Top 3 money-saving tips???

[towsonmama]

Dh unexpectedly lost his job this past Monday and we're kind of reeling from the shock. He's paid through the end of the month but that doesn't offer much consolation right now. I'm pretty scared. We have 3 little kids and I'm a SAHM.

So, that's my background. I'll be spending time reading through this board but I'd love to hear your top tips for someone just beginning to cut back and review their spending. Any input is extremely helpful!

[Amys1st]

Oh wow, thats a tough one and I know you will do fine.

Starters, make sure all your important stuff is paid= rent/mortgage; auto payments; medical insurance. put aside money for that first.

Pantry raid= think of what you have and make a list of meals etc you can make with what you have on hand to stretch things for a while.

Visit the unemployement office in your area and get that rolling if possible.

Can you do something part time at night for a while??

Anything in your house that can be sold on Craigslist?

Any upcoming purchases that can be solved w freecycle or hand me downs??

HTh to start.

[towsonmama]

Thanks, Amys1st! The pantry raid is a good idea. That's something concrete I can work on right away. I've asked dh to look into unemployment but I'll have to follow up with him. He's having trouble dealing with the job loss and is embarrassed about acknowledging it publicly.

We have had some kind of guardian angel looking out for us in that I coincidently happen to be starting a part-time job tonight. I'm going to see how many hours I can pick up.

[EarthyMamaofDaisy]

I make my own all purpose cleaner 50/50 vinegar and water and I make my own laundry soap too. The laundry soap is dirt cheap to make - just Dr. Bronner's and borax and washing soda.

I cook from scratch and try not to get stuff that comes in boxes. I make my own baby food too.

Buy as much used as possible. I get kids clothes at yard sales and rummage sales. Whatever I can't find there I get at a second-hand shop.

I live in a town with no trash pickup so I go to the dump with my husband and get lots of stuff from the free table. I get a lot of the kids' toys this way. When they are done with them I just bring them back for someone else to take.

If you have lots of books laying around you won't read again you can sell them on half.com or alibris or amazon.

Make homemade gifts instead of buying expensive ones.

Okay, that was more than 3 tips but I hope you can use at least one of them!

[maybemom05]

This is a tough situation - I hope you find a good resolution soon!!

"He's having trouble dealing with the job loss and is embarrassed about acknowledging it publicly."

I know that it can be uncomfortable - especially for men - but it may help him to look at it this way: For as long as he has been working, his employers have been paying unemployment insurance on his behalf. In effect, this is money that could have been paid as salary, and instead was paid to the unemployment insurance fund - similiar to Social Security. The insurance fund was created for EXACTLY your kind of situation, so that a provider with 3 small children could get some assistance in a rough time. If your DH wouldn't feel badly about using health insurance or collecting retirement benefits (and he shouldn't - after all, he's paid for them) then he shouldn't feel badly about collecting unemployment either.

Good luck to you!!

[katheek77]

Simplest:

-Even if you don't cook completely from scratch, one thing I've found - learn to make your own baked goods. All of them. I can't believe the cost of bagels (and how many I bought!) when I know full well how little it costs me to make them at home (and they're BETTER!). If you normally only buy a decent loaf of bread each week and a package of tortillas/pitas/etc., by making them at home, you'll save about $5 bucks a week. If you buy fancy-shmancy bagels/muffins/etc., you'll save much more doing it on your own. Sounds small, but it adds up. And making baked goods is NOT as time consuming as it sounds...you can mix the dough/batter up the night before, in most cases, and let it rise in the fridge overnight. Plus, it's much more appealing to have a homebaked banana muffin (made with that leftover brown banana, and 1/2 cup of yogurt that was sitting around ) than another piece of boring store-bought toast.

-Condense ALL your errands into one run a week, if possible (I have to do two - I understand how it is with toddlers and their ability to stay out running errands). Or at least to/from your way to work. You'll be surprised how much you save on gas (I just started doing this in the past couple of months, and it's really made a difference). Plus, it forces you to be more organized re: what you're going to buy, and why (ie...you plan your meals/snacks out so that you *won't* have to run out again - and then you resist temptation -the less time in the stores, the better).

-I don't know your living situation, but, is it possible to take in a boarder? Maybe a grad student or something along those lines? You can check craigslist...Like I said, I don't know your housing situation - but, could you put the kids all in one room to free up an extra bedroom, or something like that? You could easily get anywhere from 2-400/month doing that...It doesn't have to be forever...through the end of the year, or something like that?

[katheek77]

double post

Ah, the joys of MDC.

Good luck!!!

[EFmom]

I'm so sorry. Been there, done that and it sucks. In our case, it all worked out for the best in the long run, but in the short run, it is so uncomfortable and unpleasant.

I agree with the pp about unemployment. He needs to realize that nowadays almost everyone has been laid off at one time or another. It's just a reality of life in corporate America. He's paid into unemployment for years and now it's just his turn to get something back.

Take a look at all your monthly bills and see if there are any you can eliminate, like cable TV or cell phones or garbage collection (we can take ours to the dump much cheaper).

Use the public library liberally, for ideas with job hunting as well as for entertainment. Mine has a good DVD and music collection, and I never rent movies and very seldom buy books.

[cdahlgrd]

Get all your bills out and look at everything with the "Do we need this to live" or "can we get this cheaper" mentality.

Some things you will need, but you would be suprised to learn that you don't need long distance, if you switch to calling cards, or cable (or even reduce it to the $15.00 plan that they DON"T tell you about), etc.

Set a grocery budget and DON"T GO OVER!

Don't eat out!

