Overwhelmed! Where to start? - Page 3

[Siennaflower]

Awesome job!!!

[vanilla]

My biggest money saving tip: stay home. When I shop, I spend. I ONLY go grocery shopping every 2 weeks. I always used to go in for fresh stuff, but I stopped doing that and it has saved me HUNDREDS of dollars a month. You know, you go in for bananas and spend $50. I plan carefully, and for produce I buy as much fresh as we can consume before it goes bad, and then I buy frozen and canned. When the fresh is gone, we use the frozen/canned until the next grocery day. If something is an absolute emergency, my dh can get it. He never browses! I now spend about $350 a month feeding 3 adults and 4 children. And we have company a LOT.

My next best tip: learn how to cook from scratch using a lot of grains, beans, and potatoes, with veggies and less meat. This is healthy and cheap. There are a lot of books written on the subject. Any time you are using something processed you're spending more, and usually it's not as good for you. You probably already know this, but becoming a skilled and creative cook can save you thousands of $. And it's fun.

[kijip]

Originally Posted by lmonter

Yay for you!

My only "advice" about the Corolla - don't try to stick a Britax Marathon rear-facing in there (our Prizm is a Corolla twin - even made in the same plant). We can get our forward-facing Marathon (3.5yo) and a rear-facing Roundabout (13mo) in there, but the RA forces the passenger to have slightly squished legs. It's all still tight, but doable. Especially to cut down on debt.

A RF Britax Marathon/Wizard/Decathalon/Blvd (same size) will fit in the Corolla for a slightly older child. The seat does not have to be fully reclined RF once a child can sit up on their own. I am 5'9", my husband is just over 6 feet with looooong legs. We had a Britax Wizard RF in there for sometime...almost two years. We drove a 98 Corolla. FWIW, I am a certified CPS tech so I know my seats. Yeah you give up leg room but you are not uncomfortably or dangerously close to the air bag. I would limit it to behind the passenger and not the driver however. Using the tether RF assists in this effort.

[meandk0610]

Originally Posted by lmonter

It's just that our Subaru's in the shop right now (dead oxygen sensor) so we've been having fun squishing into the slightly smaller car.

OT, but i'm pretty sure this was a recall issue (i sold my forester last year & got a sienna). you may want to ask to make sure they don't charge you.

sarah

[JERENAUD]

[QUOTE=sarahwpen;8364910]that grocery could probably be cut down to about $350 a month if you plan carefully, buy in bulk etc.

I've seen this mentioned a few times, and just wanted to comment that the original poster lives in Canada, so presumably is talking in Canadian dollars. While the dollar here is currently high as compared to the American dollar, that hasn't at all been reflected in the prices we pay for things. For example, books always have both the Canadian and American prices marked on them - perhaps $4.99 US, $7.99 in Canada, though clearly the current exchange rate would not justify that difference. So, what we pay for food is not comparable to what you pay for food both in terms of actual cost and in terms of stated dollar values.

I too live in Alberta, Canada, though much further (ie about 8 hours) north of the original poster. Here I find that I'm hard pressed to spend less than $600 (Canadian) per month. I could cut somewhat, but not as easily as those in the states seem to find it.

I'm not trying to nit-pick, as perhaps this is the easiest area for her to cut. I'm just pointing out that when (g)you talk about a $350 monthly grocery budget, to us that would be like spending under $300 per month.

Erica

[jenmary]

subbing

[MorganRiley]

i didnt read all the replies but my first thought when i saw your budget is

SELL a car

if you then are a one car family...you will be out shopping less

we are a one car family...and our one car is paid off too

our only car expenses are gas and insurance

[bwylde]

[QUOTE=JERENAUD;8380621]

Originally Posted by sarahwpen

that grocery could probably be cut down to about $350 a month if you plan carefully, buy in bulk etc.
.......

I'm not trying to nit-pick, as perhaps this is the easiest area for her to cut. I'm just pointing out that when (g)you talk about a $350 monthly grocery budget, to us that would be like spending under $300 per month.

Erica

Or even more because food is generally so much more expensive up here!

[organic-momma]

[QUOTE=JERENAUD;8380621]

Originally Posted by sarahwpen

that grocery could probably be cut down to about $350 a month if you plan carefully, buy in bulk etc.

I've seen this mentioned a few times, and just wanted to comment that the original poster lives in Canada, so presumably is talking in Canadian dollars. While the dollar here is currently high as compared to the American dollar, that hasn't at all been reflected in the prices we pay for things. For example, books always have both the Canadian and American prices marked on them - perhaps $4.99 US, $7.99 in Canada, though clearly the current exchange rate would not justify that difference. So, what we pay for food is not comparable to what you pay for food both in terms of actual cost and in terms of stated dollar values.

I too live in Alberta, Canada, though much further (ie about 8 hours) north of the original poster. Here I find that I'm hard pressed to spend less than $600 (Canadian) per month. I could cut somewhat, but not as easily as those in the states seem to find it.

I'm not trying to nit-pick, as perhaps this is the easiest area for her to cut. I'm just pointing out that when (g)you talk about a $350 monthly grocery budget, to us that would be like spending under $300 per month.

