What are your budget busters?

Budget busters are your weak spots. It might be a shoe sale; or a bookstore’s clearance section; maybe that video game you’ve read so much about. Whatever it is, it hits – and it hits hard.

At our house, it’s food.

It seems like such a simple idea: Just don’t eat at restaurants, don’t get fast food. But a lack of food makes it harder to think of alternatives. You just want to stop being hungry.

And so you go for whatever is easiest, not whatever is cheapest.

But, like most frugality issues, it seems to come down to thinking ahead.

Visiting

Every two or three weeks, we visit Tim’s family in Sumner – about an hour’s drive from Seattle. We also go see Tim’s friends in Tacoma, about 20 minutes’ drive from Sumner.

Running around means we find ourselves stranded for at least two meals. When two combos run $12-$15, we’re out around $30 – more if there’s a third meal in there. Add to that an inevitable snack run to Wal-Mart, and you’re up to $40 or more.

What can we do?

1. Start bringing food

• Bring four meals’ worth, so we can eat before we leave his parents and when we’re out visiting in Tacoma.

2. Stop snacking

• I’m the major instigator for snack runs. When I eat less sugar, we don’t go to the grocery store and spend money. Pretty simple.

3. Make lists

• I never think of snack runs as actual grocery shopping. For groceries, I make lists. But from now on, we won't be going anywhere without a list. This means we’ll roam less, which means fewer impulse purchases.

4. Choose carefully

• Instead of combo meals at Wendy's, we can order from the Super Value Menu. Get small fries or a baked potato. A 5-piece Chicken Nuggets instead of a chicken sandwich. 2 Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers instead of a Baconator.

Too few cooks

There are days when Tim isn’t feeling well and when I’m exhausted from helping take care of him. We have simple meals like hot dogs, soup and frozen entrees. Sometimes I just eat a PBJ, Tim has cereal. It’s a good plan B, for a day or two.

But an eczema flare-up or other health problem can last longer than that. Then, we’re sick of the basics and too tired to think straight.

That’s when we order pizza. The bill is usually $25-$30 for two pizzas and cinnamon sticks (very tasty, very addictive). The pizza lasts usually 3-4 meals each. But that’s still a good chunk of change.

What can we do?

1. Half & half

• When we first met, Tim could inhale a 14” pizza. Now, his appetite has mellowed. But we kept ordering two pizzas. What we should do is share a pizza: half with my toppings, half with his. This’ll save $10, minimum.

2. Nix the sticks.

• I love these things. But I need to get back to my low-sugar diet. This includes avoiding the cinnamon sticks, however tasty. Plus, the price was raised from $2.99 to $3.99. Extra incentive.

3. Frozen pizza

• We’ll have to be careful about freezer space but we’ll save a ton. With a pizza in the freezer, you really can’t rationalize paying for delivered pizza.

4. Breathe & eat

• When I can’t think of what I want, I stress out, which makes it worse. I should just grab a small snack (crackers & cheese, yogurt, fruit) and try to get my blood sugar back up. Then, I’ll be more likely to think clearly and come up with a frugal answer.
  

What are your budget busters? And, other than avoidance, how can you cope with them?


Don't forget, this week's giveaway ends Sunday at 11:59 P.M. So enter now! And next week look for my review of "Pay It Down" by Jean Chatzky