I've been thinking a lot lately about the importance of budgeting and that we need to do a better job of it. We have never been super diligent about budgeting but I think that needs to change. I know that in the next few years we will expand our family (no, I'm not pregnant!) and hopefully move into a house so I would like to start preparing for that now. I've never been a coupon shopper, but I'm open to trying it and any other suggestions.
What do you guys do to budget and keep track of your finances? I know a lot of you are really good at this so please share your tips.
8 comments:
Grocery Smarts!!! Seriously, the BEST THING EVER!!! I started it 7 months ago and am saving SO MUCH money!! I'm not only saving money, but building a food storage at the same time. I used to budget $400 a month for groceries. I now spend $150 a month and get even more than I used to (including diapers, paper towels, etc.). I've been thinking about doing a party to teach people about it, so I'll let you know if I do. Seriously, though, it's the best!! :)
Coupons are the best!!! I know I don't have a family yet, but I watch the ads every Sunday and Tuesday (in the mail) for what's on sale. I plan what I am going to take for lunches and eat for dinner on what's on sale that week. That way you are almost always buying things on sale.
Another idea is to open an account at a bank you don't bank at and promise yourself to deposit a certain amount into it each paycheck. That way its out of sight, out of mind.
First off - I would LOVE for Michelle to teach us all about her coupon smarts :) Also, making a menu and then a grocery list helps cut back on necessary items you might purchase. Also - we just deposit a BIG portion into a savings account each month to help save for a rainy day! I love hearing everyone else's ideas too - good question!
I used to do coupons but I noticed that they were mostly for boxed/preserved foods. Coupons are still great for cleaning products and Beauty products...though!
What I started doing is making a monthly food list. With everything that we will eat for the month and what I need to buy to make everything. Then I go to Wal-Mart/Costco and buy everything for the month (canned goods, things that wont expire anytime soon, frozen meats) that way my weekly trips to Harmon's is only about $15 to $20 (milk, lunchmeat, produce)...I like it because I never have to ask "what should we eat"...also my house is packed for food for the month so instead of eating out for lunch we can make something at home...
Brynn - Mark and I use the computer program Quicken. Our budget is on there and it downloads all financial info like bank, credit, loans, etc so we can put them into the right categories. We can see exactly where we are at anytime. I can also check any category for example: "Date night" and see if we still have money for the month or if it is time for a creative free date. This helps Mark and I stay on the same page so there is never any question about where the little money we have goes, even if we go over a category for a month it isn't a big deal because we balance that out with the other categories. Mark and I actually enjoy talking about finances and planning for the future and I think that our budget is why.
i use pinching your pennies(same as grocery smarts) and coupons. i go through moments of being really good at it and other times i don't do so hot. i say that if michelle does a class she should do it on skype so i can participate!! or wait until dec. when i come for christmas!
We use Mint.com- it's a free, online budgeting program that links to all your credit cards, bank accounts, etc. (It's fairly similar to Quicken). We also make direct deposit our friend- we deposit $ from every paycheck directly into a savings account, for example, so we never miss it! (I think some budgeting gurus call this "paying yourself first".) Oh, and the one thing that always makes a difference is being vigilant about paying tithing. The moment I feel like we're tight on cash, I double check and we are usually behind on tithing!
I love theobsessiveshopper.com...it's really the same as the grocery smarts page. They basically go through the sales of local stores and match up where to get coupons (paper, online) to make things even cheaper!
If you get good at it, it can save TONS of money! Like the cereal I love is normally 4.29...and I got it for 50 cents a box! I may or may not have bought 18 boxes at that price! And we got bags of Lifesavers for 1 cent each!
Post a Comment