aeneriz — Beating Broke

Why I’m Not Throwing My Two-Year Old a Party

May 8, 2014 By aeneriz 9 Comments

My little bundle of joy is turning two in June. That went fast! With the approach of her birthday, I have been getting asked quite a few times what the theme of her birthday party is. Of course, I said dogs because that is her favorite animal right now.

I spent many hours dreaming up an adorable dog party and even looked up amazing ideas on Pinterest. The things people come up with amaze me! There were toddler dog parties that dog biscuit shaped cookies, wiener dog shaped cup cakes, treats out of dog bowls, and headbands with felt dog ears on them. That may not sound cute to you, but trust me it was. I imagined doing all of this party prep and planning for my sweet little one, and then reality came crashing down.

Here’s the truth. She is going to be two. She would love it if she were surrounded by people and dog things, but she would also love it if we went to McDonalds and got an ice cream cone. Here is what I realized:

Throwing a Party Can Be Pricey: Even when I threw a simple BBQ for her first birthday, I spent about $130 in just food and cheap activities to keep the kid cousins entertained. We are talking hot dogs and hamburgers here, not steaks or anything fancy, so I am not sure why I spent so much money. If I were to go through with the adorable dog themed party, I know I would spend over $200-300.
Who Am I Really Throwing the Party For? It can be so easy to get swept up in the social media/Pinterest movement, wanting to post pictures of perfect parties and creative ideas. If I were to really celebrate Ellie’s second birthday how she would want, it would probably involve a trip to the aquarium, yummy ice cream, and a lot of playtime with mom and dad. The sad thing about these parties is that she will not remember them at this age, so basically I would be throwing this party for myself – which leads me to point three…
Parties Can Be Time Consuming and Stressful: Thinking about the hours of perfecting the house before and after the party is a little overwhelming. I already have troubles trying to keep the house clean with a busy toddler, I don’t need a house full of guests to add more stress. Having nine kid cousins running through my home is also overwhelming. Some people love everything that comes along with throwing parties, but I have to accept that I am not one of them, even when Pinterest mocks me. I would rather spend the time loving my daughter.

So what is the point of all of this? I am not throwing my two year old a birthday party to save myself money, stress, and time. Parties are not a necessity in our children’s lives, but love is. I plan to make Ellie’s day a very special day, but you are not going to see it on Pinterest.

If you are the type of person that loves to throw these types of parties, then go for it. You have been blessed with that gift. For the rest of us moms, save your money and your anxiety and don’t worry that you didn’t throw your child the party of the year.

Are Money Saving Blogs Making You Broke? Three Tips to Avoid It

March 4, 2014 By aeneriz 7 Comments

Google “How to Save Money”, and you are going to be overwhelmed with all of the choices. There are thousands of blogs and websites out there that offer money-saving tips and deals. However, being a faithful follower to some of these sites has caused me to spend more money. How is that possible?

I know I am not the only one who has fallen victim to spending money after reading a money-saving blog. Many days, I start my computer time by looking at my budget and inputting any new expenses. I know the limits on each budget category. However, once I head over to some of my favorite money saving sites, I feel the compulsion to spend.

How can I pass up that coupon deal for Whole Foods on Groupon? Look those adorable scarves are only $4 each, I can buy my Christmas presents early. Or look there, a coupon for applesauce pouches to make them only .35 cents a pouch – let me run to Target ASAP to get them.

Don’t think that I am blaming these sites, of course! My favorite sites have also been very beneficial getting free items or great deals, as well. However, keep these three thoughts in mind before you browse your favorite money saving site:

Not All Deals are Actually A Good Deal

When I saw an applesauce pouch deal, I printed out all of the coupons to go forward with the deal. Yes, I was getting the pouches at about 50% off their shelf price, but the truth was, I was still overpaying for applesauce. It didn’t help that my 20-month old would suck down 3-4 pouches in minutes. I could just see the dollars being sucked away in her adorable chubby cheeks. After all was said and done, I had spent about $20 on applesauce that lasted about three weeks. The truth was I could have made a whole crockpot full of applesauce* for less than $10, and it would have lasted me longer since it would have been more sauce. I would have even saved time since for the pouch deal; I spent time researching and finding all of the right coupons.

