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What the Pandemic Has Taught Me About Our Spending

June 22, 2020 By MelissaB 1 Comment

The pandemic has changed our American way of life.  More people work from home now.  Kids go online to complete their schooling. Many of us are wearing masks now.  And, our month or two quarantined at home has given us time to reflect on what are life used to be like. . .and whether or not we want to fully go back to that life.  I’ve spent some time considering what the pandemic has taught me about our spending.

What the Pandemic Has Taught Me About Our Spending

What the Pandemic Has Taught Me About Our Spending

Sometimes you get complacent in life and just do things the way that you’ve always done them.  This pandemic has allowed me to look at our finances with fresh eyes to discover what we did well and what needs improvement.

My Bargain Shopping Was a Boon to the Family

What The Pandemic Has Taught Me About Our Spending
Photo by gemma on Unsplash

I used to drop by the grocery store three or four times a week, scouring the store for clearance mark downs.  I bought probably 1/3 to ½ of our weekly food this way.  I used to worry that I was spending too much money shopping this way, but now I see how much I was really saving us.

Since the pandemic, I’ve relied on grocery store pick up, which means paying full price for everything.  Our grocery bill has shot up by 30%.  When the pandemic is over, you can bet I’ll be back to stopping by the store a few times a week to pick up the bargains.

We Drove Around Way Too Much

What The Pandemic Has Taught Me About Our Spending

Before the pandemic, we were a busy family with three kids.  We spent our time, like many American families, in the car driving from activity to activity.  Gas was a large line item in our budget, especially since our town is very spread out.  We easily spent 2 to 2.5 hours in the car a day, dropping off and picking up a child from school, taking another child to therapy, going to horseback riding lessons, gymnastics lessons, religious education lessons.  On and on.

Since the pandemic, our gas consumption has dropped to nearly nothing.  I’ve bought gas for my vehicle twice in three months; my husband hasn’t had to buy gas at all.  We find we’re happier with more time at home.  Whenever things are more normal, we don’t plan to be as busy, which means less gas consumption.

Our Emergency Fund Is Not Large Enough

We’ve been working on building our emergency fund from a tiny $1,000 to a six-month emergency fund.  When the pandemic hit in mid-March, we had a two-month emergency fund.  While that’s certainly better than a $1,000 emergency fund, I really wish it was larger.

We’re lucky that my husband was able to keep his job and work from home, but he did get a pay cut.  While we have rearranged the budget to accommodate the pay cut, we won’t be able to grow our emergency fund like we had previously.  And, depending on the way this pandemic rides out, we’re both aware that he could lose his job next year.  I’d feel much more confident if we had a bigger cushion.

Final Thoughts

These three are what the pandemic has taught me about our spending.  I’m quite sure when this pandemic is over, our family won’t go back to the way things were.  I think we’ll drive a little less and try to save even more.

How has the pandemic changed the way you look at and spend money?

Filed Under: budget, General Finance Tagged With: budget, emergency fund, spending

Can You Benefit from a Meal Kit?

February 13, 2020 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

You’ve likely seen the advertisements for meal delivery kits and wondered, can you benefit from a meal kit? For a set amount, averaging about $7 to $12 per meal per person, the meal service company sends you a box with all the ingredients you need for three different meals with two or four servings, depending on what you choose, as well as the recipe for each meal.

Can You Benefit from a Meal Kit?

There are so many kits to choose from: Green Chef, Hello Fresh, and Blue Apron, just to name a few.  You can find meal kits that are offered for vegans, that have options for those who are gluten-free or nut-free, and those who prefer organic food only.

I’ve personally tried Green Chef, and my family and I loved the meals, but we didn’t love the price tag.  However, while regularly subscribing to a meal kit isn’t good for us at this stage in our lives, there are plenty of times that buying a meal kit is a great financial choice:

When You Don’t Know How to Cook

Can You Benefit from a Meal Kit?
Photo by Le Creuset on Unsplash

Unfortunately, more and more kids are leaving the nest without knowing how to cook.  If your cooking consists of boxed macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese, and eggs, a meal kit service might be perfect for you.  Not only will you get to eat tasty, nutritious food, but using the kit week after week will slowly help you learn to cook.  Eventually, you’ll be able to cook on your own, without the meal kit service.  Knowing how to cook is a skill that is priceless.

When You Would Go Out to Eat Instead

When I worked full-time and my husband was a full-time student and we had an infant, we went out to eat much more than we should have.  We wasted thousands of dollars because we were just too tired to go grocery shopping regularly and figure out what to eat.  In this case, a meal kit would have saved us so much money.  While meal kits are more expensive than cooking from scratch and buying your own groceries, they are cheaper than going out to eat for a meal in a nice, sit down restaurant.

When You Need A Healthier Option

If you eat out frequently or dine on delivered pizza or Chinese, a meal kit may be perfect for you because it’s likely healthier than the food that you’re currently eating.  I found Green Chef to be very healthy; each meal had a lean protein and a variety of vegetables that were of different colors.  Another bonus is that the meals are already portioned for you, so you won’t overindulge, unlike restaurant portions.

Can you benefit from a meal kit?  Only you can answer that.  A meal kit service isn’t right for everyone.  Certainly, choosing your own recipes, grocery shopping, and cooking for yourself is a more frugal option.  But not everyone cares about frugality when it comes to meals.  There are times when a meal kit subscription is the perfect option.

Have you ever subscribed to a meal kit service?  If so, which one?  Were you happy with the food and recipes that you received?

