Having trouble taking an objective look at your too tight budget?
In the aftermath of 2 failed break-ins at our house, we put in an alarm system that will cost us about $55 a month, and without finding somewhere to cut back, paying that monthly bill will seriously hinder our debt repayment. Thankfully we only have to scrape by for a couple more months until The Big Guy goes back to school and starts receiving a stipend – whew!
I am having trouble looking at my budget objectively, so my new strategy is to brainstorm (generally speaking) about each budget category and where cuts could be made, and then compare my brainstorm to my budget. See how that works?
Television – Do you subscribe to cable, satellite, Hulu, or Netflix services? If you have a contract, check into how much the cancellation fees would be. If they are too much, consider pausing your service. Many companies prefer to let you pause your service for several months rather than lose you as a customer. If you have Hulu or Netflix, these services can be stopped at any time. Yes, they are only $8 a month, but when the budget is tight, every dollar matters. Plus, Hulu has many shows for free if you watch them on your computer rather than your TV.
We are going to cancel our Hulu subscription for the next couple of months until The Big Guy starts receiving payment for attending school. Total Savings: $8.00 per month.
Utilities – Are all the bulbs in your house CFL’s? Do you leave lights on when you leave the room? Do you block off rooms that are not in use? How is your thermostat set? Could you set the temperature a bit higher in summer and a bit lower in winter? How is your water usage? Challenge yourself to take shorter showers, run the dishwasher less often, or cut back on watering the lawn.
I think we might be good in this area. Every bulb is a CFL, we block off rooms that we don’t use, have blackout curtains, and use a programmable thermostat set to a temperature that is only slightly uncomfortable. Since the weather is getting warmer, we did get out our portable air conditioner that last year cut our electricity bill by an average of $20 per month. Plus, now that we aren’t using natural gas to heat the house, that bill has dropped from $150 to $35 per month. Total savings – $135.00
Groceries – Do you eat expensive cuts of meat? Try using more chicken, light fish, turkey, or less expensive cuts of beef and pork. If you are used to more expensive cuts of meat, try marinating less expensive ones to flavor and tenderize. Consider using more rice and beans and fillers in meals. Have you considered using a meal planning service such as eMeals.com to streamline the meal process? Use this 15% Off Your Order at eMeals.com with Bonus Comfort Foods Brochure! Use code Dinner15 Do you have food lurking in the back of your cabinets and freezer? Clean it all out and challenge your family to use everything up with food you already have on hand. Get creative and save some money!
We use eMeals.comand just shopped for 3 weeks of groceries for $150 including breakfasts and lunches! Plus, I bought extra of something things to make duplicate meals for the 4th week. I’m sure we will have to pick up some extra milk and eggs mid-month, but if we can keep our grocery budget at $300, we will be saving about $100 over what we normally spend! Total Savings = $100.00
Gas – How many times per week do you run errands? Could you combine them into once per week? Even better, could you bike to do them? The same goes for your commute. Could you carpool or bike?
My commute to too far to bike, and I don’t live near anyone I work with, but the Big Guy has agreed to only run errands once a week, and to only go to his grandparents, friends, etc twice per week instead of the 3-4 times he was going. Total Savings $30
Eating Out – Could you cut the amount you spend on restaurant and fast food eating in half? Maybe you could get it down even less than that!
Insurance – How long has it been since you shopped for insurers? Can you safely raise your deductible? Can you drop your dental insurance? Are there any discounts that could be applied for life changes that have happened recently?
We are going to drop our dental insurance ($27.74) and apply a home insurance discount ($7.00). Total savings: $34.74
In Total, I found $307.74 in savings!
Now some of this is not guaranteed, like the grocery budget and utilities since they fluctuate so much, but the numbers I have given are pretty good estimates of where our bills will be.
What do you think? Are some of these areas where you can cut your budget?
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Anna-Maria Stavrakellis says
Love this post, i am currently saving to move out so some fab tips here. Thanks
Anna-Maria | http://www.topdrawfashion.com
[email protected] says
Thanks! Good luck moving out!
Diane Luebbe says
HORRIBLE idea to drop dental insurance!!!! All of your savings will go down the drain with 1 cracked tooth or abcess!!!!
[email protected] says
The only problem is that a cracked tooth, filling, or abscess is going to cost us the same with out without the dental insurance. The insurance might cover 10% of it. Complete was of money.
Stasia says
Always looking for more ways to cut back! some great suggestions! :)
[email protected] says
Thanks!
Cat@BudgetBlonde says
Love this! I haven’t had a tv in my house for almost 5 years now and it’s awesome. :)
[email protected] says
In this day and age, there really is not reason to pay for a TV!
