Kids Ain't Cheap

But They Sure Are Worth It

What to Do When You’ve Busted Your Budget!

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Even with careful planning it's easy to spend more money than you want to. Here's what to do when you've busted your budget.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?

Three Things That Are Worth The Splurge

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As much as I love saving money there are things that are definitely worth spending on. Here are three things worth the splurge.As much as I love saving money, there are a few things in life that I believe are worth spending money on. Most of the time I’m more than happy to buy generic products or forgo buying something altogether, but when it comes to a few areas in my life, quality services and products are non- negotiable and here’s why.

Skin care products

Since I was a teen I have struggled with various skin issues. Acne as a teen, sever pregnancy-induced rosacea as an adult and still, as a non-pregnant adult, oily acne prone skin is still present. I can’t even begin to tabulate what I’ve spend on internal and external products looking to help me with my skin issues, almost always being dictated by the bottom dollar.

In the last while though I have started paying more attention to quality products instead of just how much they cost and have noticed a huge difference in my skin. I’m not spending hundreds of dollars or anything, but my $40 cream and $25 facewash is about 5x what I was spending on my cheap stuff which I used for years. It didn’t take long to convince me that spending the money is well worth it.

Bedding

Have you ever slept in a bed with crappy bedding? The kind of bedding that can actually keep you awake because it’s rough and scratchy or doesn’t stay on the bed and rolls up around you? It’s incredibly annoying and considering how much time we spend in bed, quality bedding is worth it!

Quality bedding doesn’t have to cost boatloads of money though. Sure you could easily spend $500 on a nice sheet set but when you can buy name brand sets at discount department stores, why would you? Stores like Marshalls and Winners sell name brand bedding at a fraction of the cost. Just this past summer I bought new sheets which originally retailed for $199.00 for the set, I paid $69.00. While I could get cheap generic sheets at Walmart for probably half the price it’s just not worth wasting the money.

Vacations

Vacations and time away are important to our family. We enjoy spending time together and making memories during our new experiences. We make sure we have the funds to enjoy a little time away every year. It doesn’t mean we’re going on international excursions every year though. Some of our best memories have been from quick road trips not far from home. While we’re working on major financial goals (for us right now it’s debt repayment), lavish vacations aren’t an option but we still make sure we have some money in our budget for something, even if it’s a quick weekend away. Vacations as a whole though are an expense we prioritize and when we do plan a getaway (even if it’s a camping trip) we make sure we don’t leave ourselves feeling short and enjoy time away. Here are 7 great tips to save money on vacation.

This list has changed drastically for me over the years. It wasn’t that long ago that I would have included hair cut and color, something I used to do religiously every six to eight weeks. I stopped doing it when funds were short while I was on maternity leave, I found a cheaper haircut option and let my natural color come back, four years later and I still don’t miss spending the money.

We all have different priorities and I try my hardest not to judge how anyone does or doesn’t spend their money what is important to me may not be for another person.

What are areas that you don’t mind spending a little more on?

3 Ways to Pay for Your Christmas Expenses

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Worried you're going to bust your Christmas budget? If so, check out these three ways to pay for your Christmas expenses!Christmas can be a very expensive time of year. For most, waiting until November to deal with all the impending expenses won’t work and cause undue stress.

The easiest way to manage Christmas expenses for most is to start early. That is, immediately following Christmas! Yet after saying this, I find most people have a hard time thinking about the following Christmas before this one is even finished but arguably the easiest way to manage your Christmas cash is to set aside the money every month beginning in January.

An alternative is that you actually buy presents every month until December by taking the number of people you have to buy for and divide by 12. I have done both and personally prefer to save the cash every month.

Here are some other ways you can keep Christmas from blowing your budget.

Sell your stuff.

Opening an account where you can save any extra money is a great way to not interrupt your daily cash flow and still save for Christmas. Again if you start early and save year-round you may be surprised how much extra money you can come up with, especially if you hold a yardsale(s) in the warmer months!

Get a second job.

Though I never actually did this, plenty of my friends did. They would pick up a seasonal job that allowed them to bring in extra money and get discounts at some of their favorite stores. Conversely I had a friend who would get a second job at her favorite clothing store every year and buy almost her entire year wardrobe during her employment there, saving all of her clothing spending money year-round for Christmas.

Use extra paychecks.

My husband and I are paid bi-weekly but budget monthly. This means there are two months of the year where we’re actually paid more. Rather than budgeting this extra money in our monthly cash flow we opt to use it for one-off expenses, Christmas being one of them. One of our pay-periods is October or November depending on when payday falls and of that extra pay we take out our extra money and use a portion of it for our Christmas expenses. While this works well for us I understand it’s not for everyone! Point in case, we won’t be completing our shopping until middle of December this year. For some that may stress them out but we’re so used to it we’re both very organized and are able to go out in one to two trips and get everything accomplished.

Whatever method you use to pay for your Christmas expenses, the point is that you do whatever you can to limit stress on you and your family. Please also remember that not doing gifts can also be perfectly acceptable and don’t be afraid to suggest it!

