Living On A Dime test Site

Budgeting

What is an Appropriate Food Budget?

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Elise from Kelowna, British Columbia writes:

Hi Tawra and Jill,

My husband and I are saving hard for a mortgage down-payment and we are trying to stick to a budget, but I don’t know what is an appropriate amount of money to allot for food per month. I try to get everything on sale and in bulk, as well as utilizing free sources of fruit and vegetables. (Here in the Okanagan they are all over!) Could you give me some advice about this? It is just the two of us — we have no children yet.

Thank you for the help, and also thank you for this inspiring website. I always read your articles and they boost my resolve to be as frugal as I can while still living life richly.

Thanks again, Elise

 

Hi Elise! Well, first let me tell you that we’re jealous that we don’t live in the Okanagan. From what we’ve seen of it, it’s beautiful country up there!

The answer to your question depends on a lot of factors. I can’t really give you a dollar amount because the price of food varies from state to state and from the US to Canada. When Mike and I were living alone we spent $125 a month on groceries (US dollars). My best advice is each day or week think about where you can cut a little more from your bill. No matter how much you cut, there is only so far you can go. Eventually you will get to an average point and the will be a steady bill for you. Then focus on how you can save in other areas.

Generally, if you cut out the convenience foods and go to restaurants as little as possible you will be well on the way. Since you are saving extra hard right now, I would cut out all of the restaurant trips except maybe on your anniversary and try for no expensive convenience foods. Then, when you have saved what you want to save, ease up on those things a little if you like. Also, keep in mind that it may be worth it at times to use convenience foods if you have an opportunity to make more money with the time you save. For example, if you and your husband can work some overtime this week and it pays well, but it eliminates the time you have to prepare meals for the week, it might be worth buying some TV dinners. Still, whenever possible, I’d prepare some freezer meals ahead of time when things are slow to make up for the time you may not have later.

It sounds like you are well on your way to getting it as low as you can. I hope you get your down payment quickly!

      -Tawra

 

photo by: Masahiro

Dream Laundry Room Ideas

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Dream Laundry Room Ideas

Dream Laundry Room Ideas

From: Cindy M
This is an idea for handling laundry/clothes that I wish I would have used when my kids were still at home. It would require a good-size laundry room but save a lot of bedroom space. There would be cubbies for everyone – socks, underwear, t-shirts, jeans, anything foldable would go in the cubbies – being folded straight out of the dryer. This would eliminate the need for dressers in the bedroom and the space they would take up. Hanging clothes could either go on a rack in the laundry room if space allows, or in the bedroom closets.

I have to admit this would be my dream laundry room! Since my laundry room barely has room for me stand in I dream of this type of a laundry room everyday! LOL Tawra

My dream laundry room would have an eight foot long and four foot deep table that is the perfect height to fold my clothes on easily with the cubbies and rods above it to place things as I fold them. It also would have a place to keep the ironing board up all the time with a rod and cubbies by it to hang the clothes on. Last but not least it would have a rack to hang all those things like dirty dish rags or towels which need to dry before you dump them in the hamper.

To be honest I love laundry so much I wouldn’t mind dedicating one whole floor to a laundry room. I wonder if more people would enjoy doing it if they didn’t have to do it all in a little 5×3 closet all the time. Cooking and doing laundry are two of the main “have to do” things done in a home and yet they always make theses little tiny rooms to do it in but we create these bathrooms that are so big you could play tennis in them.

I mean how much room do you need to sit on a toilet or stand at a sink to wash your face??? They give you an 8 foot vanity just to brush your hair and put on make up and often don’t give you even one foot of space to fold clothes.

They even are now giving you an area in the bathroom so you can have a couch to sit and read on. I’m sorry but I can think of much more pleasant places I would rather read then laying and looking at a toilet that 4 male members of my family just used.  Makes no sense to me. Although if you are a mom with 4 little ones under the age of 5 that might be your only place to relax. : ) : )

Jill

Turn School Supplies Into Christmas Gifts

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Just before school, when school supplies are on sale, is a good time to stock up on lots of little gifts that will be great for Christmas! [Read more…] about Turn School Supplies Into Christmas Gifts

Roast with Cranberry Sauce and Leftovers

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cranberry sauce roast

Roast with Cranberry Sauce and Leftovers

From: Shelley
I loved your recipe for the cranberry roast (see below). It was awesome. The next day, I heated the leftover roast and gravy added about a tablespoon of soy sauce and 1/2 a bag of broccoli florets. I served that over ramen noodles and it made a wonderful broccoli beef type dish.

A lot cheaper than take out!

      -Shelley

 

Cranberry Roast

1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
1 (3lb) roast
1 can (16 oz) cranberry sauce

Pour soup mix in a crockpot. Add roast and top with cranberry sauce. Cover and cook for 8 hours. To thicken gravy, mix 1 Tbsp. cornstarch and water and add to gravy. You can add carrots and potatoes 4 hours into cooking.

 

Photo By: matthewreid

Teach Your Kids About Money

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Teach your kids about money

Here’s a real life example of a great way to teach your kids about money.

I was on welfare for a while when my kids were younger. Of course, getting only one check per month made the lack of cash flow more obvious. One day, when I said we couldn’t afford something, they asked, “Why not – you just got that big check?!”

So, I sat them down and wrote the numbers down side by side. I wrote how much the check was on one side and how much I had to pay to others on the other side. I subtracted as I went and they saw the “big” check going down faster than they realized.

They never bugged me after that quite like they had before. I derived the idea from a different idea about how to show kids the realities of cost and the dreams they have about sports cars, big houses, etc. I just adapted it for my situation. I know most parents don’t really want to tell their salaries, but sometimes it can help kids to understand when things are tight.

      -Wendy

 

This is a great idea. I have never understood why parents won’t tell their kids their incomes and let the kids sit down with them while they are paying the bills. This is probably one the best things you could ever do with your kids.

      -Tawra

 

Not only that, but it teaches and gives children a better idea how to use a checkbook, balance a checkbook, be responsible with credits cards and generally make better financial decisions. I am so surprised about how many adults don’t have a clue where to begin teaching their children any of these things. Once again, it shows how important it is to train your children in every area, including finances.

      -Jill

 

Photo By: Betsssssy