Financial Goals for March

I hope I'm not boring people with my focus on our family budget. At the moment, I am preparing us for the possibility of a loss of income--although it's likely that we would find some sort of income given time--it is also likely that we would not be making as much as usual. It is entirely possible that we might have a length of time with no income, then a reduced income, and need to quickly get used to living on less than we have been.

For all my talk of budgeting and knowing where your money goes, I sat and reviewed our numbers last night and was shocked that our "bare bones" budget (the amount of money we need every month to keep food in bellies and lights on overhead--the essentials only) was frankly much higher than I thought it would be. That is, at first glance, I saw no way that we could reduce our monthly expenses. Considering I sat and did the initial budget in January, it's strange that I still didn't know exactly how much money we spend a month. A few things have changed, though, and I hadn't really done the math on how that affected us. As well, I had not factored in vehicle maintenance, house repairs/maintenance, kids activities, Christmas. Once I did, I found my budget to be grossly out of reach, especially if the worst does happen.

After my initial panic I was able to see the budget more clearly and have found a few ways to cut spending. What's more, I have decided that it works better for me to move specific amounts of money into accounts that are designated for 1) savings/Christmas/pending bills and 2) vehicle maintenance, home repair/maintenance, "slush fund", and kids activities. Once that money disappears from our joint account I will simply have to work with what's leftover. For me, the important thing is getting used to living within reach of our "bare bones" budget so that, if worse comes to worse, we can quickly and easily adapt to the new reality.

What I realize I must change:

• I am doing well with my $600/month budget for food. However, getting this even lower would be necessary if Husband were out of work for a significant length of time. I am going to try to have a surplus of money leftover in March. (Whatever is not spent on groceries will be moved into Savings fund)
• I intend to have one month's free groceries/year using air miles reward dollars at Safeway and my PC Plus card at Superstore. I need to be very strategic in using coupons and flyers and planning my stockpile of food. This is a change in philosophy from saving up all the points and using them on "special" groceries at Christmas time. At $600/month I'm spending $7200 a year on food. I used to spend more than that plus spend any extra free points on things like cream cheese, havarti, etc for fancy meals. By budgeting smartly I expect to still afford some Christmas treats and also have a month's free food. So hopefully I will spend around $6,600 on food and eat just as well. It's a challenge that I am oddly excited to begin :)
• Our power bill is only charged every 3 months. I make monthly payments to that account so that we are never caught with an outrageous bill we weren't expecting. But I need to sit and figure out an "average" monthly amount for power so that I know I am budgeting enough. Ditto with natural gas.
• Buy greater quantities of pet food when it is on sale.

What I am not changing...yet:

• Husband has a Sirius Satellite Radio. He basically listens to it all day and he is in vehicles/equipment almost non-stop on 11 and 12 hour workdays. It is a last resort to take this away from him, but at $20/month we are realizing that it is a luxury that could be cut if need be--particularly if he was no longer working as much. I have also discovered that I can reduce that cost by about $5/month and I plan to do so soon.
• I cut my cell phone plan by $21/month awhile back. This could be cut further and probably in the summer when our contract is up I will shop around a hopefully save even more.
• We were in a situation where we basically had to get a new truck for Husband for work. We knew it was a poor time to do so, but being broke down in the winter or even having an unreliable vehicle at work is stressful. We are now deciding if we will sell the old truck, or my car, or keep both and only insure the old truck when we need it...obviously in a pinch we could sell one. For now we are keeping both car and truck insured for driving but we need to make a decision soon. 

My Goals for March:

• Write ourselves each a cheque and deposit them into each of our personal accounts (the plan is to do this every month--March will be my first). As I mentioned above, one account will be Savings (Christmas, land taxes, a few bills that are coming at us soon), the other will be vehicle and home maintenance/repair fund, kids activities fund, "slush fund".
• create a spreadsheet for each of these accounts keeping track of how much money belongs to each designated fund and recording any transactions.
• Into the kids' activities fund I will transfer their Christmas money from Grandparents in Newfoundland. We usually save the money for something big for them so this year it might be a camping trip. Likewise, birthday money from my mom is always spent on swimming lessons, and their other birthday and Christmas money goes into their own bank accounts. Once the kids activities fund gets to a certain amount I plan to make a lump transfer to each of their RESPs. 
• Repay money from vacation fund that we have "borrowed". The cash from our bottle/can recycling, along with other bits of cash that we end up with, are stashed in an envelope waiting for a summer trip of some kind. Twice now I've taken money from it when I needed cash so need to put $40 back!
• Register the kids for swimming lessons at the pool.
• Continue to bake all of our bread, buns and sweets.
• Continue to put $5/week into the egg jar.
• Continue to explore ways to make money myself, without incurring childcare costs.

