I need budget help.

**StephanieEffler** · 12-13-2005, 09:15 AM

For some reason I just cant seem to get ahead any.

I'm a SAHM, we cant afford daycare in this area. It's way too high & I'd be bringing home 20$ a week. I dont feel that $20 for 40 hours work is worth it.

We have a 3yr old & a 16 month old who goes to therapy twice a week.So that would be hard to schedule with work/daycare too.

DH brings home $400 a week. He is a welder/machinist and works crazy hours.

Here's our monthly bills:

Rent 350.00 (As cheap as we could find for a house, not an apartment)
Power 125.00
Phone/DSL 45.00
Water 30.00
Cable 20.00
Car Insurance 40.00
Groceries 250.00(includes toiletries & diapers for 1)
Gas 300.00 (I dont drive much, just to take my son back and forth to therapy. DH has to drive quite a bit for his job.)

We dont have car payments. We also dont have health insurance which has put us in the awful position of 4,300 in medical debt.
We are trying to pay for that as much as possible.

I really need to lower my grocery bill, but I'm having major trouble with that. Its not junk food, its just meals. We arent big junk food eaters.

We have to pay bills weekly, and therfore I'd love to get my groceries down to 45 dollars a week.

We use wood to heat with, so we have no heating bills.

Please see if you can see anywhere to lower things.

**homesteadmamma** · 12-13-2005, 10:14 AM

WOW, your pretty low already. The only think I can see is your gas amount. Are there ways you can cut back in that area? When you go to therapy, do your shopping at the same time, saving a trip.

You also have $440.00 leftover each month (at least when I add your amounts up that's what it comes to). I would take 10% of that and put it into an EF account. That way, when you have any emergencies, you will then have something something to fall back on.

When it comes to groceries, I find there are usually ways to cut back on. Don't eat out (which really cuts back), cook from scratch, grow a garden (a huge help), purchase loss leaders (only if your going to use the item) and start to build a stockpile.

You might also be able to cut back on your power bill. Shut off all lights when not in use, use a crockpot to cook with rather than your oven (when possible), unplug appliances when not in use and if you do have to use your oven, bake more than one thing. Again it's surprising what these few things will do to your power bill.

**schellie69** · 12-13-2005, 10:59 AM

I also found that going to florescent light bulbs help cut the elctric bill down,
I also plan meals for a week and do my shopping every week I found this works because I always run at of milk in a week and was back at the store and ended up buying other things so it was just easier to go every week plus I have found that if I take cash with me I spend less but I seem to be able to stock up on the sales eaiser because I watch them every week and then compine with coupons and save a bunch that way. I started buying one extra meal each week and stock piling it and now have enough to last me a whole week with out having to buy meats and the side dishes bread or veggies all I would have to buy would be the milk and persisiables for the week my goal is to have a months worth of extra meals. but make a meal planner this helps alot I have found and make sure to include some easy meals so on nights when you don't feel like cooking there is something easy so the temptation to go out is not there. Make sure to check stores mark downs sometimes you can fine really good deals this way I check target they have shampoos and cleaners on mark down alot that is how i stock up on those.
hope these tips help

**Jerseygirl** · 12-14-2005, 04:04 PM

Are you packing meals for dh to take to work? that is a big help for us. Think of little things too, I found I was spending $7 a week on snacks for the kids to take to school-now I'm making my own little jello, buying jars of applesauce and seperating it myself and have it down to $2 and change, seems little, but adds up to over $200 per year. Would going to cloth diapers help?

**mommymath** · 12-14-2005, 04:12 PM

I was also wondering if cloth diapers would help. Do you have any friends ready to sell or hand-down some good used ones? Or maybe you can ask for it for a holiday gift if anyone wants to know what you want? If you have your own washer at home, I think it would definitely save you in the long run. I really enjoyed cloth-diapering my ds for both financial and environmental reasons. PM me if you have any questions about stuff like laundering, etc. (it is really easy!!)

HUGS!

**Valerie in WA** · 12-14-2005, 04:25 PM

Based on your dh's income of $400/wk I would think that at least your children (if not you adults) would qualify for state medical assistance. Are you paying for that therapy out of pocket? That's probably eating up a lot of money. In this state, when you qualify they go back and pay the last 30 days of medical, prior to the date they receive your application.

Your power bill seems high to me, especially if it doesn't include heat. What exactly is covered by that bill? Garbage & sewer? Or does the landlord pay those? Is that gas or electric or both? For reference, I have ALL electric, including heat and my bill is $88 per month. Is your bill $125 year round or just in the winter? Can you get on the 'budget plan' with the power company where you pay an averaged amount year round, rather than higher bills at some times of the year.

You know know what else I bet you qualify for? WIC. Are you familiar with it? It would provide cereal, milk, cheese, eggs, juice, and your choice of peanut butter or dried beans every month. It's a federal program; here's the link: http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/

Hope that helps you some!

