Spinoff: Start saving now

amother

Garnet

Fri, Jul 28 2023, 1:48 pm

scintilla wrote:

I'm genuinely curious, how do you do that and also feed a family? Did you have kids with allergies or needing high calories or even just picky eaters?

I know you just said that as an example, I'm wondering specifically how you made this example work.

yogurts, cottage cheese and avocados are luxury. Whats the problem that she cut it out for a while?
We rarely buy those as they are expensive.

zaq

Fri, Jul 28 2023, 1:49 pm

amother Fuchsia wrote:

I think yeshiva should make a household finance class mandatory before graduating high school.

Not only yeshiva. Girls' schools as well.
I'm going to start a new kind of seminary. The curriculum will include introduction to household finance, basic etiquette including how to write a thank-you note, housecleaning 101, simple home repairs, basic mending, fundamentals of cooking, elementary assertiveness and essential childcare. If there is enough interest, a second year will be offered with advanced classes in all of the above. Young women whose forward-looking parents have seen to it that they have already acquired these skills are welcome to send their daughters to the more traditional type of seminary.

amother

Garnet

Fri, Jul 28 2023, 1:50 pm

amother Bellflower wrote:

Interesting I have new condition furniture, old style and can't find anyone who wants it
I'm throwing it out!

I think it's because u need to hire a mover or uhaul to pick it up

We borrow a van from a friend, pay their gas while using and pick it up ourselves. Even when heavy - cheaper to tip a friend a few $$ than to hire movers.

I still could use some nice pieces - waiting for the right find. We are OOT.

scintilla

Fri, Jul 28 2023, 1:58 pm

amother Garnet wrote:

yogurts, cottage cheese and avocados are luxury. Whats the problem that she cut it out for a while?
We rarely buy those as they are expensive.

No problem at all, just wondering how she made it work and if she had to get creative. For me meat is a luxury, not cottage cheese, but I'm always looking for practical ways to save money.

amother

Brass

Fri, Jul 28 2023, 5:23 pm

scintilla wrote:

When I said this was an example, I meant this is ONE of the things I did at the time. I did many other things too

How? I didn't have the money.
So instead of going Into debt, I made do without. Then, when my income increased, I first set up an emergency fund, and THEN increased my budget so I could buy these things.

At this point I could BH afford these things, even not on sale.
I wouldn't touch my emergency fund for these things.

But another example even at my income, I don't buy meat frivolously. Literally the only meat I buy is ground meat. But I allow myself to spend generously in the grocery in general.
Obviously it's not a long term solution, but it's not a long term solution to be in the red either.

amother

Brass

Fri, Jul 28 2023, 5:29 pm

amother Kiwi wrote:

Not OP, but I have a family and don't buy any of those things (actually occasionally buy a 78 cent avocado for DH who is on a restricted diet.)

But it doesn't help me save. Marginally maybe keeps my debt lower.

When I was on that budget, it helped me save $20 a month.
Not a lot, but it added up to at least a basic emergency fund.

Again, this was not a Long term solution.

The goal should be to increase income obviously.

scintilla

Fri, Jul 28 2023, 5:35 pm

amother Brass wrote:

So just trying to understand - do you feel this came at the expense of your family eating healthy and it was a temporary measure?

amother

Papayawhip

Fri, Jul 28 2023, 6:41 pm

amother Brass wrote:

I've been there.
I always made sure there was a line item on my budget for savings even if it was $20 a month.
It's a mindset.
For reference - The only dairy I was able to afford at the time was milk. I would splurge on a big pack of cheese from Costco every so often.
Paying your future self is worth it.
Having an emergency fund when something crops up is priceless.

BH my finances are in a much better place.

Love this idea! Hope dh will agree with it (since he is the one managing the bank)

amother

Brass

Sat, Jul 29 2023, 10:43 pm

scintilla wrote:

So just trying to understand - do you feel this came at the expense of your family eating healthy and it was a temporary measure?

No absolutely not.
We ate very healthy at that time actually, but we stretched each dollar.

amother

Broom

Sat, Jul 29 2023, 11:04 pm

We ate healthiest when we were on a super tight budget. Didn’t buy any processed food, and anything we bought needed to have nutritional value. No frozen pizza, no bought French fries, figured out how to make foods we liked with the WIC food. Bought popcorn kernels and made our own popcorn for snack, homemade cookies, etc. we have bH a lot more money now, and those habits are still in place. I also don’t buy disposable pans, I use Pyrex. I don’t buy dryer sheets, I have dryer balls. Make my own cleaning solutions, etc. we’ve bH managed to keep our expenses fairly low due to the good habits we built in our poor years, and we have money for much bigger things like savings, vacations, and we give a lot of Tzedakah which surprises people as we don’t “look” rich (cars, home, clothing, etc)

mikayla18

Sun, Jul 30 2023, 8:41 am

zaq wrote:

Can I teach the finances class? I'm dying to