One of the things that I'm learning as I go through this is how easy it could be to just slip back into old habits. Since Nathan has gone home there has been a sense of relief that I can get back on track. While he was here I did go out to dinner a couple of times (one of the biggest no-no's on my program). But I only see him once a year so and he is my youngest son! I had to ask myself several times to put everything into checks and balances because while traveling next year is the entire purpose of this program, I want to enjoy my time with him so while it felt very uncomfortable eating out on the last dinner because we had already eaten out once before, I just relaxed and enjoyed my time with my family. BUT now that he is gone I can see where it would be so easy to just go back to the way things were. My only saving grace has been that I think I actually LEARNED something prior to his arrival and now couldn't wait until I could just tighten things up again.
One of the best things has been my bi-weekly budget. Once my bills were paid which always feels great, I was able to just relax knowing Mary and I were all set this week. I was also able to loan my other son some money until his next payday. I hate doing that but his credit with me is outstanding so I didn't mind after I thought about it. I'm also learning where adjustments are needed on the entire program and how to make them. What I don't want to happen is I just adjust myself out of the program! I really want to spend some time this week reading more blogs from other people doing this and hopefully get some ideas on how they are making changes. I've learned is that I actually enjoy managing my money and making the right decisions as I work towards something I really want. I don't think I'll stop after a year but will fine tune this for life and hopefully teach all of my children how to live within a spending fast.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Heading into Week 2 and Payday
So I've started week 2 of my spending fast. I've had to compromise on some areas of "spending" or rather optimal ways to save. First one was air conditioning in my vehicle. I made it an entire week without using it and my savings were tremendous! BUT I looked like hell when I got to work so the first compromise was I will use the air if it's over 78 degrees in the morning and only on the way to work. I don't care what happens to my hair on my way home unless I have an appointment, then I will decide at that point. The second compromise was the dish washer. And this isn't really a compromise rather than a complete break-down. I was just so darn tired every day I came home that I just let them pile up and finally caved. My new plan is to attempt to do the dishes immediately in the sink so I don't run into this again.
I'm continuing this post a few days later. My son has arrived and I haven't seen him in a year. I've explained the plan and as of this writing he has been totally on board - calling me out on some frivolous spending. We did eat out a couple of times but for the most part, he's wanted to stay at the house and just chill. His dad was recently laid-off from his so him coming here and listening to me talk about saving money has sort of hit home. Mary has been great about keeping me in line. I'm hoping over the next several months to begin to work with her on our household budget so she can have a greater understanding of managing money. Well, sorry the post is so short, it's a holiday weekend and we have nothing planned other than a quiet cook-out in the back yard. Happy Fourth to ALL!!
I'm continuing this post a few days later. My son has arrived and I haven't seen him in a year. I've explained the plan and as of this writing he has been totally on board - calling me out on some frivolous spending. We did eat out a couple of times but for the most part, he's wanted to stay at the house and just chill. His dad was recently laid-off from his so him coming here and listening to me talk about saving money has sort of hit home. Mary has been great about keeping me in line. I'm hoping over the next several months to begin to work with her on our household budget so she can have a greater understanding of managing money. Well, sorry the post is so short, it's a holiday weekend and we have nothing planned other than a quiet cook-out in the back yard. Happy Fourth to ALL!!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Wow, It's Hot Here
It was 102 on the way home yesterday. I wanted so badly to turn on the air conditioner but toughed it out all the way home. Instead, as soon as I got home, I grabbed Mary and our swim suits and headed for the recreation department indoor pool. The water was FREEZING and extremely refreshing. 40 minutes and a bunch of laps later we were both really tired but refreshed. Which brings me to the challenges of doing this spending fast with a 10 year old. Mary is completely on board and I really want her to have a real-life lesson in money management but I don't want her to zone out in front of the TV either. Fitness is a big priority in our house and we are always on the look-out for cheap fitness.
We are not members of a fitness club but we are extremely fortunate to have one of the recreation departments complexes in our subdivision. This includes tennis, soccer and baseball fields, track, indoor basketball courts and indoor pool. The pool costs 2.00 each time but well worth the expense. This is another area that I thought was important enough to keep in the budget. As I'm going through this process there seems to be some gray areas I'm going to have to address and balance.
