My husband and I live within very tight economic means, as I'm sure most of you do. But over the past 14 months as husband and wife (yes, we're still newlyweds), we have learned the value of a dollar and how to make that dollar stretch. So for today, I'm going to share with you some of the things that have helped the two of us save our pennies, live within our means, and still be able to go out to eat and to a movie on occasion!
Just like other people our age (late twenties & early 30s) we face different challenges than some. We both have masters degrees....so with 8 years of college a piece you can imagine the amount of student loans that we face, in addition to everything else. But just like other Americans we still have the usual: taxes, mortgage, electric, healthcare, etc, etc, etc. It's a tough world to live in out there and it's even tougher when your finances are tight!
These tips are things that have helped my husband and I be more aware of our spending habits and have enabled us to better control them. We don't let money "worry" us on a daily basis anymore. Why? Because we have the love of each other and God watching over us. We have given our wallets and checkbooks over to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He's the one managing everything now. We just help Him out by doing our part.
Tip #1: Know EXACTLY how much you have. (ie: Know your budget)
The majority of American's don't realize their true financial status. It's more than just going online and getting a credit score. It's about understanding your debt, putting a true and honest number to your bills, and figuring out how much is left over. Then...you work from there.
There are a lot of "things" that I would like to do and a lot of "things" I would like to have, a lot of "places" I would like to visit, and a lot of "memories" that I would like to make. But let's be realistic, I'm not Donald Trump (nor is my husband) and there IS a limit to how much money we have. But let's face it - things, places, and memories do not make happiness. Sure, they can give you the euphoria of happiness, but they can't truly provide it.
My husband and I go without a lot of "things." There's always something that each of us want, mostly because we deny purchasing those items. We've created "dream lists." Those lists contains dreams or fulfillments of things that we'd like, but that cost money to have to to do. Sometimes those dreams become reality, or sometimes they become things of necessity. Either way, we dream about them. It's okay to talk about the things you want and can't have because of finance. To not talk about them is to let the dream die. Some of the things on our "dream list" include some of those "things," "places," and "memories" that we can't afford right now: an Alaskan Cruise, our Dream Home, a new refrigerator, cable TV, a pot bellied stove, a porch, a gazebo, and the list goes on and on and on.
Tip #2: If you can live without it, live without it! (ie: Set Priorites)
One of the things on our dream list is cable TV. My husband and I do not get any TV in our home. Our rabbit ears (yes they do still exist) don't work - therefore neither does the DTV converter box, and we refuse to spend the money of satelite or cable TV that may only be watched for 2 hours a day. To us, this is a giant waste of resources. So instead, we live without any TV. We have the internet and access to it...but no ads of materialism, poorly themed TV shows, or disturbing acts of human violence invade our home any longer. In fact, we recently went on vacation and spent several hours by the TV. It was amazing what those commercials can do TO you! They make you want things you don't need, purchase things that are way above your financial means, or purchase trips that you can't afford. The power of persuasion on the TV is something that is dramatic, real, and should NOT be taken for granted.
We know that we would rather have our car paid, our mortgage paid, and the electric on. Those are necessities of life...cable TV is not. But it goes beyond that. We have a pet, and we want to take care of her too. The average vet bill costs approximately $300....we can plan for this by skimping on some of the extras in our life like eating out or going to the movies.
We live by the motto: want or need. We can't go without our car, because the car gets us to work, which pays the bills. We can't go without the electric or we'd freeze in the winter cold. We don't need the extra bag of chips (on our waistlines especially), nor do we need that new fancy matched luggage set. To my husband and I, there is nothing MORE important than each other. Our quiet time alone during dinner and our family time with our pet is all we need to be happy.
Tip #3: Make a meal plan and stick to it!
In just our few 14 months of marriage, my husband and I have faced several difficult times. But we knew what to do...the first was to pray about it and give it to God to handle. We didn't need the worry or the stress (not to mention the headaches that would follow).