Filed Under: budget Tagged With: food, groceries, Home, spending

Why You’re Always Broke (And What To Do About It)

May 12, 2016 By Richard Adams 1 Comment

After leaving university I spent several years where I never seemed to have enough money, no matter what I did. Even when things were looking up, and I was feeling flush with cash, within a matter of weeks I was back to my old ways. For several years I bumbled along, seemingly always broke but with no idea as to why it kept on happening.

During that time, however, I started to spot a few “red flags”. Traps that I kept on falling into time and again. And once I was able to identify those issues I found I was able to fix them reasonably easily. Within a short space of time I stopped being broke all the time and started to enjoy life that much more.

But what are some of the most common traps that will keep you broke?

You Spend Too Much Money

The most obvious reason why you’re always broke is simply that you spend as much as – if not more than – you earn. Whether or not this is a major problem depends on *how* you’re spending your money. In other words it depends on *what* you’re spending your money on.

Why You're Always Broke
Why You’re Always Broke

If you’re living on just the basics, scraping together your next mortgage payment and putting basic food on the table then perhaps spending isn’t your core problem.

However if you’re wasting money on anything other than the basics and struggling to make ends meet then you have a problem. Perhaps you’re living in a larger house that you need. Maybe you’ve got more cars than you use. Whatever the case, if you’re always broke because you keep on spending money there is a reasonably simple solution.

Firstly you need to “audit” your spending to see what you can reduce. Can you downsize to a smaller property or sell that unused car, for example?

Once you’ve downsized its time to create a budget to monitor your money, and ensure that you have enough money to cover the basics each month – without stress and without worry.

You Don’t Earn Enough

If you’re living close to the line, but you’re not spending on any luxury items, then the problem might simply be that you’re not earning enough.

Here you have two primary solutions. On the one hand you can try to get paid more for the work that you do. This means landing a pay raise at work, moving to another company who will pay you more or working hard to achieve a promotion at your current employer.

The other solution, which can even run alongside your career, is to do *more* work. Whether you get a second part-time job or launch your own side hustle you need to find ways to turn your free time into further funds. For example why not start a local pet sitting business, cut lawns in your neighborhood or launch your own blog?

Your Spending Isn’t Equal

I used to work with a guy called “Bob”.

Bob earned the same as me, but was always broke.

It took me a while to figure out what his problem was. Quite simply when he got paid he was so overwhelmed with all the cash in his account that he lived like a king for the next week; buying rounds of drinks for his friends, eating out, treating himself to another pair of new sneakers and so on. Soon enough the money ran out and he’d spend the next few weeks twiddling his thumbs waiting to get paid, complaining about how broke he was.

The biggest issue was that this became an unfortunate cycle. By the time Bob got paid he’d lived on pennies for weeks, so felt the need to “treat” himeself, and the whole cycle then started all over.

Bob’s problem was that he didn’t divide up his money into the time it had to cover. The solution is surprisingly simple; when you receive some money, whether thats wages or some kind of windfall, don’t just look at it as a sum of money to enjoy. Instead, divide it up into the weeks it needs to cover, and then stick to this plan.

You might not feel as rich doing things this way; infact it can make your wages look decidedly boring. But what it *does* do is keep your spending under control, ensuring you’ll have enough to make it comfortably to pay day.

You’re Tempted By Bright Shiny Objects

Another friend of mine is a true “Apple fanboy”. Every time they release a new product here’s there, on launch day, at the front of the queue, credit card in hand. I dread to think just how much money he’s spent over the last few years on Apple products, many of which are just slightly better than the version he already had.

Of course its not just gadgets that can be our “kryptonite”. For some people its clothes, for others its parts for their car.

Not all of us have such an insatiable urge to spend, but when you do it can lead to some serious financial problems. That little voice in your ear is always encouraging you to splash out on that next new shiny object. Sadly, in our consumer society, its a battle that you can never win. Today’s new phone is tomorrow’s junk.

The trick to eliminating this source of overspending is appreciating it for exactly what it is. You need to accept what your obsession is doing for your finances. Furthermore, its important to understand that while the buzz of buying a new cell phone might be exciting for a few days – maybe even a few weeks – soon enough you’re on the prowl for the next hit. Financial security, however, can last for a lifetime.

You Carry Debt

The last reason why many people are always broke is simply that they carry too much debt. They might earn a decent income, and they might even manage their spending carefully. But if a large chunk of your income is going on servicing your debt then this is money you can’t spend. In essence your true income just keeps on going down as your debt rises.

The solution of course is a painful one; paying off that debt. In reality this often means spending *more* money on your debt initially, in order to start paying it down rapidly.

It might not be fun, but appreciate that the sooner you get your debt paid off, the sooner you’ll have all that money to spend on other things. Indeed, it was this strategy that I applied when paying off my own debt. Imagine you’re paying $250 a month off your credit card each month. With some cost-cutting you work out that you could actually pay $500 a month off.

Now, to many people losing out on $500 a month would be painful. However the trick is to consider whether you’d rather keep paying $250 a month for many years into the future, or whether you’d rather have a few months of discomfort, then have an extra $500 a month to enjoy for ever more. Clearly while the process to get there isn’t easy, the second option is much more tempting.

I used to make plans for what I would do with all that money. I’d imagine all the cool things I could do, the places I could go and the lifestyle I could enjoy. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was enough to keep me moving forward on my goal. Right now try imagining a life without any debt – without any repayments being necessary. How much wealthier would you feel, and how much more would you enjoy life? Good. Now get to work!

Filed Under: budget, Debt Reduction, General Finance, Saving, ShareMe Tagged With: debt, Frugality, spending

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