Saturday Reflection
Wives, yesterday was loads of fun and I must stop and share what happened. The expenses that were already accounted for on Saturday were as follows:
1) My retouch – of course that was not going to be an appointment I skipped since I had several meetings this upcoming week. Cost $115.00 (that includes tip).
2) Kids bowling league – They go every Saturday morning. Cost $14 total (they both are on the league). Would not miss that because you get charged when you miss a class.
3) Game Center – Kids were allowed to play in the game center after bowling. I had already set aside $3.00 in quarters for them.
4) Hubby wanted to purchase some lightbulbs. For some unknown reason most of the lights in the kitchen burned out last week. Solution: Dollar Store! Total $6.00
5) Then for the several items that needed to be replaced on grocery list – ended up being $22.00
Was I pleased that more was not spent. Of course I was because that meant everyone stayed with their boundaries – even though once he and the twins finished running around, they were saying what about lunch.
Solution: Came home and prepared lunch! YEA! I was very proud of everyone.
Question: Can you and your spouse work together for the GREATER good when it comes to money?
12 Ways to Slash Groceries
Wife CFOs – I know one of the things we are always looking for is a way to reduce spending and utilizing that money for either a bill or a way to jump start our savings or emergency fund.
Therefore, today I want to share some ways to slash your groceries. My husband and I have done many of these because we discovered we were just throwing away too much money when it came to groceries and eating out.
1) Use coupons and watch for double coupons if possible. That means look at all the coupons for the local grocery stores. There was a time when two of our grocery stores were offering triple coupons. Granted that was many years ago and it was fun watching them battle it out.
2) Buy bulk items where you get the most from your money. We have a Sams and Costco membership. All of their products are not the same and the quality is different.
3) Stockpile shopping - I must admit I try to do this when I can. Remember when they were saying all the computers were going to crash and all that stuff – I was very against stockpiling. Every since we have had the twins, I am a big fan of stockpiling, especially when the sales are tooo good to pass up.
4) Drugstore purchases - think about this. How many of you have a drugstore directly across the street from your local grocery store? Have you ever compared the pricing of some items? Hmm, I have and there is a savings at the drugstore. Furthermore, the drugstore has its own coupons and sometimes the deals are tooo good to pass up.
5) Cooking at home – let’s get real. We all know we save money and eat healthier when we cook at home. Enough said!
6) Meal plan - this can be a lot of fun planning your meals for a week or two weeks. Whenever we do this, I notice that we save money and I don’t have the urge to call my husband and say, honey… I don’t feel like cooking can you stop and pick up dinner on the way home. That could cost anywhere from $20 to $40. Hmm, that was one meal when we could have purchased MORE groceries.
7) Biggest size is not always the most economical purchase. My husband and I have been in the grocery and did the comparison and said see smaller is better – you actually get more. Take a little extra time and compare.
When you are checking out, make sure there is not an error in the price when it goes through the scanner. I have experienced an error being made between the shelf price and what is in the system. Sure this could take a little more time on your part; however, if you purchased something because it was such a BARGAIN ensure that you get the bargain.
9) GENERIC – if you are stuck on purchasing name brand, you already know you are paying for the name. Doesn’t necessarily mean better. What is the difference in price between generic and name brand? Yes, I know that there are some things you cannot go generic on but there are a lot of things that you can.
10) Avoid convenience food – I’d also say comfort food to. When we eat based on convenience it also causes us to gain weight. Take the time to prepare your own pizzas and make it a family fun night.
11) Rain checks - when you plan to purchase certain items and they are not there, be sure to get your rain checks. I remember my husband getting rain checks for one of our favorite items and then I got some too.
12) I’d also say plan your trips – so when you are out get all your shopping done at once. That saves on gas.
These tips can cut your grocery bills. I’d say make a game out of it and see how much you can save from month to month. Have fun!
You are more than welcome to comment and share a tip on how you save on groceries!
Unexpected Expense Arises
I know we have all been faced with unexpected expenses and it is all about how you handle, whether it goes away or something else presents. Therefore, I want to paint a picture and you write in and tell me what you would do. Remember a couple of things before you write in:
1) It’s all about how you present the information
2) Do not leave out any details so a wise and informed decision can be made.
Scenario: The refrigerator went out in Jane and Roger’s house. Her husband, Roger called a repairman to come and tell them what was happening. The repairman came in and said to fix the refrigerator would cost them $575.00. Roger tells Jane it would cost $575 to fix the refrigerator and he could go buy one for $720. Jane says the $575 would wipe out their cash and to find out what is the repairman’s charge for telling the what was wrong. Roger talks with the repairman and he says $55. As Jane approaches the hallway, she hears the repairman saying he could fix it for $400 cash!
Jane and Roger do not have $400 cash in the home, also Jane had just finished paying their other bills. So Jane pays the repairman the $55 and he leaves. Jane and Roger sit down to discuss what is going to be their next course of action –
1) Do they try to get the $400 and get their refrigerator fixed?
2) Do they go to a local store and purchase a refrigerator hoping they can get credit – thereby creating some debt?
What would you recommend and why?
Norms
Wives, I have not been a person who likes to go along with the norm. So when I saw this article today about “Five new normals that really will stick” – I can’t say that I was pleased. Why? Because what is considered the norm does not necessarily mean it is a good thing.
