I'm one of those girls... The one's who shop 'til they drop. I also am one of those girls who can't stand the rain. Guess what? Where I live it rains and rains and rains. So it's no guess as to why I shop. It's like a replacement for my much needed sun and vitamin exchange. Vitamin D or Dollars...Well, dollars spent would be more to the point there. So my dad took to calling me Sunny or Money and my husband liked it so it stuck!
Right now it's not Money since the purchase of our new home and having 2 mortgages we're on a budget. Yes, that means less vitamin D/$. My husband's pretty good at saying no lately. It kinda sucks but I'm seeing it as an experiment. Yes, that's what I tell myself. We've never had to budget or if we tried we never stuck to it. So this time it's the real deal until we get this 2 mortgage thing to feel natural so we can purchase a third property.
We're working on our retirement plan. Buy properties, fix them up and rent them. When we retire we will sell off a piece here and there to fund our traveling adventures or to put away so we can use the interest or even to leave behind something for our children. Did I mention we have 4? Yep, lots! We want to make sure they all are taken care of when we're gone. Grand children and all. And no, we aren't slum lords. Our rental is a very nice 2 story home in a great neighborhood down by the beach. Want to rent it?
So how do I plan on being able to shop on our super tight budget? I'm working on that.
I have joined a cool site called Buzz Agent. It allows me to shop for free, sample the product(s) and rate them while earning points on another site that allow me to shop with said points. So there's one. Up to date I've done 3 campaigns and sampled Cafe Escapes for Keurig, Glade Expressions, and soon I'll be sampling Garnier Olia Hair Color!
I've discovered that my iphone isn't only for texting and calling. I can actually get coupons for my local Safeway via the Safeway App and use those when I shop without having to dumpster dive for coupons. But I might think about taking that up too...Except for the fact that our state is a non-extreme couponing state. Bummer huh. But there's a good point here! When I shop at Safeway and use my Safeway Card I earn points towards fuel discounts when I fill-up at their pumps. Which happen to be the least expensive pumps in town. So last time I filled up the audi with premium plus I only paid just a tad over $3.00 a gallon! No Joke! Our fuel here is the highest in the state and ranks highest in the country so that's pretty darn good. I saved 80 cents a gallon and all I did was shop. Yep! One of my favorite things!
So now the trick is going to be to actually stick to the monthly allotment for clothes, hair, foods, etc. I was thinking if I didn't spend all of the budget in one area that I could put that in savings and use in another area as needed.
For example when the boys go skiing on Saturdays we usually give them 40.00/ea for food and hot waxing. But if they are good and bring home the change (I know it's a stretch) we can roll that over for the next weekend and put the difference in the pot for something like new bindings for next season etc.
And what about the hair budget I've been given. I get my hair done every 2-3 months to keep up on highlights and trim. So if I don't use my budget for the month I have that left to put in the bank for extra clothes for the changing season. With 4 kids, myself and my husband that would definitely help. But also if I wanted to splurge and buy a new something for the house...I've got that sitting in the bank.
Can you tell I'm telling myself how awesome this Budget thing can be?! I am! And I'm kind of excited about it. I love that I can splurge if I need to but at the same time I am still staying in the budget and learning how to be thrifty. Any hints, tips or tricks of the trade are welcome!
I'll keep you updated on my Budget Adventure!
Sabrina
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