My husband and I decided that a vacation this summer would be a priority. I have a very specific budget for this summer to cover my husband being able to work full-time on his dissertation for his Phd. A money plan for vacation was not part of that budget, unfortunately. There just wasn't any money there in my budget...or so I thought.
We were going to dip into our savings, just a bit, to go to the beach with my family. After a little planning, however, I have found some money in our very strict budget to take a vacation without spending our savings. Here are a few steps to finding money in your budget for an unplanned vacation:
1. Look at what expenses you will not incur while on vacation: groceries (we will have a set price for the entire vacation that will include groceries, gas, lodgings, and utilities). So, what I did was assign the grocery money we would spend while we are at home to vacation: that covers $75 of the cost. I looked in my refrigerator to see which leftovers, freezer staples, and canned goods could cover the week before we go on our trip. It turned out we have enough pantry staples to avoid the grocery store for the week before we leave. We put that $75 towards vacation.
2. Decide if there are any sections of your budget that are less important to you than vacation. For me, I happily sacrificed our measly $25 clothes budget and put it towards vacation. Eating out budget for the month of may? Yes, I will put that towards vacation as well.
3. Find an odd job to do. We know that my husband will have a day of work (not included in our normal income), and we know, roughly, how much money he will be paid. So, we allot that money to vacation as well.
With just a little investigation, I have found money for our vacation without going over our budget.
We will have some fun soaking in the sun...
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
My Personal, Financial Victory
"The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty" (Proverbs 21:5).
I am going to present a mini-series on budgeting for the next few days. I don't trust just anyone with budgeting advice, and I don't expect you to either. That's why this post is my success story.
Before I got married I had over ten thousand dollars in the bank. Now, this may not seem like a huge amount, but I was 21 and a full-time student working a part-time job, and I had purchased two cars during my driving career. That money was especially helpful because my husband had all but drained his savings account to purchase my beautiful engagement ring.
When we first got married we didn't budget at all. We were both in school full-time, and we worked part-time, so the money was not rolling in. We ate out probably 3-4 times per week, rented movies, went out to movies, went to concerts, bought Starbucks, I know...crazy, right?
Soon, our savings began running out. That's right about the time I found out I was pregnant. Now, we were planning this pregnancy, but there's nothing like seeing the plus sign on the end of that stick to start the money signs ticking off in your brain.
Our ultimate goal was for me to be a STAHM (Stay-at-Home-Mom), and we knew that money in our savings account would never be a given for us; it was time to make a plan.
I am a planner. I always have been and probably always will. So, I wrote out a rough budget for us to follow. I didn't really have any experience in budgeting, nor had I done the adequate research, but nevertheless, with diligence (and my husband working his bottom off), we were able to save a little money last summer.
This year is where I really want to share my success (and the Lord's faithful hand) with our finances. Now be prepared, some of these numbers may cause your jaws to drop, but I swear that they are the truth.
About two months before our son was born I quit my job. We were then a one income family from about the middle of January 2011 to the present. Our grand total of income (before taxes) last year was $16,000.
Besides our normal monthly expenses, we also had to get not one, but both of our cars repaired.
Our plan was to use our savings to supplement my husband's monthly income, and let our savings dwindle down until this summer when my husband would work obscenely long hours to build our savings back up again (my husband is getting his PHD). After budgeting pretty consistently for several months we were able to save about $5,000 over this past school year. Yes, we have to be careful about the money we spend, and we do have to track each dollar, but we haven't lived in a cave for the past eight months either. We've eaten out some, my husband and I went on a three day vacation, and we have been able to buy birthday gifts, share money with others, and still buy some frivolous items as well.
This is a testimony of the fact that if you track where your money is really going, and do something to keep monthly costs down, it is possible to save money even on a miniscule income.
I will soon share some of my advice for budgeting. Watch for updates!
I am going to present a mini-series on budgeting for the next few days. I don't trust just anyone with budgeting advice, and I don't expect you to either. That's why this post is my success story.
