Photo by Karolina Kaboompics
Been a rough couple of months and there’s some busy weeks coming up. I had a friend reach out to me last week because he’d seen me out and was worried about how stressed I was. This is a good friend who has known me since I was 17 and seen me go through some of the worst moments in my life (losing my husband and Michael’s diabetes diagnosis among other things). I appreciated his reaching out to me and it was a bit of a wake-up call. It has been an unusually stressful period for various reasons but it’s just a season in life and I realize that. And we’ve got a good thing coming up in our family that I can’t talk about yet but even good things can be stressful so I’m making a conscious decision to quiet the noise of the world and get back to my Zen. And writing is my zen so let’s get back to basics.
Crap, Where’s the Money?
Who hasn’t gone through a period where they need to really buckle down and tighten up their budget?? If you’re raising your hand right now and that’s never been a concern for you, good for you, and call me…I can use a loan. But I think most people can relate to this. Maybe someone totaled your car when you’re in debt payoff mode and trying to pay off a cruise you have booked (yeah, that’s me). Maybe you found out there’s a baby coming in 9 months, maybe you’re buying a house, or maybe you lost your job. There’s a variety of reasons you might realize that, hey, money is suddenly tighter than I like and something’s got to change.
First off, don’t panic. That doesn’t help. As a single mom, I’ve had extra lean years, but even in my tightest moments I could usually come up with ways to tighten my budget or come up with some extra cash.
Make a Plan
I know you know what I’m going to say. You’ve got to look at the budget and if you don’t have a budget…make one…ASAP. You have to know what money you’ve got coming in and look at what’s going out. It might be scary as hell but knowledge is power. If you’re expenses are more than your income or you’re just running way too tight for your comfort level than here’s a few tips. They might not all apply to your situation but I suspect you can implement a few.
Try to Reduce Expenses First
Let’s be honest. Most of us have some little luxuries built into our lives. Take a hard look at your checking account and see if there’s something you can cut out or cut back on. Remember, this doesn’t have to be a forever move. Can you cut out or cut back on some things temporarily until you can get back to a better spot? Here’s a few examples, I would probably look at first in my own budget:
- Eating out: Again, I’m not saying never eat out but if you’re buying breakfast every morning on the way to work or buying lunch every workday then that’s a big expense. Bring your lunch or get some easy things to grab in the morning like a muffin or bagel. A quick lunch out during we weekday can easily run $8-10 or more. There’s $50 a week if you’re eating out every day.
- Streaming subscriptions: How many streaming services are you paying for? Spotify, Netflix, Philo, Hulu, Apple TV. That’s just some my family currently subscribes to. The good news is that most of these are not annual plans, you can pay for them on a monthly basis and the majority tend to release their shows a series at a time, so why not pick your favorite this month (let’s say it’s Hulu), cancel your other subscriptions, and watch all your favorite programs on Hulu this month. Once you’ve finished The Bear (highly recommend by the way) and any other favorites you have then you can cancel Hulu and switch to Netflix for a month or two or as long as you need to cycle through your favorite series and movies on there. Rinse and repeat.
I currently pay about $12 a month for Spotify premium but in the past I’ve just used their free subscription. You have to listen to some ads and you don’t get to play your songs in any order I think but it’s also going to save you around $150 a year. - Check your current bills. I recently changed internet companies and it’s going to save me nearly $30 a month.
- Fancy Coffee drinks: Oh, I’ve talked about this expensive habit of mine in the past. I do love my Chai lattes and yes, I know I can make them at home and I do but there’s just something about splurging on one when you’re out and about. I’ve been much better about limiting myself during the week and making them at home the majority of the time.
- Groceries: Okay, we’ve all got to eat and I know, the grocery store has gotten a little ridiculous lately. If things are tight right now then try and make it a game. See what you spent on groceries last month and try to reduce it by 10% this month. Spent $500 in July, aim for $450 this month. Look at the weekly sale ad before you go and come up with a meal plan around this week’s sales. Don’t forget the digital coupons. Try the generic bread or cereal. Eat the leftovers (my son is not big on leftovers but I don’t mind them). Get the ground beef instead of the steak or salmon if that’s what the budget calls for.
- Entertainment: I am not a person that likes to sit at home. Luckily, I don’t have expensive hobbies though. I am perfectly fine window shopping and not buying anything. DON’T window shop if you don’t have the self-discipline not to splurge though.
I love to read but guess what? The library gives me my books for free.
Movies are definitely one of my favorite budget busters but if there’s something I really want to see at the theater then I’ll try to go to the matinee or the discount night and I stay away from the popcorn to make it a little cheaper. For the most part though, I can usually find a movie on one of my streaming channels.
Google free events in your city/town, I’m sure there’s something going on. Take a walk in the park. Host a potluck and game night with friends. - Try a No-spend challenge. Obviously, this doesn’t mean don’t pay your monthly bills. This means, one week, two weeks, a month, whatever time frame you choose and don’t spend on any extras. For me that means, no restaurants out, no Venti Chai Lattes, no cute journals or colored gel pens and Target. Essentials only.
Bring In Extra Funds
Again, this doesn’t have to be a forever thing. Here are some tips to pad the bank account in the short-term though.
- Use your credit card rewards
- Clip those digital coupons.
- Earn rewards through apps like Receipt Hog, Shopkick, Suveys, Rakuten, etc. See this post where I talked about these earlier.
- Get a part time job. I’ve done this over the years I’ve worked at my local Dairy Queen and an apartment leasing office on the weekends. My son recently did some house and dog sitting for two different friends over the last month or so.
Get a weekend or evening job at your favorite store. You can earn a little cash and maybe even an extra discount. - Sell some things around your home that you’re not using anymore.
- Start a side hustle.
- Work overtime if you’re an hourly employee and that’s a possibility.
- Offer your babysitting services
Hopefully a few of these suggestions might help you out if you’re in a temporary money crunch. Again, and I can’t stress this enough, these changes don’t have to be permanent changes that’s going to make your life miserable. Buckle down for a bit and achieve that goal, whether it’s paying off debt or saving for the vacation or whatever and then re-evaluate. Maybe you’ll discover that some of the cost-saving measures really aren’t that difficult to live with. Maybe you’ll treasure that Venti Chai Latte even more when you go back to it. Either way, do what works best for you.
