vacations on a budget

Vacations...on a budget. It seems counter-intuitive, but even as we try to pay off all our loans we still want to save for vacations.

So, the way that our budget works is this. First, we pay all the things we have to pay. This is rent, utilities, Alex's mortgage, etc. The things we need to live.

Then we have a formula that we apply to any extra income we have. We put a certain percentage (most of it) towards loans, some towards savings, and some towards savings for vacation.

In this way, our vacation fund has grown, little by little! I'm looking forward to a weekend away this month, and we will continue to save towards bigger vacations!

rock climbing on a budget - cont

I described the costs of indoor climbing in my previous post. (That's me, climbing at the indoor gym.)

There are ways to offset this cost, such as getting a membership to the climbing gym, or using a punch card if it is available. The gym I climb at offers a punch card with 20 punches for $220, $10/climb.

It also helps to own the necessary equipment. I have a harness that was given to me when I was in high school, as well as a belay device. I also have a pair of climbing shoes that I purchased a couple years ago.

When I moved to Colorado (2 years ago!) I bought one of the 20-climb punch cards. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I just used the last punch....

Anyway, I need a new one. Alex and I had a bit of an issue figuring out where the $220 for the card would come from in the budget, since we are really trying not to spend any extra money.

Here is the breakdown of where that money is going to come from:

$120 - Sara's slush fund

$50  - extra food budget

$50  - entertainment budget

We have also decided that I will cut down to climbing once every other week instead of once every week, to make the punch card last longer.

rock climbing on a budget - basics

Indoor rock climbing has been a hobby of mine for awhile now, on and off depending on location, climbing partners, etc.

One major con of climbing – it’s kind of expensive. Most places charge $12-$15 to climb, then about $4 for each piece of equipment you rent. (If you need/want all the equipment listed below, most places have a package price for less than the $16 it would cost to rent it all separately.)

Equipment:

Harness – This is absolutely necessary. You tie the ropes into the harness to ensure your safety.

Shoes – Shoes help a lot when you climb, but are not a necessity. You can climb in tennis shoes.

Chalk Bag – Chalk is kind of nice to have when you climb, but Alex has a chalk bag and I never use it.

Belay Device – You need one belay device, to feed the ropes through as you climb, per pair of people.

If you’re doing the math, you can see that each climbing trip could cost you as much as $30.

packed lunches - simple salad

One of my favorite lunches to pack is a simple lettuce salad, with chicken. This one is pretty easy, and I think it's healthy! (Depends on how much cheese and dressing you use I guess!)

I cook the chicken at the beginning of the week, usually seasoning it with oregano or rosemary, and keep it in the fridge, or the freezer if I make a lot.

Then I put about half of a cooked chicken breast in the bottom of a plastic container and fill the rest up with lettuce. (sometimes I add a little bit of cheese as well)

I pack the dressing on the side, and include a piece of fruit or a yogurt, and a can of diet soda.

Total cost: $2.10

*A small note: I use the bags of lettuce, the mixed kind. This meal would be cheaper if I bought the heads of lettuce, iceberg and romaine, but we just don't use it all if I do that.

packed lunches

I pack myself a lunch for work everyday, to save money, and to eat a little healthier.

We do have a cafeteria in my work building, but it would cost me about $8/day to eat there. Alternatively, going out somewhere would cost about $10/day. (That's about $40/week in food expense)

My packed lunches cost from $2 - $5, usually closer to the $2 side. This means that I save $30/week by packing a lunch.

When I pack my lunch, I follow this format:

1. A main dish 

     sometimes this is a leftover, sometimes specifically made for lunch, it just depends

2. A diet soda 

     I like diet soda better than regular, and I like the caffeine in the middle of the day

3. A side

     This can range from a piece of fruit like an apple or banana, yogurt, pudding, pretzels, whatever I have in my pantry!

I've found that having these three things will keep me full and I typically enjoy the lunch I pack.

more dog costs - dog tag

We had this tag made for Grizzly in a machine in a PetCo. The machines themselves are pretty neat, you buy the tag (ranging from $8-$15) and then the machine engraves it with whatever you want right in front of you.

You can put up to 4 lines on each side. We decided to put his name on one side, then both of our phone numbers on the other.

This was an important purchase for us since although he is micro-chipped, we haven't decided if we're going to register it yet.

9: Take advantage of things that are free/discounted

This post is a continuation of the post 10 ways to reduce your monthly expenses. Here is number nine on the list, and how we accomplished it.

9. Take advantage of things that are free/discounted

 

Books – I love to read and it’s very hard for me to walk into a bookstore without walking out with up to three books. However, buying so many books and then reading them once can really be expensive. Our local library has a great selection of books, and I can even put books from the library on my Kindle! This has made reading much easier, and easier to not spend money on books. See my page of books to find books I've read on my Kindle.

Movies – We like to rent/see movies, but seeing a movie is really expensive, and renting a movie (even from RedBox) can really add up. Our local library also has a great selection of movies! We do have to be on a waiting list for most of the new ones, but we’re not that picky about our movies.

If we really want to see a movie in theaters, (it’s an experience, and getting out of the house is definitely a plus!) we see them on Sundays, because a local theater does $5 movies on Sundays. This is much preferred to the $10/ticket we’d normally pay. Most movie theaters have a night of the week that is less expensive, like a Tuesday, when people don’t see movies as much.

Coupons – We haven’t quite gotten into the extreme couponing that is possible, but we save coupons to the restaurants we frequent most, and try to only go if we have a coupon we can use.

Clothes – Clothes go on sale all the time. I have found that unless I specifically need an item of clothing (a new pair of tennis shoes, a replacement for my one black camisole, etc), clothes can wait awhile. So, if you think you’ll want a new bathing suit next summer, buy it at the end of this summer when they are on sale. Alternatively, you could wait until you have a coupon.

Gym Membership – I can appreciate wanting a gym membership, but they are expensive, and usually aren’t used as much as they should be to be getting your money’s worth. If you live in an apartment with a fitness room, you can use that instead of a gym. If you own a home, it’s possible that your HOA fees include a membership to the local rec center. If neither of these is an option, a good alternative to a gym membership is a small set of weights at home and a couple good exercise videos.

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7-8: benefits of marriage

This post is a continuation of the post 10 ways to reduce your monthly expenses. Here are numbers seven and eight on the list, and how we accomplished them.

These two things are things we could combine and save money on when we got married.

7. Combine car insurance

When we got married, we were eligible to combine our car insurance, as well as our renter’s insurance. This brought our total insurance payment down by a small amount. (This wasn’t a huge expense cut for us, but it did contribute a little.)

8. Combine health insurance

Alex was getting private insurance, since he owned his own business, and the payment was about $200/month. My insurance as a single person through work was $80/month, coming to a total of $280. Adding him to my insurance at work when we got married brought our total payment to $180/month.

Even if one of you is not paying an exorbitant amount for private insurance, combining to one insurance carrier through one of your employers will most likely be cheaper than each holding your own insurance separately.

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