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$1,000 Challenge – Insurance and Miscellaneous

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I’ve been working on reducing my family’s monthly budget by about $500 as part of the $1,000 Challenge by Brian O’Connor. One of the hardest parts of reducing my spending is what O’Connor calls miscellaneous spending. It’s all the stuff that doesn’t fit in your budget, you really don’t plan for, or buy when you impulse shop. From magazine subscriptions to yard services, my cuts have made huge dent on our budget and monthly spending!

Starting the $1,000 Challenge right before the holidays hit may not have been the best idea I have ever had. But I’m not one to let something like that stop me. I decided to tackle two of the categories at one time.  Car Insurance and Miscellaneous spending.

$1,000 Challenge

Are you joining me in the Challenge?

Car Insurance

After a few wasted hours on this subject I decided to give up. I am getting every known discount with the insurance company that I have now and have called around to a number of their competitors to see if I could get a better rate. The answer to that question is a resounding NO. Not only were the other companies more expensive – they were WAY more expensive! Some were over $300 per month more than what I am currently paying.  I had hoped that I would be able to save at least a few dollars in this area.  Sigh.

Miscellaneous

Brian O’Connor points out in his book that this is the black hole of the family budget – especially those recurring charges that you place on your credit card every month.  I started going through a list and really thinking about every single thing that I spend money on so that I could be sure to eliminate anything that was unnecessary.  Here’s what I considered based on what is mentioned in the book:

I’ve been working on reducing my family’s monthly budget by about $500 as part of the $1,000 Challenge by Brian O’Connor. One of the hardest parts of reducing my spending is what O’Connor calls miscellaneous spending. It’s all the stuff that doesn’t fit in your budget, you really don’t plan for, or buy when you impulse shop. From magazine subscriptions to yard services, my cuts have made huge dent on our budget and monthly spending!

Magazine subscriptions:  Don’t have any.

Storage Unit:  Nope.  If you could see the amount of stuff I have carted to the Goodwill in the last three years you would be amazed that I have anything left!

Membership Sites:  Not a member of any kind of monthly group or online subscription site.

Yard Guys:  My one luxury in life. At $110 a month (a bargain in my opinion) they come weekly and mow, edge, weed eat, and blow everything off. A couple times a year they even trim the bushes. The harsh reality is that we can do the work ourselves. So with great sadness and a sense of impending doom I let the yard guys go. I have been consoling myself with the fact that I have been wanting to get some exercise and this was a good way to do that. The week before Thanksgiving Eva and I got outside to do some yard work. Two hours later I had a blister from raking and she was hiding in the garage crying about how much she loves the yard guys. I may have shed a few tears myself. You can imagine how thrilling it was when there were as many leaves in the yard and on the porch the very next morning as when we started. I’m committed at this point but I can’t honestly say that this cut will last forever. I have to keep telling myself that I’m in it for the exercise…

$1,000 Challenge

Oh look. It’s been 2 hours since I last raked…

At this point I have saved $110.00 per month. I am hoping to save $500 per month from my current budget so I feel like I am well on my way. I’m probably going to die doing yard work – but at least then I won’t have to worry about the stupid budget anymore…

How are the rest of you doing? Any progress is these areas?  Let me know!

 

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As I go through the $1,000 Challenge by Brian J. O’Connor, I’m making huge strides in cutting down my monthly budget. One of the most surprising facts I learned was that it costs over $250,000 to raise a kid (not counting college expenses)? As a mother of two, this blew me away! It’s hard to save money when trying to be a good parent, but I managed to cut out over $250 this month by making a few adjustments to my spending.$1,000 Challenge – Eva and Work ExpensesI’m on a quest to save $500 or more in my monthly budget by participating in the $1,000 Challenge by Brian J. O’Connor. This week, I’m looking at entertainment and groceries -- two expenses where it’s easy to go overboard. I’ve picked up a ton of tips on how to keep my entertainment budget down without having to lock myself and my daughter into the house and how to spend less on fresh groceries. It’s saved me nearly $100 this month alone!$1,000 Challenge – Entertainment and GroceriesOne of the biggest budget-busters in my life is transportation. Owning a car, even without a car loan, can be really pricey. From maintenance to insurance, I take a look at how I can reduce my family’s transportation budget. Utilities is the second category I’m looking at as part of the $1,000 Challenge by Brian O’Connor. Taking a hard look at what I spend on cell phones and internet will possibly save me a bunch of money this month and into the future.$1,000 Challenge – Transportation and Utilities

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