What began as a challenge one year ago has ended in a change of life for us. Due to a tightening budget (not to mention the "we're happily married and have gained 10 pounds") we knew we had to do something about our 3 course sit down meals. In an effort to make my husband the happiest ever shortly after we were married, EVERY meal would consist of 3 courses: salad, main meal (meat, potato/rice/or noodle, veggie), and dessert. Before I knew it, two people were spending $500 at the grocery store alone. WOW!
Part of that problem was that I couldn't decide what to make for dinner until an hour before the hubby was supposed to be home. Then I'd have to scramble to get all the ingredients together and 1 of 3 times run to the grocery quick to get what we were missing.
So, I had an idea. What if I made a meal plan? For one week I would write down all the groceries I needed for meals that week (that list included the main dish and it's side dish). I'd do my grocery shopping on Friday for the next weeks groceries (Saturday through Thursday). I started to buy generic instead of brand name. I stopped shopping solely at WalMart. I began to shop at Aldi's exclusively and went to WalMart for the things Aldi's didn't have. I clipped coupons for ALL our cleaning products and found that the DOLLAR STORES had the best prices on cleaning products - only $1 for MOST of our daily household items (Dawn, Scrub Free, the Works, Glade, etc).
Pretty soon our bill went from $500 a month to $400 a month. WOW! So I kept it up. Pretty soon I was able to cut our bill to $350 a month. Today, my husband and I spend approximately $60 a week to feed both of us (including household items and pet food). We eat simply, with fresh homemade meals (no prepackaged stuff), but we still heartily, and there's STILL leftovers for our lunches the next day. Some weeks we go over when we ran out of EVERYTHING all at once, but since Jan. 2010, we have YET to spend over $300 a month on all our grocery, household, and personal items.
Tip #4: Set clear spending limits.
Some of you might think that this is obvious. BUT, it's surprising how often it isn't. The easiest temptation comes to gift giving and "date night." Let's be honest, who doesn't want to spoil their spouse or children. But let's also be honest the other way, who doesn't like to be spoiled?!
Spending limits are ways to ensure that you stay on track. For example, a couple that we know allocates $30 a month to their "date night." They can do whatever they want, eat out, see a movie, go bowling, whatever...but they CAN'T spend over $30 to do it. When you set these kind of limits, it becomes a challenge and almost FUN to see what all you can do with that $30.
Some of the basic things that my husband and I live by are the following:
- No pop or any "priced" beverages when eating out (ie: coffee, tea, etc)....only water (it's free).
- No dessert at any lunch/dinner (too expensive).
- Agreed spending limits on gifts (this Christmas we can spend only $50 on each other)
- No pop in the house (saves LOTS of money)
- Agreed spending limits on family gifts ($25 per parent for Christmas, etc)
Tip #5: Say GOODBYE to your credit cards.
Please know, credit card companies exist to steal your money! They bank on the idea that you can't possibly pay what your spending, thereby charging you interest, and earning them LOADS of money. For the majority of Americans (especially young Americans - 20s & 30s) this is true. In fact over 75% of American's in their 20s and 30s have over $10,000 in credit card debt. In a declining economy with joblessness striking hard, we need to practice the art of saving, not spending...or as my Dad would say, "mortgaging your future based on your present wants."
Over two years ago my husband and I kissed our credit cards goodbye! We didn't want to end up in financial ruin when we got married...not to mention that a lot of the "stuff" we had purchased was just that, "stuff." Putting those credit cards away has been one of the best things we've ever done. If you don't have the cash, you can't spend the money. Period. For us, this works...and we're glad we've done it. There are LOTS of arguments written both for and against this type of anti-credit spending...whatever your opinion, do what works for you. Do we have exceptions to this rule? Of course, everyone does! When our water heater broke the only way we could afford a new one was on credit...so that's what we had to do. But we used it and put it away...no more credit card.
Tip #6: Smile, you have only today to enjoy...tomorrow will worry about itself.
***I am not a financial advisor in any way. I'm simply writing about some financial things that have helped my husband and I during difficult economic times. Perhaps some of these tips might work for you, perhaps they won't. In either case, it never hurts to try!
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