How do you do it? Budgeting

Have you considered an entry level position in trade-work? Construction in and around Springfield is really booming. There is also a high demand for roofers and such after all the tornados of late. Most trade work does NOT start out at minimum wage and some of the really big companies will offer family insurance at no cost or minimal cost after a time....then, maybe you could do your computer work on the side? Working in the trades, you would have the opportunity to meet many people that may not have the computer knowledge you have... ie. fellow workers or homeowners or such. Just a though. My DH works in Sprinfield in the trades and is VERY busy.

Whatever you decide...good luck. Tight budgets are SO frustrating.

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Valerie
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Shhhhh......I'm hiding!

line up a job in VT....go on ahead w/o wife and pitch a tent? Have her sell the house and move to VT (and maybe find a job ahead of her arrival)

We pay over $1000 a month ins. and hubby only makes $40k....family of 5...and we've managed to get debt free....

Is your property in VT wooded? Could you have it cut and/or have someone come and mill onsite for you?

added:
I can feed the whole family(2preteens) and 6 goats and 22 laying hens for $75/week....but we do hunt, garden and forage to supplement which you would be able to do in VT.....and I have rib-eye steak once a month!

This is how I do it....

I had a hard time finding a job until I lowered my expectations. I didn't like lowering my expectations, but it was that or starve. I could either lower my expenses, or make more money. Expenses were as low as I was willing to go, so....I made more money at low paying jobs than the nothing I made looking for a better one.

I worked for a few months at janitorial, scrubbing toilets ($7/hour), until I got a better job, waiting tables($2.13/hour plus tips). I still wait tables and just started a new job working in a nursing home taking care of old people and doing all those unpleasant things they can no longer do for themselves ($9/hour).

I drive 20 miles for $9/hour and 25 miles for $2.13 and tips. I drive a Ford Explorer that gets 14 mpg. I buy a lot of gas, but I'm still ahead on all counts. I can even afford Starbucks before working a late night shift at the restaurant without going in the minus'.

There was a time when I would have turned my nose up at any one of those jobs, but I could no longer afford to do so. Since I've been so fortunate to get all these low paying jobs, I have been able to increase my standard of living beyond what it was when I made nothing looking for a job.

That was my budgeting reality.

Jena

Since you worked there 7 1/2 years ..were you still only making minimum wage of $5.15?

At minimum wage of $5.15 an hour..your take home pay should have been about $600 a month (working 40 hours per week). And you said you lost $1000 a month OVER your take home pay?

That means for each month of work you were paying over $1600 a month just burning gasoline in your job! And you actually did this for an entire year?

In order to lose that amount of money..with an average cost per gallon of gasoline..you would have had to actually drive nearly 2000 miles each week (@ 13 miles fuel efficiency per gallon). Do the math! That is almost 40 solid hours each week of doing nothing but driving!
What am I missing? WHAT KIND of job did you have that only paid minimum wage..and made you sit behind the wheel and do nothing but actually drive for nearly 40 hours per week? (No office work..no idling..no rest periods..no nothing but driving)!


If I were you..I would take that $1000 over your take home that you are no longer burning in gasoline each month..and I'd buy health insurance with part of it. The rest left over..I'd pay extra each month on the LAND hs.


Seriously..if you really were driving that many miles and losing that much money each month for a year..IS it possible that your mileage might have been tax deductible? I believe the current IRS deduction is somewhere around 48 cents a mile. You do the math! Averaging almost 2000 miles a week times 48 cents a mile is nearly $1000 tax deduction a WEEK!
It might be benefit you to go see a tax accountant to see if your mileage was tax deductible.

Just a suggestion that might work well for this time of year. All of the college students are getting out for the summer. A lot of them dump things that they just don't want to carry home. Sometimes this includes computers. Also, folks just throw away computers when they upgrade to a new one.
Would it be possible for you to find these "throw away" computers and fix them up to resale? I know that the dumpsters at the colleges here are just packed with items that could be rescued and resold. A fellow here also advertises to haul away items that didn't sell at garage sales. He must be doing well at it, because he is now advertising all over town.
Another thing that you might look at is see if there is a place where you can get discounted fruit and vegetables or maybe even a community garden. Even if you don't can the produce, you can dry most things and it tastes great all year long. My favorite winter vegetable as a kid was "leather britches" which were green beans that had been dried on loops of string and later cooked with sow belly.
mamabear

Where does your wife work (the $1400 is her income right?) Why don't you carpool with her and even work for minimum wage in whatever town she is working in? Money is money and it can do until you find something else.