It is my absolute goal right now to begin saving one year's expenses in case Husband is out of work. I realize now that we should have had that saved all along. We are doing well and with all my extra cuts I hope that in March we can set aside a month's expenses while also doing the transfers I have spoken of. This is the new game plan for 2016--for every dollar earned I need to save 50 cents!  

Quinoa and Cilantro Patties

I realize I've been going hard posting about frugality and spending these days :) As a change of pace I thought I'd do a quick pop in with a yummy (and frugal) treat I made myself today. Last night I had quinoa and roasted vegetables with some meatballs that I had pre-made and frozen. I made about 2 cups of quinoa with the plan that I could use it in my cauliflower pizza crust tonight and some quinoa patties that I like.

QUINOA PATTIES

approz 1 cup cooked quinoa
1 egg
2 Tbsp chopped spinach (I used frozen and made sure to squeeze excess moisture from the spinach before adding)
2 Tbsp chopped onion (optional)
1 tsp cumin (optional)

Mix your ingredients together while 1 Tbsp olive oil heats in a frying pan. Form "patties" with your mixture and fry carefully once the pan is hot. You may want to use 2 flippers to ensure they don't come apart when you turn them, although mine held together well.

I made the most delicious hot pepper chutney with my excess peppers this past fall. It is spicy hot and so, so good. Husband and I love hot food, though, and it is not for the faint of heart. I chopped cilantro (another favorite of ours) and had the patties with cilantro, hot pepper chutney and some greek yogurt to temper the heat. So delish!  I tend to forget about cooking quinoa but I do enjoy eating it from time to time. Do you like quinoa? What is your favorite way to eat it?

How We Saved Money Feb 21-27, and February's Spending Recap

The past week had its highs and lows as far as household spending goes. My 6 year old is getting long legged and although we do get hand-me-downs, boys wear out pants and there aren't as many intact pairs to hand down! So while in town to buy groceries I was also on a mission to find him some jogging pants for school (he has plenty of jeans that fit but prefers softer clothes so I like to have a couple pairs of each). Since I was nearby I stopped into a children's clothing store and was happy to see "40-60% off Storewide" signs in the window. There was only one pair of jogging pants in his size and they were regular $24 but marked 30% off (it just occurred to me that I should have asked why they were only marked 30% off when the signs said 40%. Oh well!). By my math that still puts the pants at about $17. I hesitated and then put them back, and did not stop to look at the younger sized clothes that were marked $3.99. O has plenty of hand-me-downs and I didn't want to be tempted into buying things that aren't needed. On my way out of town I swung in to the Second Hand Store and found a pair of 7/8 jogging pants and also got a 9/10 for future. They were $1.50 each. I also found a Leap Reader video for $2. Although it wasn't on my list, my kids love these videos and they really do help kids learn to read. I didn't feel bad spending that $2! So altogether I spent $5 rather than $17, but the pants were too big so it will be a few months before he actually wears them. I will continue to watch the thrift stores.

I made it to Husband's bank to deposit money, then did an online transfer into his Tax Free Savings Account. These are things that I put off doing and then we don't end up saving the money. However, I find that once the money is out of our general accounts we "forget" about it and are less likely to feel small events are emergencies that warrant the hassle of withdrawing (something I tend to do when I just keep it in the savings account). Small strategies to actually save.

Husband has been away working most of February so I anticipated coming in below budget this month--and I would have had I not chosen to stockpile a bit of food that was on special. I came in $6.39 over my $600/month kitchen budget. There were also some realities that skew my monthly results but should average out over the year. As I've mentioned, we get free beef from my parents so this month very little was spent on meat. At the same time, I bought 4 AAA batteries at the grocery store for about $9, something I should have been proactive about watching for on sale and having a coupon ready. More was spent on health and beauty this month as I bought Husband razors and Epsom Salts for my dad. I bought things like plastic food wrap (a huge $10 roll), lightbulbs and stamps--rarely purchased but necessary nonetheless and all of this combined is an inedible addition of almost $70 to the month's grocery spending. It isn't hard to see how such expenditures can derail a budget when money is very tight.

