I have been very focused on what we spend our money on lately. The downturn of the economy made us think about how we need to save money and know how our money is being spent. I have been very disciplined on using coupons and shopping at the wholesale stores for better deals. I did my homework and found that I can definitely save money on certain staples for our family. We have also cut out items/services that we feel we could live without.
I have learned that my husband is a master of many trades. He is very detailed (sometimes a little much), can follow directions easily and is patient. I know you are envious now.
We cut out our lawn maintenance company this year. My husband did research on how to care for our lawn. Based on what he found, he created a calendar and at the right time he spreads fertilizer, lime or whatever the lawn may need. We were spending over $1,000 on this a year. Our cost will be less than half of what we were paying. He also is in charge of cutting the grass each week.
We had been spending about $45 to get haircuts for all 3 of the boys. Jay gets his head shaved, EE's and Tee's requires a bit more work. We ended up purchasing a clipper kit and now my husband gives haircuts when needed. The best part is that they look like they have been professionally cut. We will go maybe once or twice a year to the barber for a clean up.
So what else can my husband do? The toilet in the basement had been broken for the last few weeks. Every time we went to use it we had to turn the water on and off. It was continually running. I really did not want to get a plumber out here because they are so expensive. My husband purchased new guts for the tank ($8) and replaced it on Sunday. Now we have a working toilet and probably an additional $90 in our pocket.
As I mentioned he does have an eye for detail. He has pointed out a few errors that our contractor has made in our bathroom. You know the never ending bathroom remodel. The cabinets were installed on Monday. My husband noticed that they did not install the 1 inch filler to the left of the cabinet. This is so that the doors can open and not hit the blinds on the window. And prior to that he noticed that they did not put the plumbing in the correct place on the wall. Both of these things are having to be fixed. Supposedly by Friday we will have a semi functioning bathroom. I will believe it when I see it.
Showing posts with label Expense cutting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Expense cutting. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
A dreary weekend
It was a really dreary weekend here for the most part. Not nice enough to play outside that is for sure. It drizzled for a lot of the day yesterday. We did the normal weekend activities....like run errands.
My husband is encouraging my quest to save us money on groceries. I feel like it is important to have an organized pantry so at a quick glance you know what you have. Our pantry is very small. It is rather deep and I have about 6 shelves. I also have to use our lazy daisy for some of my groceries. This weekend my husband installed a wire unit that sits on the side wall and has about 8 small shelves with different heights. I have moved some of the food onto the wire unit and it has left me more room on the shelves. I also bought this stand that sits inside the pantry door to hold chips. It looks very organized!
We made our stop to BJ's this past weekend. I was able to stock up on cereal and some other items. Cereal is a staple in this household. I think that BJ's and Costco will be comparable, however BJ's accepts coupons. And BJ's will accept their store coupon and a manufacturer coupon for the same item. I think in the long run this will save more money. Although, Costco does at times send out good coupons. I will more than likely shop where I have coupons for in the future.
We made it to church this weekend. I still struggle every time I go there. It is so close and convenient that I am afraid we will settle. Settling in my opinion means that we won't feel like we want to or have to go every weekend. I have a few concerns, some important and others not soo important. The very first part of the ceremony involves standing up and greeting people in the church. I didn't like this in the Catholic church but at least that was more share a handshake with someone standing near you. People are all over greeting everyone. It makes me uncomfortable plus I really don't' want to shake so many people's hands. I struggle with the curriculum for the kid's Sunday school. I am not positive they follow a curriculum. Yesterday the boys said they watched a little bit of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory. We are still puzzled on how that can relate to the Bible. Tee will be in the nursery until he is 3 because there are not enough small ones to start Sunday school. They do have a lot of children's activities and they do a lot in the community. There is another Methodist church a little further away that I want to try. But we may have try other denominations.
We were very happy to see my niece again who was up here for a alumni function at her college. Tee immediately was very connected to her. She must go home today and now we are all sad once again.
My husband is encouraging my quest to save us money on groceries. I feel like it is important to have an organized pantry so at a quick glance you know what you have. Our pantry is very small. It is rather deep and I have about 6 shelves. I also have to use our lazy daisy for some of my groceries. This weekend my husband installed a wire unit that sits on the side wall and has about 8 small shelves with different heights. I have moved some of the food onto the wire unit and it has left me more room on the shelves. I also bought this stand that sits inside the pantry door to hold chips. It looks very organized!
We made our stop to BJ's this past weekend. I was able to stock up on cereal and some other items. Cereal is a staple in this household. I think that BJ's and Costco will be comparable, however BJ's accepts coupons. And BJ's will accept their store coupon and a manufacturer coupon for the same item. I think in the long run this will save more money. Although, Costco does at times send out good coupons. I will more than likely shop where I have coupons for in the future.
We made it to church this weekend. I still struggle every time I go there. It is so close and convenient that I am afraid we will settle. Settling in my opinion means that we won't feel like we want to or have to go every weekend. I have a few concerns, some important and others not soo important. The very first part of the ceremony involves standing up and greeting people in the church. I didn't like this in the Catholic church but at least that was more share a handshake with someone standing near you. People are all over greeting everyone. It makes me uncomfortable plus I really don't' want to shake so many people's hands. I struggle with the curriculum for the kid's Sunday school. I am not positive they follow a curriculum. Yesterday the boys said they watched a little bit of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory. We are still puzzled on how that can relate to the Bible. Tee will be in the nursery until he is 3 because there are not enough small ones to start Sunday school. They do have a lot of children's activities and they do a lot in the community. There is another Methodist church a little further away that I want to try. But we may have try other denominations.
