June 1st Means January 1st

Today I woke up with a fire in my belly, figuratively speaking. I think it has been a long time brewing, and this weekend is when it got started.

I'd been financially feeling out of control, like I have no real goals, no sense of purpose, that I was just going along buying whatever I felt like without making it a point to track it sooner rather than later. I should add that when I say "buying whatever I felt," believe me, I wasn't at the mall shopping for cute clothes, or stocking up on toys for the kids. No, I mean, food...... and gardening stuff that I planned to use but ended up killing the seedlings and now there IS no garden to start (waste of money spending $100 on gardening tools then!).

Today I actually added up what I had spent last month, May, on groceries, and the figure astounded me. Really. I spend over $800 on groceries, and that's not including the $176 I spent on eating out, lunches, and just junk food I would stop to get after work.

Come on, $1,000??? Really, Serena???

I probably could have safely and comfortably spent half of that, at least a quarter less, and would have been able to sock away that money into savings or something. Instead, it's all eaten up and shitted in some sewer somewhere (sorry for the descriptive, but it's true!!)

So, waking up with a fire in my belly today for more financial control and planning is a great thing, and I'm feeling energized and excited about my once again new-found astringent behaviors.

I thought about how I would like to spend this next month, and what I would like to focus on, and this is what I came up with (see below). This really couldn't have come at a better time, because not only is there a lot of uncertainty with my contract job come the middle of July, but I am also pregnant with baby #3! (YAY!). I'm due in November, and with all this financial unknown, I am unable to plan appropriately. But one thing I know is that I'm going to need a shit-load of money to get by for 3 months on maternity leave.

So here's what I have decided to do, at least for the next 30 days of June, to get myself back on track and meet some financial goals and plan for maternity leave and necessary savings needed:

1. Cash only. It sounds more simple than what it has been for me. But this is going to require me budgeting, and pulling that budgeted money out of the ATM. No more finding myself with a debit card only. I spend more blindly and freely when I am using my debit card. I also will use the "envelope" method of managing my cash so that I know what's left in each category.
   
   
2. Spend only paper money, and bank all my coins. This was a tip I heard from Suze Orman, where if you buy something for $2.05, you give the store clerk $3.00, and bank the $0.95 change. At the end of the month, I plan to either deposit it into my savings account, or the kids' accounts.
   
   
3. Return any item I have yet to use. How many times have you bought something that, yes, you knew you had wanted to buy, but didn't necessarily need to buy AT.THAT.TIME? I'm sure it happens all the time. It does to me. Like those gardening tools. Bought them on the fly, knowing I had wanted to break ground for a garden, but it's been 2 weeks, and the tools are still sitting there, and my seedling are slumped over and nearly dead. I am doubtful I will get to my garden this year. And I have also thought it might be easier to just plant into pots instead of breaking ground this year. But yes, here are the items that I plan to return that I have bought and have no even used yet:
   
   
   • Stains that I was going to use to stain some furniture - at least $20 back.
   • Solar lights that were to line the walkway - $30
   • Garden tools - at last $50 back
   • Scrub brush and outdoor bleach to clean the drive way - $20 back
   • Curtain rod that isn't needed - $8 store credit
   • Curtain rod clips - $12 store credit
   
   
4. Find any item I am not using anymore, and sell it online. I would have a yard sale, but honestly, I don't think I have enough stuff to sit out there to even be attractive for passersby. I am thinking about buying some used stuff and trying to resell it, as well. This could be fun! This includes the several gallons of turquoise paint I bought that were the wrong color and I never tried to return it.
   
   
5. Track spending daily. I have been keeping track of my expenditures for years. But what's the purpose doing that if I wait a whole freakin' month to record them? That's what happened for May, and I was shocked to discover we ate a fortune. Starting today, I track purchases daily, so that I can monitor my spending. Weight Watchers requires tracking points daily--why not track money daily, too??
   
