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Ways to budget/save money?
H and I have been really enjoying ourselves since being married and have never spent a lot of time dealing with budgets. We have even managed to save some money. But 2011 is bringing 3 huge financial changes that we need to prepare for.
1. I am on unpaid leave until August
2. We will have two babies sometime this month!
3. My family health insurance plan will be completely out of pocket beginning sometime in March, when my FMLA runs out.
So, I guess the fun is over!! I know there are a lot of ways to save money...eat out less, use coupons, skip Starbucks, etc. But how do you manage your budgets? I saw someone mentioned mint.com on the 2011 post. What is that? Any other suggestions that would give me a picture of what is coming in vs. what is going out?
Anyone else working on something like this for the new year??
Re: Ways to budget/save money?
DX: 6/9/2011: Azoo ICSI/IVF only option for biological child
IVF #1: ER - 9/26 * ET - 10/1 * beta#1 10/13 - 140 * beta#2 10/17 - 477 * beta#3 10/20 - 1101
1st u/s at 6w6d - one hb * 2nd u/s at 8w3d - no hb detected 11/10/11 * natural m/c 11/13/11
FET #1 Jan/Feb 2012 - 3 delays - cancelled 2/13
FET #1.2 - May/June 2012 - ET 6/6/* beta#1 6/15 - 95 * beta #2 6/19 - 322 * beta #3 6/22 - 940
7/6 1st u/s @ 7 weeks - one beautiful hb - released from RE
EDD 2/22/2013
PAIF/SAIF/PGAL welcome
Mint allows you to link all of your accounts so that you can see a running tally of what you've spent and compare it to a budget that you create in there. You can also link savings, investments, and loans and things so you can constantly keep tabs on your net worth.
DH and I have a spreadsheet that we created and share in Google Docs that has our generaly budget. We have our retirement savings automatically taken out of our paychecks and put into our 401ks. After that, we target an amount we would like to save each month.
To help save money, I try to meal plan so that we don't eat out and order take out as often. That's really where we struggle the most.
Information on Mint is as secure as it can get on the web. If you do any form of online banking, Mint puts you at no more risk than the regular information sharing you are already engaged in.
http://www.mint.com/how-it-works/security/
I have not had any issues w/ Mint.com thus far- but we've only had it for maybe 6mths, and I haven't utilized it like I should.
We have several different accounts. One main account that our checks get deposited into, then another account where I transfer money weekly to pay the mtg. Another account is a vacation fund {We are saving for our 5yr anniversary} and another account that is our regular savings account, plus with Wachovia{Wells Fargo} There is the Way 2 Save where they automatically transfer $1 every time you use your debit card.
I know its weird to have so many accounts, but it works for us. I transfer a specific amt of money every wk to the mtg account that way I know for certain, with out a doubt the money for the mtg will be available when it's needed. I transfer that money immediately before I pay any other bills.
I have an excel spreadsheet of all our bills, and when they are due. I fill it in every month as I pay bills. I've been doing this for about 4.5 years.
Since I set a goal to save a certain amt of money this year I will do the same thing I do w/ the mtg. Transfer XXX for the mtg, then transfer XXX for the savings, transfer XX for the vacation account, then pay bills. This way, I know that all my savings are getting done and I know how much money I have left to pay other bills/play with.
Probably not ideal for everyone but it works for us.
Ooh, do you know where you are saving up to go yet?
At this rate, I don't think DH and I are going have another vacation with just the two of us for at least a decade!
Tips for saving $:
1. Do not have kids.
2. Do not quit your job.
3. Hell if I know. 2011 has been dubbed as our "YEAR OF EXTREME SAVINGS!" However, we have yet to organize a real game plan for such a year. I think we might go with mint.com since we have eleventy billion accounts here, there and everywhere.
Costa Rica!!!!- This was where we were supposed to go on our honeymoon. We had the hotel paid for, and our flights paid for...Then Chris' job got kind of unsteady, and we were afraid if we left for 10 days he might not have a job when he got back.. that and a few other reasons we thought it would be best to leave the money we were going to spend while we were there and save it for "just in case sh*t hits the fan"
That was a really hard decision to make, i cried, and cried, but we had to do it.
We were able to get our hotel money back but we lost $900 in plane tickets.. we could have used them to go somewhere else, but we never needed them, and going somewhere just to go somewhere wasn't an option. You live and you learn.
I'm seriously going to cry over your delayed honeymoon! I know it's still a ways off, but I hope you guys have the most amazing time and that it is wonderful to the millionth degree!
Lol, thanks Kendra. Like I said, the decision sucked, but it would have sucked worse to come back and find out Chris was laid off, and then we would be bah-roke.
