Penny Pinching

RedDawnsRevenge · July 2014

So money is tight. I got a call from a head hunter yesterday offering me a position in my home town. I told DH about it but he surprisingly said no. I admit to over spending, especially now that I'm a SAHM, though this isn't obviously just a SAHM problem. So my question is what do you do to save money, and pinch those pennies? How much do you budget for things like groceries, gas, entertainment, coffee and such? I just want to pay down our debt and enjoy being a SAHM and create better spending habits for my daughters.

eireyes · July 2014

Have you ever used a budgeting software? I really like using Minted. It's free, online, and can be linked to a lot of my accounts so I can see the whole big picture in one place. It also helps to set up budgets, and I've used it to help create spending goals!

Dixon813 · July 2014

Every family's needs will be different but we create our budget by starting with bills that are constant (mortgage, car, utilities,) tithing (to church), saving (around 10%) and then budget groceries, entertainment, etc.

something that has helped us before with too much spending us switching to cash ONLY for coffee, dinners out, etc. It's hard, but it worked for us.

strawberrytree · July 2014

Meal planning has cut our grocery bills wayyyy down. I spend an hour or so a week looking through flyers and creating a week long menu based on them. I try to coupon for things like toilet paper, cleaning supplies, diapers etc as well. We got rid of land line phones and cable and just have our cell phones and Netflix. When we go out to eat we either do it with a coupon/Groupon/kids eat free night, etc.

pineconey · July 2014

We do homemade as much as possible- meals from scratch, laundry soap, cleaners, etc. also cloth diapering with homemade detergent.

railroadRN · July 2014

We cut down unnecessary spending and used extra money to pay off debts, starting with the smallest first. We use the "snowball" theory from Dave Ramsey. He can sound like a jerk, but he's usually right!

Xxlilies · July 2014

We shop at a grocery store that has a decent store brand and try to buy those products instead of the name brand whenever possible . Although of course there's always some products that need to be store brand

We don't have a house phone and while we do have satellite television we don't have a million channels . We watch a lot of stuff online for free

I'm a Starbucks addict so will limit myself to a certain number of drinks from there a week and buy a bag of their coffee to have at home instead

RedDawnsRevenge · July 2014

Coffee is defiantly a weak spot for me, as is soda. I haven't been eating out much since it's too hard to do it alone with the girls, except on Thursday nights we walk down to the street fair and eat at the airplane. I have quicken on my phone but I don't know the password, so it's not useful, I need to figure out how to unlock it. I spend $40 a week at the farmers market, and god only knows how much at target. I believe target is my sink-hole.

When you meal plan what do you do? Do you look for things with similar ingredients? I've looked at coupons but there's never any ones I would ever use.

RedDawnsRevenge · July 2014

jellysparkles said:
I follow grocery blogs that do coupon matchups for local stores. Makes couponing idiot proof for me as well as making it so I'm not scrounging around for newspaper clippings because most of it is based on printable coupons. I've been saving an average of 50% on my total bill - could be higher but I'm only cashing in on deals we'll actually make use of.

Any good blogs you recommend?

hlm184 · July 2014

You need need need to make a budget so you know how much you have to spend on things.

DH and I work on a cash allowance system - every week we take X amount out of the ATM for eating out and fun purchases, but that is all we get.

Buying food in bulk is a good way to save long term. We're moving in six months and pretty much all I need to buy at the store is fresh dairy and produce (and the occasional treat) because we have so much in the freezer and cupboards.

MrsZ0811 · July 2014

Monthly mean planning is one big thing for us. Otherwise I would end up buying a lot of things that would end up going bad. We also shop at Aldi, it is so much cheaper than other stores. We cant always get everything there but we can get most of it and that definitely helps the budget. We also use cash for almost everything. We have 3 payments that are automatically deducted from our credit card. We pay for gas with cash, groceries, even collect our car insurance money every month in cash even though we pay it every 6 months. We use a modified version of Dave Ramsey's envelope system.

hordol · July 2014

I meal plan and I literally save $40-60 bucks when I do that vs weeks when I skip meal planning (due to time or whatever.) it's so worth it! I also try to plan simple meals that don't require a ton of ingredients or require ingredients that I would only use for that one meal and never again. I'm not a gourmet chef so I'm okay with that, haha.

