Where to cut my budget?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Where to cut my budget?
24
Wed, 02-08-2006 - 6:46pm

Okay, my family has switched our diet to entirely organic foods. This is fairly expensive, though I'm gradually getting the hang of shopping this way and finding the best prices on things (and we've almost eliminated meat from our diet, which helps).

But, I still need to find money in the budget to cover the difference between our food budget and what I actually end up spending now. So I'm hoping you all can help me come up with creative and/or radical ways to cut my expenses elsewhere to do this. All suggestions are welcome--even if I don't end up doing something, each idea will trigger additional ideas.

Okay, here's my current budget:

Monthly Income: $3136

Monthly Expenses:
Mortgage $1004
Groceries $245
Gasoline $215 (don't usually end up spending this much, and spend it on groceries instead--but I want a buffer against increasing gas prices)
Allowances $120 ($50 each for dh and me, $10 each for the kids, both under five)
Electric and gas $135 (I actually have been ending up spending a bit more than this lately, on average)
Internet $45 (no land line, so dial-up is not an option; both dh and I work from home at least occasionally so internet is important)
HOA dues $10
Date night for dh & I $45
Water $55 (another category where I usually actually spend a bit more on average--need to do something about this too)
Auto loan $313
Debt payments $520
Life insurance $45 (would like to buy a bit more insurance, so wouldn't hurt to raise this amount some)
Dental savings $10
Medical savings $10
Cell phones $39 (no land line, we use the cell phones instead)
Charity $180
Internet hosting $10 (dh and I each have a domain name we host; his is for fun, mine is for my business, though I haven't been using it much lately)
Auto insurance and misc auto expenses $135

I look eagerly forward to your suggestions!

Heather

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Avatar for cl_phocid
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 02-13-2006 - 1:39pm

Heather - I have heard you describe your book in previous posts as well, and I have to tell you, I've often thought that I couldn't possibly be that organized.

All my best,
Danni

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Mon, 02-13-2006 - 2:14pm

Hey Danni--here's a great link:

http://www.cheapcooking.com/pricebook.htm

It isn't exactly like my price book, but it gives the general idea, and would work fine. Click on the spreadsheet to enlarge a bit--it looks like you could even download the Excel file.

I carry the price book with me, and a calculator. But I don't record all prices on the spot, especially when I'm first getting started and have a lot of recording to do. Sometimes I wait until I'm home and record based on my receipt. But once the price book is mostly full, there are usually only one or two items on any given trip that will need recording (because I only record the price if it's a new low price).

I've found that eventually the lowest price goes up on an item. So I adjust for that over time, too.

As I said before, I already used a price book before we switched to organic, and was AMAZED at the difference it made. I was still spending the same amount of money, but buying SO much more food. Now I can't imagine paying more than the lowest possible price for something! LOL But I'm having to start all over, as the pricing is completely different, as are the sources, for organic foods. Still, it takes only a few minutes to set up, and even less time to maintain. The hardest part is remembering to take the price book with me.

There is ONE exception to my buy-at-the-lowest-possible-price rule. I try not to pay an *unfairly* low price for things. This doesn't often apply for groceries but, to give an idea of what I mean, if I saw a priceless treasure (for instance, an original artwork worth thousands) at an estate sale selling for a tiny fraction of its value (a buck or two, for instance), and the seller--usually the original owner's heir--was obviously unaware of the value, I might well call his/her attention to the matter, as I am not one who likes to take advantage of others. In Thailand years ago, I frequently chose not to barter with sellers, even though they would have been willing to take less money, because it just felt crass for me in my American wealth to haggle over a few pennies that might, to the vendor, make the difference between a full belly and a roof over a child's head.

By the same exception to the rule, I've recently stopped shopping at WalMart because their corporate culture calls for purchasing decisions that are based on price guidelines that are unfair (in my opinion) to the actual producers of the goods. Then, any company that wants to compete with WalMart has to either require the same unfair pricing from their suppliers, or has to charge more money for their goods. So I support distributors willing to pay a fair price to producers, even if that means charging a slightly higher price to consumers.

Anyway, I believe in paying a fair price for goods. But that doesn't mean I have to pay Harris Teeter $1.85 a pound when the Home Economist has the same product for $1.65! LOL Nor does it mean that I have to support our consumerist society by buying over-priced new goods when I can get better quality at a lower price by buying used.

Okay, there's my second (or third? or something...) soapbox for today. I think I need to get down for a bit. Sorry.

Hope that link helps. :)

Blessings,

Heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-02-2004
Tue, 02-14-2006 - 11:54am

Thanks, Heather for the great suggestions and the link. Now, I'm using a small spiral notebook with a page for the most frequently bought items with lots of scribbled notes and crossed out prices. I'm thinking I'm going to re-copy or maybe use Excel and put it into a small 3 ring binder, where pages can be inserted/replaced as needed and it can be carried easily to the store. I find I'm constantly flipping pages as it is and need to better organize it.

Doing this, I have also noticed sale patterns and that way, if something you use all the time goes on lowest price sale every six weeks or so, you can stock up a 6 week supply to hold you till the next sale. This really helps with the non-food stuff like soap and cleaning products, TP, etc.

It does take time to keep track of all this and it requires planning but it's kinda fun, I think.

Avatar for mymartes
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 02-14-2006 - 3:14pm

heather,
I wouldn't want to see you leave this board. You are my inspiration. I enjoy reading all your posts. LOL

MYM

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