Posted on 01/05/2014 3:59:01 PM PST by RKBA Democrat
I'm in real trouble. I've been living on the edge for months. I'm just barely able to pay my bills. I don't spend anything on myself. Last week, my boss cut my hours. I'm really stressed out. What can I do when I've already cut my budget to the core? Brooke
If you've been following the news lately, you've seen the headlines. You're not alone. Because of the economy or concern about the costs of covering full-time employees under the new healthcare law, a number of companies are reducing the hours of their employees.
That can be a serious problem, especially for people like you who are already living on the edge financially. Let's see if we can't find some frugal answers for you.
The first and probably most important step is to have good information on how much you're currently spending and what your new income will be. You need to know how much you're short.
Once you know how big a gap you're trying to close, you can begin the hunt for dollars. We'll look at ideas from the simplest to the more severe.
Start by taking another look at your current expenses. You've already cut the easy stuff. This time you'll have to go deeper. It's time to eliminate any expense that doesn't feed you, heal you, put a roof over your head, or make it possible to earn an income.
Get creative! Try to look at each expense with fresh eyes. Don't skip anything just because you don't think you can live without it. Make sure that's really true.
Spend some time searching for solutions that are new to you. For example, have you ever visited a "salvage" grocery store? They often deal in overstock items or products in dented cans.
Or try visiting a bakery outlet. Stop there before you hit your local grocery store.
Groceries are an excellent place to look for savings. Most families spend between 10 and 20 percent of their take-home pay on food. Plus, you make purchasing decisions almost daily. That means that your food budget offers many opportunities to save.
Plan on eating and preparing all your meals at home. On average, people spend about 40 percent of their food budget on food prepared outside their home.
You can have a steak dinner at home for the price of a big M meal. Or you could make your own burger for a fraction of the cost. The same thing is true of any restaurant or takeout meal.
Cook "from scratch" as much as possible. Basic food items aren't that expensive, but if you're buying food that you just pop into the oven or microwave, you'll pay top dollar. Eliminate single serving and convenience items.
Collect some frugal recipes. Even with grocery prices that seem to go up each week, you can still make some meals that are nutritious and frugal. Often the trick is limiting the amount of meat and sticking to staples.
Cooking isn't as hard or time consuming as you might think. There are many resources online that can teach you. Doing your own cooking will save you money every time you prepare a meal.
Learn to use "in season" fruits and veggies. We've grown accustomed to having the produce we like available year round, but when it's out of season locally, it must be shipped in, and the prices reflect that. Let your diet change seasonally. Take advantage of the food items that are grown in abundance locally.
Look for ways to avoid purchases of all types, especially things that you'll only use a few times a year. It's easy to fill your garage with things like carpet scrubbers and wood chippers that you can borrow from a neighbor. Offer to pay them a few dollars for the "rental" and you'll be doing them a favor, too.
You may find that paring your food budget to the bone and eliminating entertainment, clothing, and other smaller expenses aren't enough to get to your goal. Then you'll need to be prepared to make bigger sacrifices.
Before you consider deeper cuts, you'll want to see if either government assistance or a part-time job could help.
A reduction in your hours might make you eligible for a partial unemployment benefit. Check with your unemployment office. Also, find out about food stamps.
Don't be afraid to take on part-time work. It might take a bit of schedule juggling, but it's not like you're not used to working more hours, and having an extra source of income could be real helpful if the cutbacks aren't temporary.
Finally, you might find that the only thing that can save you is a serious lifestyle adjustment. You may find that you need to move to cheaper housing, take in a roommate, or sell your car. Those aren't easy choices, but they can provide serious monthly savings.
Hopefully, the reduction in hours will be temporary and you'll find making up the shortfall easy. But, don't go in with that assumption. The economy looks dicey and you'd be wise to be prepared for the longer haul.
Also, cut out all sodas, switch to kool-aid about $1 for 10 packs. I freeze it in reusable containers and have a cold drink that lasts for hours, I have also acquired a taste for lemon water. Freeze tea/lemon tea as well. Saves alot of money.