I also use mint, although I've been slacking with that lately.

Also, the best thing I ever did to save money was a "no eating out" challenge for one month. I'm not sure if you eat out much but DH and I are terrible about cooking sometimes since we both work and it's so tempting to go out to eat too often. We budget for it once a week but frequently end up going two or three times. We waste SOOOO much money doing that. As soon as our kitchen is functional again from the renos we are doing, I will be implementing another one of those challenges to offset some of our reno costs.

I've saved anywhere from 200-400 a month doing that challenge in the past. It's so worth it to make food at home!

I also do most of my shopping at target using coupons and the cartwheel app with my red card. I save an average of $5-$10 each time I go grocery shopping which isn't a ton, but it adds up quick. That's the main thing with all these money saving tips--it might only be a little bit but it all adds up.

Also, we have switched our auto/home insurance a few times. Anytime our rates go up we switch and our current switch is saving us $50 a month from what we were paying, but $90 a month from what they wanted our rates to jump up to. So make sure you're getting the best deals for those things.

strawberrytree · July 2014

We buy meat when it's on sale and freeze it in meal sized portions. I try to make a couple meals a week with a meatless protein, like chickpeas, as well. I do look for things with similar ingredients- if zucchini is on sale for example I'll make 3 or 4 different dishes with zucchini in them. I have a few cookbooks and use Pinterest to mix it up.

AmberLiz99 · July 2014

I agree you need to make a budget with bills first, etc.

We only eat meat a couple times a week, we only drink milk and water except on very rare occasions. We cook at home from scratch. When we do eat out we don't order drinks. I keep my AC at 78. Shop consignment and yard sales/craigslist for kids clothes and toys, and only buy what we need. Reuse paper and boxes for kids craft projects. I made fabric napkins to wash, so we don't get paper towels or napkins anymore. I try to walk places with the kids a lot, rather then driving everywhere. We go to a lot of free events in the area for entertainment (luckily we live in an awesome city).

speechie517 · July 2014

ynab software is good! I also use mint.com. Dave Ramsey and his debt snowball are awesome. I used it to pay off all my credit cards in the past, but wasn't working for a few months when I took care of my ill mother and also returned to bad habits so I built up a balance again.

RedDawnsRevenge · July 2014

AprilMay9 said:
Why did he say no? If it's something you want to do he should be supportive.

I don't really want to go back to work, but I feel a bit like a freeloader. That and he doesn't really want my family watching the girls because of all their drama. I don't blame him.

@jellysparkles‌ what a bummer we only have target, walmart and R&N (a local store)

ambarnett1 · July 2014

I am terrible at saving money and being committed to saving money.

RedDawnsRevenge · July 2014

ambarnett1 said:
I am terrible at saving money and being committed to saving money.

Yes. This. DH wants us to move across country in a few months. I don't want to move and accumulate even more debt. I told him I was to pay down as much debt as earthly possible before we join him. This is especially important since we'd need to find a new house and our current house isn't worth anything. So in trying. Really really going to try. And maybe I can lose wt (be walking my lard ass everywhere) and not drinking as many venti iced mochas!

smushi · July 2014

My sister uses StraightTalk to save $$ for her phone bill

pineconey · July 2014

Target is actually great for couponing because you can stack cartwheel, mobile coupons, and manufacturers coupons with advertised deals! Check out "all things target"on Facebook.

moonsparkles · July 2014

No eating out. No cable. One pay as you go cell phone with no texting. Buying in bulk. All things homemade like piney said. Grind coffee at home. We cant budget b/c we get our pay check once a year - the amount is variable depending in cattle prices and you never know what crap is going to come up that needs money spent on it. So we basically spend as little as possible. Veggie garden.

hlm184 · July 2014

Make sure you give yourself a small outlet though. That's why I like the allowance system, even if it's just a tiny amount - it gives you a little break sometimes. If I didn't have it, I'd want to spend on things I wouldn't buy if I had it, does that make sense? My brain is weird.

katy4128 · July 2014

We just got rid of cable to save money. That gave us an extra $100 a month!! I try to limit grocery shopping to every other week but buying milk every week. We also only will go out to lunch once a week on fridays. DS and I go and meet DH for lunch.

