Tuesday, February 5, 2013

spending freeze

I read so many mommy blogs that are by stay at home moms. What is their secret? Why can't we do that? Well for one we live in Massachusetts and it is insanely expensive. Before my job ended, I had decided to go on a spending freeze. Which turned out to be a good idea since I soon wouldn't have a job. I used to NEVER spend money. I dressed awful and refused to buy anything for myself. After awhile I realized I did actually need some new things. I had steady income and I only had to worry about myself so I continued spending. Never crazy in debt spending, just not saving spending.

Elinor drinking some soup

I am now back on a budget and not buying anything we don't need. I make a list whenever we have to go grocery shopping. We have realized grocery shopping once a week works the best for us. We plan about 3 dinners a week and with leftovers and little quick meals we make it last. I'm sure that will change once Elinor starts eating more. Oh and Target! I can't even tell you the last time we went! I have been going to CVS when I need little things. They always email coupons that I can send straight to my reward card and use. I'm awful with using coupons but I'm trying to remember and bring them and use them.

Looking at Pinterest the other night, I came across a pin that said "5 ways to spend less and reduce clutter". Obviously I read it right away and was surprised that so much of what I was already doing and feeling was mentioned. The one I need to work on is rewarding myself with experiences not things. When I was at work I would always buy myself a treat if I was having a rough or long day. A bath or baking something myself would make me feel even better.

What do you do to save money? Any tips to share?

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8 comments:

  1. I have recently tried to curtail spending as well. I had to start looking at what we bought grocery shopping - a lot of times I'd just grab something or buy bulk (coffee, quinoa, etc) without looking at the price. Oops.

    Over time we've stopped eating out so much so that cost is way down but misc expenses keep popping up and I'm unsure how (if!) I can control those. Last month I had to spend an extra $70 on travel/petsitting to attend memorial services and then another $45 to replace all of the phone charger wires my cat chewed through. At least with those we still had the iphone plug blocks and ordered 10 generic cords off monoprice for $45 instead of spending $40 on one Apple cord. But that was an extra $125 that had to be spent.

    Mr. Money Moustache's blog is crazy and I'm sure you can also find a lot of tips there. When I read it I alternate between wanting to live exactly as he does and thinking he's insane.

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    1. Thank you! I will check that blog out! I was so guilty of not looking at prices and grabbing the most expensive items. I went grocery shopping last night and it was so much cheaper than it usually is!

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  2. Food is definitely our biggest cost. Gluten-free tends to be more expensive unless you make from scratch...which I need to do more of.

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    1. We have been doing so good with not eating out and making meals at home. I hope we stick with it

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  3. Let me know what products you need coupons for. I have access to 3 Sunday newspapers with the coupon booklets

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  4. People always ask us how we live with B being in school & working at Starbucks. I always tell them that we don't spend any money ever. Hah. Of course, that's not true. But, we budget extremely tightly. One of the best things we did to save was to do some research on our iPhone plan. We were able to switch our SIM cards with Gophone SIMS. Our bills went from $180 to $50 a month. If you have anymore tips keep posting them! We're always looking for ways to save.

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    1. oh wow! I didn't think about that. I will post if I come up with anything else.

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