Budgeting

[origamimommy]

So we have decided to set a budget and start aggressively saving.  I have used mint, and I have an excel spreadsheet with lots of formulas to help.  The part I need help with is where to cut money.  My first thought is eating out, which I will start immediately, because we grab takeout entirely too often.  Other than that, what do you guys do when you are seriously saving?  Where do you look for cuts?

[summergirl1211]

Besides eating out, I would say grocery shopping (cutting coupons, buying what's on sale, using websites such as Budget Bytes to find cheap meal ideas, etc.), clothes (no frivolous purchases, buying what's needed on sale or at consignment stores). Can you reduce your phone, internet or tv services? Any options for carpooling to/from work to save on gas?

[summergirl1211]

Oh, and another that I have to throw out there, but don't take me too seriously. Cancel your wine membership.



I know, right?

[Riverdong11]

From my time lurking the MM board on the nest, the major areas they always suggested to cut back were:

-cable/Netflix/hulu (reduce/eliminate)
-cell phone (give up smartphone/data package)
-insurance - home, auto, renters, etc. (shop around for the best price you may be able to find cheaper rates)
-car payments (eliminate a car payment by selling a car you're paying on and then buying a cheaper car you can pay cash for)
-fun money (eliminate or reduce by using a cash method and once the fun money is gone for the month, that's it)

Now I want to mention that some of these seem crazy and I wouldn't necessarily follow all these but they do help cut costs quickly.

[britbratjf]

I would budget for groceries more aggressively - look at Sunday sale flyers & meal plan around that. I wouldn't eliminate alcohol but we switch from buying wine at the grocery store to buying cases at Trader Joes and it seriously started saving us over $100/month

I would also look at changing cable and phone packages.

[origamimommy]

Thanks!!

summergirl1211 I'm actually canceling the wine membership! It's a quick $40 and I can lump wine into the grocery budget.

[origamimommy]

Riverdong11 yeah I'm not selling my car or getting rid of my phone. If we couldn't pay our bills, yes I would sacrifice. But we're just looking to bulk up savings in the next year or two.

[samelly]

Cutting back on eating out is a good place to start.  Also, grocery shopping with a list and a meal plan so you don't overbuy.  I find if I don't shop with a plan, I'll end up buying too much food and sometimes need to throw things away.

Can you cut back on cable at all?  We changed our cable plan a while back because we don't watch a lot of the channels we are paying for. 

Shop at used-clothing stores for your little one.

[paddyb]

for me things I could do to save would be to pack a lunch and cut out the lattes.

[tribute17]

We called to change our cable and they cut the bill in half when we threatened to cancel. We kept all of our channels but saved 70$ a month.

[origamimommy]

samelly we don't have cable just Netflix and Hulu, but could cut Hulu. Our internet package is way too high so I'm going to call about that. I also just got our cell bill lowered.

paddyb I've started packing, which is great, but lattes! I know I need to give up starbucks but my twice a week starbucks treat is my fave! It adds up though, close to $50 a month.

[tribute17]

Eating out was also huge for us. We were very unaware of how much we were spending out. Now we limit ourselves to a certain amour a month. That has made is really make choices.

[Riverdong11]

Mar 24, 2015 16:56:34 GMT -5 origamimommy said:

Riverdong11 yeah I'm not selling my car or getting rid of my phone. If we couldn't pay our bills, yes I would sacrifice. But we're just looking to bulk up savings in the next year or two.

I didn't think so either, but I thought I would mention them. It just depends on your definition of aggressive saving.

[origamimommy]

Riverdong11 I didn't mean that in a rude way at all, I hope it didn't come off like that. I meant it in more of a joking way. But there's no way I would sell my car, we're only halfway through the loan period. I hope to pay it off early, but def not sell it. I'm just looking for ways to stop spending excess. We're going to start with a sort of "spending freeze" starting now through April to get a good idea of how much we spend that is not bills related.

