Cutting Down Your Expenses

@dorannmwin (36392)
United States
January 11, 2010 12:41pm CST
This seems like something that is never ending for our family. We are constantly trying to cut down our expenses. We've been doing a pretty good job with it for the most part also. However, there is always that unexpected expense that comes up and throws everything off kilter for you. This time for us it has been the death of one of my dear friends. It put us behind because it meant time off of work for my husband and it meant additional expenses as we had to travel and stay overnight for her funeral. That said, I am very interested in learning ways that other people are cutting down their monthly expenses. A few of the things that we've done are: 1. Less eating out 2. Buying more store brand 3. Rolling our own cigarettes (this is a habit that we are attempting to end altogether). Please share the things that you've done.
9 people like this
29 responses
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
11 Jan 10
well my hubby has been out of work for quite a while and since i only work part time (due to health issues) we have had to live on less money for awhile. we visit the library at least once a week and have gotten books and dvds out of there, plus we visit the thrift store for items we want or need. (the thrift store seems to be a good place to get candles!) we also eat fairly cheaply by making home made soup, pasta, pancakes, that sort of thing.
2 people like this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
12 Jan 10
Cooking all the way from scratch is a great method for saving money as I've discovered myself. I also try to get as many clothes as possible for my children from yard sales and consignment stores.
@CJscott (4187)
• Portage La Prairie, Manitoba
11 Jan 10
We almost never eat out. Almost always buy store brand. We are curbing it, by staying home. Making a grocery list before we go, with the flyers and coupons. Sticking to it. We set the thermostat lower in winter. Keep lights off when not in use, use CFL(more expensive up front, but pay for self quickly) 2$ at Dollarama, come to think of it. Plastic the windows. And pay all our bills first, before buying any thing else. Not much fun stuff left after that, but it is necessary at this stage in our lives. But the plans are in place to change all that, cheers.
1 person likes this
@CJscott (4187)
• Portage La Prairie, Manitoba
12 Jan 10
Yeah, good in the long wrong, but it still is no fun. Lol, lots of snow today though, and it is kinda warm out, so the snow got all sticky. That should be fun and two and half year old, a snow hill we made in the yard... Ten years isn't too bad at all. At the current rate I am going it will be about that as well, that is why I am trying to learn and understand more about network marketing. I know, I talk about it too much, but it is still a side thing for me. If it pans out, and I know it will if I just keep at it, the possibility of being out debt in 2-5 years, isn't far fetched. The best part about though, is I make most of my money, from helping others make their money, and someone in my downline, can earn way more cash the me, if they are better at it then I am. It is all one big partnership. Anyways, best of luck to you, I wish you all the best. Cheers.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
15 Jan 10
To be able to be out of debt in 2-5 years sounds like it would be even better than waiting the entire ten years to be out of debt. I'm trying to do whatever little thing that I am able to do right now. I know that things for us will get better in the long run and it is just a matter of being patient until then. I miss being able to just go out and do whatever we want to, but I also so much realize how much it is for our own benefit.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
12 Jan 10
I think that by sacrificing the fun stuff for the time being is a great benefit because I don't think our situations can remain the way that they are forever. Our problem was that we were a little too free with our credit cards and we've decided that we want to get out from under that debt and are now in a short term payment plan. We have a maximum of 38 more months to get through with that debt and then we are going to turn around and attack our mortgage balance. If everything works out as planned we will be TOTALLY out of debt within 10 years.
@cutepenguin (6431)
• Canada
13 Jan 10
I'm sorry to hear about your friend. We have been focusing on using coupons and eating out less. We're trying to get organized this year and to pay off debt, the getting organized part has kept us pretty busy. Fortunately, we don't really need to buy anything in order to get organized. Our grocery bills have been creeping up, but I think it is because prices have been going up. There isn't much I can do about that. I am trying to: 1. get more "points" and coupons online. With the points, I can get gift cards, etc. 2. Share resources with friends. For example, I have a lot of yarn, and some of my friends have taken up knitting. They, in turn, share coupons with me, etc. We try to buy in bulk and trade food, too.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
14 Jan 10
Though they don't really help in the short term, I think that trying to save as many points as possible is a great thing to do because it helps you in the long run. I used all of the points that I earned on various things last year to finance Christmas and I am trying to do the same thing this year as well.
1 person likes this
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
14 Jan 10
We do not eat out as much anymore. I buy store brand groceries and check for sales when I am grocery shopping because sometimes you can fine a brand name that is cheaper then the store brand.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
15 Jan 10
You have definitely brought up a very valid point here that we tend to forget about. I always compare the price per unit/oz/etc. and get whatever is cheaper. You may even find sometimes that it is less expensive to buy a smaller box than the bulk box as well.
