Tightening My Belt

MeghanWhitmer — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:50:00 GMT

Last week, on our monthly Target trip, my daughter and I ran into an unexpected problem – almost everything we were looking for was missing. Generic diapers and wipes were not on the shelf and the loss leaders we hoped to snare were nowhere to be found either. I found an associate and asked her to run to the back and grab us some diapers (we were almost out at home) but she politely told me it wasn’t a stocking issue. “It’s the economy, ma’am. We just can’t keep these things in stock.” Looking around, I realized she must be right. Name brand diapers were neatly stacked and cute but costly knick knacks crowded the shelves. Fortunately, another local store had our diapers in stock but their supplies were low too. In these troubling times, people are figuring out what a lot of us already knew – every little bit counts.

But reading the paper and surfing blogs, I sometimes get frustrated at the advice and tips I see to help hard working families like mine save money. I don’t have a cable subscription to cancel and my grocery budget, for our family of four (big, hearty) eaters is less then $200. No expensive hobbies or elaborate vacations to scale back or cancel. Just an ordinary, middle class income, average consumer debt, and a true conviction that frugal living helps my family - and my world - to thrive. As we enter a new year that presents exciting new developments and difficult challenges for all of us, I really wanted to reflect on small changes that I could make to help my family save even more. I hope these tips are helpful to anyone who is looking to scale back even further and I would love the comment section to be filled with suggestions from like minded individuals!

Reevaluate my “needs”: This week, I didn’t buy juice. Even though one of my favorite brands was “stock up” at the local supermarket, I realized that we just didn’t need it. Our water filter provides us with endless cold, fresh water and that is good enough for me, at least for now. Sure, I only saved about $5 this week but I transferred that into my savings account and the savings of approximately $260 a year is nothing to sneeze at.

Waste not, want not: One of the problems associated with my desire to stock up on good bargains is waste. A pound of apples for a dollar is no steal when over half the bag spoils! I’ve begun to take stock of what gets eaten in our house and what gets tossed into the trash. Although we consume a minimal amount of meat, I try to freeze realistic portions so when I defrost something, there is enough for a meal (with some lunchtime leftovers) and nothing else. From now on, Friday is Fridge Clean Out Day (Saturday is my grocery shopping day; perhaps another day would work for you). I’m going to attempt to fashion all of Friday’s meals from food that would otherwise spoil or expire before being consumed. This saves money, resources, and will flex my culinary imagination!

No more planning to fail: I’m only human and I forget things all the time. Without fail, the day I forget the diaper bag is the day my daughter has digestive gymnastics and not only needs a fresh diaper but a new change of clothes. Now that she is older, we cannot leave the house without bags of snacks (the girl loves variety), a sippy cup, a lovie, a book… the list goes on and on. I just fashioned an “Oh, Shoot!” bag that I popped into the backseat of my car to help me if and when I find myself in a pinch. Depending on the ages and needs of your children (or yourself), yours might include different items but this is what I packed in mine:

Diapers, wipes, cream, and an old, clean towel to use as an impromptu changing area
Ziplocs of non-perishable snacks (crackers, pretzel sticks, dried fruit)
Sealed water bottle (child and adult sized)
Empty sippy cup
2 stuffed animals
3 age appropriate books
Headache medication (if I forget the diaper bag, I’m not having a good day)
2 full changes of clothing (weather appropriate)

This bag cost me nothing to assemble as I had all of the products in my home and used a reusable tote for packing. Even if I only use it once or twice, it will save my time, money and aggravation knowing that I have my emergency tools on hand.

Reduce by reusing: This year, I’m giving up paper products altogether (okay, I’m still going to by toilet paper – I’m not that frugal!) in an effort to save money and the environment. Although I don’t usually like to spend to save, I purchased cloth napkins for use during meals and have cut up some of Maggie’s more stained and lived in onesies, as well as some old bath towels to reduce our dependence on paper towels. I’m all about changing my life to reduce my consumption of material goods, as well as saving some pennies in the long run, so once my stash of paper products is done, it is not going to be replaced.