Here is the one I'm facing this week: Visit from youngest son. I haven't seen Nathan in a year as he lives 950 miles away. While he's not big on me spending a lot of money, his visit this week will cost me more in food and at least one evening out. On the upside, this was the first year I asked him to pay for his plane ticket himself. I hated to do that but I really felt I needed to find a good balance between his visit and my spending. Last year I not only bought his ticket but his girlfriends also. Unfortunately, they broke up so Nate is buy for one. I did find free bowling passes so we'll do bowling one night. I'm also trying to score some baseball tickets - they're not to expensive but still it will cost money if I can't find someone who's willing to just give me some for cheap. It's also Nate's birthday tomorrow. I have already told him that gifts will be out of the question this year for both birthday and Christmas so the time we spend together next week has to have some thought put into it. Any suggestions???
We are not members of a fitness club but we are extremely fortunate to have one of the recreation departments complexes in our subdivision. This includes tennis, soccer and baseball fields, track, indoor basketball courts and indoor pool. The pool costs 2.00 each time but well worth the expense. This is another area that I thought was important enough to keep in the budget. As I'm going through this process there seems to be some gray areas I'm going to have to address and balance.
Here is the one I'm facing this week: Visit from youngest son. I haven't seen Nathan in a year as he lives 950 miles away. While he's not big on me spending a lot of money, his visit this week will cost me more in food and at least one evening out. On the upside, this was the first year I asked him to pay for his plane ticket himself. I hated to do that but I really felt I needed to find a good balance between his visit and my spending. Last year I not only bought his ticket but his girlfriends also. Unfortunately, they broke up so Nate is buy for one. I did find free bowling passes so we'll do bowling one night. I'm also trying to score some baseball tickets - they're not to expensive but still it will cost money if I can't find someone who's willing to just give me some for cheap. It's also Nate's birthday tomorrow. I have already told him that gifts will be out of the question this year for both birthday and Christmas so the time we spend together next week has to have some thought put into it. Any suggestions???
Sunday, June 19, 2011
The Gloves are On!
Mary has survived the first week surprisingly well. She's determined to stick with the program even when she is hungry and one of her favorite restaurants is near her Karate lessons. She's becoming aware of what she's got herself into and has a great attitude about it. At 10 she has become quite enterprising. We live in a subdivision with rules regarding exterior aesthetics. She went to the houses in our neighborhood and said she would paint their mailbox posts (regulation color Charleston Green) for $5. She did five houses in the hot afternoon and each person paid her $10. She was so happy when she came home and more determined to keep going. I want more than anything for her to come away from this experience with knowledge of what it takes to really manage money, what it takes to work hard for something and what it takes to really stick with it. So far with one week down I think we're doing just fine.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
I feel sick
Just went online to PAY a bill for something ordered months ago and instead I bought something else!!! I FEEL SICK. Purchase was small but SO Unnecessary. I'm on the phone again to cancel because I can't believe how bad I feel.
I'm only into this a couple of days but the awareness of what you actually or potentially could spend money on is really scary. I find myself wanting to go to the computer or to a store almost automatically without any thought! Yesterday on the way home I automatically turned on the air conditioner in the car. I couldn't believe it. As soon as i realized what I had done I turned it off but it started to occur to me how much spending I've been doing automatically without even thinking of it and now, how I feel about that spending. I can only imagine what my daughter has been taught through my example and what she is thinking. I have included a link to an article I heard on NPR called "This Is Your Brain on Ads: An Internal Battle". How ironic it is that I started this journey and this comes on the radio. Anyway, enjoy, think about it and Don't Spend!
http://www.npr.org/2011/06/14/137175622/this-is-your-brain-on-ads-an-internal-battle
I'm only into this a couple of days but the awareness of what you actually or potentially could spend money on is really scary. I find myself wanting to go to the computer or to a store almost automatically without any thought! Yesterday on the way home I automatically turned on the air conditioner in the car. I couldn't believe it. As soon as i realized what I had done I turned it off but it started to occur to me how much spending I've been doing automatically without even thinking of it and now, how I feel about that spending. I can only imagine what my daughter has been taught through my example and what she is thinking. I have included a link to an article I heard on NPR called "This Is Your Brain on Ads: An Internal Battle". How ironic it is that I started this journey and this comes on the radio. Anyway, enjoy, think about it and Don't Spend!
