April Challenge

No dryer.

Since the weather is warming up we are instituting a ban on the heat setting of your dryer.  Line dry your clothes and use the dryer on air only setting to soften them up if you desire.  Using liquid softener or vinegar in the wash cycle will also help.  The savings will be higher for an electric dryer than it will be for a gas dryer, but still worth it.

If you live in an apartment or rent and can't install a clothes line you can use an indoor drying rack.  It will take more time to dry, but will also be great on rainy days.

March Challenge

If you've read about the Lenten challenge (which is to spend money only on what's necessary) you may be wondering how we are planning to save money over top that.  So this month's challenge is:

No unnecessary driving.

Don't worry, if you aren't interested in the Lent challenge you can still save money by driving less.  We will still drive to work, church, and the store (combining those as much as possible), but other than that, driving will be off limits.  Emergencies are one thing, joy riding to Sonic for a milk shake is another.  Now that doesn't mean we aren't going to do anything; we still have healthy legs and a set of bikes.  With winter coming to an end we have no reason not to get out and enjoy the warmer weather.

Good luck and get some sun.

Start Here: Complete this challenge before proceeding

First things first: Creating a budget.

If you made it past the introduction post then you've already decided to save money and have set a goal for the use of that money.  If you aren't interested in saving money why are you still reading? 

So let's get started making a budget.  I can just hear the complaints starting to roll in.  But, honestly if you don't have a budget how will you know if you are saving money or not?  While it is possible to responsibly handle your money without a written budget it never hurts to track your expenses for a month or two just to see where your money is really going.

If you are married you need to be doing this together.  You married this person because you wanted to share your life with him/her.  How can you share your life with him/her if you do everything yourself?  This also spreads the responsibility between two people and eliminates any finger pointing when mistakes are made or when the kids don't get everything they want anymore.  If you are single it will be a bit easier because you get to decide how to spend your money.

Budgets are a way to tell your money what to do, rather than wonder where it all went.  At the end of the month you'll know exactly what happened and won't be stressing about whether to pay the credit card or the electricity because somehow the money disappeared from the bank account.  They are easy to create and to don't require much of anything.  You don't need a degree in accounting, math, or business to do it.  All you need are a piece of paper and a calculator.  Got those?  Let's begin:

1. The basic necessities of life are food, shelter, clothing, and transportation to/from work.  At the top of the page put your income, then subtract each of the essential items.  Remember for food and clothes, these are just enough to get by (think thrift store, not mall boutique).  Shelter is your mortgage/rent and utilities.  Transportation will be operating cost only (gas, insurance, and new tires). It will look something like this (these are arbitrary numbers, not based on actual experience):
   
    
2. Next will be other bills: health insurance, life insurance, car payment, credit card, student loan, HELOC, etc.  In our example I'm assuming health insurance and life insurance are taken out by the employer. 
   
3.  Using our sample above, you have $530 left to for charity, savings, recreation, eating out, gym membership, Netflix, etc. 

Wow!  Look at that, a budget in 3 simple steps.  See not so hard after all, on paper anyway.  In real life creating a budget is difficult the first few months, then it becomes routine.  The first budget meeting will not be easy if you've been coasting along in neutral and not paying attention to what you're spending your money on.  However, you'll attain your goal faster if everyone makes concessions and does their part.  Use these percentages as a basic starting point for your budget:

Charitable Gifts 10-15%
Savings 5-10%
Housing 25-35%
Utilities 5-10%
Transportation 10-15%
Food 5-15%
Clothing 2-7%
Medical/Health 5-10%
Personal 5-10%
Recreation 5-10%

Debt 5-10%

Good luck and feel free to share any advice on budgeting below.

 

February's Challenge

I'm starting this blog a bit late, but here is the first month's challenge anyway. 

Do not eat out (that includes sodas and coffee too). 

 All food/drink products must come from the grocery store (and I don't mean the prepared stuff from the deli). As a side challenge let's see how low we can get our grocery bills by eating the food we already have in our pantry/fridge/freezer as often as possible and only going to the store when we run out of toilet paper or milk.

If you are already coming up with excuses let me quiet your complainypants with a few helpful tips about  MENU PLANNING:

• This WILL require some preparation in advance.  Meaning get out a calendar and plan each weeks menu at the beginning of the week.  (You should be doing this anyway, whether your participating in the challenge or not)  This eliminates the "Ahh! It's 5:30 and I have no idea what we are having for dinner" syndrome. This isn't difficult.  In fact, it's so easy I don't know why more people don't do it.  Not to mention the time and money it saves as well. 
• The first week will be pretty easy: search your pantry/fridge/freezer high and low and create meals out of what you already have adding a few items here and there to create a well balanced diet.
• Don't forget to plan at least one day of leftovers
• Don't plan elaborate meals on nights when your schedule is jam packed
• Get the whole family involved.  Let each person chose at least one meal (with veto powers from dad and mom of course. Ice Cream and cookies are not a meal).  This helps stop the battle of picky eaters at least one night a week.
• This is not a restaurant!  Don't make individual meals for every person because they don't like what's on the menu.  Dietary restrictions are acceptable, picky eaters are not!  Lay down the law, if they don't like what's for dinner, they can have a few crackers and wait for breakfast.  If you are diligent your kids won't skip too many meals.  Don't fall for the myth that you are starving your kids.  Remember you are providing them with a decent meal, they are just choosing not to eat it.
• Prior planning prevents poor performance: make sure to plan for extended outings.  Take sandwiches, snacks, or whatever to prevent yourself from stopping for fast food.
• Cook double batches and freeze half, now you have precooked meals for next month or next week.
• Use a cookbook to find tasty and easy meals to make.  Don't forget the library has cookbooks, too.  If you are getting tired of the same meals month after month, consider checking one out to mix things up.  Just make sure to photo copy those you enjoyed.
• Keep tabs on your perishables.  If they look like they will spoil soon, eat them or freeze them.  40% of food in the US goes uneaten. 
• Use an app to help with meal planning
• Check out this site for more tips 

Ideas for the more advanced:

• Once you've mastered the weekly menu planning.  Try a two-week plan or a monthly plan. 
• Buy all your groceries at the beginning of the month, with the occasional trip to the store for perishables.

Our Plan:
We have recently decided to do a monthly menu and buy our groceries once a month.  We go to the store together the first week.  Then Jack stops by the store on his way home from work once a week in weeks 2-4 to buy produce and milk.  Two fold savings: 1/4 of the gas used to get to the grocery store and more efficient menu planning means lower grocery bill.  Here's a sample of the next four weeks meals at our house (this is actually for the end of February/beginning of March):

 

I use a whiteboard with grid lines drawn with a permanent marker and use an erasable marker for dates and meals.  You can see where I make a double batch to freeze and then reuse it (26th make double batch of jambalaya then reuse it on the 12th).  I put a checkmark next to each meal once that day's supplies have been added to the grocery list to ensure I don't forget anything.  I also put the cookbook and accompanying page number for new recipes in the grid as well. 

 

 

Good luck and get cooking!