Erica

Thanks for putting it so well, Erica! It is especially frustrating when our dollar is so strong and yet we are STILL paying a 30% mark up on a lot of products. Look at a the cost of vehicles - a car that is only $20K in the US would be closer to $30K here. I'm considering trying to save up a bunch of our spending money and taking a shopping trip to Montana at the end of the summer to stock up on stuff for winter. If the dollar is still strong it could save us a bundle!

[Leta]

Wow, I had no idea that Canadians were getting screwed like that. That's too bad.

[naturallyspeaking]

Thank you for the thread. I'm also subbing and I have a quick comment about using cloth diapers to save money. I've tried using cloth last year but I had to ended up rinse and wash so many cycle each time (meaning when I washed the diapers I had to rinse and wash like 5 times before putting them in the dryer to get rid of the smell) I thought I was using/wasting more electricity and water than I wanted to save money for. Also with cloth diapers my daughter had to wear bigger clothes (pants/onesies)... Anyhow, I am not sure whether using cloth diaper actually save money and if so how much savings it would be...? Sorry for the off the track question.

[Leta]

Why did you have to wash diapers 5 times!? Holy smokes. Do you have insanely crappy water? The most I have ever washed diapers is twice, and normally it's just once with an extra rinse.

I've stripped my diapers exactly once, using a small squirt of Ecover dish liquid. I use homemade laundry powder to wash them. I've heard of people doing a white vinegar rinse, but I never have.

I dump poop in the toilet before washing (well, actually as it comes out, but you know what I mean ).

I line dry whenever I can (I put them in the dryer for just a couple minutes first, to keep them soft) and let me tell you, strong sunshine OBLITERATES any bad smells.

[organic-momma]

Originally Posted by naturallyspeaking

Thank you for the thread. I'm also subbing and I have a quick comment about using cloth diapers to save money. I've tried using cloth last year but I had to ended up rinse and wash so many cycle each time (meaning when I washed the diapers I had to rinse and wash like 5 times before putting them in the dryer to get rid of the smell) I thought I was using/wasting more electricity and water than I wanted to save money for. Also with cloth diapers my daughter had to wear bigger clothes (pants/onesies)... Anyhow, I am not sure whether using cloth diaper actually save money and if so how much savings it would be...? Sorry for the off the track question.

I saw a cost analysis once that showed that cloth diapers and disposables were on-par for cost when you consider things like laundry costs, buying the cloth initially, etc. HOWEVER, if you're going to have more than one child then you wouldn't be buying new cloth, so it would work out. I don't know why you'd have to wash/rinse them 5 times though, I presoak in baking soda, then wash in hot and do a double rinse with vinegar and they're perfect.

[lmonter]

Originally Posted by organic-momma

I'm considering trying to save up a bunch of our spending money and taking a shopping trip to Montana at the end of the summer to stock up on stuff for winter. If the dollar is still strong it could save us a bundle!

Hey, you could always swing by my neck of the woods - pandhandle of Idaho. If I remember right, you even get the same news as us (or at least it's on your tv lineup).

[pradiata]

Congratulations on cutting your budget so quickly!

Other posters have suggested dropping your landline phone to save money, but I would be really leary of doing that for the safety of being able to make emergency calls, especially living outside of town. If the power goes out then the cell towers are likely to go out too, and even if the cell towers are working your cell phone might run down. We keep an old fashioned corded, non-electronic phone plugged in for emergencies, and we even live right in town.

Also, our local cable company (Comcast) has been advertising phone service bundled with cable, but the fine print on the flyers says that when the power goes out you can't make any calls, maybe even for hours while the system resets itself, including 911 calls, even though the large print offers enhanced 911 calling!

There's a book out called "The Cheapest Family on the Block" by a couple named Economides (their real name even!) about how to trim everything in your budget. I heard them on public radio a couple of weeks ago, but I haven't read the book yet.

[Denvergirlie]

Originally Posted by pradiata

There's a book out called "The Cheapest Family on the Block" by a couple named Economides (their real name even!) about how to trim everything in your budget. I heard them on public radio a couple of weeks ago, but I haven't read the book yet.

Actually the title of this book is America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money: Your Guide to Living Better, Spending Less, and Cashing in on Your Dreams
http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Cheap...1848976&sr=8-1

I checked it from the library. I didn't find it all that great. If it's the first budgetting cutting book you've ever read, then yes, it's a good book to look over. However, if you've read other budgetting cutting books like this before (Tightwad Gazette, Miserly mom's, etc) then you won't really learn any new great idea.

Just FYI, if you can get it from the library, great, but I personally would never spend money on this book to purchase.

[kristia]

Check out www.frugalvillage.com

it is a great forum

[JERENAUD]

[QUOTE=organic-momma;8381926]

Originally Posted by JERENAUD

Thanks for putting it so well, Erica! It is especially frustrating when our dollar is so strong and yet we are STILL paying a 30% mark up on a lot of products. Look at a the cost of vehicles - a car that is only $20K in the US would be closer to $30K here. I'm considering trying to save up a bunch of our spending money and taking a shopping trip to Montana at the end of the summer to stock up on stuff for winter. If the dollar is still strong it could save us a bundle!

Exactly... it's one of the things that frustrates me the most about threads like this. Everyone is trying to be so helpful and are certainly well intentioned, but we get lulled into thinking that the two currencies are interchangeable, particularly now wiht the dollar being up over $.90 US. It's way more complicated than a straight exchange.

Erica