Although we could afford to continue paying to have what we want, we are trying to reduce some credit debt, so we are going to sacrafice things we do not need.
1. I reduced our cable package to $29.99 and we now have 50 channels, plus all local channels. Sports channels will just have to go to the back burner until Fall.
2. We are dropping our prepaid cell phones and getting cell phone service bundled into our Qwest package. This will give us more reliable service and it will be roughly the same amount we were purchasing the prepaid cards for. We did have to pay for the cell phones, but I got 2 cell phones for under $25.00.
3. Once we activate the cell phones, I will cancel our unlimited long distance of $20/month and just get a minute plan for the home phone for emergencies.
Total savings:
DirecTV $50.99 to $29.99 = $21.00 savings
Cell phone $45 – $60 to $60.99 = $0 savings
Home phone $59.99 to $30 – $40 = $19 to $29 savings
Every little bit helps.
I think we are going to look at how we can reduce our energy costs. Our electric bill is only $65/month, but seems to be high considering we’ve replaced all the bulbs. May need to unplug things.
Our grocery bill stays constant at roughly $300 to $400 a month. We’ve GOT to stop eating out! I’ve budgeted $50/month for eating out, but we usually go over that. May need to go on a cash system and then when the money is gone, no more eating out.
I’m attempting to contact my credit card companies, hopefully tomorrow, and ask for a lower interest rate, or a credit limit increase on my lower rate card to transfer my other balances to it. We already were able to get a consolidation loan for 1/2 of the debt, mostly Husband’s, but if I could consolidate my own, then it would save even more.
My paychecks are going to paying off my debt, which will start back up this month. We had some family expenses; soccer, new shoes, etc. that popped up, so we took care of that with cash instead of charging it, which I have to say was very liberating!
Filed under: Financial Help!
So, every year you can order your credit report for free through the annualcreditreport.com website. So, this year I decided to also order my credit score just to see where I’m at. I was disappointed to still see it at 641, which is higher than 22% of American’s right now, but it’s still not good.
I also saw no discrepancies on my credit report that I was able to view. I’ve got to send off for 2 of the others. We had to file bankruptcy 7 years ago, and 5 of the accounts associated with it will fall off this coming December. The bankruptcy will remain until 2013, but when it falls off, that will be such a relief. You never plan to file bankruptcy and when it happens you spend the next 10 years rebuilding.
We do have new debt, but it’s not as out of control as it was back then, and is very manageable. I’m working steadily and slowly to pay down the lowest balances first and get those monthly payments in the savings account so we an build up a fund to pay off something else by the end of the year.
What I hope happens is after I’ve paid on my debt, my credit score will go up as my balances go down. I am going to close some of my accounts, but I’m going to wait until I get everything paid off before I do that.
Filed under: Financial Help!
There aren’t great sales, but there are a couple meat sales. I went online to put my list together and my total bill will be roughly $130, which should take care of this coming weeks meals and get us into the next week by only replenishing a couple of things.
I will be buying ground beef, 93% lean, and Jennie O ground turkey. All this will be 50% off regular price. So, I’m saving a bundle right there. They also have rib roast on sale for $3.99/lb but I’m going to need to see it before I decide.
Instead of shopping for 2 weeks, I’m going to shop for 1 week at a time. I was finding that I was buying too much, and not using up what I already had. Planning out my meals, I can see what I have already and then just fill in what I need.
If I can spend $300/month out of our $400/month grocery budget, then that’s a huge savings. We shall see.
Filed under: Financial Help!
Last payday I was able to pay off one credit card, and put $100 on another card. This payday, I’ll be able to put $250 on the 2nd card, and next payday it will be paid off.
Snowballing payments are going to be my challenge. I’m keeping a running notebook of the snowball payments, so I know what time of month to take the money out, and when to start it. First snowball payment of $10 starts coming out the 1st of April and will go into savings. This payment alone, we will have $90 by December to rollover onto whichever card I’m paying on then.
Filed under: Financial Help!
I’m sad to admit that me and Husband haven’t always made the best choices when it comes to our finances. Sure, we pay our bills, but the need versus want argument with our brains are a continuous battle.
Over the years, we’ve opened credit accounts, paid them off, opened new accounts, paid them off. It’s a never ending cycle. The cycle becomes a problem when the time comes that you cannot pay off the entire account within a short period of time and it lingers on for years. This is our current situation.
We live very frugally, and when I say we have struggles for the needs vs. wants, it’s for things like furniture for our childs room, do we get this couch now, or wait till the other one breaks and then hope we can get it then, buy this when it’s on sale, or wait until later. It’s not an everyday occurence, but it happens.
Since last fall, I’ve come to realize that we NEED to really get moving on paying on our debts more aggressively than we have been. Husband agrees, and we successfully got a loan that consolidated 1/2 our debt into one payment which saved us $60/mo.
