What are you doing tomorrow to impact...

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-20-2004
What are you doing tomorrow to impact...
12
Tue, 05-30-2006 - 7:35pm

your debt situation/ how you spend your money?
For me, it is taking a trip to the grocery store and researching how I can use my gift cards most productfully. I returned a few books that family bought for my daughter because they were preschool-themed and she just turned seven. I am waiting for a little wading pool to go on sale so i can get it for her....just about an even swap, too. I usually just let gifts that don't fit sit at the bottome of the toy box..i don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or make them think their gifts aren't appreciated...they really are, but people forget how fast kids grow up. Dora is no longer big at my house.
Anyhow, back to grocery shopping...stopping at the drive thru continues to be one of our most wasteful uses of hard-earned money. We need to cut it out....and that starts with having food in the house!
Anyhow, I will be planning a two week budget, too since I get paid on Thursday.
Anyhow, just wanted to pose the question to you all because I have noticed if I don't think about money everyday, it is more likely to evaporate.

Heather

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 05-30-2006 - 8:11pm

I'll be getting up early to deliver phone books and taking along a lot of cold water/sunscreen/snacks so to avoid drive-thrus.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-22-1999
Tue, 05-30-2006 - 10:01pm

I am interviewing for a new job and hoping it comes with a raise! I am also just going to try hard to NOT SPEND. I have to make that daily conscious effort, too.

Littlesbigs

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2005
Wed, 05-31-2006 - 12:02am

Heather, trying to NOT SPEND is high on my list!!

 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2005
Wed, 05-31-2006 - 10:42am

I'm cashing in a lotto ticket that I found for $4, bringing a baggie full of change to the bank to be counted, and I was going to go grocery shopping tonight but instead I'm staying at home tonight and going through my kitchen to plan my grocery exile (I'm going on vacation in 2 weeks and those grocery dollars I would have spent tonight can instead go into my vacation fund so I'm not tempted to use the cc).

I've also been packing my lunch and snacks everyday since I started this new job and many days the company buys our lunch so then I can leave my lunch in the fridge here for the next day ~ that's working out great.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-23-2005
Wed, 05-31-2006 - 11:44am

It's payday for me, so I'm paying the house payment, a $10 credit card payoff (grrr/yay), and thinking about menus for the next week. We have a car getting repaired, so I'm trying not to spend until we know how much the damage is with that.

Heather mentioned having more food available in the house to avoid the fast food "excuse". We've been working on this too. Some days are better than others. Summer is usually bad for us b/c we're out & about so much. I'm not a huge cold sandwich fan, so I'm always craving a cheeseburger & fries :). Gotta keep on top of that one better!! We do eat a lot more fresh veggies this time of year though- so having fresh spinach for my favorite salad is a good way to keep us home.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-31-2006
Wed, 05-31-2006 - 12:49pm
Good question, Heather.
I continue to remind myself and dh of some of the larger expenses that are coming up shortly (camping trip and airfare for one of the in-laws coming over to visit). It seems to keep our spending down; we went out to eat last night and then a walk at the waterfront, but this is more of a social thing for us. I find that it is worth the money to have inexpensive dinner out to catch up on things as long as it's not more than once a week. I check the accounts often and track spendings in Quicken. Thanks to the advice from this board, we cut back in the grocery category, still could use improvement, though.
Sincerely, student.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-04-2004
Wed, 05-31-2006 - 1:24pm

Great question! I have been bringing my lunch and snacks to work everyday and actually have really been enjoying it. It started out as a challenge for the month of May, but I think I will stick with it. I have been putting every extra penny toward my car payment so that I can finally have that paid off and be debt free. I also keep a picture of my dream house in my wallet so that each time I go to spend money, I think twice about it. As soon as the debt is paid off I will be channeling my snowflakes to the down payment fund! :) I can't wait to watch the bank accounts rise instead of the balances on the debt dropping. I have been drying my laundry outside a lot more, waiting until I have full loads of laundry and in the dishwasher before running either one. I dropped the gym membership in favor of walking. Going to the library instead of buying books and/or renting movies. I'm amazed at how easy it is to save little bits of money when I am paying attention to it and how quickly those little bits can add up!

~leanne

~leanne

deciding to be happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect, but that you had decided to look beyond the imp

Avatar for aerandel
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Wed, 05-31-2006 - 2:09pm

Consolidating my private student loans for a lower interest rate/payments and looking into a balance transfer deal for my cc balance.


Plugging along...


                          

             

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-23-2005
Wed, 05-31-2006 - 3:17pm

For us, the biggest impact so far on our debt situation and money management is for me to take the bus.

lvhunnie2005

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Wed, 05-31-2006 - 3:24pm

Not tomorrow ~ but we plan on selling at least one of our cars this weekend. This will free up the $221/month payment + insurance + gas. We might have a few thousand remaining to pay down some debt.

Other than that ` just continuing to stay within our budget and find new ways to save money.




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