Before I got married I had over ten thousand dollars in the bank. Now, this may not seem like a huge amount, but I was 21 and a full-time student working a part-time job, and I had purchased two cars during my driving career. That money was especially helpful because my husband had all but drained his savings account to purchase my beautiful engagement ring.
When we first got married we didn't budget at all. We were both in school full-time, and we worked part-time, so the money was not rolling in. We ate out probably 3-4 times per week, rented movies, went out to movies, went to concerts, bought Starbucks, I know...crazy, right?
Soon, our savings began running out. That's right about the time I found out I was pregnant. Now, we were planning this pregnancy, but there's nothing like seeing the plus sign on the end of that stick to start the money signs ticking off in your brain.
Our ultimate goal was for me to be a STAHM (Stay-at-Home-Mom), and we knew that money in our savings account would never be a given for us; it was time to make a plan.
I am a planner. I always have been and probably always will. So, I wrote out a rough budget for us to follow. I didn't really have any experience in budgeting, nor had I done the adequate research, but nevertheless, with diligence (and my husband working his bottom off), we were able to save a little money last summer.
This year is where I really want to share my success (and the Lord's faithful hand) with our finances. Now be prepared, some of these numbers may cause your jaws to drop, but I swear that they are the truth.
About two months before our son was born I quit my job. We were then a one income family from about the middle of January 2011 to the present. Our grand total of income (before taxes) last year was $16,000.
Besides our normal monthly expenses, we also had to get not one, but both of our cars repaired.
Our plan was to use our savings to supplement my husband's monthly income, and let our savings dwindle down until this summer when my husband would work obscenely long hours to build our savings back up again (my husband is getting his PHD). After budgeting pretty consistently for several months we were able to save about $5,000 over this past school year. Yes, we have to be careful about the money we spend, and we do have to track each dollar, but we haven't lived in a cave for the past eight months either. We've eaten out some, my husband and I went on a three day vacation, and we have been able to buy birthday gifts, share money with others, and still buy some frivolous items as well.
This is a testimony of the fact that if you track where your money is really going, and do something to keep monthly costs down, it is possible to save money even on a miniscule income.
I will soon share some of my advice for budgeting. Watch for updates!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Living Social Deal
Below is a link to a coupon for a month of unlimited Kickboxing classes for $19. If you are interested check it out! It's a great deal!
If more people sign up I can get my deal for free!
If more people sign up I can get my deal for free!
$50 Per Week Challenge
For a few weeks I was efficient with my grocery shopping, skilled in stretching meals for days, and brilliant at cost-saving maneuvers; but then I got tired and sloppy.
I will not lie, it is extremely trying at times to not be able to cook gourmet or imaginative meals, eat dinner out, or invite large groups of people to my house for dinner or dessert. It comes down to the facts, however, and facts don't lie when it comes to money and exceeding budgets. So, spending reform is in order.
Admittedly, we did make some spending allowances for this month; my husband I went on a vacation in celebration of three years of marriage (and a newly-weaned baby), where we ate out for every meal. I felt that for those three days we were gone it was important for me to not think about money or how much we were spending on tips alone.
This all brings me to my main point, which is: for the month of April I will attempt to spend an average of only $50 per month on food and household items for all three of us. Now, this will not include diapers or wipes. I will be honest about how much we are spending, report when I exceed my budget and how to rectify it, and I will share my recipes and cheap dinner ideas.
Now, this gives me a couple of weeks to research and compare prices, figure out what I should buy in bulk, and plan a menu. I will share any information I find with you, my readers, and I am open to feedback and advice.
Question: What are your money-saving techniques?
I will not lie, it is extremely trying at times to not be able to cook gourmet or imaginative meals, eat dinner out, or invite large groups of people to my house for dinner or dessert. It comes down to the facts, however, and facts don't lie when it comes to money and exceeding budgets. So, spending reform is in order.
