Mini Challenge - think quick...

Avatar for cl_phocid
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mini Challenge - think quick...
23
Tue, 01-03-2006 - 5:42pm

If you needed to cut $15 from your spending money this month, where would it come from?

All my best,
Danni

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-22-1999
Tue, 01-03-2006 - 6:07pm

$15.00 is one week of breakfasts at work. I guess I could select 5 days this month to bring something from home and snowflake the $15. Hmmm.....

Littlesbigs

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-10-2005
Tue, 01-03-2006 - 7:34pm

I keep debating about whether or not to cancel Netflix. I'm leaning towards yes at this point. I don't watch the movies they send nearly as often as I thought I would so it's a maybe that ought to free up $15.00 or so dollars a month. I'll be sure one way or another by the end of the week.

Even if I don't cancel Netflix, I'm also committing to bring my breakfast and lunch to work which will free up much more thatn $15.00 for the month. Pretty good so far, breakfast I had poptarts which I never got around to eating will probably eat them tomorrow and a turkey sandwich with chips and cookies. I already have my lunch packed for tomorrow.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 01-03-2006 - 7:47pm

My first thought is... $15 from groceries. BUT, we're having trouble staying within that budget as it is since we switched to all organic. SOOO... maybe I could cut it from gasoline, but most likely I'd have to cut it from allowances or amounts intended for medical or power savings accounts...

None of that is anything I'm willing to cut right now, so I won't be snowflaking it (sorry!). If I *had* to, sure. But we're pretty happy with the balance we've struck between paying down debt (we pay more than 10% of our income to debt each month without fail) and living a full and satisfying life.

Fortunately, we've been at this for long enough now (3 years) that we have some cushions in various places, so I rarely *have* to cut the budget--on average, I'm saving more money monthly than we spend, so on those off months when we spend more than we earn, we can tap savings. Not that that happens often, mind you.

Great question, though!

Heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Tue, 01-03-2006 - 8:11pm
Hi, Danni. Well, I would say cutting down on food at work. The ice-tea pick-me-up. The extra cola. I have been passing on desserts at work, and eating only salads and soup, or a hard-boiled egg and yogurt, so I have been watching WHAT I eat. However, it is just so tempting to get that iced-tea or coffee later in the day. 2) Food budget. Still way too much. Whiz.
Avatar for siriele
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-15-2003
Tue, 01-03-2006 - 8:23pm
Magazines - definately CAN live w/out em!
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-30-2003
Tue, 01-03-2006 - 8:23pm

Probably from the grocery money...we seem to always end up with stuff we 'need' rather than sticking to what we actually need, lol.

I expect once we sit down and revamp our budget, that $15 will appear...

~Lisa

Avatar for aerandel
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Tue, 01-03-2006 - 8:54pm
Magazines for me...I usually buy People and Star magazine on Fridays, probably spend about 10 bucks a week. Lately I've been cutting back but I usually have that indulgence for myself, I don't smoke or spend money on anything else so it's my little "vice". If I need extra cash or am lacking in snowflakes I skip my magazine fix or I only buy one of the two.

                          

             

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-07-2003
Tue, 01-03-2006 - 9:21pm
Eating out.

Pumpkin

&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-07-2005
Tue, 01-03-2006 - 9:22pm
Uh, easy, I did the math really quick today (just to see how much we spent) and came up w/ $191 on eating out!! *hiding from embarrassment here* I'm thinking what ALL I coulda done w/ that money. Some of it was due to traveling but still I don't think that number is too far off from average/ mth. Plus--I spent $930 on groceries--again, some of it due to holidays but nonetheless, not too far off from average. I'm really going to sit down w/ a pencil and paper and work out a budget so we can get our student loans paid off!! Oh--we are a family of 5 and some of the grocery $$ can be attributed to formula and baby food so it's slightly inflated but will drop by $100 at least per month since the baby is turning 1 in two days and will begin whole milk and real table food. YIKES--how would those numbers be for a snowflake? Geez.....I'm a moron
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Tue, 01-03-2006 - 9:58pm

I would cut that $15 from my grocery bill and find a way to make meals with ingredients I have on hand. When we have had to do this in the past, we make a game of it and call it, "Create-a-Meal". Sometimes, the result is awful, and we have a good laugh over it, but most of the time, we end up creating a pretty good meal! :-D

Pat :-D

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