So this may surprise some of you, but I have really been cutting back my spending lately. Why you ask? Well I am sick of seeing money go in my bank account and then out. Plus, I am trying to prepare for the additional cost that Jason Jr. is going to bring. I want to curb our spending a little.
And this may surprise some of you too, but I think Jason is having a harder time at this then I am. Our finances used to work something like this, Jason makes most the money and I spend it. He also is the person who pays our bills, so I didn't typically even know what money goes where and such. I got comfortable in this habit. Jason still pays the bills (mostly because he is way more responsible then I am, I suck at due dates) but I am a lot more informed on where our money goes. I think he is having a hard time with me checking out online bank account every 2 days and questioning where our money went. We actually have been able to put more money in our savings account then normal.
I have learned it is very important to have an intimate relationship with your bills! It holds me accountable. The one cost the frustrates me still is eating out. We have eliminated most of our meals out but being pregnant and having days where I go from work, to school, to another location for a class I don't have much of an option but to eat out at least once a week. Like today for instance, I had to leave my house at 7:00 am to go to class, get out of class at noon in auburn hills and then have another class from 2-5 at another location. There is no way I could skip a meal at this stage in my pregnancy, so I had to eat out. And I don't want to eat all junk (especially after I splurged on my yougurt parfait and coke off the McDonalds dollar menu that morning... sue me, I was running late!) and healthy food costs more. I know it is once a week, but $11 for one meal kills me at this point (a month ago I wouldn't have said that). I tried the lunch box approach but I have found the 1 fault I have with my black Escape with black interior... everything get warm, even in the lunch box with a ice pack when left in the car for 6 hours.
So should I spend my money saving tips I have discovered??? Of course I will!
1. I carry only $10 or less on me. If it cost more then $10 I have to use my debit card and will be forced to face that purchase later that week when I pull up our online account to see how we are doing.
2. Money in the savings, stays in the savings (unless I move it there for a specified purpose and so we don't spend it in the checking).
3. Brita Water Filtration bottle! AMAZING! I have not bought bottled water since I bought this bottle for $9 at Meijers. At first I wasn't convinced it would save us all that much money, I figured after buying a $4 filter each month and what not, how much could this really save me? Then I went out of the house with this bottle and realized I can use it EVERYWHERE! I don't buy $1.50 bottles of water at school anymore. I don't buy water for the house anymore (we have a brita pitcher too for guests, I just don't like it.. it's an OCD thing). And, it works. Trust me, I am one of those people who can instantly tell the difference between spring water and purified water, I can taste it. I have filtration bottles in the past that sucked, this one works!
4. I cut way back on the grocery shopping, a matter of fact I have not had a stock up shopping trip in over a month. There are 2 of us, once we are out of food, I will stock up again with sales. I was throwing food away every few months because it was spoiling or getting stale.
5. We eat out way less, this happened by accident. Being pregnant I would rather eat on my couch in my pjs then get dressed up or even in decent clothes, to go to a restaurant. Plus, we have lots of food here and can eat for a fraction of the price.
6. Super Coupon Lady on FB. She is amazing. She has a FB page and every week she tells you what coupons to use at certain stores to get the best deals! she does all the work for me. One day a week I look at her FB blogs that tell me where I can get my free or cheap things and spend about 45 minutes putting together my list and coupons (some I have to print). Even if it is stuff we do not need, we can always donate it to the church if it is free (like all the FREE similac formula I have been getting). I have to be careful though and make sure not to buy something just because it is a good deal, I want to make sure we can and will use it!
7. We have been washing the dog at home! I hate this, she makes a mess out of my bathroom. She is a mix breed and when it gets hot out or when she runs around outside and gets hot she emits this awful odor until she cools off, so she needs a good bath once or twice a month. We have been doing them right before we clean the bathroom that week. Mind you, I have to clean much more because she gets fur everywhere (walls, ceiling, etc), but it isn't such a huge task since I had to do it anyway.
These are some of the things we have been doing that I have seen the immediate impact of. We also plan on doing a few things in the future to continue our budget conscious lifestyle.
1. We plan on going with cloth diapers, I am pretty thrilled about this, have decided on a brand and think it will be easier then many people think. They have some great products out today.
2. Make our own baby food. This is more of an OCD thing. It took me months to find a good food for my dog, I won't put canned baby food in my baby, I just don't trust what is in it!
3. Making my own laundry soap (this will be soon). Jason has sensitive skin and I am pretty picky too. I don't like the cheap stuff and I wont pay for tide, so I can make a decent liquid detergent for about 3 cents a load.
The moral of the story is, I am a changed women, who is determined to live a more money conscious life. This comes at a good time since I soon will have about $110,000 in student loans to pay off , but don't worry, I have a 2-3 year plan for this too! I am a changed women... sorry Mary, this is why there is only frozen pizza in my freezer!
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