Layout:
Home > Not good

Not good

February 28th, 2007 at 02:21 pm

So, I just started this blog yesterday and already I've received a lot of great tips on ways to save and get rid of debt. thanks to all!!
But, so far on my first day of tracking my daily expenses, my first thought was ouch!!!!! Here goes:
diapers--$13.48 (buy 1, get 1 50%-CVS brand)
gas-- $20.00
smokes-- $5.12
car wash-$8.00
coffee-- $2.00
Vit. H2O-$1.49
TOTAL----$50.09

Husband
lunch--$2.00
coffee-$2.00
beer---$3.00
TOTAL--$7.00

My husband did a lot better than I did. So, I determined the unnecessary spending, on my part anyway, were the cigarettes (time to quit), car wash, coffee, and Vitamin Water. It's definitely going to take time, but I will definitely be making an effort to cut down on the extras.

Wish me luck!!!

9 Responses to “Not good”

  1. living_in_oz Says:
    1172673004

    You really have to separate wants vs. needs. It looks you purchased a lot of "wants" and not "needs". But, it looks as if you already know that! Good for you! Don't try to do away with all of your extras at once...just cut back on one or two things a day. If you try to cut everything at once you'll feel deprived and want to quit. Scaling back is a process and it looks as if you are off to a good start!!!!!!

  2. tinapbeana Says:
    1172673303

    way to go! knowing where the leaks are is really half the battle. then you get the fun part: trying to come up with creative ways to keep that money in your pocket. for instance instead of having the car washed, perhaps you and DH could start an every other saturday car wash. gets the job done, and you two get to spend time together.

  3. homebody Says:
    1172677353

    Or buy your Vitamin water on sale or in bulk or something. Of course a thermos type thing with your favorite watery drink in it would be even better. I drink half water/half mixed Crystal Light (Target brand) with lots of ice.

    Make coffee at home, at least cut back on cigs to start and I am not saying anything about the car wash since we own one. Ha Ha!

    It's an eye opener to track isn't it?

  4. sfborges79 Says:
    1172680262

    I definitely agree with you, living_in_oz, cutting everything out altogether doesn't work. I tried that before and then felt cheated in a way because my husband was still buying his beer, coffee, etc. Carwash--sorry "homebody", but for now, atleast until the summer comes along, I'm cutting it down to maybe once a month, if not every 6 weeks. (But you did make me laugh with your comment...lol). Coffee--well, I purposely bought a coffee machine for my office just so I wouldn't spend money at Dunkin Donuts, but it just doesn't taste the same, and plus there's a really cute guy that works at the Dunkin Donuts I go to (husband doesn't need to know...lol.). I know--stupid reason!! And about the Vitamin Water--I actually just found out yesterday, after buying it for $1.49 that Shaw's usually has it for $1/each. So, that's where I'm going from now on!!
    Oh yeah, and to get my husband to help me wash the cars? I'm lucky if he'll sit on the couch with me and watch t.v.--never mind actually doing some "work" with me!! lol...but I'll definitely work on that!!

  5. honeichild Says:
    1172682108

    Where do you get diapers from?

    I got 200+ diapers for $30 from Sam's Club.

  6. fairy74 Says:
    1172682370

    good for you figuring out where the money is going, as others have said that is over half the battle. I also agree about cutting things out gradually, don't go cold turkey or it is less likely you will be able to stick with your spending plan. This is a starting point and I'm sure you'll be amazed at how much you'll be able to save now that you are aware....Kudos Smile

  7. scfr Says:
    1172682585

    Writing everything down is really an eye-opener, isn't it?

    My husband used to smoke and he was able to quit successfully about 10 years ago using the Nicorette gum. No telling how much money we have saved since then, not to mention the health benefits!

    Sounds like you already know the coffee is an area where you could cut back, should you choose to do so.

    About the Vitamin water, what about taking a multivitamin and drinking plain old water from the tap?

    Good luck and keep it up! You have made a very important first step! Smile

  8. sfborges79 Says:
    1172683744

    Well, I'm not a big fan of plain water, and I don't know if it's all in my head, but I like the effect of the "Energy" vitamin water. The smoking, I think it will be easy for me to quit, since I only started in 4/2006--it was an extremely stressful year, and something that started out as a social thing on the weekends, has turned into a daily habit. Frown I usually get my diapers from Target, or CVS. But it looks like Sam's is a much better deal. For example, the package I bought yesterday was 8.99 for 27 diapers-, so that's what--.33 each? I'm planning on starting potty training this summer, but then I'm planning on getting pregnant again in September and starting all over again next year!!! Yikes!! lol

  9. Ima saver Says:
    1172685525

    Good luck!!

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]