Making it work
Last week was hard. I’m not going to sugar-coat it.
We had just gotten to a point where Hubby was going to work a little extra in order to put some money away specifically for the baby. This … just completely knocked us down.
After much discussion about our financial news, this is what Hubby and I have come up with …
Cutting back …
- Cancel home phone service. We’ve each got a BlackBerry (and my work pays for mine), so we decided we don’t need a third line. Monthly savings of about $20.
- Cancel speciality channels. Yeah, we’ve got a big honkin’ TV. But that doesn’t mean we need the Food Network (tear), GameShow Network (sob) and MoviePix. Monthly savings of about $20.
- Look into our vehicle options. We’re currently leasing our SUV — yeah, yeah, a gas-guzzler, we know. But we liiiiiike it — and Darling Husband is going to ask the dealership about possibly getting out of the lease, to purchase something smaller on a monthly basis. Possible monthly savings of $150. This would also lower our gas bills by about $75 a month.
- Sticking to the budget. I made very strict budgets in February and March, and we always ended up sneaking over the total. I am vowing to keep a better rein on the cash in April.
Making more money …
- Working extra hours. Over in salary-land, I don’t get OT. Working extra hours is something I do regularly, but it doesn’t amount to anything except … corporate respect? But Hubby gets paid hourly, and he is able to pick up extra hours. He’s going to try to pick up $350 worth of shifts every month to pay off the tax debt.
- Freelance. I may not make overtime cash, but my head is full of words … and sometimes spilling them onto paper earns me a bit on the side. I’m going to try to pick up some freelance gigs again, as well as keep my fingers crossed that my first novel gets picked up.
If you have any money-savin’ or money-earnin’ tips, I’d love to hear them. This economy is kicking everyone’s ass right now, so it would be nice to give it a hard kick back!
2 Comments on “Making it work”
So what do you think?
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Heather's Handmade Life 
coupons coupons coupons. And no eating out. That has saved me a bundle. I won’t cut out the beer though. Thats just too much.
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Thanks for the tip! I’ve never been a good coupon-er, but I will have to start looking for them.
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