14
Jan
Posted by the Dad in Climbing Out. 22 Comments
Several months ago we hit that frustratingly expensive time in a man’s hygenic cycle: it was time to buy razor blades. Ugh.
I’ve been using Gillette Fusion blades since they came out and the Mach 3s before that. Why? Because they sent me a free handle, unsolicited, when they first produced the dang things.
I think they came with one or two cartridges too. However, at $25 per refill package they had become a painful slice of the weekly budget. I was done. …continue reading
30
Dec
Posted by the Dad in Climbing Out. 9 Comments
It is ironic that I was the one bolstered by my kids’ easy acceptance…
While I truly hope you all had as lovely a Christmas as I did, I cannot imagine that’s possible. My condolences.
It has been a stunningly wonderful holiday season. And not only was it all done with cash, we even paid down another thousand dollars of our debt.
At The Wife’s insistence we had a Christmas sinking fund and spent it on the kids; $100 each. That may not seem like much, but it was enough and generous grandparents from both sides of the aisle made for lots of love and plenty of presents to unwrap. …continue reading
23
Jul
Posted by the Dad in Climbing Out. 3 Comments
…these opportunities to save were there all along, but it took a shift in our perspective to put them into practice
When it comes to trimming the budget there can be big cuts like “Sell the stupid car!” or moving to a cheaper house, but lately I’ve been having fun finding replacements for smaller things that add up.
I’m not talking about small things we deemed unnecessary, mind you, these are things we genuinely enjoy. Some we cut immediately when we began our total money makeover, others we gave up reluctantly, and a few we were happy to give up when a replacement revealed itself unexpectedly.
Here are some of the replacements we have found that made a difference in our budget each month. …continue reading
20
May
Posted by the Dad in Climbing Out. 7 Comments
I was once again amazed, as I always am, at what the day cost
Looking back at the things The Wife and I would do before we woke up and got a clue often amazes me. Like, flat out, mouth-hanging-open, what-the-hell-were-we-thinking, Amazes Me.
I was raised thousands of miles from Disneyland and although I have now lived in Southern California for nearly 15 years, going there is still a great treat. In the years before the kids were born we made several trips to the Magic Kingdom and spent $250 to $350 each time. That wasn’t blatant extravagance, mind you, but we just refused to watch what we were doing. …continue reading
10
Mar
Posted by The Wife in Climbing Out. 4 Comments
We have been allocating $20/week/car for gas money. Last week I didn’t use mine, but I did this week when I was really really on empty. I took my now $40 out of my envelope that I keep in the glove box of my car and walked in to the gas station. I stood in line and as I was waiting the gentleman two people in front of me was having trouble getting his card to work to pay for gas.
With a sigh of relief it occurred to me that I would never again have that problem.
Cash is King!
The Wife
24
Feb
Posted by the Dad in Climbing Out. 1 Comment
We still cannot pay everyone, but the “why” is clearly laid out on paper and on purpose
Someone in the eraser business loved me this past week. It is definitely time to switch from pencil and paper to Numbers or Excel.
Budget 1.0, may it rest in peace, has been erased and rewritten so many times I feel like we should have saved the eraser boogers for something.
It’s not pretty, but it does seem to be holding. Budget 1.5 encompasses the last two weeks of this month and although there is not enough …continue reading
Several months ago we hit that frustratingly expensive time in a man’s hygenic cycle: it was time to buy razor blades. Ugh.
