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A Single Moms Vent

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Showing posts with label stores. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stores. Show all posts

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Budget Guide for the Single Mom

Creating and adjusting to a budget is a pain in the rear, but necessary. You can try a printable budget worksheet to track your monthly spending so you know where your money is disappearing off to, and then you can make the changes that will help you get life moving in the right direction.


As much as I love (loathe) organizing, it didn't take long for me to learn the skill of budgeting. I am what old folks call a tight wad and I am good at living within my means, but creating a budget and sticking to it has always been a hard one. I usually start the month on the right track, but it seems like there is always something lurking around the corner ready to take a yummy bite out of my bank account.
Budgeting isn’t something we learned at my school, though, I think they're teaching it now as an elective. Doing it on your own is scary! Admit it.
There’s never a bad time to start budgeting, but you also won’t have any more success if you start at the “right” time because there isn't one. In the past, I have made a lot of excuses. Extra expenses come along – like car repairs and medical bills – to throw off my plans. If I’m honest, though, there is always something. Y'all know that purse was on sale. No refunds.

How to use a budget worksheet 💜

In my own budget, I included only the expenses that I have. However, there's a few categories for this printable that I think many people use. For example, I don't use Amazon Prime but do have a dreaded cable bill. I'm one of the lucky few that don't have a car note RIGHT NOW, but that'll only last until my hunk of junk makes it's final puff of smoke on the side of the road. (I do love that thing)
The budget worksheet that you'll get to use is one another super mom created and is divided into three main categories: household bills, necessities, and irregular expenses. Household bills are the regular monthly bills that are necessary for your house. Get over it, you have to pay them.
The second category, necessities, is things that you purchase regularly with a flexible amount. The last category, irregular expenses, is really divided into sub-categories. These expenses are once in a blue moon things and can change from month to month. The “fun shopping” sub-category is kind of vague, but it is also the easiest to DELETE when necessary.

Start by writing in your income sources at the top. Also, fill in the date for each week. (Don't get antsy, because I said add dates) Now start keeping track of how much you spend! Before you can make changes to your budget, you need to know what you are already doing wrong. Every time money comes in or goes out, write it on the correlating line under the appropriate week. It doesn't matter if you're paying a couple dollars for soda, because it adds up.  When you get to the end of the month, add up your totals. No cheating!


Printable budget worksheet 💜

This budget worksheet fits on a single 8.5×11-inch page. You can print as many copies as you need for personal use. You may need to allow popups or give permission to download.


Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Christmas Shopping on a Budget

Not the first to admit that I hate shopping for Christmas presents and I'm sure I won't be the last. I don't like wrapping paper, and gift bags are the best thing ever invented. I'm 75% sure that I'm one of those moms that puts things off until a few weeks prior to Christmas before actually going to get the stuff that I should have already purchased. I am not one of those amazing women that have shopping done in June. I actually do know some people that have their shopping done by February by catching all of those awesome sales that they have it every freaking the store following New year's!
I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that stores and online sales are insisting
that Black Friday starts 3 weeks prior to the actual Black Friday and continues all the way through Christmas. Heaven forbid they stick to one single day. Of course that would rule out all of the other holidays that stores have sales such as, on President's day or Memorial day... Not that those two days have anything to do with shopping for presents or anything at all shopping related whatsoever. Sales promotions driving me nuts, therefore I honestly try to avoid shopping all together.
Let's get straight to the point. you want to know where to save money and I'm going to tell you where I get my best shopping on. Yes, you can get some great sales at Wal-Mart, but do you really want to deal with that? And yes, you can get some unbelievable sales online on cyber Monday, but I'm totally anti-box/shipping right now because so many people are losing jobs. So I am forced to admit that I am a value shopper to the extreme. Moms, believe it or not your little ones will not remember what you got them from the store when they were itty bitty... So you can take them with you!
My go to stores, when holiday shopping is forced upon me, starts with Ross. I absolutely love that store. First to hit up then makeup and accessories section. They have so many cool stocking stuffers in knickknacks that you can give to Mom, teen daughters, and even teachers if you really like them. Then you head straight to the back! You will find anything from pictures to hang on a wall that you know what your friend really needs, or the really cute puppy stuff bed your grandmother wants. they have so many awesome kitchen things for that brother-in-law that lives in the kitchen! And of course, there is everything you can possibly shove in a gift bag at the last minute close to the register. Most of this stuff is mid to high quality products and no one will know the difference.
You can pretty much do the same thing at places like TJ Maxx and Marshalls! The prices might be a little bit higher, but you can always find something amazing like a really cute purse for your sister or your cousin. 
Now when it comes down to being Santa, don't be that Mom that thinks she has to buy everything. It is not a competition. You do not need an entirely new collection of toys. You just got rid of some of the old ones and you're still dealing with birthday ones that you regret you bought in the first place.
One of the best places besides the dollar store (this includes Family Dollar, Dollar General, Family Dollar, etc) where you really need to check for the basics like candy canes and all of the candy stuff involved... Five Below is a must. There is so much stuff in there that you can literally find something for everyone. Grandpa needs a new book, there are tons and tons and tons and tons of toys/activity sets, home decor, and trust me when I say that they are fully prepared for Christmas presents. They are stocked in the candy department as well. You might even find a fun movie to throw in on your Christmas Eve quality time or find a really cool witty t-shirt for a party you have to attend.
Target has their cheaper stuff up front when you first walk in, which is great, but there's a huge section in the back that is dedicated to stuffing those stockings. I'm never really thrilled about the prices on some of the stuff, but you can usually find something if you're in a bind. And don't forget that there is a 20% off coupon on most toys. You can scan it with your phone in any toy isle.
Last but not least, JCPenney does cram tons of stocking stuffers in the isles. There's always an
awesome amount of $3.50 t-shirts for boys that have really cool themes anywhere from Star Wars to throwback TV shows and heavy metal bands. This might work for brothers as well.
So tell me! Where do you go shopping? I always encourage my friends and family to shop local, but sometimes it just isn't in the budget. You have to shop cheap. I get it. So what is your secret? 