Some stockpiled soup, coffee, vinegar, and the edge of a bag of flour--all purchased on special.
Keeping this shelf stocked prevents my paying full price for items we use regularly.

I left pet food for next month but now run the risk of running out of cat food before I get to town. Happily, the cats seem to like the dog food so I am crushing it a bit and mixing it with theirs to get us through. When I added my last grocery receipt to my spreadsheet I was stunned to see that a bag of grapes cost almost $11! I think I was more surprised at myself for not weighing the bag than I was at the price. Rookie mistake!

Another mistake on the bill (whether mine or the store's) was that when I purchased 2 packages of bacon I thought it was marked $4/pkg. I see now that I was charged over $13 for the two! Had I noticed that at the check out I would have put the bacon back. I simply don't buy it unless it is on special. This oversight is a combination of having a child "helping", bagging my own groceries, and also forgetting to watch the prices as they cross the screen. Normally I catch many mistakes simply by watching the prices as things are scanned, and I don't like shopping where it isn't visible to the customer. Lesson learned: check my receipt before leaving the till. In the past I have caught overcharges upwards of $20, so it is a good habit to have.

The last of my notes for February includes my continued commitment to support the Food Bank with every grocery shop. Most years I get generous at Christmas and then forget about it. But for the past several months I've watched for good specials and purchase a few dollars worth of food every week. When we forget to pick something out, my kids and I realize at the bin by the door and take something that we like out of our own food and donate it. I don't think the Food Bank can fix what is wrong (right now, or in general) but there is a lesson in this for my kids. I want them to be grateful for our good fortune, and realize that our security comes as a result of planning and budgeting with a whole lot of hard work and luck thrown in for good measure.

Where to Start Part II

When Income Decreases, Spending Must Follow

Another of my weekly columns. This was sent in before I received so many wonderful suggestions and comments on Part I. Thanks to those who gave feedback both through the blog and in person. I am still processing and ruminating and will be working on follow up columns soon. For now, here are some more ideas to help families dealing with or preparing for a loss of income. 

Has your income decreased or are you preparing for the worst? Here are some ideas to control your monthly spending.

1.       Reduce Grocery Spending

Food is getting more expensive, but it is possible to spend less at the grocery store. Consider this: the less processed or packaged the food is, the cheaper it will be. For example, small, cute, kid-sized portions are double (or triple) the cost (think cheese strings, juice boxes, yogurt). Consider buying the 650g container of yogurt and sending it to school in a reusable dish with lid and spoon (better for the environment anyway). Follow the Canada Food Guide’s recommended portions and send a piece of cheese cut from the larger, less expensive block that you already have in the fridge. You can do the same with apple sauce, fruit salad, almost anything. If it comes in little packages you are probably paying extra. Save money by buying larger amounts and portioning them out yourself. Still using that single-serve coffee pot? Compare the cost of a can of coffee to your favorite pods. Might be time to get a reusable filter or dig out the old drip coffee maker. When shopping for food, consider how “convenience” costs extra. Can you save by doing some of the work yourself?

 

2.       Use A Rewards Card and In-Store Coupons

Most stores and credit card companies use a rewards system of some kind nowadays (think Airmiles, PC Plus, Shopper’s Optimum, etc). If you already shop there (or use the credit card) sign up for the points/miles/cash back options available to you. Collect the points, miles or stamps and redeem what is coming to you. If it is not something you want, donate or sell it. It takes minimal effort to “load the offers” or check for coupons as you shop. Many grocery stores give coupons for gas—ask for more details. A few cents off per litre adds up when money is tight. If the money was laying on the ground, would you pick it up? Keep track of how much less you are spending and put that money towards your highest interest rate (see #4).

