SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

Hi -

I know this will vary A LOT, but I am just trying to get an idea of what your monthly budget is...

This does not include any bills.

Just day to day expenses, like:

grocery shopping
dry cleaning
occasional lunch
playdate expenses

stuff like that.

Do you think $1000 is enough for a family of 3?

Thanks!

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

grocery shopping:

Stop & Shop $125 a week
BJs (Monthly) $400

dry cleaning - $20

occasional lunch - $50

playdate expenses - $150

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

I will tell you, when I first started stayiing home during the day, playdate expenses were through the roof!! I was easily spending $100 a week on stuff!! I've now tried to limit myself to one pay place per week and the rest we do free stuff (park, library, bookstore, etc.).

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

My playdates are at my house and we chip in for a pizza pie. I do playdates once a week.

$1000-$1200 a month- food bill for my family of 5.

I'm down to only 1 kid in diapers so that helps!

We spend the most money on weekends when we do family activities.

We need to budget more ourselves.

I don't go shopping often b/c it leads to over spending.

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

This does vary weekly, but generally

grocery /pharmacy shopping: $140/wk

DH shirt/suit dry cleaning (occassionally my stuff): $30

occasional lunch w/ DS: $15-$25/week

playdate expenses: $30/mo for Mommy and Me and then an occassional $15 to an open play place or activity, otherwise we hit a ton of parks, libraries, Borders, B&N, take walks, window shop at the mall, playdates at our house or friends house (grilled cheese is cheap!) etc ...

I've learned to do 'without' and truthfully I don't need what I am missing, you know? I don't need to take DS out to lunch or to expensive places every day - he is happy taking a walk around the block or playing with his toys indoors. He loves his little 'friends' and the 'free' playdates.

I am carefully about grocery shopping i.e. stocking up on sale items like chicken breasts when they are $1.69/lb, cans of beans (DS loves beans), etc and so on. I also look at my fliers and see which store by me has the best sales on what I eat and go to that store that week. So if S&S has chicken breasts, ground turkey, pork chops, pasta, and cereal on sale, I go to S&S. If another store has the items I want, I go to that one that week. It's a 5-minute once over in the fliers and I am good to go.
I make a list and stick to it as much as possible. Now that DS eats all real food, I stopped buying all the 'gerber' snacks. I would rather buy a huge bag of Pirates Booty then a small can of Gerber Crunchies (is that what they are called?).

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

I work p/t so I have a little extra income coming in but we could swing it on just DH's salary. DH's paychecks go towards the house bills and my little checks go towards DS activities, food shopping, etc.

I budget about $450/mo. for food shopping. Sometimes I am under, sometimes over. I find if I do peapod delivery I spend less!

I have DS in both Little Gym and a Mommy and Me preschool program right now. Both are about $450 per session (so $900 for fall and $900 for spring). I am saving myself alot of $$$$ starting in September. I put DS in a nursery school by my house 2 days a week for 2 hours from Sept-June it is $140/wk so I save myself almost $1,000 there.

Now that it is nice out we have alot of playdates at the park or at my house or a friends house. occasionaly we went to the play places, children's museum, etc .but not consistantly so I didnt factor that into our budget.

DS and I usually eat lunch at home but occasionally will eat out so maybe $25/wk.

I definetely think $1,000/mo. is enough if you budget right for a family of 3.


ETA: That will be fun if you are a SAHM...we can set up some playdates with the kids

Message edited 5/14/2009 1:27:25 PM.

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

I'm seriously considering taking the plunge and it will be a big change for me as I am not a bargain shopper/coupon cutter. But I will enjoy becoming one! I'm just trying to get a realistic idea of what expenses are like. We can afford to live on one salary, but as most of you know, I am quite the shopaholic and that will have to change!

DD is getting to a really fun age and I hate that I pretty much only see her for 3 hours a day.

Thank you so much for your responses - they are really helpful.

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

Posted by Tine73

I'm seriously considering taking the plunge and it will be a big change for me as I am not a bargain shopper/coupon cutter. But I will enjoy becoming one! I'm just trying to get a realistic idea of what expenses are like. We can afford to live on one salary, but as most of you know, I am quite the shopaholic and that will have to change!

DD is getting to a really fun age and I hate that I pretty much only see her for 3 hours a day.

Thank you so much for your responses - they are really helpful.

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

1,000 a month in my home covers
gas money for both cars
all groceries
going out to eat
playdates
clothes

(I make 1000 a month babysitting, so I know that's all of my cash that I spend each month.)

You get really good at finding free or cheap things to do.

All morning long I was at this indoor playground for 2.00 a piece. So for 4.00 we had 3 hours of a great time.

Another rainy day find (I am in NC...but join a moms group, these frugal b!tches know how to stretch a dollar) 2 days a week, a rainbow playground sales warehouse opens their doors for free. We get to play on all the equipment, no charge.

libraries
parks

if she is fun now, she is going to get to be super fun by this summer. I swear I love 2 years old.

