we could cut back our budget more. We are actually in a pretty good place, where we have 25% of our net income available to spend or save outside of retirement and other obligations. But, if we had to these are things I would cut out of our spending:
cell phones
alcohol
caller id/call waiting/voicemail
unlimited long distance
newspaper
netflix
automatic car washes
gifts and birthday parties
I'd put the rodents up for adoption(bedding is costly!)
our 2nd gym membership (less than $100/yr)
birthday/christmas cards
movie theatre tickets
dinners out (rare as it is)
Okay, those are a few off the top of my list. All of that might bring an extra $250/month. Depending one's financial situation, these items can make a big difference to a budget. I'd cut all of these before I cut into my retirement contributions.
Although, not likely, I would sell our van since it does have a loan payment. I would buy a clunker with cash on hand.
My list will be different than yours because there are some things I don't buy that you might...like cable television. I can't cut out convenience/prepackaged foods since I rarely buy those either.
What could you cut, if you had to?
IF We Had To....
July 22nd, 2009 at 04:22 pm
July 22nd, 2009 at 04:54 pm 1248281671
In my scenario, I keep bus passes since we don't have a car, and cell phones since we don't have a land line. I keep two out of three barber visits per month; we'd want to look presentable while job hunting, but we could take turns skipping a month.
My emergency budget cuts my regular one down by $2000. It would be $3200 less, but my emergency budget assumes we wouldn't have employer-provided healthcare, which I set at $1200 ($400 apiece) in my hypothetical scenario.
July 22nd, 2009 at 05:05 pm 1248282301
cell phones
my son would have to bag lunch everyday
beer for my husband
eating out
no sports camps
grocery bill could be cut down
dog expenses
gifts
July 22nd, 2009 at 05:06 pm 1248282361
WE would drop our gardener and preschool in a second if our income took a big hit. For the long run, we wouldn't mind paying $20k cash for a car - but would sell our 2nd car (or a more pricey first car - downgrade it) in a second if we had prolonged income loss.
It still stands out to me that someone was griping in the forums, like a year ago or longer, that her neighbor was pregnant so she was dropping something like preschool and maid service, to afford child. I didn't see anything wrong with the scenario. How many people wait until it's too late to drop luxuries they can't afford?? I identified with her neighbor. I feel financial comfort knowing we could decrease our expenses significantly if push came to shove. But we save enough, I don't see the point to live on much less, now. If I was pregnant tomorrow, I would sure drop a few luxuries though!
It's good to have a plan!
July 22nd, 2009 at 06:35 pm 1248287724
I already live very frugally as it is, but if i lost my job, I'd also cut Netflix ($5.29/month), cut back on certain pricier groceries and all savings.
Not a scenario I'd look forward to implementing, but you do what you must.
July 23rd, 2009 at 01:00 am 1248310813
July 23rd, 2009 at 08:48 am 1248338906
If I had to:
Internet on my phone ($5 month) - phone is on a plan so can't cut that - but I do not use our landline as it costs more.
All fun money for both DF and I ($140 a week)
Cut back on groceries and buy no luxury grocery items.
All entertainment and dining out, and minimal driving too (ie. only driving to work and supermarket).
All up, *if we had to* we could wittle our spending down to approx $740 per week.
Not sure how much we would 'save' by cutting everything out because the 'If We Had To' scenario could be played out in prospect of losing a job, which would mean our income would be less than the $1200-$1300 per week it is now.
July 23rd, 2009 at 02:45 pm 1248360337
Reduce Cable to basic(in contract)
Reduce cell phones to basic(in contract)
Eliminate convenience foods from grocery store.
Eliminate extra trips to town.
Try to sell wrecked car that we hope to get fixed someday.