Budgeting Is A Four Letter Word
My family is headed for an adventure folks. We have embarked on our most courageous and ambitious journey yet as a family – the journey to Budgetville.
I’m a little frightened. Scratch that… I am A LOT frightened.
Truth be told, I have always been mindful of what I spend. I was raised in a family with four kids. My dad was a cop. My mom stayed home with us. It felt like we never had money. I know what it means to be frugal.
As a professional adult though, I’ve been blessed enough that I didn’t have to live paycheck to paycheck. Certain times in my life have been more tight than others, but then again, I’ve never been a huge spender. (Meaning: I don’t own Prada. K?)
But this new BUDGET thing is yucky. <—- I’m trying not to say the bad words here.
We are big Dave Ramsey fans so we are trying to work the budget “Total Money Makeover” style. In case you are not familiar with it, let me tell you, it is a strict plan.
And I blew it to bits immediately. Well, the eating out part, at least. I think I am, like, $100 over or something ridiculous like that. Business meetings generally involve food so I am gonna have to try to figure out some way to be creative.
And get this - Because I am so not used to this I ended up cutting into my grocery budget for a haircut the other day. So now I am afraid that I’ll have to tell my kids, “No, we don’t have any milk this week. Or eggs. But doesn’t mommy’s hair look all silky and shiny? Who wants to touch it?”
And speaking of… My biggest challenge by far is GROCERY SHOPPING. Here is where I need you guys! I need to RELEARN how to shop for groceries. I know NOTHING about coupons and all that. I’ve only used them here or there and I know there must be resources out there to help. Come on – the Internet must be filled with them, right? Please give me a clue!!! (Leave a comment.)
So if I seem like a Scroog-Miser then you know why. Budgeting has become a four letter word.
Twitter: ChristineLesier
says:
I feel your pain! I’m trying to figure out how to work a Keratin treatment into an already tighter than tight budget. But I will I tell you!
Anyway. I wanted to say that I’ve cut my grocery bill by $100 a week with a few simple things. Coupons don’t really work for us, besides paper products and garbage bags, because we don’t really use prepared foods, so I thought it was going to be impossible. The trick is a freezer. When meat goes on crazy sale (like $1.99 for chicken breast) I stock up. Really stock up.
Also, I always check the flyer before I start planning meals (and planning meals is a must!). I see what’s on sale, especially what’s BOGO and then I plan around that. So simple but it’s shaved a whole $100 from each week.
Good luck!
.-= Christine´s last blog ..Have a Great Love Story? =-.
JennieG
Twitter: mammamania
Reply:
January 22nd, 2010 at 11:10 AM
We are trying to eat healthier too and OF COURSE those are not included in the coupon type sales. It is very frustrating. What is a Keratin treatment BTW?
Twitter: bethschillaci
says:
I am terrible with coupons because I always leave them at home when I go to the store. What I have been successful with is reading the grocery store ads that come out on Wednesday and making my weekly menu from sales items. I usually pick the store with the best deals (10 for $10), do my menu and stock up the pantry.
You’ll do great!
.-= Beth Schillaci´s last blog ..Renewing My Fascination with Polaroids =-.
Twitter: chelandria
says:
Well, take it from someone that uses coupons. It’s hard to use them successfully unless you have gobs of time. (Which you certainly do not!) I’ve heard that couponbug, or some such online thing makes it simple. But I wasn’t willing to trust ‘random software company’ with *installing* software on my computer (which is necessary for making income!) just to get coupons. However, some people swear by this method. (A woman at Walmart swears she can get groceries for $40 this way.) However, your standards have to switch, I think. Stick to what you need, not what you ‘want.’ Snack foods, junk foods, etc. Out. Fresh veggies, fruit, meats, are my main grocery now. And you don’t find coupons for those, unfortunately. Soooo I wish you luck, but I don’t have great words of wisdom except try ‘store brands’ (reading where they were made) and be willing to accept cheaper alternatives. Stick to the ‘fresh food,’ not packaged foods aisles as much as possible.. and just get your needs taken care of. I’m shocked by how little food I actually need to consume a day since I’ve been watching portion control. I also am shocked by how much you can actually freeze (veggies too!) Give yourself a treat every once in a while, but just once in a while. And nice, shiny hair. It’s a must! Just bought my first store shampoo that I wasn’t allergic to and LOVE IT – Aveeno. Had a coupon for it, thought I’d try it, and I *highly* recommend it.
Twitter: unemployed_mom
says:
I TOTALLY feel your pain! I have been drafting a budget blog but have been waiting until I can provide some tips for readers on how to stick to it.
2010 was the year of the budget for my family too and we have not done well in the eating out department (we blew our January food budget in the first week)!! As for grocery shopping, food is ridiculously priced, especially if you shop at places like Whole Foods. I spend a small fortune alone on organic fruits and vegetables! Not to mention, organic milk is $5.79 per gallon and my toddler goes through several per week!
We have a local store (Publix) that has Buy One Get One specials every week. I try to stock up on the items I use when they are on special. If you can couple the BOGO with a coupon, sometimes you can score items for dirt cheap (or even free, no joke)! Purchase the Sunday paper and start clipping those coupons!
Weekly meal planning helps too. If you go to the store with a list (and stick to it), then you can usually spend less money. Also, NEVER go to the store when you’re hungry because your cart will be filled with overpriced junk food in no time at all.
Good luck!!
.-= Jessica´s last blog ..Small Victory =-.
I have been doing a series on finances on my BTR show this month..if you want the link just shoot me an email. I went over the nuts and bolts of budgeting and on today’s show I actually addressed what to do when you take from one category to pay another LOL
You can do this!
.-= Melissa Multitasking Mama´s last blog ..The Waiting Game =-.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by kevinbruce, MammaMania. MammaMania said: Soccer uniforms are how much? GAH! Not gonna fit into the new budget!!!http://bit.ly/4JxauG [...]
Check out http://www.thegrocerygame.com . I did it for several months, and once you’ve gotten the hang of it it’s easy to do on your own. It’s all about stockpiling stuff when it’s on sale AND you have a coupon. There’s a 12-week rotation of what types of things are on sale, so once you make room to stockpile and get your schedule down you’re good to go!
Hi there! I’m a fellow Maryland blogger! I have a coupon/freebie blog…I’m always posting printable coupons..which I love! I shop at Giant and SuperFresh, and have cut my grocery bill by at least 65%! I purchase all of my toiletries at CVS or Walgreens, and usually get most of them for free or less than $1. I currently have a stockpile of 67 shampoos/conditioners! And most of them I got for free
There are tons of resources to help you with using coupons. One of the best is CouponMom.com. I don’t want to take up your entire page here, so if you’d like some tips, I’d be more than happy to help! Feel free to send me an email 
.-= Shelley´s last blog ..~It’s The Big One!!~ =-.
The Coupon Mom was on The Today Show the other day and she was amazing. Go check out her site. She has a book too!
http://www.couponmom.com
.-= Adrienzgirl´s last blog ..False Pretenses =-.