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Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Cutting back even farther

The railroad has decided to scale back. Hubby has been moved from this reg. job to one that pays $1000 a month less. It could only be a month until he gets his position back or it could be a year. You just never know with the railroad. His job is secure, But you just never know where they are going to place you or how long you will be there. Don't get me wrong, even with the pay cut we are still making good money, But we sure got used to that extra $1000. And with the new baby soon now was not the most opportune time to go down in pay.
Since we were living paycheck to paycheck with paying off debt. We still want to pay off our debt but have to scale back. First thing is going to be our food budget. I was spending $700 a month on food and household for the month. I am going to scale that back to $400 a month. With our stockpile and careful careful planning I have no doubt that I can do that. It is just going to be some extra work on my part. I was not a meal planner, But am learning now. I found a great freebie at econobusters.com for a meal planner with tips and hints and all the worksheets needed to do this right. I started the lesson last night to start next monday. I also have gotten a bit lazy the last few months with this pregnancy and need to get back on track with making my own bread(s). Since I went with disposable diapers with the baby ( which I regret) that is about $60 a month there. He is 2 1/2 and needs to be potty trained I have been lazy on this also. I have never been good at potty training little boys lol, But now I need to be. Since we are going with cloth again with the new baby that expense won't be needed. Since cutting out soda and coffee the last few months that has freed up quite a chunk of change there. We have lots of places we can cut, Just have to get it all worked out. I am not worried that we can do it, I just have to incorporate help. So family meeting is scheduled. My oldest daughter has moved back in with us for a few months. She wants to buy a house ( I totally support this at 19 years old). Plus this helps me out, she can help with the little ones when she is off work so I can get some stuff done I can't do with them.
Shaving $1000 a month of your budget is daunting, But I know it can be done. I just have to get creative. And we are fortunate that he still has a job as alot do not even have a job at all. So my next month of posts will be mainly deep cutting posts. Things I find to do that save here and there and stuff I find online. This first week will be the cut in groceries and household. The next week will be waste, uggghhh I know this is ugly I know we waste, or spend needlessly too much. Wish me luck. Michelle

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