If it's just the two of you and you don't have anything/anyone else why don't you get a little car that gets much much better gas mileage than 13 miles to the gallon? If your s-10 wasn't getting good mileage, fine, but there are plenty of other vehicles that get much better (cheap vehicles).

I agree with others, this isn't a budget problem, this is a cash flow problem.

I forgot to add...

Look in places with high turnover. They always have jobs. Waiting tables, fast food, wal-mart, gas stations, janitorial, nursing assistants, hotel housekeeping, retail stores. Many of these places also offer upward mobility, but you have to pay your dues at the bottom of the heap.

I make it a point to work my butt off at any job I have. You never know who's watching or how your work ethic will pay off. They absolutely love me at my restaurant job. They give me any section, any hours I want. That means more money for me. I have worked there only a few months, but they have hired at least 7 people since I have been there. They are looking to hire more again.

I don't want to be a CNA forever, but I do want other jobs at the place where I just got a job. If I work hard and show my worth, when it comes time to apply for those other jobs, I have the best reference in the world....they already know that I am a cheerful and enthusiastic worker who is worth more than what they pay me.

I live in a small town. Jobs are scarce, but one can always secure a job through the local temp agencies at the few factories we have. I did not have to go that route, but I would have and will if the need arises. I HATE factory work, but they start out at $8+/hour, (with periodic raises) and all of them offer insurance eventually.

Welcome to the new world. One job is not enough. You are fortunate that there are two adults in the household, which means you only each need one job. I work THREE and don't see when I'll be quitting any of them. I forgot to mention my internet job which pays $300/month.

I could get by on less money than what I'm making right now, but there are things I want...and they cost money. I want, so I work.

Insurance for $180/month is a bargain. Any job you get would make more than that. Heck, you can get the insurance on yourself as well and still be ahead.

I don't think it's a cash flow problem. I think it's an attitude problem. I say that with compassion, I truly do. It is a shock to the ego to have to turn to the same jobs that my college aged kids do, but that is life. My ego never paid a bill in it's life, so I decided that was one expense I couldn't afford.

Honest work is honorable work, no matter what it is.

Jena

We always look really hard at our "flexible" expenditures at budget time. Sounds like you'll have an extra $50 in six months. If you shave your phone and internet back to the bare minimum, I'm guessing that you could come up with another $30. Groceries are always flexible, if only by a little bit. i think the trick, when you have so little to work with, is to purchase things that will save you money. I.E.- a used chainsaw to cut up more wood that will save you $ on your utility bill.

I'd also recommend checking out all of the Tightwad Gazette books from the library, if they have them. Lots of really good ideas in there to maximize the return on your income. I've had the three books for six years now, and still refer to them almost daily for advice.

*IF* you did not claim a mileage deduction then, you can claim it now using an amended return. Isit still 15 cents a mile? A pretty good chunk of change!

we don't have horses I'm not sure where that came from.. And we don't have posession of the farm equiptment till its paid for..

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"Let the beauty we love, be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground." Rumi

Yes.. as a matter of fact I applied for an electrician apprintiship with IBEW.. I'm waiting for the results from my apptitude test

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"Let the beauty we love, be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground." Rumi

What do I need (proof wise) to do this?

and yes 2000 miles a week is about right. Though it was closer to 60 hrs a week instead of 40.. Pizza delivery.

I knew I was losing money then but I had to issues. 1) no time to look for another job.. 2) family telling me not to quit till I did find another job..

And my work ethic is Excellent. Just ask anyone I worked for.. Its certainly not from being lazy.

Get tired of that story.. I apperciate the replies but that is one that burns me every time.

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"Let the beauty we love, be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground." Rumi

Wow 13 mpg?? That would be a budget-buster. So why not pick up a little, used 4-cylinder to use for commuting? My nephew just paid $500 for a 95 Ford Escort. It gets over 30 mpg. I would think the gas savings would make up for the $500 pretty quickly? You could still keep the older truck for hauling, etc. But you sure don't need a 1/2 ton pickup to go grocery shopping for two people!

I do not know, but if you call H & R Block they could tell you over the phone, and likely invite you to take your amended return business to them.

Or, Melissa could tell you. Alas, it has been too long for me to know.

Great idea..I think I'll post over on barter board.. Maybe someone can take payments or something..

