Tightening the Proverbial Belt

Great minds being what they are, I had this post almost finished when I realized that at least two other bloggers on my sidebar were talking about money saving/budget issues this week after I visited both Laura's and Tom's blog as well as a couple others with the same general theme. So be it!

Anyway, so yes, I'm about to do some budget adjustment here. In spite of the fact that I'm no longer the tuition helper person in charge and have more flexible funds. One the one hand, there's no real impetus for this in any immedaite sense. On the other hand, looking to the new year, I'm wanting to take some adventures that will be higher cost than my usual travels (looking at cruising and train travel as opposed to car trips), I want to upscale a couple hobbies.  My car is at the 100 thousand mile mark more or less-that point where a car needs work if you want to keep it (which I do). I'd like to purchase a couple bigger ticket items/type things (like a shampooer so I dont have to hire someone to come in and a smart TV in my bedroom, which I swore I would never do, and new sofa and love seat and possibly a sleigh bed) And in general I'd like to add some savings, be it for emergencies, to help the adult kids or whatever.......so here we are.

Whether this is a good or bad thing I am not sure, but in terms of lifestyle positioning, I am mainly at the place where there's not alot of cutting to be done.  Rent is stable. I negotiated my cable way down (and we are not giving up cable until they live stream international sports). We keep our home 78 in the summer and 72 in the winter-I might be able to go down to 70, but that's my limit. I have what is a fairly cheap smart phone plan and will have my smart phone paid off in a couple months. We probably use more water than we should but we have a large garden and we live in Colorado-drought country and high water cost country. No car payment. Health and exercise are as low as they can be now that I am on Silver Sneakers

Which puts all the savings and adjustments on the so called irregular expenses (for lack of a better term). Food and restaurants. Clothes. Entertainment. Household expenses. Gifts. Hobbies. And all the other good stuff. Not too worry, this is not as dfficult as the previous paragraphs might sound. More than one of those categories (hello clothes, fabric and dining out) have been used and abused in the past year. 

To that end I am:

• joining a challenge to shop second hand whenever possible and buy new as a last resort (with some fairly obvous exceptions like food, unmentionables, gifts), and work within that yearly capsule.
• changing my social life so there are more coffees and coversatiions, five dollar movies, day trips and craft days and less expensive lunches and food filled happy hours. For my waist as well as my savings, if you will.
• trying to only by art supplies for specific projects (which unfortunately still requires some cash, especially as I stock up for cold weather, dark evening crafting.
• rethinking the gift giving to everyone but my offspring. I'm blessed to be part of a family that prefers consumables, hand made speciality gifts and experience to things. So I intend to concentrate on those.
• planning to continue to take advantage of the (almost free or free through taxes) things I can find, in the house and out of the house, and craft down my stash for entertainment in front of TV in the evenings.
• Coming as close to no spending except for previously mentioned items until after the holidays-barring travel payments in advance that need to be made.

All of which, of course, will be accomplished, after I return to Colorado in October. Because weddings. Wedding clothes. Hotels. Post wedding brunch. And whatever else I have forgotten as part of that journey.