Now that you have figured out your storage issue, now its time to take a look at your lists and make a game plan.
1. Creating maps/Put your pictures in your mind down on paper. Why is this important to me? Because for me seeing things on paper, makes it feel like I can really accomplish something. Its more concrete for me plus I can erase and adjust it very easily. You can physically write and draw with paper and pencil or you can use the computer. Which ever way works best for you. If I can visualize my needs, I can create smaller goals to get to the end result.
For example I want to have our very basic needs to start a home before we move on our own. I also want to have another vehicle to replace our current one. So what does my thoughts look like on paper? For the car I put how much I want to spend, what mileage I want it to be under, the year and the possible make and models. I have also put down how much I plan on putting down upfront and that is 2500. I also wrote how much from each paycheck I am able to put towards the vehicle. The most important, I wrote down registration and licensing, taxes, inspection, insurance cost and estimated fuel for the year. I want to see the big picture of how much a car will cost us because it is a huge factor on whether we can afford it and maintain it. Remember I am paranoid so I want to make sure we can afford it before making a huge decision. Hence I don’t want to be stuck with a car payment for a couple of years. I want to pay it off before we move and yes that may seem like eight or nine months away but take 2500 and divide by eight months that is just over $300 a month and like always, things happen and I may not be able to put that much towards the car each month. I want to give ourselves some wiggle room but not put ourselves in a bad situation again.
Continue to map out each goal you want to accomplish in starting over. The more work you put into it the more will want to achieve it and make it happen.
2. Check things off as you get them. I admit it was a thrill and rush to make my first purchase trip. Now I get to actually show you what I purchased on my first trip! The hubby went back to school so getting him a book bag was one of my purchases. He had some Kohl’s gift cards from Christmas so originally I had him pick out a bag on Kohls.com. They were having a sale but even with the gift cards I was going to be spending a bit more than I was wanting. So I took the few bags selected and searched on Amazon. I found one even better than the ones selected and even cheaper with shipping included. I ended up spending $24 and some change. That left me with around $75 to spend.
Remember I had already set out to get a 12 pk of toilet paper each purchase trip so that was on my list. Just to let you know I typically round up to the nearest dollar so it takes into account of taxes. I have a solid $100 to spend each purchase/check trip so taxes are included in that amount. At the beginning I had you visualize room by room and write down what is needed in each room and get prices for each item. I started with all the dollar items.
Back to those Kohl’s gift cards we had $20 and Kohl’s also sent me an email to save $15 on a $50 purchase plus free shipping. So it took me 2 days pouring over household items on that were on my list that I can get a better deal that I had originally planned. What did I get! I got 9 Large Bath Towels originally $9.99 each and 3 Queen size Big One Pillows that were $11.99 each. Did I mention they were having a sale on Household items excluding luggage so the bag the hubby picked out did not fall in the sale (I was bummed). The pillows were on sale for $4.99 while the towels were on sale for $3.99. This made my total 50.88 plus taxes. After the $15 off and $20 in gift cards I ended up having to pay shipping but my total came to $24.30. Which made everything just over $2 a piece which was cheaper than I would have spent if I bought the items at Wal-mart for the cheapest ones.
I still had $50 to go so I bought the toilet paper $6, another item I need tons of is Snack Bags so that was another $2, spent another $10 in Washing Soda, Baking powder, course salt, lemon juice, white vinegar, Purex Laundry detergent so I can make my own Dish washing tablets and Laundry detergent tablets. I spent $12 on Beach towels from Wal-mart. We have never had beach towels but I did get these for the kiddos. I spent $10 in Wash clothes, Shampoo, Bar Soap, Body Wash, Deodorant. I then spent the remainder $8 in kitchen utensils; such as pizza cutter, spatula, ice cream scoop, measuring cup, cutting board, silverware.
I know not to exciting but I was extremely excited when my huge box from Kohls.com came in the mail because I had to clean out a second storage tub just to fit the pillows in. I need to put 2 containers on my next purchase trip because I don’t have room in my first container anymore. Did I mention I have been cleaning out all my items to see what I still have.
We didn’t get rid of totally everything. We kept our modem, cordless phone (Do not know if the work), Thermometer, personal plug in fan, glue gun, first aid kit and so on. With these household items they take up a bit of room in the container that I started with.
Check out Frugal Fresh Start Week 5 – Getting everyone on board