tips on budgetting

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

pay cash (or debit card). credit card bills can be a shock at the end of the month

[cmartyn 0]

Saving Money or budgeting? My tip for saving money and eating better is to create a menu for the week. Buy everything to make all the food for the week. We used to shop day to day or just grab stuff and at the end of the week you have stuff left over that you throw out. Its a huge waste. Food is getting up in price relative to income again. I didnt notice it on individual items but when I look at the total bill its up about 20% over last year.

[Marilyn. 340]

yeah, I usually but groceries every 2 weeks sometimes I go longer...

[SnowyTater 0]

Ooh I do really like the growing your own vegetables idea. You're in Kansas I guess? That should be pretty good for growing crops I think. Guess it depends on your yard.

Here in SC it's extremely easy to grow all kinds of things and it's just now the right time for planting tons of stuff. My family grows squash, okra, lettuce, tomatoes, all kinds of peppers, lots of corn, watermelon, canteloupes, strawberries, cucumbers, ...really you name it, most stuff will grow. Seeds are pretty cheap so just cultivate your dirt and give it a try Especially if you're staying at home at least at the moment, it's really fun and really nice to be outside in the weather, and it'll give you more to do while hubby's away at work. Why not buy some flowers and make the yard look really pretty too?

Well...my grandma's queen of stockpiling and saving money and one of her big things is having a huge ice chest on the porch, and my dad's taken after her and does the same. Meaning buy in bulk and cook in bulk too, to save time, and then freeze freeze freeze. Especially meats I guess, big roasts and things like that, you have to grab them up when they're half price or whatnot. The little freezers on the fridge don't cut it but if you're trying to save money maybe this is too big of an investment right now.

I don't know...I'm 22 I haven't learned much by experience yet I've been thinking of maybe getting a moped to save so much on gasoline.

If you're bored and like kids maybe there's some kids in your neighborhood that you can babysit for sometimes if people want to go out? That'd bring in a little extra money. Or get awesome at cooking and go to bake sales

[djcess 0]

Avoid eating at restaurants or fast foods if you can.. You might not notice it but these restaurants cost $8-$20 per person each time. I used to eat out lunch everyday when I was working thinking it's only 8 bucks. Man, if you multiply that for 30 days times 2 if my husband eats with me plus dinner.... you do the math! What I did was grocery good for a month and cook at home (healthier too! ), I'd probably spend $200 per month for food, but that's nothing compared to the eating out that costs up to $800

It also helps if he brings lunch for work.

[RIDION 0]

Make a list before you go to the grocery shopping and stick to it

[William33 110]

Add up all of your needs: mortgage/rent, savings, car payment, insurance, utilities, food, gas and so forth.

Analyze this total against available income.

The resulting balance, is what you use to take care of "wants": Eating out, shopping, charitable contributions and so forth.

This plan surmises that retirement funds and investments are "pre-tax" deductions.

If, by chance there are funds leftover, save or invest it.

With all due respect to the budget "tips" offered, one must first grasp the overall budget picture.

Without that primary piece, you will not get to the aformentioned sub-levels..

Edited April 17, 2008 by William33

[rebeccajo 14]

Add up all of your needs: mortgage/rent, savings, car payment, insurance, utilities, food, gas and so forth.

Analyze this total against available income.

The resulting balance, is what you use to take care of "wants": Eating out, shopping, charitable contributions and so forth.

This plan surmises that retirement funds and investments are "pre-tax" deductions.

If, by chance there are funds leftover, save or invest it.

With all due respect to the budget "tips" offered, one must first grasp the overall budget picture.

Without that primary piece, you will not get to the aformentioned sub-levels..

Exactly right.

It's important to budget for everything you know is a regular expense. We save something back each month for car insurance. homeowners insurance and property taxes, even though those bills don't come monthly.

[DARUMA07 25]

I usually wait for the sale at price chopper every wednesday...and i always have my list of our monthly bills and i stick to it and place it near the computer where i pay my bills...

[dj1206 0]

use coupons, check weekly deals of stores, eat at home

[Cassie 8]

There are tons of great frugal living sites and blogs on the internet -- some have frugality down to a science, others are just looking to find ways to save money. And there are some really great books out there too -- check them out in the library!

I look at things in a good (get it right away and not pay full price), better (as cheap as I can get it), best (free) kind of way. for example:

buying books

good -- look online for sales, discounts; use membership discounts, discount book of the month clubs

better -- used bookstores, yard sales, clearance shelves at the bookstore, library sales, Goodwill, etc

best -- library

Depending on my current budget and my wants/needs list, I decide which method I want to go by and go from there.

[VisaJourneyLady 33]

dump the car, cycle everywhere!

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Hello my fellow VJer's....any tips on how to budget household expenses?...I want to help my husband while I'm not employed yet by spending money wisely .

pay cash

buy second hand

don't use credit cards

yo!

[KC♥MP 0]

Thanks all for the tips. They're all a big help to me and I'm doing quite good in managing our budget nowadays. I just wish prices would stop increasing esp on groceries and gas . But that maybe a wishful thinking already