I've been thinking about this lately as we just revamped our budget.
One thing I recently did was go to Aldi's for the first time. They have some organic items now that are super cheap compared to other brands. Their produce was not so great but it was good for a lot of packaged items.
I've been trying to cook more. I was terrible at this first trimester and we went out to eat eat too much.
I use a lot of coupons. Mostly for household toiletry stuff. I'm a bit brand loyal but try to stock up on what I like when I have a coupon for it. I will also buy in bulk on Amazon as stuff is cheaper and free shipping with Prime.
I love to read and stopped buying all (most) books after college. I will only get stuff out of the library, other than cook books or true reference type books.
I have been using family cloth since O was born since I have to do diaper laundry anyway. I've been meaning to try mama cloth too but since that costs $ upfront I have yet to take the plunge. I've been thinking (as I have a cold currently) of sewing some old receiving blankets into a handkerchief to use instead of tissues. We have a few cloth napkins but I would like to make/search Goodwill for a few more.
We try to make a few gifts per year. I know everyone doesn't want an art project of my kids pic but I try to make them tasteful. I'm also planning on trying some Japanese cloth wrapping instead of wrapping paper.
I ride my bike to work in the nice weather. I do this for many reasons but one is to save wear and tear on my car and gas money.
I realize this turned into a 'green earth' list but I do think most of this stuff also saves money. I also think saving money can be a mindset. I really hate to pay full price for anything. I'm not crazy but the internet is so easy so I will google to try to find a coupon code for free shipping or 10% off. Retailmenot is one is use frequently.
I have sold a bunch of stuff on craigslist as well. There was a bunch of old tile in our basement when we bought this house. I sold all of it on craigslist. It's not millions but it adds up and then we buy something we want or go out to dinner etc.
I've become a coupon shopper in the last few years. Our local grocery store has a really amazing program that send coupons for the things we buy the most - even things like veggies which is awesome. And I try to stock up on meat when it's on sale. We bought a small deep freezer to help the buying in bulk.
We also use credit cards with good rewards programs. Our Chase card is perfect for gathering points to redeem for gift cards which we then use on fun things.
I feel like there is more but I need to think about it.
Me: 31 Wife: 30. Legally married 2008, thanks CA! TTC #1 since 11/14 using donor sperm. IUIs Jan-Aug 2015 BFN Sept & OCT 2015 added Femara. BFN Saw RE December 2015. IUI with Clomid & Trigger Jan 2016 BFN IUI #13 with Follistim April 2016 BFFN IVF #1 July 2016. 14R, 10F, 6 Day 5 embryos. 4 PGS normal embabies!
Post by rikkiandjulie on Feb 8, 2016 20:21:44 GMT -5
This is a hot topic in our house since Julies student loans seem to absorb our funds each month.
1. We utilize a flex spending account for her parking and put the max in for health. Not taxing that helps at the end of the year!
2. We split paper towels, toilet paper, butter, trash bags, etc in half with BIL/SIL from Costco. We save a lot this way, but the membership would never be worth it alone if we didn't share it.
3. We pay for everything in cash, if we can't buy it in cash, we don't need it. I know this isn't for everyone, but we had some bad experiences with credit cards when we were younger and just married, so this is the best answer we found.
4. I shop mostly at groceries. Nearly everything I buy is organic, and I get produce from the farmers market when I can. I only spend about $80/wk on Groceries. I also utilize a meal calendar, and pack our lunches each night.
5. We have limited eating out to one weeknight and one meal on Sat\Sun. It's been hard and we slip up but it's a work in progress.
6. We also bring our own soda/snacks to the movies and only go on $5 night.
7. We use Netflix/Hulu for a grand total of $15 a month vs cable.
8. We put our phones on straight talk, it's nationwide coverage for $450/yr for each line. A HUGE savings for us. It also runs off the Verizon network so the coverage is amazing.
9. I am also extremely generous, and a HORRIBLE over gifted. So I am doing some soul searching and reeling it in.
I'm sure there is more, but we are really putting a lot of money into student loans right now, and my costly braces that not a lot if anything is hitting a savings account right now. It sucks but it's true. We have 401k, IRAs, and Julies Pension going right now though which is a plus. We are trying to get a little more into the pot at the end of the month and these are the things we're doing to see improvement. Ask Me in 6 months if it helped.
1. We use Goodbudget (a phone app that works in our mixed OS household) to set aside how much money we want to spend in various categories each month. It helps keep us honest about our eating out and fun money expenses.
2.We put a specific amount straight into savings when we get our paychecks. Then, at the end of the month, we take anything OVER a certain amount out of checking and toss it into savings. It's really rewarding to watch the savings account number go up each money.
3. We have a conversation once a week (on Tuesdays!) (sometimes it slips to every other week) about money. We look at Goodbudget and we think about what the rest of the month will look like, given our current allocations.
4. We don't drink or smoke, which I think helps. We play board-games for fun, so sometimes we buy those, but we get lots of money out of them.
I stopped buying lunch at work. When I started 12y ago, I could eat for $5/day so I purchased every day. Now, it is at least $9 for the same food so I stopped. I buy once every few weeks (when we have absolutely nothing in the house.)
I also stopped going to Starbucks/coffee bar at work 2-3x/week (averages $6-7 with a drink and breakfast) snd now I only go on Fridays when I meet up with my co-workers for coffee. The other days I make a PB/banana smoothie to drink on the way to work (fills me up) and then drink hot tea (I bring my own tea bags and sweetner) when I get to work.
I don't buy individual books for my Kindle and only read what whatever is available on Amazon Prime Unlimited. It is $10/month, but I read 3-4 books/month so much cheaper than paying $10-12 per book.
That being said, there is a LOT of room for improvement, especially around going out to eat.
