Transitioning From Working Girl to Lowly Intern
photo credit: Jessica DeWinter
Today will make two weeks since I quit my job. And while it was necessary to accommodate my busy schedule and to allocate more time to coursework, this involved revisiting our budget as we made the transition from a 2-income household to a one-income household.
This should be more of a test drive for us as we are planning to do this once we start having children. I plan to stay at home while my husband will continue working. We reviewed the budget and we planned for this last year when I took the job. The Internship requires 20-25 hours of unpaid time at a local site providing clinical services. I’m not all that hot about working for free for the remainder of the year but it must be done. I’m enjoying the placement and the experience thus far so this makes up for any issues with free work LOL!
Anyhoo, so we reviewed the budget and these are the things that we came up with:
Reduce Random Spending Habits
This is primarily my issue because I spend hours on Amazon.com, Ebay and other sites just cruising for crap to buy and I am so guilty. I can’t even tell what we’ve spent so far on random stuff but I have and its so sad. You know you’ve got to rein it in when you can’t recall what you spent money on within the last few weeks. Hubby isn’t much of a spender and so I’ve got to rein it in on my end. I’ve been good so far, cross your fingers.
Pay down or pay off credit card debt (significantly)
While reviewing our expenses we were trying to decide if paying off the credit card bill in its entirety was a good move vs paying it down to below 30%. We agreed on half because we are still rebuilding our savings since purchasing the house last year. More than likely we will pay off the whole thing once we move into the summer and hubby starts the new job. We did pay off the Dell account, which was $834 so, that’s step in the right direction. We took advantage of their 24 months same as cash promotion and paid the final bill last week. Makes no sense to rack up $400 in extra interest.
Kick Frugality into High Gear
Frugality is such a dirty word to some of you, I know, LOL! But I really enjoy it and even more now that I am aware of how much we spend on different things. When I realized how wasteful I’ve been in the past it really made me rethink money and what it means to us. Do I want to build wealth or just be able to spend at a moment’s whim?
Nix the Land line Phone
We don’t need it. And, with the bill hovering around $250 because we only have it so the alarm company can dial out, its time for it to go. That or stop using it or just get a standard plan. We’re a bit stuck on this because I like having a land line just because but with the basic service we pay higher fees if we actually use the phone than if we got a standard plan. We may end up keeping it but put the phone out of site. We have relatives that call the house when they can’t reach us on our cell phones and that’s going to have to stop.
Get Pet Insurance
Our cat, Scotch has been sick on and off over the last 6 months, and we just adopted another kitten, Max. Scotch’s vet bills are near $1000 so far and that’s out of pocket so I plan to ask the vet about how the insurance works, as I know this particular carrier takes all licensed vets into their program.
We are also benefiting from my not working by not having to drive into work, my internship site and then to class. I’d be paying for gas, and parking which would throw the budget out off because both are so expensive. Now I only pay for parking at the metro, which is a straight shot into my internship site and costs about $10/day. No more eating out for lunch and dinner since I get home so late, I actually have the time to bring a snack with me throughout the day, which cuts back on daily food spending.
Do you have any suggestions for us? What did you changed about your budget when cutting back on expenses?
About the Author: Girls Just Wanna Have Funds is for the woman that wants to take charge of her personal finances. We value budgeting, investing, frugality and remain mindful of our spending habits. Move over and make way for women who are in control of their financial destinies and not afraid to say it. We're armed with a positive net worth and not afraid to flaunt it while breaking financial ceilings one stiletto at a time!
rachel @ master your card (6 comments.) | Mar 18, 2008 | Reply
When I was cutting back my spending I checked all of my utlity companies and made sure that I was with the cheapest. I visited every supermarket and noted the prices of all of the items that I generally bought to find out which would be the cheapest for me to shop at. My husband and I stopped buying each other birthday and Christmas presents and stopped sending Valentines and anniversary cards. I reduced the amount of meals out and take outs that we had and made sure that my husband took sandwiches to work rather than buying lunch.
c2a (7 comments.) | Mar 18, 2008 | Reply
I took a hiatus from work a few months before we married and remained a SAHW @ a year, so we did the single income thing prior to becoming accustomed to 2 incomes. We did it so well my husband was able to resign and pursue self employment. Like you we’re in a HCOLA area (L.A. proper) and we haven’t suffered. We’re both self-employed.
- I managed the finances, I had the time and it was easier for one person to do oversee.
-Gave us each a spending money budget.
-signed up for goldstar events for free and very low cost entertainment
-we downsized to one car. We are fortunate to live on a great bus line. We can walk one block in either direction and take one bus to Hollywood, Downtown, Crenshaw District, Beverly Hills/Santa Monica
-we take the bus when going downtown to avoid paying to park, searching for a park and parking tickets
-we go to the meat market
-we go to the outdoor farmer markets- drastic savings
-we used to do sushi every weekend, now we go maybe 1 or 2x per month. We order teriyaki so we don’t require so much sushi to get full
-visit museums
- try to plan my trips home to coincide with work travel to defray costs
-My husband has found countless opportunities to go skiing either free or for very low cost lift tickets
-we invite folks over for dinner and on demand- low cost entertainment
When my husband worked outside the home
-continued contributing to my retirement
-made his breakfast and lunch- that saved about $10 per day
-changed his withholding to bring more home
- changed the mtg payment to bi-monthly. This might have been psychological but it felt great
-Convinced him to stop lending/giving money/gifts to everyone
-went through his checking account to see where his money went, cancelled or changed everything
but the cable.
-He rented out his guest house- we increased the tenants (super cheap) rent
-Went to Costco for bulk non perishable items
Since you are in school/interning you may not have more time, but if you do the time helps you to do things at a lower cost. You’ll find you can cook from scratch and you won’t be tempted to eat out as much. You’ll have time to be creative. I bought a card making kit and made Valentine cards last year, I also made and gave my husband coupons for stuff I know he loves me to do.
c2a (7 comments.) | Mar 18, 2008 | Reply
wow!! I didn’t realize that was so long. Sorry to blog in your comments.
Ginger (16 comments.) | Mar 18, 2008 | Reply
@ Rachel, those are great ideas, I really need to practice what I preach this time around though Im afraid.
C2A these are AWESOME AWESOME ideas! You’re right I don’t have much time but that is due to my lack of consistency in time management and I plan to get a hold of that in the next few days as I have projects coming up that need to get done! I will definately look into the things you mentioned because they are certainly doable.
Tandy (1 comments.) | Sep 21, 2008 | Reply
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