Let me give you an example of one of the “New Normals”
1) Long-term unemployment – Says, “With the jobless rate standing stubbornly close to 10%, it’s tough not to wonder if high unemployment could be a long-term fixture of the American economy”. What do I think about this – let’s not pull any punches – I do believe if anyone wants a job even in these difficult times they can find one. Sure, it might not be the job they want but when it comes down to paying bills, putting food on the table and keeping on – there are jobs at McDonald’s, retail outlets needing shelve stockers, etc. I have spent a little bit of time reviewing even some of the online job sites and there’s work out there. People have to decide what is important to them!
2) Saving over spending – People have overspent for too long. I must say this is one of the ones that I could see happening and SHOULD have been happening prior to this economy shift. I know it is difficult to save and that is the reason I started the 24 week Savings Financial Challenge. We have to start SOMEWHERE! When you choose not to save you tend to open the door for emergency to happen and you will be caught unprepared financially.
I have not ever been one to follow the crowd and do something just to please a group. When it comes to your being the Wife CFO be honest with yourself about what the financial picture is, what changes and/or adjustments need to be made. Do not let the media dictate to you, how you should handle your finances or your marriage.
Do what is opposite of the norm in order to get a better result. The norm I believe tends to box you in and say there is only one way things can happen! Hmmm, not true! There is more than one way to accomplish what you want done. Put on your thinking caps as they say and brain storm for a more creative way!
His Account, Her Account or Our Account?
You are the Wife CFO, but the question has been on your mind quite a bit – should we each have our own individual accounts or do we have one joint account? It does not matter how short or long you have been married, this is a popular topic which is one of the primary reasons that I am addressing it here. I have several thoughts on this, so get ready to clear your mind and follow my train of thought.
Remember you came into your marriage with individual credit and to some extent will continue to have some individual credit. That is a good thing so you do not end up naive about credit and money management if something happens to your husband.
As you are weighing the question – ask yourself, what is the reason that you want separate accounts? Be truthful and do not deny your reason. Potential reasons:
(1) Is it because one spouse has more debt than the other and you do not want to put up with that anymore? You feel as if your marriage canot get ahead.
(2) You like being in control of your finances and vowed that you would not have a joint account once you were married.
(3) You recognize having one account for all the money can become problematic. What do you do if there is a rainy do or even an emergency?
(4) If there is a lot of debt and you cannot pinpoint how it is happening, separate accounts could aid you in that process. You would watch each account and are able to determine where the spending is happening and by who.
Having separate accounts does not say that you are establishing a secret account in order to one day leave your husband. A separate account could be in place because you came to the marriage with debt and you felt it was better to keep your funds separate until you clean up your credit which did happen in our marriage. I came to our marriage with debt and my husband’s bank would not even put me on his bank account. At the time that truly hurt my feelings and made me feel really bad. Yes we ended up getting an account at a different bank together so that I would have access to some money. Looking back that actually was a good thing by the bank, but believe me at the time it did not feel good at all.
The bottom line for you as the money manager could be to get the accounts in a manageable place whether it is joint or separate as long as you spouse is willing to work with you. It is imperative that all the bills are paid, mutual financial goals are in place and you have a plan for the future.
Wife CFO and Non-sufficient Funds
How many times have you thought the accounts were in order and the next thing you know, you receive a telephone call, get a card in the mail from the bank or you decide to go online and review your account only discover that your account is in the negative? You think to yourself, I was monitoring the account and knew the amount of money that was in the account. Now you are dealing with the account being in the negative, and have gotten charged a fee on top of that.
How does this happen when you knew there was enough money in the account? First and foremost, let me share with you that I have been there and you are not the only one that has experienced this nor will you be the last. If you are a business owner, you may also think to yourself, what will that vendor think that your check did not clear? Will you lose them as a vendor? Trust also becomes a factor.
Below are some reasons that this happens:
(1) Of course the obvious, there was not enough money in the account for the transaction that you did.
(2) Your spouse has an automatic deduction that you were not aware of.
(3) The day you purchase an item utilizing your debit or credit card, did not necessarily process through your bank on that day. As a matter of fact, it could be anywhere from a couple hours to several days later when that transaction gets processed.
(4) Let me perfectly clear when I say this. Not saying that any of you would do this – There are some people who write bad checks on purpose which carriese its on set of consequences outside of the non-sufficient fee.
Is there a remedy? Yes. There are steps you can take to remedy dealing with non-sufficient accounts:
(1) If you have been a great customer and have not had an account in an overdrawn status before, I recommend that you go in to the bank and speak with a personal banker about waiving that fee based on your history with the bank. You will not know until you ask. Some banks have a policy that they can waive one fee per year or something similar.
(2) Pull your bank statements from the last two months and make a note of all the automatic deductions (yours and your husband). Look at what the deductions are, date they process through your bank as well as how much they are. Now, let me caution you – the day they come out of your bank account is important and I would make sure the money is in the account prior to that date. Why you might ask? Because you do not know exactly what time the transaction is processed on that date. So I would recommend ensuring the money is there at least five days prior and do not touch those funds.
(3) Regularly talk with your husband about the marital finances so he is aware of what is happening with the marital money. You do not want him thinking the money is one thing, then he begins spending and it is truly something else.
(4) You could also put overdraft protection on your account. Each banking institution has its own policy when it comes to overdraft protection. Do your research.
Caution: If a bank account stays in overdraft for either 30 or 45 days, the bank could close the account.
Personal Note: I have seen firsthand where a customer could have numerous bank accounts, make a lot of deposits and they will not contact you if your account is about to be overdrawn. Hmmm, so much for customer service right!
Weigh in: Are banks really set up to help you.
