Monday, 30 June 2008

  • Family Budget, Frugal Living

    Mama Foxby Mama Fox

    With gas prices going up, prices of everything, especially food, are soaring too. It's hard to stay on top when it seems the whole world is stacked against you.

    We've always lived frugally, sometimes without much choice. I cook a lot from scratch so no overpriced prepackaged convenience foods (it's way healthier too). We don't eat out often and we don't usually buy anything unnecessary. We don't use our credit cards unless needed and we TRY to put money into savings every month. We aren't perfect and have slipped and did something stupid (like maxing out a low limit credit card during a road trip to Austin) but we pick it up again, live with our mistakes and do our best to fix them.  

    piggybankI want to show my children how out be responsible with money, how when you really want something you save your money to get it instead of swiping a bit of plastic and "paying for it later." We need to be good role models for our children. My boys have watched me make out a budget, pay bills and use cash at the grocery store. Fox1, my little treasure collector has about $8 in loose change. He's starting to understand money and how it buys things. We may start him on an allowance soon.

    Since our move last month things have been very tight, but we've tweaked our budget, canceled extras (bye bye 500+ cable channels), and made sacrifices. We may be broke but we are happy. We are healthy, enjoy spending time together sitting around at home and know that this won't last forever.

    Ways we keep our families budget from busting:
    • Check out books from the library instead of buying them.
    • Just because I want it, doesn't mean I have to have it right then. If it's not necessary, I wait a little bit. Maybe I find something cheaper that will work just fine, or maybe I realize I don't need it at all.
    • Lots of pasta. You will be amazed all the things you can do with pasta.
    • Meatless meal day(s).
    • Line dry clothes. A dryer uses a lot of electricity.
    • Thermostat at 78º. We use ceiling fans if we get hot. Change air filters monthly.
    • A well insulated house!!  Don't waste money by air conditioning the neighborhood.
    • Pay with groceries in cash. Nothing would be more embarrassing then getting to the register and not have enough money. It really keeps me from over spending. Take a calculator and a list!
    • Stop wasting food! I'm bad with left overs. If Papa Fox doesn't take them to work, they end up pushed into the back of the fridge until my monthly purge. Knowing this, when I make meals I make only what we will eat that night. I give the kids less than I think they will eat/drink then refill if they want more.
    • BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET! I know exactly what is coming in and going out and when so I'm not caught off guard by a bounced check or late fee. Fees really add up and why pay extra when it's all preventable?

    ramsey My best resource is support. Frugal Village. The wonderful people on the message board there have gotten us through bad times and celebrated with us during the good. There's also MSN Money with great advice. There's numerous books out there you can check out from your local library (It's FREE!). I especially liked Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover.

    Can I feed a family of 5 on $200 a month? Watch me. It may get boring really fast but tough times don't last forever and we'll get through this together. Next month we'll have a bit more wiggle room but I'm going to try to keep our budget the way it is now and put extra into paying down our debt.

    Do you follow a monthly budget?  What budgeting tools or resources have you found handy?

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Comments (15)

  • pulchritudinous_words@xanga

    I like the 'fox' nicknames. They're cute and a creative way to keep them anonymous, I guess you could say. And as to the list of how you're saving and savoring your money, my mom is right there with you. Except our thermostat is at 85 degrees.

    Cheers.

  • belle_figlie@xanga

    I loved this post.  We're really trying to budget ourselves lately.. definitely something to look more into.  $200 for 5?  I hope so!  We spend WAY more than we need to.  Time to cut back on a lot of things!!
  • mamaturtle
    yay!

    We still need to buckle down and "do a budget" but are a pretty frugal family. i could go on forever about the things we do but you and I do a lot of the same things One thing I found to help with the grocery bill was to meal plan for every grocery list. I'm not a list making, organized person but this made a huge difference!

  • Sadiana_SaDiablo@xanga

    I wish frugality was my specialty.

    Another thought: Pasta is good, but so is rice and veggies (and soy sauce to fry the veggies in), and you can make them all stretch.
  • mamafox

    @Sadiana_SaDiablo@xanga - Yup, I do a lot of stir fry too. It's pretty much the only way to get my kids to eat vegetables without a battle. 
  • mamaturtle

    Oh almost forgot, I get some really good food stretching ideas from http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/index.htm
  • la_vida_linda@xanga

    One of the best books I have ever read about how to get out of debt is All of Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan by Dr. Elizabeth Warren.  She provides really great insight into why my money was the way it was and some great ideas about how to get ahead.  Surprisingly I had to read it for a college class and it has truly changed the way we look at money.  Another great read is Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.  Both of these books have a life altering message if you are willing to put forth the effort ;).  Besides following what those two books advise I keep tabs on where the money goes with Quicken.  It tracks everything!
  • justplainruth@xanga

    i love the Dave Ramsey book. We are really so excited about his plan and it has helped us a lot. I buy groceries with cash. I haven't been able to make our budget stretch so far. But some of my friends are using couponing and having amazing success with it. good luck!
  • babybooties33@xanga

