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I hate money. Well… I love money, but I hate money. I say that because no matter how well I tried to manage our budget, it seemed to go haywire at least once a month.
I used to have a really good handle on our money. In fact, we were comfortable for a long time and set ourselves up pretty well for me to stay home right before my second daughter was born.
And then we had a third daughter.
And decided to move.
Into a “fixer – upper” on a good day and a “money pit” on a bad.
Somewhere in the adding of kids, stress of a move, and the constant money that has to be thrown at this house just to make it livable, I started to lose complete control of the check register.
And that always makes me very, very nervous. In fact, it made me sick.
So I told my husband that we needed a new method of managing what was leaving our house, and we needed it NOW!
Late one night, we sat down in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
Here are the 5 steps we took to get things back under control:
1) He gives me all of his receipts for what he spends every day. For years, I have opened up our account and been shocked that the balance is lower than I thought. I realized that I was guessing what he was spending but not really getting it right. And the amounts I was “off” was hurting. So now, he walks in and drops his receipts in a bowl in the kitchen. I take them, add them into the register and am not so shocked when I look at our balances. And it helps me know exactly what I can spend!
2) I balance the checkbook more than twice a month! I got to where I was only balancing the checkbook when bills were due. So twice a month. Not only did that make the chore of balancing the checkbook HUGE, it made it impossible to balance with so many entries. So, I now try to balance at least once a week, if not more. It has made my life so much easier!
3) I LOVE Autopay! Seriously, I can not believe how wonderful it is to have my bills automatically come out of my account twice a month! I also put our savings deposits on auto deposit, and my kids college deposits on auto pay. And if I need to change anything or stop a payment, I just click a button! Auto pay prevents late fees and reduces my stress level by a ton!
4) I have fallen back in love with coupons! Or as I call them… money in the Sunday paper! I am saving, on average, 45% on my grocery bill per month! That is HUGE in my house! Sure, it takes a little time to sit down, go through my list and match my coupons but there is no better feeling than watching a $250 grocery bill get cut to $89 bucks all at once. And it gives my pocket book a much needed break!
5) Be honest! When my husband and I really sat down and looked at what we were spending, we were surprised at the amount of waste in our budget. So we cut. My cell phone was $70 a month for 450 minutes and no data and 250 texts! YES! So, I was honest. What did I use it for? Calling and the occasional text? So, I ditched my plan, bought a prepaid from Walmart and am saving $45 a month. And I have 1000 minutes, a data plan, and 1000 texts. Perfect.
By the time we were done “being honest” we had found over $200 in our budget that we could easily live without.
And that makes me very, very happy!
These are just some small things that we have done to get our budget under control. What tips and tricks do you have or use to keep your families budgets from managing you?
Great tips! Here’s one more: ask your insurance agent to run new quotes for home and car! And if they can’t find a good savings? Go to another agent! I just switched agents because I saved $1K/year. I know! It’s amazing!
I AGREE!! We changed my car from commute to casual and saved a TON!
Lets see bad before we moved ti hell with the in-laws and we’re struggling from month to month we eat as cheap as possible. Didn’t buy non essentials and preyed a lot lol.
Now I’m a couponer and still just watch what I buy.
Hang in there girl!! it Will get better!!!
Ha this sounds so familiar! We bought a money pit last summer, I quit my job in the fall and we are now living off one income. Our only splurge is internet. We have cell phones, but just plain ones, no fancy data packages or anything. I coupon, we don’t have car payments, no cable, and I make just about everything from scratch. And with all of the deal sites out there these days, there is NO reason to pay full price for going out to eat occassionally. I heart groupon and restaurant.com.
I agree!!! Those are great sites too!!!! We’ll make it— right?!!? ;)
I’d recommend mint.com too. it takes a little time to get all set up, but i have to admit, i like it….even if it was my husband’s idea. :)
OH YEA!! I always forget about mint.com!! GREAT site!
Call your insurance company and cable/internet company and ask them what they can do for you. The cable/internet companies are giving new customers such good deals and will often extend some savings to you if you make the effort. I went from 100 cable channels and internet for $130 a month to almost 300 channels and internet for $95 a month. If they won’t do anything for you tell them another company will. This works 90% of the time. If you make an error and accidentally go over in your checking account call the bank and most times if you take care of it right away and it is a small amount they will cancel their fees again it does not hurt to try those fees can be huge! The last one I have is Magic Jack phone service it is about $40 for the device and the first year of service comes with the device the next year and years after are only 19.95 a year. Long distance is included!! I call Florida daily so this is a big thing for me! I also agree with you wal-mart’s cell phone plan costs me $33 a month for 1000min, 1000text and 30mb data.
Rachel – I did try magic jack last year and it was a dismal experience. They were great but the calls were not clear, they dropped constantly and it was such a hassle I stopped it! But I have a pal who LOVES it and has had it for years! And yes. the cable co and phone cos will def work with you!
Also, don’t forget to shop around for your electric rates!!!
I have a weekly financial meeting with my husband to just “touch base”. Sometimes the meetings only last a few minutes, but it is nice to be on the same page. I got this idea from http://www.moneymastery.com.
I have a website http://www.minutemenuplan.com that helps me create a weekly menu and shopping list so I can more readily stay on a budget.
I am new to your blog and am enjoying reading it.
Thank you Colleen!! I saw your email to me! Welcome! ;) We should do a weekly meeting but my husband is so not interested in where the money goes as long as he has some when he needs it. I am working on him though! ;)