As for entertainment..we just stay home, have friends over, or go to someone's house. We have only gone to one movie since DS was born and that too has saved us a ton. We also have a lot of fun free events in the summer we go to.

RedDawnsRevenge · July 2014

@hlm184 we used to have this thing called an orange card. It's like a saving account with a debit card and it's free. The money left in your account at the end if the month they pay you interest on. I can't remember why we stopped using it. I'm thinking if doing that again and giving myself $100 a week for groceries, then hiding my actual debit card.

zazu13 · July 2014

RedDawnsRevenge said:

jellysparkles said:
I follow grocery blogs that do coupon matchups for local stores. Makes couponing idiot proof for me as well as making it so I'm not scrounging around for newspaper clippings because most of it is based on printable coupons. I've been saving an average of 50% on my total bill - could be higher but I'm only cashing in on deals we'll actually make use of.
Any good blogs you recommend?

I know this wasnt directed at me but two I use are fabulouslyfrugal and pinchingyourpennies. They are both near me though, so depending on where you live they may not be as helpful. I coupon a lot, too, as well as shop Winco, clearance racks and yard sales. I also have recurring automatic payments for my bills including auto transfers to savings accounts.

RedDawnsRevenge · August 2014

78 is a lot hotter than I thought. I need to drink more water, I'm sweating like a pig.

cnbean · August 2014

We started following the Dave Ramsey plan. We had an enormous amount of debt and no idea where to start to get it paid off. In 1 year we had paid off half of our debt! Then we had a baby and we have paid cash for all those bills too. We are set to pay the rest of our debt off in the next year. I know not everyone is a fan of his, but I feel like it really works.

The key points are to make a budget and stick to it (make sure to budget in some fun money even if its just a bit), pay off your smallest bill first and then roll that minimum payment over to the next smallest bill and so on, and use cash for everything.

I do a modified meal plan every pay period. I can't stand the idea of deciding what to eat a certain night weeks ahead. So I just sit down and decide what meals we will have over the pay period and make sure to buy the ingredients for those meals first. Then I decide day to day what meal we are going to have. It helps to eliminate impulse buys and saves me money.

RedDawnsRevenge · August 2014

I guess I need to look harder into this Dave Ramsey guy. I had never heard of him before. DH had, he said the snowball plan won't work for us. There's got to be a way. Where there's a will there is a way right?

TallaB · August 2014

This thread makes me tired! Maybe i'll be more thankful I went back to work - working seems easier than budgeting

RedDawnsRevenge · August 2014

TallaB said:
This thread makes me tired! Maybe i'll be more thankful I went back to work - working seems easier than budgeting

Exactly. I was thinking being a nurse so so much less work than this SAHM stuff.

Bluebird2318 · August 2014

Eat out as little as possible.

Coupon as much as possible.

Meal plan (bonus points if you can meal plan around things that are on sale or coupon-able).

Take advantage of leftovers.

Don't overbuy on fresh foods (fruits, vegetables, meats) that will go bad if you don't use them on time. Or be very mindful to freeze on time.

Take advantage of things that are left over in your cupboard (such as: if you have pasta from a prior grocery trip, buy pasta sauce).

Bluebird2318 · August 2014

Buy store brand products.

Be mindful of the portions of products you use at home. Examples: People love to pour way too much milk on cereal and it just ends up going down the drain. Same with toilet paper, cleaning products, condiments, etc.