Holly@ClubThrifty says
We cut our budget down to the bare bones when we were in debt, and it was amazing how much money we found!
Now that we’re debt-free, we’ve loosened the reins a little bit. Still, it’s nice to know that there are places we can cut again if we need to.
[email protected] says
Agreed!
Joshua L Rodriguez @ CNA says
I’m sorry to hear someone tried breaking into your home. At least the attempts were failed! It always seems hard to find extra money in a budget, but I’ve learned that if you look hard enough, it’s there! Thanks for sharing!
[email protected] says
I don’t really care about the stuff in my house…my concern is what happens when they try and we’re home…
Cheryl says
We cut our dental insurance, too, and have saved a lot. I think once you get in the routine of looking for ways to save it becomes a habit and you save even more because it becomes a way of living. One of my favorite ways is thru shopping at CVS and using coupons and their extra buck program. I have been able to buy a lot of beauty products I would never had the money to buy–I fill a stocking, sometimes two, for my daughter each year. Unfortunately we didn’t know to start when we were your age, but we did know not to get into debt which gave us a good foundation. I found you at Living Well Spending Less–I’m off to look over your blog!
Cheryl says
Oh, I guess I need to clarify–we didn’t know to start investing in retirement at your age, all we knew was to stay out of debt, other than a mortgage. I’m enjoying reading your articles! Nice to see so much thought put into a goal. Best wishes on reaching them all!
[email protected] says
LOOOOOVE CVS and their extrabucks. I am there nearly every week and it affords us things we could normally no buy!
Cheryl says
Since you moderate comments I’ll leave this and you can just delete it. I would love for you to stop by the blog I started 4 years ago, Simply CVS, and see if there is anything that can help you get more deals! I had to cut way back last year because of health, and now my two daughters do most of the postings as we get it rolling again. But if you love CVS I’d love to have you join us there. Again, best wishes on your goals!
Cheryl says
Oops, that comment showed, I thought it would be moderated. Sorry about that, you can delete it from here…I was trying to share personally with you, not advertise :-( . Sorry about that.
[email protected] says
no problem! It sounds like an awesome blog! I don’t have time tonight, but I’ll be sure to give it a try!
[email protected] says
I’ll leave it if you’re ok with it. I am always happy to send traffic to other blogger’s sights, so long as its relevant!
Cheryl says
That will be fine to leave it if you choose. Will enjoy “your visit” when you get a chance. I’ve enjoyed visiting your site today…will be interesting to watch your progress :-).
Mr. Fund says
Maybe I budget differently than you, but I don’t count a seasonally lower utility bill (e.g., heating/natural gas in summer) as “savings”. Yes, your monthly cash-flow is lower, but only until winter, when it’s that much higher than usual.
I average out our utility bill and budget that average amount every month. That way, during low-cost months, I “save” that money so that when winter comes, it’s there, ready to offset the high-cost monthly bills.
Eating out is super expensive and cutting back restaurant visits is a great way to save a bunch of cash.
[email protected] says
That’s a really good point about the seasonal savings not really being savings but just balance out overeages!
Mrs. AOK says
Thank you for sharing via Mommy Monday.
XOXO
Jill says
These are good tips for finding money in a budget.
Maybe you can shop around for better dental coverage at a comparable price? While a chipped tooth might not break the bank, a serious dental problem (and they happen at the worst of times- my friend knocked 4 teeth out in a freak accident and it ended up costing her nearly $9,000 when it was all said and done because she had no insurance…) can be a serious set back financially.
Jill says
P.S.
Thank you for stopping by the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop this week. We hope to see you drop by our neck of the woods next week!
Cass@frugalfamily says
Great tips – Thanks for linking up to the Parenting Pin It Party last week x x
Megan says
I’ve saved a ton of money by using the shopkicks app! You get points for walking into
Stores and scanning products. I’ve been able to earn Target gift cards that I use towards our grocery bill. Check it out!! http://get.shopkick.com/sunset12430
[email protected] says
I’ve never used that app…sounds like a great idea!
Kate - Catching Up With Kate says
we use cloth napkins instead of disposable – for our family of 5 it saves maybe $10 a month – we bought wash cloths at the 99 cents store – we also sign up for every online freebie we can (with a junk email address of course ;-))
Gretchen says
I never though of that! What a great idea!
Rebecca says
“Plus, now that we aren’t using natural gas to heat the house, that bill has dropped from $150 to $35 per month.”
So what are you using to heat your house?
Gretchen says
Haha! It’s hot so we’re not using the heat :-) Come winter thought, that nasty bill will be back!
Heather @ My Overflowing Cup says
We are doing all of the above. It isn’t always easy to give up the things we enjoy, but in the end, it is always worth it. Thanks for the encouragement, Gretchen!