http://www.npr.org/2011/06/14/137175622/this-is-your-brain-on-ads-an-internal-battle
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Food and Coupon Clipping
So I rush right out in my quest to save as much money on the food budget as possible and buy the Sunday paper with all the coupons. Immediately I find that this is not only going to be a lot of work but no fun at all. Who can keep track of all those expiration dates? Plus the paper cost me $2.00 and about 30 minutes of review time. Only saw a couple of things that I would use (hopefully by June 24th) and I certainly don't want TWO of them which is what I would need to buy to use the coupon. Another offered free milk if I spent $15. Plus the reality of it is I'll have to go through this process each week and find some sort of system to store what I would normally recycle. I've decided that I really need to choose my battles here and clipping coupons is out.
Email coupons are a totally different story. To give you an example, I received an email from CVS offering $3 off my next purchase. Just so happend I wanted a Red Bull and there was a CVS right there! Opened email on my phone, they were able to scan the coupon from my phone screen and Voila! a three dollar savings on the spot. I was also able to do this at Barnes & Noble with a buy one get one free smoothie. Not sure if I mentioned earlier but my Wonderful son David got me a Nook color for my birthday. I received a buy one get one coupon for the cafe and was able to enjoy both the time with my son, the discount on our drinks AND read the books for free! Need to mention here that my ADP Payroll rep Alix gave me a Starbucks gift card today for a referral. This really will make the start of my journey just that much easier. Thanks Alix! :)
So back to the food budget. I've decided that Publix is making this very easy for me to save money. They have awesome buy one get one free items each week that I was able to stock up on. I can review the flyer online, add items to my grocery list, print the list and hit the store running. I am really good at sticking to a list while in the store IF I'm not hungery, sometimes I cave but for the most part, I shop from the list and come home with lots of food. And I can attest that the Publix brand is just fine and their fruits and vegetables are outstanding. It's a great way to eat quality food and within budget. THANK YOU PUBLIX!!
Of course, there's no beating Walmart for soaps, detergent, paper items and milk. Problem is Walmart is SO BIG that it really is hard to get out of there with just the items on the list and you know they are counting on that. So lesson learned: go in prepared with a list and stick to it. Which comes to my shopping list. Outside of the buy one get one free which I never know what that will be I need to stick with the same items for the most part and decide on my meals from there. As far as giving items up that will be pretty tough and I haven't made a final decision on a couple of items:
distilled water - I use it for everything because of the way it makes things taste. You won't believe what it does for your coffee and at .68c per gallon at Walmart, I usually go through 7 gallons a week. That's a pretty big chunk of my food budget when you consider it's just Mary and me eating. Plus I always feel like crap when I have to put the darn jugs in the recycling bin. Why can't they make a distilled water tank so I can reuse the jugs?
butcher shop meat - I became hooked on the meat from New York Butcher Shop on Coleman Blvd after I stopped in, bought some hamburger to try and then had one from the grocery store and one from the butcher. No contest there, butcher won hands down. The upside is they have a weekly mailing with their specials. This past week I went a bit nuts there and spent $112 on just meat but a lot of meat - about three weeks worth. It's hard because I could go cheap (and I mean real cheap and buy it from Walmart) but I always end up throwing it away because I can't stand the taste so maybe the wise choice would be to stick with what I know I will eat.
snacks - not much of a snack eater and don't normally keep them in the house but there is the occaisional bowl of cereal (Publix had Life and Captn Crunch Berries buy one get one this week) that I will indulge in. It really is a bad habit and milk being more expensive than gas (I buy organic milk for Mary) this may end up being dropped from the list. I know at one point David said my cupboard looked like the cereal isle at the grocery store.
I've been spending about $150 per week on groceries - I will begin this week with my new plan and post the results.
So to sum it up, make a list (trying to keep it as simple as possible) buy only what I need for 9 days and drop the cereal. We'll see...
Signing off. Going to run with Mary and call the cable company.
