There are lots of us responding to their emails and you may find some good tips from us, too. God Bless You. Maggie…my oldest son is lazy when it comes to stuff like that. That was one of my biggest mistakes was allowing him to be that way. My second son, on the other hand, is very motivated by money. He did all kinds of stuff for my father when he lived here.
Can I email you and perhaps you could resend the message to my personal email? She has a good idea there when she talks about how to avoid the snack while out syndrome and the grab fast food on the way home syndrome.. BEFORE I go grocery shopping I add the ingredients to make a couple of simple meals, for just such an occasion as night prompt me to get fast food. It helps to think of what you like in the quick fix dpt ahead of time, so that you are prepared.
JustMe, I hear you about the community. We live in a place where most people hire a company to do their lawns but my son has established his niche because he only mows when the lawn needs it not every week regardless of growth, like the companies do. He edges and sweeps up the clippings. He really does a good job and his customers appreciate his hard work. It does take a while to build up a client base but if you do a good job, they will keep coming back.
Hope you son has much success in whatever he tries in the future. To Just Me, You are so blessed to have a large family and have a work at home job. How bright your oldest son is to be learning to be a pharmacist! He must have a wonderful personality to be a salesman. As far as the car ramps are concerned, what would it have cost if he had the job done at a garage? And your second son, the go gitter, has he tried being a wait person.
There is always a demand for someone who is reliable. The third son could be such a help around the house, allowing you to take care of the little ones, be sure to pay him so he will have spending spending money so he can buy his clothes and school supplies.
This would be a good time to teach him how to save. The toddler will be a great little helper, entertaining the baby, bringing you a diaper. To just me, I had six children and was a stay at home mom.
There was never enough money. My advice would be to add up the have to pay expenses such as taxes and insurance, and try to live on what is left. Packing a lunch for hubby is a good start. Make you own cleaning supplies, cut out the junk food, turn off the lights, search the web for frugal ideas, shop with a list, buy the store brands, buy when things are on sale. Plan your meals as you make out your grocery list, allowing 3 to 4 ounces of protein per meal, fill in with veggies that are in season.
Write the menu at the bottom of the list, write the prices at the side and add up. If is more than the amount you want to spend, make changes. If it is less buy some emergency foods. This is hard to do at first, but hang in there, it will work out. What an inspiring chain of letters and responses! Jill and Tawra, I love to see people come together to help another person trying to learn budgeting. Your site allows people to connect and do just that! Has anyone seen any good ideas this summer for good buys on Christmas gifts?
Barb, you are so wise to start in advance. One year I did my shopping in November and charged everything. It took three months to pay off the credit card. At that time I had 30 people to buy for more now. Wrapping took forever.
The next year DH hours were cut from 40 hours to 24 hours a week but he kept his benefits. That was when I had to figure out where I could make cuts in our lifestyle to make up for the paycut. There was no way I could afford to buy all those gifts. We played a game with the gifts and had a great time trying to steal a special treasure gift. Now that our better off and can buy gifts the family wants to keep it the same.
Small cuts in spending adds up to big bucks. Yes Barb, God is good, all the time, God is good. Jill, Even though I am finally on the road to recovery in getting my credit cards paid off, I really enjoyed reading your information for JustMe.
I bring all my change home and put it in a jar. If I need to take the bus somewhere or buy extra milk one day, and it is too close to payday, I have these nickels and dimes to fall back on.
But, please keep posting so we can keep up with you. There are 3 of us in the household. I plan before I shop! I try to stock up with coupons.
I learned that the hard way when I first started using coupons. Maybe you can do a coupon trade with someone. I make the list of neccessities then find a coupon match. Then I go to Food for Less for food only, no household items. I recently bought cat treats at 7 cents per package, got free cans of cat food. I also get a lot of items for free with coupons. Last month I had approx 10 coupons for laundry deterdent. We were badly in need of new furniture, our older used set was literally falling apart.
I put a moderately priced sectional on layaway, I have at least days to pay it off. I also shop at online sites like the home shopping network. These Chicago winters get cold! I waited until these 2 goose down comforters went on clearance in May. I also use layaway whenever possible. I got those 2 additional discounts because I had a problem with customer service, so I emailed the corporate headquarters. That was totally unexpected, the agent was happy to get a positive letter for a change.
