10% less, what would you cut first?

[love blrw]

My DH has been in and out of work for two years now.
A few things we did
cut cable to something called "antennae service" $10 a month here, and we won't loose service when the change comes
shop only sales and buy only staples
make cheap meals
no drinks
cut all magazines and newspapers out
cancelled the long distance service on the landline
use an old cell phone with a good cheap plan for long distance
increased deductibles on car insuraance
don't go driving around without a plan and do all driving chores in one run
(like bank, grocery shopping, post office)
hang clothes instead of using dryer
the homemade laundry soap
don't buy anything new for a while
get used to going to thrift shops, discount stores (ex. Aldi's), and flea or farmer's markets
Just a note, usually library programs have free preschooler programs and you can get yourself some videos and books. Or you can sign your preschooler up for county programs like Mom and Me, or nature programs that are much more interesting and cheaper. My county has a huge variety of things for preschoolers-even art, sports and swimming classes. You can also check a local university to see if they have outreach classes for the community.
Hope this helps

 

[Homesteadmom]

As to the laundry soap it is great for people with sensitive skin, no reactions at all. Even safe for babies(no need for dreft).
Can you clean out the closets & drawers anymore & have another yard sale? Make sure you advertize your eggs then too, maybe you can get repeat customers that way.
If you can stock up on a few more basics now then when the summer hits & the water & elec bill go up you won't have many groceries to buy.
Use cupons if at all possible.
Adjust the deductible on your insurance & put all vehicles, rv's, boats & ouse on the same company. You get multiple car discount & multiple policy discount. Also shop around for the best deal available.
another way to make meat stretch is to make a stir fry, especially in the summer when you have all the fresh vegies from the garden to throw in it. It is economical & quick to make so it does not heat up your kitchen as bad. I use pasta in it sometimes instead of rice.
Cell phones is there a cheaper plan you can switch to with your company?
Your local elementary school district should have a preschool program you can do at home with dd. They supply you with a weekly packet free of charge to do activites all 5 days.
Really get the kids involved in the garden & you might get a better yield this year to can more.
Do you make your own bread?

I hope everything works out well for you, I understand how you feel, dh is looking at a pay cut too & I am looking at all the things we will cut out & back on if that happens. Satelite is getting cut back big time! Netflix will be gone(we can use the bigred machine), cell phone plan cut down too. Making sunscreens for all the windows to help cut down the sun in summer to keep house cooler. Using the grill more to cut down on the heat in the house too. Going as long as I can without turning on the ac too. I usually keep it at 80 till about 1/2 - 1 hr before dh gets home then I turn it down to 78. With the ceiling fans the kids & I are okay, do my housework earlier in the morning before it gets real hot. We expanded our garden this yr to make 3 more long rows & 1 more short row. Plus making & adding more raised beds from cinder blocks & tires. I will be making ketchup this summer too(we go thru a lot). Trying to talk dh into butchering the older heifer(she is 3) & fill the freezer up with ground beef, roasts & sirloins(only steaks I would get from her as the rest would be too tough probobly) ribs too & the liver for cat food(dog food if we get a dog). that is when we get our tax return. Not only would we be set for beef for about 1 yr, but the feed bill would go down by almost half(big savings there). Waiting for my small incubator to arrive in the mail too so I can increase my flock to have more eggs to sell(cull the cocks for freezer). Plus I plan on putting a post on freecycle about 1 1/2 -2 weeks after Easter to see if anyone is tired of the baby chicks they got their kids & off to take them off their hands(dh needs to build more pens). Planning to have a yard sale next month too. Shopping more yard sales & thrift stores than ever before too. Trying to get dd(almost 3) potty trained too, to eliminate pull ups. And get ds(10) to quit wetting the bed so we can get him out of pull ups at night too. That alone would save us almost $40/mo. going to make my own tortillas(flour) too.

 

[patandchickens]

My kids have very sensitive skin though. I think I could probably get away with using none at all. Do we really get that dirty???

