1. Eat before going - It is never a good idea to go to a grocery store hungry. At least have a snack or eat something to calm your stomach yourself down and focus on the task on hand.
2. Have a shopping list - When you write down exactly what you’re after, it makes it easier to shop for just those items. No list usually ends up costing you a lot more before you even know it because of impluses.
3. Coupons - I am a coupon clipper and only have a newspaper subscription so I can get these things. It costs me a $1 a week to save a lot of money on groceries. Coupons also give you a bonus by reducing the amount you would normally spend.
4. Bigger not always better - Grocery stores are really crafty in putting the larger item on sale while the smaller one isn’t. They want you to buy the larger item, but depending on the price per ounce it may not be a good deal. I use the calculator on my cell phone all the time in the grocery store to make decisions like this.
5. Same goes for buying in bulk - Do you really need the baseball team family size of an item? I think stores like CosCo and Sams Club are great, but not everything in there is a great deal just because it’s bulk.
6. Create a menu for the week - This goes along the same line as having a shopping list prior to going grocery shopping. If you develop a menu prior to making the list, you can assess your pantry to see what you need to put down on your list.
7. Fewer trips - I have found through personal experience that it is better to go grocery shopping once or twice a month instead of going every week. As long as you have the space in the fridge and pantry, reducing the trips can actually reduce the monthly spending.
8. Wish/forget list - Sometimes we get cravings, forget, or just run out of something between shopping trips, it’s better to write that thing down for the next trip rather than running to the store for it.
9. Organic food - I feel that organic food is overpriced and there isn’t a whole lot of benefit from paying more. Some people feel the need to buy organic produce and such, just be sure to pad the budget to handle it.
10. Overpriced items - There are some stores I know that I can buy particular items cheaper than at just one store. Sometimes getting caught up in convenience of shopping at one store can actually cost more than shopping at multiple places.

This is just a short list of ideas that have been working for me. I’m always looking for ways to save money, and simple things like the ones I mention have really helped me out.

In addition to this bit of positive news, because I have overpaid in the past, I have a new mortgage payment going forward. I will pay about $23 less per month that can go towards other things, this saves around $276 a year. This new payment will come effective next month as I have already paid my mortgage this month.

It’s been a concern of mine this month regarding running out of money before 8/15. After the bills get paid there was very little remaining for food and gas. Even though $140 doesn’t make a huge difference, it will make it easier. At the same time with the EF gone, I’m considering putting this $140 into the EF since it wasn’t something that we planned on having.

As sad as it sounds my stress level went way down after reading the mortgage paperwork and receiving this check. It might be psychological but I have a strong need to make sure my ducks are in a row or I get really stressed out. Another thing that reduces my stress level and gets me fired up is paying off a credit card.

The problem with paying off debt and not having an EF is when there’s another emergency. The odds are what they are, so it’s taking a chance to dump debt and postpone the EF until it’s gone first. I know that one of these cards can be taken out this month, but the other I’m not sure. Instead of doing that I could just make the minimum and build up the EF a little bit this month. It just sucks to be in a situation where the debt has gone up and there’s no EF, we have no choice but to continue going into debt if something happens.

My other major stress is the income situation this month. She is working at her current job up to 8/15 and then after that, I don’t know what she will be doing. I can tell this is starting to stress her out because she’s very worried about finding a job right now. The last thing I want to do is harp on the situation to make it even worse than it currently is. So I try to be as supportive and encouraging as I can, but stressing the importance of having to do something to earn income.

Even though my wife’s income runs out 8/15, it’s still the place I would rather be at this time. We have about 10 days yet to get to Friday which has another weekend smack in the middle. Living paycheck to paycheck isn’t exactly a fun thing to do, but it’s what we have to do this month. Hopefully the week goes by quickly and we keep our spending to an absolute minimum.

At the same time I am getting extremely frustrated when it comes to things that were taken care of. We had paid off my wife’s store cards she used to buy clothes, but I guess they were still laying and once again both are carrying a balance. As of today there is $152.82 on one and $316.97 on the other, totaling $469.79. Their payments are due in about a week, the minimum on each of course being $10. Even though this debt is small, it’s still giving me a headache because it’s more payments that have to be calculated.

Lately I feel myself worrying more about how I’m going to pay this bill or counting down the days until I get paid again to cover another bill. Sometimes it keeps me in a state of insomnia and there’s not much I can do to make it go away. At the same time it also hits me that these are my wife’s cards, not mine, so why do I feel responsible to figure out how to pay them? As selfish as that sounds, did she think about me during her shopping spree?

I am constantly considering the pros and cons of what cashing out an IRA will be able to do for our situation. Paying off debt however doesn’t change spending habits, so that might not fix anything. I am hoping that we can make it the next two weeks on nearly nothing. My wife will get her paycheck today which is only going to represent a few days of work, not a full two week check. There is going to be pressure and discomfort until we get to 8/15 it will ease up.

When it comes to paying off debt, I am keeping everything current in order for our heads to stay above water. Since her car repair wiped out the EF, that needs to be built back up before I can pile on debt. I haven’t cashed my IRA yet, partly due to fear but at the same time it’s also a safety net too. Our overall debt is going up since the student loans are adding hundreds of dollars in interest each month. Even if the credit card balances go away, the progress is lost in the student loans. We have more debt than I alone can handle.