Email coupons are a totally different story. To give you an example, I received an email from CVS offering $3 off my next purchase. Just so happend I wanted a Red Bull and there was a CVS right there! Opened email on my phone, they were able to scan the coupon from my phone screen and Voila! a three dollar savings on the spot. I was also able to do this at Barnes & Noble with a buy one get one free smoothie. Not sure if I mentioned earlier but my Wonderful son David got me a Nook color for my birthday. I received a buy one get one coupon for the cafe and was able to enjoy both the time with my son, the discount on our drinks AND read the books for free! Need to mention here that my ADP Payroll rep Alix gave me a Starbucks gift card today for a referral. This really will make the start of my journey just that much easier. Thanks Alix! :)
So back to the food budget. I've decided that Publix is making this very easy for me to save money. They have awesome buy one get one free items each week that I was able to stock up on. I can review the flyer online, add items to my grocery list, print the list and hit the store running. I am really good at sticking to a list while in the store IF I'm not hungery, sometimes I cave but for the most part, I shop from the list and come home with lots of food. And I can attest that the Publix brand is just fine and their fruits and vegetables are outstanding. It's a great way to eat quality food and within budget. THANK YOU PUBLIX!!
Of course, there's no beating Walmart for soaps, detergent, paper items and milk. Problem is Walmart is SO BIG that it really is hard to get out of there with just the items on the list and you know they are counting on that. So lesson learned: go in prepared with a list and stick to it. Which comes to my shopping list. Outside of the buy one get one free which I never know what that will be I need to stick with the same items for the most part and decide on my meals from there. As far as giving items up that will be pretty tough and I haven't made a final decision on a couple of items:
distilled water - I use it for everything because of the way it makes things taste. You won't believe what it does for your coffee and at .68c per gallon at Walmart, I usually go through 7 gallons a week. That's a pretty big chunk of my food budget when you consider it's just Mary and me eating. Plus I always feel like crap when I have to put the darn jugs in the recycling bin. Why can't they make a distilled water tank so I can reuse the jugs?
butcher shop meat - I became hooked on the meat from New York Butcher Shop on Coleman Blvd after I stopped in, bought some hamburger to try and then had one from the grocery store and one from the butcher. No contest there, butcher won hands down. The upside is they have a weekly mailing with their specials. This past week I went a bit nuts there and spent $112 on just meat but a lot of meat - about three weeks worth. It's hard because I could go cheap (and I mean real cheap and buy it from Walmart) but I always end up throwing it away because I can't stand the taste so maybe the wise choice would be to stick with what I know I will eat.
snacks - not much of a snack eater and don't normally keep them in the house but there is the occaisional bowl of cereal (Publix had Life and Captn Crunch Berries buy one get one this week) that I will indulge in. It really is a bad habit and milk being more expensive than gas (I buy organic milk for Mary) this may end up being dropped from the list. I know at one point David said my cupboard looked like the cereal isle at the grocery store.
I've been spending about $150 per week on groceries - I will begin this week with my new plan and post the results.
So to sum it up, make a list (trying to keep it as simple as possible) buy only what I need for 9 days and drop the cereal. We'll see...
Signing off. Going to run with Mary and call the cable company.
Monday, June 13, 2011
the beginning
I watch Clark Howard on Saturday mornings because I'm interested in getting the most out of my paycheck. I am a single mother of four children (three sons who live away from home and my daughter who lives with me). This blog is about our journey through a spending fast.
I watched with interest the story of Anna Newell Jones and her story about her spending fast. I was hooked. I don't make a lot and haven't had a raise at my job since I began but I'm still pretty greatful for the job especially since I'm in the construction field so no complaints there but I was sure I could do this. I asked my daughter (Mary, 10) to think of something really expensive she wanted. She thought for a minute and stated: "I want to go to Paris." I thought "What a cool idea!" And so it begins. I have had two days to do some basic research and told Mary we were through with eating out (which we do A LOT) just because I get so darn tired at night. I asked her to pick the restaurant of her choice for her last meal and we proceeded to enjoy two number ones at McDonalds.
