More important than money

Some things in life are worth deviating from your budget for.

We are traveling to another province today to be with a family member who is terminally ill. We are going to visit him and most importantly to show support for our family members who will survive.

It will cost us, we'll be off budget... but it's worth it.

Hug your loved ones tight today.

Groceries for $91?

I am so happy with my grocery shopping for this week. I managed to buy groceries for my family for this week for $91.00. Considering I budget myself for $140 I am so pleased with saving almost $50!

Last night also afforded me another opportunity to save money. I went out for coffee with a friend, and was seduced by all sorts of wonderful sounding coffee drinks and sweets... but I got a plain ol' coffee, decaf at that!

New Week

Well! Happy Friday everybody!

We made it through another week, and have money to spare! So exciting. I have money to put in my little jar! Look out Ikea - I'll get there soon.

I will visit the bank this morning, and take out even more money! I've decided for myself I will take out money weekly instead of by paycheck. This will make it easier for me to make it to my deadline and less overwhelming to know I just need to make it to Friday instead of the next Friday. It's all in my head, but it works for me.

I'm interested to know how others work their budgets, do you go weekly, biweekly, or just go with Debit and try not to think about it?

McDonalds Called me, but I didn't answer

Oh and one genuine "Money Not Spent" moment from today.

I had to get up earlier, and the kids too, to take my husband to the dealership near his work so he could pick up his car. We left the house at 7:30. We got up around 7:00. We did not eat breakfast. I grabbed a few granola bars (that are kept solely for car trips and school lunches) and headed out the door. McDonald's called me on the road then... as we drove by it whispered "sausage mcmuffin, $1.49..." I ignored it. The $1.49 would turn into well over $10 by the time we all got something. Probably close to $20 with coffees, and juice.. and of course the kids would want something that's not on the "cheap" menu. I find that drive thru in particular has a way of cost creeping...

On the way home, with both kids whining and hungry and thirsty... we passed by it again, this time stopping in the very same parking lot to do a little shopping at another store (for a birthday present) and this time even the kids noticed the calling too. The store we went to for the present just happens to have a water cooler. Not only is it free, but the kids like to use it. I don't feel bad about getting the 'free' water when I'm spending money at the store.

Then we came home. The End.

Car is here

Well, the new car is here. And we adore it.

There is something extra special about knowing we can afford it now. To have taken the time and energy to work out a budget that works for us. I like the feeling of seeing exactly where the money goes when I don't buy something.

Tomorrow is payday. I took out less money than I've allowed for myself this week, and I have approximately $50 left over. My husband also has a bit of money left over. We made one unexpected purchase on debit of about $50 so we will take that out of our leftover money. It was definitely a necessity, it was a new door lock - the doorknob came off in my hand one day this week, so needed to replace it! Even with a "guard dog".

The 'extra' money is going into a jar, and we will use that to buy our 'we really really want it but don't really need it' things, and the first thing on the list is a couple of new dressers to match our bedroom decor. I cannot wait for the day I can walk into Ikea, with cash in hand and pay for something I've saved up for. It will take me back to being a little girl and walking into to K-mart and buying a Barbie I wanted and saved for, taking the cash out of my rainbow brite wallet and handing it over, and receiving a coveted prize back.

Feeling good and optimistic about money today... I think it's important to track my emotional feelings here... as a reminder when I have days like last week at Zellers when I spent more than I intended to...and how awful that felt compared to ending the 2 weeks on my budget with cash leftover...

In any event, this week we were able to cover one "emergency repair" one unexpected birthday present (our son got invited to a birthday party for this evening, and we got the invitation on Monday), 2 weeks worth of groceries, AND one 'overspent at Zellers' trip. This is real life and we made it through just fine!! We can do this!

Shopping shopping shopping

Argh. On this very exciting day, the day I am going to bring my new car home, I am a bit sad.

I am sad because in the near and far future, there are a series of shopping trips coming up. Don't get me wrong, I love to shop, I love to spend a little time away from my responsibilities, maybe pick up something new and pretty, and love love love spending the time with my girlfriends. What I don't love is the worry beforehand and figuring and refiguring how much I can and should spend, and where it's going to come from. How can I find "extra" money when I'm already having to cut back so much, and all the "extra" I do manage to save, I already have a place for it to go...?

I know that some of you that I will be going with are reading this blog (bless your hearts!) and I am hoping for understanding, that I don't come across on the trips as being not fun to shop with... I want to be part of it all, and enjoy the time together... but I can't buy much. I will find a little "extra" from somewhere... And I'm hoping to find a kindred spirit or two for the trips.

On the upside, I know that the restraint will pay off (pardon the pun!) in the long run, and I will be able to sleep better knowing where all my little pennies are.

Another Successful Grocery Trip

My weekly grocery budget is $140.

