Budget for Critique

[disneysteve]

I went for milk, which is an essential,

Milk is NOT a necessity. There is no medical or other reason why you or your child need to drink milk. There are no nutrients in milk that you can't get elsewhere. In fact, there are many people who feel we shouldn't drink milk at all.

[disneysteve]

As for cable, call you provider and ask if they offer a limited basic service. They may call it "antenna" service. That gives just the local channels that you would get if you had an antenna and usually a few others. Around here, it is $10.75/month total including all taxes.

Or take the $40 you are spending for 1 month of cable, go to the thrift store, and buy 20 tapes/DVDs of kid shows that your kid likes to watch.

[Radiance]

Thank you Joan,

I am so blessed! I've been reaching out for help and help of the good kind I've gotten.
You guys are awesome, my friends want to help me by "let's having lunch sometime" hehe

I am being called honest before, so I guess it must be true .
But I think is is just tons of willingness and burning desire to be happy and a pinch of naive-nees what transpire as honesty.

If I don't put myself out there, how will I receive the wisdom I crave?

Anyhow, back to business. You would be proud, I am calling my cell provider to reduce the plan. Baby steps. Not ready to let go of the whole thing yet.

[Radiance]

Steve,

Can you tell me more about milk for children?
How about calcium and vitamins A... I thought the needed milky.
I will discuss with pediatrician.

Calling my cell provider right now

[disneysteve]

Steve,

Can you tell me more about milk for children?
How about calcium and vitamins A... I thought the needed milky.
I will discuss with pediatrician.

Children need nutrition. The best source for infants, in most cases, is breast milk assuming mom is in good health. Second best is formula. After age 1, most docs say it is okay to introduce cow's milk (I recommend the same). That said, however, there are many who feel that cross-species milk introduces antibodies and may increase the incidence of asthma and allergies. There is no definitive proof of this. Keep in mind, though, that humans are the ONLY animals that drink milk after being weaned from their mothers and the ONLY animals that drink milk from another species. (That's the vegetarian side of my brain speaking )

Also, remember that milk doesn't naturally contain vitamins A and D. Those are added to the milk in processing. You can also get A from carrots, spinach, peppers, melon, apricots, oatmeal, fortified cereals, peaches and plenty of other sources. You can get D from fish and eggs and fortified grain products (cereal). You can get calcium from other dairy products like cheese and yogurt, green leafy veggies, broccoli, some fish, beans, oranges...

[graceful]

I would definitely cut the cable. Do you still have that ancient equipment called a VCR? My kids lived on that when they were little. People are giving children VCR tapes away or selling them for pennies because no one has the machine anymore. Check on craigslist.

If you don't have a VCR and can't find one free, I assume you do have a DVD? You can find some cheap second hand children DVDs to supplement library borrows. Again check craigslist and freecycle. Believe me, kids LOVE to watch the same shows over and over until they are memorized. I think I have some of their shows memorized too just from hearing them from the next room. Lol.

Cut the toy budget. You can find inexpensive stuff that last forever. Old pots and pans, etc work too. Hide some of his older toys and bring them out again in a few months, they will be new again...for 30 minutes. Honestly, the clutter of adding new stuff all the time will drive you nuts and make your house a disaster zone. 3 things/toys at a time, hide the rest, and alternate.

Know any families with children? I am still unloading clothes and toys to anyone I know who wants them - better to clutter up their house than mine - lol.

Good luck! Hope that renter moves in quick!

[Broken Arrow]

Keep in mind, though, that humans are the ONLY animals that drink milk after being weaned from their mothers and the ONLY animals that drink milk from another species.

Fascinating! I never thought of that before.

[Radiance]

ok, I formated in blue the items that need revision/eliminating/reducing, etc.
The ones in black I am not touching, nobody has challenged them...yet...

[zetta]

Quick ideas:
Taxes -- did you get a big refund last year? Check to make sure your withholdings are correct.

landline -- ask for flat rate measured service. I pay $11/mo

cell phone -- use prepaid once your contract is up

cable -- Basic or "Antenna" service. Alternately, explore what TV shows are offered on the internet for free. Or check out DVD's from the library -- you can get old TV series like the Sopranos, etc. For your child, you can get used kid DVD's very cheap from resale shops, garage sales, and craig's list.

baby toys & clothing -- baby resale shops, craig's list, yard sales

Food -- check out Saving Dinner

Note that your water, electricty, and possibly phone are going to go up with having a renter, and negotiate the rent accordingly.

[kork13]

Keep in mind, though, that humans are the ONLY animals that drink milk after being weaned from their mothers and the ONLY animals that drink milk from another species.

Maybe that's just because humans are also the ONLY animals that have (as yet) figured out how to get milk a) after being weened from mothers and b) from another species.

Just playing devil's advocate... that, and I love my chocolate milk too much to abandon it so easily.


OP, I don't really have anything new for you... But take a look at everything that people are telling you -- it's all the same recommendations. The adjustments might be a bit difficult to make at first, but you'll be happier (and more financially secure) for having made them.

[Radiance]

after being weaned ..

