Here I am!!

**stephanieeffler4** · 12-20-2007, 10:01 AM

In all my glory, I'm introducing myself. I hope it will allow to step out of lurkerness & begin posting! I need the help!

I'm Stephanie, mom to Bryson(age 5) and Carson (age 3). I'm married to my high school sweetheart Joshua. We found out we were pregnant with our little Bryson about a week before graduation. Talk about scared to death. But here we are..Married, with 2 little boys, and as happy as can be!

The boys are in preschool from 8:30-2:30 daily. Besides that we have no dependable childcare. The preschool also runs with the school schedule,(it is in an elementary school)..so like from today to Jan 3rd..they are out. This makes me finding work kind of harder. I also am the work that would stay home with any sickies. Bryson Carson both go for free. Bryson's breakfast & lunch (required, cant pack) are included in tuition. Carson's are not. He is in the exceptional children & the state only pays the $90 a week tuition. Carson has had various developmental delays since birth & now he is only in Speech Therapy. He gets that daily at the preschool!

Dh has finally found a wonderful wonderful job. He is a maintenance technician at a strong, great working plant. They make brake pads for vehicles. He gets lots of overtime & has loves his boss, the plant, and is very happy & stressfree. The only downfall is the 50 miles one way drive. With the price of gas, ouch! But the pay is great for someone with no college degree. (From day 1 he had to support a family).

Anyways, Sorry for the novel:

Here's our Budget:

DH's Income: $500 weekly, so $2000. (This doesnt include OT, as it varies. )

Bills:
Rent: $350.00 (We live in a pretty low cost of living area, Boonedocks, NC. :lol )
Power: $70.00
Phone/DSL: $40.00
Car Insurance:$100.00
Water: $40.00
Truck Payment: $120.00/owe $2800.00- It's 98 Nissan Frontier,stick shift, dependable, good on gas- It's DH Car. We just got it in May.
Van Payment: $150.00/Owe $800.00- My 98 Chevy Van. Has some issues but mechanically is good. Will drive it till it falls apart.
Health Insurance: $408 ..This is taken out of DH's check every week. All the company offers. It seems kinda high to me, but I'm not sure.

Groceries: $70.00 weekly/ $280monthly- may vary just slightly. I buy store brands for almost everything, try to menu plan, shop flyers,etc.
Gas: DH: $80 weekly- $320 monthly
Me: $40 weekly- 160 monthly
(His car wont hold the whole family, so if all go somewhere we have to take mine.)

Just with these expenses we are in the hole $38.00. Of course I didnt include OT with DH's income. It varies so much, I hate to depend on it all the time.

Carson's Lunch Acct: $10.00 weekly.
Haircuts- DH does the boys, I get one every 2 months or so at $27.00
DH gets one once a month at $12.00.

Here's the kicker: We have close to $5,000 in Medical Bills. Some from back in 2003. Dh had Kidney Stones, Knee Surgery,& my son had an allergy for peanut butter and was rushed to the ER. I also have some dental bills included in that.

We have oil(monitor heater) and a woodstove. We use the woodstove primarily & the oil as backup. So a tank of oil can last almost all winter season.

I'm probably forgetting something, I'm sure. I know I need to write every expense down, as I know of a few leaks. (Eating out for sure.) I was planning on going back to school in January but my financial aid hasnt gone through yet & if it doesnt I will back to job hunting.

Please feel free to ask questions. I am seriously needing to get our finances in some kind of order & I need a swift kick in the butt. The only silver lining, is we dont have CREDIT CARDS!!!!! And we wont ever. But we also have no emergency fund

**FrugalMomof3** · 12-20-2007, 10:46 AM

WOW! First off let me welcome you and 2ndly, yes your health insurance does seem kinda high, maybe you can try and cut out some things to make your budget atleast break even...

Maybe you could cut out the kids haircuts or something and do it yourself, just a thought.

Anyways, welcome to FV! I am sure the other ladies here can give you some great advice.

**smk0817** · 12-20-2007, 10:50 AM

Here's what I see:

- $40 in gas for you a week seems like too much. Try to combine ALL of your errands. While you're picking up kids from daycare, stop by grocery store, etc. It really will cut down on your gas usage.

