Monday, May 24, 2010

Tight Budget?

Before becoming a Stay At Home Mom (SAHM), it was really difficult to see how we would live off one income.  I've always been a pretty frugal person, so cutting out even more money from our budget was incomprehensible at the time.  However, we sat down and wrote out all of our expenses and credits.  Most people get to this point and stop.  I have to admit, I was one of those people.  But, I also had a strong desire to be home with the kids.  I labored over that piece of paper, and then I began doing.  What exactly you ask?  Well, I did this...

  • Couponing - I looked at our monthly expenditures on food, home, and tolietry purchases.  This included groceries and eating out.  Very quickly I noticed how much was going out to restaurants.  Ten dollars here, twenty dollars there...it added up.  We decided that once a week, we would eat out.  Then, I looked at our grocery bill.  It was around $550-600/month.  It seemed natural to me that I could work this one down.  At first, I took baby steps.  The first month I tried couponing, I wanted to shave $50/month off my bill.  That averaged out to a little more than $12/week.  Once I mastered that, then I upped it to saving $100/month and so on.
  • Reducing- I looked at how much money was going out on service type expenses (i.e. cell phone, cable, internet services.  Steven and I went through and decided what wasn't used very often.  Come to find out, we had a ton of movie channels we never watched.  I used to rationalize that it was only $10/month, so it was worth it.  Well, you know what? I wouldn't just take a ten dollar bill and throw it away every month, so out it went.  So did some other non-necessities. 
  • Bargaining- We weren't willing to completely get rid of cable and some services on our phones, so I called the companies to bargain.  I figured we were long time, good standing customers.  It worked.  Promos that were being offered to new customers, suddenly were available to us.  I just had to call and ask what they could do for me (being nice helped).
What are some steps you take to save $$$?  I'm always looking for some new ones ;)

4 comments:

Jami Sullins said...

I have learned the beauty of bartering. I have a few friends that trade off babysitting. We rarely ever pay for a sitter. We just take turns watching each others' kids.
Bartering also works well now that I have my own business. I have learned to used Scentsy as "currency". Hey, it works!

casadechesser said...

I love your blog ;) I hardly ever pay full price for clothing (unless it's something I've been really wanting for some time). First, I usually make a list of what I want/need (especially for Cole, when shopping for the next size up, I try to plan outfits for a little over a week & shop based on that list). I hit the sales racks first and then work my way through the rest of the store. Most of the time though, I don't even seriously look at or touch anything that isn't on the sale rack or isn't part of a sale or promo. For the stores I frequent the most (like Gap & Gymboree...their stuff is usually too expensive at full-price, but I love their style & quality), I sign up for either the credit card (I use my credit cards like debit cards...I never carry a balance) or the rewards card. And yes, they may email you every couple of days, but with those emails, you get priority shopping for discounts, coupons, etc. With the store credit cards, the points build up as you use it & since I'm buying items I would put on my credit card, the Gap (or Macy's) card gives me rewards back to the store, free shipping online, and additional 20% off sale items on Tuesdays. Also, anytime I get a receipt that has a coupon in return for doing a survey, I do it! The cashiers always laugh at me because I have them racked up & have to ring up 2+ transactions to use all my coupons :)

amanda torres said...

Craig, you are my kind of guy! It pains me to pay full price for clothing. I used to work for the Gap in high school and college. They have amazing sales! Thanks for your tips.

Jami, I have yet to conquer the art of bartering.

Unknown said...

Great tips!