I need some serious help!

[MrsB]

OK here it goes. I need some serious help cutting corners. Our bills are as followed:

Car $410
Car Ins $100
House $265
Lights $100-$175 (I have no freaking idea why this is soooo high!!)
Cell $85 (its as low as its gonna get)
CC #1 $10 (its PP buyer credit, with a balance of $175)
CC #2 $85

Those are our set bills. The only one that we can lower is the electricity and I'm trying my best but it isn't going down much. Hubby makes between $400 and $500 a week, it varies week to week. Usually he makes about $1600-$1800 a month. And our bills are $1120 a month average.
Then theres gas and groceries. I think we spend around $150-$200 a month on gas. So we're up to $1320. Which on a good month means we have about $500 for groceries and stuff like that.
I need help b/c I don't spend more than $60 a week on groceries but there never seems to be enough!! What the heck am I doing wrong?

Thanks!

[Odilia]

A couple thoughts:

1st, you're doing a lot right! Your home payment is low, and you're not carrying a huge debt load. Good job!!!

With a balance of under $200 on the one credit card, I'd make paying it off ASAP a big priority. You should be able to do it by eating very miserly for a month, having a yard sale, or maybe picking up a few odd jobs of babysitting, housecleaning, etc. Then, you can roll that $ to the payment of the other credit card.

If you should have $500/month left for groceries but are spending about half that ($60/week), you've got a money leak somewhere. It could be convenience store stops, books (my big weakness!), Target trips, etc... Or, it could be that you're spending more on gas or in another area than you think.

I know it's a pain, but if you get in the habit of writing down every penny you spend, you can stop the money leaks! If you or your hubby just can't write down every soda, newspaper, stick of gum, etc..., then go with a cash allowance per week to cover those items, so you can get an idea of that spending.

Once you know exactly where the money is going, you can make adjustments.

Lights/utilities:

You may have appliances and things draining power even when not in use. Try unplugging unused appliances and only plug them in when you're actually using them.

Clean off the coils of your fridge and freezer.

Make sure the fridge and freezer are set correctly. Remember a full freezer is more efficient, so freeze water to fill up empty spaces.

Replace standard light bulbs with compact florescents (I can't spell that word!) as you can. Even if you replace one/week, it will help!

Good luck!

[Odilia]

I thought of something else. Check the temp setting on your hot water heater and lower it if it's not already at the lowest setting that provides you with hot water. We keep ours at 125F.

Also, an insulated "blanket" for your hot water heater helps it run more efficiently.

[leezza]

Car $410 (when is your car paid for?)
Car Ins $100, (what kind of car, how old are you, driving record…..this seems high to me.) shop around try geico, AAA, progressive, ect….
House $265, (what year is your home that seems like a very frugal amount.)
Lights $100-$175 (does your home heat with elec?? Do you have AC?? Do you have children? Are you home all day?)
Cell $85 (might want to think about getting rid of it and getting a prepaid one)
CC #1 $10
CC #2 $85
_____
$1121.00

Gas $200.00 (what kind of car do you have??anyway you could consolidate trips and not drive so much??)
Grocery $500.00 (is everything else in this catalogy?? How much do you and your spouse take in cash per month?? How much do you spend on coffee, cigs, alcohol, ect…..)

Kelly,

My first advice to you would be to write everything down that you spend…..I put mine into an EXCEL spread sheet and everything went in there, I don’t care if it was mints, or gum it got recorded………this will show you were your money is going and let you know where you need to cut down on. Some of the small hidden items can add up fast………..also if you are eating out a lot that adds up quick too.

Sincerely,
leezza

[mommy4ever]

Looks pretty decent over all. You're feeding 2 adults and one little one. $500 does seem on the high side, I feed 6+3 on about $400/mo.

Are you buying formula and diapers in that? That would make the difference.

Dave Ramsy would recommend selling the new car and getting a couple year old one and pay it cash if you can.

Other than trimming the grocery budget, turning off lights etc to reduce pwer consumption, I can recommend much else.

there's a $300 difference, are you putting some in savings?

[auntie2many]

A couple of thoughts come to mind where there maybe leaks that you are not aware of:

Property taxes
Home Repairs
Birthday and Christmas gifts
Clothing
ISP
Car maintenance
Crafting or hobbies
Children's activites if this applies

A couple of things that we do to lower our utilities especially during our hot summer months are not to turn on the oven. We either use the toaster oven, crock pot or BBQ to cook with. We, too as was mentioned before have insulation around our water heater. Close air conditioning vents to seldom used areas or rooms. Same for heat in the winter.

You are doing great and have been given some great ideas. Best wishes to you.

auntie

[MrsB]

OK lets see if I can reply to all the questions:


Car: We've only had it 6 months. So no go on selling it. Its a 2003 Chevy Trailblazer so gas is probably getting eat up in it.

Gas: I've cut down one just about as many trips as I can. We go to town maybe 3 sometimes 4 times a week. Friday I go get DH's paycheck and drop off his paperwork from the week on the weeks he isn't in the area. (he drives an 18 wheeler) Saturday I go to the flea market my grandparents own to help them out. Then one day I go grocery shopping, sometimes I combine it with Friday or Saturdays trip out.

Lights: I'll def check everything.