So basically, no clothes (unless absolutely necessary (tyler needs new underwear the next size up, obviously a necessity), no eating out, cut back on junk food, and no random shopping. I'm scared but really excited because it's kind of a challenge! I spent so much money last month buying lunch in the cafe at work. It's just like throwing it away I feel like, because then food goes bad, etc. and it's a bad cycle. So step 1--no eating out and no more wine club

[xanthepants]

Other things we have done in aggressive save mode was to eliminate or really really cut back on gifts for birthdays, holidays etc. for us and then extending. We cut back hosting people for dinner ( because I go overboard and spend 2-300 a meal ) and do a more potluck thing if we still host. Cut back on magazine subscriptions, yearly renewals I often forget about, etc. I bank my errands into one driving day if possible. Shop around for prescriptions and check for manufacturers coupons ( I save huge amounts on BCP this way. Trade babysitting with friends rather than pay someone. Shop my pantry for a week a month to clear stuff out and save on groceries.

[sarahandeddie]

We have been cracking down on our budget and so far we're doing pretty good. We lowered our cable plan, I'm meal planning and shopping with a list, we're cutting back on eating out, I've been avoiding buying the girls unnecessary clothes and toys.

At the rate we're going we'll be out of cc debt in less than a year (we accrued quite a bit when I became a SAHM and DH changed jobs at the same time) and be able to take our vacation to disney.

Once we're out of cc debt we're going to start saving for a new car and start building up our emergency fund again.

[jennmm]

I try to be very aware of what I buy when I grocery shop. I try to keep that around a certain amount. We are in the process of working to pay my car off so that we don't that bill. We very minimally use credit cards. We also have a vacation amount that we put a little money into weekly from our checks so that it adds up over time and we have money set aside and budgeted for trips. We have an auto account for the same reason. DH uses Quicken to track our spending and it's pretty useful.

[cbear]

I agree with calling your internet / cable and say that you were offered a deal with a competitor and while you like them you may need to change to save. I did that with our internet and it saved us $30 a month and it took a 5 minute phone call to them! Score!

Also, we have a place called Ruler Foods that I go to get my main basics of groceries. I was skeptical at first thinking it was like near expired stuff. Uhm no it's all Kroger brand and totally normal expiration! Milk is $1.69 sometime $1.29 a gallon! I have never spent over $100 and get a cart full of groceries. Life.changing!

[origamimommy]

These are all great suggestions!! I am excited to get on our "spending freeze" and really see just how much we can save in a month. Thanks ladies

[bliz1712]

Groceries is definitely the area that would help us cut back, but I always have a hard time sticking to it. Good luck origamimommy,

[tribute17]

MH was telling me the other day how well we are doing this month. It's because of my broken leg. I can't go to the grocery store or target so I have to send him with a list. He usually comes back with 80% of the stuff on it and never buys anything extra. I'm so bad at target so it probably is really helping. I've also had to use travel shampoos because he keeps forgetting my shampoo but at least we are saving money right? Maybe that is another idea, send your H out to get things.

[origamimommy]

tribute17, that's a terrible idea in my house, lol!! When Tyler was born, we had this wicked storm in DC that knocked our power out for 5 days. We lost EVERYTHING in the fridge and deep freezer. I sent him to the commissary (cheaper groceries) and he came back having spent over $400 with nothing but junk and snacky type foods. I do best when it's just me. When he comes, it's like, "Look candy! Look soda! I need snack cakes! I need fruit roll ups." Come on, seriously. You are 30. You do not "need" fruit roll ups. Drives me batty.

But target--yes. I need to stay out of target.

[tribute17]

Mar 25, 2015 11:04:48 GMT -5 origamimommy said:

tribute17, that's a terrible idea in my house, lol!! When Tyler was born, we had this wicked storm in DC that knocked our power out for 5 days. We lost EVERYTHING in the fridge and deep freezer. I sent him to the commissary (cheaper groceries) and he came back having spent over $400 with nothing but junk and snacky type foods. I do best when it's just me. When he comes, it's like, "Look candy! Look soda! I need snack cakes! I need fruit roll ups." Come on, seriously. You are 30. You do not "need" fruit roll ups. Drives me batty.

But target--yes. I need to stay out of target.

Ok, then definitely not.  I'm the bad one in our house.  It probably doesn't help shopping while pregnant and hungry either.  He is definitely the thrifty one and won't buy anything on impulse, even if he knows we need it and it just isn't on the list.  He also hates shopping so his motto is to get out as fast as possible.  

