I've taken to looking at our shopping receipts and scanning them to see what I would have skipped if we were on a survival budget. Luckily, Hubby's job still seems firmly in place. In this shaky economy it couldn't hurt to at least contemplate a make-do budget. While we're already quite a bit pinchier with our money than most of our friends, we still leak money in silly ways. I spend too much money on snacks, prepared convenience foods, and take out. We could easily cut that out and save at least a quarter to a third of our grocery money.
If my husband lost his job tomorrow there are a list of things that I would do to save money.
The air conditioning would be set at 80 or higher if not turned off altogether.
DTV, Netflix and Tivo would be history.
Air dry all clothing and wash everything in cold.
Cloth diapers again.
Entertainment budget would be $20-$0. Library books and movies here we come. Family walks around the neighborhood every night would do nicely.
Trips to the store would be only out of necessity (with heavy planning and a list) to save money on gas.
Groceries would be absolute essentials like flour, produce, beans, and rice. Scratch cooking would be the norm rather than an occasional frugal treat. Little Guy would have to learn to like legumes.
Items earmarked for Ebay or Craigslist would be put up post haste.
No more leisurely trips to Goodwill for entertainment- all trips would have to be necessitated by holiday gift purchasing and needed items.
Gift purchasing would be greatly diminished and probably eliminated for everyone other than my children... baked treats would suffice for everyone else.
Extra curricular classes for kids would be eliminated and replaced by playdates with neighborhood kids and trips to the walking distance playground.
DIY house repairs and projects.
Planning for next years garden expansion would be in the works.
Recycling and trash would absolutely have no useful life left after surveyed for another use.
Reconsider a downsizing move to a smaller, cheaper house.
What we would keep-
Our internet service. We use it for everything.. and it would be a great help for Hubby (and myself) in a job search.
Our cars- they are paid for.
Health Care.
We've done quite a bit of pinching in our pre-children, two income days when there was a lot of school and credit card debt to pay. I'm no stranger to hanging laundry, making my own cleaning supplies, and stretching our belongings to the max. While I don't imagine that I would enjoy the stress of wondering how to pay our mortgage and feed our kids from month to month, I don't envision eating beans by candlelight as a hardship and something to be endured. In fact, it seems kind of nice and something to consider once again.
1 comment:
This is a good list! I may just have to make one for our situation, too, though I may not post it in fear our mothers would get worried about us being on shaky financial ground. :) We feel we have trimmed a lot of the fat from our budget in the last 6 years, though I am sure we could be better if push came to shove.
Post a Comment