It ususally takes about 3 months for people to get everything down to bare bones. So during that time, be gentle with yourselves! Read "The Tightwad Gazette" and make time to be with each other and support each other. Unemployment can be hard on a marriage.

[nantahala]

Make a list of fixed and non-fixed expenses, cut both to the bone as needed.

Declutter and sell on Craigslist and Ebay.

Eat from the pantry and freezer until there's nothing but jam and decaf coffee left. *lol*

Carefully build a pantry and freezer of whole foods that can be mixed and matched as needed.

Cook from scratch.

Line-dry, turn off lights, only run appliances when need/full.

See if you can knock out any HUGE expenses like sell a car, move to a smaller place, etc.

[Usually Curious]

Apply for WIC, Medicaid and food stamps immediately. That is what they are for. He paid for them for years - through the taxes taken out of his checks - and it's time for y'all to use them. Not having to pay for COBRA and groceries frees up a lot of money to go to household expenses.

BTDT and it's not fun. God ALWAYS provided but it was a stressful time. We really enjoyed dh working from home (freelance) during that time and it transitioned into full-time work from home.

[towsonmama]

Originally Posted by EFmom

I'm so sorry. Been there, done that and it sucks. In our case, it all worked out for the best in the long run, but in the short run, it is so uncomfortable and unpleasant.

It's amazing to me how many people have been through this. I never realized it until it happened to us. It's really reassuring to hear it has worked out better in the long run for so many.

Originally Posted by cdahlgrd

Read "The Tightwad Gazette"

I'm going see which branch of the local library has that.

Thanks for the tips everyone!!! I guess we were being pretty frugal already--more so than I gave myself credit for anyway. Dh signed up for unemployment insurance today. This is going to be an interesting journey for us. I'm working very hard at staying positive and hopeful.

[gothnurse3]

We too went through this within the 1st year of being married. The one regret I have now is I was so nervous and worked up that I made him feel even worse than he already felt. He needs lots of tenderness too. I will keep your family in my prayers.

[CathMac]

Return any unnecessary purchases

Think about any unnecessary purchases, especially anything frivolous, that are still within the return period (usually 30 days). If there are any items that you haven't used or if there are any products that didn't meet your expectations return them ASAP for a refund. Even if you have to take a store discount you can put it towards something that you really need at some point.

And don't be shy about it. I'm amazed at the useless shtuff people will hang onto when it doesn't perform to reasonable expectations. I've been known to return items that cost as little as a couple of dollars. Of course you shouldn't make a special trip for inexpensive items as the cost of gas could easily outweigh what you get back.
~Cath

[MonkeyPrincess]

You can file for unemployment online and never even speak with a real person, if that helps your dh...

[canadaap]

When you make meals, make a double batch. This will save you time and money (and I know I could always use a bit more of both). You can use leftovers for lunch the next day, or you can freeze it for a ready made meal another night.

[lilyka]

(ok first things first. apply for medicaid, food stamps, wic, whatever. you might as well use it if you can get it.and of cours eunemployment.)

ok . . . .

1. don't drive unless you have to. our car gets 8-12 miles to a gallon and we limit ourselve to about 1 tank of gas a month. its hard but we do it. all of our shopping.banking/mailing/etc is done at one grocery store closest t our home. fortunately I work there so even that is combined into one trip. a few cents or even a few dollars in savings is not good enough to justify me driving 4-5 miles out of my way. Plan all your car trips carefully.

2. don't buy anything you don't have to (clothes really can wait. this is temporary, hopefully just a few weeks, not a life long situation.) and don't use credit unless you are in danger of starving or freezing. eat simple cheap meals. since this is temporary you can go a few weeks eating stuff you usually wouldn't. or skipping things you generally consider necessary expenses.

3. use cash and only cash. you can't overdraw, you can't spend what you don't have and you can't dip into credit that way.

[abomgardner417]

BTDT, too!
I second the Food Stamps, Medicaid, WIC etc. It's embarrassing but when you see how much you get, you get over it! I had to go get it myself because my husband wouldn't go.
I also second making your own cleaning products/laundry soap.
I rip dryer sheets in half and use them at least 3-4 times each.
Wash all laundry on cold.
Use cloth towels instead of paper towels as much as possible or rip paper towels in half.
I make my own baby wipes.
Maybe most importantly: Try to remember that just because this door has closed doesn't mean God (or whoever) isn't in the process of opening a new and possibly better door for you!

[MommyErin]

I'm so sorry y'all are having such a rough time. Y'all aren't alone. It's a sign of the times and while I know it's hard for men to understand this, it doesn't devalue them when it happens.

All the frugal stuff posted here is awesome. I can't really add anything useful to it. Stick to it and you'll be great.

Actually, I can ...

1. turn down your hot water heater
2. time your showers
3. turn down the thermostat a degree or two during the day (it DOES make a difference!) and throw on another sweater
4. turn down your thermostat at night -- we set ours on 55 -- and throw on a couple of blankets. That alone cut our heating costs significantly.

Good luck, Momma!

[KatWrangler]

Originally Posted by towsonmama

Thanks, Amys1st! The pantry raid is a good idea. That's something concrete I can work on right away. I've asked dh to look into unemployment but I'll have to follow up with him. He's having trouble dealing with the job loss and is embarrassed about acknowledging it publicly.

We have had some kind of guardian angel looking out for us in that I coincidently happen to be starting a part-time job tonight. I'm going to see how many hours I can pick up.

My husband lost his job February 1st. I am also a SAHM with two kids another due in mid May.

I bolded this part of your comment. You need to help him get over this! The more people he talks to and gets the word out he needs a job the better! Network! Jobs are tight and he needs to spread the word he needs employment.