I did some careful planning, and then some re-planning, and some major resisting at the store yesterday. I spent $93 on groceries. I came home and showed the receipt to my husband like a kid showing off a new bicycle. I did not get all the groceries for the week as there are 2 ingredients I decided can wait until Friday (payday) since they are for Fridays supper. However, technically it's still the same as I went shopping on Saturday instead of Sunday. Of course it takes into account that we already have things in the house, and in the freezer... but it's still money saved as I am spending LESS by using what we have. We're not just surviving on Kraft Dinner for the week either. There will be a steak stir fry, a grilled cheese & sweet potato fries night, chicken pot pie, etc, great lunches, and for breakfast nice cereals and smoothies. All that AND a bag of chips ;-)

I know it can't always be this way, some weeks are heavier then others, with dog food, laundry soap, etc, that really eat away at the budget. But this is the first time I've done a whole week for less than $100. And it was exciting. It may sound boring, but when you have your eye on some new dressers and curtains for your bedroom and are about to bring on a car payment, well then saving $47 on a shopping trip is pretty darned exciting after all!

Hooray!!!

Another Proud moment

I was in our local discount store this morning, looking for knee highs (they had them on sale for $1.88 for 2 pk) I tried them and liked them and went back for more. I braced myself hard for this trip (again with both kids).

First I checked out the knee highs, and they had none left.

I should have walked out.

But I didn't because this store is known to have some unbelievable deals at times. Something caught my eye. These great organizers, for the kids rooms. Absolutely something I could use, would use and a fantastic deal at $18.88 each. I stopped in my tracks, these even included the baskets to go with. I hesitated.. I looked... I dreamt.... I picked it up. I PUT IT DOWN and walked out of the store empty handed.

That doesn't necessarily mean I won't buy one. I will think about it. I will buy my groceries for the next week first. If, next pay day (or even the day before) I still have $20 cash left over, I may get one. It may sound insignificant, but this is a big breakthrough for me. Not long ago I would have bought it without a second thought, and maybe one for each kid.

Feeling like this is a bigger struggle than I imagined. Feeling ashamed that I have a bigger problem then I thought, but feeling hopeful that I can overcome this impulsive shopping.

We did it!!!

We bought the car! So exciting! Still a little bit of nervousness as it has to be brought in within 10 days.

Feeling some worry about making sure we keep it affordable for us. The gas mileage is a little higher than my current car, so I will need to get off my butt more often and walk when I can again...

But we are very happy, we have the right car for us for this time in our life.

So disappointed

Argh.

I went to Zellers this morning with 2 kids (mistake #1). I went all emotional (#2) because I had just signed my baby up for kindergarten. I was also hungry (#3). Hungry and emotional, and fresh from the bank. I went in for just a couple of things, and came home with $47 worth of things.

In the car afterwards, I itemized every single item... and for the most part, all the purchases are warranted. Milk, okay! Cookies - hmm - $1.49 ok... KD at $0.99, good deal!, Treats for our puppy's obedience training - necessary so okay! A box of treats for her 1st birthday... okay...

$5.99 for a gadget to help get said puppy's hair off the couch - WORTH it...

BUT $47.... so disappointing. Although I can look at most of the things as being either useful or at least worth the money, I feel disappointed that I made a trip into the store for $20 worth of items turn into a $47 trip. And now I will have to make those items part of my weekly budget, which means other things will need to wait.

We are *this close* to buying our car, it could even be today... so we really have to get all those pennies reigned in nice and safe. New mantra - if I don't need it before going in to the store, I don't need it when I come out!

A BIG Decision soon.

Buying a New Car... one of those every 10 years things. A huge deal. A big decision.

When we first starting thinking of cars to buy, we had maybe 3 in mind.. a quick search and we got to 7 or 8 pretty quickly, and then narrowed it back down to 3.

Then, my father calls me and says did you hear about the ____ car? It's totally in your price range! WHAT? That's awesome, so I look it up, hubby test drives it, and gives a great review. While online looking up reviews on that car, I stumble upon the Holy Grail of crossover cars, a car that feels like a car, but acts like a minivan.. 5 seats with plenty of cargo, AND TWO MORE SEATS in the cargo area, transforming it from a 5 seater to a 7 seater!!!! Add to that, it has more luxury and features than any other car we're looking at. So I start pricing it just for fun, and oh my - it's in our price range... I'm doing my happy dance.. I'm clapping.. I'm furiously e-mailing my husband... and his reply - "yeah but it's not very good on gas".... oops... instant buzz kill.

