Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Look for a local farm or person with chickens - work out a trade with them for their eggs. Localharvest.com is a good resource! Most people we know with chickens have more eggs than they know what to do with and are glad to find someone to trade with, or will sell them for very cheap.
I wish this were true. Farm fresh eggs are over $3 a dozen here. In the grocery store, you can buy them for under a dollar.
My monthly budget is about $1500/mo but my rent's a little over $600 (sharing apt, very expensive in California.)
Comparing what I have:
Rent: $607/mo.
Gas: $100/mo
Auto Insurance: $60/mo. (State minimum coverage.)
Food: $250/mo
Utilities: $40/mo
Internet: $25/mo
Mobile Phone + Skype: $30/mo
Auto Maintenance (pro-rated): $50/mo
Netflix: $8/mo (no cable)
Misc Expenses + Entertainment: $300/mo
Total: $1470/mo.
What expense I don't have:
1) Car Payments and comprehensive insurance: My car has only a Kelly Blue Book value of $2500 ('99 Civic with 165,000 miles.) If you can find an old, reliable car that gets 30+ mpg, make the switch.
2) Pet
3) Credit Card Payment: I'd prioritize paying this off first, assuming you have an emergency fund available (about $5000, preferably $10,000+). Set aside half of the money you save after expenses to pay off the CC, and put the other half in your savings account.
Also read the book The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth at your local library.
Last edited by ragnarkar; 02-09-2012 at 10:14 AM..
Yeah, the cat doesn't cost me much and I would never get rid of her. I only lumped her in with groceries since that is where I purchase her supplies. It's not much.
The thing with the car is there were years when I drove old cars where my repairs cost me per year almost as much as my car payments. So I am conflicted about cars.
Yeah, the cat doesn't cost me much and I would never get rid of her. I only lumped her in with groceries since that is where I purchase her supplies. It's not much.
The thing with the car is there were years when I drove old cars where my repairs cost me per year almost as much as my car payments. So I am conflicted about cars.
What car do you have? I've never heard of anyone owning an old Honda Civic or Accord and complain about a myraid of costly repairs.. at least not one older than 1995 or with more than 200,000 miles.
Yeah, the cat doesn't cost me much and I would never get rid of her. I only lumped her in with groceries since that is where I purchase her supplies. It's not much.
The thing with the car is there were years when I drove old cars where my repairs cost me per year almost as much as my car payments. So I am conflicted about cars.
If that's true, your mechanic was taking you for a ride. I've had some cars that needed some expensive repairs, but I've always found the repair cost don't come close to the expense of a years worth of avg. car payment.
I wouldn't get rid of the car at this point. It's already been purchased and what is done is done. If payments are still being made on it, there is no doubt negative equity. To get rid of the car and still make payments to cover that negative equity doesn't make sense IMO. Also, you're bound to have less repairs with a newer vehicle, as compared with an older car with higher mileage, and some repairs may even be under warranty. You'd also still need to manage somehow while that older car is in the shop for repairs. If you're not in an area with a good public transport system, which I think you mentioned you aren't, you probably need reliable transportation. Replacing one headache (financial) with another (mechanical and financial) is not something I would do. When the car you have is eventually paid off, it will be a huge burden off your shoulders.
In the meanwhile, what I glares at me immediately from your expense list is the food budget. I could reduce the amount spent significantly and still eat well.
When chicken legs & thighs go on sale I would buy a LOT of them and cook them all up the same day I brought them home from the supermarket. First I would separate the legs and thighs and then cook them in different trays, making them several different ways for variety. However, before cooking the thighs, I would debone them and toss the bones into a large pot with water and make chicken stock, (with the vegetables mentioned below). I would keep out (in the refrigerator) enough chicken for my next few meals and freeze the rest in individual portions. (Individual portions reduce the urge to overspend, when you're too tired to bother cooking or preparing something to eat. It also eliminates waste.)
