Hi everyone
I'm so very late to the new year goals this year. It's really hard for me to set financial goals for the year, because I'm not sure what my expenses will be once I move. I hate being in limbo, but until I'm settled in my new home, I won't know how much I need to spend and how much I can then save. I've worked out a rough budget, so I have an idea of what our expenses will be. However, I like to know things to the last cent/penny. No rounding up to the nearest $ for this girl...lol
Buy house & move!!!!
- This is my TOP priority. My realtor sent an email last week, stating that spring listings will start in early February, so I'm trying to be optimistic. I'm just praying that the right house will become available at the right price soon. I have my budget all set for a house & furniture. I just need to find the perfect house.
Grocery budget
- This is a tough one, thanks to inflation. I've settled on a $500 p/m budget. I'm hoping to come in at around or under $400 though. We will see how things go as the year progresses. This number includes groceries, HBA & cleaning products.
Try to curb food waste
- We're still working on this one. I'm doing much better than before. I can't wait to get a freezer, because that will also help with less waste if I can freeze leftovers for future use.
Do more drugstore shopping
- I've slacked with this last year. Actually, I've slacked with everything last year, because I had so much going on with the divorce. I need to rebuild part of my stockpile, because it looks like grocery prices will continue to increase. I can save more on our grocery budget, by utilizing the drugstore deals. Whatever items we don't use/need, will be sold.
Earn whatever gift cards I can
- There's been a huge downturn on point earning sites. No more encraves, no more hideout tv. So I'm just trying to earn whatever points I can. Every gc helps.
$0 Clothes & shoes budget
- Trust me when I say WE DON'T NEED ANYTHING. I mean it this time...lol. I have enough stuff to open my own store. The sale was THAT good. I need to write a post, because as you all know 'There's method to my madness'. Trust me, things are really bad out there and I'm thankful for whatever deals I can score. Yup, I need to write that post.
- I still have a bunch of our old stuff listed, so this will all go towards 'if we need something new' (maybe, cause we're fully stocked, except for my athletic shoes that are now non-existent. The style I want/need haven't been available in a long time. I could cry. I wear a specific brand & style, because I have high arches). The rest will go towards Christmas.
As soon as my Christmas shopping was completed last year, I started saving my bills again. Here's what I've started the year with.
$1 bills - $96.00
$5 bills - $185.00
$10 bills - $90.00
Total : $371.00
The $10 bills is just something I add occasionally. My favorite part of shopping, is filling my jars with all the change and small bills. It adds up so fast and I don't even miss it. Outta sight, outta mind.
I haven't cashed out my coins yet. There should be over $100. I'm taking it to a coinstar machine to get a gc. I'll use the gc to purchase clearance items to sell.The funds will then go towards Christmas.
I'm doing the same with all Rakuten checks and my CC gcs (I'm loving those discounted gcs from my one CC)
Christmas
I'm budgeting $1000.00. I don't know what we'll be doing for Christmas this year. I'm just setting a rough budget (I'd rather have too much than too little). The above saved bills, coins method, CC, Rakuten will all be saved towards Christmas. Whatever is left over, will go to savings.
I've also added $200 Target discounted gcs to this fund. So I already have $571.00 towards Christmas. More than halfway there, so I'm happy.
Vacation
This is something we really need. I don't know if we'll be taking a vacation this year yet. I'd love to take an annual vacation, but until I'm settled, I can't plan anything yet. I'm actually just happy being by the water. Take me to the beach!!! That's all DS & I really care about. As long as we're by the water, we're happy.
That's all I currently have figured out. I'm actually feeling good about this year. I'm excited to see & experience all the wonderful things this year has in store for me. I'm choosing to be happy :)
Have a wonderful weekend peeps! Stay healthy, safe & warm.
Do you have any tips on divorce process
ReplyDeleteHi Debbie. I'm no divorce expert. I had a friend (who got divorced) help me.
DeleteThis is such a great list of goals! I hope everyone of them comes true for you this year. I’m with you on the grocery budget. Hard to put a price on it with 8nflation, but I hope you get closer to your goal of $400. You can do it!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words Belinda! You're right. I CAN do this! :)
DeleteYour list of goals sound fantastic! And, you definitely need a vacation. Here's hoping you can find something near the beach & enjoy the time with your son.
ReplyDeleteThank you HP. I'm hoping we can go on some kind of vacation this year.
DeleteHouse hunting is always stressful but I think it is even more stressful now. Spring is when we finally had success find our home. You have set some great goals. We spend a little under 600.00 a month and I really want to get that down to 450 or 500. Our totals also include everything. Everything is just SO expensive right now. I did get the power bill for December which was brutally cold and was shocked at how low it was. I guess the new heating/AC system is saving us money. Wishing you a great week!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me know about your spring success Lori. I just talked to my realtor & he said we should be aggressive come February. Great news about your power bill.
DeleteI keep track of grocery prices (in my head...lol) and can't believe how much prices are increasing with every single trip. It's crazy. Here's hoping that we can all still live well within our budgets. You too, have a wonderful week!
Thanks for sharing your budget goals. I have $150 in Amazon gc and almost enough SB points for another $100 gc. I have points to redeem from one of my cc that I will turn into gcs also. We have a large family of 4 adult children and 10 grandchildren and 1 soon to be born great-grand. This year I tried to keep the budget down but DH likes to gift. I think we ended up near $3500 for everyone.
ReplyDeleteThis year I am tracking grocery prices every 3 months just to see how much they go up. Dh & I like to each get a "treat" item when we go to Sam's but these past few visits, it's been hard to feel comfortable doing it. I may use mine, next time, for eggs!
I save $5.00 bills, but think I will start up on the $1.00s also. DH has a coin jar and we let the older 4 granddaughters guess the amount. The one who guesses closest get the remainder after they divide it out.
And finally, thanks for praying for DH. Still battling the sinuses in this cold weather but it feels better when it's warm outside. Praying you are feeling better.
Thank you Kay! I'm sorry to hear that your DH is still not completely healed. I will continue to pray for him. I'm like your DH. I love to gift. If I can make everyone happy with a gift & not receive anything myself, then I'm the happiest person on earth. The best gift (to me)is seeing the joy I bring to other people's lives - even if it's just in a small way.
DeleteI'm impressed with your Swagbucks earnings. I've been struggling with SB since encraves ended. I just do the bare minimum now. I'm trying to make the most of discounted gcs, CC and drugstore deals.
I absolutely love your eggs 'treat' item :) I'm hoping that Kroger will send me another free eggs coupon next month. Sams has been selling 24ct/2 doz eggs for $6 lately. That's a good price around here. I hope you find a good price at your Sams too.