So this is a major decision. The car is going to *crossing fingers* last us for 10 years. We have 2 growing kids, and a big dog. Do I want a little more comfort and the possibility to bring extra people with us (which happens quite often really) especially now that the kids are getting older and having friends over? Do I want a little more cargo room? Do I want the style that comes with this - YOU BET I DO. But will I regret the decision with every stop to the gas station? Will I wish that I had made a more sensible decision? Will my conscience bother me every time I turn the key? I've always thought about how a family of four was justification for a minivan, and the crossover is nowhere near the same in fuel efficiency... the crossover is 8.0 litres per 100 kms, the 2nd car in the running is 7.1 litres and the first car is 6.1 litres per 100 kms. A minivan is 9.8 litres per 100 kms.

I guess it will take a little time to think this through. I welcome your comments (but please be nice!)

Groceries

Ah. Just got back from grocery shopping with my daughter. Once upon a time, shopping was not something I would come home from and go "ah". It was either a harried event, a lonely trip through the store hoping I would happen upon something the kids would eat, or a disappointing trek with the kids in tow. Disappointing because I would try to get them interested in different foods and keep them engaged with all the old counting, I Spy, and other games. It usually worked for a few minutes, and ended with me pushing onward without losing my patience. Or sometimes I would lose my patience and feel awful afterwards. Added to this was that for about a year, I've been struggling with having my kids not eat their suppers. Not for lack of trying on my husband and my part. We've tried many different tactics. Coincidentally, we also went *mostly* vegetarian last January. We never bought meat and only ate it while out, and even then tended to choose vegetarian when we could. But the kids LOVE meat. Every opportunity they got, they would savor it, while I thought of the different beans and lentils, etc, that I would try to get them to eat. So this added to the stress of the groceries, the kids did not want to eat what I bought. And the bill was starting to go through the roof, left mostly unchecked as we tried in vain to find things that the kids would want to eat.

So we have made two very big changes. The biggest change is that we've added meat back on the menu, I still have the strong feelings against factory farming, and will be shopping as much as I can for local, organic and humanely raised and culled meat.

The second change is that we started "color coded dinners" so on Sunday afternoons, before shopping, we make a "plan" and choose a color for each different day, then we think of foods that are that color to correspond. For example, Pink day was Salmon, with beets, and wild rice, followed by strawberries. Obviously some foods fall into a couple of different colors, and that can really work.

In any event, the kids have sat down every night for 7 days, and ate almost a full plate, sometimes even asking for seconds. The stress level is way down, I know what I'm making from one day to the next, and the kids have helped to pick out what they would like. The color thing has caught on in a major way, every morning they ask "what color is today?" Bottom line, they like what they are eating, it's healthy (taking in so many different colors which translates to more vitamins etc) and another huge bonus is that my grocery bill is going down! It has also eliminated last minute trips to the store for a $5 item that cost $18 by the time I leave the store, and the take out. Win win win.

Bon Appetit!

Manicure

I received a few gift certificates to the local spa for my birthday. Ever since then I have been contemplating what to get done, like a little kid in a candy store - adding and subtracting their change to figure out the best value, and the most enticing items.

I just received a coupon in the mail for a free manicure with pedicure purchase. That's like a $30 value - is it weird to be so excited? Oh and if you're counting - that's another $30 not spent.

Car Seats

I'm on a roll today! Here is another example

We had been considering purchasing a new car seat for our daughter. Not that there is anything wrong with her current seat, it's great. It's just that with the bigger car in the near future, we wanted to go "all out" and maximize the space we'll get. So we're getting a new hard top carrier to replace our current fabric one (which is worth it, the fabric one is easily broken in to, and gets mucky and needs to be taken inside when we stop for the night, a real pain in the middle of winter when it's iced over), in the future we *may* buy a utility trailer, and we were also thinking of buying a new seat for our girl because her brother will move into a regular booster seat, and we could really make a lot of space in the back, potentially being able to bring along a friend for either child, and occasionally I sit between the kids in the back when we have somebody else to come along in our car (another ungraceful and uneasy feat at the moment).

I was pricing them online, to replace her seat with a smaller, sleeker one, is at least $200. Um no thanks. I think we'll just get another $20 booster seat. That way it can go in my husband's car full time, and we can put my son's seat in there as well (it will be okay for our daughter) giving us both cars with seats for both kids, and then when we bring along a friend, we can use the 2nd booster seat (The vast majority of kids in our group are now over 40 lbs. ) Our daughter is about one year from using the booster herself.. and then we'll have loads of space in the car. Win-Win and another $180 or so saved :-)

Lite Brite

Okay - first "real" money not spent moment to write about!

This Christmas, in an effort to not spoil the kids and not buy too much "stuff" the gifts we bought them were well thought out and sought for their creativity and staying power.

Or so I thought. I bought my 5 -1/2 year old son a Lite Brite. Oh the memories I had of mine from when I was a kid! And my son loves anything that glows in the dark, flashlights and the like, as well as drawing pictures. So, when he picked out the Lite Brite for another child (a rouse to see what he would like for himself) I was delighted! My son loves to play with his Lite Brite, especially at bedtime.