You can usually buy greatly discounted vegetables which are still fresh, but at the very end of their shelf life. (If you don't see any, ask the Produce Manager.) Portion out something for the next day or so and take HALF of what remains and toss into the pot with the chicken thigh bones and water. Season to taste. Cook that up, remove the bones and you have a large pot of chicken broth with vegetables. Freeze in individual portions. Cook the remaining half of the vegetables and freeze in individual portions. You have then eliminated any waste from spoilage and got a lot of play out of the discounted fresh vegetables.
Right there, for very little money, you have many meals of soup and/or chicken and vegetables.
The sugggestion for buying rice, beans & pasta previously given was excellent. All are inexpensive and very filling. They make great meals by themselves, are great side dishes to have with the chicken and can also be added to the chicken vegetable soup to make it "beefy" enough for a stand alone meal, when you are hungrier for something more than just the chicken vegetable soup alone.
For a little variety, add a drained can of tuna when it's on sale, to an inexpensive bottle of pasta sauce. Heat thoroughly and use sparingly over pasta for a main dish of tuna and pasta. Freeze the remaining sauce in individual portions.
You get a lot of bang for your buck with eggs too, as has also been mentioned. Make sure to cook them before they spoil, to eliminate any waste. Store-brand Cheerios for a snack was an excellent suggestion.
For beverages, homemade iced tea is inexpensive to make, if you use the store-brand tea bags. All you have to do is add a few tea bags to a large pitcher or a gallon jug of water. (If it's sunny, put the jug outside to make sun tea.) It will work if made inside, too.
If you buy any berries, (on sale, of course) , freeze what won't be used in the next couple of days in ice cube trays covered in water. You can add a frozen cube to water and enjoy a slightly fruit flavored beverage, or add to some iced tea to change it up a little.
If coffee is on your "must have" list, even though it's rather pricey, remember to use every drop from each pot you make. After you drink your freshly made coffee, refrigerate what is leftover in the pot and use for iced coffee. You can also freeze some in portions in ice cube trays. When you want a cold snack, you can grind up a couple of iced coffee cubes, add sweetner and have a coffee "snow cone".
I hope this gave you some ideas.
Edit: I just came across this thread. It has some excellent suggestions for extending a limited food budget. In other words, it confirms you can reduce the amount you have allocated monthly.
Debtmonger, I absolutely have been ripped off by many mechanics. As a woman who is alone who can't fix her own cars, it's been costly. Besides, I agree with CheyDee - selling my car and then paying off the negative equity - where I will have payments and then no car (or a beater with repairs) - doesn't make sense to me.
Good grocery tips - I admit I am not much of a cook, so was buying a lot of prepared foods/processed foods, which of course, aren't healthy either. I eat little meat - I don't like it that much.
If you don't care for chicken, buy some mussels. (I am guessing they are very inexpensive in FL.) You can have them along with pasta, since mussels themselves aren't filling. Use the shells to make fish stock, the way I mentioned above with chicken. This will still give you vegetable soup for light meals or add rice, beans or pasta for a heavier meal.
Since you wouldn't be stocking up on sale-priced chicken, you could consider buying a few cans of sardines - which run less than $1.50/can (beware of high sodium contents), a bottle of store brand parmesan cheese and some potatoes for baking. You could easily make a baked potato, cover with a portion of veggies (which you cooked and froze) and sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese. I'm guessing the best prices for potatoes would be found with a 5 lb. bag and you probably won't eat them all before they spoil. You may want to surf for a quick, easy recipe to make homemade fries for a nice treat.
Speaking of pasta & canned fish, I often make elbow macaroni and add drained, canned tuna, mayonnaise, diced onions and, if I happen to have any, diced celery or bell pepper. This makes a great lunch and a regular, 1 lb. box of elbows makes quite a few meals.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Most people we know with chickens have more eggs than they know what to do with and are glad to find someone to trade with, or will sell them for very cheap.