That is the key
As 'weird' as it might sound, human babies would be breastfed for 2-3 years before weaned on a natural setting. In many tribes babies are not weaned until mom gets pregnant again...
I weaned my human baby when he was 8 months old (long story) he had formula until 1 year old.
I think I want him on milky at least until he is 3. After that it can be optional.

Broccoli can be expensive too

Anyhow, I'll be working on my adjustments, stay tuned.

[anonymous_saver]

You can do this! I think you make a great income, and you should be proud of yourself for trying to get this under control.

Oh and I think you can do it while still buying milk. Or perhaps have you ever tried soymilk? It's quite tasty and usually pretty cheap too.

Things I would get rid of right away:
*Cable 40
*Cell Phone 81 [especially since you have a land line! I think you should have one or the other, and $81 on a cell phone is pretty expensive]
*Food 300 [see if you can cut $100/month by planning your meals weekly]
*Baby expenses other than day carde [Could you cut out $30 of the $130 you spend, that may sound like a modest reduction, but it would be a start, maybe once you do that, you could see how you could get it down to $80 more reasonably]
*Vitamins $41 [get rid of them unless absolutely required by your doctor, many vitamins don't have the benefits we think they do, instead just buy lots more fruits/vegetables and that should do same (or better) effect.
*Sponsored child $32 [Pay for yourself and your own child first! I know you may want to help, but there is nothing wrong with helping yourself out first.]

*Can you explain what you mean by $300 in family support? Do you have another child living somewhere else?

My reductions would add up to:
$40+$81+$100+$30+$41+$32 = $324

So, $324-$214=$110 surplus. That may not sound like much but it's a start, putting all of that towards your highest interest debt right away.

How much do you have in savings? I would also highly consider stopping the $300/month savings if you have 3-6 months worth saved up already.

I would say get rid of the car too, could you sell this and just buy a cheap used one. Maybe get a "better" car when you have things under handle in a few years?


Also, start immediately, and yes, I mean walk down to HR right now, and enroll in your employers 401(k) up to it's match. Yes, this will lower your net income, but this is free money, and you shouldn't be passing it up!

[Radiance]

Thank you, working on it.

Changing the car would not work for me, I don't think so.
I have had bad experiences with used cars, I have a 22 miles commute one way, no family anywhere near, I need a dependable car.

I need to cut down progresively, as I am ready to let go of things.
I need to be able to take my time, I have been like this for months, I can stay like this for a few more days.

Family support is explained in the beggining of thir thread:

The family support category can not be taken away, my parents had to temporarely move to the city, my mom is hospitalized waiting to get stable enough for surgery, my dad has been disabled for months now, the money I send is their only income for living (basically food) and medical expenses.

I am starting to agree with all of you about the sponsored child, but not ready yet. Baby steps.

I do not drink milk. It is just for my son, two glasses a day, Soy milk gives him the runs, so it is a no-no

So we have

- Cutting cable, working on it. Will get a couple of spongebob DVD first. From $40 this will go to $35. The other $5 will be my buying DVDs budget

- Reducing cell plan (I explained why I am not cutting it), I called yesterday but to change plan I need to go back to my previous phone because this G1 I have right now doesn't work with the basic plans. I still have my old razor, I need to switch the sim card and call them again. FRom 81 to $60.
I know 60 is still a lot, but with family overseas I need the minutes. $60 gives me unlimited +400 text. I might revisit, but this is $20 reduction for now

- Food, I already reduced from $600 to $400 for July, Will aim for 300 in August, let's see how I do this month.

- Baby Toy elliminated, He has enough and I can rotate, I am ok with this.

- Baby Cloting reduced to $10

- Vitamins - These are dr recommended, will research. I need to feel comfortable with this. This includes vitamins for me and gummie vitamins for baby

- Sponsored child. sigh, I need to consult the higher powers. I think this will be the last one to go, maybe after I cut all others and get my renter I won't have to stop this?

- Clothing - reduced to $6 so I cna buy one item every 3 months. I might revisit

- Contact lenses - I can cut for 6 months, but the problem is that only while using contacts my formula stays the same. When I use my frames for extended periods (months) I lose more vision. I am at +2.5 currently and that only stopped there when I started using contacts.

- entertainment - Cut to $40 for July, will revisit for more cuts as I learned about free entertainment. There is a free art exhibit and a $1.50 movie coming on by the city...

- School, this is an ugly one, my lender rduced my mortgage payment by $650 to the current $1550 based on my day care expenses (hardship). When my baby goes to school and I no longer have that expense, my lender will increase it back to the original 2100..

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Though I suggested that you could cut out the child sponsorship, I would not even make that a priority area to cut. I wholly affirm your desire to be charitable. I do think you have leeway to find the charity money as well as the mortgage money.

[disneysteve]

have you ever tried soymilk? It's quite tasty and usually pretty cheap too.

I've seen this mentioned a few times here. This must be a regional phenomenon. Around here, soy milk is much more expensive than cow's milk. The cheapest I see soy milk is $1.99/half gallon but we only pay $2.09/gallon for cow's milk.