The Bottom Line

We’re starting to feel the pinch of higher gas and food prices, as I try hard to keep our grocery and misc. (shampoo, diapers) budget under $100 a week.  One of the best ways I learned to do that is to stretch your meals with rice, but that strategy may not work this time. When I went to the grocery store this week, all rice displays (except boxed instant rice) were empty.  I went to the bulk rice bins and found them all barren except for about 3lbs at the bottom of one barrel.  I counted myself lucky and bagged it up.  If we can’t stretch our food budget with rice, we’ll have to do it with potatoes, pasta, soups, or something else.  (My mom is an old pro at stretching the food budget, so maybe I can convince her to post some of her best low-budget recipes on her Multiply page.)  I always buy generic when it’s available, and compare the “price per ounce” to get the best deal.  I’ve cut back on processed foods and try to make as many things as I can from scratch, such as a batch of waffles to toast during the week instead of Eggo, or homemade cookies instead of boxed.  Still, it’s hard to stay within budget.  Eva could help a lot just by being potty trained.  That alone could save us about $60 a month in diapers. 

 

We’ve cut back in other areas, too.  We don’t do any unnecessary driving.  We turn down the heat at night and pile on the blankets.  We don’t go out to movies, and don’t eat out more than once every couple months.  We make our own barista coffee instead of going to Starbucks.  We eat frozen pizza instead of delivery.  I love manicures or pedicures, but rarely go (maybe once a year), I don’t highlight my hair anymore, and I’m letting it grow out so I don’t have to trim it as often.  We’ve considered cutting the cable, but then our phone and internet costs would skyrocket (most of our calls are long distance), so it’s cheaper to keep them all bundled.  

 

Now, don’t get me wrong.  We’re not suffering financially.  We’re always warm and well fed, and enjoy our share of inexpensive creature comforts, like body wash and movie rentals.  If we needed to, we could cut those back too.  We’ve chosen to live off one income so I can stay at home with the girls, and we’re willing to make sacrifices (it would actually cost us for me to work, between gas, lunch on the run, work wardrobe, dry cleaning, and child care).  Thanks to what we’ve learned through Financial Peace University and The Total Money Makeover, we’re completely debt-free and have an emergency fund set aside. For the first time, Dave and I have clear financial goals, and we’re both on the same page.  It’s so nice not to fight about money!   We save up to buy what we want, earning interest instead of paying it.  And we no longer use credit cards or financing – if we can’t pay cash, we don’t buy it. Like Dave Ramsey says, we’re “Living like no one else, so that later on, we can live like no one else.” 

 

That upcoming rebate check is going to help us put up a backyard fence and pay some medical expenses, but it’s just a temporary fix.  I wish Washington would realize that the major reason so many Americans have to tighten their belts or depend on social services is because government skims 40% off our paychecks for income and other taxes.  Take another 10% deduction to cover health insurance and 401K, and you’re trying to live on half of your income.   If government could tighten ITS belt for a change (sorry guys, no more bloated contracts and $300 toilet seats!), we could take home more of our paychecks and actually provide for ourselves.  If the current tax cuts are allowed to expire and our taxes go back up, we’re gonna be really tight.