Looking at my previous post, you probably think we don't have one. And technically you'd be right. We don't have a set budget, but we know what we can spend and we try not to go overboard, mostly.
Cable/internet. We changed providers because the cost was out of hand, and while I actually think we are getting more for our money, we are still paying more than we thought we would be paying. But TV and internet will never be cut to save money in our home. We have pretty much given up gaming, but we are still internet addicts. And with hubby working nights and therefore having nights off work with not a helluva lot to do, we need the 'net & cable.
Clothing. I just bought several new t-shirts and a couple pairs of capris for the summer. They were all on sale and I got a good deal on something I really needed. The kiddo got a new outfit and a new shirt today, from the local kid's clothing re-saler. Everything is in beautiful condition and we didn't pay much for it, yay.
Workwise, I need to replace my work pants. I have worn the same two pairs of black pants 5 days a week/ 8 hours a day, for almost 3 years. And I bought them on sale for $20 each. Replacing them for that price is going to be tough, lol.
Groceries. I have discovered that in most cases, generics are just as good, if not better than name brand products. I used to only buy one brand of mayo, for instance. Guess what? Mayo is mayo. Walmart's bread is just as good as the name brand, Sam's Club's laundry detergent is as good as Tide. Peanut butter, fruit snacks, applesauce, oatmeal (I actually like the Great Value oatmeal better than the leading brand name!) they're all just fine in generic form. There are a few things that are exceptions to the rule. I only use one brand of toilet paper (though we did switch to generic grudgingly when we were broke), and Ritz crackers are just better than the generic version (you don't save any money when you throw something away because it's inedible, lol).
Eating out. Ugh. This is where we take a serious hit. I come home for lunch every day, so I don't eat lunch out and hubby has lunch in the middle of the night when everything is closed. It's after work that I am really bad. It's so much easier to swing through a drive thru on the way home then to come home and scrounge something up for just me. (Kiddo is a picky eater so I rarely cook anything but breakfast for us both and hubby doesn't want dinner when he's only just gotten up for the day!). I have been trying to cut back, but...
We do avoid coffee out for the most part. We have our own espresso maker, so we buy flavored syrups and make our own flavored lattes. Yum! Our espresso maker has paid for itself numerous times.
Entertainment. Aside from TV/internet, our main entertainment is reading. We go to the library at least once a week. Thank goodness for the library, because the kiddo and I are both voracious readers! We're dumping our WoW accounts as soon as they are up this time, I get my game fix through the free games on Facebook and the kiddo loves the free kids sites like PBSkids.org and Club Penguin. We don't spend a lot on movies or anything like that. In fact, I am pretty sure the last movie I saw in the theater was Finding Nemo!
And now as the weather improves, I really would like to start spending more time outside. The complex pool opens at the end of May too, so that will be awesome.
My main expenditure for entertainment is for my knitting, and frankly I am pretty restrained in my purchases, not to mention slow in my knitting ;)