However, last night I noticed (not for the first time) that it came with only a few sheets of the special paper with patterns on it. That was something that escaped me when I bought it. He has already used a few of the sheets and I am sure the day is coming soon when he needs new ones. It's just not the same to use a pattern over and over again, the white light shines through the holes, and you don't get that satisfying "punch" through the paper. Sigh.

So I looked up refill sheets online, and they retail for approximately $4.00 for 15 sheets. At first glance it looks like a simple $4.00 = happy kid equation... but then I realized, he'll use on average 20 sheets a month, so one package a month would be frustrating for him, PLUS $4.00 x 12 = $48, $48 dollars a year, plus shipping or gas money to get to the store... that is horrible considering the toy sells for $25. So, if he keeps this toy a few years and uses it often, as is the wish when you purchase a toy, it could add up to over $200.00 Hmm... frustrating!!! So I am on the hunt for ideas to make our own, I don't remember what I did as a child, I'm certain my parents would not have bought me refill sets.

Can anybody else help me out?

New Car

My husband and I have decided that very soon we will be getting a brand new car. Very soon. The time has come, the 4 door sedan will no longer suffice for long trips with two growing kids and a very big dog. The last trip we made would have been comedic if not for the fact that everybody, kids, dog, me and my husband weren't all so very uncomfortable. But we made quite the sight at the service centres, like a clown car almost. My hubby has gotten very good at packing our car, it's akin to a jigsaw puzzle, but this last trip, with feet that had fallen asleep, everybody absolutely covered in dog hair, short tempers and even shorter patience... we decided that maybe we need to get that new car sooner than later, or stop taking long trips. Since we intend to go to New Brunswick for Easter, stopping the trips is not an option for us.

It may seem strange for a person who is contemplating buying a brand new $20,000 car to be writing about saving money. But it's even more important now. We have chosen a life of one income, and need to make it work. The only way to do that without falling massively in debt, is to budget and plan and show a little discipline. We haven't been too bad really... but we need to reign it all in, and overhaul it all. We want to live comfortably (who doesn't?) but if you really really look at the spending, there are a great deal of things that we all spend money on that in 6 months from now we will have forgotten about. Take food for instance, groceries are definitely an essential - but the take out gotten because we forget to pack a lunch for after swimming class, while essential at the time (those of you who have ever dealt with a tired and hungry child understand!) is not an essential, it is just poor planning.

One of the things I struggle with is assumptions. People either assume we are poor, or rich. Poor because I constantly say "we can't afford that" "it's not worth the money", or "no thanks". They assume we are rich because my husband has a great job, and I don't make any money at my jobs. The truth is that we have just enough money to live a dream. I get to be a stay at home mother, which is a real dream come true. I have a modest but nice home, two decent cars (but small) food on the table, give to charity, and enough left over to live well. But I don't have money to spend continuously, buy all the newest toys (for all ages), or vacation anyplace other than with family. The purpose of the blog is not to garner sympathy as I live the life I love, and have chosen. It's only to help me focus (and you too if you're trying) on what is important, what is worth spending on, and what kinds of things we hope to achieve by not spending. For instance for me, a new car is very important, and a $20,000 car is worth it, a $30,000 is not. By not spending the extra $10,000 we put an extra $150 or so in our pocket each month. That helps create a bigger cushion for extras (oh to finish our bedroom/kitchen/insert any other room in my house here)

So in conclusion today, this is about striking balance, keeping this life affordable and within reach. Not sending us into massive debt, or me into a panic about finding a job right away. My husband once said to me "think about what you want to be working for when you return to work, is it for vacations, retirement, 'extras', or is it to be paying off debt we acquired from the dollar store and Walmart?" Hmm.

Take care of your pennies...

My Grandfather had this old saying, "If you take care of your pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves".

I believe this to be true, and at this particular time in my life, it's my new motto. Any financial adviser will tell you the same, it's the every day little things that add up. It's the coffee at the drive thru, the pack of gum at the grocery store...

So this is my spot to brag about the money I have not spent, as I find that the most difficult thing to track. It's easy to see where the money goes when you try, but "savings" and "not spent" to me are two different things. "Savings" are a conscientious spot where you dedicate funds. "Not Spent" is the willpower you show to NOT buy that chocolate bar, or get the kids a toy at the thrift shop...

Please follow me on this adventure.

First day - New Year

Well here we are in the new year. I have to start a new blog because it's no longer Christmas and I want to keep writing.

My idea for this blog is to track the money I don't spend. I know everybody is in the saving mode these days, but this is purely to have a place to brag about the money I didn't spend, from the toonie burning a hole in my pocket, to the extra $10,000 I am not going to spend on the new car we need.

Follow me...