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

Posted by jellybean1420

My problem is shopping too...and not so much for myself but for DS. Luckily my family is big on buying him clothes for Christmas and his birthday and I get a lot of coupons from Gap b/c I shop there so much for him Once your home you will figure out they dont really need as much "stuff" as you think they do.

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

Posted by Tine73

I'm seriously considering taking the plunge and it will be a big change for me as I am not a bargain shopper/coupon cutter. But I will enjoy becoming one! I'm just trying to get a realistic idea of what expenses are like. We can afford to live on one salary, but as most of you know, I am quite the shopaholic and that will have to change!

DD is getting to a really fun age and I hate that I pretty much only see her for 3 hours a day.

Thank you so much for your responses - they are really helpful.

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

You won't like my answer!!:

grocery shopping (family of 5) - $150.00

dry cleaning - 0

occasional lunch - 0 I never go out for lunches & pack DH his. My older SD eats at work & the younger one when she gets home from school - sometimes brings a snack with her.

playdate expenses - 0 (we go to the park or my mom's house)

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

Posted by krissy888

Posted by Tine73

I'm seriously considering taking the plunge and it will be a big change for me as I am not a bargain shopper/coupon cutter. But I will enjoy becoming one! I'm just trying to get a realistic idea of what expenses are like. We can afford to live on one salary, but as most of you know, I am quite the shopaholic and that will have to change!

DD is getting to a really fun age and I hate that I pretty much only see her for 3 hours a day.

Thank you so much for your responses - they are really helpful.

I am at the same point you are, DS is 8 months old, the weather is getting nice I think I want to SAH, but I worry about the spending ( my spending!)

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

I just took the plunge and my DS is about the same age as your DD (he is almost 16 months).

I have been home for two months and I LOVE it!! Little expense breakdown:

about $600 for food, including take-out, groceries and going out to eat. To save $$, we go out to lunch or breakfast as a family as opposed to dinners.

Clothes- I hit the outlets and spend MUCH less than I did before.

I spend a lot less now than when I was working. I went out to lunch everyday, and I also got a lot more take-out since I was tired and didn't cook as much as I do now. We go to a lot of free activities such as the parks, library programs, Borders, etc. I have not joined a mom's group or started playdates since we are moving out of state this month.

GL!! This is a great time to be at home if you can swing it. I plan on going back to work when DS is a bit older.

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

I spend about 1000.00 per month. We are a family of 3.

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

We are a family of 4 and I spend $75-$100 per week at grocery store.

This is a huge place to save. I've become that mom that shops the sales, plans my meals around what is on sale and then cross references sales with my coupon stash. Its like a fun game I play. This week, I went to the store and got $102 worth of groceries for $56. Double coupons and buying things are sale is worth the research and the planning!

Playdate expenses: $0, maybe $20 a month. We go to the park, use our museum membership and pack lunch wherever we go. On rainy days we hit the library or go to the bookstore or the indoor playareas at our mall (in OH).

Lunch: $20 maybe. I just don't spend money on lunch. Eating out kills your budget...so we pack our lunches. You'd be amazed how much fun a 4 and 2 year old have eating lunch in the back of the minivan!

Entertainment for DH and I: $150 tops.

So I probably spend $850 per month on gas, groceries, etc.

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

It is very hard for us to keep our expenses under 2K a month. That's food, eating out, entertainment, gas, cleaning lady, dance class, etc.
I've tried and it's just not happening.

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

Message edited 5/14/2009 3:47:53 PM.

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

Groceries: I budget $400. Sometimes I don't use it all up.

Drugstore: About $100 or so for prescriptions, vitamns, toiletries

Dry cleaning: Rarely need it. I'm a SAHM and DH wears business casual clothes that are mostly machine washable.

Eating Out: I never eat out during the week. Once a week or so I might buy a coffee at Starbucks, just a $1.79 cup, not a fancy $4 latte. On weekends as a family we tend to do eat either a breakfast or lunch out, so maybe $25 a week for that.

Playdates: I try to do a lot of free stuff! Now that the weather is nice, DS and his little BFF next door just play outside together while the other mom and I sit out there and chat!

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

I don't have any advice as I work FT but I would love to see how it works out for you because I have 2 under 2 and just went back to work and I am miserable without them! I would love to be home but I also like the finer things in life and shop way too much! I am so afraid to take that plunge but I would love to! Let us know how it goes.

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

Posted by Belladonna219


I am with you girls. DS is 2.5yrs old and we are expecting another in Sept. I have a great job/income and we basically live off one salary anyway. Lately I just hate working and want to be a SAHM with my babies. Yesterday I was off and home all day with DS and he kept on telling me "mama I am happy" I dreaded going into work today

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question

No announcement yet! Maybe next month

Re: SAHM/Expenses/Budget Question