Our First "Oops"

Last Sunday when Irv and I were finishing up our grocery shopping and headed to the checkout....I looked in our carts and thought, "Oh man, this is going to be the best week yet. The carts are very empty. We are going to have so much money left out of our $150!! I even had $4.75 in coupons! Chee Hoo!!"

Imagine my shock and dismay, when the checker finished tallying up our groceries and the bill was $146.06 PLUS we had already spent a little over $5.00 for bagels at the bagel shop!!! WE WENT OVER OUR BUDGET!!!!

For those of you who are new to my blog....we are trying to stay on a budget. We are allowed $150 a week for all food and household items. IF we have any money left of the $150, we get to use that for carry out on Friday night.

I kept looking at the receipt on the way home, because I was so sure there was a mistake. I even added everything up in my head and unfortunately, it was right. We didn't really buy a lot, but some of the things we did buy were a bit more money. Irv was out of meat so he purchased quite a few things, and I was trying a couple new recipes this week and needed some things I wouldn't ordinarily buy. It wasn't that we bought lots of junk, we didn't, we just spent more than normal.

Now, I could cheat and take money out of our "surplus" envelope and get carry out tonight, but I'm not going to do that. What we are going to do is cook dinner at home tonight, and then use one of our restaurant gift cards that we have been hoarding and go out to dinner Saturday night.

No harm done....but in all honesty, I'm still a bit upset that we spent that much.

Budgeting Fun

Irv and I have really struggled financially during our 37 year marriage. With medical bills, raising 3 active kids, being unemployed and underemployed…we dug ourselves deep into debt. We got out a couple of times by refinancing our house but then crawled right back in again. We don’t want to refinance again at this stage of our lives and in this economy, so what option do we have? Only one…it’s time to tighten our belts and bite the bullet.

Let me say that Irv and I don’t live a luxurious life. We have a tiny house, don’t wear fancy clothes, don’t drive fancy cars, but we do live beyond our means at times, and that is a problem.

We have always had the mindset that if we need or want it and don’t have the money for it, we’ll just charge it and pay for it when the bill comes in. Well, we follow through on the first part and charge it, and then we never follow through on the second part of paying it off when the bill comes.

Doing that over the course of many years digs you into a great big debt hole and that is where we always seem to be. It isn’t that we can’t pay our bills, it’s tight, but we can pay them, it’s just that we seem to have more and more bills every year. We really haven’t charged much in this past year except for car repairs, tires and our new dryer, but it will take a long time to pay that off.

I’ve been working for a while on a budget…one where we truly set limits for our spending. We would take cash out for weekly expenses like food and gas on payday and leave the debit cards at home. Then if we need or want something and don’t have the cash for it…we will have to think about whether or not it’s something we have to have right now or not.

Debit cards are a great way to see where your money is going, but it’s also very easy to overspend…oh, it’s just a cup of coffee, or it’s just a pair of shoes, or it’s just some carryout….when you add that all up over the course of a month, you may have spent hundreds of dollars you didn’t really have.

The first thing I would like to do is to set a food/household budget. Irv and I tend to buy whatever we need/want. We have no idea what we’ve spent at the grocery store until we get to the checkout. It could be $120 or it could be $170. Then on top of that…every Friday and Saturday night we get carry out. Nothing expensive, but it’s still $25-$30 a week. Do we really need to spend that much on food and household supplies a week? I don’t think so. It's just the two of us for Pete's sake!

I think we should be able to keep it under $150 total. So, my thought is that we take $150 with us to the store, pay attention to what we are spending….then if there is anything left of the $150…that is what we have for our weekend carry out.

I love my carry out so you can be sure I will be paying close attention to what goes in that cart. I also read once that if people looked in their cabinets and freezer they could probably eat for a week or two without buying anything but perishables. Think you could do that? I think we could. What a great way to save some money. Plan your menu around what you already have on hand!

The other thing we need to look at is our personal spending…all of the little junk we spend our hard earned money on….but my head is spinning and my vision is blurred by little dollar signs right now so I think that is enough for today.

How do you keep your spending under control?

Woe Is Me!!

I bought a new sewing machine this week, and we are building an indoor craft show booth, and a few months ago I bought a tent for outdoor craft shows, and I need a new computer.....do you see where this is going?

I really hated to spend the money after all I have spent in the past few months, but with the focus of myothershop changing to many things sewn, and my very old sewing machine jamming one minute and spewing thread all over the place the next minute, I had to have it. I had my old one cleaned and adjusted and repaired...even though the guy tried really hard to convince me otherwise...but I thought if I could get just one more year out of it.......

If you own your own business, what do you do when you have to have things in order to operate your business, and they just aren't in the budget?

I try very hard to pay cash for most of my materials, but I don't have a money tree in my back yard and things like the tent and the booth and the sewing machine end up on plastic. I hate doing that because I am bustin' my butt to pay down our debt. I have no desire to increase it....but sometimes I need stuff.

So, what do you do? Do you have a money tree? Do you just say, "Charge it"? Do you do without until you can pay for it?

UGH! Share your worldly wisdom and business expertise with us please....