You can use less laundry soap than the box/jug recommends and get the same results; also you can skip it sometimes for a load that doesn't have anything seriously dirty in it. However you probably don't wanna just stop using laundry soap, she says speaking as one who tried the experiment Also, IME the best loads for going without soap are the ones with medium to moderately dark stuff in 'em... no soap in loads containing really white t-shirts, etc, has made them pretty dingy (not always curable short of bleaching) in just a few washes.

No furnace it's not that cold here. Ac, well I will have to deal with that in a couple months.

What about ceiling fans? They use quite a lot less electricity than a/c and can give you an extra 10-20 F of comfort zone (plus enabling you to make better use of night air to cool the house), which in some climates will really cut your a/c demand.

Have you actually done the math, though? The things you are talking about sound like cutting a LOT more than 10% from the budget. Not saying that is bad of course just checking whether you've actually run the numbers, it may not be as bad as you are fearing.

Good luck, hang in there,

Pat

 

[keljonma]

Eat seasonally when not eating from your land. Yes, we get sick of canned and dried tomatoes all winter long. But we know the source (our farm) and they didn't travel any long distance to the table. Not only healthier, less expensive.

 

[me&thegals]

Eat seasonally when not eating from your land. Yes, we get sick of canned and dried tomatoes all winter long. But we know the source (our farm) and they didn't travel any long distance to the table. Not only healthier, less expensive.

Great point! We've eaten more seasonally this year than ever before. Gotta say I'm a bit weary of frozen fruit, too, but man, oh man, are our bills cheap this year. I think we're averaging around $50/week for a family of 4, which is very good for us!

I'm reading "Farmer Boy" out loud to my kids right now, the story of Almanzo Wilder, Laura Ingall's husband. It's fun to read about their meals. We're in the winter season part of the story, and their suppers consist of mashed turnips, mashed squash, pickled and preserved fruits and veggies, etc. Obviously they couldn't buy mangoes, pomegranates and peppers in the dead of winter

 

[FarmerChick]

Thanks to all for the advice.

FC it's god to hear from you. Thanks for putting it in perspective.

Mackay, the laundry soap is a good idea. My kids have very sensitive skin though. I think I could probably get away with using none at all. Do we really get that dirty???
No furnace it's not that cold here. Ac, well I will have to deal with that in a couple months.
I have a small orchard I have been working on for years. I think it and the garden will be such a help. We have, apricot, peach, plum, two apples, nectarine, several orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit and my 4 avocados went in last fall. My artichokes survived winter and are coming back strong.

Dac, I think you hit the nail on the head. Shopping styles just need to change. I am pretty frugal now but I know I can do better.

Quail, I do have Max coverage on my insurances. I guess I could re evaluate those and try to combine my policies at one place. Maybe get a better rate.

My husband was coming home from work tonight. He saw a house a few streets away with a "fresh eggs for sale" sign. I asked him if I should go write my phone # on it. It was funny at the time.

thanks everyone, you made me feel better. gina

Tonight was our first meatless Monday. Went by with flying colors. You can't beat spaghetti and salad.

Gina you are one smart gal.

I know you can make this work. Be their for his Dad also cause with him owning the business your hubby works for means everyone must contribute to make it hold thru the hard times and work!

We aren't accoustomed to hard times....the real ones like the olden times.......so we have to put it all in perspective.

I know you will do fine!!!! I hear it in your posts, the worry, but also know you have posted fine threads and such about how you can survive!!!!!!

Hang in there Gina....it will work fine!

 

[miss_thenorth]

We are not facing a 10% paycut, but what I do is every now and again, I make a list of everything that we spend money on.

groceries
utilities-gas , hydro, phone etc
health and beauty aids (inc hair cuts)
clothes
gifts
fuel for car
insurance

then start looking at each one and start trimming the fat.