We were very happy to see my niece again who was up here for a alumni function at her college. Tee immediately was very connected to her. She must go home today and now we are all sad once again.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Lowering the grocery bill
A few weeks ago Dr. Phil had on a guest that really got me thinking. It was the cheapest family in the world. Ok, yes I do like the show and just started watching it again. I think he really is able to help a lot of people on and off the tv. Anyway, it was a family of 7 who live well within their means(you don't hear that everyday). You can read about them here.
Some of the ways this family cuts spending are things that I would not do. They primarily shop at thrift stores for their outfits. I have nothing against it but I would not be inclined to do so for my family. I feel like I get good enough deals on our kids clothing as it is. I typically buy clothes on sale and usually have a % off or coupon from having the store credit card. Yes, I know I said credit but my balances are paid off every month. As for my clothes, I will stick with my normal routine, sale items at the mall or some other stores who run sales often.
I normally spend over $1,000 a month on my grocery bill. We are a family of 5 and normally eat out 2 times a week. My husband takes his lunch to work about 3 times a week. I feel like I spend so much money at the grocery store and feel like there has got to be a way to cut it even if just a little.
I do use coupons when I have them. My grocery store will double my coupons and once a quarter they will triple up to 20 of them. My grocery store also runs some fairly good weekly specials. I visited this website recently for tips and links for good coupons printable on-line. She was also on the same Dr. Phil show.
As much as I don't want to admit it, I went into Wal-Mart the other day to check the price on some of their grocery items. I have to say from what I saw they do have some fairly inexpensive prices on some items I use. My next step is to continue the comparison at Costco and BJ's. I have memberships to both, but I do have to say I only paid $15 for my membership to BJ's through my mothers of multiples club. That to me is an awesome deal as they have items I can't find at Costco. I will then add on to that and check my grocery store as well as Target. Can you tell that I am an accountant at heart? I love me a spreadsheet.
I am busy and can't spend my entire day driving around looking for deals. My plan is to determine where the best prices are for the items I use often (these include cereal, snack items, chips etc) and shop at that store once a month to stock up. I will still need to grocery shop once a week for perishable items such as fruit, lunch meat, milk etc. My grocery store runs promotions about 3 or 4 times a year. If you shop there for say 14 weeks out of 16 and spend at least $40 you will get whatever they are offering. I am now working towards a $50 gas gift card.
I think the most important part of this will be to plan. Meals have to be planned in advance to ensure all of the ingredients are on hand. I feel at times I make several trips to the grocery store because I forgot one ingredient for a meal. I do love to plan but not so good at planning meals to far in advance. My husband comes home from work and he says that his team will have to do more with less people. I am going to try that here, get more food with less money.
Once I get my comparison completed I will share my results with you. I am hoping to be able to cut my bill down by at least $200 a month. Happy clipping and saving.
Some of the ways this family cuts spending are things that I would not do. They primarily shop at thrift stores for their outfits. I have nothing against it but I would not be inclined to do so for my family. I feel like I get good enough deals on our kids clothing as it is. I typically buy clothes on sale and usually have a % off or coupon from having the store credit card. Yes, I know I said credit but my balances are paid off every month. As for my clothes, I will stick with my normal routine, sale items at the mall or some other stores who run sales often.
I normally spend over $1,000 a month on my grocery bill. We are a family of 5 and normally eat out 2 times a week. My husband takes his lunch to work about 3 times a week. I feel like I spend so much money at the grocery store and feel like there has got to be a way to cut it even if just a little.
I do use coupons when I have them. My grocery store will double my coupons and once a quarter they will triple up to 20 of them. My grocery store also runs some fairly good weekly specials. I visited this website recently for tips and links for good coupons printable on-line. She was also on the same Dr. Phil show.
As much as I don't want to admit it, I went into Wal-Mart the other day to check the price on some of their grocery items. I have to say from what I saw they do have some fairly inexpensive prices on some items I use. My next step is to continue the comparison at Costco and BJ's. I have memberships to both, but I do have to say I only paid $15 for my membership to BJ's through my mothers of multiples club. That to me is an awesome deal as they have items I can't find at Costco. I will then add on to that and check my grocery store as well as Target. Can you tell that I am an accountant at heart? I love me a spreadsheet.
I am busy and can't spend my entire day driving around looking for deals. My plan is to determine where the best prices are for the items I use often (these include cereal, snack items, chips etc) and shop at that store once a month to stock up. I will still need to grocery shop once a week for perishable items such as fruit, lunch meat, milk etc. My grocery store runs promotions about 3 or 4 times a year. If you shop there for say 14 weeks out of 16 and spend at least $40 you will get whatever they are offering. I am now working towards a $50 gas gift card.
I think the most important part of this will be to plan. Meals have to be planned in advance to ensure all of the ingredients are on hand. I feel at times I make several trips to the grocery store because I forgot one ingredient for a meal. I do love to plan but not so good at planning meals to far in advance. My husband comes home from work and he says that his team will have to do more with less people. I am going to try that here, get more food with less money.
Once I get my comparison completed I will share my results with you. I am hoping to be able to cut my bill down by at least $200 a month. Happy clipping and saving.
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