It's our turn....

**3tomboys** · 07-13-2010, 10:10 PM

Taking a break from getting ready for a yard sale on saturday. It has been a long time since we had one. I hope it goes well. My DH is still looking for work. He has also started looking into different business opportunites. I have not been as frugal this week and need to get back on track. We had unexpected Vet bills last week and its not over yet. I keep telling myself these things are going to happen, it would be nice though if they would wait. LOL! Our youngest DD is the only one left in high school so she looked through her clothes and says all she needs are a couple of pairs of jeans and some tennies to start school. We are watching for bargains. Found 1 pair of jeans at JCPenneys for $10. We are going to hit the thrift store within the next couple of weeks. We also went through the school supplies we have on hand and don't think we will need to purchase anything. That was good news. Well, I better get back to pricing the yard sale stuff. Hope everyone has a great day!

**ShadowMom** · 07-14-2010, 12:54 PM

Sounds like you are doing real good, we are in a similiar boat as my hubby got laid off in March. We had no advance warning though, they called him on the phone Saturday morning and told him not to bother coming to work Saturday night. Fortunately, we have been in this boat many times and live frugally normally. We cut our satellite tv and went back to antenna, reduced our cell phone plans, and all the normal stuff like that. I still have my job, so between my paycheck and his unemployment, we are able to pay our bills every month, barring unexpected expenses (like youngest DS moving back home).

**mommy4ever** · 07-14-2010, 03:49 PM

Sorry about the job loss! That is never good. I need to applaud the family attitude! Good for you for being frank with your dd15, and her attitude is fantastic! It's great that she is pitching in and willing to forgo a whole new wardrobe with such grace! My dd13 loves the Goodwill, we often find like NEW or even NEW with tags there. She gets to be eclectic and do her own thing.

It's amazing that you have put the equivalent to a full pay check in the bank!

Hopefully something comes up soon!

In the meantime, look for gleaning or coops to further stretch the grocery budget.

Good luck! You're doing great.

**3tomboys** · 07-17-2010, 06:42 PM

The yard sale went well. Put the proceeds in the savings for later. Can't decide how much Angel Food I need to order. What we got last month lasted pretty well. I'll think it through this week and order next saturday. I'm off to get my normal saturday cleaning done, even though I just want a nap!

**3tomboys** · 07-31-2010, 06:55 PM

We are getting down to last of the severnce checks. 3 more to go and then we will have to wait about 3-4 weeks for the unemployment to start because of the vacation time pay my husband received. The month of September will be a true test. DH is still looking and applying for work. He is also working on a business plan to start his own business. A couple of weeks before we got the feeling of him being laid off the company he worked for said that everyone who had a company vehicle would have to provide there own. They were giving an elaborate monthly sum towards car expense. We purchased a vehicle assuimng that we would have no problem considering the monthly car expense. So now we have 2 car payments. We have never had 2 car payments and have gone years at a time without a car payment at all. So we have put 1 car up for sale. We decided it would be mine since his has 0% financing and we have some equity in the car we are selling, so we can bank some and purchase something for me to get back and forth to work in. We are able to cover the payments right now and still will when the unemplyment kicks in, but it sure would be nice to not have it. We are also getting better and better about hanging laundry, eating at home, shopping loss leaders (I was so excited this week, I got 6 tubes of toothepaste for free) and I have been working on the stockpile. We were only able to put a little away because of unforseen expenses (vet bill) and we are determined to not get anymore debt. This is definately a work in progress and we have a lot more to do.

**3tomboys** · 08-28-2010, 08:33 AM

DH has decided since the job market here is so bad he will go ahead with his plans and make a job for himself. He is going ahead with his business idea. This is definately a new chapter for us and we are excited and scared! With the economy the way it is you never know. The company I work for has offered overtime, so I have definately been taking advantage. We have taken on several new accounts but no more employees so I can not only use the money but the time to get things organized and caught up. We have not had any luck selling my car, but we were able to sell 1 motorcycle. DH's Harley is also up for sale. I will be picking up our Angel Food order this morning. What a wonderful program! Besides the signature boxes I have also been getting an after school box for dd's. They enjoy it and it is a nice treat for them. The dd's have been wonderful through this and I am very proud of the way they have taken on some of there expenses. My 1 dd has had a job for a while and has paid for her first semester of college and books as well as her clothing, etc. She was able to graduate a year early from college and we were originally going to help pay for her first year of college, but circumnstances changed and she has had a wonderful attitude. Youngest dd had a summertime babysitting job and used some of her money for school clothes. SHe has also had a great attitude and has also helped a lot with the cooking and baking. We are still doing everything we can to cut back, but I am always looking for new ways to save anywhere and on anything. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

**3tomboys** · 10-03-2010, 10:34 AM

Just quick update. My DH is is the licensing faze and getting equipment for his business. Hopefully we will be up and running by the first of the year at the latest. In the meantime he is still looking for work and collecting unemployment. As well as selling things. This past month we sold 3 sets of golf clubs, some Levi's and a few other miscelleneous items. We have had the first month on unemployment along with my income, I'm happy to say we made it without using savings. We were also able to put some of the money from things sold in the savings. We are working hard to not use it and add as much as we can because once the the business starts his income will be unpredictable for a while. We want to have as much cushion as possible. I wish his Harley would sell, it would help pay for a lot of the things that are needed for the business. We are still doing what we can to cut expenses but there are days when the lazies set in and I have to remind myself that I need to do things like hang the laundry, etc. I am always scouring FV for ideas and have found a lot. Thanks everyone for such great ideas and inspiration.