• Canada
14 Jan 10
I would get rid of cable and any cell phones. You can have a landline/internet combination in which you can download anything you would want to watch on t.v., burn it to disk etc. If you have those things that's what I would suggest.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
14 Jan 10
As far as our cell phone goes, we can't get rid of it. However, it is on a family plan with my mother, so that is only costing us 10 dollars per month. The cable I've considered scaling back, but I don't know if my husband is on board for that idea.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
11 Jan 10
Actually, at the start of the year. I've actually "cut" my expenses including the future ones. Sad to say, I broke up with my GF. Cost cutting at its best.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
12 Jan 10
I'm sorry to hear that you broke up with your girlfriend. However, I'm happy to see that you can make a joke out of it.
• Philippines
12 Jan 10
Well, that is life. You gain some, you lose some. Unfortunately I lose big.
@jezzmay (1845)
• United States
18 Jan 10
I have been cutting down on my expenses too. One of mine to was eating out less. Another is trying to find a less expensive grocery store, and buying store brands. I am also trying to find ways of eating that is less expensive. Like the foods I buy. I guess I am blessed that we have food banks to go to that will help my food bill. Have a great day.
@jezzmay (1845)
• United States
19 Jan 10
We have the angel food min. in our church. I believe it is a good value. I got 2 10 pd. boxes of chicken this month for $ 36 dollars. this chicken is also boneless. It also helps the church. Have a great day.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
19 Jan 10
We have never been to a food bank, however, there is a program that some of the local churches offer called Angel Food and I've thought about getting involved in that. It is where you buy food for a significantly reduced price to help the budget of the people. You are able to get seven days worth of food for $30 and I know that would be a great help to us. Many of my friends that are more well off than we are do use this as a way to save money.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
20 Jan 10
I've only heard about it from my friends that use it, but hearing another person say that it is a good deal makes me even more inclined to do it. Thank you.
@sid556 (30959)
• United States
12 Jan 10
We do the same thing. It seems we are so aware of our spending...we have to be. We shut off lights, unplug appliances. I barely smoke any more. We are so so frugal and yet we still seem to always struggle. I guess on the upside of it all...still have this computer and still have a roof over our heads. We are warm and clothed and not hungry! It does seem that every time I manage to get a few bucks ahead that something happens to set us back...it is just the way it is. I keep track of every penny we spend and we challenge ourselves to go beneath the previous month. Last month we got our electric bill down almost 10.00! my biggest thing is cutting back on coffees. I do have a coffe maker so it is a no brainer. Still, I am addicted to dunkins iced coffee. My daughter is 15 so that is just self explanatory ...almost all of her "needs" are really "wants". We are working on that!
@CRSunrise (2981)
• United States
12 Jan 10
We definitely had to watch our pennies when my husband wasn't working last year. I started making our own laundry soap and fabric softener, and we cut down on how often we ate out. Now, that my husband is working again, we still have to watch our pennies, but we can do a few more of the little things. I'm still going to make our own laundry soap and fabric softener. We don't eat our that much, but that can be a little difficult since our jobs require us to be out of the house alot. We do bring food with us, but sometimes that doesn't cut it.
@CRSunrise (2981)
• United States
13 Jan 10
It's not that difficult to do, and depending on how much laundry you do, it can last you a good six months. I got the receipe off the Duggar family website. Here's the link if you want to take a peek - http://www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
12 Jan 10
How do you make your own laundry detergent? That could very well be something that I would be interested in trying.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
15 Jan 10
Thank you so very much for that lead. I'm going to ask my husband about making our own detergent. However, I know that I'll be using the idea for the fabric softener using sponges and watered down liquid softener.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
11 Jan 10
hi dorannmwin well here my expenses are set in concrete as Gold Crest takes the rent money out of my social security and ssi checks each month leaving me the whole sum of one hundred twenty five dollars for personal use, so my mylot earnings go towards the monthly cable bill for internet.When I was working I cut down on food expense by brown bagging it every day and we shut off all lights and electric things not in use each day and this helped a lot too.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
12 Jan 10
That is another thing that we have done come to think of it. My husband used to run to the fast food restaurants every day for lunch, but now I buy him things that he is able to heat up and eat while he is at work and that in and of itself has saved us a pretty good amount of money.
