by Claire
In the coming days I plan on sharing the details of what we have in savings via investments/401K/529 plan/etc. in an attempt to continuing expanding your view of my world. I know there will be much for me to learn about this part of things and I don’t see the investments as directly relating to the debt reduction–but a complete picture is helpful for all of us I think.
It was a good weekend for spending. I cut the grocery budget yet again and spent $80 on what should cover us for TWO weeks! I really worked the ads and coupons today and it took entirely too long (that has to improve with time I am guessing…) but I saved so much money the time is worth it! Actually, I took a little quiet time in the process too by sitting at a local coffeeshop with my cup of coffee and clipping coupons. And I’m a cheap coffee date—Americano please…nothing fancy. It was nice me time actually. Thankfully the little one is happy to help with cutting coupons still—a HUGE help.
I have also made a dent in the gas budget–even with the climbing prices. This is just taking a little extra time to think things out but so far I’ve shaved off about $20 a week.
I caught myself at the store tonight having a moment like I’m sure many of you had when you first read my blog. A man in front of me at Walgreens was using a small handheld basket and only had one…although it was full. As I watched the cashier ring up his purchases there were several items that I KNEW there were easily accessible, good coupons for and had to bite my tongue when the cashier gave him his total….and no mention of coupons was made! His total was $41.73! For a handheld basket full of just grocery itmes! My how times have changed! I used to be that person–using Walgreens as a regular grocery store thinking nothing of the extra I was paying for the convenience! I am pretty outspoken but I did not feel comfortable gently telling this older fellow how much he could have saved—just didn’t feel right at the time–but all the way home I was laughing at the irony! Maybe I am optimistic but I already cannot imagine going back to such reckless spending.
Born and raised in Texas. I’ve at least driven through every state in the US courtesy of a roadtrip loving Dad.
I’m single with two children and a good parenting relationship with their father.
I am a “life is just half full of funny” kinda gal. Humor is my saving grace and I am thankful for it every single day. I have a strong Catholic faith and am thankful for that foundation.
I read a lot for a living but still enjoy a good book. I love biographies but in recent years have found the need for fun fictional books–sadly, for a long time I just didn’t enjoy fiction!
I love live theatre of any kind–from local productions to Broadway.
I love to scrapbook and pride myself in my kids’ albums.
I love being a mom but also love my career. I’m blessed to have found a balance allowing me to be at everything my kids need and want me to be at–while also having a career.
Favorite Quotes: Well behaved women rarely make history.
Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. -James Bryant Conant
Oh, I’ve been curious about your handling of investments so I’m looking forward to it. A lot of people with similar cc debt(or really just a lot of debt in general) are reluctant to contribute. It’s one of a few things I don’t agree with DR’s approach to debt snowball. We have our employer-matched 10% automatically withdrawn and don’t even factor that part of our income into the budget. It might be ok to defer investing to baby step 4 or 5 or whatever DR recommends if you’re 20-30 yrs old, but once you hit 40 that clock is seriously ticking.
You’ve actually stumbled on something very important in your journey here. There are 2 ways you will notice you have to be careful regarding your relationships with others.
1. Temptation to judge them for not being debt-reducers like you. We have friends who are fresh out of college and have 2 new cars. But I have to keep reminding myself how little I know about their situation. maybe they have debt, maybe not. maybe they have a trust fund. maybe their parents paid for college. maybe they’re living on credit cards. maybe they won the lottery. maybe they have an unexpectedly high income. who knows. i’m constantly tempted to put the same expectations on others regarding debt, simplification, and spending that i set for myself. on top of all the unknowns, i also have to remember that the prevailing cultural mindset is NOT to be debt-free. there is tremendous pressure to live in nice places, have nice stuff, drive nice cars, and always have enough money to DO everything too (movies, vacations, etc). my debt plan is for my family, not somebody else’s.
2. The opposite effect that I’ve mentioned before: the temptation to think, “I have a good income, I deserve to have X because so-and-so makes half as much and has X.” Whether it be a new car, fancy house, shopping at Walgreen’s, or a brand new Kitchen Aid stand mixer. First, I have to remember I don’t deserve anything, everything is a gift. And second, I have to remember I don’t know anything about someone else’s overall financial picture. And third, I have to remember that if so-and-so has X, they may be financing it with debt, or financing something else with debt so they can finance X with cash.
It’s good you’ve noticed this early so you can make sure your mind is set right, because these thoughts can be a constant nag. And let me tell you, the corporate workplace is no friend to your efforts. You’re supposed to have new clothes freshly pressed from the dry cleaner, eat lunch out every day, host parties for your team at your professionally cleaned half a million dollar house while your kids go with the nanny, give your money to fundraisers, and buy a new SUV with your bonus check. It can be tough. But these people will mostly still be working at age 65 and still bearing a massive mortgage when they retire. Most of the materialism is just a facade.
Just remember, you are choosing a different path.
Love this post by Adam, great advice for everyone!
Excellent comment Adam! Thanks!
If you lived in MA instead of TX I could’ve been the person at Walgreens spending more than I needed to. However, the only debt I have is my mortgage, and the only time I go to Walgreens is when everything else is closed and I absolutely need something, e.g., allergy medicine so I can sleep at 11 PM, or Christmas wrapping at 11:55 PM on 12/23 😉
It’s really hard to know what a person’s situation is, especially when you just get a teeny tine glimpse.
Ditto for what Adam said about your colleagues in the workplace. Where I work I am literally surrounded by people who make and spend a lot more than I do. But, while I know they spend a lot more than I do, I don’t really know how much more they make than me, and for all I know they’re mortgaged to the hilt. So I just ignore them when they talk about buying BMWs and Mercedes and vacation homes. Besides, I’m not into status symbols 😉
And I am STILL blown away buy how LITTLE you spend on groceries!!!!!
Yes–that’s the point I was trying to make re: jumping to conclusions but I didn’t do a good job of communicating my thoughts there. For all I know the guy has no debt and makes a ton of money…but what I was struck by is that I KNEW there were coupons and deals that he just needed to speak up about to save almost $15! That’s what I meant by reckless…that my mindset is slightly different that I feel like NO ONE can blow off $15 bucks. I’m sure I did that more than once…left money on the table!
How did you manage to shave off $20 on your gas budget? I’m a slave to my car, I have to use it everywhere and I live near SA too.
I charted out our weekly driving schedule and made some changes to kids’ appointments so that I am not zig zagging all over the place! I really should do even better on gas considering I live 5 miles from my office and my kids now take the bus to school! I hope to cut down even more. If you live in SA half of our problem is the lack of synchronized stoplights in this city! On my visits to Houston and Dallas this month that was one thing I really noticed—why can’t SA synchronize the stinking lights?!
Well done Claire with your grocery! Out of curiosity how much did you save using the coupons, and did you buy the stuff that you used to buy before or did you also make brand swaps etc?
Hi Maria! I saved about 30% with coupons this week! I’d say it was a mix of my usual products and new brands but really only b/c the coupons fell that way. I am not buying anything too far off the regular grocery list but now will consider different brands. Thanks for the compliment! 🙂