New Way of Thinking

This is a sad week for Willie and me because we both have to go back to work full-time after several weeks off for maternity/paternity leave. It will definitely be hard being away from Owen all day and a challenge to see what happens with our spending now that we’ll be back into our busy routines. Hopefully we’ll continue to build on what we’ve learned up to this point and stay on track.

Here are the things we’re doing so far based on recommendations from our coach, Mike:

• We’re adjusting our federal tax withholdings. Now that we have Owen, we can claim additional exemptions, which means we’ll have a little bit extra in our paychecks each month since we’re not having so much taken out for taxes. Yes, claiming fewer exemptions would mean we’d get a bigger check back for our tax refund, but that’s money we’d be lending the government all year that they’re not paying us interest for.
• We're contributing to our 401k accounts. Willie already contributes a small percentage to his each pay period, but I wasn’t putting anything into my 401k because I was worried that I’d need that money to pay bills each month. To make it less painful, I’m starting with 3% of my salary each month. Since it comes out pre-tax, hopefully I won’t miss it as much. Plus, it really is a good way to save since my employer will match a certain percentage of what I put in. Yay for free money!
• We consolidated a good portion of our debt by transferring balances from our three credit cards and a personal loan to a new Summit credit card that has a lower fixed rate until the balance is paid off. This will reduce our minimum monthly payment by about $130 or so and we’ll save money on interest, too. I also think this will be helpful because we’ll have a better sense of what we owe since it’s all in one place. When you have multiple credit card balances, it’s easy to miss the big picture of how much you really owe because you’re seeing the smaller balances on each one instead of the big number when everything is added up.
• We’re revisiting that TV bill I mentioned a couple weeks ago and planning to cut out the premium movie channels for a savings of about $35 a month, plus investigating other TV/internet options to see if we can get a better deal.
• We’re also eating at home more and spending less on meals out. Sadly, we had been spending between $200 and $300 a month on eating out. My original goal was to cut spending on meals out by 50%, but Mike gave us a goal of spending $50 or less. I figure, depending on where we go, that will buy between one and five meals for the two of us. So far this month, we’ve spent money on two meals out (I gave into the craving for tacos after a late softball game!), but we’ve made everything else at home. I’ve discovered that I’m actually a decent cook and I kind of enjoy it. Let’s hope we can keep it up now that we are both going back to work this week!

We have to give Mike credit for coming up with so many great ideas, but we’ve also managed to do a few extra things on our own:

• We clipped coupons! We hadn’t really given much thought to this before since Willie and I already shop at stores that typically have the lowest prices in town, but even the lowest prices can still be reduced with coupons! Between the coupons we used on groceries, automotive service, and baby items, we’ve saved $48.55 so far this month! Tip: check out www.coupons.com for printable grocery coupons for items you might buy regularly.
• I went shopping for clothes - in my dresser drawers! This might not work for everyone, but I finally went through my old clothes and to my surprise, found three pairs of pre-pregnancy jeans that fit again. (I attribute this largely to the fact that we’ve been skipping meals out. Savings: 3 x the cost of new jeans.
• I signed up for a library card. We’re doing some work in our yard and after much research, I found a step-by-step landscaping book online that I really wanted to buy. I had it in my shopping cart when I had an epiphany: maybe I could get it from the library. Sure enough, I found it through the online library catalog. Savings: $16.47.

We’re learning that being responsible and making our money work for us isn’t just making a few one-time changes, it’s a new way of thinking. I’m excited to see what great ideas we come up with for next time!

Comments

[Wendy]

Great suggestion about the library. I love to read and used to buy new books all the time. This past year I've learned how to use the online reservation request through my local library. I reserve the book I'm interested in, receive a phone call when it's in, and then stop by to pick it up. I don't even have to search the shelves for the book. It's in a hold section with my name on it. Very easy and convenient! Keep up the good work!

[Rachel]

Cassie, I checked out coupons.com - such a neat idea - there are actual brands that I buy :)

NY and Co. is tempting but I need to go shopping for clothes - in my dresser drawers, too.

[Jack Schroeder]

In families with two working adults, both have to share in food preparation. If Willie can boil water, he can make rice, or pasta, or boiled potatoes and eggs, which is half-way to potato salad. One common way of saving time in the kitchen is to make large batches of versatile foods on Sunday. Boil a quantity of chicken in a large pot with an onion and some garlic for an hour, adding potatoes and carrots for the last 30 minutes. Dinner is done, and the stock will make a healthy and tasty soup or rice mix on Monday and Tuesday. The leftover chicken will be good baked with pasta and tomatoes, or taken to work as chicken salad.