Groceries--get rid of the unnecesary/luxury items/ processed/heavily packaged items, and start making from scratch
--plan out a menu based on what is on sale tht week, stock up slowly on extra sale items that you know you will use. Meatless meals once in a while, breakfast for supper every now and again. Set a budget for spending.

utilities--get rid of what you don't need--(I personaly would not waste the money on cable--but thats just me--trim to barebones if needed) Cellphone--get rid of or look for better deals. gas--last year i paid $1700 to heat my house. I truned down my thermostat to 66 during the day, and 56 at night. This year I will spend$1400(we are on budget) If your cold put on a sweater

Hydro--line dry your clothes--dryers eat up alot of electricity. wash in cold water-never hot.
phone--bare minimums--no call display, call waiting etc.

Laundry soap--I made a batch last September first for 10$ and am only halfway through it. Cleans fine, saves big time.

Health and beauty aids--wear makeup only when you need to , go an extra week or two before a haircut--cut mens hair yourself

Clothes--second hand stores and only if you really need something

gifts--reduce the amount you would spend on birthdays and christmas. IMO, these are the only two times you really need to give gifts

fuel--combine trips, plan ahead, shop once a week and never leave home without a list. If there are not more thatn 5 items on that list-wait before you go. No one died from not having milk in the house for a day or two. Improvise.

Insurance--call around for best rate. get the highest deductible. Liability only on your vehicles. This will fix the other persons car if you got into a crash. Your car--you would need to fix yourself.-which is cheaper anyways.

Get handy. learn how to do all the maintenance on all your own stuff so you don't need to pay soemone else to do it for you. ie oil changes, spark plugs, furnace maintenance etc etc. Barter or exchange services for things you really cant do.

Caulk and seal up doors and windows. Use curtains. there are many things yo can do around the house, that might seem insignificant, but will add up, like appliances plugged into power strips, which are turned off when not in use.


Put all these things into practice and you will be on your way. Whatever you do--do NOT turn to the almighty credit card to fill the void. It will only turn around and bite you in the rear later on.

Goodluck!

 

[cjparker]

"I always tend to think how to bring in more rather than where to cut."

I wish more people thought like you! I am a scheduler for a company that does demos. It's amazing to me how many people I call who will tell me...an utter stranger!...how glad they are that I called because they are between a rock and a hard place financially. Then then never go do the work! Why why why??? But it's shocking how many people are struggling from paycheck to paycheck and who will tell anyone who will listen about it.

When my last corporate job got sold out from under me, I found ways to work at home, or from home, and have been doing so for about nine years now. To me, this is the best part of ss; I can find jobs that I can do at home, or while I'm out in the community. My income isn't as stable as some, but I know if something happens with Company A, I can find replacement income at Company B or C or D. Of course it helps that my husband's job is relatively secure, and that his insurance is good and covers us both.

Oh, and for the 10% less, I downgraded my internet from the premium level to the standard, saving $8 a month. Don't even notice the difference! We also cut out most of the premium channels on tv, haven't missed them yet but sure like having a bill that is $17 less each month. Also, we called the electric company and asked for an energy audit. Found out our hot water heater was set 20 degrees too high. The next month our bill was $12 less.

It's the $10 and $15 cuts here and there that are easy to do.

 

[miss_thenorth]

CJ--what kind of jobs do you do from, or at home? curious.....

 

[cjparker]

At home, I schedule demos. You know those folks you see at the grocers and the discount department stores, handing out samples and tastes of new products? I make the calls to the demonstrators to arrange the staffing. This is a steady job that pays okay for the hours it takes. Also at home, I work for a company that checks pricing on certain items, in order to establish per diems that are reasonable for each area. This job is occasional but pays very well. This is my eye-opener job. Last spring I was shocked to find out that a well known restaurant in New York City charges $37 for a cheeseburger............and it doesn't come with fries! I also do merchandising in a variety of stores.

If you are looking for work at home jobs or work from home jobs, there are many legit opportunities, but the scammers have given the whole "work at home" thing a black eye. Very frustrating. With the real need for these kinds of jobs, it's just a shame that people shy away from them because they don't trust the opportunity. I don't know all the scams, but I've been around long enough to know most of them. If anyone is questioning whether a "work at home/work from home" job is real or a scam, I might be able to let you know.