Andy informed me that we start our financial/lifestyle overhaul today. No, it was not an April Fool's joke - he told me yesterday, though I know we've been looking to do it for awhile. From now on, the goal will be to make it from the time we get up in the morning to the time we go to bed having spent as little as possible.
It would be nice if we could try to exist on Andy's salary alone, but being a working mom just isn't cheap. Obviously there is the day care factor, but I don't even consider what we spend on that to be money that ever comes in in the first place. It's easier to part with money that was never really ours. When I come home, though, it is a mad scramble to get the kids fed, bathed, and in bed. That means that I have to do whatever it takes to put food on the table, and convenience comes at a price. I often go to Publix on my way home with the goal of spending $10 on dinner (Kroger would involve too many left turns and an experience that might just throw me over the edge). I leave $40 poorer and unsure as to what it is I actually bought (oh, and I came to buy dinner? About that...). I may spend twice as much on take-out as I would on concocting something in the kitchen. Because I work, I have little time on my hands for strategy.
On the other hand, I was surveying Macy's summer wardrobe as I was hanging it up yesterday and have determined that right about 50% of it is second-hand, 25% of it was end-of-season super-clearance, and only 25% was new and barely-marked-down. Liam requires little for the summer because, considering I always buy a size too big, most everything from last year still fits. I think I came out pretty good.
This is great because I found myself on a little bit of a slightly more justifiable Lululemon and general workout clothing kick.
I mean, seriously. I am just a sucker for criss-cross straps. Straying from the topic at hand here, I finally feel like I look a little less like death while I'm working out now. I used to wear Old Navy sweat pants and whichever t-shirt I grabbed first. Couple that with the fact that I just look about as awful as anyone can look at 5am, and I can't imagine what a sight I was (recently as I was getting ready after I'd showered, someone asked me "do you feel better now [than you did earlier]?" Offended, I told her I wasn't sure what she was talking about because felt just fine before). Congratulations to myself - I've worked out and made it to work by the time many alarm clocks are going off, so I think I can justify a few splurges on workout tanks (and the best darn black Nike pants anyone could ever ask for). I'm stocked up now. I'm set for a few years.
Luckily, I overall have a pretty good conscience when it comes to expenditures. Though I am not strategic or even smart in some areas, I do pretty well in others. I abstain from a LOT of stuff that I'd like to have out of guilt (while some are buying Coach purses every season, I just spent less than $12 on a super-nice designer purse on consignment. I have been carrying the same purse daily since I was pregnant with Macy). I have also found a few ways to cut back in the absence of the time or desire to clip coupons:
-Pampers Cruisers are wonderful because, when parenting is your side job, it often takes you 5 hours to remember that there is a diaper that could use changing. At day care, they change them practically every hour, so there is no need to use the cadillac brands. We used to use Target, and now Luvs (Amazon mom + subscribe & save nets me about 3 times the number of diapers I'd get for Cruisers at the same price). They haven't failed us (or their teachers, and I am sure they appreciate that).
-I use Target Up & Up EVERYTHING. If it comes in Up & Up, I buy it. I've tried other store brands, but Up & Up is the only store brand where I feel like I am getting a product equal or superior to the name brand every time. Baby and toddler wipes, household products, toiletries, trash bags, everything. I don't like to load up on store credit cards, but the Target Red Card is one of the few I have, and it saves me 5% each time. Not much, but every little bit helps.
-I have decided that there are a few things that I absolutely positively cannot bring myself to buy new when there is so much opportunity to get them on consignment or on eBay second-hand - PJ's, swimsuits, and bottoms. I got Macy 3 secondhand like-new swimsuits for about $15 after searching high and low for someplace where I could buy a few new for less than $10 each. As for PJ's, few people will see my kids in them, and it is so VERY hard to justify spending $15 per set several times over and multiplied by 2. I had a difficult time finding them for less.
Unfortunately, I did not render the above moot by winning the lottery this weekend. Perhaps that is a good thing considering the fact that I am currently reading a fiction book about a guy who wins $415 million, and everyone just ends up dead. Ideally we could scratch off just enough money to pay off the house and the Sonata, but otherwise we can be content with this speed. :)
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