I began to make a list of the basics to start:
1. Where am I spending right now
2. What can be eliminated
3. What can't be eliminated
4. What do I need to do right now to keep on track
Here is what I've come up with:
Spending - I know the basics of my budget and what needs to be included for the baseline - rent, utilities (electric, water and cable though cable is getting a serious review), my cell phone, food, gas and daycare. I have three credit cards with very low balances so they will be the first to be paid off, a car loan and car insurance.
The Elimination
Cable - right now the cable bill is running about $150 per month. While most would not consider this a necessity, I do need internet as I am occaisionally required to work from home and most of the communication from the school comes via email. That being said, the internet is part of a package but that doesn't mean we can't find something for elimination. I need to get my son David here so he can show me how my tv works without cable. I haven't been able to figure it out with the digital migration as it's called so that will obviously be first on the list. I don't have movie packages so the possiblity exists for just an internet package. I've just pulled a copy of the cable bill for review - your guess is as good as mine on how your billed.
Everyday Double Play - this is showing Voice Services, Economy Internet, Digital Voice Local With More $26.95 (side note - I don't have a landline phone so I'm not sure what the Digital Voice is all about)
Digital with On Demand $59.99
TWO DVRs $31.90
Cable Modem Lease $7.00
Total Taxes $15.42
This comes to $141.26 - GEEZ this is ridiculous!!!
I know the DVRs can go and the investment in a modem will eliminate that charge - anyone know where to get a used modem??? With the elimination of the DVRs goes the digital with On Demand.
This is just one bill disected and I'm already exhausted. And it doesn't include the amount of time I'll need to spend on the phone with the cable company as they try to explain how the billing works, try to convince me that I need cable and just annoy me.
I'm signing off for now. I really am tired and am going to take Mary on a bike ride. Tomorrow's subject: COUPONS and the Food Budget!
I watched with interest the story of Anna Newell Jones and her story about her spending fast. I was hooked. I don't make a lot and haven't had a raise at my job since I began but I'm still pretty greatful for the job especially since I'm in the construction field so no complaints there but I was sure I could do this. I asked my daughter (Mary, 10) to think of something really expensive she wanted. She thought for a minute and stated: "I want to go to Paris." I thought "What a cool idea!" And so it begins. I have had two days to do some basic research and told Mary we were through with eating out (which we do A LOT) just because I get so darn tired at night. I asked her to pick the restaurant of her choice for her last meal and we proceeded to enjoy two number ones at McDonalds.
I began to make a list of the basics to start:
1. Where am I spending right now
2. What can be eliminated
3. What can't be eliminated
4. What do I need to do right now to keep on track
Here is what I've come up with:
Spending - I know the basics of my budget and what needs to be included for the baseline - rent, utilities (electric, water and cable though cable is getting a serious review), my cell phone, food, gas and daycare. I have three credit cards with very low balances so they will be the first to be paid off, a car loan and car insurance.
The Elimination
Cable - right now the cable bill is running about $150 per month. While most would not consider this a necessity, I do need internet as I am occaisionally required to work from home and most of the communication from the school comes via email. That being said, the internet is part of a package but that doesn't mean we can't find something for elimination. I need to get my son David here so he can show me how my tv works without cable. I haven't been able to figure it out with the digital migration as it's called so that will obviously be first on the list. I don't have movie packages so the possiblity exists for just an internet package. I've just pulled a copy of the cable bill for review - your guess is as good as mine on how your billed.
Everyday Double Play - this is showing Voice Services, Economy Internet, Digital Voice Local With More $26.95 (side note - I don't have a landline phone so I'm not sure what the Digital Voice is all about)
Digital with On Demand $59.99
TWO DVRs $31.90
Cable Modem Lease $7.00
Total Taxes $15.42
This comes to $141.26 - GEEZ this is ridiculous!!!
I know the DVRs can go and the investment in a modem will eliminate that charge - anyone know where to get a used modem??? With the elimination of the DVRs goes the digital with On Demand.
This is just one bill disected and I'm already exhausted. And it doesn't include the amount of time I'll need to spend on the phone with the cable company as they try to explain how the billing works, try to convince me that I need cable and just annoy me.
I'm signing off for now. I really am tired and am going to take Mary on a bike ride. Tomorrow's subject: COUPONS and the Food Budget!
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