I’m starting to wonder if I should start considering a higher paying job. While I currently make a decent amount of money, my earning potential out there is probably higher. I’ve hit the three year point and am fully vested in my retirement fund, so I wouldn’t be taking any financial loss to go somewhere else. I think what makes me nervous is that I am comfortable with what I know is stable. All the basics are met with my income alone on a day to day basis, why change that? I’m also not sure where my wife will get a job and was waiting on her to determine where a good pivot point for us would be if we had to relocate.

The charts on the right side of the blog need to be updated, but I haven’t looked at the numbers lately. I will try to update those this week so I’m being honest with everyone. Sorry the latest posts have been so depressing lately, however that’s my current mood as of late.

We are having a really rough time getting a forbearance on her private student loans. They are expecting a large payment next week and we have no way to pay it. When she called them to explain that there’s no way to make this payment, they act like they could care less. I’m glad her other student loans are on a deferment, although the interest on them is building each month, these private loans have blindsided us. I am at a complete loss on what we’re going to do about that payment.

She is still interviewing for various schools to find a full time teaching job with decent income. Right now she has one offer for a school an hour and a half away, in a really bad area and for the lowest pay I’ve seen so far. I don’t want her to have to take that job and feel like she mad a bad choice to become a teacher. We need her to have a good first teaching job with a decent income so a large chunk of it can get rid of her student loan debt quickly. I’m confident something good will come for us, it just takes time.

August is soon coming and we have to really watch where the money is going. My wife doesn’t get paid for the week she took off for vacation, or any other day she has off like holidays, so her paycheck is going to be reduced for the first half of the month. The two weeks to the middle of the month will be a struggle but I think we’ll make it. We just have to watch where the money is going instead of wondering where it went.

My number one concern with this vacation next week is our spending. This month we’ll see a reduction of income for the week my wife will be off work. At the same time, that’s a week of groceries, gas, and household expenses we don’t have to consider. At the same time that doesn’t mean overspending on vacation should happen, or we’re going to have a problem paying the rest of the bills this month. I’m already seeing an increase in spending which is making me nervous.

We set aside some money to pay for our trip from that stimulus check. That has been spent now with the costs of our trip, so I hope any additional spending will be minimal. We have to bring a little cash for tips and some eating out, but most of that expense is covered as part of our trip. I’m not a huge fan of souvenirs, crap they sell you while you’re on the trip that you don’t really need and will eventually get rid of anyway.

Don’t get me wrong I am excited about going on a vacation. We have not been on one in 3 years now so this week of pure freedom from responsibility will be much enjoyed. I’m also glad we don’t have kids yet, because family vacations are probably stressful for parents. The other part I’m excited is to come back and get back to attacking the crap out of the debt. I’ll also update everyone with what happened with the IRA.

Right now my Bank of America credit card balance is sitting at $3738.50. This left over amount along with a little extra to the minimum payment already due would clear that card completely. I would really like to rid my life of this stupid credit card, but is it worth the temporary sacrifice of an IRA? This is the debt reduction side of the argument though because I have debt on the brain right now.

My other option is to take that money and invest it in something. Right now with the market actually being down over 20% it means everything is on sale! At some point the money put in at a low point will be worth more as the market comes back up over time.

The last option and sometimes best when you don’t know what to do is to do nothing. There are always two options to every decision in life, something or nothing. Nothing would just keep this money in the cash reserve not doing anything. I think this is where I am at this month, but still weighing my options as I described earlier.

Question for my readers: What would you do: clear debt, invest, or nothing?

We need to figure a plan of action on what is going to happen with these loans. The payment alone isn’t even realistic right now, which makes me wonder how she was able to borrow so much money in the first place. A few articles I read on student loan debt, most averages are anywhere from 15-40k which are manageable to say the least. Her debt is many times that and so is the payment, so how can she pay?

What I think we’re going to probably do is live off of my income alone, and use her income to pay the student loans off. Depending on what she makes, such as throwing 30k a year at them, they could be gone in less than 5 years. That is better than the 30 year payment plan which would require us to pay twice the amount of the loan in interest alone.

I’m not an advocate of bankruptcy and believe we should take responsibility for our decisions. Student loans are typically not something that can be bankrupt, unless you are deceased, disabled, or can declare undue hardship. Undue hardship makes a case that a debtor has little chance of earning enough to pay off the loan. We are married and she probably couldn’t pull this excuse off.

A quote I recently heard and like at the moment: When faced with a challenge, look for a way not a way out. I hope she gets a salary job soon so she is on her way to getting these loans paid off. Our credit cards still have to go in order to focus 100% on these.

So where do we go from here? I looked at her student loan statements the other day, she refuses to even bother with them, and the payments make me feel defeated. They can go into a forbearance or possibly economic hardship but we still need to find a way to pay them at some point. I guess for now I will put that issue aside since we have so many other fish to fry.

I know I don’t mention it too much but I still contribute to my 401k plan. I’m down probably 1.5k which is a huge chunk of money. At the same time while it’s down at the moment it will eventually go back up. It is still depressing to see the numbers go down so far and quickly, but that is the risk of the market. I’ve also debated the idea of stopping my contribution in order to increase cash flow to pay down debt.

Our vacation is planned here in the coming weeks and I doubt we can afford to go. My parents are picking up the bulk of our cost but the $600 intended to cover our expense may not cut it. With no EF to fall back on I hope the damage to the credit card will be minimal if we have to resort to it at all. If my parents were not involved in paying for this trip, it would be canceled.

Sorry I haven’t posted as frequently lately but I’m trying to keep the funk to a minimum. I’ll come up with a strategy at some point but right now I’m tired. The stress of the situation could very well be leading to depression. It makes me wonder how much more crap I have to do before things will get better.