Though I prefer our current method to all other suggested I’m curious to know how other people manage Christmas expenses. Where I’d rather not even think about it until at least November I feel like most people in my life prepare year-round, what do you do? Do you use different ways to pay for your Christmas expenses?

5 Tips for Eating Well on a Budget

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eating well on a budgetI have heard many arguments that one of the main reasons obesity is such a rampant issue is because eating well is so much more expensive than buying ‘junk food’. This is something I have always argued.

Buying convenience food is substantially more expensive than buying fresh, and I live in an area where food is very expensive. There are certain things you must do if you want to eat well on a budget.

Make it a Priority

If you don’t make eating well on a budget a priority the rest of your efforts won’t make any difference. I didn’t say it was easy to eat well, especially on a budget but it will be so worth it for you and your family.

Learn to Cook

You have to learn how to cook. If you can read then you can follow simple recipes and cook. The reason people shop for convenience food is often because they’re lazy, don’t know how to cook, lack time or simply don’t care. Basic cooking skills will go a long way in stretching your budget. At the grocery store this week I noticed a single-serve frozen entree on sale for $3.00 each. Instead I made a delicious pasta dish from scratch for $6.00. Double the price but provided 8 sizable servings. It definitely pays to learn how to cook!

Make Better Choices

This week I could have bought three large bags of chips for $6.00, instead I opted to buy the two-pound container of blueberries for $7.00.  Though $7.00 seems like a lot for a single fruit it will accompany our meals for at least five days. There is often always a choice. Don’t waste your money on pop and juice, water is a healthier and cheaper option.

Canned and Frozen is Ok!

People often forget about both canned and frozen fruits and vegetables. I buy large bags of frozen fruit to make smoothies or add to yogurt at a fraction of the cost of fresh. We also stock up on canned goods when needed. Just make sure your veggies are not canned in salt and that your fruits are canned in either water or natural juices instead of syrup.

Grow Your Food

Even when I lived in a one bedroom apartment I grew some of my own food. I had a few small containers on our deck where I grew peppers, tomatoes and herbs. For a low upfront cost I was able to grow and enjoy a substantial amount of food.

Eating well is a challenge. You have to learn to meal plan and shop the sales. Putting the effort into learning or refining your cooking skills will go a long way for providing good food for you and your family. The better you eat now, the less complications you may experience long-term. Eating well may help keep your medical bills down afterall, living with obesity isn’t without its own costs. 

What do you do to eat well on a budget?

5 Expenses Every Family Can Save On

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5 Expenses Every Family Can Save OnHaving to provide for a family is expensive. There are more mouths to feed, kids to clothe and activities to attend. Families are often looking for areas to save but sometimes are at a loss about where to start. There are many areas a family could look at cutting back on or eliminating all together in an effort to balance a family budget.

Clothes

Before I buy anything I always check the local thrift store first. Women’s and children’s clothes especially. Women are always gaining and losing weight, often buying, and then discarding, perfecting good and sometimes new clothes for others to capitalize on! Children just grow like weeds so rarely get more than a few months worth of an item anyway.

Utilities

I already spoke about cutting back on cable options (eliminating everything entirely also being an option). Other options for saving on utility costs are to look into energy savings. Everything from upgrading cheaper options like energy-efficient light bulbs, to more expensive options like upgrading to energy-efficient appliances. All will help with your monthly bottom line.

Transportation

Have a good look at your transportation costs. Do you really need a second car. Could you make one vehicle work? Is there a way to save on gas? Carpooling? Public transit? We sold my car before we moved into our current home. Though it would be hugely convenient sometimes to have that second car, especially with my commute and a child, we can’t justify the added expense. Even with a paid-off car we need to consider gas, insurance and maintenance costs.

Food

Food expenses can get out of control in any sized family. I can’t stress enough how important meal planning is. Not only will it save your sanity it will help your budget immensely. We used to easily spend $650 per month of groceries for our family of three (plus cat). Now, an expensive month is $450 and that usually includes topping up some supplies and on-off items.

I can’t think of any other way to maintain a decent diet and in-check budget without meal planning. It makes all aspects of your life easier! Also look into buying bulk for items you consume a lot of. We go through a lot of berries, bananas and broccoli for example so always buy them at a wholesaler instead. We also find stuff like toilet paper and laundry soap generally cheaper at wholesaler prices.

Don’t Buy Cheap Stuff

This sounds counterintuitive but if you waste your money on cheap crap, you will ultimately end up spending more money. Saving up for quality usually saves money in then end. Some things you can get away with a cheaper version but other things are worth saving for. You decide if the item in question is worth saving for or a cheaper version will do.

I for example would never buy my growing child expensive clothes when I can shop at thrift stores or places like Target knowing it won’t fit in like three months and will have plenty of play encrusted in it.  I would however invest in pieces for myself or husband that I know we’ll get a lot of wear out of.

How do you save on family expenses?

TV Alternatives: Managing a Family Home with No Cable TV

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cable tv alternativesIt could be argued that it is mainstream to have a television with cable in a family household.

