Archives for July 2016

Why a Costco Membership is Beneficial for Our Family

July 27, 2016 | Leave a Comment

When we first became homeowners six years ago, the first thing we did was go out and invest in a Costco membership.

I couldn’t wait to buy 30 rolls of toilet paper, an enormous bag of coffee or 5kg of chocolate chips whenever I wanted. It didn’t take us long to realize we really didn’t yet need a Costco membership though. We were only two people and one of whom was traveling a lot for work and rarely home.

When the year was up we let the membership expire and didn’t really miss it. This all changed four years ago though.

Looking at Why It Didn’t Work

The biggest mistake we were making at the time of our initial membership was not pricing out our groceries. We were horrible at meal planning and figuring pricing out. We were wasting money in not planning. We also hadn’t looked outside food enough such as baby items (at the time not relevant) or stuff like cat litter.

After I started my first maternity leave, and were forced to have a good long look at how we were spending money, and when I look at our big areas of spending I realize how beneficial the membership actually is to our family.

Baby Stuff

I think my newborns entire infant wardrobe came from Costco. They have amazing and affordable baby clothes. Their price on things like diapers and wipes also made the drive over well worth it.

After we got our membership back I no longer had to scour the sales and wait for a deal when it came to things like diapers because I knew they would be cheaper at Costco than any regular store sale. Now that we’re expecting baby #2 I know exactly where we’ll stock up on diapers and wipes!

Propane

We have always loved to BBq and try to do it year round as it can be an affordable way to cook. The price of propane at Costco is more than half the price that we were paying at the local gas station. Given that we fill it up every few weeks in the summer we save quite a bit of money.

Coming next year we’ll also get our gas from Costco too.

Produce

With an official third mouth to feed, and a husband who was now home more than before, we were going through quite a bit of produce. I did the math and for a lot of our favorite items, it is more times than not cheaper to buy at Costco.

Sometimes it’s cheaper for us to buy seasonal items from local stores (like when we have local apples) but non-seasonally, Costco prices and quality is always much better than most local grocery stores.

Services

We have capitalized on many services that comes with our membership such as photocenter or pharmacy. Again the pricing always makes the trip in worth it.

Our city has had a Costco for as long as I remember but the 30 minute drive made it hard to justify becoming a member given than we’d be driving at least an hour return for our trip, but about six years ago we got one closer to us and now it’s a part of our regular grocery shopping routine. Costco also has a really great return policy, so I know that pretty much anything we buy at Costco we can return – no questions asked.

I’ve become price-savvy enough to be able to shop around and know if and when to wait for our Costco trip. It’s a fee we don’t mind spending as we definitely do save way more per year than our membership costs. We’re also at the point now in terms of Costco spending to justify getting the executive membership which, if anything like I expect to earn in cashback, will end up being essentially free for us.

Do you have a Costco membership? How do you make it work for your family?

Catherine

Catherine is a first time momma to a rambunctious toddler. When she isn’t soaking up all that motherhood has to offer, you can find her blogging over at Plunged in Debt where she chronicles her and her husbands journey out of debt. You can also follow her on Twitter.

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Hosting a Bridal Shower on a Budget

July 20, 2016 | Leave a Comment

I think most of us have at least attended a shower before. Baby showers and bridal showers are both pretty common events. Though I have attended many, including my own, until this year, I have never been involved in hosting and organizing one and let me tell you, it is a lot of work! If you’re not careful it can be so easy to go overboard and bust your budget.

Along with my Mother-in-law, we have been busy planning a bridal shower for my sister-in-law this coming week. In the past few months I have discovered quite a few tips to help make the process a little easier in both work load and finances. Though we are planning a bridal shower, the same could be applied to any baby shower as well.

Timing is Key!

Be conscious about the time you want your event hosted. Originally we had the time set to start at 4pm to accommodate someone who would be working in the day but we quickly changed it when we realized people would likely be expecting a full meal to be served.

Avoid hosting the event over a time where a meal would likely be served. You can save a ton on food costs by having it at an ‘’in between’’ time. For us we decided to have the event from 1-4pm, after common lunch time but before supper.

Instead of needing to provide a meal we will be having finger foods like small sandwiches, fruit, cupcakes and treats. This is much easier on the wallet. A late morning works well too- you could simply have tea/coffee/mimosas and fruit and sweets. Aside from the financial side of things, it is so much less work!

Don’t Go Crazy with Decorations

I did a quick walk through at a local party store and quickly got turned off. While there were quite a few cute decorations they really were a one-time use only and cheap in quality.

I could have easily spent over $50 in that store alone on stuff simply because it said ‘’Bridal Shower’’ or ‘’Bride-to-Be’’. Instead we went to the dollar store and bought some (of the exact same) balloons, streamers and a local craft store to make our own signs. It was less than half the price and not much effort.

(Here are some more tips on throwing themed showers.)

Designate Tasks

As the shower got closer and we realized how much we both still had to do we asked for help.

I knew the maid of honor wouldn’t mind helping so we asked her to take care of one of the games as well picking up a few items from a specific store. She didn’t mind at all and now something we didn’t have to worry about. The day of the shower some cousins will be coming over to help set everything up too which will help while we prep the food.

