kind of like my notebook system without needing a calculator.
You can change the budgeted amount for variable expenses each month on the month page (but not fixed or irregular)
It is FREE!
What I don’t like:
I didn’t find it sooner.
I will have to load the program to track my expenses, but it does come up faster than MS Money.
It is somewhat limited in how many items you can enter. I had plenty of room but some might not.
It took me a while to figure out where to enter income (Column M, also by the exact day you deposit it, which is cool if you have a garage sale, get several checks per month, etc.)
I also noticed after playing around some more that whatever you enter for your fixed expenses, it automatically calculates. In other words, it doesn’t matter if you enter the amount or not, it figures in your original input. This kind of scared me because I thought all my money was gone before I was finished spending. Not really a problem once you understand it.
As you can tell, I am a big fan, and I haven’t even used it for a real month yet. The reason I like it is because it is my exact notebook system on my computer. I also get the added bonus of an analysis of my spending. I suggest you at least check out the webpage because it really is a great tool!
Friday, July 27, 2007
More on Groceries
Let’s see. Do I really have to count today as the first week of my “new” way of grocery shopping? Yes, I guess I do. And, how did I do? TERRIBLE! First, I took my husband and kids with me. MISTAKE NUMBER ONE! I also bought a few items that were not grocery but we needed, like diapers for the baby. However, I also bought some things that we did not need at all. Add in to that my daughter begging for junk food, my husband saying yes most of the time and well, we spent just under $200. However we definitely bought more than a week worth of food. So when I go back next time, BY MYSELF, I think it will be much much better. Let’s hope!
Funny, when I posted my last post on groceries, Trent at the Simple Dollar and JD at Get Rich Slowly both had grocery articles up too. Here they are because they were both really good and related. Trent’s article JD’s article I have deemed August “Grocery Savings Month” because, well, I want to. I will try to keep everyone updated on MY progress. Please share your own tips too!
Sorry if the updates are a bit slow this month. I will be starting back to school ( and have actually been working the last two weeks ). The first few weeks of school are always hectic and library is a new position for me. If you don’t want to miss any updates you may want to subscribe so you will be notified by email. Thanks!!
Funny, when I posted my last post on groceries, Trent at the Simple Dollar and JD at Get Rich Slowly both had grocery articles up too. Here they are because they were both really good and related. Trent’s article JD’s article I have deemed August “Grocery Savings Month” because, well, I want to. I will try to keep everyone updated on MY progress. Please share your own tips too!
Sorry if the updates are a bit slow this month. I will be starting back to school ( and have actually been working the last two weeks ). The first few weeks of school are always hectic and library is a new position for me. If you don’t want to miss any updates you may want to subscribe so you will be notified by email. Thanks!!
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