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"Let the beauty we love, be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground." Rumi

Have you ever done any painting? A couple of ladders, tarps and brushes would get you started. Inside, exteriors, porches and floors. Charge by the room. One local painter charged 150.00 a room plus the cost of the paint (or paper).
Run this ad on your local classifieds;
Sober painter who knows what a tarp is used for looking for jobs.

Of course thats not to say that there are any drunk painters who left their tarps home!

I heard a preacher tell about putting himself through college washing windows...he only needed a ladder. bucket, squeegee, cloth and cleaning solution.

You have gotten alot of good advice.Get a job ,cut back on food expenses(to summarize)
We also have trouble making ends meet as small farmers.Our budget is tight just on a larger scale.I am lucky in that my DH has a regular job with ins.Couldn't you use the scrap you get from job sites to make the bird houses??Since you already said you get building supplies there.We have different income streams also.E-bay,is good.If your farm equip. is almost paid off you are on the right track.HR block ammended a return for us and I got almost 1500 dollars back.If that is possible for you maybe that would pay off the equip sooner.That would put some money back in the budget.It is hard making ends meet regardless of how much you make.Some times you have to eat beans and rice, did alot of that when I was younger.Good luck!!

Sounds to me as if your biggest problem is plain old gumption, and I say that nicely. People can only plug away for so long before they get frustrated and want to just say, ahhh, screw it. Dust off your ambition and heave to. Where there's a will, there's a way. A good pep talk would probably do you a world of good.

My Papa got out of the Navy way back when and went to barber school. He put himself through by cleaning the school before and after. Once he had his license, they put all their savings toward buying a little house and a barber shop. Three weeks later, Papa broke his arm. Broken arm = can't cut hair. Papa, who never lacked for gumption, walked into a church and told the pastor he had one good arm with which to drive and a running vehicle; were there any elderly ladies who needed shopping and errands done for them? He made enough that way to clear the groceries and hold on until the cast came off.

You're in a good situation, you know. You have assets: you're strong and healthy, you have vehicles with good load capacity and, best of all, any profit at all would be cream as your wife's income takes care of everything else. Find an opportunity, exploit it, and you're golden, even if it brings in only a few hundred each month.

As to the groceries... yikes. I spend $350 each month for a family of eight - that includes money to stock up beyond what we actually require - and, while I have Costco and the commissary, we have no Aldi's or Sav-A-Lot, no discount grocery stores. That's one expense which could easily and relatively painlessly be pared down, and any extra cash at all would be a boon in your situation. Shop sales and loss leaders, buy in bulk whenever possible. If chili or soup is on sale, buy ten instead of two. Next time the money you might have spent on chili or soup can go to buying ten boxes of crackers instead of one. The time after that, the money you might have spent on chili, soup or crackers can go to twenty pounds of ground burger on sale. The process snowballs like that until you eventually find that the larder is always stocked and your grocery trips are ONLY for what's deeply discounted. In a year I trimmed $250 from our monthly food budget by doing just this, and if I needed that money elsewhere I don't have to go grocery shopping for many months but for perishables (milk, eggs, cheese, such like that). Groceries went from being our second biggest expense to an optional thing, and in just one year. I'm sure you could manage it much faster, you having far fewer people to feed. And don't think this is because I go to extreme measures, such as buying 50# of feed store wheat, grinding it and baking all our bread (I don't, I buy sacks of Costco flour and bake our cookies and cakes but get the bread storebought). I own two chest freezers for meat and bread, as we go through so much that buying twenty loaves and freezing them saves us gas money, but no grinder or dehydrator or pressure canner. Oh, and the best savings of all is if you happen to own a freezer: buy your meat in bulk. As soon as you have enough monthly grocery money spare, buy large packages of meat and freeze them. Cutting the meat from the grocery budget had the biggest impact on our food bills. The savings is dramatic, to the tune of several hundred dollars each year. I have a butcher shop for this, a particularly nice butcher shop which loves to see me coming (I'm nice and call ahead to give faior warning I'm about to clean them out), and Costco for what the butcher shop doesn't have in their packages. Costco has whole chickens for ridiculously low prices, $0.59 per pound, and I know how to butcher and bone a chicken for frying pieces and boneless skinless meat, plus the rest goes into a stockpot to make broth and cooked chicken. They have very large pork loins and rumps, anyone with a big sharp knife can carve those out into boneless chops and roasts for half price. Huge lengths of beef ribs for a third the price of those smaller packages, all you need to do is carve them out into portions you like and grill them up.

Hope this helps some.