Struggling to live within my means… I spend too much

amother

Sun, Mar 31 2024, 10:45 pm

Reading all the recent threads about finances recently is making me realize what an irresponsible spender I am. BH we have high expenses, but I still should be able to live a bit more responsibly. Yet I can’t seem to do it. Right now I really need to budget $550 weekly for food, household items, cleaners, gas, copays. I think that’s it. We’re a family of 5. Not big eaters. I feel like it should be a no brainer, yet I can’t seem to do it. I know I need to cut down on big ticket items, but I’m not even asking for help with that, because it’s obvious I need to stop spending on those things. But why am I having such a hard time spending within the $550 budget for the above items I mentioned? Is that a reasonable amount? This past week was about $800. It’s crazy. Please, only kind responses!

amother

Ballota

Sun, Mar 31 2024, 11:09 pm

Can you transfer exactly $550 a week to a separate account attached to a debit card and only use that?

Or try writing down every expense for a week.
Mark down each expense as YES glad I did it, NO this was a mistake, or NOT SURE if I should have spent this.
You might notice some interesting patterns.

Don't beat yourself up over this, it takes time. But you'll get there.

chestnut

Sun, Mar 31 2024, 11:21 pm

Keep all receipts from food and household purchases this week and then go over them to see how much was spent, what wasn't necessary.
How much are your gas, cleaners, and copay bills weekly?

amother

DarkMagenta

Sun, Mar 31 2024, 11:36 pm

I like all the suggestions above. Making lists and knowing prices helps a lot with saving money.

We made a list of our main weekly food items. We than went to all big local supermarkets and compared prices. Now we know who has the brands and quality we want for the lowest price. There are things we can stock up on once a month like cereals, oil, grape juice etc. The savings end up being very worth it. Saving on smaller items can help a lot as well.

giftedmom

Sun, Mar 31 2024, 11:54 pm

It’s hard. I blink at the grocery and the bill is 650. Food has gone up like crazy. I remember when I was able to fill up a cart for 350. It’s not like you’re spending for brand name items. These are necessities. Ofcourse you can probably be even more careful but don’t beat yourself up we’re all in the same boat.

amother

Khaki

Sun, Mar 31 2024, 11:58 pm

The food / necessary items budget needs to be realistic.

What are you basing your $550 on?
Do you eat more protein or more carbs? Do you buy snacks? Are there certain products that have a cheaper store brand worth considering. Are you only shopping at kosher stores or regular grocery/ Walmart.

I'm not saying to change those things but set a fair budget. If you keep certain Hashgacha then Walmart brand pasta isn't good enough you need the Kosher brand.

You might need to up it to 600 or 750 if that's more realistic especially if you're including household.

Another tip is try to buy sale items in bulk. Dish soap is on sale buy a few extra etc.

Another thing I did out of convenience is limit the amount of times I go to the store a week and or do grocery delivery because then I place.my order and don't pick up extra things that I actually didn't need.

I like what someone else said - wait before purchasing Amazon.

Unless I need something specific and by a deadline I don't buy it until a day or two later or my husband logs in and asks if we need everything in the cart.