I think I spent to much money :-(

baltimoremom

Thu, Mar 21 2013, 1:38 pm

I did not read every post in this thread so sorry if something I say was already stated but one thing I saw seeker point out is that spending can be an individual thing some ppl like kleenex and as she said she will save somewhere else whereas others would never buy brand name. THIS IS ANOTHER AREA WHERE PPL SHOULD NOT COMPARE THEMSELVES TO OTHERS. So smile22- its great to ask advice but dont feel bad if you have 9 outfits and someone said they can make do with 7 or if you have 9 and someone said they buy 12. the best advice ppl wrote is make an individual budget.
we are not in kollel but a lot of our friends and neighbors are and sometimes my neighbor might make a comment like oh u bought that in target- b/c walmart has it for a $1 cheaper and im like yes but I was in target and I would rather just get it while im out and multiple comments like that but I personally know what I can afford. so remember just b/c someone makes a comment like that to you does not mean that you overspent. I am getting the feeling from OP that she can afford more than others but feels bad b/c ppl around her might be making comments. im not saying go flaunt your bugaboo im talking more like I will have brand name toilet paper and ketchup. for my sanity my kid needs more than 5 pairs of socks and clothes but I buy when there are sales and free shipping at childrens place and I find macys has excellent sales on carters plus u can use coupons, but shoes to me are important as someone mentioned so we buy at a good store where they fit you and get them checked every 3 months and buy news ones if needed
Lastly, whether or not your husband is in long term kollel or in kollel and college, or planning to go into chinuch makes a big difference in how much you need to save.

amother

Thu, Mar 21 2013, 2:24 pm

we are in kollel and doing ok b"h. I did grow up looking at price tags and I still do. We are putting a decent percent of our income into savings and being frugal minded, tho not scrimping (I do use kleenex and bounty as well- tho tissues are only on shabbos and for noses and 1 paper towel roll lasts us months since we use cloth first generally)

that being said I got my toddler a full summer wardrobe. we dont have a washer dryer and use my parents. but due to my parents needing to use it too (and they have LOTS of loads) I needed a full 2 weeks worth of clothing. I got some hand me downs from relatives including my mother. I went to a second hand store (not goodwill or SA, but still decent prices- nothing over $4) and then I finished everything off at kohls (weekday) and burlington (shabbos). I spent under $100 for 12 summer weekday outfits and 4 shabbos outfits (I only actually bought 1.5 shabbos outfits-rest were hand me downs and some are stained-ish so im saving those for when he gets dirty which he does plus between shavuos and shabbos after I wont be able to do laundry.) These clothes should last thru succos since its early this year and maybe even later. plus for future kids. and I buy hanes socks from target for cheaper then $2 a pair (circo is even cheaper but I dont like the way they fit as well.) shoes I buy one pair when he is growing out of them every few months. shabbos shoes will come later in life.

Some people will say thats a lot but thats what works for us. Also the fewer times he actually wears each outfit the better it will last for future kids. When you only have 3 peices of clothing then it rarely lasts past 2 kids if even once they start moving.

you got lots of good advice here- what you need to do is see what you can afford. Go through how much you make a month, how much mandatory bills are (rent, elec, gas, phone, maaser, etc), how much you want to save and how much is left over. from the left over you decide how much you need for food a month. and then you budget how much for other categories. For me we chesbon lets say $30 a month toward clothing per person in the family. Now in any given month we dont spend the money on clothing. we generally buy clothing at the turn of the season. so over 6 months we have $180 per person to spend for summer clothing and the same for winter.

if you want to make this easier to process use actual envelopes with cash. mark the envelopes clothes me, clothes dh, clothes baby, food, extra y"t expenses (lulav esrog on succos, extra oil for chanuka, anything youll need pesach etc- figure out how much it all should run in a year and divide by 12- and put in that amoutn every month), auto ins, gas, transportation, vacation, etc etc for any other categories you have. it will vary by person and household.

then every month put the amount of money you figured on into the envelope. for instance I would put n $30 to the clothing and $350 for food, lets say $50 for y"t, I pay auto ins once every 6 months so I divide the total into 6 and put in that amount every month, gas is $50 a month etc etc etc....

then when it comes time to buy clothes take the clothes envelope and you can only spend the cash that is in the envelope at that time. if you dont spend all thats fine, you will have more for next time.

you can adjust the amounts you put in if you see its always to much or to little (we used to have $300 for food and then recently realized we were always needing more so went to $350) I dont use actual cash in envelopes at this point but its a good way to keep track when your learning.

I would also recommend mint.com or quicken or another similar program.

hatzlocha