I stuck to my budget...

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-09-1999
I stuck to my budget...
7
Thu, 10-27-2005 - 3:30pm

Well, I am trying to get extra $ to the cc and this week is really tight budget wise. I paid $41 for chiro (most will be reimbursed but the $ still went out) had to get shots for the dogs, pd cash of 56.88, we got a small discount for paying cash. Then I picked a FEW groceries & needed some gas in my car, so I was down to $6.26 in the checking account. I had $23.00 cash, I needed $17 to pay for bowling + $2.50 for pops, but I was in town & so wanted to wash my car at the automatic car wash that would be $6.00, I was really tempted to go get the car washed & write a check for bowling... then I had an AHA moment, I went to the do it yourself carwash & spent $2.50 washing it myself. Yay, I got everything done still have $6.26 in our checking account. All my cash is gone but that is okay!

I know, kind of a confusing paragraph, but the thought of using the do it yourself carwash almost didn't enter my mind & my car was so dirty!! I guess the point is that there maybe other ways to look at things & get the same result & stick to the budget.

To a successful day...
cindylee (31 months to be debtfree)

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2005
Thu, 10-27-2005 - 7:33pm

cindylee, that is great!!!! I LOVE those AHA moments!

DH and I love specialty coffees, so we have been trying to MAKE OUR OWN at home! (We just tried a recipe for Cinnamon Coffee that we fell in love with! And we had all the ingredients at home!)

Congrats girl!
~Aravis~

 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Fri, 10-28-2005 - 12:17pm

Great point, Cindylee! There are many ways to save money by choosing a less expensive method of doing something. Like baking a cake for your child's birthday instead of buying the expensive bakery version. Or hemming, sewing, altering your own clothes instead of going to a tailor, etc. Just all sorts of ideas.

I'm kind of a history buff, so what I have been doing is asking myself....What did my Grandparents do during the Great Depression? They had no money, but yet both my parents remember their childhoods as being tons of fun and full of love. They both say that they didn't feel like they had to do 'without'. Now granted, the world is a more advanced techno-savvy place now, but sometimes I try to think of what my Grandparents would have done to save money and then I do it. Everyone in my family gets a home-haircut now, rather than going to get it at a salon. Dh went from a layered cut to a crew-cut...very easy to do at home. I went from shoulder-length hair that needed perms to a short spikey cut, so that I could cut it at home with the hair trimmer. I build a pile of clothes that needs mending, and I do it at home, all at one time. Just little things like that. :-D

Thanks for sharing this idea with us. It's a great one! :-D

Pat :-D

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-09-1999
Fri, 10-28-2005 - 1:00pm

Thanks, Pat...you have some great ideas. We live in a small town (population 200) so there really isn't a lot to do, especially in the winter when we don't go outside as much. Anyway, DH & I spend evenings playing cards, monopoly etc as cheap fun entertainment. I remember board games growing up & enjoy playing them today. Sometimes we get together & play with several other couples (battle of the sexes is fun) & of course one of our friends loves to play Song Burst when we all get together (I can't sing so that one isn't my favorite).

Thinking back to how people used to do things & entertain themselves does help cut costs at times when budgets are tight. Hopefully we will all be out of debt & can start accumulating cash. We'll have good habits about spending $ & be able to save & give even more!
Have a nice day!
cindylee

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-20-2004
Sat, 10-29-2005 - 1:36am
Cindylee,
This is so great!!! If only I could think of a way to substitute for what i am craving when I am at the grocery store, where I am almost always overbudget. Thanks so much for sharing! Heather
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2005
Sun, 10-30-2005 - 10:42pm

Oh, speaking of games...we have one called Things that is a RIOT! :) You need four or more people to play (5 or more is better actually), and it is a blast!!! We haven't met ANYONE who doesn't like it!

http://www.thingsthegame.com/

~Aravis~

 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 11-02-2005 - 12:42pm

That is so great!

Someone said that they wondered what people did in the Depression...my grandparents were (fairly--1926) newlyweds then. GF had good job, and they didn't have any kids till my dad was born in 1940, but it was still tough! My dad says that my GP were "thrifty" with their money. When it came time to buy an appliance or a car, they bought THE BEST. It may have cost more but in the long run it was going to last longer, therefore it wouldn't have to be replaced as often. Of course in today's world that isn't always possible.

I hear ya--I know that when I grocery shop alone it's better because I stick to the list and get out. DH goes along, and says he needs this or that...trying to get him to tell me BEFORE we leave the house, not after!

Kathy

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Avatar for cl_beckymk
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 11-02-2005 - 2:08pm

Actually Kathy, DH & I are finding that in some things that is turning out to be true...if at all possible wait until we can afford to buy the best (or I think a better word would be the most reliably built) rather than just getting a cheapy thing to make do.


We inherited a lot of Ethan Allen furniture and that stuff is highly durable (my kids have YET to destroy it and they are pretty good at destroying stuff!).


We used to buy the cheapy stuff and I got tired if it always falling apart...of course, that doesn't mean I don't look for a good deal.