FINANCIAL WHOAs

Find Another Joe

I love Starbucks.

I love Starbucks. 

I love Starbucks. 

Skinny caramel lattes. Fat-free green tea lattes. Grande peppermint mochas in the cheerful holiday red paper cups. And on a special day, a venti non-fat caramel macchiato.

I love it so much that I even posted about it (actually paid homage to it) on my other blog. I won't go into it like I did there. This blog is about MONEY, not emotions. Right? Except that emotions are closely linked to money and money can be closely linked to emotions. The older I get, the more I realize this. 

Anyhow, after going through a random monthly debit card statement, Hubby and I realized that between the two of us, we spent over $100 at Starbucks for that particular month. (I told you I loved it.) Of course I knew I went there way too much. Of course I knew it was expensive. Of course I knew it was stupid. But I went anyway. I went and I went and I went. 

Yeah. Well, now the top of our excessive spending list looks like this:

1. Starbucks

Darn it. I sure am going to miss my daily runs. It's not like I will never go there (because I have a $20 gift card burning a hole in my wallet, woo hoo!), but I must get my daily coffee supply from HOME. 

I have been doing this for a couple weeks now, and I must admit, I kind of like it. Our coffee maker is programmable and now I actually know how to use it. I have realized that there is nothing more motivating while buried under the covers on a winter morning than the smell of a freshly brewed pot of coffee floating up the stairs, wafting over to my comfy, warm bed. It really does wonders in luring me out of that bed, which, trust me, is quite a feat. 

Now I can feel good knowing that 

a) I have a fresh pot of coffee waiting for me and 

b) I will save a TON of money drinking my own java. 

But I still love Starbucks. 

What a Difference a List Makes

One of the things that became apparent to me in the budget talk that Hubby and I had yesterday was that I am a HORRIBLE grocery shopper. Not that this was any secret to either of us. I HATE grocery shopping. I love to eat, but I hate to grocery shop. This goes way back to when I was a kid and my mom would drag me to the grocery store. I specifically remember really hot summer afternoons stuck in the freezer aisle dressed in a tank top and flip flops, whining as my mother would spend hours (OK, at the time it seemed like hours but now I realize it was only minutes) perusing item after item, reading each label (for what, I'm not sure...it's not like we were avoiding high fructose corn syrup back then or anything), placing it back and choosing a different item, starting the label reading all over. I hated it. All I could focus on were the goosebumps on my arms and the fact that the whole neighborhood was out playing except for me. At this point, my younger brother would usually do something to annoy me, making me even crabbier. The worst, though, was when we got home and we would have to help bring in all the bags and unload them. Our pantry was usually very unorganized and I hated trying to fit all the new food in. I had so many more important things to do and time was ticking off the clock.

You would think that my attitude would have matured in the 20 or so years that have passed. Umm, not really. I still hate everything about the grocery store...the florescent lights, the muzak, the faint humming of the refrigerated cases, the bright signs boasting of a new low price...everything. My belief is get in and get out. 

Rarely do I go in the store with a list. Well, sometimes I have a list of what we are out of, but I don't make a list of what we need for the week. I don't plan meals, so I would just run up and down the aisles and grab what looks good. This would usually result in me getting home and realizing that we already had 2 pork loins from the last "buy one, get one free" special, our cheese supply was pretty good without the two new bricks I bought, we still hadn't eaten the deli turkey from the last run, and I had forgotten to get milk. 

Sure, I would curse myself each time, but I never changed anything because I would rather stick a pencil in my eye and twist it than think about an organized grocery store run. That is, until our infamous budget talk of this weekend. 

When I realized how much I was overspending on food, I was sick. Not only was I wasting money, but I was wasting food. How could I teach my girls how to not to be wasteful when I myself was? So, we got to work. 

Problem: overspending on food, thus wasting both money AND food

Solution: set a grocery budget and create a weekly meal plan

Set a meal plan? Ugh. Totally against my grain, but I did it. It took me a while, but Sunday afternoon I actually sat down and planned out the week. I thought I would hate it, but it actually was kind of fun. The meal plan allowed me to create an organized grocery list for which I could actually pull out coupons (GASP). 

Result: this morning I went shopping with my list and spent $76 for the week, with only needing a few more things that I will buy closer to the weekend. SUCCESS! I realize that most Americans already live this way, but for me, an adult ADD grocery shopper, this is a big accomplishment. Now, if only I can keep it up.

We Need a Budget

Let me begin by explaining why I am starting this blog. After my yoga class this morning, I came home as Hubby was leaving with the girls to run a few errands. I asked him to grab me a skinny caramel latte from Starbucks ($4.25) on his way back. (I am completely addicted to Starbucks. I would live there if I could.) Anyhow, before jumping into the shower, I figured I would check my stats and comments for the mommy blog that I author, Lost in Suburban Bliss. I flipped open my laptop. Hubby must have been paying the bills because our online banking site was still up. Now, I need to be honest; I never, ever check this site. (Please, dear God, do not let Suze Orman be reading this.) I'm not even certain about the password. Before you start lecturing me, I already know that this is absolutely unexcusable. Lazy. Irresponsible. I know, I know. 

There was a time when I was financially responsible, but as Hubby and I became more comfortable financially, I paid less and less attention to the numbers. I had my debit card and I always knew that the money would be there to cover whatever I was buying. Now, don't get the wrong impression. I am not a shopaholic. I am not a store snob, either. (For instance, I am a huge fan of Target. I actually sort of feel like Starbucks and Target are my homes away from home.) Yes, I have held down a job. Before I retired to take care of my girls, I had a successful career as an advertising copywriter. Yes, I have lived alone and have adhered to a budget. I moved from Ohio to Chicago when I was 26 and learned the hard way about the difference in cost of living. I guess my point is that I am not naive. Just...lazy. 

Back to the laptop. Since the site was up, I decided to check out our savings. Whoa. What?  The balance was no where near what I thought it should have been. As I scrolled over both our checking and savings accounts, it dawned on me how irresponsible I have been. Hubby is blessed with a great job, one that he does extremely well at. I have always been so proud of his accomplishments. Unfortunately, our savings didn't reflect all of his hard work. 

When Hubby got home, I insisted on a budget meeting. We always say we need to have one, but something more interesting always comes up. Not today, though. With the economy sucking and a basement improvement project already in the works, we both knew it was time to have the TALK. 

Months ago we had sort of set up a budget, but without actually looking at any numbers. We just pulled things from the air and decided what would probably work. Keeping those numbers in mind, we sat down and went through one month of our spending. 

What an eye opener. When all was said and done, we realized that we spent $350 over our so-called budget on groceries, $500 over on entertainment, and more than $600 over on household items (such as cleaning products, toiletries, kids stuff, etc). We stared at the numbers. "Well, now I know why our savings is being depleted instead of added to," I mused. 

Sitting down to that meeting was the best thing we could have done. We re-worked the numbers and made a list of how we can save money and spend smarter. This blog is a journal of how we are going to do that. It will be tough, I will admit it. We have champagne tastes and are big dreamers. We love to have a good time, love to eat, love to drink, love to go out. But we also love our house, love where we live, and love to give the girls what they need. It is time to get serious. 

Welcome to our Financial Whoas.