Scrimping and Saving
Posted
Wednesday, January 02, 2008 7:03 AM
With the official start of 2008, comes our official Saving Year. This entire year will be hereby devoted to scrimping, saving, and pinching pennies. No more eating out. No super-cute new outfits. No going to the bar and blowing $100 on buying rounds. No new shoes.
Yeah right! Ha ha. There will be all that. Just seriously pared back.
Matt and I are both servers, which means our weekly pay flucuates wildy depending on the season, how much we work, and the economy. We can guess how much money we will make, but we might make more, or, we might make half that amount. A little scary. But for the most part, we both make pretty good money.
Couple that with the fact that we don't "latte" our money away. This is an idea put forth by David Bach (author of Smart Couples Finish Rich (read it!!)), that basically means we watch our small expenses. We don't buy coffees (or any frivolous drinks for that matter), we don't pay for anything we can get for free (including: gym, internet, books, movies, cable), and we go with the absolute cheapest enertainment we can get. We drastically comparison shop, take cheap (camping) vacations, and only spend money on things/experiences that align with our values and goals.
For example, instead of renting movies, we borrow them. From friends, the library, neighbors...anyone. With all the money we save on not renting movies and not paying for cable, I was able to afford to take me and my honey skydiving for his birthday. Because skydiving is more important to us than watching TV. Get it?
So, we've already pretty much cut back on a ton of extraneous, miscellaneous expenses. I've spent the last year of our engagement paying off school-related bills, like my huge credit card debt, my student loan, and all medical bills. Now, I just have to focus on growing our wedding fund. According to "The Millionaire Mind" (another great book, read it!), whatever you focus on, will expand. If you focus on the negative (like debt, worry, and guilt), that will expand. However, if you focus on the positive (like savings, weddings, and love), that will expand.
So, my goal is to save $5,000 (or more) for our wedding this year. My mom and Matt's mom have already promised $5,000 from each, and Matt will try to save the other $5,000 for our $20,000 wedding. That will include everything: wedding, honeymoon, rehearsal dinner. Everything except my ring, which is already paid off.
This is what I will try to save money on this year:
1. Eating out. Officially a thing of the past. My biggest downfalls: sushi and Taco Bell. I will try to make delicious, homemade dinners as often as possible. Soups are the best way to do this.
2. Clothes and Shoes. I will be buying less new clothes this year. What I do buy, I will invest wisely in. No trendy outfits. Nothing that will fall apart the first time you wear it. My biggest downfall: cute heels. I will try to wear what I already own.
3. Bars and Clubs. Definetly my biggest expense. There's nothing better than going out after work for a few drinks with my co-workers and best friends. I can easily drop $100 in one night. From now on: more house parties, less bars. Only go out dancing once a month instead of once a week. Only drink in bars where the drinks are free (I have quite a few of these, so that won't be a problem). Reduce these nights out too.
4. Wal-Mart. Have you ever gone to Wal-Mart for cat litter and mascara and walk out an hour later with $150 worth of crap you didn't really want? I will stick to my list, buy only essential items, and most importantly: Put a time limit on my shopping. I should be in and out of Wal-Mart in 10 minutes. That leaves no time for browsing.
5. Magazines. I'm a total book whore. I devour books like Santa in a cookie shop. Luckily, I can get my books at the library for free, or for 50 cents if I want to buy them. Magazines are my downfall. No more bridal magazines, definetly. I don't need to pay $4 a piece for something that will take me an hour to read.
6. Vacations. The biggie. My boss says she's never seen anyone take as many vacations as I do. I love to travel, camp, and visit family. I've already cut out our annual Burning Man vacation for 2008, which runs us a couple grand after everything is added up. I've cut out a visit to Alaska to see friends. Being a server sucks this way: I don't make money if I'm not at work. By cutting back on vacations, I will save money by not going, and make money by working instead.
So, I guess this is how women become "barefoot in the kitchen." Sounds like a horrible year, staying at home, cooking, and wearing my same old, tired clothes. But the payoff will be worth it, when we have our gorgeous wedding! I'm really looking forward to seeing my big pile of money slowly grow, scrimp by scrimp.