3.       Pay in Cash (Envelope System)

If you are a fan of Gail Vaz Oxlade (and you should be) then you already know about the cash envelope (or jar) system that she recommends. Basically, you take out the amount of money that you will need for the month’s expenses and keep it in the designated jar. Once you are out of money you must stop spending—an effective tool but it does require will-power. If you can physically see the money leaving the jars it helps curb over-spending. Consider whether this might be a system that would work for you/ your family. Read more at Gail’s website www.gailvazoxlade.com or sites like www.mrmoneymustache.com (language warning on that one!). Find a system that you are comfortable with and get started.

4.       STOP Making Minimum Payments

If you have reduced your monthly spending and see a bit of cash leftover, don’t rush out and spend money as a reward. Try to put as much extra money as possible towards your highest interest rate. Every little bit helps over time. When you finally pay that off, tackle the next payment in the same way. Talk to someone about consolidating your debt--cut up your cards. Do whatever you have to do to crush your credit card debt. Everyone’s situation is different so take a long hard look at your payments and debts and take action of some kind as soon as possible. If you are caught up in a cycle of not making your payments, you should consult professional advice. The longer you leave it the more stressful it will be.

5.       Talk About Spending Less Money

“Keeping up” with the neighbours can be tempting if you see them continue to vacation and shop as though their situation has not changed. Perhaps their situation hasn’t changed; perhaps they had saved a lot or were gifted money or perhaps they are in over their heads but don’t know where to start. You can’t know what is going on in another household but it’s time to figure out what’s going on in yours. Be the first to talk about it and give yourself, your friends and your family permission to admit that change is needed. Share what you are doing to spend less. Your ideas might help someone and their ideas might help you. If you are invited out but it interferes with your budget and goals, explain why you can’t make it. Visit at home. Enjoy potluck suppers and coffee at the kitchen table. Be the first in your circle to turn over a frugal new leaf. Chances are those close to you will be relieved that you did!

Batch Cooking, and Some Social Media Excitement

I feel like I've pulled out of the February doldrums that seem to catch up to me every year. I managed to get my baking done on Monday in spite of a crushing lethargy. Yesterday, bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to get at 'er. Today, middle of the road after the dog barked from 4 in the morning until Gawd Knows When. I don't know why I don't just get up and get busy when my sleep is interrupted. At any rate, a slow start but I have not been deterred from "My List".

I wanted to get some frozen meals in the freezer--some for Husband who is working away from home right now but has the facilities to reheat home-cooked meals. I have also had a hankering for cabbage rolls of late--I confess I actually bought two batches at $9.99 each earlier this winter. I just don't seem to roll them right :(  Properly rolled or not, there are now two pans of cabbage rolls ready for my freezer.

O turns 4 on March 7th. I am planning another sliding party (if we still have snow) with a wiener roast  for the kids and chili and buns for the grown ups. Since he is not in school he just wants to invite his little buddy that we have play dates with, and I will ask a few family friends if they can come. If everyone's schedules co-ordinate we should be able to have some fresh air and fun outside. On a different day I plan lasagna, homemade bread and salads with my family (and of course cake and ice cream for both parties). Today I made the chili and lasagna to freeze, and portioned out some for Husband to take back to work with him. I find that doing the cakes and probably bread and buns as well as getting the house organized is enough to tackle for birthdays. Having a good portion of the food ready ahead will really help out.

While I was busy in the kitchen this morning a friend texted a "screen shot" of some pins that were on Pinterest under my name. These were fairly risque photography poses, as in sans clothes and very suggestive and sexual in nature!!! I near fainted in me cabbage. I only use my first name and first 3 letters of my last name, which another person with the same name has done as well but in ALL CAPS. There was a flurry of text messaging and a quick tutorial on "how to change your name on Pinterest". That other Jill sure does like to have fun, but I wonder if she has stocked her freezer with cabbage rolls and the like? At any rate, there's been a name change and friends on Pinterest will have to make do with the usual homesteading, thrifty and gardening type Pins for which I am known. That is unless they've dumped me for the more adventurous gal by the same name ;)

Where To Start

I've spoke just a bit about how the local economy has been affected by the drop in the price of oil. It's not about whether oil is good or bad--my focus is just on what is happening to families that have had job losses with no warning or severance. Other families have seen their income dwindle as a result of their normal customers moving away/losing their jobs. What about the families now on unemployment? Their income has been cut in half. I will not sit in judgement and say that people should have been preparing...I consider myself "frugal" and a "saver" and I realize now that we are not actually prepared if my Husband is out of work for a significant length of time. I thought I would put together a few links and some "where to start" strategies for a generation of people that have really never had to, nor been taught to, limit their spending.