Admittedly, we did make some spending allowances for this month; my husband I went on a vacation in celebration of three years of marriage (and a newly-weaned baby), where we ate out for every meal. I felt that for those three days we were gone it was important for me to not think about money or how much we were spending on tips alone.
This all brings me to my main point, which is: for the month of April I will attempt to spend an average of only $50 per month on food and household items for all three of us. Now, this will not include diapers or wipes. I will be honest about how much we are spending, report when I exceed my budget and how to rectify it, and I will share my recipes and cheap dinner ideas.
Now, this gives me a couple of weeks to research and compare prices, figure out what I should buy in bulk, and plan a menu. I will share any information I find with you, my readers, and I am open to feedback and advice.
Question: What are your money-saving techniques?
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Hello Again; I've Been Remiss
Hello to my faithful readers. I promise I have not dropped off of the face of the world, I just have a baby, a husband, and a messy house that keep me busy. If you couple those things with a lack of internet access you can easily explain my lack of blog posts as of late.
But, some things to come...
A carrot cake recipe that I made for my son's first birthday
Easy, Cheap calzone recipe
A cheap, but successful dinner idea
Pictures from my trip to Nashville
Some tips about keeping sane while trying to stay on top of housework
Lately I've been setting a timer to accomplish my household tasks. My goal this week is to make my bedroom into a sanctuary that is really, truly restful when I retire thereevery evening in the middle of the night. So, I spent about twenty minutes twice a day in my room putting clothes away, finding a home for all the loose odds and ends lying around, and getting rid of junk.
My room has never looked as good as it does this week (which is sad), but regardless, I'm happy. I feel like I'm really accomplishing a lot every day, and it really makes me feel proud to know I've served my family by working so diligently on getting my house organized.
Well, my son needs to go home and get in the bed, so I must end this post and try again some other time when I have more time; so, I'll see you again when my son is grown, I guess. Just kidding, I'll be back in the next couple of days.
But, some things to come...
A carrot cake recipe that I made for my son's first birthday
Easy, Cheap calzone recipe
A cheap, but successful dinner idea
Pictures from my trip to Nashville
Some tips about keeping sane while trying to stay on top of housework
Lately I've been setting a timer to accomplish my household tasks. My goal this week is to make my bedroom into a sanctuary that is really, truly restful when I retire there
My room has never looked as good as it does this week (which is sad), but regardless, I'm happy. I feel like I'm really accomplishing a lot every day, and it really makes me feel proud to know I've served my family by working so diligently on getting my house organized.
Well, my son needs to go home and get in the bed, so I must end this post and try again some other time when I have more time; so, I'll see you again when my son is grown, I guess. Just kidding, I'll be back in the next couple of days.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Greetings from Nashville!
My husband and I are enjoying some of the less popular sights of Nashville. Yesterday we stumbled upon the most fascinating place we've visited so far.
It may sound a little morbid, but the Mount Olivet Cemetery was much more impressive than we even anticipated.
We passed it on our way to downtown Nashville, and it looked mildly interesting so we stopped by on our way back to our hotel. I tell you, this was the most interesting thing we've seen in Nashville.
There are tombstones, mausoleums, and statues from the 1800s, entire families are buried together, and there were several graves where it appeared the entire family (children and all) died within a year of each other. There are so many stories here, and we are going back when my camera battery isn't dead.
Pictures to come... But here is just one introduction picture to rouse your curiosity:
It may sound a little morbid, but the Mount Olivet Cemetery was much more impressive than we even anticipated.
We passed it on our way to downtown Nashville, and it looked mildly interesting so we stopped by on our way back to our hotel. I tell you, this was the most interesting thing we've seen in Nashville.
There are tombstones, mausoleums, and statues from the 1800s, entire families are buried together, and there were several graves where it appeared the entire family (children and all) died within a year of each other. There are so many stories here, and we are going back when my camera battery isn't dead.
Pictures to come... But here is just one introduction picture to rouse your curiosity:
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