Help! I think we're living above our means. I want to fix it

amother

Sat, Feb 18 2012, 2:20 pm

I dont know how to fix the problem that we seem to be in.
I know that we are living a bit beyond our means, but I never know where to scrimp the money from.
We are living in a home where the rent is too expensive so we plan on moving for next year (we can not get out of our lease) but I am not sure if that will do it for us.

What else can I do to just basically bring down our monthly bills.

Any suggestions will be so greatly appreciated.

luvinlife

Sat, Feb 18 2012, 2:36 pm

Hi OP seems like your in Israel from the time you are writing this thread. Finding a new house with less rent is a great start! How about food expenses? try shopping in bigger supermarkets then the makolet next door. It can save you a lot. Do you have a cellphone and a landline? maybe a landline is not necessary or if it is then find a really cheap plan for your cell phone and stick to it. Be careful with your electricity. If you have plug in heaters or a/c heaters they are really expensive and maybe just keep it on by the most necessary times. Do you go out to eat very often..you can try to cut that down as well. or how about taxis? if you use them often try using the bus more often. Do you send stuff to the cleaners often? maybe you can trying some things. These are just some ideas. Wishing I can implement them into my life too Wink

amother

Sat, Feb 18 2012, 2:51 pm

luvinlife said:

Quote:

Hi OP seems like your in Israel from the time you are writing this thread. Finding a new house with less rent is a great start!

So we have to wait until september but that will change.

Quote:

How about food expenses? try shopping in bigger supermarkets then the makolet next door. It can save you a lot.

I dont "shop" in the makolet. Maybe for a bag of milk here and there or a fwe vegetables when I realize I ran out but otherwise it is only supermarkets.

Quote:

Do you have a cellphone and a landline? maybe a landline is not necessary or if it is then find a really cheap plan for your cell phone and stick to it.

I dont think that this is it at all. Our cell phone bills are negligible and we need the land line.

Quote:

Be careful with your electricity. If you have plug in heaters or a/c heaters they are really expensive and maybe just keep it on by the most necessary times.

That is what we do, only have the heat on at night and pretty low.

Quote:

Do you go out to eat very often..you can try to cut that down as well.

Maybe once every few months.

Quote:

or how about taxis? if you use them often try using the bus more often.

We have a car that we use only when we need it. Never use taxis or buses really.

Quote:

Do you send stuff to the cleaners often?

Never

See? I really have no idea how or why we are sort of living above our means. Maybe I have to figure out the shopping, but even that, we spend about 2500 a month (we are a small family still) on food, so I dont think that that is so much.

I am just majorly confused and I really dont know what to fix.

crackers

Sat, Feb 18 2012, 2:54 pm

I'm in the same boat. what we pay monthly without even including grocery shopping , gas for the car or any thing extra is almost our whole pay check and I can't figure out how to cut it down.
good luck to you Smile

what I have been looking into is talking to bezek and checking if we can pay any less on our phone bills
let me know if you get any where . I'de love practical ideas that work

Liba

Sat, Feb 18 2012, 3:08 pm

If you are living beyond your means and have a car you don't need on a regular basis, maybe it should go?

I did the math and for me it is cheaper to take taxis than own a car. Even if I would be taking taxies to and from Yerushalayim (from Beitar) several times a week, every week, I would only break even and that isn't taking parking into account. If all of my trips were local I have to take at least 75 local cabs a month to spend the same amount as payments and insurance on an inexpensive car.

I get the convenience factor, and bought a car for that reason, but if you aren't able to live within your means a bit of inconvenience may be a small price to pay to keep financially afloat.

amother

Sat, Feb 18 2012, 3:19 pm

Liba wrote:

No, its not that kind of not regular basis. We use it every week and sometimes my husband uses the car to travel to meetings for his job, but its just not used every day. The car is not a big expense. It is almost paid off anyway. Possibly a year left to pay it off.
Yes, petrol is a lot of money, but what can we do?

Delores

Sat, Feb 18 2012, 3:20 pm

If you really want to make a difference in your life and are willing to make the effort you should contact an organization called Pa'amonim": http://www.paamonim.org/englishmain.php
they would assign a "financial mentor" to help you cut back on expenses and live a more economically efficient lifestyle. I don't have any personal experience with them but I have heard/read impressive things. Check the website and decide for yourself.

Tamiri

Sat, Feb 18 2012, 3:24 pm

HOw much is insurance on the car? Chova? Third party/comprehensive?
I guess others can chime in here but 2500 nis seems like a grocery amount for a family of 5-6 if the kids are young. It's not a huge bill, but it's not tiny either, compared to what I see other Imamothers spending on "young" families.

amother

Sat, Feb 18 2012, 3:27 pm

Tamiri wrote:

Really? 2500 is a lot for a full month of shopping for food? Wow, I thought that that was average.

amother

Sat, Feb 18 2012, 3:30 pm

amother wrote:

Tamiri wrote:

Really? 2500 is a lot for a full month of shopping for food? Wow, I thought that that was average.

To the OP, I think that it depends where you live and what circles you travel in. Where I live, and I have talked to people about this in my community, 2000 -2500 seems the norm here for a small size family. I live in a MO community where either one or both spouses work.

amother

Sat, Feb 18 2012, 3:44 pm

tsiggelle wrote:

are you in rami levi's moadon?

how much are you paying for rent?

Yes we have the rami levi card.

I prefer not to say how much we pay but we pay a lot. Lets leave it at that. But I already mentioned that we are planning on moving out after our lease is up to something much cheaper.

amother

Sat, Feb 18 2012, 3:44 pm

tsiggelle wrote:

are you in rami levi's moadon?

how much are you paying for rent?

Liba

Sat, Feb 18 2012, 3:45 pm

amother wrote:

Liba wrote:

If you are only using it once a week plus occasional meeting, if they traveling isn't terribly far, cabs probably are cheaper than insurance, even if the car is paid off.

amother

Sat, Feb 18 2012, 3:50 pm

Liba wrote:

amother wrote:

Liba wrote:

If you are only using it once a week plus occasional meeting, if they traveling isn't terribly far, cabs probably are cheaper than insurance, even if the car is paid off.

I am not really sure about the taxis being cheaper in the end. Lets say that my husband has to travel more than 2 hours to some of his meetings, that means at least 4 or 5 hours that day. I do not think that that comes out to cheaper than using the car. And we use it more than once a week, just not every single day. And I use it for shopping.

tsiggelle

Sat, Feb 18 2012, 3:50 pm

amother wrote:

tsiggelle wrote:

are you in rami levi's moadon?

how much are you paying for rent?

you are right, I appologise that I forgot

Tablepoetry

Sat, Feb 18 2012, 3:52 pm

It doesn't sound like you can cut that much out of your budget, if anything. Sometimes the solution is not cutting down but finding ways to earn more. I think you probably should concentrate on increasing earning power, since things like food and clothing budget will only grow as your children grow.

amother

Sat, Feb 18 2012, 3:53 pm

tsiggelle wrote:

amother wrote:

tsiggelle wrote:

are you in rami levi's moadon?

how much are you paying for rent?

you are right, I appologise that I forgot

Thats ok, I was just pointing it out.

Maybe I should move this to the Israel section and I may feel more comfortable in "outing" myself.