@ladym33 (10979)
• United States
12 Jan 10
My husband and I are on a diet, so unfortuantely the I am not able to cut back on food expenses right now because we need specific things, but I try to make as much as I can with what we have and double recipes when I make them. We are cutting down on eating out right now because it is safer to stay on the diet from home then it is going out. I try not to drive as much as possible, I try to do all my errands on the same day. We have also cut out junk food and soda which can save a bunch. We are also trying to cover up any potental places where air can escape in our home, and I just switched insurance companies which will save us $11 per month. I am trying to concentrate on earning more online this month as well.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
12 Jan 10
I too am concentrating on trying to earn more money online. We've been trying to make our house more energy efficient since we bought it and just in the year that we've lived here we've made some great strides in the right direction. We aren't all the way there yet, but we are getting there, slowly but surely.
@lelin1123 (15595)
• Puerto Rico
12 Jan 10
I think most people are cutting down on their expenses. My family has also cut down eating out. Making sure if everyone is in one room that only one light needs to be on. If I'm watching TV in my bedroom I don't keep a light on. I do laundry only twice a week and most in cold water. I buy store brands instead of name brands. I make cheaper meals and eat very little meat. In fact the only meat I really eat is chicken and that is only once a week. We live in a society that eats to much and has to many material things. We can all live on alot less, we just have to learn to conserve each and everyone of us. Not feel that we need the latest gadget that comes out. I think if we all did our part things will eventually turn around.
@lelin1123 (15595)
• Puerto Rico
12 Jan 10
Yes I know its not helping the economy but we all have to do what we can. If we don't have jobs or enough money to spend we have to do what we can to protect ourselves and our families. The Government will not be bailing us out like they did the banks, AIG and the Car industry.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
12 Jan 10
The truth is that all of the people that are cutting their own budgets is not helping the economy to recover as a whole, but it is helping each individual. I wish that my family was able to go meatless, but that doesn't seem to be an option for us.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
15 Jan 10
You are so right about that. I do feel like when there was the meltdown that if the government would have bailed out the people and not the industry, the people would have in turn bailed out industry. However, I know the government didn't see it that way. They bailed out industry which will continue to suffer because the people still cannot afford to make them grow.
1 person likes this
@sublime03 (2339)
• Philippines
11 Jan 10
I am forced to cut down on my expenses since I was not working for a month already. Now that I am starting working again I do not want to go back and incur a big expense since my goal is to save up for a lot of things. Currently I have only been eating for lunch and nothing in between so I do not need to buy little expensive things. Like yesterday, instead of buying a full meal for breakfast, I just ate a banana.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
12 Jan 10
I too have found that cutting down what you eat in some situations is of great benefit. It has helped us as well.
• United States
11 Jan 10
We have had to cut our kids dance classes down to one each kid. We have also eat at home more but I am making much more food from scratch as these save more then eating heat up and pre preped foods. I have also begun to take our own trash to the dump instead of having a service pick it up. We do not have a local garbage route here, more country living.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
12 Jan 10
My children also each take one class per week, they are in gymnastics. It is good for them and worth the added expense in my opinion. Also, as you've mentioned I too see that cooking from scratch is a lot cheaper and healthier than buying packaged foods.
@KrauseHome (36447)
• United States
12 Dec 10
Well, the less eating out is a Good one, and one we are really trying not to do except for on Sundays. For some reason it seems like that is one day we have no choice due to everything going on. We are trying to find other ways and things to cut back on as well. Lately it seems like everything continues to go up so much so that if you ever have a real Emergency it even more puts a cramp in things financially for sure. Learning to find ways to plan and save for those rainy days is a Big thing for sure.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
22 Feb 11
The day that we tend to eat out is on Saturday because that is also the day that we spend time visiting our friends and such which means that we are not at home during the typical dinner time. That is okay though, it is a lot better than leaning on that bad habit half the time.
@sukumar794 (5040)
• Thiruvananthapuram, India
19 Jan 10
To put a strict check on spending for those whom spending was quite an exciting affair. However it is always advisable to embark on a plan of curbing one's personal expenditure on unwanted things.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
19 Jan 10
We have put a huge curve on our spending of things that we desire but that we really don't need. This past Christmas my hubby and I decided that we were not going to get each other a Christmas present at Christmas but instead we were going to get something once we had our tax return back because then we will have the actual cash to buy the things that we desire. It has been quite an adjustment for us to quit using credit cards, however, I can also see that it is a very rewarding adjustment.
