I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here, but holy crap, summer is expensive. Between weddings and weekend trips, beach parking and summer ale sampling, I'm getting dangerously close to broke. So, what's a girl to do? Channel my inner cheapo and get thrifty. This month, it's time to actually start living within my means. Welcome to The Wallet Diet.
I'm not planning on forgoing spending altogether and living off the land (the herb garden on my back porch probably wouldn't sustain me for lunch, let alone a whole month), but I'm really just focusing on reigning it in, cutting costs where I can, and putting as much as I can away. You know, all those things I should be doing in the first place.
So, what are the rules?
1. I'm setting a strict weekly budget and sticking to it 100%. No borrowing from the next week, no taking money from my savings, no putting it on my credit card, no excuses. If I can't afford it, I'm not buying it. End of story.
2. My credit card is being kicked out of my wallet and potentially frozen into a block of ice in my freezer. Anyone dare me to do this? Ok fine, I dare myself.
3. Any money that isn't needed for a bill or some other necessity that I've budgeted for goes right into savings.
4. I will do a serious audit of my spending and determine where and how I can cut costs. Is it worth it to fill up at the cheap gas station once instead of having to stop multiple times at the Mobil on the highway when I'm running on empty? Probably. Is there a way for me to spend less than $45 a month on cat litter for my diabetic cat who pees more than I do? Lord, I hope so. Time to get smart.
5. If there's something I want to purchase that isn't within my budget, I will write it on a list and at the end of the month, if I still want it, only then will I consider buying it. Sayonara impulse buys!
And um, did I mention that I work retail? Oh boy, wish me luck. And please, if anyone has any great resources/suggestions for thrifty living, I'm all ears (or eyes in this case).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Great Blog with tips for this kind of thing....http://www.andthenshesaved.com/
ReplyDeleteDanne, I'm doing the exact same thing! And I love the idea of "Icing your credit cards". We have a spare fridge in the basement if you need the space. Just sayin...
ReplyDeleteGood luck :)
Ohhh thanks for the link anonymous, that site looks great.
ReplyDeleteAnd Todd, I feel like we're always doing the same thing, just on different floors of the house haha. Let me know if you guy come across any thrifty wisdom. Or if there are any expenses that we could go in on together, do you guys have a BJ's or Costco membership by any chance?
Plan a weekly menu! It will save you loads of money. Buy more vegetables than anything else. Oh, and make lots of plans to eat at other people's houses (wanna come over?).
ReplyDeleteDuh I wanna come over, but I think it's our turn to host first. Sushi party plans pronto!
ReplyDeleteGreat plan! Summer is expensive. I think I'll follow your lead this month.
ReplyDeleteTry this blog: http://www.squawkfox.com/ her budget series got my finances back on track a few years ago and she offers free tools to help track your budget, net worth, credit card spending, etc, etc.
Also, as swupper says, weekly meal planning. Each week we have the children (every second week) I sit down with the flyers and make a meal plan and grocery list. The following week my hubby and I survive on the previous weeks left overs. We usually dish out 300-400$ a month for a family of four (ok, part-time family of four).
Thanks for the site recommendation Tania, it looks like there's a lot of great resources on there. And swupper is the best and most diligent meal planner I know, I might have to interview her and have her dish her best meal planning tips for my next post...
ReplyDelete