Ask yourself, is this deal worth it? Is it worth my time to drive to the store and clip coupons?

Do I Even Need This?

What good is it to save money on purchases if you are buying things that you don’t really need? The expense of clutter is much greater than you think. Once I purged my house, I really didn’t want to spend money on building more clutter. I had five sets of plates. Some sets were bought very inexpensively, but in the end, they just took up more cabinet space and made me feel like I would never get caught up with dishes.

Wait on deals for a few hours – a whole day if possible. Allow the initial excitement to die down. If you have to be impulsive about your decision, then it will most likely be an impulse buy that you didn’t need. Another great idea is to talk it over with your spouse or partner, since they may help you think logically before buying. Finally, it is easy to have a list of things you need to buy. This way, when a deal pops up, you can easily decide if you need the deal or not based on your list.

You Aren’t Saving Money if You Are Spending It

It always makes me laugh when I buy a few things from Kohls and they tell me I saved a ridiculous amount. For example, buying a sweater, toddler shoes, and a nice gift all on clearance and with coupons has made the receipt tell me that I saved over $200. That sounds good, but the truth is that I would have never spent over $200, especially for the items I bought.

If you are on a tight budget, then saving $25 on a $50 on a restaurant gift certificate or saving 75% off of processed groceries you wouldn’t have bought usually is not actually saving you money. It can be hard to be on a budget with little wiggle room, but if you adapt a “Just Say No” policy, you will benefit. Just say no to spending any money, even if it looks like a great deal, just say no to spending an hour printing out coupons and looking up deal match ups, and just say no to driving out of your way to a store for one deal. Just say no, and enjoy staying on budget.

Like I said, I don’t have anything against deal sites and money saving blogs. However, if you find your being compelled to spend instead of save after visiting these sites, it is wise to take a step back until you can learn some discipline. It has been a hard lesson for me to learn, but my wallet is much fuller!

How I Save More Than Just Money By Cutting the Cable

July 23, 2013 By aeneriz 14 Comments

I was one of those kids that watched just about every show on television and could only fall asleep if the TV that was in my room was on. When I discovered one of my friends did not have cable, I couldn’t help think how abnormal it was. Now fast-forward to today’s time, and I am the abnormal one. While streaming shows is becoming much more accepted and popular, my husband and I still get a lot of weird looks when we say we don’t have cable. However, by streaming our favorite shows through Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, we have saved three things.

First, we have saved over $1000 a year by cutting the cable. The number seems a little too large to be true, right? Well, it isn’t. Cable would cost us an extra $100 a month. Sure, there are tons of deals and bundles right now, but usually you only get a specialized rate for a year. So even with the special rate, we would be spending an extra $600 a year.

Secondly, we save a lot of time. We are the type of people that would watch television just to watch it, which can be a bad thing. Why waste your time to watch shows like Hoarders or Tanked just because it is the only thing on at that moment? With Netflix and Hulu, we know which shows we want to watch and don’t watch much else.

Finally, it saves a lot of stress. Okay, maybe not a lot of stress, but definitely some degree. We babysat my sister-in-law’s kids one weekend and thought we would enjoy their ginormous television package with over 900 channels. It was Friday night, so it would seem pretty easy to find several good shows or movies to watch, right? Wrong. It was a little stressful scrolling through hundreds of stupid channels (infomercials and such) and trying to find something we both could agree on. I think we wasted an hour just trying to find something on. I am sure once you get use to your channels it is easier to find something, but I do still think it is ridiculous to have so many channels, yet still so very few selections in good things to watch.

With Netflix and Amazon, it is also nice to know that my children will be able to watch their favorite shows without ever seeing a commercial. This means I will not have to get dozen of requests for a Barbie with blue hair that turns into a dolphin underwater or for those special chicken nuggets with green goo in them (these two products are totally made up now, but don’t be surprised if they become a real thing).

So now you know. My decision to stay cable free is much more than just saving money. It is nice to save a huge chunk of money, but it is also nice to know that something does not control my time, my stress, and my finances.

What would you save if you went cable free?

original img credit:Alyssa & Colin, on Flickr