When my husband and I were doing our first monthly budget we listed our cable bill under ”fixed expenses”. I mean people don’t actually have a television and no cable? Or so I thought. I had never entertained the idea of actually getting rid of cable, we needed it. It has been many years since our first budget and I’ve come to realize how unnecessary cable is.

With children it can be even harder for them to understand you no longer have access to a billion channels at the push of a button but there are many more economical options out there for families.

Our cable alone is over $100 per month. I can’t say I get $100 per month worth of entertainment from the TV. I’m so busy with my work, family and freelance work that other than a special event (think Olympics) I don’t watch TV and when I do 99.9% of the time it’s something that was pre-recorded. My husband loves his live sports and our daughter does have a show that she enjoys watching as well. At $100 per month though we needed to look into other options because $1,200 per year is a lot of money!

Online

There are a lot of shows that you can watch directly from the stations websites. Sometimes they’re live streaming but somethings you may need to wait a day or two to wait for the show to be up loaded. Either way you’ll be able to get some of the shows you want, contained within your internet bill.

Netflix (and alike)

For $7.99 per month you get access to thousands of shows and movies of all genres. Netflix is the only one I can speak for but I enjoy it a lot. I like the no commercial aspect and that I can pick a series of appropriate shows for my daughter and not have to worry about leaving the room (there are a lot of inappropriate shows even on children’s networks). Netflix has really upped their game in the last few years and I love it.

Live Sports

This was a bit harder to get but not impossible. My husband live-streams his hockey games through either his computer or directly on TV via a gaming console through a package he bought online (such as NHL’s Gamecenter Live). At a price equivalent to what some people pay per month in cable fees, you can get an entire season accessible to you, at your convenience, commercial free. 

Free Local Channels

Around here, if you don’t pay for cable, but still have a cable cord plugged into your television you will get access to three local channels. It isn’t a lot but all we would need for local news (though we rely almost entirely on Twitter) and a few popular shows.

Growing up we only had basic cable. I can honestly say that because we weren’t tempted by the millions of channels currently available to kids, I was much more apt to go outside and play. I am of the opinion that screen time should be seriously limited anyway so cutting cable shouldn’t even be noticed much by kids I especially like that without cable they won’t be exposed to as much advertising which can be detrimental in its own way!

Do you have cable? Do you have any alternatives?

 

How to Deal With Your Child’s Wants and Needs

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how to deal with your childs wantsMy daughter is still young enough that she doesn’t know what she wants yet (I’m find myself reigning my husband in from buying things for our daughter that she thinks she wants and needs ;), he always means well though!).

As she gets older I am fully prepared to have to explain that she can’t have everything she wants all the time. From both a financial and personal development stance, kids need to understand that things aren’t free. Hard work goes into affording all the things they desire and need.

Younger Years

While she’s still pre-school aged, as mentioned she doesn’t want much but she still desires some things.

We were walking through a store the other day and she was pointing towards the cookies in the bakery section. While the cookies only cost $3 they weren’t on the grocery list and a totally unnecessary item to buy. While buying them would have been much easier than listening to her whine the rest of the trip, I needed her to understand that she can’t get something just because she asks for it. I’m not suggesting sporadic treats once and a while aren’t nice but for us this was a moment I needed her to see she can’t always get something for asking.

On a separate occasion my husband went to the store for  few items, solo, and came home with a few toys for kiddo. Toys we hadn’t budgeted for but, in his defense they were on an incredible sale. Instead of just giving them to her we opted to use them for future gifts taking from future ”budgets”. Both Easter and her birthday are approaching so we decided to wait and use them for one of these dates instead and reallocate the funds when time comes.

School Aged Kids

A patient of mine has a twelve year old son who decided that he wanted to go on two school trips this year. Both out of province and both quite expensive. Being a single mom with three kids she told him she was limited in what she could contribute and made it clear that if he wanted these trips he was 100% on the hook to pay for them through fundraising events and side jobs.

Mom explained that this was an amazing experience for them.

She had her doubts but her son has reached his goal for one trip and only has $350 left to raise for his second trip. He’s shoveled driveways each storm, walking blocks to get people to pay him, gathered recyclables for refunds ($0.05/can here) and participated in every available fundraising event. Other than the $100 retainer fee mom had to pay to hold his spot for the trips he will be 100% paying his way, all thanks to a little lot of hard work.

Finding ways to make money before the legal working age of 16 is difficult but not impossible. Mom mentioned she was fully prepared to pay him to help with odd jobs that are over and above his daily chores but she hasn’t had to yet. Mom is super proud of his hard work and he’s even more proud of himself knowing he’s going on these trips totally paid for himself, a grand total of almost $2,500.

Any Age

Kids want things other than objects. They want to play organized sports, take music lessons, art classes and travel. No age is too young to have them understand they can’t necessarily do it all, especially if mom and dad are paying. Next summer our daughter will be enrolled in preschool soccer in the summer and dance in the winter. If she decides she wants to do something else instead she will likely have to decide what she wants more because we won’t be in a position to  pay for everything she wants.

There’s a fine line between giving your kids an experience and giving them something just because they want it. Make sure you’re able to recognize the difference before deciding what is important to them and your family.

How Do You Deal With Your Child’s Wants?