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When I was 8 months pregnant and about to leave my long-time, decent paying, job to be a full-time mom… I was terrified. Most people would be happy and excited and ready for this new journey, and I got there eventually, but my first and very real fear was “what if we can’t afford it?” My very positive and happy-go-lucky husband assured me we would be fine if we just tried to cut back on a few things. But that wasn’t helpful to me. I need to know the facts and see the numbers, and luckily my husband is a wiz at stuff like that (it’s literally his job) and he made some very in-depth spreadsheets that linked to our accounts and categorized every single purchase we made in the last 365 days.
We were both SHOOK.
I didn’t realize how frivolous we had been and how easily we spent that much money on things we just didn’t need. Being DINKs for the 2 years before that had been a luxury that we were enjoying a little too much… and we knew it was time to STOP.
Our highest overall costs were food and household goods. Food! We all need it. We love it, but between my husband and I …
we spent almost $7,000 in food on-the-go, take-out, and eating out.
To be fair my husband and I rarely went out to eat due to COVID that year and we both would rather be comfy on our couch with take-out. We both would get lunch somewhere during our work-day because we were in the office. Think about it, $10-12 lunches, 3-5 times a week each! That alone was $5,000. Making and taking a lunch would have been $10-12 total for the week for both of us. That leads us to the theme of this post and my call to action for you:
STOP paying for CONVENIENCE. Roll up your sleeves, take these tips below, and make some actionable goals. We did it, some of it was hard, but others have just become part of our routine. I know you can do it too!
1. Buy in Bulk, Save in Bulk
This one was easy for me because I like shopping sales and reading flyers, but I know that isn’t really everyone’s thing and most people are going to stick to what they always get regardless of the prices (although I highly recommend shopping the circulars and specials). But whether it’s pantry staples, toiletries, or diapers, purchasing in larger quantities often comes with a lower price tag per unit. Just be sure to check the unit prices to ensure you’re getting the best bang for your buck. We buy meat in bulk. We are basic people and buy a lot of cheaper meats like chicken, ground beef, and pork. These are almost always cheaper in bulk and some stores will have coupons on the meats or run manager specials on bigger cuts and packages. If you have knives at home, you can chop things up into smaller portions, all joking aside, I promise it doesn’t take too long and you are capable! Its something I do the night after my shopping trip. I make it a thing! Pour a glass of (boxed) wine, get my bags, Sharpies and my trusty FoodSaver and fill the freezer! This also makes it easy to pull out and defrost daily for the meals I’ve planned for the week. This also helps with less frequent shopping trips and that brings me to my next change challenge:
2. Shop Smart: Once a Week is All You Need
Forget the daily grocery runs and impulsive purchases. This was something I was guilty of (and still am sometimes) I would decide 20 minutes before leaving work that I wanted a certain meal that night but didn’t have XYZ to make it, so I would just stop by the store real fast and grab XYZ and LMNOP too. So I made it a point to meal plan and make a list. By planning your meals and shopping just once a week (or once a month if you’re feeling super ambitious), you can stay focused on your budget and avoid unnecessary splurges (not to mention the savings on time and gas). Make a list, stick to it, and watch how this simple adjustment can have a significant impact on your monthly spending. Plus you’ll never have to wonder what’s for dinner if you’ve already decided in the beginning of the week and have everything on hand to make it.
3. Go Generic: The Power of Store Brands
There are very few things I refuse to buy generic and that is toilet paper (its Scotts 2 ply for me), diapers (we are Pampers Swaddler’s loyalist) and Coke (my husband cannot live without his daily Coca-Cola), but for most other things… its just silly not to buy generic and store brand. Many store-branded products offer the same quality and are sometimes made by the same manufacturers as their pricier counterparts, just minus the hefty price tag. I challenge you to try it next time you shop on items like pantry staples, snacks, tissues, cleaning supplies, and the biggest one for us, over-the-counter medications like Ibuprofen, Acetaminophen, Omeprazole, and most cold & flu remedies.
4. Master the Art of Eating In
I know this can be the hardest change to make when you have a hectic life. I get it, but convenient food is so expensive and only getting worse and don’t even get me started on delivery apps and the fees… just don’t do it. It is one of the biggest budget busters! This was our biggest savings change. We were getting coffees and breakfast sandwiches, lunches daily, and then sometimes takeout for dinner after all of that! Sound familiar? Looking back I thought I had no time to cook, now with a baby I REALLY feel like I do not have time, but, I figured it out and make time to cook, prep, and plan out weekly meals including breakfasts and lunches. You don’t have to go that crazy with it, it could just be that you start out making a conscious decision to go to the grocery store armed with a list, and then make a goal to make one or two more meals a week at home until you become a pro and make it part of your routine. We do “lazy meals” like frozen pizzas, frozen lasagna, and sometimes just canned soup and grilled cheese but its still way cheaper than ordering pizza, getting delivery, or stopping for fast-food. We definitely still get takeout and coffees, but we really make it a rule that takeout is once every two weeks and our Dunkies run is only on Saturday mornings. It is our little treat and we look forward to it.
5. Pitch the Paper and One-time-use Products
Paper towels, paper plates, and plastic utensils and bottles are not only bad for the environment, but they are bad for your budget. Again, you are paying for convenience, and you have to decide if it is worth the big hit in the bank account. For me it is definitely not. I would cringe every time I bought and used paper towels. We were virtually throwing away money. So I sucked it up and made the switch to reusable cloth towels. I got these!
It was a one-time cost that paid for itself in like… 3 weeks? Not only is this eco-friendly, but it also frees up space in our limited storage spaces and they still roll up and fit on our holder! It took my husband a week or two to get on board and I even caught him using a back-up roll of paper towels he hid under the sink… but I have to say, we like them now and they work just as well, if not better. We just throw them in with whatever load of laundry we are doing anyway (we use an unscented detergent) and they are ready to go! Plus there are some cute designs and holiday prints if you want to get fancy with it! I will say that if you MUST have paper towels I recommend buying a quality brand that has a “select-a-size” feature so that you don’t use more than you need, and if they are better quality, you will use less and save a few bucks. We used Bounty and they were the best before cloth.
While you’re switching to sustainability, get a good water bottle or water cup (yeah, even the trendy expensive ones if you really want to) because this is going to save you money over time. If you are on your municipal water system that water is (almost always) safe to drink straight from the tap! If you don’t like the taste, get a Brita pitcher or refrigerator jug, that’s what I grew up drinking and now my Nalgene bottles are my comfort object!
Plus, the plastic one-time-use bottles are killing our planet and you do not want to be a part of that. The sea turtles will be happier if you buy the Stanley.
Even if you try two or three of these changes on a small, trial scale, you WILL save money! We did, and I am proud of the over $5,000 savings this year. That’s almost $420 a month! Even if you can save $100, $200, $300 a month, it will add up and make a big difference.
Go set some goals, and get it done!