I have decided we desperately need to go on a money diet. You know where you itemize EVERYTHING! Kind of like Weight Watchers with the points, only this will be with money.
I promised my husband when I started this I would never get specific about our money, as in how much comes in each month. With that said, I am looking for specific ideas as to how to cut and save.
Things I am seriously considering and welcome comments on, either here or on FB page:
1. Do you have cable? If you have done away with it, how goes it? Do you use Hulu, Netflix or nothing at all?
2. How many cell phones do you pay for? Who is your service provider and what is your plan like?
3. What is the one expense you have each month that you simply cannot live without and would never cut? Why?
4. What reward programs do you belong to? Which ones work, don't?
5. What are your tricks of the trade? I have mentioned before my favorite cheapie trick which I never envisioned doing was to reuse freezer bags over and over. What do you do?
These are just a start. I am hoping to implement this new diet starting August 1. I will let you know what we did and update how its going. If you dont want to post publicly, feel free to email me mary(dot)bluepatches(at)gmail(dot)com
Thanks followers!
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We spend $30/mo on TV. We have an extremely basic cable package and Netflix. LOVE Netflix! Plus we get lots of movies and books at the library for free. Getting the Sprout and Nickelodeon channels would be the package that's about $50/mo more cable. It makes so much more sense to have all the kids' shows on demand without any commercials, and she can watch them whenever she wants.
ReplyDeleteAs for phones, we pay about $100 a month for 2 iPhones (his unlimited data, mine on minimal data). We don't have a landline.
Things would have to be pretty bad for us to cut Netflix and our phones. The basic cable would go in a heartbeat before Netflix.
I have always kept extremely close track of our budget. I know where every dollar goes and always have. I'm extremely frugal, and we live far less extravagantly than a lot of people who make half as much as we do.
Rewards programs - nah, most aren't worth it. I get between 1-5% back on my credit cards, but we pay them off each month and don't even spend much on them anyway.
Good luck on your diet! The main tip I have is figure out what your priorities are and construct a budget that reflects those priorities.