Criminal Grace

My extended maternity leave, extra medical bills, and moving expenses took a bigger bite out of my savings than I had planned. Now that half of my paycheck goes toward feeding, clothing, entertaining, and securing care for Thomas, I find myself with a lot less discretionary cash to rebuild it while still paying down my debts. So much of the advice I’ve read online centers around spreadsheets and planning. I know myself well enough to know that I’m not disciplined or meticulous enough to plan my budget down to the last penny and I hold no illusions that I’ll change overnight to the kind of person that can. So instead of focussing on numbers and limits, I’m looking at other ways to make an impact by spending less, spending smarter, or simply not spending at all.

• Thrifting. Most of Tom’s clothes and toys have been gifts or purchased second-hand. I’m trying very hard not to buy things new that I know I can find at a yard sale, on craigslist, or in a consignment shop. Like a desk and filing cabinet for our office. IKEA may be cheap, but thrifting would be even cheaper. The tricky part for me is saying no to all of totally cool, incredibly cheap junk I want but don’t need.
• Meal Planning. While I was on leave and doing more of the food prep, I kept our grocery bills in check by planning at least a few days of meals and making a list before hitting the store. Using overlapping ingredients and leftovers really cut down on waste too. Now that I’m working again and sharing duties with Jon, the numbers are creeping up along with the amount of food we throw out because we’re flying by the seat of our pants again. I’m working on a list of go-to meals and recipes to carry with me in a menu planning notebook to cut down on unnecessary purchases.
• Brown Bagging It. All that dinner planning means leftovers or ingredients for brown bag lunches, which saves a lot of money. I want to limit buying lunch to once a week when there’s something awesome on the cafeteria menu.
• Want vs. Need. I used to be able to convince myself that my wants were needs if I thought they could improve my life in some way: a new shirt would make it easier to get dressed in the morning, a different set of sheets would help me sleep better, supplies for an inspired project would make me happy. All those little wants add up to more stuff that I need and a lot less money in the bank. Putting someone else’s needs before my own over the last few months has shown me just how little I really need. Having less money to spend and less time to shop has helped too.
• No Spend Month. Could I go a month without any extra expenditures? I’m not sure, but I’m awfully tempted to try.