**pammy** · 12-14-2005, 04:32 PM

*Sorry, off of subject*

Okay Valerie, just HOW do you get your electric that low? Mine is total electric, also, which includes heat. It does not include anything else. And it's averaged out, I pay the same every month, and it's $250 monthly. I've spoken with other people in our area and it's about average for those who don't have a gas bill. Some people have it better, some worse. We don't have any extravagant uses, we're somewhat conservative. Still, I feel like our electric company is ripping us off. When it's really cold out we have a roaring fireplace that pretty much heats the whole house, even.

Okay, gripe over.

**Valerie in WA** · 12-14-2005, 04:43 PM

Originally posted by pammyboat
*Sorry, off of subject*

Okay Valerie, just HOW do you get your electric that low? Mine is total electric, also, which includes heat. It does not include anything else. And it's averaged out, I pay the same every month, and it's $250 monthly. I've spoken with other people in our area and it's about average for those who don't have a gas bill. Some people have it better, some worse. We don't have any extravagant uses, we're somewhat conservative. Still, I feel like our electric company is ripping us off. When it's really cold out we have a roaring fireplace that pretty much heats the whole house, even.

Okay, gripe over.

Okay, here's the info from my bill for August 26 through October 26th. I used a total of 1,356KWH (kilowatt hours). This bill was unusual because half was billed at the summer rate of 7.7060 cents per KWH and half at the winter rate of 8.0070cents per KWH. Compare that to both your rates per KWH and your usage. You'll also need to consider that I'm only heating 1000 sq feet (although there's only a few areas that are insulated), I hang most of my laundry, but someone's ALWAYS home. Oh, and my climate is mild. It was 32F last night, but we get up close to 40F during the day. BTW, when I'm reaveraged in March, I expect my bill to go down to $75 or $80. You know, as a matter of fact, that $88 was calculated when I WAS using the dryer 100% of the time, so I don't know quite what to tell you. Sorry.

**pammy** · 12-14-2005, 05:14 PM

Alright durnit! hehe... Hadda go get my latest bill. From 10/25 to 11/28 meter usuage is 2983 KWH's.

That's up from 1974 KWH's from last month. YIKES! I just looked at last years December usuage (how nice, they put it all on there for me, lol) and the usage was 4082!! *falls over* Okay... MUST get to work on getting that number down, by golly!! Curent rate is 6.5 cents per KWH.
I'm here all day, every day... day in... day out...

and keep most stuff off when I'm here alone. The house is just under 1500 sqft and keep most doors closed, but will try to get better about turning down heat in rooms until closer to nightfall. Will try to be diligent, to the point of being a nag, about lights. Will light the fireplace more often. Will check the seals around the door this time, instead of just talking about it.

New Goal: See if I can see a reduction in KWH's next month!

**peanut** · 12-14-2005, 07:36 PM

Have you thought about dropping the cable TV? Or is that internet? You can access these at the public library.

Groceries do seem high. That must include paper products and diapers. Three adults eating very well here get by on $300cdn/mth. Check out this board for frugal meal ideas. I find the big issue is usually finding the right recipes to cook. You want quick, healthy, frugal meals.

After that it's a case of taking an inventory of your cupboards and freezer, making a menu plan based on those contents, then creating a grocery list and going shopping.

That's a lot for gas. Your dh must be driving close to 20 miles per day for work. Or gas is a lot more expensive where you live...or you have a gas guzzler. I second the idea of bunching your errands so you can do everything on one trip. Plan a loop route so you don't have to backtrack to accomplish them.

HTH
Jean

**Valerie in WA** · 12-14-2005, 07:41 PM

Originally posted by pammyboat
Alright durnit! hehe... Hadda go get my latest bill. From 10/25 to 11/28 meter usuage is 2983 KWH's. That's up from 1974 KWH's from last month. YIKES! I just looked at last years December usuage (how nice, they put it all on there for me, lol) and the usage was 4082!! *falls over* Okay... MUST get to work on getting that number down, by golly!! Curent rate is 6.5 cents per KWH.
I'm here all day, every day... day in... day out... and keep most stuff off when I'm here alone. The house is just under 1500 sqft and keep most doors closed, but will try to get better about turning down heat in rooms until closer to nightfall. Will try to be diligent, to the point of being a nag, about lights. Will light the fireplace more often. Will check the seals around the door this time, instead of just talking about it.

New Goal: See if I can see a reduction in KWH's next month!

I'm going to start a new thread ....

**dwallyfam** · 12-14-2005, 08:52 PM

I am with everyone else the gas, groceries and electric all need to be looked at. Does your DH get reimbursed for the gas for work. If not, keep track of his mileage so that you can take that off of taxes.

**i.m.cheap** · 12-15-2005, 11:28 PM

I think your rent and groceries are not bad. The gas is really high. We spend about $75-80 a month for gasoline. We also drive a Toyota Corolla, though. Do check into WIC, and see if you can get health coverage for your kids through a state sponsored program.