So I tried to set up these budgeting things and so far it's been a massive failure. YNAB gives a free trial but is not actually free. It seems to be a one time $60 fee for the software.
Mint.com looks awesome except it doesn't recognize the bank where our paychecks get deposited and we pay all our bills from, so it's basically useless to me. Womp womp.
Looks like I have an excel spreadsheet in my future.
DH is a bit of an excel nerd and he spent like 4-5 hours one Saturday creating is a budget spreadsheet. It is actually a thing of beauty. He has it set up so that we see what we budgeted for vs. what we actually spent. It also tracks expenses by category and keeps track of our savings.
DH is a bit of an excel nerd and he spent like 4-5 hours one Saturday creating is a budget spreadsheet. It is actually a thing of beauty. He has it set up so that we see what we budgeted for vs. what we actually spent. It also tracks expenses by category and keeps track of our savings.
You should clear your personal data and share it with us!
Yes please! I made a spreadsheet but it's about as basic as they come. I wish I knew more ins and outs of excel.
Post by hollydfromtn on Jul 28, 2015 10:38:00 GMT -5
After looking a the spreadsheet, I realize that I have no clue how to clear out the info and share it. I'll have to wait on DH to get home and see if he will do it for me. There's nothing really personal on it from what I can tell, but I'm not sure.
I have a bad habit of impulse buying at the grocery store. I always end up going when I'm hungry and buying more. But I have found that meal planning has help tremendously. Going from 40k to 0 affected my household tremendously so we cut back on a lot. We have grocery delivery here with a organic company but it costs a lot so it's pointless but I would love to use them cause they meal plan for you, bring you the fresh everything and you pay and cook
This. So many times over. This here is a subject I am all. about. It's going to be very long. Sorry/not sorry (Plus, also, burning a sick day to stay home with babygirl, who has her first official headcold. I never post from a computer--the luxury!)
Tons of PPs' comments are what I would say: Dave Ramsey (even if you aren't into the religious aspect, lots of good, sound financial sense and practical applications/goals). Mint, wants/needs assessment, etc.
We've got two teens as well as the new baby, so there are some things we have to consider there. For example, the kids get a clothing allowance and make their own purchasing decisions--this has been huge for us, because it eliminates the biggest issues with a teen girl around clothes shopping. We started this when she was in eighth grade, and the first time she blew the entire amount on two items of clothing and then was shocked when we told her she'd have to wait til Christmas to get any more clothing/money. She's gotten really savvy and knows how to stretch a dollar, when to save for big purchases, etc. This isn't as big a deal with the boy, but he likes being able to make his own choices, and asked if he can put the leftover amount in his checking account to use for the movies, etc., which was totally fine with me.
So, that kind of thing aside, here's the big stuff:
FOOD: I make a loose meal plan and might change things up at the store based on what meats are on sale. If it's a really good sale, I'll buy two flats of the meat, and prep a slow cooker meal to freeze when I get home. Basically, just chop up the veggies and meat, add the seasonings, make a note on the bag what needs to be added and how long to cook and throw it in the freezer. It's a little hassle, but has saved tons of time and money. I try to only shop on Wednesday, when they have double deals (the weekly sale pricing overlaps that day--it's a big savings). I also try to keep a couple of frozen pizzas or other throw together pantry dinners on hand. It's saved us a ton on crazy nights when we'd otherwise order takeout. We don't buy coffee out, and I keep stashes of food at work so I don't buy lunch or snacks. We might eat out once a month for dinner, and we have brunch out one Sunday a month--otherwise, I make something ahead and have the oven on a timer to have food ready when we get home from Mass.
CLOTHING: What everyone else said. I actually found it a lot easier once I completely culled clothes and just kept really good, flexible pieces as a base for a mix and match wardrobe. I pretty much only buy on consignment (Buffalo Exchange is great), and babygirl's clothes get purchased en masse when the Kid 2 Kid consignment has a sale. Her entire 6 mo wardrobe ran me $20 and is cute as hell, if I do say so my ownself.
BABY STUFF: We cloth diaper, which was spendy up front but feels free now, and I make her wipes, we use coconut oil for diaper cream, etc. We are doing BLW, so not spending anything extra for her food. And breastfeeding/pumping. That's actually been a big expense, because it took a while to find the right bottles, and my insurance doesn't cover breastpumps (don't get me started). I got pretty much everything else used, and did a ton of research into big items. We try to keep it simple, and only buy things that can be repurposed as she grows.
CHILDCARE: No solutions here. I love the place she goes, and it's $1100 a month. It's in line with other childcare options, and we are really lucky to qualify for a voucher reimbursement program through my work that puts a percentage of the cost back into my paycheck. It sucks, on the one hand, because it's half my take home pay. On the other, my benefits are fabulous, and because I work for the university, DD1 gets 75% of her tuition covered. So we come out ahead. I realize this isn't an option for everyone, but really take a hard look at whatever hidden benefits/employee discounts you might get. Maximize the hell out of those. The little stuff adds up. Find out if you have an FSA for childcare and max it out. I save a month of child care costs by doing that.
ENTERTAINMENT: We don't have cable and don't miss it, although it's rough to miss college football. But not rough enough that we would spend $1k+ a year for it. Netflix and Amazon fill most of our watching needs. I love our local library, and they have books on Kindle which has been superhelpful while pumping/nursing. They also have "culture passes" you can check out that get you free admission to local museums, botanical garden, etc. We have a kind of family contest to find cool things to do for cheap or free, and I don't think my kids feel like they are missing out on anything. We hike, go fishing, play board games and cards, have people over regularly to jam on guitars, etc. Every once in a while, they ask to go on a school trip that is a little costly, and we can usually make that happen, since we aren't spending much on entertainment in general.
Mostly, it's an attitude and a mindset. It gets pretty addictive once you start realizing how much control you can exercise over your money. When I got started making a budget, I would leave my cards at home and literally put cash in little envelopes and that was it: x amount in grocery, x in gas/transportation, etc. It's sobering to see how fast you can go through that at first, and makes you really pay attention to the little expenses here and there that add up.
If you are still reading this, I hope it was worthwhile... I got a little carried away.
natsgirl because this is a public forum you are allowed to voice your opinion to your heart's content. However, I would like to point out that almost every post you have made in F15, for lack of a better word, has been very preachy instead of a support in our community
Intros are always welcome. I for one wasn't familiar with you on TD and you don't post here much so far.
Well after our account got overdrafted last month, DH has realized he needs to pay attention to the budget. No amount of harping from me made that happen. I kindof watched the overdraft get close. Glad it was a wakeup call, and totally worth the $10 fee. He finally logged back into Mint to take a look at the budgets I had put in there and is going to pay much more attention to spending. Sadly most of the extra expenses are thinks like his tuition which we can't avoid, and LO's day care. Again, non avoidable. Mostly we are going to have to put off working on the house and only do things that we already bought supplies/tools for until his company reimburses some of his tuition.
Lifeinthecircus.com has several budget menus for feeding a family of 7 on $300 or $400 a month. Obviously with a smaller family you can include more fruits and vegetables and still be in that range.
If we are in a house next year I want to have a vegetable garden. If we were in our current place longer I'd do a container garden. I love heirloom tomatoes and peppers.
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