   
6. Put all house projects on hold. I feel so stupid how lately I have been having people come here for quotes on thins like thinning out the trees in the backyard (um, yeah, $1,600??!), when really, all my money needs to be going towards maternity leave!!! What have I been thinking?! Things like painting and wallpaper removal can continue, but anything this is going to cost more than $100, sorry, you're going to have to wait! Poor lawn, no mulch......Poor trees, gotta look scraggly for a while....!
   
   
7. Pay credit card off. Now, today I was thinking that I wanted to pay my credit card off by November, by the time the baby comes. But honestly, again, when looking at the numbers and how much money I would need to stay home for 3 months, it's daunting. Credit really has to be last on my list of priorities. Cash is king now, baby! The most I can ask for is to pay it on time, no doubt, and to not charge another dime!
   
   
8. Plan weekly menus, no exceptions! I've done so poorly at this.... It's embarrassing to think that I have not been very good about being able to manage my household. I stop at the store nearly nightly after work, only to get home late (i.e. 6:30 p.m.), around the time when they are coming home, as well, and then it's all about what easy thing can I pull out of the fridge or grocery bag quickly enough. That's no way to feed a family, or to spend on a budget. So, beginning today, it will be planned, cheap, affordable meals (think: rice and beans; good 'ole traditional African food!). Our grocery bill will be cut in half!
   
   
9. Create a cleaning schedule. With a larger home, I didn't realize that I would be spending my weekends cleaning the damn thing! LOL Sometimes it's overwhelming, and I feel like it's too much. It's too much because I try to do everything at once instead of setting a schedule of what gets cleaned and when. Maybe Monday nights are "Clean Toilets and Sinks" night. Oh hell, I don't know! But something must be drafted so that I know when I am expected to do each chore and am not spending all my free weekend doing these things, which takes precious weekend time away from my boo-boos.
   
   
10. Get a part-time job. So this one is sort of tied-in with #4 -- Selling things online. It really has to do with making some extra money on the side. I know I can use my sewing skills and make fun little change purses that people might want to buy someone for a small gift. I could even make the larger purses, too. It means I have to start putting some time into it, after the kids go to sleep. I could even get a regular part-time job, doing some work in the evenings, or possibly even doing some work from home opportunities. Not sure what they'd be yet, but I'll research it.

So, there are 10 things that I have decided I am going to do to kick off the "New Year" (a.k.a. June 1st). And as I like to say, "Every day can be January 1st."

Be back later with updates and reports on my progress!

P.S. I should also note that today is the day I gave up sugar. No junk food, period, for a whole money, and no added sugar to tea, cereal, etc. So, not only am I breaking spending habits, but I'm breaking eating habits, as well! Check out these AWESOME, creative suggestions on how to save money, from the blog site, Budgets are Sexy.

1. @Talar13 – Whenever I intentionally save money, I move it out of my checking acct. Ex: if I save $15 using coupons, I then transfer $15 into my savings acct!
2. @1bets1 – Every payday I make a deposit, but record $100 less. It adds up.
3. @JessOtwell – After a non-essential purchase, I always put 50% of that cost into savings. Can’t afford to? Then I don’t buy it!
4. @JBird_1205 – I buy a roll of quarters every paycheck & put them in the change jar.
5. @MoneyTalksCoach – If I get paid in cash, I stash it away & don’t count it as ever being received.
6. @BoomerandEcho – I make a forecast of income + expenses for a whole year, then funnel any unspent money from any category into savings.
7. @jopinion- I have a bank account that I have no debit cards or checks for- I call it the fun fund.
8. @inexpensively – I use an online savings account specifically so I don’t have easy access to the funds
9. Jen – I set up auto-transfers every weekday of $1 & $2 through ING.
10. Phil Villarreal – I’d say the best way is to use personal finance software to make yourself arduously catalog and break down every purchase. For instance, an $80 trip to Target would mean a mandatory 10-minute endeavor in which you have to break down every item into its specific category, making you think twice before tossing random products into your basket on the next trip.
11. Adam Piplica – Hide money in a non-online bank that you have to actually walk too – that way you can’t easily transfer it back into your checking account!