We did go on a little mini-moon (twice).. Right after our wedding we went to Orlando and stayed at the JW Marriott, which was Ah-mazing. My uncle is manager for marriott so he hooked us up with the biggest suite I've ever seen.
Then the week that we were supposed to be in CR we went camping. I think we camped for 3 days or something on Shell Key right off of Ft. Desoto. We had a really great time.
We are looking forward to Costa Rica!
I probably don't have too much advice since my H is the money person in our family. I know I need to get my act together because if something ever happened to H I would be in some serious trouble.
1. Baby Stuff: Take hand-me downs when ever offered. Sign up for formula coupons/checks and even sign up for the ones you don't use and trade. Contact formula companies about multiples programs. Go to babycheapskate.com for weekly deals and discounts. Buy clothes on clearance for a size or season ahead. Don't be afraid to use multiple brands of diapers, I use whatever I get a good deal on.
2. Food: Meal planning!!!!! I save so much money when I meal plan. I got off track since the babies were born but that is my New Years Resolution. Your meal planning doesn't have to be a five course meal, just know what you will make and only buy that. Sometimes it is as simple as grilled cheese with soup. We usually allow ourselves one take-out per week. Does your H bring his lunch to work? If not, he could start packing a lunch.
3. Maybe cut back on cable if have lots of premium channels. Contact your internet provider about current specials. Comcast lets you call and get a lower rate once per year.
GL! I know how expence two babies can be. I just returned to work and my H is extremely happy. It seems like you have some good ideas already.
We use an excel spreadsheet as well...or I should say, DH uses an excel sheet. I just go with the flow. I have not signed into a bank account since our honeymoon. lol, so i would be SOL if something happened to DH, but I m the breadwinner, so I dont worry about it hahahaha.
I use coupons a LOT. I usually make a grocery list of what I need to get by for each meal and snacks for the week, then go online and print out whatever coupons I can. Isaiah lives on hand me downs and gifts from grandparents lol. Seriously, my parents and H's parents usually give him enough clothes that I rarely have to buy any. We cut back on our cable, and it saved us 50 bucks a month. I only miss one channel, so I cant complain. We have a weekly allowance. It is not a lot (20$$ each). This doesnt include gas, etc. This is for purely buying stuff. So, if there is something I want (which with kids, you will probably rarely shop unless it is online lol), but it keeps me from going out on a shopping spree and if I want something I will save a few weeks worth of allowance. We also got rid of our home phone, which was another 40$$ a month in savings. Then I downsized cars, and it did not save me money on my car payment since i was upside down on my car, but it saves me a ton in gas (i went from an SUV to a corolla, and I have to say that the corolla is a lot roomier with the kid than I thought!)
I use excel to keep track of everything (our monthly bills, my checking, our checking acct, my savings acct, etc) so I can keep track of where our money is going.
I would suggest going to the "Money Matters" boards and post your budget there..they're really good at finding areas in your budget that need improvement and you can start from there.
My suggestion is to not eat out, bring your lunch to work, little things like that that add up quickly.
H and I use a simple Excel spreadsheet to track our monthly income and expenses. We created a column with the total balance and another column each for the minimum monthly payment, due date, APR, etc. based on the type of expense. In 6 months we paid off over $10K in debts. By putting it in writing it made us more aware and able to put together a plan to not just get by paycheck-to-paycheck but get to where we could actually save.
We started saving by using coupons as much as possible from groceries to eating out. We cut back on going out to eat to once or twice a week. Every time we got a paycheck we also set aside a set amount into savings. We also started looking at yard sales, consignment shops, and thrift stores. You would be amazed at what you can find when you look!
My SIL has two babies and a third on the way and she also does a lot of online shopping and hardcore couponing and that has helped them tremendously!
WOW! Thanks for all the helpful hints!
I signed up for Mint.com and H thinks I am a doofus for entering our information on there. So until I can convince him to let me put his credit card in it isn't totally accurate. He said he has "WDK" money (wife doesn't know). Ughh. He is making this difficult! But I was surprised to see some of the spending when it was categorized. Now I keep seeing little ads that say "We see you like shopping, apply for this card" haha. So my goal is to get the shopping and dining categories down.
I think I will also use an excel sheet that way I can see all the bills, including the ones from H's account. We have a joint account and each have our own and he pays a few things from his that are auto-debit like the cable and cell phone. So I can't really track that on Mint. I know we have enough money saved but I don't want to blow through it too fast because it was supposed to be for a new car. But it looks like I will be responsible and wait until I am working in August to make that purchase.
Thanks for listening to me ramble!!!