Off the top of my head, those are the newest ways I’m saving money in 2009. My husband was laid off in October (hence the blogging hiatus – I’m working brutal hours) and has yet to find a job so, now more then ever, I am committed to saving aggressively and intelligently. I recently took a wonderful, relaxing week off from work and look forward to posting regularly on topics that I feel passionately about and am excited about what this year has to offer all of us! I invite you to stop by again soon, as I'm very excited about some upcoming posts and topics that I look forward to exploring with all of you.

Happy New Year!

Bun in the Oven, No Bread in the Bank

MeghanWhitmer — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:15:00 GMT

I will never forget the day I found out we were expecting. We had $75.00 in the bank (checking and savings combined, mind you!), had just quit one of my part-time jobs (and was only a few days away from being fired from my other) and was holding a positive pregnancy test in my hand. Actually, I was holding 3 positve pregnancy tests - what if the first two were wrong? My husband was thrilled, terrified, amazed... I was nauseous. And terrified. It would still be another 10 months or so before we really got a handle on our finances but, looking back, there were plenty of ways I could have used our nine months of preparation for our daughter as nine months of preparation for a better life. And these hints are....

* Get your affairs in order : IMMEDIATELY! Wills, life insurance, living wills, appropriate health insurance, college funds if you're feeling ambitious - if your child is anything like Maggie, you'll be lucky to have five minutes to yourself again! You are about to be entirely responsible for another human being - it's time you started being entirely responsible about yourself.

* Get ahead - and stay ahead : Even if it's $10 more on your minimum payments or $20 more towards your car payment, this is a great time to accelerate your attempts to get out of debt. I worked until I was a full nine months pregnant and only went on maternity leave because I was terrifying my boss (and perfect strangers!) with my gigantic baby belly - our income did not suffer at all. Financially, this is an awesome time to sock extra money away and to make tremendous progress on what you owe.

* Live in the future : If your family, like mine, is a dual income household, there is daycare looming. I pay (approximately) $800 a month (OUCH!) to make sure my daughter is in good hands while I am at work and our current household income is less then it was when I was pregnant, due to recent job changes. Starting TODAY, start paying for "daycare". You will have to do it soon enough, best to get used to it. Start pricing daycare in your area, get recommendations, interview providers - and open a savings account to sock your day care money away in. This is a great way to adjust to your new financial situation - and to save money. Sooner rather then later, that money will be going to someone else, take advantage while you can!

* No need to upgrade : We were living in a one bedroom apartment when we found out we were expecting. We are currently living in a one bedroom apartment today, with our 13 month old toddling around in it. However, in our initial holy moly we're pregnant panic, we started sourcing two-bedroom apartments IMMEDIATELY. Adding a new member to your family will require additional space. It will not require an immediate move, renovation, or home sale. Seriously. You do not need to move to a mansion for an infant and one child does not require a minivan. Stay put and assess your situation on the other side of your pregnancy - your wallet will thank you!

* Think less - not more : In our closet, we have bins full of adorable baseball onesies and cowboy pajamas for the son we saw on our ultrasound. Readers of this blog will know we had a daughter. Ultrasounds lie. Show restraint. We also have multiple vibrating bouncy chairs to soothe colicky infants to sleep. Our daughter slept through the night at three weeks old and rarely burped, let alone screamed with gas pains. Elaborate breast pumps (used three times)? Check! Boxes of bottles that our daughter disliked! You betcha. Until you meet YOUR child, take it easy. A reliable car seat, a week's worth of onesies, and a box of newborn diapers would have gotten us through the first two weeks. I wish I had realized that before I took all of the tags off!

* Take care of yourself! : First and foremost, please slow down and take care of yourself during this incredibly exciting time. Whether you have a busting baby belly, a completed home study, or an extremely pregnant and cranky spouse, you are an expectant parent! Enjoy these fleeting moments and you will be in the best shape possible to take care of your new addition!

Please share any other tips you might have - I only have one kiddo at home and know there are more experienced parents out there!

The Whole Buffalo : savings

Tightening My Belt

Bun in the Oven, No Bread in the Bank