• United States
12 Jan 10
Sadly there is no more that I can cut down out of our budget w/o hubby getting a clue on his expenses. *Shop Aldi's *buy only sale/clearance items unless absolutly necessary *no paid tv *pre-paid cell phone *lowering the thermostat (wich is debateable in my house cause my hubby thinks it should be summer time while the rest of us cook and try to figure out how to pay a huge heating bill ) *coast while driving *line dry clothes in spring - fall *use half the recommended detergent *buy store brands as much as possible *cfl lightbulbs *coupons (some stores have double or tripple couponing, however here the only store that does it has ALOT OF RULES to make it worth wild especially if you only intended on buying the few things & not the cartful they expect you to buy to entitle you to the savings on 5 whole items ) *shop rummages (especially for kids things) & thrift stores (our Salvation army has a .49 night, anything the color of the week is .49 wich is rummage sale pricing!) That's all I can think of at the minute
• United States
12 Jan 10
The food really isn't too bad at all. We've been shopping there since I was a teenager. Sometimes they have good deals on things for the kids too, I got a pair of boots for 2 of my kids for $8.99 ea this year. I couldn't find squat anywhere else that looked more functional than fashionable. We also have a garden too. You can't imagine how many tomatoes my kids can eat! We had like 15 plants last year and not very many made it into the kitchen!
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
12 Jan 10
I love Aldi's love it so much. I've only discovered the joys of shopping there in the past couple of months, but I'll tell you I've tried a lot of their food and I like it better than the name brands or major grocery store labels. I do try to buy as much as possible from the clearance racks and I've always done this. My children's birthday and Christmas clothes all come from clearance racks. I do lower our thermostat by a couple degrees at night to help with the high heating bill. We've also put our gas on a budget plan and use our fireplace when it is cold outside.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
15 Jan 10
My daughter is highly addicted to tomatos as well. She could clear an entire plant in a single day if we would let her.
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
13 Jan 10
It is such a problem isn't it? I saw a women on NBC last week who used coupons (not really available in J.A.) and she bought US$100 of groceries and with all of her coupons she ended up paying 25c. I was so envious. But this was a passion with her and she had it down to an art. She had written on a book on it but I cannot remember the title. I wish that had that opportunity. I am busy looking for cheaper recipes and of course we end up eating more starch as it is cheaper. since our government in its innate stupidity is putting a 17.5% tax on almost everything I keep an eye out for anything that does not have this stupid tax on it. so I have bought a year's supply of pantie liners and shampoo and conditioner and things like that.I try to use less of everything pray a lot. Still not on line much am about to go home as not tooi well. Blessings
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
13 Jan 10
ThAnk you for your best wishes.I just wish that I could remember more about her. She had it down to an art and bought the store's own products a lot. she would phone to find out in advance if the store would accept double coupons etc and would download online but said that you had to be careful here that they were genuine coupons. She gave a siite to refer to- to make sure- but of course, not being applicable to me - I did not make a note of it.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
13 Jan 10
I hope that you start to feeling better very soon. That really stinks that you don't have coupons there and that you have to pay that huge tax on everything. I don't know how I would be able to handle that. Thank you for sharing about the coupon lady.
• United States
12 Jan 10
Since the first of the year we have been eating out less. I also always use as much coupons as possible. I also buy store brands as much as possible.
• United States
12 Jan 10
The main reason we have been eating out less is because my husband had surgery in December and has been on a very strict diet and could not eat alot. He is the one that likes to eat out on weekends.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
12 Jan 10
Eating out less is a great way to spend money. That, in and of itself has been the way that we've been able to get rid of half of our unneccessary spending.
• United States
17 Jul 10
It has been hard for my husband and I to live frugal, but we are trying very hard. My husband works parttime, but he has also decided to go back to school (he goes to school online) and is doing quite well. He is working towards his AA in Communications and Business then plans on getting his BA in Communications and Buisness (he gets financial aid which has been helping us a lot) and I am also going back for my Masters in September (online as well) and am also hoping to sell things online. 1. I cook meals at home six days a week. I have recipes for very easy food items that do not use too many ingredients. 2. I make a grocery list and buy what I absolutely need. If it is not on my grocery list, I do not buy. 3. I am in the process of selling items that I do not want. 4. I have changed home phone companies (I have Magic Jack and it is so much cheaper). 5. I no longer have a cell phone. 6. My husband and I have a change jar which we put our change together and at the end of the month we dump it into our savings account.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
20 Jul 10
I'm using my own variation of your number six in my own life. I babysit my nieces during the week while their parents are working and I use the money that I make from them for my weekly running money. In addition to that, I've started my Christmas shopping fund with the same money. On Friday when they pay me for the week, I will take everything that is still in my purse and put it in an envelope from which I will eventually do my Christmas shopping.