I probably don't get the part about being sarcastic, but there is only so much that can be done by cutting expenses. As your income shrinks you can only cut your expenses so far and then the effect of further cuts is limited. For example, saving money by buying bread at a discount is a good idea, but if you only buy $14.00 in bread a month, getting it at 50% off only generates $7.00 in cash.
Trying to find a new income source can be difficult, but even infrequent and fairly small amounts of new income help overall. For example, even a couple of $300 interior painting jobs per year will make more of a difference than $35 a month in savings. One small painting job a month adds $3600 a year to the top line, and one every two weeks adds over $7,500.
Efficiently spending money is important, but focusing on more income usually is more effective.
Agreed. Cable is such a waste. I have been TV-free since 2004. I don’t feel like I’m missing much. Sometimes I’ll check out DVDs of popular shows from the library and watch them on my laptop (that’s how I discovered Monk.) Occasionally I’ll splurge and buy a set if I find a show I really like (Sherlock!) But for the most part, I don’t even know most of the shows on nowadays, and when I hear about them, they sound dreadful.
One of the great blessings in my life was going out on my own when I was in my 20's. I never looked back. Some years were pretty tough, but because I was building my future it didn't seem so bad. One thing I have learned over the years is not everyone is cut out to run their own business. The stress alone can be too hard.
Being happy includes knowing your limits.
It's also a trap that saps the will to be independent. Once you start tapping into govt aid it gets easier and easier and the desire to take a risk gets less and less.
I agree that the outflow is only part of the picture. Income is perhaps more important. But its also been my observation that people in economic distress rarely have a written budget or even an idea of what they can and cannot cut out in the way of expenses.
Or, easier, try cutting off the cable and giving up your cell phone plan for a pay-as-you-go plan. Yet to meet a waitress without a nice cell phone.
All luxuries that many peeps get to enjoy, complements of 0's $tash (You & Me).
I’ve been tv free since ‘86. Unless I’m on a trip I have no idea what is on. I watch an occasional dvd but that’s about it. I actually enjoy talking to folks about tv since they can fill me in on the highlights without my having to waste time watching it.
Sometimes when I’m visiting a friend of mine, we flip through the channels and it’s literally hundreds and hundreds of channels and nothing to watch, so she orders something from Netflix. I think: wow.
Ditto your remarks. We think alike. I am retired and am the chief cook and bottle washer for three people. I would add, I buy mostly basic ingredients and cook from scratch. I plan my menu based on what’s on sale this week. I try to serve a meat and two veggies when possible but I do find myself cooking junk food more than occasionally. I can cook a close imitation of any Mexican Inn, Italian Inn, KFC, McDonalds, Long John Silvers, Pizza Hut, etc menu item for a fraction of the cost.
America is blessed. Take a little time to learn to cook using basic foodstuffs and you can dine as well or better than Obama does in the Whitehouse. Bet he wishes he had some Texas BarBQ, chilli, tamales, enchaladas, etc.
We lost our last chance to stop this cancer Obamacare when the millions of voting Republicans went against Romney. Have no sound ideas except take it on the chin. I have two adult daughters that are in the same boat and I’m not sure I can help enough since I am 81 and limited. Looks like America is finished.
I guess that makes 3 of us. I do about 90% of the cooking. I’ve just started trying to bake bread. Did 2 sourdough loaves yesterday. Net cost; about $1 for the flour and salt and the ammortized cost of the sourdough starter. Was pleased with the results. OK so I brew my own beer, raise bees and a garden and cook most things from scratch. Where do people find time to watch tv?
.
“have a bake sale”
***knock knock knock***
Hi. Im from the government. Do you have the proper permits to sell cakes and cookies you baked? Is your kitchen up to government standards? Do you have your sales tax ID? Did you have any help? If so, are you paying minimum wage and social security taxes?
