Change is not necessarily a bad word. Change can be good. Great even. Change is what helps us grow, expand our "stuck" minds and achieve more than we thought.
Change can also be scary. Maybe it is better to say that Change is Scary!
It is the unknown. It is the new. It is the different.
Well, as you read the other day, my household is changing. It is a tough pill to swallow and will require a change for not only myself but my whole family.
Forget scared, I am terrified.
It has caused me to think 'outside of the house' and that is worse yet. (House-since I work at home. HOME is my BOX!)
I am going to have to find ways to cut our budget in half. EEK!
So, after some research, I found five ways to help our family get ready to tighten that budget belt. It is time to stop spending and start finding ways to cut corners, so to speak!
Here are a few of the simple changes, apart from couponing, that we will be making in our spending habits:
1) Cut back services to reflect actual usage.
I guess it is safe to say that this tact is not rocket science. When living on a tight budge, every penny helps, we all know this.
If we decrease our garbage, using methods such as composting or recycling, we decrease the need for a large can. This little change can save us over $60 a year, since we pay for our larger can at the curb. We also are looking over our bundled service from our local T.V. provider, which costs up upward of $200. We actually have a house phone that we do not use! [gasp] What a waste! We only have the line for our alarm, but with the increase in wireless features, it is worth investigating to cut costs.
2) Your children do not need to look like they are from the pages of the Gymboree e-mails you get!
I know that this one is hard. You see those gosh darn cute outfits and you can literally picture your little Mr. or Miss. dressed to the T in them. Guess what? You need to stop there. Leave that day dream at the door of your local Once Upon a Child and learn to shop second hand. If that is a tough pill to swallow, try to only buy clearance items and off of the sale racks. I bet, you can find some pretty cute ensembles, if you just look! You need to realize that your kid will find a stain five second from now and it won't matter how much it cost!!!3) Start Meal Planning.
This has been a challenge and yet very exciting for me. I have played around with Meal Planning for years now. I have a ton of recipes that I thought sounded good or looked good at one time or another, sitting in a drawer collecting dust. By spending ten minutes on Sunday evenings, to look through my drawer, I was able to print off a calendar and plan out our dinner week. I want to note that due to Hubby working second shift, it is difficult to plan, but I am sticking to my guns on this one. I will make what I write in that calendar date box and pack it up with him for work. My kids, who are beyond picky, have adjusted nicely as well. I think that by planning, it gives them a heads up and they have been on board to at least try new things! (they usually like it too!)
4) Use the library.
With this new school year I have picked up a BAD habit.. Scholastic's. The flyer comes once a month and it is enticing, especially with a Kindergartener who LOVES to read and is excelling. But, with each month, shelling out $30-$40 for new books, I finally realized that with cutting costs, means finding another resource for new books. We were using the library over the summer, even joining the summer reading program. It just became more convenient to buy books that were being re-read. Well, it is time to head back out and use the wonderful library resource that we have!
Also, the library has MORE than just BOOKS! You can borrow movies and music, take on events, such as children's story time. Check out your Library's local webpage for more info!
5) Avoid your Kryptonite!
What the heck are you talking about, Kel? Well, figure out what kills your budget and then, learn how to control it. (or avoid it!)
For me, personally, I need to stay away from Target! That is one of those places that I can seriously bust the budget in one stop!
Do you have other ideas for budget cuts? If so, I would LOVE to hear from you! Leave or comment or e-mail me directly at: kam0900@yahoo.com.
~Kel
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