Cutting Expenses

Isaac and I have decided to cut our expenses as much as possible. With a new baby in tow, accompanying costs, and things like ever-increasing condo fees we are acutely aware of the need to strategize our living style better.

10 months ago it was not as much of an issue. Fine dining and new luxurious items for the house was our game. Though we still had a desire to be fiscally responsible we were more carefree in our spending limitations and choices. Bonefish was a frequent on our visitor’s list and Marshall’s practically knew my bank card number by heart.

I have to say I have been surprisingly more restrained than I thought I would be. I knew I wouldn’t be able to buy clothes as often, or as many, and that eating out would be limited. And we recognized that coupons, discounts, and generic brands would be a good thing to pay attention to (not that I wasn’t a clearance-item-sale-rack person to begin with!). But these things all started to take a front seat once Levi came, not to mention making ourselves become more aware of the fact that we would not be able to go as many places as easily or burden public dwellings with a crying and hungry baby.

Home, I learned, would soon become my nest, a place that I now love more than ever.

For starters, we closed our gym memberships. I can work out at home with my new P90X DVD in the winter (woo-hoo!) or use the stroller to take Levi for a run in the summer and Isaac has been going for runs around the neighborhood when I’m at home.

Cable is gone. We now use the Internet and Hulu to get access to all the shows we watched through DirecTV, including the availability to watch full series of hundreds of other dramas and sitcoms we’ve missed over the years – so many it will be hard to keep up with!

I admit it is weird, to say the least, to not have cable. I liked coming home and having on Fox News in the background while I did my thing in the evenings. But the pros outweigh the cons and sacrificing it for a little bit of extra cash to go towards a doctor bill or Levi’s monthly health insurance payment is worth it.

There are other little things I can’t think of right now that we have released into the abyss of our less worrisome past, but I can’t think of them all at once. It’s just exciting to be a part of our growing future!