Since December, I’m now working part-time making just under $700/mo which is devoted to paying off debt and a little to myself for personal things I need. A girl has to have a Starbucks every now and then, right?
Here is my plan:
1. I printed out a report from our Money program of our credit card debt, and arranged them from lowest balance to highest balance, regardless of interest rate.
2. I’m paying off the lower balances first, and then snowballing those payments onto the next credit card.
I’ve already paid off 1 credit card, and am 1/2 way to paying off another one.
My biggest challenge is going to be making sure I roll over the credit card payment I just paid off onto the next card. I think I’m going to have to make a checklist and put it by the computer so I can know when that payment use to be due, and put it into savings. I think I’ll do it this way, and at the end of the year, I should have roughly $1K in savings to throw at a credit card, or loan to pay it off or down quite a bit.
I NEVER go shopping the day after Thanksgiving, EVER!!! This year though, I am not able to say that, and I’m happy about it.
Our local HD advertised Christmas Trees with LED lights, cool burning, 7 1/2 feet, for $49.99, regularly $199.99. After discussing with Husband, he said to use the CC and go get it and we would pay it off next billing cycle. We really needed a new tree because the one we have has been used almost 10 years and it getting pretty flimsy. So, off we went; me, Scoober, and Winks around 10am to HD, which was pretty busy. Salespeople were waiting at the door, and as soon as I found the trees Scoober got a salesman and we put it aside while we walked around and looked at all the decorations. There were only 4 left, and only 1 mult-colored one left. They were going fast!
I walked away with a beautiful tree, a glue gun and some new ornaments for all under $70.00. So, I saved close to $130.00!
Today, it’s not black Friday, but I am going out. There is snow on the ground here, so it will be a nice “shopping for Christmas” day. Next week, I hope to be finished and I am pleased to report that we have not charged anything that we cannot pay off the next billing cycle! Hooray!
Well, I did okay in writing down everything we ate from the food boxes. We were all not feeling that great so we at a lot of leftovers.
The first meal I made from the boxes was last Tuesday. We had a pork loin in last months box and I cut it into 1 inches pieces and I cooked it with some cooking spray on top of the stove. We also fixed the box of macaroni and cheese and peas that we already had.
On Sunday I fixed a pork roast that was in the meat box I purchased from AFM. It was good. Enough for a family of 4 for sure. We had 1/3 of it leftover, so tonight I will be making bbq sandwiches and some french fries, which also came in the food box.
I was unable to purchase the box for September, but I may still write down what I am fixing each evening.
Oh, the individual meals in the senior box, I purchased those, and they are great for those nights that you just don’t know what to have. That way, everybody can pick what they want.
So, I was reading the paper yesterday and there was a full page ad for FREE day at the Art Museum here in our local metropolitan city. I thought that was really cool. It’s the first Saturday of every month from 10am – 5pm. So, as soon as Husband finishes covering up the swamp cooler, we are headed to the museum! I’ll be sure to post how it goes.
That’s a good tip for all of you trying to watch your pennies. Look around your area, subscribe to the newspaper of the biggest city closest to you, like 30 miles or less away. They always have a preview of what to do for the weekend. We only get the Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun paper. There are a LOT of things to do this weekend for free, but we chose the art museum since Scoober is interested in painting now.
On the 18th it’s FREE day at the ZOO! If you have local attractions near you go to their website. Most of the time their FREE days aren’t always advertised!
Filed under: Financial Help!
So, we picked up our AFM boxes on Saturday. Wow! There was so much stuff and my freezer is not stocked full! I got the $30 box, which all but 4 items were frozen but included a lot of chicken. I also got the $25 senior box, which included 10 individual frozen meals all dietary conscious. This will help with those on the go nights. I also got a meat box with a roast, hamburger patties and steaks and the fruit and vegetable box. I had to throw out the celery because it was really flimsy. The best part was the nice bag of apples and the large oranges. Yum!
All this cost me $90.00 and it will probably last us about 2 weeks. Now, of course I have other food already in the house, and I had to shop for a few things, but I stayed within our budget.
I’m going to prepare a menu from the AFM boxes that I receive. It may take me a week or so to get going, but I’m going to try to post what I make and say whether or not it was in the box.
My mom is my inspiration in how to find ways to save money. I posted the other day of a couple things that I found and that my mom helped me find. Here is another one:
www.angeltreeministries.com
This is not only a charitable organization, they are now supplying $30 food boxes for you to purchase. Go to the website and type in your zip code to find out if there is a host site where you are. There is one near me and the $30 food box gets you a LOT of different things, fresh and frozen included. Also, once you purchase the $30 food box, you can purchase special boxes ranging from $18 to $20. One of the $18 boxes includes fresh fruit and veggies! My location requires that you pay in advance giving a deadline to place an order. They even accept Paypal payments, food stamps, cash or credit card payments over the telephone.
This is one way to stretch your grocery dollar. Most things in the $30 box are things you’d normally buy at the store, including milk!
