Post from the Past: Budget Planning

I was printing out my grocery list and my budget for May this morning, when it occurred to me that somebody else may benefit from my Grocery Double Check List, so I am uploading it. While I’m thinking about it, here is my Budget Form as well.

A couple of notes: I try to save my receipts from week to week, and anything that isn’t already on my grocery list gets added, along with the price, before printing the list for the following week. The question marks are things that I haven’t bought since I started keeping track, or things that I have forgotten to record.

We use one of our savings accounts to pay for yearly expenses such as income tax (I’m self-employed, so we almost always owe) and property tax. You could also use a savings account to save for vacations or health care.

Our tithe is variable because my income varies from month to month. We pay tithes on our gross amount, so in the rare years that we actually get money back from the IRS, we don’t have to pay tithes on that (it’s already been done).

We always give ourselves a small monthly allowance. We try not to make any unnecessary purchases from our budget. If my husband really wants something, he buys it from his allowance, and I do the same thing. Unnecessary purchases usually include things like eating out, books (my major pitfall), and video games, but soda and other frivolous snack foods, such as beef jerky, fall under this category as well.

Jesse and I have an agreement that whoever suggests eating out pays for it out of their allowance. Needless to say, we don’t eat out as often, but when we do, it feels like we’re on a real date because one person is paying for the other person’s meal. It’s always very sweet and intensely gratifying, regardless of whether you are the giver or the receiver.

Personal allowances are also nice because we can buy whatever we want without checking with each other first to see what kind of shape the budget is in. It also keeps me from feeling guilty for buying things that are only for me. And if I really, really want a $30 book, I can buy one without feeling silly in front of Jesse.

Something that saved us $700 last year: we switched from Sprint to Net10. We signed up for $15/month plans (200 minutes that roll over). We save almost $60/month.

We don’t pay for cable: Netflix is way cheaper, and we can almost always find something that looks interesting from their instant library.

Occasionally, I will go on a freezer-cooking spree. It’s nice to have food in the deep freezer for months when we are over budget on groceries. I keep thinking that I will make some appetizers to freeze for impromptu party invitations. That would keep us from having to run out and buy soda and chips every time someone invites us to a BBQ, etc. I haven’t done this yet, but I know some moms who really seem to be on top of things, so maybe the idea can help you save a little more money.

Hope somebody out there finds this post useful! If you have any favorite money-saving tips, feel free to send them my way!

Downsizing

We decided to “unstuff.” I went through the whole house, and decided to get rid of more than half of my books and clothes, along with some other things. This weekend we had a three-room indoor moving sale. It was very interesting! We met interesting people, we had interesting conversations, and we sold most of our large furniture. We’re down to our coffee table, 3tvs, an entertainment center, Ian’s bunk bed, and Ian’s desk. Oh, and our exercise bike. We still need to get rid of the bike and one of the tvs. I think we will probably sell the bunk bed and the desk before we actually move, but we’re going to wait a while because Ian uses those things. Now if I could only get rid of the rest of my clothes and books! I know I could donate or give them away, but we’re working on paying off all of our debt. Amazon’s trade-in program was a great help, however, but they don’t take just anything.

We’ll probably end up moving closer to Jesse’s work, but we’re trying to keep our options open. Union would be great – it’s smack dab between Valent Aerostructures and Liberty Baptist Church! If we sell the Z3, we’ll be only three months away from being completely out of debt (aside from our home). When we do move, we’d like to buy a less expensive home as well, and then we’ll be free! For practice, we’re only living in three rooms of our house this winter + the bathrooms. The other benefit is, we won’t have to heat one half of the house. I’m super excited; it’s kind of like an adventure in simpler living. We have fold-up chairs, but maybe we should get some pillows to sit on like they do in Japan. It would probably be more comfortable 🙂

Any suggestions out there for unstuffing or living a simpler lifestyle?