Especially around a wedding or baby shower, people are often all too willing to lend a hand, just don’t be afraid to ask.

Skip formal invites

Shower invites are very tempting. I looked and really wanted to buy some but I knew they’d just end up in the garbage so we opted not to do it instead choosing to do everything online instead. It was easier to communicate with people this way too. I don’t think anyone minded not getting the formal invite and it saved us a few bucks!

I’m happy to say we managed to get everything we needed to host the 20 person shower for less than I was expecting because of a little extra planning on our behalf.

Have you ever hosted a baby or bridal shower? How did you manage everything?

Catherine

plungedindebt.com

Helping Family With Financial Problems

July 13, 2016 | Leave a Comment

Money issues can often become a family issue. When we were younger, my sister was the saver and I was the spender. At any given time, my piggy bank was likely empty as I had just bought something while she probably had the first cent she ever saved. Things have drastically changed as adults.

My sister tried to justify every tiny purchase and as a result has a hard time getting out debt and putting money into savings. She may be my younger sister but she is an adult and should probably be able to manage her finances on her own, but she has come to me (multiple times) for help. She’s never actually asked for money, just help with managing things which I don’t mind doing.

Knowing when to step in and help a friend or family member with their finances can be hard. Even advice can be hard to give sometimes as money is so personal. You really need to know and understand each other’s spending habits to really be able to help.

Establish Boundaries

Before you agree to help someone you need to establish boundaries.

I agreed to help my sister with a budget and getting everything set up but that’s it. At one point she asked me if I would actually control her money for her, only giving her an allowance but that was too much for me.

Not only does she really not learn anything about managing her own money, it would be a lot of work for me as well to actually manger her money as well as mine. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for accidentally screwing something up. Some people may be ok with actually taking over someone else’s money but I wasn’t so I made sure she understood exactly what I was willing to do and not do.

Make Sure You Have Time

Helping someone with their money- even if it’s just setting a budget up can be very time consuming. If you’re willing to help make sure you actually have time set aside to help them or it won’t be beneficial. I agreed to help her again set up a new budget but I won’t have time for a few weeks to set aside and actually discuss everything with her. Especially with little ones around, I will need a few, uninterrupted, hours to dedicate to her. I’ve agreed to help but she will have to wait until I’m ready.

Be Prepared to Walk Away

The first time my sister approached me to help (a few years ago) I could tell it was going to be a total waste of time and effort. She wasn’t in the right mindset and shot down every suggestion I made. Even though I knew she needed to follow the advice I was giving her, I just knew she wouldn’t. For my own sanity I walked away. I told her we’d come back to it when she was ready to take it more seriously which, a few months later she did. If you’re both not on the same page, walk away.

Helping a friend or family member with a financial issue has the potential to divide people. I totally understand why some people refuse. Thankfully my sister and I are able to maintain a good relationship despite these things and I’m happy to take responsibility for the positive changes she has made.

Have you ever helped a friend or family member with a money issue? How did it work out?

Catherine

plungedindebt.com

What to Do When You’ve Busted Your Budget!

July 6, 2016 | Leave a Comment

We’ve all had months were costs have gotten a bit out of control. Sometimes it’s a missed item that you forgot to budget or sometimes you do budget for something but it ends up costing way more than expected. Busting your budget is bound to happen.

If I’m being honest we can be bad for busting our budget. Rarely do we hit our numbers perfectly. I do my best to estimate our variable expenses but I’m often off the mark. Sometimes it’s a few dollars which doesn’t make much difference but sometimes I can be off by a few hundred. This is why I’m glad we have a loose budgeting system in place- I often don’t have a hard time attempting to fix our ways come next pay. Here are a few ways you can ‘’make up’’ a budget-busting month:

Make More Money

This can be the easiest way for some people. If you don’t want your future weeks or months effected than simply earn more to make up the short fall.

Both my husband and I have a side hustle which earns us a little extra money we can use if necessary. We also both have a cash-accumulated vacation-time bank through work which I can withdraw from if needed and finally we can also work more at our day-jobs. For us, it’s often easiest to just earn more if we need to make up the shortfall. Then we don’t have to worry about messing anything in the future up.

Move Money Around

I don’t like doing this but sometimes we need to shift funds around a bit. For instance, even though our water bill is only due every three months I usually make a payment on it, every month. If needed, I could skip one or two of these payments and still be able to make it up before the bill is actually due. This is my least favorite way of making up a busted budget but is still an option. I also have a small buffer in our account after bills are paid that I don’t like touching but know it’s there if needed.

Give Something Up

Maybe there’s something in your budget you need to cut down (or cut out entirely) to make up your shortage. If you have something like an ‘’eating out, or entertainment’’ category, maybe consider skipping out on it for a month to make up your shortage. Most people have categories in their budget they can play with like how much they spend on groceries. Got through each category and see if there is any room to play with.

Emergency Fund

This is an absolute last case option but it has to be suggested anyway. Really, ER funds should not be used to make up a budget shortfalls but sometimes if it means taking from ER fund versus take on debt, the choice is easy. Just be careful not to make a habit out of it!

Everyone will experience months where their budget isn’t perfect. The goal is to avoid taking on debt and making up the shortfall as fast as possible.

How do you mange months where your budget gets busted?

Catherine

plungedindebt.com