    We have been living on a budget while we were abroad... having to maintain 2 households was expensive!!!  (and yes, we HAD to keep our house in the states otherwise my husband risked loosing his green card...which would make coming home much tougher).  We did really well keeping to our budget which we celebrated because historically we have NOT been good with our money.  So, now that we are home with ONE house to maintain... we are still going to stick to our budget and pay down debt as quickly as possible.  We can DO IT!
  • PoetMcChick@xanga

    Being a soon-to-be single mother (the father will hopefully still be in the picture, I just know enough not to rely on income that may or may not happen...) I need to quit spending my money because my life and health and comfort is not the only thing at stake now. And you're completely right about saving for something, rather than buying it and paying it off later. But with gas prices (and my car recommending premium gas and I still buy plus anyways) it's very hard to not have to use my credit card the last week before getting paid twice monthly. As soon as I'm in a better place with the baby (in the clear miscarriage-wise) then I will see about maybe getting something that can help me. In the meantime, your tips are great!
  • wannabwrtr@xanga

    I am so excited to have come across your site (I found you on the main page)! I have been strongly focussing on budgeting, frugality and saving money where I can lately and anything I can read that can help me reach my goals is fantastic.  It takes a strong desire, motivation and a supportive network to help in most cases and, like anyone just starting (I think) I've had a couple of hiccups, but am becoming far more aware of how I fritter my money away. 


    I will definitely come back and read some more and see what secrets you share, as well as try the Frugal Village website.  One site you might like is Gailvazoxlade.com.  Although it's Canadian (like me) a lot of the principles and basics are the same, and it's always an interesting read.


    Good luck in your journey!
  • der_lila_Stern@xanga

    Please share some of the things you do with pasta.  It is currently just my husband and I.  He will eat whatever I cook.  But I often have no clue what to do with pasta!  It always seems to be the same.  We dont have kids yet.  I would love to have them now, but we have some financial goals first so that I can stay home.  I have been doing everything I know how to help us get rid of my car payment and save up some money.  I know I can cut back more - especially with making less expensive meals!  Any and all advice is welcome!


    Also, do you do anything special so that your towels dont get stiff and harsh when line -drying them?
  • mamafox

    @der_lila_Stern@xanga - Put a cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle with your laundry. It helps keep them a bit softer. Don't worry it doesn't make your things smell. I do pop the towels in the dryer on fluff for 5 minutes if they seem a bit more scratchy then I like. Also one thing I found is if your bathroom steams up during showers, that will get towels a bit softer. Besides that, I suffer. Haha.

    My favorite way to do pasta is cook penne noodles and ground beef or turkey (I like turkey because it's healthier). Mix together with some spaghetti sauce and diced tomatoes in a casserole dish, top with shredded cheese. Bake at 400º for about 20 minutes or until cheese looks a little crispy.

    I'll have to type out my pasta recipes and post a blog about it. I'll message you when it's up.  
  • HisLadyofVirtue@xanga

    We follow a budget EVERY month, but we always use EVERY last penny.  My husband is a Private in the Army, ane cost of living in NY is rediculous and keeps going up.  We don't have cable, no telephone, except cell phones, and your BASIC internet.  They isn't any where that we can find to cut any more corners.  We have two cars, but except for appointments, I don't go anywhere to save on fuel.  It have gotten tighter and tighter, and for the first time in three years, we have no money for food, and there is no money left.  There just isn't anywhere left to cut corners.


    MamaFox, is there any way you can help me set up a grocery list and come up with meal ideas that will cut our cost of food down?  We currently spend about 200 a month, maybe 250, and it is me, my husband, and out 8 month old daughter (we get free formula from wic and we feed her NO baby food, just mashed up food from our meals)  Can you helps us come up with a game plan please?



    Thanks


    Renee
  • venomxcupcake@xanga

    My parents should learn from you... they use about £100 a week on groceries [approximately $200].


    I do a number of things to keep the budget low...


    -If a journey's less than 10 miles I'll usually walk so I don't have to waste money on gas [plus it's healthy].
    -I turn the heating down. Even by 1 degree. For a whole day it actually makes a load of difference.
    -I limit my showering time. If I'm not washed and done within 5 minutes, that's just bad luck.
    -When cleaning my teeth, I turn the tap off while I'm brushing.
    -Turn the TV off at the plug when it's not in use


    Then there's things I'd like to do but don't...


    -Limit computer time to about an hour a day. I really overuse it =/
    -Buy clothes when my old ones stop fitting me or are falling to pieces, not just when I see something I like


    I think you have a good list there =]


    Good on you teaching the kids at a young age about money. My parents did the same with me and it pretty much works =] I'm now a complete miser... ie if I don't have at least £200 in my bank, I panic and don't spend any more. [Bear in mind I've not yet left home and I'm still on an allowance XD]


    <3

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    • From: momaroo
    • Posted: 6/30/2008 3:55 PM

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