The Husband and I took a giant hit to the cash flow when the child arrived. Though we are still using diapers that were given as gifts at the shower and we have enough hand- me- downs to dress an army, we no longer have the luxury of two salaries to pay the bills. And since the Hub just started a new job, what’s coming in is depleted after paying for the necessities.
The irony of all of this is that before having the baby I blogged about personal finance for a savings bank. And here we are, with little to no savings, trying to scrape up rent money. If only I had taken my own advice.
So since Jane arrived, I’ve come up with a few surefire ways to save money. And by save money I mean to successfully pay all of the bills and break even at the end of the month. By budgeting strategies will work for people at any stage in life, not just those of us starting out with a little one in tow.
The Grocery Bill. Don’t go to the store hungry. Plan meals. Buy things on sale only if they are cheaper than the cheapest item of its kind. A lot of times, ACME brand will be ten for ten when something else is .89. If you HAVE To have Skippy brand creamy peanut butter, fine. Just make up for it by buying a store brand of something else.
Stay IN. We have enjoyed a lot of time here at home with friends since the baby came. It’s less stressful since we don’t have to pack her up to leave and listen to her cry the whole time we’re out. And by we (let’s be honest) I mean I’ll be listening to her cry while I’m bouncing her around the restaurant lobby.
A lot of times we take turns going out for a drink or two after dinner with a friend instead of going out for dinner with each other. It saves a lot of money and gives us time to talk crap on each other. Juuuuuust kidding.
Use Your Asssssets. This one’s more for the ladies. But I guess if you’re a guy with really smooth game and a knack for catching a Sugar Mama, it might work for you, too. A few weekends ago the girls and I managed to go out for dinner and drinks without paying a DIME of the tab. This can all be attributed to a certain friend that just so happens to work at a high- end spa. It’s really all about whom you know. You better believe that I’ll be dragging her along every time I go out around here.
Sacrifice your Vice. As stated previously in this blog, I love TV. We recently canceled our cable (EEK) and got an antenna and converter box. It’s really not bad. We get the major networks, and I can still watch Judge Joe Brown and The View during the day. And it’s FREE. (Why didn’t we think of this before?!) This could be equated to any number of habits, like renting movies on Demand or shopping for new duds for every occasion outside of your living room.
So I’ll leave it at that. Tight budgets suck. But credit card debt sucks even more.
The Husband is always talking about how Jane will pay our tab once she becomes the tennis star that she is meant to be. Or maybe we’ll mold her into a triple threat child star and embezzle her funds Gary Coleman style. All I know is, she sure as heck better pay my nursing home bill. And come and visit me a few times a month if she knows what’s good for her.
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