~Benjamin Franklin
There is a lot of satisfaction when you take a look at your savings and realize how much it really grows when you have been diligently contributing to it. It is also very encouraging and really helps you see the progress you are making. I can definitely relate the saving money process to the saying "a watched pot never boils", which is why I do my best to only check once in a great while. On the other hand there is almost as much to be said for cutting back on your daily, weekly, and monthly expenses and an almost equal amount of satisfaction gained when you see that your bills are only half of what they once were! That is where we are right now. Cutting back and saving as much as possible. Things are really starting to get exciting for us!
Fast food is, or maybe I should say was a big dent in our weekly expenditures... Spending roughly 20 dollars on a meal for two several times each week just doesn't cut it. It was mainly spent out of laziness on my part due to the hours that I keep at work. After a few 12 hour shifts the last thing I ever want to do is struggle and risk blowing something up in the kitchen. So when I am really tired, hungry and I don't feel like cooking, fast food seems a lot more appealing. So now when I come home hungry and tired I pull out whatever I plan on spending for fast food and I drop it into the money bucket. Top Ramen is awfully fast food. What it lacks in taste and wholesome goodness it certainly makes up for when I consider what a small sacrifice it really is in the long run. I just look at a picture of a beautiful little sailboat on a nice sandy beach and all of the sudden chicken bullion and noodles turns into... Self control!
With the grocery bill cut nearly into 1/3 of what it was, what else can go? Internet. I have a laptop and my neighbor has an excellent connection. Problem solved there is an extra 50-60 bucks a month into the boat fund. That was easy, now what else? Gasoline. Work, church, and the occasional trip to the store are the only places we really need to go, so... We stay home. A lot. As far as what we do buy when we go to the store besides the necessities, we try and live by the rule that if it's not going on the boat, its not that important! That in itself creates an entirely new dilemma. We have a bunch of stuff that is not going to go with us on a boat.
Getting rid of our "stuff" is the stage we are at right now. eBay, garage sales or donations...It has to go. I look at how much of what we have has been boxed up and unseen for years and wonder why it is so hard to get rid of it. Good ol' American greed I guess. A closet full of clothes, only half of which actually gets worn: Donate. Books, movies, dishes and tools: Garage sale. Fancy metal things from Italy, xbox, sports cards and other random collectibles: Internet auctions. I have to give props to those people that earn their living from eBay and various other online auctions. That is my least favorite part so far I think.
While looking forward to getting rid of all our old clutter, we have started looking at the final stage of our expense cutting. Downsizing our home. We live in a house that is far to big for just 2 people. We also rent, which makes saving money that much more important. We can't put our house up for sale when the time is right. We can save as much as possible though by moving into something smaller. That is the hardest part for my wife. She has put a lot into making this our home and has done a great job of it, so it is a very sad and bittersweet feeling to think about leaving this place. On the bright side, knowing that the decisions we are making now have a long term result of an ocean view is very motivating.
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