-$27 for a haircut is too much. I know at Great Clips they charge $13 and do a great job. Better yet, get a simple cut and let your husband or yourself trim it=free.

-$408 for health insurance...is that for a month? That's steep...maybe check for an independent plan.

-I think you can trim your grocery bill a little more. Plan some cheaper meals a couple of times a week like spaghetti or breakfast. Eat what is in season, like right now it's apples and sweet potatoes. Cook from scratch instead of convenience foods. Buy cheaper cuts of meat and cook them in the crockpot. They'll be really tender and you can use them in lots of ways.

**lanford66** · 12-20-2007, 10:55 AM

Hello and HUGS to ya! It seems you have everything in line. Your insurance does seem high, but we pay almost $100 weekly for our family plan too. Its a kicker, but its the ONLY plan my DH's company offers. It gets me because the plan for DH and children, no matter how many 1-1000, is only around $50 a week. Its when you add the female in that it shoots it up over the top. I'd personally talk to the medical providers and ask if there's a minimum you can pay until you do get on your feet. Most of them will work w/you. You said your children were in daycare from 8:30-2:30, is there any way to get a part-time job during that time?

Hang in there and GOOD LUCK!

**HappyMama** · 12-20-2007, 11:08 AM

Hi and welcome to the village! I just wanted to say you are doing a great job and I know it is hard when figuring everything out.

Do you bulk buy all your pantry, cherry pick, meal plan and use coupons ? Just a suggestion of what helps us immensely. You might already do that but boy makes a difference especially since you scratch cook also. Also I don't know if you have made a price book so you know all the prices in the area so if something goes on sale you will know if it is really a great price or not. Once you get all stocked up on everything you can then just go for the sales.

I learned to cut my DH and boys hair over the years and has saved us so much ...wish I had did it sooner...LOL They like the way I do it now much better then going somewhere to get it done.

Blessings,

Angel ()

**amlitrocks** · 12-20-2007, 04:29 PM

I am sure you have already thought about this, but I will ask just the same. Have you thought about trying to get on at your sons' preschool? No gas (except what you are already using) and same hours. I own a daycare and a lot of my ladies do this. Just a thought. Keep us posted :-)

**cottageliving** · 12-20-2007, 05:08 PM

welcome to FV. It sounds like you are already off to a good start, and these ladies have given some additional good ideas. I agree that you can cut back on what you spend on haircuts and still be stylish, and that perhaps you could do some type of part-time work at least until the 2 cars are paid off. That would be a great boost to your monthly cash flow.

Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress.

**my4littlebuffaloes** · 12-20-2007, 05:29 PM

Welcome! With your needing to be on your sons schedules, my recommendation would be to get a job with the school district as an aid, or lunch person/helper, etc.

Also, when your dh does get overtime, only use what you need and set aside the rest for the paychecks that he doesn't get any. That way it will be more balanced.

also, when you get your tax refund (I am assuming here) use it to pay off the cars, so that you have no more car payments. Then your whole budget will work a lot better.

Good luck and welcome to the village!

**AmyBoz** · 12-20-2007, 05:32 PM

Well, welcome to the village! You'll find lots of great ideas here!

**lwlynch** · 12-20-2007, 06:12 PM

hello and welcome

**nuisance26** · 12-20-2007, 07:23 PM

~Remember that there are 52 weeks in a year, so that's $500 X 52 =$26000 year. $26K divided by 12 months = $2166.66 income per month. That puts you a bit ahead. I did notice that you don't have a clothing or gift budget. I assume you buy clothes and gifts! Otherwise, your budget looks pretty good to me. I would do as a previous poster said and pay off both car loans with your tax return check. Then use the rest for your emergency fund. Then take the $270 a month you were paying in loans and pay down your medical bills. You may be able to trim more from your grocery budget by having soup more often. You may also be able to pick up some work cleaning houses, churches or offices while your kids are in school. You can clean a house in 5 hours and make $60-100 depending on the region.~

**Jill B.** · 12-20-2007, 07:49 PM

I was going to suggest cleaning houses too. If you are from the area and know people well, put the word out for house cleaning, or doing errands for the elderly, pet sitting/walking. Try waiting tables at lunch somewhere.