Government also encourages dependence and punishes ambition. I found that out personally when I got laid off from my job. First they told me I was ineligible for unemployment for 2 weeks because I had received severance pay, so I took a 2 week temporary job which messed things up so badly I didn't get a check for months. Then I took a minimum wage job, part time with no benefits in the hope that I could convince them I was worth taking on full time. When it became obvious I was wasting my time I quit to look for full time work. The state then cut me off completely because I quit rather than being laid off. If I had just sat at home on my butt eating bonbons and watching tv I would have received $330 per week with no problems. Instead I tried to work so between July 2013 and November 2013 I received 3 checks, one of which they demanded I pay back to them. I finally found full time work but I appealed the cutoff of benefits just so I could tell the hearing officers that they were a bunch of worthless bureaucrats who lived off the misery of others and had no incentive to actually get people working again. I don't expect my appeal to be approved.
I was lucky enough to have no bills other than small utility bills, plenty of food stored on hand and a rainy day fund to tide us over. If you aren't in that situation and have to collect unemployment I would have to advise you to sit at home, collect your check and keep on applying until you find a full time replacement for the full time job you lost or else the state will punish you.
There’s a reason why a lot of businesses advertise by word of mouth. Being private about you dealings has some real benefits.
I’ve posted this before but here’s a Schlotsky’s sandwich recipe that’s super simple despite so many steps. Without the genoa salami which isn’t sold here, I can make 5 sandwiches (still on the pricey side vs. bp&j) for the price of one store bought. Scroll down: http://texascookin.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2012-01-01T00:00:00-06:00&updated-max=2013-01-01T00:00:00-06:00&max-results=20
Same here on the frugal cooking. The Thanksgiving turkey was boned and the carcass boiled and frozen for soups later. The Christmas ham was picked and frozen and the bone is going into a pot of beans tomorrow, brrrrr! Might make some cornbread, too. Last night, the leftover roasted chicken became pot pie and desert was banana bread from some old bananas pulled from the freezer that were bought on sale. I haven’t been to the store since before Thanksgiving but have to go tomorrow because the dogs ate the last of their food. I’ll stop eating before I scratch those monsters from the bloodless rock of a budget.
I don’t know why. TV is not entertaining any more. Nothing but liberal news and propaganda. I guess, they enjoy being told what they want to hear - that they are all victims of something caused by somebody else, and the government better find the solution fast and fix it for them. So they wait for the government to find them a job, raise the minimum wage, provide healthcare, etc while they sit around the TV.
Making bread is tougher than it looks, I’m working on it. The only bread I make regularly is cornbread - the kind mama used to make. Some meals you just got to have cornbread. Like New Years - black-eyed peas (home canned) and cornbread (home made) are a tradition in the South.
I have had a victory garden for the last 35 years. I had to give up my bees and winemaking when I became diabetic. I am thinking of trying to make a batch of wine again (for Mrs. Texicanus) if my apparatus stored in the barn is still functional. I have also been looking into fish farming.
When I was younger, I had some really bad experiences. I learned how to survive by planning ahead in the good times and cutting expenses in the bad times. I also learned a man can’t serve two masters.
I agree that bread making is difficult. There are some good videos and tutorials online, but it’s obvious that the people who do it all the time are bringing skills to the table that I don’t yet have. The sourdough was a good first attempt, but a little denser than I wanted. Not as sour as I like and it blew out along the seam while baking. But I still liked the final product and most has since been devoured. Just lessons learned for next time.
Corn bread is a staple at my house. I make it or buy it pretty much weekly. Chili + cornbread = heaven.
Sorry to hear about the diabetes. I enjoy my bees and I’m flat out addicted to good honey. I never got into wine making; I prefer to buy it. Beer on the other hand is something that I prefer to make.
Right on. I once survived a hard time by eating a fried pie and Dr. Pepper every other day. I know, a moon pie and RC would have been better. I was working but I could barely make ends meet, just enough income to keep the creditors off my back. I could have gone back home and lived with my parents and looked for a better job but I was too proud. When I did visit my parents, mama noted that I was losing weight. I told her I was dieting. She slipped me a twenty. Mama knew.
Thanks for the sandwich recipe. People never appreciate good food until they have to live without it. I’m not a prepper, but I try to have enough of everything to survive for 3 months. After that, I’ll be following the sparrows around for a handout.
Be prepared for the day when people will toss their worthless food stamps/EBTs into the streets. It’s just a major/minor power failure away.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.