Chris and I had the dreaded "talk" tonight. You know the one. Money's tight...what the heck are we going to do about it? We're in the midst of deciding on a big purchase, and along with that comes a little bit of anxiety about the future. We want to be able to buy a house...eventually! (That is, of course, if we're ever in one place for long enough! Ha!) And then there is Elli's college to think about, and my new business expenses, and we'd really like to be pet owner's someday (and we all know how much money THAT costs!). It just seems like it starts adding up faster than you can earn it. And then comes the dread...the cutting back...the saying "no". And I don't know about you guys, but really don't like to say "no"!
So, after our chat we decided that we're going back to the envelope system. Ever heard of it? If not, pick up any Dave Ramsey book (or google it, it's cheaper!) and you'll discover what I'm talking about. I first read a Dave book out of sheer boredom during one of Chris's TDY's, and I've been a huge fan ever since! The envelope system helped us save lots-o-moola while we lived in England, but when we moved back to the States we abandoned ship. (I think it might have a little something to do with a super cute girl named Elli, and the ADORABLE clothes that I just HAD to buy for her! I could be wrong though!) But alas, we are going back to what works. Envelopes it is.
I'm curious though...how do you guys save money? Got any great tricks that you'd like to share with me? And books that you highly recommend? Or programs that you absolutely swear by? We used Mint.com for awhile...but our enthusiasm quickly faded.
And what is the hardest thing for you to give up? For me it's eating out (oh the shame!). Eating out is like entertainment for me, I crave the experience of it all! And, let's be honest here, staying at home and eating a peanut butter sandwich just really isn't that exciting! But if I can curb my love of all things Chick-fil-a, I feel I can do anything :)
9 comments:
Hey, if you get a chance, take Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at your church or one that provides the course. It's AWESOME. We went through it, and then this past semester, Bryan helped teach it. You're on the right road with the envelope system, but you will learn SO much more and become SO much more motivated if you take FPU.
What works for me is using Ingdirect.com - I have money taken out of my paycheck every two weeks and it goes straight into a savings account. I don't bank with them normally, so this money is something I never see - so for us, it doesn't even exist until something big comes up (New A/C, new flooring when we had a flood, etc).
We are really working hard towards eliminating credit card debt from college and my time unemployed - and that is hard to do and save, but I really strive to pay myself a little first into my savings and then pay the bills.
Good luck! I love to eat out, too, girl! :)
I am no expert but one thing that I think helps us is that we both have "dumb phones" not smart phones so our overall cell phone plan is very cheap. I know that phones and phone plans can take a huge chunk out of a monthly budget.
Remember when Elli turns one you won't have the formula expense so that will help a lot!
I try to have a few "meat free" dinners a week because they are generally cheaper.
The end.
We are working on trying to save money also. It is going to be really tough this fall b/c I will be student teaching and we will have 1 child in full time daycare and the other in before and after school care. But we really want to save up and buy a house within the next two years. I like the envelope system idea. I saw it on Oprah the other day. I really wanted to attend a Dave Ramsey FPU class in the future.
You know what is amazing? That we cut our income by about 40% with me staying home and we have increased how much we are saving by about $1200 a month. What the heck were we doing before? Well, we didn't have a baby and I think it is scary to say that we ate and drank that money away. Yowza. Plus just loose spending. Sounds like we had fun! But now we are serious adults with budgets and babies, and are all the better for it. Kinda wish we had started the saving thing a whole lot sooner, but not looking back now. Oh and we did envelopes too for awhile, but it was a little complicated. Maybe if we took the actual class it would be easier. For savings, we just set up autodraft into all of our savings accounts, and auto pay for Emme's college savings. For an easy approach for your eating out/baby clothes buying, maybe give yourself a monthly or weekly allowance in cash, and when your cash is gone, no more!
I just wanted to ditto the comment about saving before you see the money. The girls college savings comes out before we see it. Our retirement money goes out before we see it, too. Besides the house and my student loans, we have no other debt. We have a set amount that we have in our regular checking for a pad, but at the end of the month, we transfer everything else to random savings. After bills and other monthly expenses, sometimes it's only a little, sometimes it's a lot.
I actually just started rereading FPU because I want to cut my work hours without cutting our savings. The biggest thing I've found that helps is to make as much as I can at home. We eat in most nights (I make stuff and freeze it ahead as a buffer for when a day is too crazy), make our own bread, can produce when it is freshest and cheapest and I have even started making some of Audrey's clothes and toys. Some days it is a ton of work and it is easy to feel discouraged, but there is nothing cuter than your baby wearing an outfit you made or more romantic than sitting down to a candlelit dinner with your husband after the baby is in bed. If you want more ideas, I actually just started a blog and have been posting stuff as I think of it. I'd love to share ideas back and forth with you.
Oh gosh, the eating out is our biggest hurdle too! Especially since I dont enjoy cooking, AT ALL. So bad, I know.
We've never tried the envelope system but I have heard about it from a few other ladies. Maybe we should give it a shot.
Ooh, and do you guys have an Aldi grocery store nearby? That has helped tremendously on grocery costs. Minus a few specialty items, I can get what we need at a fraction of the cost.
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