"There Was Only a Little Left" and "It’s only a Dollar": Things that Break the Budget and How to Avoid Them

Do you or your kids have a weakness?

I’ve touched on this before in this series, but wanted to come back to it.  Last night I stopped in the dollar store to look for a couple of items for little Turkey’s big Christmas gift that we’re building.  I didn’t find them but I left the store with 4 items for the kids’ stockings.  Were the items worth $1 each? You bet.  Did I need any more items for their stockings?  Nope.  My husband (bless his heart) hates to see me upset about mismanaging money so he tried to make me feel better by agreeing about how much the kids would like what I bought.  It helped, but I still feel like I wasted $4 (plus tax). I know it’s not a huge deal, but I need to try harder to be a better steward with the money we’ve got, because there sure isn’t a lot of it

It’s ok to spend an extra quarter or dollar every once in a while- we all need to feel like we have a bit of extra blow money.  If you go months without a small splurge here and there you will hate a tight budget with all of your being.  It’s good for the soul to have a little moment of money freedom here and there. But when it’s an everyday occurrence it really eats into your budget.    An extra $3 or $4 a couple of times a month, and a few quarters for the vending machine or to let the kids ride at Walmart a few times a month quickly adds up.

Sometimes we don’t think about the quarters we’re throwing away at home too.  We throw out 1/4 can of veggies or a little bit of leftover meat.  The next day we throw out a tube of toothpaste or bottle of shampoo with a little bit left inside because we’re too lazy not in the mood to take the time to get the rest out. Instead of making one more stop, we decide to go home and make a special trip out the next day to finish the last errand. (wasting time and gas) We don’t see these little amounts of  money slip through our fingers because they’re just that- small.  Yesterday as we were wrapping presents for my nieces little Turkey decided that he would rather cut his pants leg instead of the wrapping paper and I said them ruined.  It’s only a small cut that I really could stitch up, but at the moment I’m too lazy to dig out my sewing kit to do it.  I’m sure that by the time I get around to it, he will have outgrown them.

I guess when it comes right down to it, I’m in a bit of a tight budget funk.   I need to mind my nickels and dimes and remember just how much money those dollars could be saving my family if I’d put them on our debt instead of wasting them away. Even just a quarter a day is $8 a month. $8 x 12 months gives you nearly $100 at the end of a year.  If I put that extra $100 on our mortgage now, it will save nearly $700 in interest charges alone!  That’s a pretty good savings to make me straighten up my act so we won’t be on a tight budget even longer.

I’m not sure I’m ready to buckle down again yet though.  I think I’ll crack open a big bag of $0.75 M and Ms and watch a movie while playing some computer games and get back into the tight budget tomorrow.  A break will do me some good. How about you?  Are you ready for a bit of a tight budget break?  Can you find a frugal way to do it?