Invest in a crock pot if you're often super-busy and find that you end up ordering out/going out simply because you didn't have time to cook.

Consider your entertainment costs. If you pay for cable, do your watching habits allow you to get buy on something like Netflix instead? Could you get by on neither?

Abcollins57 · August 2014

It also helps to write out your current budget, penny for penny, as realistic as you can, then look at where the bulk of your money is going. Go back a month and add up all the money you spent eating out, at Target, etc. It helps to see it on paper so you can see where to cut back. Then make a planned budget on side of it. If you currently spend $150 a week at Target, budget $100 this week then plan meals based on that number. If you only spend $75, take the other $25 out and put it up.
We do $100 a week on groceries (includes formula), $100 a week on gas, and as long as all bills are paid up front, $50 a week spending money per person.

hlm184 · August 2014

Budgeting is still a good idea, even if you both work.

nicole mackenzie · August 2014

I set up a spread sheet with my budget.

I have my debts in one section and then variable monthly costs such as groceries in the next. I have it down to pretty specific catagories like each of my pets, individual health costs, each cars maintenance cost.

I've been doing it for a couple years low so I am able to compare my habits from last year to this year.

I am currently doing the debt snowball method. Or trying to. Not sure why yh thinks it won't work for you.

Pay the minimum on everything then put extra on whatever has the highest interest rate.

With my financial situation I probably can't stack my payments much though. It's a place to syart

laf83 · August 2014

I second all the Dave Ramsey recs! His book, Financial Peace, is a great place to start. You & your husband should read it & discuss it together. Both of you have to be on board about getting rid of the debt.

Meal planning and the cash envelope system (for groceries, household items like cleaning supplies & toiletries, eating out, clothing) work for us. When there's little to none left in the envelopes, you're done. Try to use your debit card as little as possible. We only eat out once every two weeks.

Also, I LOVE Aldi. I shop there once or twice a month and get the other items we need elsewhere.

dmosquera4 · August 2014

@pineconey‌ how do you do your homemade stuff? What do my ivy use and how do you make it I'm interested

RedDawnsRevenge · August 2014

So I pulled out $100 cash today for our weekly food budget. We shall see how this goes.

RedDawnsRevenge · August 2014

mamrotu73 said:
While cash is good for controlling spending, you can get rewards like cash back if you use a card. I buy almost everything with my card that gets cash back. It just takes more discipline and planning not to overspend.

Today is the first time I have ever left target without spending $100 or more. Granted however I bought Tylenol, a chicken, oatmeal and soda. It wasn't a big trip.

hlm184 · August 2014

FYI on credit cards - while using them and paying them off is good to build credit, it is not good to carry more than 20% or so of the limit on the card regularly, even if you pay it off every month. Apparently that will negatively ding your credit score, as we just discovered in the process of buying a house. It's stupid, but apparently how it is.

hlm184 · August 2014

mkquinnwedding said:

hlm184 said:

FYI on credit cards - while using them and paying them off is good to build credit, it is not good to carry more than 20% or so of the limit on the card regularly, even if you pay it off every month. Apparently that will negatively ding your credit score, as we just discovered in the process of buying a house. It's stupid, but apparently how it is.

Visiting from May 14.....

Thats news to me. We have a low credit limit on our cards because we are concerned about ID theft/losing cards...We intentionally have it set to only 5K, and rarely is our credit bill less than 2500/month. We do pay it off each month, but its 50% of that card's limit. We just bought a house and it did not impact our credit scores at all...or so they said. We did tell the mortgage bank that we have it set to that limit even though we qualified for more, so maybe they didnt care as much? I dont know.

About budgeting...I use mint fairly religiously for a few months of the year. This month will be one of them. It usually happens every few months as a check in. I have spreadsheets for everything else. Its hard to stick to every single budget though and I definitely have room for improvement.

May be off on the exact percentage but here's a quick overview on the topic: https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/2013/10/30/how-utilization-rate-affects-credit-scores/

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