Water heater: I've made a mental note to get DH to FIND it (lol thats so bad! I've looked all over and can't find the dumb thing, I think its in our closet) and turn it down.

AC/Heater: We have central heat and air. I try to keep it on 73-76* all year. But during the fall and spring we turn it off completely so the bill will go down some next month. And the winter we try not to use it much. :-)

Formula/Dipes: I breastfeed and get some formula on WIC. Dipes, yes I do buy those, but they usually come out of the grocery $$ but we're swtiching to cloth.

House: Its a 1994 mobile home that we bought from dh's aunt.

Cell: no go on the prepaid. DH uses aLOT of minutes for work but we don't go over on the plan. :-)

Ins: Believe it or not thats the cheapest we can get! It was alot higher until we switched to GMAC.

Dang I forgot about DH's cigs. *ick* Thats about $80 a month up in smoke. literally hahaha I hate it.

Thanks for all the ideas! I've seen some things we can change and some areas I forgot about and also places we can cut back. :-)
Our isp is free so thats not an out of pocket expense. :-) hehehe

auntie2many-- those look like the areas where our money leak is at. I forget about those. I try to shop at thrift shops for our clothes, but gifts, taxes, repairs, etc are probably the places I'm missing.

[McD]

Okay, let me see what I can do:

Car $410 Is there anyway to sell this and find something cheaper?
Car Ins $100 I would shop around to see if you can find something cheaper. If that doesn't work see if you can take a defensive driving course, etc. to get it lowered.
House $265 No way to cut here really.
Lights $100-$175 (I have no freaking idea why this is soooo high!!) Okay, all lights off when not in use, unplug everything until needed, i.e. t.v. microwave, turn down hotwater heater, bump up the air to a higher temp.
Cell $85 (its as low as its gonna get) Does this have extras like text messaging etc.?
CC #1 $10 (its PP buyer credit, with a balance of $175)
CC #2 $85
I would pay off your credit cards as soon as possible. That frees up a little bit each month. Plus you aren't throwing money away on interest.
Those are our set bills. The only one that we can lower is the electricity and I'm trying my best but it isn't going down much. Hubby makes between $400 and $500 a week, it varies week to week. Usually he makes about $1600-$1800 a month. And our bills are $1120 a month average.
Then theres gas and groceries. I think we spend around $150-$200 a month on gas. So we're up to $1320. Which on a good month means we have about $500 for groceries and stuff like that.
I need help b/c I don't spend more than $60 a week on groceries but there never seems to be enough!! What the heck am I doing wrong?I would start writing down everything your family spends. Your husband is a semi driver, right? Does he eat a lot of meals out when on the road? I would track your spending for a month. Also, before making an impulse buy, try and think of it in terms of husband has to drive XX amount of miles to buy this or if I buy this, we are that much further away from paying off the credit cards, etc. Seems to help me.

Thanks!

[mommy4ever]

It's hard to do it all, isn't it? I have lotsa debts too, and we're plugging them. I'm writing it all down as much of a hassle as it is. But it sure makes a difference. I make a budget. Write what comes in est. and what goes out, est. Then as things come up I write down the actuals. That is often where the "leaks" are. You budgeted for $75 actual was 89. $14 difference. FIgured $150 for gas for the month, prices went up, now it's $175. All those little things happen, and are hard to track unless you're tracking it.

I hear you on insurance. We pay $167 a month, for our 2 cars and our house. It's the cheapest we can find, too. What do you do?

Keep doing what you're doing. You're home, consider taking in one child. That could give you up to $700/mo, depending on where you live, maybe more or less. But it was be extra to pay off things and give a littel more breathing room.

[fuzzybunny]

Also, how old are you appliences? Those 70's models (and older) suck up the juice like nobody's buisness. In there area of fridges and freezers free or used is not always the most economical choice.

Christine

[fuzzybunny]

Oh, and I almost forgot, you note that you keep your heater/cooler at 73-76. I would bump that down or up as the case may be. Turning the heater down to 68 or 70 degrees and the a/c up to 80 will make a big difference.(when they are not off all together

Christine

[auntie2many]

Just wanted to say that older mobile homes do not have insulation, so not having that they are like a hot box during the summer, so I can see keeping the air at the temp you spoke of.

Also do you have lot or space rent since it is a mobile home or even association dues or are you not in a mobile home park?

That is all that I can think of for now. I am glad that I helped you to find a few areas where your money may go that you had not thought of, now you can keep special watch of those areas.

Dh and I have lived in mobile homes before and they seem to have more repairs than the stick built houses. I think that the people at Home Depot expected to see us on a regular basis.

auntie

[MrsB]

Thanks!!

Our cell doesn't have any extras on it. We're not in a mobile home park or anything. We live on a piece of land next to my parents.
My DH doesn't eat out on the road. He takes drinks and lunch with him.
Let's see....I think thats all I needed to answer. I'll go back and make sure.

[MrsB]

Also, how old are you appliences? Those 70's models (and older) suck up the juice like nobody's buisness. In there area of fridges and freezers free or used is not always the most economical choice.

Christine

I have no idea! They were in the house when we bought it and they were in here when his aunt and uncle bought the house brand new in 94.

[Judi Dial]

One thing that occurred to me right off the bat. We get a discount both on our house ins and auto ins because we have them both with the same company. See if you can get either or both lowered if you can.

JD