September: Our Savings Month

Our family is on a “no-nonessential spending kick” for September. Why? We had a few hangover bills from a summer vacation and three unexpected car repairs. So a spending freeze seemed like a sane way to get our budget back on track.

Now, we’re pretty careful with our money anyway, so I thought, “How hard can this be?” Well, it’s only September 2. And I’ll tell ya the truth: It’s very, very hard!

I read a suggestion in financial celebrity Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan (which I downloaded for free; you can still read the first chapter here). It was: Don’t spend ANYTHING for one day. So during the last part of August, I kept trying to do that, in preparation for September. Emphasis on “kept trying.” I’d think: OK, this is an easy day to spend nothing. Then we desperately needed milk. Or it was my “mom’s night out” and I wanted to buy a cup of coffee with a friend. Or I needed to send in a check for my daughters’ lunch money.

So I’d put off the “spend nothing day” until tomorrow. But the funny thing was that something kept popping up—sometimes a need, sometimes a very strong “want”—and I found it really tough to go even one single day without spending at least a few bucks! I wondered: How the heck are we going to get through September?

Spending–and saving–money with Mickey Mouse

This year’s family spending controversy was this: New kitchen floor or first family trip to Disneyland? Floor or happy kids? Floor or magical family time together? You guessed it: We chose Disneyland.

A major trip like this (we went in July) is quite out of character (pun intended) for my husband and me. When we spend money, it tends to be on our house or our kids’ education–stuff we feel will really last. We love to travel, but lately it’s been sooo easy to put it off. It seems a bit, well, luxurious when there are always so many things that need to be done/paid for at home: New roof, new dishwasher, leaking frig….and of course, the ancient, cracking kitchen floor.

Cut costs with a shopping list

Yep, it’s annoying, but I’ve converted to using a shopping list whenever I hit the stores. Particularly the grocery stores. It’s not a new idea, but it’s getting new attention now that we’re all trying to cut back on impulse spending.

I have a standing list on my computer that includes most of our family’s every-week buys. It’s organized by section of store: Produce, Dairy, etc. (Download a Microsoft Word version of my  Grocery List and customize it to your own needs). I just print out a half dozen copies and keep them in my kitchen cabinet. Every week I put a new one up on our frig, so hubby and I can both check off the items we need as we go. I’ve never understood why anyone would keep a grocery list on a chalkboard or dry-erase board. You’ve just got to rewrite it on paper before you leave the house.

I haven’t tried these yet, but apparently a number of companies are now offering online grocery lists. Let me know if you try any of these:  Grocerlist, GroceryWiz, Grocery Note, Knotler,  and Ziplist.