stressed about $..need to vent

[motherearthdancer]

anyone else stressed out about money. Things are okay, but we are back to pay check to pay check living and I thought after tax returns we would be caught up, but since the kids got sick and hospital stays and ER visits in January...Now I have just as many bills as I paid off from last year and it seems the bill collectors are twice as pushy now!

*sigh*

I'm mostly stressed about finding a budget for food and gas. If it wasn't for those two things I can seem to work out a budget. Here is what gets me and what makes me mess up and spend money. I don't want to eat out so I try to make stuff before I leave the house, but since we live in a one bedroom apartment (2 kids under 3) I try to get out of the house while its nice and sunny. Its good for our health and well being. I try to do free stuff such as going to the park and free events at the library and city events, but without fail I end up spending money on snacks and since I try not to do fast food, its always a bit more expensive than chicken nuggets, or the price of gas to get to the zoo, and while the zoo is free and we can spend most of the day there and not spend money on food, I amost always spend at least $14 on ticket rides every time we go. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it adds up. And I'm so frustrated b/c I need to get out of the house and I try to walk a lot and be active, but things always end up costing at least 5.00 for either food or gas or some kind of "treat" so that we can stay "sane" if that even makes sense.

I guess I want to hear that other moms are going through the same thing. I might not reply fast since I don't have inet access anymore, but I will be following this thread. I need support

[mamaofprincesses]

You might want to check out the Frugality and Finance forum. Lots of mamas over there with great budgeting tips and ideas, and support!

[Aura_Kitten]

Definitely head over to F&F, see the Low-Income April Support thread... many of us there are paycheck-to-paycheck and/or with medical debt...

I'm sorry you're struggling.

[famousmockngbrd]

Pack food to take along with you. Find more free things to do, like the park, library, feeding ducks, nature walks, etc. You really don't have to spend money on this stuff if you don't want to.

[shayinme]

Frugality & finance is really the best place for this, so I am going to move it over.

Shay

[bwylde]

Can you leave your money at home? That way you won't be tempted to spend it.

(I'm still waiting for a nice day to go out and we have nothing here to go to so I understand the cooped up feeling)

[mamalisa]

One thing I do at places like the zoo is tell the kids they can only do one ride. This is known well before we get to the zoo. Pony ride, tram, train OR carosel, not all!!That way it stays under $5

Another good thing is to have your little one help pack snacks. That way when they see another treat option you can pull out the wonderful snack they helped you pack and it's already something they wanted.

[chirp]

in all honesty...when i was a kid my mom couldn't afford to take us on the train rides and the pony and the carousel...and yeah sometimes it made me feel sad but then can you imagine my JOY when she did have the money to do that stuff!!

try relating money issues to your kids...not enough to stress them out...but if they can only go on a ride 1/8 times that you go to the zoo then those rides are so much more fun, more memorable and mean so much more!

maybe that's why we all want our kids to have those experiences, because we remember them meaning so much! but maybe they meant so much because they were special...whereas a trip to the zoo was just a day out with the family...a trip to the zoo with the train ride was a special occasion!!

also on the food...just put your foot down. no food out. period. i promise your kids will not think you're an evil monster. my brother and i may have pouted at this rule a billion times but we benefited from it in the long run and once we passed the ice cream truck and saw the monkey cage we forgot all about it.

just spending time with your kids is awesome! they don't need to go on the rides or get the food!!

[umarider]

See if you can pick up a small, convenient cooler somewhere for cheap. I am one of those people who fall apart when I start to get hungry, dd12 is, too. We love the cooler we have 'cause it's a backpack cooler (from Target). Everytime, and I mean everytime we leave the house, we take that cooler packed w/ snacks for all 3 of us. I got in the habit when the kids were little, but now it just works for us. The kid pack the cooler each day now. I have a reusable ice block, so we can take yogurts, cheese chunks, fruit, pretzels and we each take a water bottle (filled at home).

[HydeParkB]

The previous posters have the right ideas.
- Pick one or two things to do at the zoo - train ride OR carousel OR pony ride.
- Pack your lunch/snack. We do a lot of cheese slices and crackers, apple slices, PBJ tortillas. DD is thrilled that she gets to drink out of momma's water bottle. Rarely, we have juice boxes. We have a large fabric/nylon lunch cooler.
- For grab and go snacks to and from the library, I rely on cheese crackers, raisins, craisins, granola, granola bars.

Usually, we spend money on feeding the deer/goats (usually 75 cents) and a carousel ride ($2).

I'm trying to think if there is a 'stable' snack you could store in the car, but I'm coming up blank.

[jeca]

I take only a certain amount of money with me so that I don't go over my budget when I leave the house. It's been working well.

[jennlyn]

My staple snack to store in the car was either unsalted pretzels or cheerios in a Snapware container. We always had water too. This was enough to stave off hunger, but not something the children would eat unless they were hungry. I tried not to be out of the house through lunchtime if at all possible. It was much easier to feed the children a good lunch at home, followed by storytime and a nap. If you can get your children up early and get out while the weather is nice so you will be home before lunch.

[Thystle]

I also agree with the "pick one" rule.



Also if the kids are big enough, let them carry a tiny backpack with their own snacks... makes them feel like a "big boy or girl"!



Pack a bag/stroller/car with non perishable snacks so you are ready at all times... including bottled water or empty bottles/sippy's ready to go.

[1growingsprout]

I agree to pack snacks and not buy food out. Also dont go on rides that cost$$, the zoo is to look at animals, play in the kids area etc... save those rides for special times.

Also how about the library and the park? both are free and most libraries have a wonderful kids area.

We are feeling the stress with $$ as well. Between the cost of fuel, groceries and utilites its : warm weather is coming and its close to A/C time here as well.

** just noticed you are most stressed about food and fuel budgets** well how about filling the tank 1x every 2 weeks and it has to last. same with groceries allow X$ per week and it has to last. Produce is very pricey around here and frozen is much less $$, We use lots of frozen veggies and that saves $$.

[beccalou79]

Hugs, mama! I know how stressful it can be!

As far as groceries go-- we've recently saved a LOT of money food-shopping by going to www.thecouponclippers.com, then using those coupons on items already on sale at our two major supermarkets. Both double coupons (one up to 50 cents, the other to a dollar), and we found that in a few cases, the store that doubled up to a dollar actually "paid" us to buy some products! (Very nice, especially since we *were* spending about $800/month on food before.)