[cookiesandwine]

Mar 25, 2015 9:12:10 GMT -5 cbear said:

I agree with calling your internet / cable and say that you were offered a deal with a competitor and while you like them you may need to change to save. I did that with our internet and it saved us $30 a month and it took a 5 minute phone call to them! Score!

Also, we have a place called Ruler Foods that I go to get my main basics of groceries. I was skeptical at first thinking it was like near expired stuff. Uhm no it's all Kroger brand and totally normal expiration! Milk is $1.69 sometime $1.29 a gallon! I have never spent over $100 and get a cart full of groceries. Life.changing!

cbear I'm so glad you mentioned Ruler Foods!  We have one not too terribly far from where I work but I've never heard anything about it.  How would you compare it to Aldi?  (I like Aldi for packaged food and fresh fruit/veg, but I don't usually buy meat or eggs there...)   Do they have a good selection? (I often can't find everything I need at Aldi and end up going to County Market in addition.)

[heatherbee]

Do you have amaZon prime? Some of the things I used to go to target for i order from there now because then I elimnate the trip, since I will always buy more then i need.

Also see what you can use up from your pantry this month for meals. Maybe that would help.

[cbear]

cookiesandwine I actually have never been to Aldi! Lol! I buy our ground turkey, sausage and bacon there but probably wouldn't buy like a steak ya know? Their produce section is a little small but not bad really, I get bananas, cauliflower, and blueberries and they've all been fine.

I think it's similar to Aldi (from what I heard) that you bag your own groceries and its a quarter for a cart but you get it back when it's returned

ETA: I buy our eggs at SAMs because DH eats them like they are going out of style, so I haven't tried those. The only thing H
hasn't likes brand wise was their cottage cheese haha

[origamimommy]

So I'm bringing this back, because we have used a lot of these ideas and I wanted to thank everyone.

--We reduced our internet bill by $40 a month (cut in half!)without changing the speed just by calling and asking. And by calling and asking, I mean being on the phone with Time Warner for fucking ever.
--We haven't eaten out since I posted this, and our grocery bill hasn't gone up. So we are packing lunches, and making sure to cook every night, and I can already see a difference!
--We never watch Hulu anymore, so we cancelled it
--I cancelled my auto ship for wine (wahhhhh) and my essential oils
--We went to Target for Tyler's Easter basket stuff and stayed under budget, and got him the two things he really wanted. I was really excited about that.
--I went grocery shopping with my husband which cut down on a ton of random snack purchases
--I meal planned based on what I already had at home and only bought suppplemental groceries.

Overall, I am really happy with how it's going, and I really appreciate all of your suggestions!! I don't think we are on a for real "spendign freeze" but we are not buying anything that wasn't already planned for or budgeted for. So no eating out, and no random Amazon or Target purchases. It's been really fun to see what's happening and spend less than we normally do without changing a ton of our habits.

[aimeefarrahfowler]

Kind of on this topic, does anyone have a good budgeting app? I feel like maybe we talked about that recently, but I wasn't paying attention.

Looking for something that can keep track of different budgets (food budget, gas budget, etc) and possibly sync to my online banking?

H and I really spend too much money. We seem to live paycheck to paycheck but we really don't have to. I sat down and calculated what we bring in and how much our bills are and what we should have left and there should be plenty for everything but the money just disappears.

[origamimommy]

aimeefarrahfowler, Mint is really good. Like, really good. The only complaint is that we use Target as a grocery stores for some things, and when we went to Target last week, we stuck to our guns and only bought the groceries we needed and underwear for Tyler. We did get him a few things for Easter, which is considered shopping, but they put the whole thing into a shopping budget, and I wish I could break up what we spent in each bucket, but it's at a transaction level. Otherwise it's great.

[pinkluna]

Apr 2, 2015 9:53:27 GMT -5 origamimommy said:

aimeefarrahfowler, Mint is really good. Like, really good. The only complaint is that we use Target as a grocery stores for some things, and when we went to Target last week, we stuck to our guns and only bought the groceries we needed and underwear for Tyler. We did get him a few things for Easter, which is considered shopping, but they put the whole thing into a shopping budget, and I wish I could break up what we spent in each bucket, but it's at a transaction level. Otherwise it's great.

origamimommy, regarding the bolded, you can manually split transactions on desktop mint.com. I don't have the app on my phone anymore so I don't know if you can do it on there too. But for sure on the desktop version.