Feb 23 2009
Budgeting Our Family
Have you budgeted until you can’t budget anymore? Are you on payment plans and schedules? I know that my resources are limited and the economy has forced me to budget down to the penny and eliminate “wants” from my life.
I’ve learned to find the strength to say no and resist the urge to impulse buy. What hurts me the most is that I have to say no to my kids a lot of the time. The kids were treated well over the years. I would have a few extra dollars to give them to go to the movies with their friends or get that CD they had been asking for. Now, it seems the only word that comes out of my mouth is NO.
I don’t know if anyone else has experienced what we have, but the kids just seem to be unhappy. Not because we’re not a happy family but because things have changed so drastically for all of us that I think we just kind of walk around sad. It doesn’t feel good to have nothing, not be able to ask for anything, not go anywhere or do anything and it’s certainly not fun to hear NO from Mommy or Daddy all the time.
I have had to be resourceful with these family life changes and It got me motivated to find free events or very low cost events that we can enjoy as a family. We’ve found family Bingo in a local community (Pocono Mountain Lake Estates in Bushkill, PA for those of you in the poconos) which is open to the public. As opposed to these “Bingo Parlors” which seem to have popped up everywhere and charge $25.00 per person, the PMLE Bingo is only $3.00 kid and $5.00 adult paper books and I think $2.00 per person to get in. They have door prizes and 50/50 too. We’ve also participated in more natural programs like Pocono Environmental Education Center nature trails, which provide photo ops and we can pack a picnic and Bushkill Falls free programs like releasing Owls back into the wild.
We’ve also encouraged the kids to participate in more after school activities such as auditioning for the school play and joining sport intermurals. This way they are being active and we get to enjoy the events as a family when there are games or volunteers needed.
I know this post doesn’t give you anything for free or a chance to win anything in a contest, but as I was getting the laundry together this morning, I realized that I could help by giving you a tip on saving money on the enectric bill which some of you may not know about. In Pennsylvania and I would imagine that most states have this option as well, I have a special energy metered box outside of my house. From the hours of 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, I pay one rate for electricity and from 8:00 pm to 8:00 am another. How is this done? Well, when I was working outside of the home I realized that nobody would be home all day and the bill would still be kind of high. I called the electric company and asked if I was getting the best rates I could for my area. The CSR explained that since I wasn’t home most of the day, I could request the special meter which is installed at no charge and obtain a lower rate at certain times. It’s Off Peak and On Peak rates and it works. Unless you unplug everything when you leave the house, and I mean everything…the fridge, microwave, computer, VCRs or DVDs and cable boxes then you need to get this box. Believe it or not, even if these appliances are not in use, they are pulling juice and racking up your bill. There are however, some appliances which afford you a tax break according to the new stimulus plan.
Want to test it out? Go outside and look at your meter, take a look at how fast the meter is conducting and measuring the electricity being used in your home. Go inside and unplug everything you possibly can and wait 10 minutes. Go back and check your meter and you will see the difference. With the special rates and meter box I have found ways to conserve the energy in our home and keep the bills low. I do a load of laundry either after 8pm or before 8 am and we don’t allow the kids to play video games until 8 pm, and then only until about 9 or 9:30 pm because it’s time for bed, which cuts back on thier playing/sitting time. They’re forced to go outside and run around instead of sitting in front of the TV.
I suggest you all call your electricity provider and ask them to give you the special meter box and get the on/off peek rates, then wait a month and call and ask them to place you on a budget. In most cases that means no matter how much or how little electric you use, you pay the averaged price. The price is determined when the energy company looks over your bill for a year, then divides the total price by 12 and gives you an averaged amount.
There are certainly other ways to conserve energy like lowering the heat when you’re leaving the home, switching to the energy saving bulbs and opening the curtains during the day for natural light.
For other environmental saving energy tips, go to real life news,
federal government energy resources
Energy Star Challenge this is a good one, it helps you to build an energy plan. energy star appliance rebates
Resources for renewable energy from DSIRE
I’ve done what I can to help the environment and our families budget. Do you have secret methods for keeping costs down?
