Author Topic: We're on the way!  (Read 4662 times)

LiseE

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We're on the way!
« on: May 19, 2014, 10:08:58 AM »
We've been adopting the SMART way of living for two months now after years of blindly spending.  We've never worked within a budget but this is the first full month we're working with YNAB and watching closely where our money goes.  I actually started with YNAB mid April but found it hard starting mid month so started a fresh budget in the beginning of May with my hubby on-board (although he's still getting used to the concept).  I can't believe how much we are already seeing accumulate in our bank account.  We both earn good salaries and for so long I couldn't understand where our money was going.  It feels so amazing to even start to have a handle on our finances and just feeling great about the our little baby steps.  Here are some of the measures we've made recently:

  • Grocery Spending - Down to $800 a month from $1400 (part of that $1400 was my hubby taking cash out for his spending)  We're a family of 4 (two little kids) so I think we can do better than $800 but it's a HUGE improvement for now!
  • We cancelled movie channels (which we don't even watch) .. and ordered a digital outdoor antenna .. working toward making the move to cancel cable altogether.
  • Changed auto insurance and shaved 50% off our bill with better coverage!
  • Will be changing home insurance shortly to get better rate
  • We no longer order pizza out on Friday Family night .. I make dough and we make our own pizza!  No more paying $40 for two pizzas!
  • Made an appointment for energy audit to see how we can improve the efficiency of our home.

Feeling pretty good but still more to do.  I also started to get that itch .. with our savings growing I was getting that feeling that I needed to buy something but I didn't however I did splurge a bit this past week sending my Mom flowers for her 90th birthday.

OK .. just wanted to share .. :) :)


robtown

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Re: We're on the way!
« Reply #1 on: May 26, 2014, 07:47:58 PM »
Congratulations!    It's good that you are getting results already.    You have made a great start and you'll find many additional ways of reducing spending here.

I wish I could get my wife on board, at least on the food budget.  We waste so much.

JoJoP

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Re: We're on the way!
« Reply #2 on: May 26, 2014, 08:33:14 PM »
That is terrific!  800 bucks is a lot of dough!
 It's amazing how getting a handle on just a few things can make such a difference. 

SJS

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Re: We're on the way!
« Reply #3 on: May 28, 2014, 09:20:58 AM »
Oh wow, $800 is a LOT for a family of 4 - you can for sure cut that back!   Be hyper vigilant about wastefulness.   Have you tried pre-planning your daily/weekly menu in advance of grocery shopping so you get just basically what you need and will use?  Just a thought.   Keep up the great work and keep looking for ways to cut the fat even further!!  It's amazing how it all starts to add up - and all of that then goes into savings and grows even more!  Keep us posted! 

zataks

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Re: We're on the way!
« Reply #4 on: May 28, 2014, 09:45:39 AM »
I haven't made pizza in months but I think I'd better whip some dough up soon; it's always so good!

Keep up the good work.  After a day of surfing yesterday, I was reminded how much I'd rather do things other than working my rear off nonstop so it was a little bump toward renewing my commitment to spending reduction. 

Exflyboy

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Re: We're on the way!
« Reply #5 on: May 28, 2014, 01:45:37 PM »
great.. now what do you drive?

How big is your house and RE taxes?

Utilities?

SJS

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Re: We're on the way!
« Reply #6 on: May 28, 2014, 10:28:29 PM »
great.. now what do you drive?

How big is your house and RE taxes?

Utilities?

Yeah, Frank likes to get down to the nitty gritty!  ;-)  I'm interested, too! 

LiseE

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Re: We're on the way!
« Reply #7 on: June 02, 2014, 02:34:37 PM »
When I first found this blog and started drinking the punch, I was on fire and quickly starting looking at trading in my 2011 Audi Q7 (yes .. I was an earn to spending thinker back then) .. well I finally concluded that selling within the three years of owning it would not be the prudent thing since most of the depreciation has occurred already.  I also found that switching to mid grade unleaded gas as opposed to premium did not hurt the car or my mileage.  I also have found that I get fairly decent gas mileage if I'm not lead footing it around.  So we will just have to ride it out on the car for now .. live and learn.

Our house is 2400 square feet for our family of 4 and our utilities are as follows:

                            2013 Monthly        2014 Monthly
Oil                                  $250.00              $250.00
Electric                     $125.00              $125.00
Gas (Propane)               $27.83                $27.83
Real Estate Taxes   $8500 per year

We just had an energy evaluation on our house and will be upgrading our very old (probably original insulation when the house was built in 1966) insulation and hope that it makes a dent in our utilities.  We had a brutally cold winter in the Northeast this past winter and managed to keep our oil heating to apprx. 3K for 2013 which I think isn't that bad but again, adding the insulation should bring that down further.

FrugalSpendthrift

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Re: We're on the way!
« Reply #8 on: June 02, 2014, 03:11:18 PM »
When I first found this blog and started drinking the punch, I was on fire and quickly starting looking at trading in my 2011 Audi Q7 (yes .. I was an earn to spending thinker back then) .. well I finally concluded that selling within the three years of owning it would not be the prudent thing since most of the depreciation has occurred already.  I also found that switching to mid grade unleaded gas as opposed to premium did not hurt the car or my mileage.  I also have found that I get fairly decent gas mileage if I'm not lead footing it around.  So we will just have to ride it out on the car for now .. live and learn.
You don't 'have' to ride it out.  You can certainly minimize future depreciation and improve gas mileage by choosing something more prudent.  That vehicle is worth roughly $30k and will probably depreciate by $3k this year.  Or you can choose to keep spending on depreciation and gas, just don't try to justify it with the sunk cost.

Great job with all of your other changes!

JoyBlogette

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Re: We're on the way!
« Reply #9 on: June 03, 2014, 10:16:58 AM »
Great start!  Sounds like you are on your way, but still have some changes to make.  Keep it up.  Remember the difference between saving 10% versus 25% is almost 20 years of working.
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/