Recently, after looking over my last month’s income and expenditures I was feeling somewhat helpless. After following advice about saving money by buying energy efficient light bulbs, using energy efficient appliances, driving differently for fuel efficiency, etc., you still may feel your bills are out of your control. You still have a base price + tax on the electricity bill, the promotional period on your internet and phone bill are up this month, it was -20 for the month of January so your gas bill is through the roof, even though you’ve been sleeping in your parka because the thermostat is set to 58 degrees. Am I really in control of my budget? I mean, yeah, we could all choose to leave the lights off when it gets dark, live without phones and internet, stop cooking our food and buy Smart Cars to get to work. Would that really make us feel in control?
To feel in control, you have to know what you are spending.
1. Don’t change anything . . . yet. Just observe your spending habits. Look at your bank account over the past several months. How much do you spend on rent/mortgage, electricity, gas, phone, internet, food/groceries, clothes, child care, charity, pets, etc.? The first of the month, when I pay bills, I look over last month as well.
2. Are you spending less than you are earning? If not, than there’s obviously need for a change. If you are, do you want more money left over? Do you want something to be different?
3. Where can you/do you want to make a change? Focus on your expenditures, forget about your income. Choose to believe (at least at first) that you can make things work on your current income. You may notice that you are living as frugally as you want to in most aspects of your budget – maybe you are related to your landlord so rent is great, maybe you talked the cell phone company down to an almost illegal price when you threatened to go to another company, maybe you have a successfully working carpool to work, and of course you’ve saved thousands by switching your insurance. Wonderful! But, you’re still unhappy with the cushion, or lack thereof, left over at the end of each month.
Have you looked at your food budget?
My husband pointed out to me that I have been feeding our family (my husband, our daughter and me) for around $1 per person per meal. Woohoo! I must be doing something right. Here are some simple rules I follow.
1. Eat at home as a family. Eating out is expensive, especially if it’s done often. Every member of the family eating separate meals can also rack up the bill.
2. Plan ahead. Plan meals a week at a time and a week in advance. Make your grocery list (make sure to use store ads/coupons and do your best to remember everything you need when making a list) accordingly and only go to the store once a week. The more often you go to the store, the more money you’ll spend, especially on things you don’t need.
3. Buy basics/necessities in bulk. Basics may vary between individuals/families. Determine your own basic list and buy those things by the case.
4. It’s better from scratch. If you have the time and the desire, make things from scratch. Frozen or boxed convenience foods are, in comparison, a much more expensive alternative that really doesn’t save you much time. You have to cook the meat and pasta anyway, why not make your own sauce. It takes no extra time, it’s healthier, tastier, and cheaper. Baking takes time, but if you have it you’ll save. A bag of rolls can cost a few dollars but from scratch it would cost around $.50. A bagel you buy from the deli costs at least $.80 – from scratch it’s $.09. Do the math.
5. Make plenty for leftovers. Eating leftovers for lunch is much cheaper than buying lunch at the cafeteria or even buying foods especially for lunch. Putting something in a brown lunch bag doesn’t necessarily make it more economical.
6. Choose less expensive substitutes. Is there really that big of a taste difference between generics and name brands? If there is and you have a strong preference, fine. I’ve noticed most things are “perfect substitutes”, so why not save the money. You can use this in the meat department too – buy frozen instead of fresh, turkey instead of beef. In most cases you’ll notice less difference in taste and big differences in price.
7. Avoid buying snack foods. They’re expensive, unhealthy and don’t contribute to feeding your hunger. They don’t have the nutrients your body is craving, so you end up just as hungry as you were in the beginning. We snack on popcorn (not microwave), cheese and crackers, fruit, peanut butter and celery, and other nutritious foods that are heavier in your stomach than on your pocketbook.
These are obviously meant as guiding principles and not commandments. Even if you use only one, or use them most of the time, you will save money immediately. Life and food were meant to be enjoyed, so there’s room in these principles to do that. At least you’ll know where your money is going.
Sounds good. I liked your post. Unfortunately I think I already do all of that of the most part. Now what I need to do is live more by the principle make do or do without a little more often.
ReplyDeletei'm horrible at keeping track of a budget. i guess i need to learn it from you. :) thanks for the great advice!
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