What have you done to cut back?

[lindsay2181]

I started looking at our bank statements to see where our money is going. Was shocked to see we are spending $300/month in gas. We have to make a long trip every other weekend to pick up/drop off my stepdaughter, and DH drives about 15 miles to work every day. Other than that, we don't normally run the roads excessively. I don't see how we can cut back on that.

I have cut our grocery budget down to about $150/month (family of 4) It's not easy, but we make it. We have WIC so not having to buy milk helps. I shop sales and use coupons, cut the amount of meat in recipies by half. My husband only eats one meal a day.

I make my own laundry detergent for pennies. We buy almost all our clothes/shoes secondhand, usually don't pay more than $2 per piece for kids' clothing.

We have the cheapest internet connection and the $13 cable.

Last year we got rid of the condo we were renting for $725/month and got a mobile home, paying $300 mortgage and $200 lot rent in a trailer park. $500 is much better than $725!

I am not a high maintenance woman (I guess I was back in my single days) But now that I'm a wife/mom, no haircuts, manicures/pedicures, shopping sprees for me. I do ask for gift cards for those type of things when my birthday rolls around.

We sell things that we no longer need--garage sales, Craigslist, ebay...when my kids outgrow their clothes that I paid $1 or $2 for, I sell them to someone else for fifty cents.

What do YOU do?

[Flamingo]

There have been numerous postings on here about this subject...have you done a search of this forum? There are many threads on how posters cut costs, budget, etc., etc., with some very recent. We recommend (see forum rules) that those new to the forum do a forum search before posting since many subjects are or have been heavily recently discussed and you may find that folks will not respond to a same subject/situation which may have been recently posted/discussed.

[lindsay2181]

Thanks, but actually yes, I did go back reading posts until about June of this year. I have been on several of the other boards reading as well before I felt comfortable enough posting questions of my own. I figured this particular topic was a good conversation starter since I'm new here....of course I have already researched ways to save for years now, not just on this forum.

[AngelinaCatHub]

Thanks, but actually yes, I did go back reading posts until about June of this year. I have been on several of the other boards reading as well before I felt comfortable enough posting questions of my own. I figured this particular topic was a good conversation starter since I'm new here....of course I have already researched ways to save for years now, not just on this forum.

I think you are doing wonderfully. How do you make the laundry detergent? Our biggest savings is, we stopped using checks when the checkbook ran out. I refuse to order more. I see more money this way (or less money than expected so to speak) so our spending is limited to what the money allows. We purchase our food through Angelfoodministries.com It is basic but good.

'Hub

[lindsay2181]

For my laundry detergent I use recipe #4 on this site: http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundr...rgent-recipes/

I don't think I could STOP using checks altogether...I pay most bills online and do use the debit card for gas, etc. but checks have been a lifesaver at times when we had, say $10 in our checking account on a Sunday and payday isn't til Wednesday. There is a local grocery store that I can pick up food to last us til Wednesday, and the check doesn't get cashed until well after payday. Lots of stores have gone to the automatic draft of funds even with checks, but this one store (for now) I can still get by. And I've also been able to write the check for groceries and purchase a gift card for a gas station, to last us til payday rolls around again....my mom is always saying one day I will get burnt but so far so good.

We have done Angelfoodministries twice, but I felt I could purchase the stuff we like more, for just the same or cheaper with sales/coupons. People were raving about all name brand foods and good quality meats, but the boxes we got had very fatty meats, cookies we didn't like the taste of, and some stuff that we ended up donating to the Food Bank. I guess it varies from month to month and maybe we just didn't do it on a "good" month lol.

[AngelinaCat]

The problem with checks is that in this electronic age, there is almost no 'float' time any more. And banks no longer post 'deposits' before they post the 'debits'. The funds are w/d in about 24 hours, and if they aren't in the bank when the check hits, then you get hit with a $30.00 NSF fee, not counting whatever fees you got hit with on the merchant's end. After several months of having this happen, we elected to do away with the checks entirely.

We haven't weaned ourselves from overspending completely. Our overdraft protection gets hit on a routine basis.

As the economy worsens, the prices of goods and utitlities keep going up, and our income keeps shrinking...

[AngelinaCat]

I have noticed the the quality of Angelfood seems to be decreasing. I think they are hurting like everyone else is. But since they have dropped the requirement that you must buy at least one of the 'Regular' packages (or one Convenience pack) in order to purchase the specialty boxes, we have purchased some of the Meat boxes for the core meal, then buy veggies and sides at the local stores with coupons.

[lindsay2181]

Our bank recently increased their NSF fee from $25 to $28, and we've had a couple over the years, but they cover up to $200 so we have never had fees from any merchant. And like I said, this particular grocery store will usually hold onto a check for a week and half or more before it hits the bank, and we time carefully when we do it so it won't be cashed until after payday. I realize this store could "get with the times soon" and then we'll no longer have that option available, but it has helped us tremendously in tight spots.

[NoMoreCards]

I have never considered making my own laundry soap, so thank you for that idea. The price of laundry soap has gotten completely out of control, and I love that I now have options.

One way we have cut back is doing a movie share with friends and family. We all make a list of our DVD's, and share movies to avoid rentals. When we do rent, we go to Family Video instead of Blockbuster. We can get the movies for 2 for $1.00 for 5 nights, instead of the $4.50 or so at the larger movie place.

The thermostat in the house does not go above 65. We have propane heat, so on the weekends we use a small electric heater to keep the main living area warm, and then the furnace does not run at all.

Coupons are a must for my family. We use the coupons and weekly sales to determine what we are eating that week. :-)

[lindsay2181]

We used to get the free Redbox rentals every Monday...then they cut that out and only give them the first Monday of every month. DH sometimes downloads movies free on our PC, so we never go to theatres or pay for rentals.

[frogger]

I have noticed the the quality of Angelfood seems to be decreasing. I think they are hurting like everyone else is.

Quality is suffering, and it appears that there has been some hanky-panky with the corporate funds. Quite a bit of turmoil going on there now...

[lindsay2181]

Quality is suffering, and it appears that there has been some hanky-panky with the corporate funds. Quite a bit of turmoil going on there now...

If so, what a shame! Can't say that it's suprising, since that's happening everywhere, but this kind of program, church-run, meant to help families...it's a shame.

[aces67]

I also make our own laundry soap. I shop sales, use coupons. In the summer we have a huge garden. We use our fireplace to heat our home with during the day and only use the central heat at night. We have put tint on all our windows and light blocking mini blinds. I searched and found the lowest electric rate at 9.9cents per kilowatt and I use flourescent light bulbs.

[AngelinaCatHub]

I also make our own laundry soap. I shop sales, use coupons. In the summer we have a huge garden. We use our fireplace to heat our home with during the day and only use the central heat at night. We have put tint on all our windows and light blocking mini blinds. I searched and found the lowest electric rate at 9.9cents per kilowatt and I use flourescent light bulbs.

How do you shop for an electric company. I have heard of the possibility here in FL to do this. After all, Clay, JEA, FPL, Semenole all use the same grid. Do you have choice? 'Hub

[lindsay2181]

OH yeah, that is nice! We don't have the option here. We are just stuck with who we have and get charged out of whazoo for miscellaneous/hurricane fees, being that we live in South Louisiana.