Dec 9, 2010

Penny Saved

Ways we trimmed the budget this year, little by little:
  1. Winter: Canned the housekeeper ($50/month)
  2. Spring: Noah finished MDO ($104/month)
  3. Spring: Quit Noah's My Gym class ($40/month)
  4. Summer: Quit Anna's My Gym class ($60/month)
  5. Summer: Joined Netflix for rentals ($10+/month)
  6. Fall: Cancelled Brinks ($40/month)
  7. Fall: Switched Life Ins. Companies/Plans ($80/month)
  8. Fall: Refinanced Mortgage ($200/month)
  9. Winter: Cancelled Cook's Termite ($22/month)
  10. Winter: Cancelled Home Phone ($50/month)
Ways we like to save money:  Flex Spending account, Sale, thrift, Craig's List, Ebay, and consignment shopping, Couponing (dabbling), Eating out less (a work in progress), Scaling back Christmas shopping (oh yeah!), Taking a break from retirement investments (just 2 years), driving instead of flying (ugh), making toys/decor/food instead of buying (turns out it's pretty fun), Taking advantage of point and loyalty card programs, Groupon

Cuts to come in 2011:
  • January:  Quit Anna's MDO ($130/month)
  • March: Cancel Cook's Pest Control ($35/month)
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2 comments:

  1. Amy Faye BrownDecember 10, 2010 at 2:20 PM

    I'm hearing ya. We are continually scaling back so I don't have to return to work before I finish my degree. Have not been to the grocery store in over a week by getting creative and using what is already in the pantry and freezer. And, because my children don't have access to your blog unless I share something with them, I'm going to share this...we really scaled back on Christmas this year. Aaron did not know what he wanted and listed tools as a possiblilty. JM started looking around and on the Milwaulkee refurbished/outlet website found a steal of a deal for him. A steal! Beka really only wanted a nice wool pea coat. Black Friday shopping online was a miss, but finally found one at Macy's (which is a store she adores) for $35 and the original price was almost $100. Yay, me. Next, I introduced her to the Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gun for her birthday. Just bought her volume 2 for Christmas on Amazon (brand new, not used) for $1.48! Yesterday, I was alerted that Amazon had 90% off camera accessories and she's been needing an adapter or card reader for her camera because her card doesn't fit any of our laptops. Ready for this? $3.13 total and that includes shipping and it went out from California just hours after I ordered it. What's left on her list are a pair of pajamas and some costume jewelry and I'll probably just snag those at Wal-mart. Aaron's Milwaukee tools was a 3-in-1 type deal plus JM had already found something else at Lowe's marked down from $40 to just $10. So we are through with him. There other "gift" is to see the Narnia movie with a nice dinner out on Christmas Eve and then our trip south. Probably our cheapest Christmas ever!

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  2. KimberlyDecember 11, 2010 at 6:40 AM

    Isn't it so fun to recount these sorts of good deals?! I could start a blog of just the good deal scenarios - with the sale, situation, comparison prices, coupon, and quality details. It's like scoring the great deal all over again when you recount all those parts, isn't it?

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