If you're new to this blog, I am not a financial expert. I am a stay at home mom that doesn't like to feel stressed about money. I want to retire and travel with my Husband. I feel that by living simply now we will benefit in the long-term. It does not bother me to delay gratification by saving for what we want. Sometimes we find we didn't really want that "thing" that we thought would make us so happy. A few years ago we almost spent several thousand dollars finishing the ceiling in our basement. Our thought was "it will be a pain to do the ceiling in a few years when the basement is full of furniture". But guess what? It was going to be over $6000 and I said no. Let's not spend that money. We don't notice that the ceiling is unfinished. We also don't have baseboards down there. And we are still alive. Our family is healthy. The world has continued to turn. We will probably never finish the ceiling and that is okay, we are hardly ever down there and we can live on that money instead. You don't always need all the things that you think you do! If you are interested in how we have become more motivated to save and reduce our spending, here are some past posts that might inspire you:

Debt and Financial Goals

Ways That We Save Money

Cooking in Batches

Treat It Like A Job

I Was Frugal When Frugal Wasn't Cool

Walking The Talk

Below is a column that I wrote recently. Some of it is repeats what I have written before. Much of it I have read and been inspired by on other blogs and in books. I am writing primarily for people that have not saved much, had the belief that they had job and income security, and are now unsure what to do and don't know where to start. I've given 5 places to start, and yes, Pru, if you're reading this--I was thinking of your blog when I wrote #2!

Get Control of Your Household Spending

Has your income been affected by the drop in oil prices? Are you suddenly on a fixed/reduced income and were you used to spending your money however you wanted when times were good? You are not alone. Perhaps you have begun to reduce your monthly spending; if so, congratulations on taking action. If you do not know where to start, then I hope the strategies in this bi-weekly column will help you take control of your situation and give you some peace of mind. None of these ideas are new—writers like Gail Vaz-Oxlade and David Chilton (The Wealthy Barber) have been teaching most of them for years. But reality is setting in and for many of us it is time to learn to budget and get control of our household finances.

1.       Become A Conscious Spender: Know Where Your Money Goes

Recording every single cent that you spend in a month is essential to you understanding where your money goes. Every trip through a drive through, every scheduled bill payment, every $5 bill sent to school with a child should be recorded and, at the end of the month, documented in some sort of a file.  It can be as simple as keeping a scrap paper to record cash transactions and going through all your bank/credit cards at the end of the month. You might make a spreadsheet or do an online budget (try Gail Vaz-Oxlade’s Interactive Budget Worksheet found on her website www.gailvazoxlade.com). Whatever you do, get your spouse/partner/family on board with this assignment. You cannot tighten your budget until you know exactly where the money is going. This exercise alone will make you more aware of your spending.

2.       Become a Prudent Spender: If It Isn’t Essential, Don’t Buy It

 Once you have established where your money goes every month, you should be able to see where cuts can be made. What are your essential family needs, and what can you cut or delay spending on? Being prudent means being very choosy about where you spend. The question to ask yourself is: am I paying someone to do the things that I could be doing for myself? Can I find this item used or wait for a sale? Can I eliminate/cut back spending on treats and luxuries?

3.       Have “No Spend Days”

Begin by having one or two days a week where you spend no money. Pack a drink and a snack to resist the drive-thru. Make coffee at home. Use what you have—use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without! Avoid going to the places where you might spend money (that includes online shopping). Invite friends over rather than going out. Eat and drink what you have on hand. Chances are that you have things at the back of the cupboard or freezer. Use them up! Take advantage of the “free” events and facilities in the community. Enjoy the mild weather by walking, catch the public skating at one of the rinks, play shinny in your driveway, take your children or yourself to the library or borrow some movies from a friend. Get used to having fun that doesn’t cost you anything. Check your local paper or town website for free local activities.

4.       Shop Around for Insurance

It is a no-brainer that shopping around can save you hundreds of dollars; insurance is no different. Talk to your current provider about how your needs might be changing. Can you get by with one vehicle nowadays and reduce the coverage on your second vehicle? Do you still need the package policy? By no means should you ever allow your insurance to lapse. But there might be a better deal out there. That said, I also think it is important to reward the small businesses that have worked hard to protect you in the past. If it is possible to support a locally owned business, please do so.