Monday, March 12, 2018

And... I still don't follow the rules.

I know there are the DUH rules about being a mom. There's the bedtime rule, the feed your kid rule, and of course the potty train your kid before they get into school rule. 
Let me tell you something. I am not spending one more minute hovering over my kid's sink trying to shove their toothbrush into the right spot just to get spat on. 
I am taking my kids to the dentist every six months like I'm supposed to. I tell them to go brush their teeth like I'm supposed to. For the love of all that is holy! My son is 14! So yes, I took his whiny butt to the dentist today to get a few fillings. Yes, the dentist glared at me and was trying to talk to ME about oral hygiene like a freaking 5 year old. Kid, I'm older than you and I was learning how to brush my teeth when your parents were in middle school. Don't talk to me about how to brush teeth.
 So check this out: I sat in the corner of the room watching my son get his fillings and I was just commenting on how it didn't hurt, it was just the cold water. He's never going to get a girlfriend with nasty teeth and bad breath. 
The assistant literally turned around and asked what my problem was. 
MY PROBLEM? Heffa! The kid won't brush his teeth and I'm sitting in a chair while your boss is drilling holes in his permanent teeth. Are you paying for it? No? Shut it.
Yes, I was the ultimate bitch today. I have to use that word because there is not one single word that could possibly describe what was going through my head.
How did I end up with a daughter that is going to need major orthodontic work, yet brushes and flosses and even uses mouthwash like she's supposed to, yet her big brother can't seem to brush his teeth?
I quit. I'm done. Not even two hours later he had managed to hunt down one of those push-pop suckers that moms fear at the check out lines at grocery stores. BLUE TEETH y'all. They were blue. Like I wouldn't notice? COME. ON.
So, I'm gonna feed him. I'm gonna provide for him what I'm supposed to. But if one more person tells me I need to brush his teeth for him... middle finger right up in their face, cause it ain't happening. Nope. I am done. Forget the rules. 

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Your Kids have TOO MANY TOYS! Now What?

Your kids have too many toys. Your friends have told you. Your neighbors have told you. The babysitter has told you several times. What's stopping you from doing something about it? Ah, yes. The crying and screaming that you don't want to deal with is the reason your home is in complete chaos and you can't walk across your kid's bedroom without stepping on something. Let's work on NOT having a sharp pain under your foot for a while, shall we? Here are some steps you can take to clean it out!

Step 1. The first thing you need to do is stop adding to the collection of JUNK that seems to end up
under the bed... or even your bed for that matter. You do not need to buy a toy every time you step into Target just so you can go shopping in peace. If you're having a problem breaking that habit, give the kids their own shopping list. It'll give them a responsibility as well as keep you on track. Let's save you some money while you're at it!

Step 2. Talk to your friends and relatives. Let them know that you are clearing things out. They might have some ways to help "make things disappear" or they will at least know that they don't need to add to the collection any time soon.

Step 3. Give them the opportunity to pick out what they want to lose first. You can get creative with this, too. You can put out some boxes with labels that show whether the child wants to sell it (garage sale! Let them keep the money!), donate it to children that don't have toys, or toys that are broken and need to hit the trash can. This can amazingly cut that pile in half.


Step 4. Pack up half of what's left in storage tubs. They can pick what goes in them to play with later, because it's time to rotate. If your child has too many options, they lose imaginative skills. They need to be creative with what they have! You can switch them out every six months, which gives you another opportunity to clean out the newest junk.

Step 5. This may be hard at first, but you can tell your child(ren) that if you find a neglected toy where it doesn't belong, it goes in a donation box. Basically, "It's mine. You lost it when you decided not to take care of it." It hurts at first, but eventually they'll catch on.

Step 6. If you really want to get creative about it, and if you are friends with moms that have kids near the same ages, you can put things into a trade box. Each kid has to put several toys in a box so they can choose one "used/new" toy out of a friend's box. This way, they may be losing a bunch of toys, but they get something else to play with. Take what's left to a facility that helps foster children!

Next thing you know, you have managed to get rid of at least a fourth of the junk that's taking up so much space. You won't hear "I"M BORED!" quite so often. The only project left will be to show your children how to keep what they have organized. Unfortunately, this is a "lead by example" situation. Have them help you organize a room that you've been ignoring, and in turn, help them organize. It won't happen overnight, that's for sure. But either decide to take action, or keep stepping on toys. Your choice!

NOW GET ORGANIZING!