Have you had to start over whether it be by choice or by circumstances. I have. Once from when I moved from Idaho all the way to Virginia to start college and then again after I have been married 10 years.
Because of financial circumstances and a whole lot of other STUFF, my husband and I had to make the call, it was not by choice but because of circumstances that we gave just about everything away and moved in with family.
We are very grateful we had the ability to do so. We have struggled over the course of the year to find jobs, change jobs, get the kids in school, relying on family to watch the kids, make new friends, find our place in a new church, make car repairs, keep Moms Saving Money, LLC going. It has been a tough road.
They (whoever They are) say kids are resilient and make a move and changes easier than adults, I don’t know, I never moved as a child. My children seem to be doing fine and we often have to remind them why we are living with family and don’t have a place of our own.
It hurts when one will ask if they can save their money to buy a home so we can live in. One day we will get there but not by using the money our children have manage to save.
Enough back story, lets talk about moving forward and starting over. The idea consuming me for the past week and half. Why? Because now that the hubby and I both have jobs and he is going back to school, it is time we look forward to starting over. We still have a long ways to go before we move out on our own, but in the meantime we need to start preparing.
Have you thought about it? What it would take to start all over. When you are young and you move from your parents to go to college or move out on your own or even when you first get married you think of these things. What you will need and want. Isn’t it fun to add items to your registry? Well this is very similar. You see the last time I even thought about what items I would need to start a home was when I was planning my wedding and that was 11 and 1/2 years ago.
So what does starting all over look like? Well think for a moment on all the items you will need to acquire moving into your new place.
If you have no furniture you will need to find ways to get the furniture you need. So here is the first obstacle. Since we have no furniture we also have no room to store it while we collect our foundation of items.
First I have to be realistic and look at the basic needs we have to get a sense about what is needed and the amount of money I can expect to spend.
Here’s my list. I have 3 kids so that means I need furniture for a minimum of 3 bedrooms. My boys will be sharing a room. Remember we are trying to only acquire the bare minimum.
Bedroom #1 – Boys
– Beds (frames and mattress), Bedding Sets, Curtain(s), Trash can, Dresser, Bookshelf
Bedroom #2 – Daughter
– Bed (frame and mattress), Bedding, Curtain(s), Trash can, Dresser, Bookshelf
Bedroom #3 – Our room
– Bed (frame and mattress), Bedding, Curtain(s), Trash Can, Bookshelf
I then had to realistically look at other rooms we need to get basic furniture items.
Kitchen
– Table and Chairs (5)
Living Room
– 1 Couch, TV Shelf/Entertainment Center, Lamp(s), End Table(s)
I then realized I need to get items that are necessities but because it will take awhile to get in the routine of being on our own. I don’t want to get so tight again that I would like to have a buffer of health and beauty products, cleaning supplies, and Kitchen items.
The household items include Tissue paper, trash bags (I can start collecting plastic grocery bags for the smaller trash cans in the room), Feminine products, Shampoo, Conditioner, Lotion, Toothpaste, Razors, Toothbrushes, Deodorant, Laundry Detergent, Dish Detergent, and so on.
I know the above items seem small but we have been there when we were not able to afford a $1 to get shampoo because we needed to put it towards gas for our car. I don’t have to worry for a couple of months, so therefore between moving on our own and now, I will coupon and take advantage at getting the best deals to acquire enough for a years worth. Yes I am paranoid, I do not want the same situation or similar to repeat and I want to be able to be prepared and give an example for my kids on how to plan ahead.
So each paycheck until we move out I will be buying 1 furniture item and 1 of each household item for example a pack of toilet paper. Do you ever sit down to think about how much you use in a year? For our family keep in mind my kids are small and they tend to use more than they really need, so toilet paper goes fast with us. So before we moved in with family we used a 12 pack of double rolls in a month between 2 bathrooms. So with that in mind I want to have 12 packs of 12ct double rolls before we move on our own. So the average cost is around $7 for 12ct. So I know I need to save $84 for 1 year supply. This is a game to me so I want to see how much I can save while I still get the 12 packs I want to acquire before moving out.
I will update this post I get to my goal and how much I actually paid.
Because something always comes up and you have to be flexible check out my Frugal Fresh Start Week 1 – Follow our family journey on how we will start over with a Frugal mind.