surviving with very little money

[jasanderson]

I love mypoints. It's very easy to click and you can put in parameters on how many emails a day you want.

[filifefc]

`ok ppl might not think that $1900 some times more a month is very little but with 7 ppl 3 adults and 4 kids ages 9,7,4,2 (still in diapers) it has to go really far.

costs:

Rent:$686
electric:$240
phone/internet/unlimited long distance: $120 (our phone bill was way higher without internet and unlimited long distance) considering doing a cable plan with cable tv, phone, unlimited long distance and internet for only $145
food: aprox $120 per week not including dh eating out durning lunches I keep my eyes open for lots of buy one get one frees, 10 for $10 deals, I am a coupon nut LOL, and OMG freebies are my friend LOL.
dh's cigs: $60-$100 a month
creditor we can afford to pay: $50 a month
blockbuster online: $16.04 per month (it is the only way we can afford rentals it saves ALOT on gas.
water: $40
car insurance: $123

this comes to an average of $1855 a month

stop spending on the cigs! that's money down the drain along with his health!

[leggzz66]

to momma

hey, whos charging 145 for package deals?
ive seen comcast commercials, at&t commercials and time warner here, have a deal where each item, 2 or more together as a package for 33 each, totaling 99. thats for phone, cable and internet. mines only higher cause i get the turbo 8 package which isnt included in thier deal, u can still get the 5, which is still fast, but we got the 8 cause we had multiple computors online at same time. which im gonna change here, and real quick. now that cassey left us. Ill have to go to the package deal or id not be able to keep what i need here. which is good, still, cause 5 is fine for myself and will get digital cable in place of basic.

[St. Theresa]

stop spending on the cigs! that's money down the drain along with his health!

I smoke, too, although one of my New Year's resolutions is to quit. My problem is that I have panic attacks when I try. There's a new drug on the market which blocks the nicotine receptors in the brain. So while you smoke, you're actually NOT feeding the addiction. Some people are finding this extremely helpful in quitting. They taper their smoking levels down, until they're ready to go totally smoke free, with much more ease. You get the nicotine addiction out of the way and then just deal with the habit.

I'm hoping my doc has free samples!

In the meantime, I always look for deals. There are lots of BOGO's, plus cheap generic brands. At least you can save if you can't get him to quit.

[JanH]

I smoke, too, although one of my New Year's resolutions is to quit. My problem is that I have panic attacks when I try.

Not to be nosey, but I'm just wondering if the smoking helps to compensate for the panic attacks. Perhaps you could also talk to your doctor about how to take care of them when you quit. I feel for you. Panic attacks are something my DD and I have had in the past. I've had family members quit forms of tobacco. It isn't easy, but it is good for your health to quit. Good luck! We'll root for you!

[St. Theresa]

Not to be nosey, but I'm just wondering if the smoking helps to compensate for the panic attacks. Perhaps you could also talk to your doctor about how to take care of them when you quit. I feel for you. Panic attacks are something my DD and I have had in the past. I've had family members quit forms of tobacco. It isn't easy, but it is good for your health to quit. Good luck! We'll root for you!

I don't think smoking prevents my panic attacks. I've had them as a smoker, too. It's just stress and when I have one, I feel like I can't get a deep breath, while, in actuality, I'm hyperventilating (found this out the first time I went to the ER for my "breathing problems.") And I get these yawns that sort of get stuck in the middle. It's disconcerting. Klonopin zaps 'em away when they hit.

I get panic attacks more severely when I try to quit because of the stress of quitting. For that reason, nicotine patches are the worst thing for me.
I haven't set a target date yet, but I definitely shouldn't wait until December. Holiday stress!

[Aleta]

I quit smoking in 2001. I started cutting down on my cigarrets a little at a time. The less nicotine that you have in your system seems to make it easier to quit later on. I would allocate so many cigarrets a day and sometimes I wouldn't smoke that. The patches also helped. I also used sublimial tapes for relaxation. Good luck!

[jasanderson]

My DH tried Chantix and it helped him cut down but he got SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cranky that he had to quit before I kicked him out.

[HelpMeFriend]

Hard to do

Everyone thinks they have the sollution to your money problem by having your DH quit smoking. Yes, that would be best for all, but it is hard. I think about all the money I spend on nails, hair, cigs, liquor, and other non-esentials. What the hell? Can you just quit something you have done everyday of your life, at least 20 times a day? NO. You couldn't stop eating, drinking, or speaking could you. Don't harp on someone for their addictions. It is easier to harp about someone elses, but I am sure that you all have a vice or two that you aren't proud of, even if it is free to do.