So I found out my teaching position

**New-mom-to-be** · 02-28-2011, 08:21 AM

is being eliminated in order to keep the coaches. They will be given my English classes.

Fortunately, we have 2 years of both of our salaries in savings.

I decided to go to grad school, get my masters, and raise our son until kindergarten.

It's going to be a stretch, because we will have to live on half of what we are used to, but I think it will be worth it in the long run.

I may try to pick up some subbing gigs on days when I am not school because our son is going to pre-school in the fall.

So what are some suggestions as to how we can spend as little of our savings as possible.

**cab54** · 02-28-2011, 09:08 AM

I'm really sorry about your job loss.

But it sounds like you have a good plan in your head.

You can do it. I think it's a lot easier to be super-frugal when your kids are little,.....easier than when they get older (teens!). Your son will never notice the difference.

The subbing sounds like a good idea. Not only for money, but to keep up on teaching skills.

Your savings is excellent! Good job.

**larabelle** · 02-28-2011, 09:23 AM

Originally Posted by New-mom-to-be

So what are some suggestions as to how we can spend as little of our savings as possible.

There are lots of BRILLIANT minds here in the village. Specifically what areas would you like advice in cutting/minimizing spending...food, transportation, entertainment???

**nodmicks** · 02-28-2011, 10:22 AM

It sounds like you are doing an awesome job of turning the job loss into a great opportunity!

**mauimagic** · 02-28-2011, 10:56 AM

Great attitude - great response to a sucky situation - great savings behind you = recipe for success!!

**New-mom-to-be** · 03-01-2011, 08:13 AM

Originally Posted by larabelle

There are lots of BRILLIANT minds here in the village. Specifically what areas would you like advice in cutting/minimizing spending...food, transportation, entertainment???

Well, I know we can cut on groceries. We spend about 500 a month for 3 plus take out and restaurants.

Entertainment--we don't really go out that much, other than having season baseball tickets for our university. We do have direct tv, so maybe it can be cut there.

Transportation--This one is going to significantly drop once my school year is over. I currently commute 100 a miles a day to my job. My husband drives a Prius, so that doesn't take much gasoline on his 15 mile a day drive to and from work.

I'd like to figure out ways to get the electricity bill smaller.

**Momto5RN** · 03-01-2011, 09:39 PM

not cutting back - but there are some legitimate websites you can do online tutoring from. my neighbor who is a teacher did that for a year before her son started K and she went back to work .

**3tomboys** · 03-01-2011, 11:58 PM

I'm sorry for the loss of your job. Enjoy this time with your son. At one time every appliance in a house we lived was on electric. I hung the clothes to dry, washed the dishes by hand, made sure that I didn't have things plugged in that kept using electric even if it wasn"t in use (digital clocks,tvs,etc). If you need to use air conditiong in the summer I use to open the windows early in the morning when I would get up and close them before it warmed up. It doesn"t seem like much but it added up.

**ImEmile** · 03-02-2011, 01:44 PM

That's awful! But you might end up with more money after you don't have to keep the car in gas for that commute (I had one almost as bad one time) and also your wardrobe needs will change since you won't have to be going by a dress code.

As for Direct TV, we got rid of dish this summer and rarely miss it. Sometimes I wish I had 24 hr. news for certain things but even then I can just go online and get my info. As for movies I check a lot out from the library. I can go online and search and place a hold. I get an e-mail when it's in and go pick it up.

I can rent from Blockbuster cheaper than Red Box (and no bank info going out there). But if there's not a lot on TV then I'm not wasting nearly so much time.

Also, if you're home full-time, you have more time to cook real food. How much of what you're spending on groceries is going towards things that make dinner quicker for starting after school? I cook a LOT from scratch. I even make our bread. (Before you get too impressed, I have a couple of recipes for really good bread with no yeast so no kneading or rising time involved.)

I don't buy us chips, I keep popcorn on hand to pop. And not the microwave kind either. I can do it easily on the stovetop and did overseas, but here I have a Westbend Stir Crazy that does a perfect job and even melts butter on the lid while it pops.

If you're home every day you have more control over your schedule. You can decide how many days and which ones you'll go somewhere and how far.

Who knows? You could end up in better shape staying home than working.

**shoiji** · 03-03-2011, 06:52 PM

You can watch many tv shows on the computer now. I just have basic cable for tv. Anything else I can watch on hulu if I want to.

It definately sounds as if you can cut down on your food bill each month. Also, you might want to consider gardening, even if it is just in a pot, growing any type of veggie or herbs during the spring, summer, and fall will definately help with the budget. Try the couponmom website. She really makes it easy to save money with coupons if you use one of the stores she lists. I usually save alot on hair products, personal hygene products, storage, and some food items.

Make room for a pantry. It does not have to be a lot of storage just enough space to stock up on items that you always use when they are on sale and you can use a coupon. My pantry has helped me immensly, especially when I have an unexpected bill.

This site has many ideas for free entertainment.

**New-mom-to-be** · 08-10-2011, 02:08 PM

this is my last month with a paycheck coming in

ACK!

I did make a small stockpile of things we regularly use and canned a bunch of stuff this summer. So that is going to help.

Replacing the old AC did cost a bundle, but the electricity bills have been smaller, despite the AC running more because it has been over 100 most days this summer.

off to Sam's to stock up on so more things while I have money and time to do it

**peanut** · 08-11-2011, 11:04 AM

You'll find that 2 years of savings can be stretched considerably if you plan carefully and work your plan. We made a 3 month severance package and 6 months of EI last 18 months when DH was laid off. What we did?

We retired the car EXCEPT when DH went job hunting, and for one day of errands a week. And for church.

We didn't buy new clothes that year. Unless they were from garage sales in the area. Both our girls were gr.3 and under.

We used the library a lot to borrow books and movies, etc. We used their free programming to entertain the kids. Also took them to movie days at the library.

DH and I allotted a certain amount once a month for us to go out for dinner someplace mid-range in price. DH felt uncomfortable with this at times. So if I had this to do over, I'd just pick a nice cafe and go for tea and a goodie. He's more comfortable with that. The thing is, just because you're on a fixed income doesn't mean you get to neglect your relationship with your spouse. You have to find cheap/free ways to keep it up. We used to go on picnics together too. Or walks.

I echo what the OPs say about food. If you're spending $500/mth. for 3 of you, you can certainly cut back on that! DH and I spend $300CDN per month and we are buying a lot of very healthy, organic foodstuffs. Ie. not cheap. If you shop sales and cook from scratch you should be able to net huge savings.

As for electricity, put everything on power bars and turn them off every night before going to bed, or whenever you stop using the appliance/electronics. That's saved us a ton of cash. Also switching lightbulbs to more energy efficient ones. And hang drying laundry instead of using the dryer. Also turning lights off when you leave the room.

You can do this! Just think of the expenses you don't have anymore. That 100 mile commute to and from work, the work clothes, the work lunches, etc. You'll have more time to cook at home.

The year I quit working to stay home we figured we saved $5000, without any efforts at being frugal. By the time I'd fully installed frugality in our lives 5 years later, I was saving $21,000 per year staying home. That's a part time job. That was in 1998.

You can do it!