To My Dear Friend…
It sucks when the bottom feels like it has fallen out. I’ve had that feeling multiple times before and it never feels any better than the last time. Nothing you ever get used to. Somehow being “mom” you learn how to keep it together in front of those that matter… the kids. Yes, right now it sucks and its hard but you can and will get through this. You may have to change a few things so you can cut corners from what already seems like a circle, but it can be done. There are a few options that you might want to look into. These are things that I did after I was laid off after taking a six week unpaid maternity leave and there didn’t seem to be any jobs in sight…
1. Cut the cable off… it’s not a necessity. You can always set up to order movies through Net Flix and get them delivered to the house. If you choose the two movie option it’s about $15 per month and every day you can have a new movie. Sign up to get the red box codes text to you so you can get one free per month from there too.
2. This is when I started clipping coupons and stuck to my weekly budget. I mean I REALLY stuck to it. Sorry, some things are necessities while others are just wants and you have to decide which you need more. You may have to switch brands of some things if they are things you must have now and wait for your normal brand to go on sale. Like laundry detergent… right now Purex is buy one get one free at Walgreens and there was a buy one get one free coupon in the paper so you can get two and both are free. However, the register (or cashier) may not let you so the store manager said to buy three… their sale will let you have one free and so will the coupon so you get three for the price of 1, so $5.99 for three… that’s a steal. Better to have three times more clean clothes than a $10 bottle of detergent. That just saved you $24 and will last a few weeks. $24 can get you pretty far with coupons and sales… Harris Teeter is supposed to have triples coming up in the next few weeks so get two papers each week. Talk to people at work and see who doesn’t use their coupons and ask them to bring them in for you or bring in the ones they don’t want. The more the better. You have to save all you can. Every little bit helps. It really does.
3. This is when I started cooking all the time so it stopped me from buying convenience foods and eating out (even fast food adds up quick). I know it’s not your favorite thing to do but you have to do all you can to save. Money is a huge stressor so the more money there the less stress so get in the kitchen and cook. You can buy a big thing of oats and make your own granola bars much cheaper than buying them.
4. Make your menu plan every weekend. Sit down on Friday nights and write it all down. Try to make the entire week’s meals out of what you already have in the house. If you don’t have enough in the house then you sit down with what you have and the sales papers (print out the coupon match ups for the stores around you) and see what you can’t get on sale, with coupons and then make your menu from that. Make your grocery list and hit the store Saturday morning. Come home and precook some of the stuff so you will be less stressed in the evening or possibly Hubs could do dinner while you’re at school (no eating out). To start with you will need to use your entire weekly budget each week to start stocking up on stuff. This will allow you to completely skip weeks of grocery shopping in the future (I went a month!). Always use the money you’re not using towards that week’s menu towards any meats that are on sale first. The more meat you have on hand the more meals you can make. Make your menu “smart”. Meaning if you cook one night make enough so that it will last you for two. Like if you’re making baked chicken on night… make some extra ones and then you can make chicken with pasta the next night without it taking so much time and effort!
5. Take one night a week and have a meatless meal. Pasta is always a good filler for any meal and can be a meal by itself. This was not my Hubs’ favorite and probably won’t be for yours either but I could make a meal for all of us extremely cheap without meat when I was just starting to stock up. A big pot of beans with some corn bread is good too. Vegetable soup, Mexican casserole with refried beans, and stuff like that. It doesn’t have to be tasteless!
6. Make the most of your leftovers!!! If you make enough during the week you can have one night that is left over night. I have even made pizzas with leftover meats, add a few veggies and there you go… a whole new meal using leftovers! If you have leftovers that are about to go bad… freeze them. We never finish off a pot of chili so I take the extra and freeze it. I’ve grabbed it on the way to work before to eat for lunch that way I’m eating leftovers but haven’t actually eaten it in two weeks. Or I’ve recycled leftover chili into using it on baked potatoes (yum).
7. Don’t forget to pack your lunch. Don’t spend anything on food if you can take some with you from the night before. Also curbs wasting it!
8. Ask your boss about overtime. Yes, some companies are horrible when it comes to the added expense, but if you explain that you need it to get your job done like it should be done because since the changeover to SAP things were erratic, or come up with something that needs to be caught up or possibly something that everyone just never gets around to but it needs to be done. Propose the idea. The worse thing is that you are told no and you are in the same spot you are now.
9. Time seems of shorter supply than money sometimes and this is so true especially now being in school as well, but you are going to have to plan wisely in order to get things done without incurring extra costs. Like paying our power bill… online it costs $4.95 to pay online but I could mail a check for nothing. You may need to open a checking account and only put money in there that you are going to pay bills with. There are multiple banks right now offering $50 account credit for opening up a checking account. That’s an extra $50 in your pocket! I know SunTrust is doing it.
10. Look for ways to earn money that won’t “kill” you. Post things to Craig’s list, advertise to baby sit for a mother who works 3rd shift or weekends, check on Craig’s list for side jobs. Sometimes people who are hosting a big event will look for people who can come and work just that night. These would be cash only jobs… they won’t have your SS# or anything. I know not what you want to hear because already time is short, but it’s just a few hours and can mean groceries and gas!
Everything will work out… they always do but sometimes they just take more effort than normal!
With Love,
Me
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