Kevin's Mom came up this weekend, and brought along his sister and her family. Brett came over, too, and even Mom, Dad, and Aunt Rena joined us Saturday night for dinner and part of the Chiefs game. We had a great time. The Chiefs blew it, though.
Kevin and I have had our heads in the sand for a long time, concerning our finances. We're hurting more all the time, with rising costs of EVERYTHING. We had a long talk on Friday night, and decided to grow the hell up.
Today, I called to cancel Dish Network. They tried to talk me into staying, as I expected, but I wasn't budging. Even the lowest they offer (40 channels, including locals) is $29.99 a month. Finally, he saw how adamant I was, and offered a $20 per month discount for 10 months. I caved.
Heck, for $9.99 a month, to still get locals and a couple other good channels is worth it to me. Kevin won out, since we still get Discovery, History, AMC and the ones like that. Those are his favorites. I will miss my NASCAR stuff on Speed and ESPN, but much of the season is on network channels and TNT, so I'll get most of the season's races, if not the pre-race.
For now, we're keeping our hi-speed Internet. It's really not too bad (we're on the lowest speed offered for local hi speed.) We'll determine later if we're axing that or not.
We're quitting soda and cigarettes. Those are biggies for both cost and cravings for both of us. I'm quitting beer, he's quitting eating out for lunch. I never eat out for lunch, he never drinks beer, so we're both making cuts to fix this mess.
Also, we're going to carpool. That will get me to work 2 hours early, or 1 1/2 hours earlier than usual. I'll take a book to read. Kevin will be stuck waiting for me in the evening, but only for 30 minutes to an hour.
We're also back to shopping at Aldi. Not only are most items cheaper there, but the store isn't set up to entice you into buying things that you don't need. Used to, they weren't open on Sunday, when we often shop. Now, they are.
Yup, big changes. It's about time.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
Hi Rachel, It gets better. It takes time. I know we went thru rough times. I always paid the bills and in the early years I thought it was my fault that there just was not enough money. Then one day I sat down and really mauled things over and guess what....we were not bringing in enough to cover the bills let alone do little things for the kids. Better days are coming, I promise. Marlene
Y'all sound like us. <plugging ears and singing "la, la, la, la, la">
Go get 'em!
Traci
Rachel,
This mess our right wing ole boys have gotten us into. I didn't have enough to stretch the month, or choose if I was going to pay the water bill or less on the electric. This has helped me, and it does require me to dedicate about an hour before I hit Wally World. I get my local newspaper and Aldi's has a fly-er too. I go through every add and save them every week. Save A lot will be cheaper on pork chops or cereal. You get the idea. I go to Walmart and look for the item that is on sale from a local competitor and they give me the item at the competitors price. I couldn't afford meat, we just didn't have it often. I can say, with me making everyone behind irritated in the line and me saving the adds I have saved $ 20-30 weekly. I kid you not. We are eating better than we have in several years. With the election coming up, I pray Americans stand up for change. We need hope again.
Gabrielle
Growing up sucks moldy donkey huevos. there. I said it.
~Amy
Hi Rachel, I've been lurking for a couple weeks now, but decided it's time to leave a comment and say hi!
You're going through the same thing alot of us are. It really sucks. No more take out coffees, lunches from home, etc.
Hang in there!
:) Leigh
http://journals.aol.com/mleighin21st/iwasthinking.../
Good luck. I guess if you are having a bad moment you could sneak some really cheap beer? or maybe just ask for beer for Christmas and stock up. lol
Good luck.
We are going to shop at Aldi's more often too. It provides a boat load of savings and I've never tried any off brand there I didn't like.
Sonya
You are not alone.
Hope things get better sooner.
Rhianna
We don't have a store called Aldi here. Good luck with all of your changes. Especially getting to work so early. You must have quite a commute! I hope you are able to save some $$.
Pam
This economy sucks. I've been learning how to be a tightwad. I can't believe that some cereal is $6 a box, people with a couple of children, I'm sure, are feeling this more than I. Good Luck with all your sacrifices. Vicki
Trust me....you are not the only one doing this......
Michele
Post a Comment