Lol that right after writing this I went to the store and forgot my stack of coupons on the kitchen counter. I just said f it and bought what we needed.
Me: 31 Wife: 30. Legally married 2008, thanks CA! TTC #1 since 11/14 using donor sperm. IUIs Jan-Aug 2015 BFN Sept & OCT 2015 added Femara. BFN Saw RE December 2015. IUI with Clomid & Trigger Jan 2016 BFN IUI #13 with Follistim April 2016 BFFN IVF #1 July 2016. 14R, 10F, 6 Day 5 embryos. 4 PGS normal embabies!
- We have money automatically deposited into our efund account, Mila's savings and our general savings every pay check.
- Whatever money is left over at the time of our next pay checks, that money gets transferred into our savings account.
- In addition to what we have automatically deposited into Mila's savings account from our pay checks, we also make weekly deposits based on the 52 week savings plan. It started out as a different way of establishing a savings account for our LO when we started TTC and we have just continued it.
- We use coupons when we can and I am a sucker for a promo code. I enjoy the challenge of seeing how much of a discount I can get on something.
- When it comes to clothes, shoes, bedding etc we buy quality so that it lasts.
- We plans our meals, lunches and snacks through out the week and only eat out maybe 1-2 times per week.
- We bulk shop at Costco for things like toilet paper, paper towels, eggs and protein. When we get home, we break down any protein into smaller portions and then vacuum seal and freeze it.
- We recycle everything we can and whatever money we get from the recycling center, we put into Mila's piggy bank.
Post by kekaellypula on Feb 9, 2016 11:46:52 GMT -5
Finally the other half has a steady paycheck - YAY MILITARY! So all her money goes into paying off debts and savings. With the upcoming move we may end up living off her salary (booo) unless I find employment first.
Since we are in two places. I set up a monthly budget on google drive that we both access and put in what we spend. She has an allowance for the month to cover misc food costs, internet usage, phone bill, and any uniform items she needs to get. It has worked well so far. I have a 401k from work as well as a money market account. I also have a rental property that provides a little extra every month. As more debt gets paid we will be increasing our retirement savings.
Oh, and I use sites like ebates before I buy stuff online. It isn't much, but it is literally 1 extra click and I get a $25 check every few months. Actually because we bought a big ticket item on Black Friday, I just got $130 back.
I also hunt for promo codes before I buy anything online and refuse to pay full price for clothes and non-random Amazon stuff.
I have Bank of America and just sent up the 'save the change' program so they round all of my debit card purchases up to the nearest dollar and deposit the difference in a savings account. I've gotten $25 in the past 2 weeks (I use my debit card almost exclusively.)
I am in the process to see if we should refinance the house to a 15y mortgage.
I love this thread and I'm glad I'm not the only one trying to save and make good choices. We save money by doing the cloth diaper thing. It's definitely helped our finances. On the home side, we put a couple hundred bucks extra towards each mortgage payment. We also save our tax return and avoid spending it on fun stuff. When we do spend, we wait on it for a day to make sure we really need it. We eat out once on the weekends and take our lunches to work. Good grief we sound boring! Thanks for all the tips!
We revamped our budget too now that we have 2 kids. Do you have a savings goal in mind or are you just looking to cut spending here and there?
At this point, to just cut spending in general. Our mortgage payment will be higher than our current rent, but L also recently paid off a huge chunk of student loans thru a federal reimbursement program, so her monthly payment is a lot lower. We do put a small amount in our 401k now but need to do more. We have been leaving extra money in our checking account right now for house down payment. Our spending was a little crazy at times last year between our RE bills and some other stuff.
So, I'm looking at ways to save money at this point. And I think once we get used to new budget, hopefully putting more away in savings and starting college fund for C and new baby.
We revamped our budget too now that we have 2 kids. Do you have a savings goal in mind or are you just looking to cut spending here and there?
At this point, to just cut spending in general. Our mortgage payment will be higher than our current rent, but L also recently paid off a huge chunk of student loans thru a federal reimbursement program, so her monthly payment is a lot lower. We do put a small amount in our 401k now but need to do more. We have been leaving extra money in our checking account right now for house down payment. Our spending was a little crazy at times last year between our RE bills and some other stuff.
So, I'm looking at ways to save money at this point. And I think once we get used to new budget, hopefully putting more away in savings and starting college fund for C and new baby.
Gotcha. I'm not a coupon clipper or saver in those types of ways so I'm no help. I am slightly obsessed with budgeting and putting money into our savings/emergency fund account. The way I go about it is to be super organized. We have 6 bank accounts we work with to compartmentalize our money. Bit much, right? Lol. We use a budget organizer that we made to track our spending on a monthly basis. We have certain amount of money I put into savings every month and then we have a goal of how much money we want to save every year.
At this point, to just cut spending in general. Our mortgage payment will be higher than our current rent, but L also recently paid off a huge chunk of student loans thru a federal reimbursement program, so her monthly payment is a lot lower. We do put a small amount in our 401k now but need to do more. We have been leaving extra money in our checking account right now for house down payment. Our spending was a little crazy at times last year between our RE bills and some other stuff.
So, I'm looking at ways to save money at this point. And I think once we get used to new budget, hopefully putting more away in savings and starting college fund for C and new baby.
Gotcha. I'm not a coupon clipper or saver in those types of ways so I'm no help. I am slightly obsessed with budgeting and putting money into our savings/emergency fund account. The way I go about it is to be super organized. We have 6 bank accounts we work with to compartmentalize our money. Bit much, right? Lol. We use a budget organizer that we made to track our spending on a monthly basis. We have certain amount of money I put into savings every month and then we have a goal of how much money we want to save every year.
That's cool. We use budget app that helps some. I think having extra accounts makes sense. We should do that.
Then Comes Family, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising
program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.