Since it is now 2011, Christopher and I are creating a new budget and savings plan for IVF. Our goal is to save $1000 a month. We know it's a high goal to meet but think that it is doable if we can start cutting out some of the non-necessities and cutting back on some of the luxuries.
First, we took a look at all of our bills to see what we can cut back on:
1. Cable was the one blaring right in our face. Currently we are spending $150 a month. We have HBO, Showtime, 1 DVR, cable and internet. I called and cut out HBO and Showtime, bringing our bill to $120. Still outrageous we think and Time Warner was not willing to bring it down any further. We are currently looking at other cable companies to see if we can bring this down further. But this did however save us $30.
2. Insurance (car, home, ring, life): We just switched insurance companies last year and this saved us about $100 a month so I didn't mess with this. I know we are getting a great deal but it's worth a couple calls around to see if you can get a better deal.
Second, we took at look at the extra's:
1. Eating Out: We are spending about $300 per month on eating out and 'adult beverages'. Ouch, right!?! We have cut our entertainment budget to $50 per week, totaling $200 per month. Saving us $100.
2. Grocery Store: We are currently spending $350 per month on groceries. Usually about $75 at Whole Foods and $100 a Wal-Mart per pay. We need to cut back on the extras we buy when we go to the store. So our plan is to go in with meals planned and nothing else is being bought. Eating organic meats, eggs and milk is still very important to us so we are not going to cut out Whole Foods. But cutting down on what we buy should bring our grocery budget down to $300 per month. Saving us $50.
Third, we need to start bringing in some extra income. To me getting a second job isn't worth the extra month or two earlier it would allow us to do IVF. So here are our ideas:
1.I joined Delve Market Research hoping that I can earn some money in my off time, when it's convenient for me. Since this is not consistent work, I'm not sure I can estimate how much this will bring in.
2. We will be selling items on Ebay. Chris and I like to go to thrift stores and antique stores to find deals then sell them. We are hoping to earn an extra $50 per month.
3. Chris's web design/marketing he does on the side brings in an extra $400 per month. We never include this in our monthly budget because we don't want to ever depend on this money but it's perfect to include in this savings plan.
If we add all of the budget cuts and extra income together, that gives us $680 per month we can save for IVF. So to meet our goal of saving $1000 per month we will need to come up with an extra $320 out of our paycheck. Which I know is doable. I will be doing a monthly post about the money we have saved toward IVF and how we are doing it.
11 comments:
We are doing similar things to help us save for our adoption. 1st, we started couponing. I'm not a super couponer like some people (mostly because we do eat a lot of organic/all natural foods, which don't have coupons), but I do manage to save anywhere from $10-$30 per grocery bill. We are also selling things on eBay, cutting down our cable bill, and trimming our weekly entertainment budget. I think I have us saving around $750 a month!
Katie, isn't it crazy where you find money when it's this important? Good Luck with saving for you adoption. I'll be looking out for your money saving tips too.
What a great budget! I love that you are sharing it with us! I am sure you will save up in no time!
Thank you, I'm hoping that this will help others see they can cut back too. I was amazed at the amount we found we can save.
Isn't it amazing how much extra we can always find in our budgets? I am hoping that you are blessed enough to save even more than you hope so you can get IVF sooner rather than later! We don't have cable at all, just the regular rabbit ears. We get all of the major networks crystal clear thanks to digital tv now, and anything I miss I can just watch on hulu the next day. Just a thought.
That sounds like a really good plan! Your cable bill seems extremely high! Does that include phone and internet too? When you eat out see if you can use restaurant.com vouchers, maybe that would save a little more :)
Michelle, that does include internet but not phone. I think it's aweful. We need to find something cheaper.
I do love restraunts.com, we need to utilize it more.
Might be the Most excellent topic which I browsed through all month?
Looks like a great plan!
Have you ever considered Tutor.com as a way to bring in some extra cash?
I am a new reader to your blog, came across it on the conceive magazine website. Best of luck with this savings, it can be totally stressful but it will be worth it! My husband and I are currently on a somewhat difficult ttc journey and it is refreshing to hear all that you are doing for yourselves and your family!
E Small, first Welcome. I love new readers ;) This is a crazy journey we have been on and you sound like you can totally relate. Thank you for stopping by and I look forward to more comments from you.
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