Budget Tips

Because we just weren’t getting ahead, Jesse and I decided to stop using our credit cards last month.  Here are some tips that we have been following to help us spend less than we make:

1. Always pay your bills first. (The money that goes towards bills isn’t your money – it already belongs to someone else. You can’t just decide not to pay your bills.)
2. Always pay your tithes. Prove God and see if He will bless you. Keep in mind that He may decide to bless you in a way other than financially.
3. Cut out convenience foods. You can really save a ton by making most things from scratch. (As soon as I started paying attention to this, we cut our grocery bill in half.)
4. Eat a lot of oatmeal, beans, ramen, potatoes, and rice. Find foods that really stretch the dollar.
5. Only buy directly from your grocery list. If you didn’t need it before you saw it in the store, you don’t really need it.
6. To save gas, only use the car when it’s absolutely necessary.
7. Fix or mend things that are broken.
8. Give yourself a small cash allowance every month, but never dip into your checking account if you run out of cash. Use your allowance to purchase wants (including junk food, kitchen gadgets, or anything that you are capable of living without).
9. Cancel any subscriptions or memberships that you don’t really use.
10. Sell the stuff you are too busy to use (lake lots, instruments, video games, books, etc).

Budget Planning

I was printing out my grocery list and my budget for May this morning, when it occurred to me that somebody else may benefit from my Grocery Double Check List, so I am uploading it. While I’m thinking about it, here is my Budget Form as well.

A couple of notes: I try to save my receipts from week to week, and anything that isn’t already on my grocery list gets added, along with the price, before printing the list for the following week. The question marks are things that I haven’t bought since I started keeping track, or things that I have forgotten to record.

We use one of our savings accounts to pay for yearly expenses such as income tax (I’m self-employed, so we almost always owe) and property tax. You could also use a savings account to save for vacations or health care.

Our tithe is variable because my income varies from month to month. We pay tithes on our gross amount, so in the rare years that we actually get money back from the IRS, we don’t have to pay tithes on that (it’s already been done).

We always give ourselves a small monthly allowance. We try not to make any unnecessary purchases from our budget. If my husband really wants something, he buys it from his allowance, and I do the same thing. Unnecessary purchases usually include things like eating out, books (my major pitfall), and video games, but soda and other frivolous snack foods, such as beef jerky, fall under this category as well. 

Jesse and I have an agreement that whoever suggests eating out pays for it out of their allowance. Needless to say, we don’t eat out as often, but when we do, it feels like we’re on a real date because one person is paying for the other person’s meal. It’s always very sweet and intensely gratifying, regardless of whether you are the giver or the receiver.

Personal allowances are also nice because we can buy whatever we want without checking with each other first to see what kind of shape the budget is in. It also keeps me from feeling guilty for buying things that are only for me. And if I really, really want a $30 book, I can buy one without feeling silly in front of Jesse.

Something that saved us $700 last year: we switched from Sprint to Net10. We signed up for $15/month plans (200 minutes that roll over). We save almost $60/month.

We don’t pay for cable: Netflix is way cheaper, and we can almost always find something that looks interesting from their instant library.

Occasionally, I will go on a freezer-cooking spree. It’s nice to have food in the deep freezer for months when we are over budget on groceries. I keep thinking that I will make some appetizers to freeze for impromptu party invitations. That would keep us from having to run out and buy soda and chips every time someone invites us to a BBQ, etc. I haven’t done this yet, but I know some moms who really seem to be on top of things, so maybe the idea can help you save a little more money.

Hope somebody out there finds this post useful! If you have any favorite money-saving tips, feel free to send them my way!

How to make room in your budget for charitable donations

How can you make room in your budget – especially in this economy?

Remember that the people we could be helping not only go without luxury, they go without most of what we would consider necessities. We need to reevaluate luxury vs. necessity in our own lives.

Here is something that may help you with the reevalutaion process: Begin by preparing your mind and body. Start right now. Don’t eat dinner today. Don’t wait to plan your fast for a time when it will be convenient; the people in Japan didn’t have advance notice.

Fast occasionally. Spend your extra time doing something to make money to donate. Host an event where you raise money based on how many hours you decide to fast. Decide the amount of hours you are going to fast ahead of time. This will prove less dangerous for you (just in case you get going “on a roll”), and better for your sponsors if they know upfront how much they will be giving (no nasty surprises). Sponsoring a fast is a good option for people whose diets don’t give them the options of fasting themselves.

Give up one luxury a month every month. Donate the resulting extra time and/or money to charity. Here are a few suggestions: don’t eat out for a month. Instead, set aside $10 every time you experience the temptation to eat out. Give up your favorite sugary cereal and eat oatmeal for a month. Put your Netflix account on hold for a month. I’m sure you can think of more, based on your own favorite foods, hobbies and expenses.

Prove God. Pay your tithes. He dares us to prove Him to see if He will be faithful in providing for us. Do you trust Him to keep His Word? Use the blessings that He pours on you to bless others.

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” (Malachi 3:10)

If anyone else has any ideas, feel free to comment!