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Ways to Save: A family of six lives on $800 for one month

Darren Richards

11 months ago

Friday December 5:

I still can't get used to cash!

Even though we are almost through this experiment, I'm still not in the habit of using cash. My old routine meant putting household items, gas and food on our Discover card. We pay off the balance each month and I like the cash back bonus we get for using the card. That habit is tough to break.

Yesterday, after planning menus, making my grocery list and making arrangements for my son to go to a friend's house I went to the grocery store. When I pulled in the lot, I realized I left the cash at home. Trip over!

So, I went home and then went back to the story Friday morning. With cash in hand, I stood at the checkout and ran my credit card through the slot. The clerk had to cancel the order and start again so I could pay cash. Taking cash to the gas station also means I have to get all 4 kids out of the car to go in and pay before I pump. Although my husband did discover a cash discount at one of the local gas stations, paying just $1.71 for a gallon of regular unleaded.

No more coupons this week. When you are down to $100 to spend you can't buy two of anything and most coupons require you to buy two of something. I spent $86 in about ten minutes. You can certainly get in and out of a store quickly when you stick to your list.

One thing we haven't missed is eating out. The kids have not brought this up at all these last couple of weeks. In fact, last Sunday one specifically asked for Daddy's brunch after church. That's progress!

Friday November 28:

We did not make Thanksgiving dinner on a budget. My mom bought all the items for dinner and cooked all day Thursday. This arrangement was made before we signed on with the crash diet. Thanks, Mom! The dinner was delicious and it kept this family on budget.

I did face a lot of temptation this holiday. It started with the arrival of house guests last weekend. I spent the days cooking, cleaning, preparing for company. By the time they were set to arrive, I was worn out and very ready to order pizza. I had food. It was just the idea of making another meal that made me want to cave in and go for the simple dinner. To stay on budget I did not call Jets (our new favorite pizza place)... I made a very simple baked rigatoni with green beans, no salad, no bread and everyone ate, everyone was happy, no one missed the pizza.

So pizza we can live without... which brings me to a few things I've discovered I can't live without:

Tide Laundry detergent: It costs more but I just think it cleans better. I have tried every brand and Tide just works. The clothes look better, they last longer which means I can pass them on.
The Magic Sponge: It works on everything.
Diet Coke: Sorry I recognize this is pure selfishness. There is no substitute. I do buy it on sale.

We are off today for some free entertainment. We're gong to visit the manatees at the TECO plant near Apollo Beach. My kids love this trip. We go every year. The kids take notebooks and like to pretend they are marine biologists. They record how many manatees they see and like to draw pictures. It's a great outdoor adventure.

With two weeks to go we should be okay!!

Friday November 21:

Week two for the Richards family.

I am a mother of four. I like to be prepared. If someone wakes up with a sore throat I like to know there is Motrin in the cabinet. So "being prepared" can drive my spending.

My husband, family and friends will tell you I am obsessed with saving money. I secretly love the "coupon queen" nickname my husband gave me. I spend free time researching prices, I shop per ounce not by brand and of course I try never to pay full price.

An example, when Motrin is BOGO (buy one, get one)... I buy four, paying for two. I thought this was a great system until the crash diet. $800 for the month leaves no pad for stocking up on sale items. So I've missed a few sales and it may cost me next month, but the lesson is a good one: It's taught me to re-evaluate each purchase.

As a mother of four, I also know you can't prepare for everything and when you have four bottles of Motrin on hand, that's when someone throws up and what you really need is Ginger Ale.

As for the spending. I think we are going to make it. I went $21 over what I planned to spend today at Publix. I knew I went over because I went off my list. The over-spending was Mommy guilt driven this time.

Just a few items I knew the kids would like and had asked me for: Apple jelly, curly fries (without a coupon yikes - shame on me), extra pepperoni (I only had one coupon but bought two packs because my kids go through it so quickly). So I knew I was going over and for nothing of any nutritional value at all. Had I stuck to my list I would have only spent $100.

We have not eaten out once during the budget crash diet and won't in order to hit the goal. Also, while gas prices are great right now, that's taking a big bite out of our budget. My husband drives at least 70-miles a day. That adds up to at least one tank of gas a week. Right now, a tank is costing him about $25 - $30. Much better than the $50 - $60 a few months ago... but you add up the cost of gas over four weeks and it's 15% of our $800 budget! That could buy a lot of curly fries!!

Friday November 14:

The Richards family -- Darren, Deborah, Riley, Avery, Cal and Asa -- are on a "Budget Crash Diet" and can only spend $800 during the next four weeks to pay for food, gas, clothing and entertainment. Here's how the first couple of days have gone for the family.

Day One: No banks, no cash, no problem

We could not take $800 out at one time from the ATM. We didn't spend a dime!

Day Two: "You need money already?!!"

Darren needed gas to make it to work, and I admit this caught me off guard. I had mentally prepared where and when this money would be spent. I forgot I was sharing it. When we are used to using our own debit cards I think you do forget what the other person is spending at the same time.

Next challenge, we don't have cash. We are not used to carrying it so we broke into our hurricane cash for $100 so Darren could buy gas. He spent $27.05.

Day Three: By the way we're out of...

We are out of contact solution and the boys are out of toothpaste. (I swear they eat it!) These are two must haves... plus next week is teacher appreciation week, so the boys are asked to donate a new playground item to their classroom. Hello Wal Mart! I use coupons for contact solution and toothpaste. I also only buy one tube. After we battled recurring strep in this house, each kid got their own toothpaste to keep their germs to themselves. Today I skimp; let's hope both boys don't end up at the doctors office which would mean cutting back cost me two co-pays. I spent $23.80 at Wal Mart.

Day Four: Off to Costco??

I've never thought so hard about a Costco trip. We need fruit -- they have the best prices -- and we need our ZipFizz. What's ZipFizz? It's an expensive powder vitamin I'm hooked on. We had a year of constant illness... so I am a big believer in building the immune system. Those products are never cheap but I don't want to chance it. My goal is to spend $100 on items like fruit, salads, and frozen chicken. I'm try to be careful at Costco, but again I may not go at all. I hate to part with so much in the first four days.

Overall: Lessons learned

We've had great conversations with our kids this week. They are coming up with ways to waste less food. We would never give up proper nutrition, but we will skip eating out this month. The kids came up with "restaurant night". We agreed the reason we like eating out is for a change of pace, everyone gets what they want and there is no mess. So during this experiment, each child will run a restaurant one night a week. They pick the menu and cook; the other kids help clean up.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about money this week. So many people have more children and live on less. We are so fortunate to have food in our pantry right now. The meals may not be gourmet but they are healthy and creative! I can also control my driving quite a bit. Most days I don't need the car at all and do let it sit in the garage. We bike to school and have lots of activities within walking distance.

I also did a lot of saying no. We've turned down two birthday party invitations. (Remember, I have four kids ages 4-9. Every invite that means a $20 present and no money left for food.) We also are saying no to Friday's Night School Bazaar. It's a night of early holiday shopping that could have run us $50.

It's been an interesting first couple of days. We have definitely changed our lifestyle for this experiment and are learning how to be happy with less.

Deborah Richards

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