I also buy smaller plants for a fraction of the price. I sell many items on craigs list. People are looking for a good deal, so give them one! Sellers always think there precious things are worth more than they actually are. Getting a little money is better than getting nothing because you had to donate it or throw it away. One of the best kept secrets is I go to the beauty school. I frequent 2 different ones in my area that feature different services. Students want to do do a better job than any professional in a salon!
I also get a deeply discounted deep conditioner everytime I get a touch up. The scalp is scraped with a brush, the hair is washed then the Khlosteral a deep conditioner that has been used in salons for ages is massaged into your scalp. Dee These are super ideas, thank you! I also stock my pantry a little at a time, i. Another great place to get good quality discount items is from a catalog called The Lakeside Collection.
I have purchased things from this company for a number of years and have always been pleased with their items and their customer service. Now is the time to request their catalog. When we are at the beach, I start really listening to my kids and things they mention they need so I can start shopping the 1st of September. Thank you for all the suggestions, Marie. Over the years I have breastfed two babies while working sitting on my couch with a laptop and boppy pillow ; I plan on doing the same with my new little guy when he gets here, too.
He has done very well, I give him credit for that. Thank you, Maggie! I feel hope sliding back in now…just when I was about to give up! God bless you, as well!! Thank you so very much for taking the time to post it!
I like the envelope idea. The misc items add up fast! Due to my lack of planning, I would stop for breakfast sometimes at a fast food place on the way to work, or I would go out to the food truck.
I eliminated all of this extra spending. I got a great deal on a newspaper subscription. That is a substantial savings right there. I plan better when grocery shopping. Now, the night before, when I oack my lunch, I also make my breakfast bag. I pack a yougert, banana, nutra grain bar, fruit, or a bagel. I always bring my lunch to work, everyday, I have for years.
I also changed how I was buying meat at the grocery store. I thought it would be ok as long as it was in the freezer, but I was wrong, it had gone bad. Good advice Dee. I am not a big fan of stocking a freezer full of things unless you have an extra large family or in special cases like you live far from town and things like that. Add to that the cost of running that freezer to store a bunch a food of which you will throw a good portion of it out to me just seems a waste.
Kate I know exactly what you are talking about. Most of my adult life I have had my own business and understand the feeling of feast or famine. It is frustrating because most financial advice seems to be geared around a regular set income and that is why most budget plans never worked for me but here are a couple of tips I learned and some of them the hard way. It is the same type of thing many people do when they get their tax return.
I know that is hard to do but it is a goal to aim for. Had help with groceries this month and have some new ideas for gift basket fillers. Don is known as the go to guy at work for making small fixes to rifles and guns. So a few days ago one guy called and asked him to take a look at his brand new rifle which was not firing right. When the guy asked what he owed him Don said a favour at some time down the road.
Well the guy said he would drop off some fresh cod fillets. He just got back from visiting family in Newfoundland and brought back a lot of cod. So great we will be getting cod for a couple of meals at no cost. Another friend of mine runs a chip wagon and she had a few 50lb bags of potatoes left. Her husband dropped a bag off for us. So a couple meals of fish and chips which we love for no charge. Only problem is except for those 2 meals as a treat we have gone low or no carbs.
What do I do with 50 lbs of potatoes. Well gave about 20 lbs to a couple people with kids and one to a friend who is struggling to make ends meet. Now comes the creative part for gift baskets.
I am going to can about 12 pint jars and add it to the gift baskets I am giving at christmas. Some will be plain potatoes and some will have carrots and onions in them and they can be part of a meal on a busy night or added into stewing meat to stretch the meat further.
Utility turkeys were on sale for. Now I have turkey to make soup stock to can, vegetable turkey soup to can and I am going to try canning one of them raw. All of these will go on my pantry shelf and some will be set aside for gift baskets. Since I already have all the equipment for pressure canning dehydrating the only real cost is going to be the jars and the ingredients which I am getting at really good prices due to the season.
I am dehydrating just about anything I find on sale and have a couple quarts of different apples, 2 types of pears as well as a few mango and kiwi done. These are experiments that have turned out so well they will go into baskets. I have roasted garlic dehydrated it and then ground it into powder and have roasted garlic powder and salt to give as gifts.
