In my last post I told you about how my spending habits have gotten out of control.  Well, I knew that I was spending too much money, but I wasn't sure exactly how bad it was.  Well, my friends, it is downright frightening.  It is also eye opening.

The other night I downloaded an app to my iPad called "Mint" (by Intuit) and in less than 24 hours, this app changed my life.  Here is how it works, if you aren't familiar... You give it access to pull data from your bank account, mortgage account, student loan account, car loan account, etc and it categorizes all of your transactions in an easy to read format so that you can tell how much money you spend and where you spend it.  You can set financial goals for saving or paying off debt.  It also creates a monthly budget for you based on your usual spending habits, which you can update as you like.

After categorizing a few transactions that the app couldn't automatically figure out, I was able to view a pie chart of my expenses from last month and my jaw just about hit the floor when I saw how much I spent on food (groceries, coffee, restaurants) last month.  Oh and the kicker is that this is just my spending and does not include my husband's because we have separate bank accounts.  He checked and spent another $400 plus on food.  What the hell???  Neither of us are overweight so who is eating all of this food we are buying?  I guess the biggest drawback to Paleo is the cost.  No matter what people might try to say to you about being able to be on a budget friendly Paleo diet, it really just isn't possible I guess.

Obviously, the "Food & Dining" is something that we can probably cut back on if we actually plan out our meals for the week and follow a budget.  The "Home" costs will be cut $200 shorter this next month because I cancelled the cleaning lady.  I dropped the data plan on my phone down from 5 GB to 2 GB because I have only once in 2 years gone over 2 GB, so there is $20 a month.  I just need to be cognizant of my internet surfing habits.  We also decided that we are going to refinance our house and consolidate our two mortgages into one and so I have gotten the ball rolling on that process.  So in the past 2 days I have saved us $220 a month, plus the potential of another $100 with the refinance (and a ton more of general savings on mortgage interest).  Fun times in our household.

So back to the "Food & Dining" expenses, which is mostly groceries... I need to find some sort of meal planning or grocery budgeting tool to help me in this space.  Coupons would not help me much because most of the stuff that we buy is fresh.  We eat hardly any processed foods, which is what the bulk of the coupons that I see are for.  Most of the health/beauty/cleaning products that we use are also organic so there really aren't deals on those things either.  I could follow grocery circulars more closely and go to multiple stores every week, but that would take time away from doing other things (like maybe having a little fun with my family every now and then).  I guess I need to do some more research in this space and come up with an action plan in my spare time (hahahahahahaha).  Until then I am just happy I now know how much I am actually spending.

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Ever since I was little, I have always been financially responsible.  I am not sure if my sisters and brothers would agree with this, but I think that I am and always have been the most secure with my finances compared to them.  Maybe it is my seriously Type A Personality or the fact that I have seen my parents and siblings make financial mistakes?  I am not really sure, but suffice it to say that I have always prided myself on my financial self-control.  Even though I have never been the type of person to have a budget, I have always managed to keep everything straight.  I have always been the financier in my house.  Neat and tidy.  The way I like it.

My financially responsible profile looks something like this:

-When I was in high school I babysat all of the time for extra money even though I HATED it.
-I went to a state school for college.
-I bought a car when I was 18.
-While in college, I worked a number of different jobs (and many of them concurrently) including: waitress, hostess, cocktail waitress, coat check, customer service (sports store, jewelry store, ski shop, major department store, family business), ski lift, college dining hall cleaner, bank teller, financial analyst assistant, seamstress, and, yes, a babysitter.
-I NEVER have asked to borrow money from my parents (they actually have asked to borrow from me on several occasions).
-I graduated from college with less than 30k student loan debt (I am now at about 10k of federal type loans, none private).
-I moved and took a job right out of college in a field that had nothing to do with my degree because it made more money and had good benefits.
-Our last car we bought brand new and drove it for 9 years.
-I have a padded saving account.
-I have always had an excellent FICO (credit) score.
-I have ZERO credit card debt.
-I got a nice raise and bonus this past year.
-I have amazing health benefits.
-I have a good start on my retirement plan.

Why do I need a financial intervention you may ask?  Well, ever since I had the baby, I have become totally slack in this area.  I have forgotten to pay several bills on time, I have over-drafted my checking account on 2 occasions, I find myself constantly transferring money from my saving to my checking, I continue to spend like I have no limit, and have contemplated getting a credit card.  This, my friends, is a recipe for disaster.  Someone please, cut up my debit card and do not let me get a credit card.  B needs to start going to daycare 3 days a week in June and we need to be able to pay the $1200 a month to send him there...aye aye aye.

My husband and I have been talking a lot lately about moving.  Our house is too small and we would love to put roots down in a place where our family can grow (if we decide that that is the plan).  We have lived in our house for almost 7 years.  We have done a TON of work to it and we love it.  It is just too small.  The main problem is that everything that we are interested is well over our budget.  By over our budget, I mean several hundred thousand over.  Anything that we can afford, you would want to tear down and rebuild.  Wood paneling in the kitchen?  Electric stove from the 1970s ?  Thigh-high weeds in the yard?  1 bathroom?  1000 square feet?  Yes, these are the types of crap holes that we can afford if I don't get my shit together.

Here are some things that I really need to start doing that I think will help to save me money:

-Cancel the bi-weekly cleaning lady who's services started going down hill (DONE).
-Plan out meals and snacks before going to the grocery store, stick to that list, and set a weekly budget.
-Look for cheaper grocery alternatives online.
-Write out all recurring monthly debits from my accounts to see how much money I am actually spending each money because I have no idea (this is scary).
-Budget for clothes, cosmetics, and extras, and stop with the impulse buying (sorry, Lulu Lemon and Athleta).
-Disable my Amazon account because it is bad news.

Having a child should have a person become more financially responsible rather than the other way around.  I really need to start making some changes...and fast.  I am wondering if any other newer mommies feel this way or if this is a situation that is unique to me.  I'd love good ideas for saving money if you have them!

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