It's no secret that a baby drastically impacts the family finances, but I have to admit that I did not truly appreciate or prepare for just how much a child can change things in the budget--Especially when I transitioned to part-time. Not only is there one more mouth to feed, but a baby requires so many extra special necessities (most notably during the first year). That's not even accounting for childcare if you are a mother who chooses or needs to work! It's no wonder people hold baby showers! There is just no possible way we could have afforded all our little guy's necessities on our own even while both my husband and I were working full-time making a pretty solid living. We were so very thankful (and continue to be) of the generosity of our very dear friends and family to help us prepare and care for our new family of three.
I also have a new appreciation of consignment retail stores these days. When your son grows out of that $30 adorable, department store outfit you just had to have within a two weeks time, consignment stores are where it's at! Not just for selling, but buying too! I recently found a brand new heavy coat for this winter for the little guy that sold in department stores for almost $40. I paid a hefty EIGHT bucks. Booyah! These days I find I am grateful to live in an area with many options for finding these types of resources for meeting my son's needs while also keeping our budget in tact. These same consignment stores are where I've found great deals on toys selling for pennies compared to the price for new, slightly modified models currently selling at Target and Wal-Mart. So what if it may be the previous model, but my son is 1. He's not going to care...or know the difference for that matter. Now in a few years time I do realize I will not be able to get away with this as easily. A four-year-old O will very likely notice that the lever on this model is red and goes up and down while the level on the new model is green and twists (Oh, and also comes in a sealed box). Oye!
Other ways my husband and I have trimmed our budget have been attempting to change our mindset. We focus on what we need rather than what we need...and then some. Case in point-it's been months since I filled up my entire gas tank just because I needed some gas. Instead, I focus on where I will be going the next week and calculate approximately how much fuel it will require to get to my destinations. Given that I've transitioned jobs from one that requires me to travel frequently to one that has me spending my entire day at an office in addition to no longer working full-time, trimming our gas budget has taken a lot off of our monthly spending. Other ways I've learned to trim gas usage is by following The Peaceful Mom's blog. Among the many ways she shares to trim a budget, she suggests planning your errand days as well, but making all of your errands in one day rather than going to the grocery store one day, then getting back out to pick up dog food from the Pet Store, then running out for gas. This reduces your gas usage by reducing your commute from your home. I have to admit I was very guilty of these short, unplanned trips, especially on days that seemed to drag on. In order to break up the day, I'd make a run to Sonic and then pick up some ingredients at the grocery store for dinner, even though I was just at the grocery store the day before. Which brings me to my next budget trimmer: The grocery list.
I, like many, was intrigued with the show on TLC Extreme Couponing. How in the world did those people whittle their $200 grocery receipts to just a few dollars?! It still blows my mind, but made me motivated to start my own adventures in couponing. No, I will never be an extreme couponer, but I do value the extra dollars coupons take off of my grocery bill. With a tiny bit of planning and coupon clipping/researching time, I have been known to shave off up to a third of our grocery bill. I get a thrill to see on my receipt how much money I saved percentage-wise and dollar-wise. Most recently I saved $23 off of a $70 dollar bill plus got an additional $.25 off/ per gallon of gas at my next Shell stop (I shop at Homeland if you haven't put that together). My grocery shopping days of just buying whatever sounded good at the time of my trip are no longer. I now plan our weekly meals in advance based on what I already have in my freezer and cabinets and what coupons I was able to find online and through newspaper clippings. Remember, my husband and I are attempting to focus on what we need versus what we need and then want. That's not to say that those Lofthouse "Better Than Sex" sugar cookies (Shout-out to my girl Dell!) don't occasionally end up in my basket, but more often than not I find myself oogling them at the store than moving right along on my weekly grocery store trips. These days less excess food is thrown out due to spoilage (read money down the drain). We're also getting good grub and full tummies while keeping money in the bank.
In addition to adding coupons to my spending habits (yes, retail/restaurant coupons too), we've been attempting to use cash as much as possible. I do find it is slightly more irritating to have to go by the ATM each week or ask for cash back when depositing a paycheck, but it has totally cooled our spending. Instead of buying that $1.99 Dr. Pepper out of the checkout line fridge for the drive home that I probably won't drink all of, I find that I'm more prone to wait and just swing by Happy Hour at Sonic for the $.50 small that is more my size or not get one at all. When the allotted cash is running low for whatever we've designated it for (grocery, gas, fun/extras-like going out for lunch or in the case of my husband-beer for the football game that weekend, etc.) we tend to spend our money more wisely and prioritize better.
These are just a couple of ways we've adjusted our budget to accommodate for a family of three on a 1.5 provider income without drastically changing our habits (i.e. dropping cable, lawn care, etc. which can also be viewed as extras). Our needs and priorities as a family can still be met with just a few simple changes. While this was not my most exciting post, I hope you maybe found it helpful. Also, seriously go check out the Peaceful Mom. She's got great advice on parenting, spending, and life in general. I always learn something new over there!
Lastly, here are a few of my favorite places to locate online coupons FO' FREE:
coupons.com
http://www.couponnetwork.com/?utm_campaign=CD2038&utm_source=MySavings_Media_Network&utm_medium=Affiliate
http://www.redplum.com/coupons/syndication.html?AID=11309494&PID=6630543
http://www.pgeveryday.com/tag/coupon?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PG+Everyday_Search_Desktop_Brand+Awarness&utm_term=procter%20and%20gamble%20coupon&utm_content=sifYFi46E%7Cpcrid%7C22931583440%7Cb%7Cprocter%20and%20gamble%20coupon
http://coupons.target.com/
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