I love canning and cooking but with just 2 people in the family now we would never eat all the things I have in the basement and since most of the people I know do not know how to do this I think they will enjoy my efforts. A few special friends are going to get a jar of my green tomatoe mince meat for pies.
Not many since it is so good Don is eating a jar out of every batch. So this is my christmas on a budget this year. The comments about the freezer are so appropriate for me today. Hubby and I had a conversation about just that yesterday. He wondering what is in the upstairs freezer that is packed so full and now I am wondering, too.
I told him it was mostly bread items to make bread pudding which quickly fills a small over the fridge freezer but I know there are things in there that have not been seen in months.
It is overflowing and I keep buying meat for the week without knowing what is in there. In the basement freezer, I have that pretty well organized but no beef just chicken and more chicken and even more chicken. I am so sick of chicken so yesterday on the way home from work bought a steak. Because I am just recovering from a hospital stay, even that was not too appealing. So, I am beginning to think that I will shop for meat like Dee does. Weekly and use it up by the end of the week.
And with the two of us just gettng older and eating less, there is no reason to stock up like I used to. Food for thought no pun intended. One more thing. So, will just purchase them this winter and make do until I am better. Was talking to my mom yesterday and said we were supposed to get snow tomorrow. She says her memory is quite good enough to remember it without the real thing to remind her. If it snowed in Bradenton beach she would just sit down and cry. So please be kind to the old soul.
Jill, I want to start by saying thank you for coming up with this website. My spouse and I have been through a rough long few years. However, we are finding ourselves back in the same boat we were in before we decided to move to CA. In September my spouse and I left our home state and moved to CA.
Push yourself to spend better and save more—but be realistic when you set up every single budget line. But you can have a monthlong challenge to skip restaurant spending and put that money toward your current money goal instead. Set up automatic bank drafts so some of your bills and savings are paid straight out of your paycheck. Beat drive-thru temptations that bust your restaurant budget, and keep the money-grabbing munchies at bay.
Do this by planning your meals—breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks! Then make a grocery list—and stick to that list! Meal planning saves you from going overboard on your grocery and restaurant budget lines. You may want to break some of your budget lines into weekly portions to help you spread out your spending. Budget for it. You get the idea. Yes, emergencies and surprises pop up that can rock your budget. Go ahead and copy everything over from the previous month, then make tweaks to just the budget lines that will be affected by anything coming up.
And to be honest, sometimes you do have to say no. Some of them are lying. Some are in debt up to their designer sunglasses. And a few really do have their lives together. Work hard defending your budget—saying no or not now when you need to—because being true to yourself, your budget and your money goals is more valuable than anything you could ever buy.
Guess what. Use your real money —your cash or debit card. I love budgeting and look forward to doing it every day, but I know I am in a very weird minority. For everyone who is not thrilled by the idea of sitting down with a budgeting spreadsheet each day, try pairing it with something fun. Take yourself on a walk or go to a favorite bookstore when your weekly budgeting duties are complete.
You put cash in an envelope weekly or monthly for certain spending categories like clothing, food, etc. No borrowing here and there. No cash advance for the next week or month. Shop My Bag. Banking Budgeting Deals Emergency Fund.
Compare Savings Accounts. Financial Planning Real Estate Retirement. So keep it fun. Gamify the process and reward yourself when you stick to your budget. It will change the way you think about budgeting, from a chore to an activity you can enjoy. Stop paying account fees. Send us a note and let us help you build a plan to reach your financial goals. Credit Cards. Holiday Hours. All rights reserved. Menu Close. I want to Loans Mortgages. See current mortgage rates Find the right mortgage Talk to a loan specialist Find the right credit card.
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Business Credit Cards. Skip to main content. Keeping a budget is not easy. Never spend more than you have Getting into debt can be a vicious cycle that is tough to get out of. Stick to a lower credit card limit Credit cards with high limits are easy to rack up and hard to pay down. Budget to zero Budgeting to zero means that when you create your budget, your income minus your expenses add up to zero.
Try a no-spend challenge This is sometimes referred to as a spending freeze, a spending fast or a zero spend challenge.
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