5.       Examine Fees, Charges, Plans and Packages

How much are you spending on bank and credit card fees? Have you tried to reduce them? Have a look at your “plans” and “packages”. Can you reduce your cell phone bill? Ditch the house phone altogether? Are you still paying for cable or satellite TV even though you are finding it hard to make ends meet? Have you thought about reducing to Netflix or a similar type service instead? Are you aware that “pick and pay” satellite TV starts March 1^st? Although your provider is not likely to advertise it, you will now be able to select the channels you want without paying for bundles and channels that you don’t watch. Make some calls and see how you can save.

I will be writing similar columns in the future--I'd love some feedback on what your advice would be to young families facing a loss of employment. Can you offer ideas or share what you have done to cut back spending?

Image from Pinterest

How We Saved Money February 14-20, 2016

How can a week have gone by already?

This week I had my 2007 car taken in and checked over. I had a "feeling" something wasn't right and we spent about $900 on a few fixes--most importantly a tie rod end that was shot. Because the tie rod ends affect steering I just feel lucky to have gotten the car looked at in time, avoiding an accident or any injury. In that sense the $900 spent saved us possible stress and heartache or being stranded in cold conditions, any number of grim possibilities. Having the unforeseen expense reminded me how important it is to keep vehicle repairs and maintenance in your budget. Truthfully, the car has never cost much besides insurance, fuel, oil changes and tires, so over the 9 years that I've owned it I haven't really factored it into my budget. Had I been putting, say, $30/month aside for repairs over the last 9 years I would have had the money for this repair saved even after buying tires and doing maintenance. We are lucky to have had the free cash, but it is a learning lesson for me to not take a reliable vehicle for granted. Even if the cash had never been needed it could go towards a down payment on a new vehicle when the time comes. Something for me to think about!

I took my boys in to have their eyes checked (free for kids here in Saskatchewan, probably all of Canada I'm not sure). They both have 20/20 vision so that was nice to hear. While at the eye doctor we walked to the nearest grocery store rather than drive (while my car was being worked on I was driving the old truck that we have. It's not like it's huge but I am more accustomed to a small car!). The store we walked to is so much more expensive than where we usually shop; it was lazy of me not to go back and get the truck and drive to the usual store. But alas, we bought pepperoni and cheese for a pizza party with friends, Greek yogurt which was reduced, and a 2 lb bag of clementines for $2.99. The total came to $22.50--this is probably what I would have spent at my regular store except that I would have ended up with almost double the amount of pepperoni and cheese for that price. Impulsively I redeemed $20 worth of free groceries because I have started collecting reward dollars rather than miles with my Air Miles card. I am not considering this a savings because I plan to save up the reward dollars and do a huge stockpile shop when things are on a great discount. I am not sure why I even redeemed the dollars except that I was giddy with having the option--must show more restraint! At any rate, it was $20 less out-of-pocket and we had a lovely visit and pizza with friends yesterday.

Husband brought me a wee bouquet of Gerber daisies and carnations on Valentine's Day. He knows I have a rather tainted view of made-up Hallmark occasions but he feels it is important to acknowledge the day. I appreciate the colours and the thought behind the flowers (forgot to get a nice picture before they wilted and got all splotchy!) and, frankly, I appreciate that he didn't cave to the pressure to go for red roses or a florist's bouquet. Am I that frugal that I just can't see the sense in in blowing $125 plus on flowers? I am just as happy with a potted rosemary or better yet with a few hours to write or read in peace. I remember Husband coming home with a $70  (!) tiny bowl of tulips for me one Valentine's. To be honest, and I wouldn't want this to hurt his feelings, it annoyed me to no end that so much money was spent on something that doesn't even register on my scale of important things. But two people in the flower shop knew us and he said he didn't want to appear to "cheap out" once he was in there LOL. It really highlights how easy it is to fall into "keeping up with the Jones's". Anyway, not meant to be a rant about Valentine's Day. If that's your thing, fill yer boots. Me, I'd rather have someone do the dishes for me ;)

Wherever you are, I hope you are having a restful weekend. I'm off for a walk in the snow :)