I'm trying to cut as much fat out of the budget in June to mid July as I possibly can. We have a big event we would like to attend with the kids the 3rd weekend in July. It will be about $1000. I'm going to try my hardest to swing it but it has to be through savings and earning extra because the EF etc is off limits.
We have a ridiculous amount of graduations, wedding and birthdays in June so I will have to get creative!
Groceries. I was at 430 this month but I have a pretty full freezer. Next is cutting out all meals that are out or take out. I mean all unless they have the deli chicken 10 for $4 like they do on occasion.
me not buying new yoga dvds etc!
Trying to get the teenager to fall asleep with the light and tv on is another thing.
I've got a lot of cans and an old aluminum boat to go recycle.
I have a listing on ebay and plan to do more
Trying to keep all air off until right before bed ( I am the worst here! I hate being hot the last few months).
I'm open for ideas. We already dont have cable etc.
~Can you make your teen write down electrical usage every morning/read the meter? Helpful to you and maybe behavior changing for him/her?
Our average here so far is 23 KWH a day. I've been running out to meter every day to see what we're using. It makes me more conscientious about turning off fans and lights and unplugging things.
How about driving less and I mean a lot less? Maybe bike for errands instead?~
We are really rural . Dh and I ride share on the days I also work and kiddo also drives 15 miles to work in my car. We do our errand when in town working but I can make them more efficient for sure!
I got $15 in rebate checks today so that can add to the $50. I have my car back seat and trunk stuffed with bags of cans to take in. I saw quite a bit of scrap metal in the barn we could take in. I will have to talk to FIL about borrowing a truck. I am really missing the car that recently went to the car graveyard! It had a big enough engine to tow the utility trailer.
I'm going to go through my exercise DVD's in a bit and list a few on Ebay. I have a ridiculous amount of Beachbody DEVD's. I'll keep my favorites and sell the rest!
I really appreciate you helping me with ideas Constance! Thanks!
~Selling stuff is a fantastic move! You can sell larger items through Facebook or Craigslist as well so raid the garage/attic.
When was the last time you called around for better car insurance rates? Home insurance? Do you have any points to cash in on a credit card, Ebates, Mypoints or Swagbucks? Can you suspend any subscriptions or memberships for a couple months(gym{probably not since you're rural}, Netflix, newspaper...)?~
Constance you are a wealthy of ideas! I have one paid magazine subscription. How do you cancel one? No paid dues , clubs or gym besides hubbys union. Car ins is paid until the end of Sept. Last time I shopped car ins AAA was very good but it never hurts to keep checking.
I've only got about 600 on mypoints. Good idea on the ebates! I will go check since dh and I both have an account.
No newspaper, we do have netflix but dh would shoot me since this was what I used to get him to disconnect the direct tv.
I hauled in the cans today and got $15
That aluminum boat weighs about 200 lbs dh says! That should be quite a bit of $.
I think I have a credit at the dentist office. I'll call and ask. I'm expecting a $10 rebate soon.
I really think if I keep the groceries at a minimum and use the freezer I can cut a good 400 in 8 weeks time.
Do you have a change jar that needs to be cashed in? Get the word out in your area if possible you never know somebody might need work done you could do in exchange for pay. You can do this!!!
Thanks MaineGirl. We do have a change jar but it is untouchable unless it is something major. This is kind of silly but we have a separate account we have thrown our change in for a long time when there is enough to warrant a trip to the area that bank is in. We have been saving it for our 20th anniversary in early 2013. I could snag it but our anniversary is more important to us than the event in July. I really thought about it though and even talked to dh about it today. We agreed it is still untouchable.
I cant legally do hair outside of a salon for $ but I thought of trying to barter with some of my Amish neighbors. They have BAD haircuts! If i could barter for some of their homemade crafts I could easily resell them. I dont know if they would go for it but it doesnt hurt to tell some of the families and try.
I've looked on Craigs List under Gigs but so far all i could be qualified to do have been 30 miles away in the city.
I thought about calling our ins lady Monday about boarding a dog or two. We have an ex large run attached to the barn . When we are gone for a long day our dogs can go in the kennel and go run around the barn. We are right down the road from a busy county camp ground. I'll see what she says about liability and insurance. We once looked into getting a kennel licence to convert the whole barn into a large kenneling facility.The neighbors withing so far all had to agree to it according to our townships rules. I thought that was different since we sit on our own acreage and all neighbors are fields away. Of course one older lady objected. I dont think taking in one or two dogs would require the permit but I need to check.
No real progress Over the last few days. We had a graduation ($30) a get together with people I love tons that flew in from out of state ($62), a car repair (128) and 2 other parties in 2 different cities so lots of driving. It sure was fun though!!!
My ebay auction has bids but it only at $4.26 ( I started low and paid $4 for the item).
We decided for sure we are listing our home for sale with a goal of listing July 1. We have a lot of work to do! We finished the main floor work this time last year but now need to tackle the second floor. The carpet is beyond shot! Ds and I cut a few ****** out last night and if the floors look as good as that we will refinish or paint after a few repairs. I also need to repaint a few rooms. We need to power wash the house, dejunk the barn etc. I need to call and rent a dumpster. We have too much furniture so we will start moving pieces to the barn and when there is enough get a truck and move to the storage facility where we want to buy. MORE $$$$$!
I'm hoping while we go through everything we find more to sell! I have 2 huge wardrobes since we live in a 160+ year old home. We are not going to need these in a new place since we are looking newer.
I got a refund from the Insurance Co for the car we dropped. $121.
Junes budget it done. Since we decided to sell our home we decided we better eat down the freezers. 1 will have to go out in the barn to show the house. The huge one! I figure that should give me an extra $. On paper I will have $400 towards the tickets. However with the flooring etc I am really thinking we should scrap the event we needs $1000 for. DH and DS are very opposed! We need to discuss it more.
The dog kennel idea was a big no since we have decided to list the house.
Blumpett well I'm glad Junes budget shows 400 to put towards the tickets on top of what I already have. So $625 approx according to the budget. Then I can add in tips and extras from ebay, scrap etc too. I budgeted on my pay being about $100 less than normal just to be safe since I am commission. It looks like I could possibly hit the $1000 by the end of June.
I am undecided a bit about scrapping the idea of the event. I want to go. We also planned to meet family from out of state at this event along with about 6 other people that are attending.
I have $200 in the home repair fund but carpet will be more than that. Dh and I are going to go price carpet tomorrow or Fri after work and find out how much it is. I know they have a list of people to install so I will call around once I have the list.
I will just keep saving as much as possible and see where we get and go from there.
My goodness, did my post before this one have a lot of typos!!!
I ended up with enough for 2 tickets( 368) . They are bought. 1 more to to plus some spending cash. I'll should be able to get the last ticket on Wed. That gives me all of June to save for the camping passes and spending $.
We found carpet less than we expected and an installer that will do it for .55 a sq ft and $5 a step. The total for the project is less than half our estimation
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Frugal Village Forums
1.8M posts
47.4K members
Since 2001
A forum community dedicated to the frugal lifestyle and the enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about simple and green living, cost effective tips, life hacks, debt reduction, recycling, gardening, other homesteading techniques, and more!